The Translators Perspective

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The Translators Perspective

• Ian Mason
• Heriot Watt University

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Case studies - 1

• Police investigation of train massacre in Spain,
  11 March 2004.
• Italian police place microphones in flat of
  suspect, Rabei Osman Sayed.
• They intercept Osmans conversations and
  translate them from Arabic.
• The evidence is used by Spanish prosecutors.

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• Spanish translators dispute the Italian
  translations and accuse translators of adjusting
  the translation to a context which did not
  exist.
• El Mundo 30.05.07

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Italian version

• The thread of the Madrid operation was mine, you
  understand?...The trains all were my group. I
  wasnt actually with them but on the 4th I
  contacted them and got all the details

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Spanish version

• All my friends have gone, some died in Gods
  path in Afghanistan. I wont hide from you the
  Madrid operation they have just done the Madrid
  train that exploded.
• Ah yes
• It was my people who did it our people I
  wasnt with them but I knew about it but exactly
  what was going to happen they didnt tell me.

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Legal perspective

• A prosecution case is often based upon exact
  words spoken by an accused person.

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Case studies - 2

• Iraq War case for Weapons of Mass Destruction.
• US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, presented to
  the UN Security Council on 05.02.03 recordings of
  three intercepted conversations between Iraqi
  military officers, with an English translation.

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• Modified vehicle
• forbidden ammo
• OK buddy

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Signs and sign values

• What is the exchange value of these tokens in
  Arabic?
• What is their exchange value within the
  restricted genres of the Iraqi military?
• What was the set of indicators and assumptions
  available to the translator?
• What is the value of the distinction between
  ammunition and ammo in English? What does
  (not) constitute ammo?
• What ST sign triggered the TT distinction?

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Assumptions about translation

• In international diplomacy, business, public
  service and among general public
• Automatic input output
• Among Translation Studies scholars
• Choice range of possible versions.
• Even the word equivalence is unsafe because it
  implies that such a thing is possible.

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Dichotomies (in western translation studies)

• Literal/free (traditional)
• Formal/dynamic equivalence (Nida)
• Semantic/communicative (Newmark)
• Overt/covert (House)
• Documentary/instrumental (Nord)
• Foreignizing/domesticating (Venuti)

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Formal and Dynamic Equivalence

• Equivalence of form and content
• Versus
• Equivalent effect on readers of ST and TT

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Overt and Covert Translating

• Overt
• TT addressees not being directly addressed (by
  ST)
• ST tied to SL community and its culture
• ST directed towards SL addressees but of interest
  to TL readers.
• Covert
• ST not specifically aimed at SL readers
• TT enjoys status of an original in TL culture
• ST and TT have equivalent purpose.
• House (1997)

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Documentary and Instrumental

• Classification according to TT function
• A documentary translation aims at reproducing in
  TL (aspects of) a communication between a SL
  producer and a SL audience.
• An instrumental translation aims at producing in
  TL a new communication between SL producer and TL
  receivers, using (aspects of) ST as a model.
• Nord (1997)

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Foreignization and Domestication

• Domestication
• Aim fluent syle
• Minimize strangeness of ST for TT readers
• Translators presence invisible.
• Foreignization
• Retain foreignness of ST
• Break TL conventions non-fluent style
• Register linguistic/cultural difference.

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Question for discussion

• In the light of these distinctions and
• Remembering our rejection of the Code model of
  communication
• How can we describe what has happened in the two
  case studies we began with?

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• These translators confuse instrumental with
  documentary translating
• These pairs of strategies are not usually a
  matter of free choice
• Depends on design (interpersonal and
  intertextual)
• Pragmatic focus what was actually said?

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Translators strategy

• Some fields and genres
• The Bible/The Quran
• A Government directive/ legislation
• Websites
• Press agency reports
• Film subtitling
• Instructions for assembly of equipment
• Tourist brochures

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1. Holy, sensitive texts

• Depends on purpose
• Preserve the word of God
• or
• Communicate with, appeal to readers in a
  different cultural environment.

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2. Government directives

• Many governments have to interact with more than
  one language community.
• TT has to be legally valid in each TL.
• Concern to avoid any chance of dispute of the
  meaning of a text.

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3. Websites

• Localisation
• Many translation agencies say this is the largest
  part of their business
• Involves conforming to TL cultural norms and
  meeting user expectations
• May take place within one language, e.g. USA gt UK.

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4. Press agency reports

• Localisation
• Adjustment according to assumptions of mutual
  manifestness.
• May involve deletions as well as additions.

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5. Film subtitling

• Target audience needs to follow the thread of a
  dialogue
• Target audience does not necessarily need to know
  what ST speakers actually said
• Focus can change when
• Jokes
• Understanding depends on words spoken

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6. Assembly instructions

• Instrumental translating
• ST words are of no relevance to TT readers
• What counts is being able to assemble the
  equipment
• Focus on perlocutionary effect or reader
  response.
• Can be co-written instead of translated.

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7. Tourist brochures

• Instrumental translating
• ST can be changed in order to appeal to TL
  community.
• In some cases, what appeals within one cultural
  community is of less interest in another
  community
• Example Island of Jersey (UK)

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Ethics of translation

• Foreignization largely an ethical
  recommendation by Venuti.
• Similar ethical issues involved in other cases,
  e.g. dialogue interpreting.

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Immigration interviews (Polish/English)

• SL skoly (school)
• TT an English course a car mechanics course

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Medical consultation

• Pat. No this thing happens then depending on -
  on the circumstances - of life
• Int. (to Pat) Well at- at this particular moment
  do your life circumstances cause you pain once a
  week or- or more often?
• Pat. Sometimes more often
• Int. (to Pat) Sometimes more often. (to Doc)
  Once or twice a week maybe and (to Pat) And
  th- this thing- this is related to stress right?
• Pat. Yes
• Int. (to Doc) Sometimes the chest pain is
  stress- related sometimes its exertion
  related.
• Bolden (2000)

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Question

• How do we know how receivers respond to
  particular translations?
• Very little research into the effect on readers
  of different translations.

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Example of European Parliament translation

• Irish member of parliament expresses regret for
  what we did in my country (we closed down our
  railways) and suggests what we as Europe
  should do.
• French translation reduces mention of we,
  presents events as just happening (without a
  human cause) and introduces element of obligation
  (the railways had to be closed down).

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Experiment reader response

• Multiple-choice test Who was responsible?
• Answers depended on which version of text had
  been read.
• Summarising test.
• Respondents re-used structures they had read,
  even when not repeating content they had read.

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Conclusion

• All these examples and distinctions have
  relevance for translator training.
• Need to reflect variety of genres and functions
  in pedagogical situation.