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Translation theory
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Translator: A Mediator, Mentor and Preserver of the Culture. “Translation is that which transforms everything so that nothing changes.” - Gunter Grass 1Joshua Christopher. P, Assistant Professor, Bishop Appasamy College, Coimbatore 2 Uma Maheswari Abstract: What is Translation? It is the art of reproducing the work of art from one language to the other. Who is a Translator? He is a person who takes sole responsibility to reach the mass. The art of translation is highly appreciated if the translator translates a work of art without his own ideas. Translators find it difficult to translate a piece of art from the source language (SL) to the target language (TL) for various reasons. Though they face many difficulties in translating a text, the translators are the preservers of the culture and they act as a mentor and a mediator as they …show more content…
A translator must become a trans-creator in order to achieve the above mentioned effects since the original is recreated. This kind of translation becomes transcreation with the liberalism in translation for the translator. A translator feels free to translate whatever pleases. Theory of Translation Theory of translation states that translation is the invention of Romans. George Steiner classifies the translation studies into four periods. i. Immediate empirical focus - stem directly from the practical work of translating. ii. Hermeneutic Enquiry – development of vocabulary and methodology to approach translation. iii. Machine Translation – structural linguistics and communication theory into the study of translation. iv. Revision of hermeneutic theory – metaphysical enquiries into translation and interpretation. Translator as a
"For the translator, who stands astride two cultures, possesses two different sensibilities, and assumes a double identity" —Husain Haddawy
Srinivasa Iyengar, you don’t. Iyengar says, “poetry, by nature, is untranslatable. [A] competent translator can, however, play the good broker between the poet and the reader... and give the intimations of the poet’s sovereign utterance.” But even this seems to suggest that at best, the translator is only a middleman, able to convey the subtleties of the poet’s original work, but not without noted differences. Famous poet Bysse Shelley calls translation of poetry “vain”, saying “it were as wise to cast a violet into a crucible that you might discover the formal principal of its color and odor, as seek to transfuse from one language to another the creations of a poet. The plant must spring again from its seed, or it will bear no
Frequently in "Feminist Political and Social Thought" taught at SUNY Albany, by Dr. J. Hobson, I found myself simultaneously inspired and frustrated by the theory we were assigned to read. Authors such as bell hooks, Uma Narayan, Ann Russo, Kimberly Crenshaw, Andy Smith, John Stoltenberg, and Judy Baca did such wonderful jobs of pointing out the problems of perspective that stymie the feminist movement from achieving its goal to facilitate the bonding of the oppressed across differences, in order to overcome all oppressions. Unfortunately when combing through these authors intricately written, often jargon-ridden words, it was difficult to make practical sense of their insights. I understood what many of them were saying and in many cases I couldn't agree more, only I could barley imagine how these theories might be applied to real life scenarios. Furthermore, it was difficult for me to see how much of this would come to any use-say the next time someone made a racist, homophobic, Western-centric, sexist comment at work, or at the Thanksgiving dinner table for that matter. How could I possibly communicate the things that had been discussed in the classroom, laced with words like paradigm, praxis, pedagogy, and a completely deconstructed concept of the word "culture"? All these things would need an introduction of their own-and that may work in a classroom-but rarely in a conversation!
Julio Cortázar is a famous novelist from Argentina. He was born August 26, 1914 in Brussels, Belgium and died February 12, 1984 at the age of 70 years young. Otherness is the foundation of translation in almost every sense of the word. The translator must become the author's other, his Doppelganger, what Julio Cortázar called his paredros, using a Greek term for an old Egyptian concept of otherness. At the same time the translator must turn the author into another possibility of his own existence. The writer stays himself but is now writing in another language and therefore at least partially in another culture. Also, there will be more than one translation of a classic, meaning that even in its otherness the classic has other possibilities. Mandelbaum, Singleton, Sayers, and Ciardi are all partially Dante in that they are his others, yet they are not clones, not even identical twins, and usually not even close enough to be fraternal ones. Theirs is anotherness within the same language, different variations on the same theme as it were.
Aristophanes’ Lysistrata continues to be an important part of literary history. The translations of this play vary over time, but continue to maintain a common theme. The points are still the same and it is always laden with comedic value. The audience is the key component to be considered to make a translation successful. The current cultural of that audience is also essential. One must consider the intellectual sense of the time, the importance of articulation, and the sense of what is appropriate. The language can remain the same, but the meanings of the words have the capability to transform; therefore, a translation must be prepared to be adjusted for an ever changing audience.
