Subject, tasks and methods of translation theory

 

In a broad sense, the term “translation theory” is opposed to the term “translation practice” and covers any concepts, provisions and observations related to translation practice, methods and conditions for its implementation, and various factors that have a direct or indirect impact on it. With this understanding, the “theory of translation” coincides with the concept of “translation studies”.

Translation is a complex multifaceted phenomenon, certain aspects of which can be the subject of research in various sciences. Within the framework of translation studies, psychological, literary, ethnographic and other aspects of translation activities are studied, as well as the history of translation activities in a particular country or countries. Depending on the subject of the research, psychological translation studies (translation psychology), literary translation studies (theory of literary or literary translation), ethnographic translation studies, historical translation studies, etc. can be distinguished. The leading place in modern translation belongs to linguistic translation (translation linguistics), which studies translation as a linguistic phenomenon. Separate types of translation studies complement each other, striving for a comprehensive description of translation activities.

The general theory of translation is a section of the linguistic theory of translation that studies the most common linguistic patterns of translation, regardless of the characteristics of a particular pair of languages participating in the translation process, the way the process is carried out, and the individual characteristics of a particular translation act. The provisions of the general translation theory encompass any type of translation of any originals from any source language into any other language.

Translation theory has the following main objectives:

1) to disclose and describe the general linguistic basis of translation, i.e. indicate what features of language systems and patterns of language functioning underlie the translation process, make this process possible and determine its character and boundaries;

2) define the translation as an object of linguistic research, indicate its difference from other types of language mediation;

3) to develop a framework for the classification of types of translation activities;

4) to reveal the essence of translation equivalence as the basis for the communicative equivalence of the texts of the original and the translation;

5) to develop general principles and features of the construction of private and special translation theories for various combinations of languages;

6) to develop general principles of the scientific description of the translation process as an action of the translator to translate the source text into the translation text;

7) reveal the impact on the translation process of pragmatic and sociolinguistic factors;

8) define the concept of “transfer rate” and develop principles for assessing the quality of translation.

Translation is a means of ensuring the possibility of communication (communication) between people speaking different languages. Therefore, for communication theory, the data of communicative linguistics about the features of the speech communication process, the specifics of direct and indirect speech acts, the relationship between the expressed and implied meaning in the utterance and the text, the influence of the context and the communication situation on the understanding of the text, other factors determining the communicative behavior of a person are of particular importance. .

An important method of research in translation linguistics is the comparative analysis of translation, i.e. analysis of the form and content of the translation text in comparison with the form and content of the original. These texts are objective facts that are available for observation and analysis. In the process of translation, certain relations are established between the two texts in different languages (the original text and the translation text). Comparing such texts, it is possible to reveal the internal translation mechanism, to identify equivalent units, and also to detect changes in form and content that occur when a unit of the original is replaced with an equivalent unit of translation text. It is also possible to compare two or more translations of the same original. A comparative analysis of the translations makes it possible to find out how typical translation difficulties are overcome, related to the specifics of each language, as well as which elements of the original remain untranslated in translation. The result is a description of “translation facts”, which gives a picture of the real process.

The basis of the translation theory is the general linguistic provisions that determine the nature of the consideration and resolution of the translation problems themselves. During the development of the linguistic theory of translation, the incorrectness of the "theory of untranslatability" was demonstrated. Examination of translation from the standpoint of linguistics clearly defined the impossibility of complete identity of the content of the original and the translation. The linguistic originality of any text, the focus of its content on a certain linguistic group, possessing only its inherent “background” knowledge and cultural and historical features, cannot be “recreated” with absolute fullness in another language. Therefore, translation does not imply the creation of an identical text and the absence of an identity cannot serve as proof of the impossibility of translation. The loss of some elements of the translated text during translation does not mean that this text is “non-translatable”: such a loss is usually found when it is translated and the translation is compared with the original. The inability to reproduce in translation some feature of the original is only a particular manifestation of the general principle of non-identity of the content of two texts in different languages ​​(and if we talk about "absolute identity", then two texts in one language consisting of a different set of language units). The absence of identity does not prevent the translation from performing the same communicative functions for which the original text was created. It is known that in the content of the utterance there are elements of meaning that have no meaning for the given message, but are “imposed” on him by the semantics of linguistic units. For example, the message “A good student will not come to an unprepared class” clearly means not only “students”, but also “students”, and the masculine gender of the word “student” is irrelevant to him. However, in Russian (as in French and German), the noun cannot be used without reproducing the meaning of the gender, although it would not be necessary for the message or even contradict its meaning, as in our example. If, in the English translation, the indication of the gender is lost, then from the point of view of communication, such a loss is not only insignificant, but even desirable. The absolute identity of the contents of the original and the translation is not only impossible, but not necessary for the realization of the purposes for which the translation is created.

