Translation Studies and AVT Department of European, American and Intercultural Studies 2016-2017 WEEK 3 - LECTURE 1 Dr. Margherita Dore margherita.dore@uniroma1.it
Overview Text type and genre Snell-Hornby s integrated approach Translatorial action Skopos theory Documentary and instrumental translation Text analysis for translation
Katharina Reiss German linguist and translation scholar Communication is achieved at the text level Equivalence must be sought. Drawing from Karl Bühler s earlier categorization of the three functions of language, Reiss formulated a functional model of genre and text type which describes three types of text: informative, expressive and operative. Each of these text types requires a different type of translation method and the translation of the predominant function of the ST should be the determining factor guiding the translation.
Text Type and Genre Reiss s text-type/genre taxonomy: Informative, a plain communication of facts: information, knowledge opinions; language is logical and communicating the content of text is also its main function (e.g. encyclopaedia) Expressive, creative texts, the aesthetics of the language used is important, author and message are foregrounded (e.g. Novel, poem, etc.) Operative the text aims to persuade its receiver to do something; the language is dialogic and appellative (e.g. Adverts, political speeches, etc.) (Audio-medial the text includes written and spoken material, including music and visual elements (e.g. films, TV ads, Political programmes, etc.)
Text Type and Genre
Translation method Text Type and Genre Informative > plain prose method, the TT should be contentfocused and transmit the ST s full referential content; no redundancy and use of explicitation if required Expressive > identifying method, the TT should be formfocused and transmit the ST s aesthetic form; accuracy of information; the ST style is a priority Operative > adaptive method, the TT should aim for full equivalence in term of response; it should aim to transmit the ST s intended effect Audio-medial > supplementary method the TT should supplement the non verbal text of the ST
In this paper I apply Fauconnier and Turner s theory of Conceptual Integration, or Blending, to the analysis of a central aspect of the main characters mental lives in Virginia Woolf s story Lappin and Lapinova : the fantastic world in which the story s two protagonists, Rosalind and her husband Ernest, are, respectively a rabbit King called Lappin and a hare called Queen Lapinova. My analysis shows how the application of recent theories of cognition to literature can plausibly shed light on the creative processes involved in the production and interpretation of literary texts. Text Types - Example 1 E. Semino (2011) translated by M. Dore In questo lavoro applico la teoria di Fauconnier e Turner sull integrazione concettuale, altresì denominata blending, al fine di analizzare un aspetto centrale della psicologia dei protagonisti del racconto breve di Virginia Woolf dal titolo Lappin e Lapinova : il mondo di fantasia in cui i due protagonisti della storia, Rosalind e il marito Ernest, sono, rispettivamente, un re coniglio chiamato Lappin e una lepre chiamata regina Lapinova. La mia analisi dimostra come l applicazione di recenti teorie cognitive alla letteratura possa spiegare in modo plausibile e illuminante i processi creativi che fanno parte della produzione e interpretazione dei testi letterari.
Text Types - Example 2 Shakespeare s Julius Cesar Mark Anthony s Speech: Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones; So let it be with Caesar. The noble Brutus Hath told you Caesar was ambitious: If it were so, it was a grievous fault, and grievously hath Caesar answer'd it. Amici, Romani, concittadini, prestatemi attenzione; io vengo per seppellire Cesare, non per elogiarlo. Il male che gli uomini compiono vive dopo di loro; il bene è spesso interrato con le loro ossa. Quindi lasciate che sia così per Cesare. Il nobile Bruto vi ha detto che Cesare era ambizioso. Se così era, era una colpa grave. E gravemente Cesare le ha risposto.
Text Types - Example 3 (Bad) advertising translation
Criticism Why there should only be three types of language functions? Are Reiss s preferred translation methods reversible? Can text types and genres be differentiated on the basis of the primary function? Reiss s divisions is really feasible?
Snell-Hornby Mary Snell-Hornby Austrian-based scholar and translator. Her work, Translation Studies: An Integrated Approach (1988/95), reviews and attempts to integrate a wide variety of different linguistic and literary concepts in an overarching integrated approach to translation based on text types.
