Université Moulay Ismail
Faculté des Lettres et des Sciences Humaines English Studies S4
Mèknès Prof. KHALOUFI
Translation
Week 3 and Week 4
Translation has its own excitement, its own interest. A satisfactory translation is always
possible, but a good translator is never satisfied with it. It can usually be improved. There is
no such thing as a perfect, ideal or “CORRECT” translation. A translator is always trying to
extend his knowledge and improve his means of expression; he is always pursuing facts and
words. He works on four levels:
1) Translation is first a science, which entails the knowledge and verification of the facts and
the language that describes them- here, what is wrong, mistakes of truth, can be identified.
2) Translation is a skill, which calls for appropriate language and acceptable usage.
3) Translation is an art, which distinguishes a good creative, intuitive and inspired translation
from an undistinguished translation.
4) Translation is a matter of taste, where argument ceases, preferences are expressed, and the
variety of meritorious translations is the reflection of individual differences.
As a means of communication, translation is used for multilingual notices in public places; for
instructions issued by exporting companies; for tourist publicity, where it is too often
produced from the native into the 'foreign' language by natives as a matter of national pride;
for official documents, such as treaties and contracts; for reports, papers, articles,
correspondence textbooks to convey information, advice and recommendations for every
branch of knowledge. Its volume has increased with the rise of the mass media and the
growing recognition of the importance of linguistic minorities in all the countries of the
world.
In a narrow sense, translation theory is concerned with the translation method appropriately
used for a certain type of text, and it is therefore dependent on a FUNCTIONAL theory of
language. However, in a wider sense, translation theory is the body of knowledge that we
have about translating, extending from general principles to guidelines, suggestions and hints.
(The only rule is the equivalence rule which means that corresponding words, where they
exist - metaphors, collocations, groups, clauses, sentences, word order, proverbs, etc. - should
have approximately equal equivalence, for the topic and register in question, in both the
source and target languages.) Translation theory is concerned with details (the meanings of
semi-colons, italics, misprints) as well as generalities (presentation, the thread of thought
underlying a piece of writing), and both may be equally important in the context. What
translation theory does is:
1) To identify and define a translation problem (no problem - no translation theory!)
2) To indicate all the factors that have to be taken into account in solving the problem.
3) To list all the possible translation procedures.
4) To recommend the most suitable translation procedure, plus the appropriate translation.
Finally, the role translation has in modern civilization can be summarized as follows.
1) There is an expansion of topics beyond the religious, the literary and the scientific to
technology, trade, current events, publicity, propaganda, in fact to virtually every topic of
writing.
2) There is a variety of text formats, from books (including plays and poems) to articles,
papers, contracts, treaties, laws, notices, instructions, advertisements, recipes, letters, reports,
business forms, documents, etc. These now vastly outnumber books, so it is difficult to
calculate the number or the languages of translations on any large scale.
3) A great number of the translations are not taken directly from the real source language;
they are taken from another translation which may raise questions as to their credibility.
However, these translations have the merit of disseminating new trends of knowledge
worldwide.
In sum, translation is now used as much to transmit knowledge and to create understanding
between groups and nations, as to transmit culture.