Gideon Toury worked with Israeli scholar Itamar Even-Zohar, the man behind the polysystem; “a system of various systems which intersect with each other and partly overlap, using concurrently different options, yet functioning as one structured whole, whose members are interdependent” (Munday, 2016, p. 174). Toury also saw translation to have a position both in social and literary systems of the target culture, and developed the polysystem theory further, and presented his three-phase methodology for the branch of descriptive translation studies, an empirical branch of translation studies (ibid.). With this method, the description of the translation and its wider role in the sociocultural system is incorporated (ibid.). First, “situate the text within the target culture system, looking at its significance or acceptability” (Munday, 2016, p. 175). Then, “undertake a textual analysis of the ST and the TT to identify relationships between corresponding segments in the two texts” (ibid.), called “coupled pairs” by Toury. Now,
In the late 1970s, the focus of translation studies shifted to the process of translation as well as the receivers. Hans Vermeer is the founder of Skopos theory. As the Greek word skopos indicates, this theory stresses that translati...
With an increase in globalization, many people venture into other countries to seek employment and education opportunities. The United States-based corporations employ over 100 million overseas workers. They also hire a large number of locals who then move to take roles in other countries where the company has operations (Reichard et al. 2015). This means that Americans are exposed to a high number of people from other nations with diverse cultures in their workplaces, schools, neighborhoods and other social places. Therefore, people need to improve their intercultural communication skills to enable them to interact efficiently with people with diverse cultures. The improvement of technology has made the media an agent for enhanced
In human society, translation plays a significant role, which helps realize effective communication among people. Benjamin (as cited in Venuti, 2000) indicates translation is the mode, which plays a function of transmitting information; hence translatability determines whether the information could be effectively and appropriately delivered and is regarded as the “essential quality of certain works”. Throughout history, many scholars have developed translation theories, which provide various effective translation strategies and methods, to explore the translatability. Equivalence theory points out that all languages always share some similarities; hence the languages could be exchanged (Nida, as cited in Venuti, 2000). The skopos theory emphasizes
Intercultural communication is an evolving discipline that encapsulates the interactions between individuals or groups from different backgrounds. Diversity and the need for cultural awareness are forever increasing, and this solidifies the direction in which diversity will take in the future. Intercultural communication is going to be a tremendous part of our future and as individuals it will be part of our personal, social and professional relationships.
The translation process may seem easy to them who don't have to deal regularly with it, but after a little exercise anyone could realize the amount of problems rize even just from the translation of a single word. In fact languages are not a list of tags that simply name the categories of the world; each language organizes the world in a different way and the meaning and value of the words varies in relation to their cultural and social system.
What does it mean to be a competent communicator and a competent intercultural communicator? A Competent communicator defines as a person who can communicate with others properly and sufficiently, and a competent intercultural communicator is the ability to communicate effectively and appropriately with people of other cultures. It takes many abilities to be an effective competent communicator and an effective competent intercultural communicator. While some environments and factors can affect the way you communicate properly, there are also abilities that can help you achieve better communication. In this discussion I will be comparing and contrasting the concepts of both competent communication and competent intercultural communication.
Many people who go to visit or work in another country suffer some misunderstanding from the local people, because they have a different culture. Different culture will cause disparity points of view about almost everything. In the article, Intercultural Communication Stumbling Blocks by Laray M. Barna, there are five stumbling blocks mentioned that are seen in a cross-culture communication. These blocks are: language, nonverbal signs and symbols, preconceptions and stereotypes, the tendency to evaluate and high anxiety. Barna wants to use these stumbling blocks to show the common blockades between different cultures. I agree with what she thinks about the language, nonverbal signs and symbols, preconceptions and stereotypes, and the tendency
Humans have been communicating since four million years. On the other hand, the birth of culture is estimated to have taken place about 35,000 years ago. Today, both culture and communication have evolved considerably and have become interdependent of one another, to the point that communication is considered to be a product of culture. Thus, our own culture has a deep impact on our thoughts and behaviors. Since each culture has its distinct aspects, intercultural communication can be the cause of conflict and disorder. There are three main issues which are at the root of the problem of intercultural miscommunication : language as a barrier, cultural diversity and ethnocentrism. I will analyze these three notions in situations in which intercultural communication is frequent such as : the workplace, the classroom and vacation trips.
Abstract: Globalization has made intercultural communication inevitable. Communicating with other cultures characterizes today’s business, classroom, and community. Technology, especially the internet, has increased the probability that whatever is documented online will be read by someone from another culture. Intercultural communication is of importance in any career field, thus the art of knowing how to communicate with other cultures should be a workplace skill that is emphasized. This is a conceptual paper whose purpose is twofold.