Snell-Hornby s Integrated Approach Level A: continuum of literary, general and special language Level B: prototypical text types (e.g. Literary, Bible, film, poetry, etc. Level C: relevant non-linguistic disciplines (including specialized translation) Level D: the function of the translation (understanding the ST s function, the TT focus and its communicative function) Level E: linguistics Level F: phonology (e.g. Alliteration, rhythm, speakability for dubbing)
Snell-Hornby s Integrated Approach
Translatorial Action (Holz-Mänttäri) Justa Holz Mänttäri, Finnish-based German theorist. Her model of translation views translation as purposedriven, outcome-oriented human interaction involving intercultural transfer. From communication theory to action theory, she points out roles and players with own (primary and secondary) goals: Initiator Commissioner ST producer TT producer TT user TT receiver
Hans J. Vermeer German linguist and translator scholar who, with Reiss, developed the skopos theory of translation. Their book Grundlegung einer allgemeinen Translationstheorie [ Groundwork for a General Theory of Translation ] (1984) aims for a general translation theory for all texts. The first part sets out a detailed explanation of Vermeer s skopos theory, whereas the second adapts Reiss s functional text-type model to the general theory.
Skopos Theory Skopos = aim or purpose (of TT) The TT ( translatum ) must be fit for purpose = dethroning of ST (Vermeer) The skopos is stipulated by the client, commissioner or initiator and determines the translation method and strategy to be employed in order to provide a functionally adequate text in the target culture Skopos theory allows for the possibility that the same text may be translated in different ways according to the purpose of the TT
Skopos Theory TT judged on functional adequacy: Intratextual coherence (the TT must be translated in such a way that it makes sense for the TT receivers) + intertextual fidelity (there must be coherence between the TT and the ST) Functionality + loyalty to ST author intentions (Nord) So, skopos needs to be explicitly stated in the brief/commission If the TT fulfils the skopos outlined by the commission, it is functionally and communicatively adequate.
Nord s Translation-Oriented Text Analysis Christiane Nord the model of translation put forward in her book Text Analysis in Translation (1988/2005) is a detailed functional translation-oriented text analysis model which examines text organization at or above sentence level. Nord s model enables understanding of the function of the features and the selection of translation strategies appropriate to the intended purpose of the translation. Her model stresses the importance of a functionality plus loyalty principle. She distinguishes two basic types of translation: documentary translation and instrumental translation.
Documentary and Instrumental Translation Documentary translation a document of a source culture communication between the author and the ST recipient (Nord 2005: 80) Instrumental translation is intended to fulfill its communicative purpose without the recipient being conscious of reading or hearing a text which, in a different form, was used before in a different communicative situation (Nord ibid.)
Text Analysis for Translation (Nord) Subject matter (culture-bond to ST and TT) Content (the meaning of the text) Presuppositions (ST and TT conventions) Text composition (microstructures) Non-verbal elements (illustrations, italics, etc.) Lexis (dialect, register, etc.) Sentence structure (rhetorical features) Suprasegmental features (stress, intonation, etc.)
Bibliography What we studied so far: Munday, Jeremy (2016), Introducing Translation Studies. Theories and Applications, 4 th edition, Routledge, London/New York CHAPTERS 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Translation Studies and AVT Department of European, American and Intercultural Studies 2016-2017 WEEK 3 - LECTURE 2 Dr. Margherita Dore margherita.dore@uniroma1.it
Overview The Hallidayan model of language and discourse House s model of translation quality assessment Thematic structure Cohesion Pragmatics Context and discourse
Michael A. K. Halliday Halliday is a British-born Australian linguist who developed the systemic functional grammar (SFL) model of language. It is geared to the study of language as social semiotic. It sees meaning in the writer s linguistic choices and systematically relates these choices to a wider sociocultural framework.
The Hallidayan Model of Language and Discourse The Hallidayan model of language (Munday 2012: 138)
Variables of Register Analysis Register variables and their typical realizations (Munday 2012: 139)
House s Model of Translation Quality Assessment Scheme for analysing and comparing ST and TT (J. House 1997: 108)
Application of House s model Step 1: ST register profile Step 2: Description of the ST genre Step 3: Statement of the ST s function Step 4: TT profiling (steps 1-3) Step 5: Comparison of ST and TT profiles (errors, mismatches) Step 6: Statement of quality for the TT Step 7: Categorization of the TT as over or covert translation
House s Model of Translation Quality Assessment Overt translation The TT does not pretend to be (and is not represented as being) an original and is clearly not directed at the TT audience Covert translation is a translation which enjoys the status of an original source text in the target culture (House 1997: 69) Cultural filter Modification of cultural elements so that the TT seems an original.
Cover Translation - Example 1 M. Dore (2016) translation of Tower Bridge Guide
Cover Translation - Example 1 M. Dore (2016) translation of Tower Bridge Guide
Mona Baker In her influential book In Other Words (1992/2011), Baker looks at equivalence at a series of levels: at the level of lexical meaning, above word level, at the level of grammar, textual equivalence and pragmatic equivalence Baker s later work includes important work on narrative theory and translation.
Pragmatics and Translation Pragmatics is the study of language in use (Baker 2011: 230) Coherence Presupposition Implicature, from Grice s maxims: Quantity, give the right amount of information Quality, say only what you believe to be true Relevance, be relevant to the conversation Manner, say things in an appropriate way Politeness, be polite with your comments Do these change in translation?
Grice s Maxims And, for the sake of understanding:
Thematic Structure Part of Halliday s textual function Relates to order of elements and information structure Thematic structure is realized differently in different languages Translator should be aware of the relative markedness (prominence or unusualness) of the structures which can help understand the choices made by speakers and writers when conveying a message The translator then decides whether it is appropriate to translate using a particular marked form
Cohesion Five types of cohesion from M. A. K. Halliday and R. Hasan (1976) Cohesion in English, Longman: Reference (e.g. pronouns, comparatives, demonstratives) Substitution Ellipsis Conjunction Lexical cohesion (repetition, synonymy, collocation ) Tendency to explicate in translation?
Translate the following riddle: The riddle Exercise 1 A father and son have a car accident and are both badly hurt. They are both taken to separate hospitals. When the boy is taken in for an operation, the doctor says 'I can not do the surgery because this is my son'. How is this possible? Un padre e un figlio hanno un incidente e entrambi rimangono feriti. Vengono portati in due ospedali diversi. Quando il ragazzo viene portato in sala operatoria, il medico dice: Non posso operarlo perché è mio figlio. Come è possibile? The doctor s is the boy s mother Il medico è la madre del ragazzo
Hatim and Mason In their Discourse and the Translator (1990) and The Translator as Communicator (1997), Hatim and Mason apply Halliday s linguistic model to the analysis of translation, paying particular attention to the realization in translation of ideational (e.g. transitivity) and interpersonal functions (e.g. modality) as well as cohesion. Translation analysis aims to identify marked (prominent or unusual) forms and dynamic and stable elements in a text. More stable elements may be translated literally while more dynamic elements require more creative responses on the part of the translator.
Context and Discourse Higher levels of sociocultural and historical context and of discourse Discourse = modes of speaking and writing which involve social groups in adopting a particular attitude towards areas of sociocultural activity (e.g. racist discourse, bureaucratese, etc.) (Hatim and Mason 1997: 216)
Food for Thought Quality and errors are central to House s model. Yet her model is written from a strongly academic viewpoint. Compare how translation errors are categorized by translator associations, translator agencies and organizations. What criteria do they give for revising translations and assuring quality? Look also at the criteria by which your own translations may be evaluated. Assess the advantages and weaknesses of these classifications, and how they compare to House s model. How much cultural filtering do you note in texts translated into your languages?
Bibliography What we studied so far: Munday, Jeremy (2016), Introducing Translation Studies. Theories and Applications, 4 th edition, Routledge, London/New York CHAPTERS 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6