For translation theory, the fact that the forms of the same message are in relation to communicative equivalence, which is expressed in the following, is of particular importance:

1. There is potentially a high degree of generality between them, since they consist of the same linguistic units, representing basically the same information for all members of a given linguistic group.

2. Between them, in fact, there is a sufficient degree of generality to provide the necessary understanding in the specific conditions of communication. (If this understanding is not achieved, communicators can exchange additional information, increasing the accuracy of the message.)

3. Both forms are united in the act of communication into a single whole, and the differences between them turn out to be irrelevant for the participants of communication, who do not realize these differences, considering that the message received is what is transmitted and vice versa. Thus, for communicants, there really is one single text, the content of which in principle can be accessible to everyone who speaks the language through which a message is transmitted and received.

Speech communication can occur between communicators speaking different languages. In this case interlanguage (bilingual) communication will take place. Since the Receptor is not able to extract information from the text, spoken or written in an unknown language, interlanguage communication is of a Direct nature. A prerequisite for communication between “multilingual” communicators is the presence of an intermediate link carrying out linguistic mediation, i.e. converting the original message into a language form that can be perceived by the Receptor (in other words, transmitting this message in the language of the Receptor). The language intermediary must extract information from the original message text (“original” or “original”) and transmit it in another language. Therefore, this role can be performed only by a person with the necessary degree of bilingualism, i.e. bilingual. In addition to its intermediary role in the process of interlingual communication, the translator sometimes performs communication functions that go beyond the framework of language mediation. As a rule, this takes place in the process of interpreting, when the translator communicates directly with the participants of interlingual communication. In this case, the translator may be forced to act as an independent source of information on the terms of communication or at the request of one of the communicants, giving additional explanations, drawing conclusions from the content of the original, pointing out possible errors, etc. Both the interpreter and the translator can combine the performance of their duties with the activities of an informant, editor or critic of the original, etc.

The transfer of information contained in the text of the original may be carried out by a language mediator in different forms and with different degrees of completeness, depending on the purpose of interlingual communication. This goal can be defined both by the participants of the communication and the linguistic mediator himself. There are two main types of language mediation: translation and adaptive transcoding.

Translation is a type of language mediation, which is entirely focused on the original foreign language. Translation is considered as a foreign language form of the existence of the message contained in the original. Interlanguage communication through the medium of translation reproduces to the greatest extent the process of direct verbal communication, in which communicants use the same language.

Just as in the process of speech communication in one language, the texts for the speaker and for the listener are recognized as communicatively equivalent and merged into a single whole, so the translation text is recognized as communicatively equivalent to the text of the original. The task of translation is to provide this type of interlanguage communication, in which the created text in the Receptor language (in “translating language” - TL) could act as a full-fledged communicative replacement of the original and be identified by the Receptors of translation with the original in a functional, structural and content respect.

The functional identification of the original and the translation lies in the fact that the translation is attributed to the author of the original, published under his name, discussed, quoted, and so on, as if it were the original, only in another language,

The substantive identification of the original and the translation lies in the fact that the Translation Receptors believe that the translation reproduces the entire content of the original, that the same content is transmitted in it by means of another language.

Structural identification of the translation with the original is that the translation receptors believe that the translation reproduces the original, not only in general but also in particular. It is assumed that the translator accurately conveys the structure and order of presentation of the content in the original, does not allow itself to change, exclude or add anything from itself. The number and content of sections and other divisions of the text in the original and translation must be the same. If in the original some idea is expressed at the beginning of the second section, then in translation it should be found at the same place and so on. If the translator allows himself any deviations in relation to the particular details of the structure of the text, it is only to more accurately convey the content of the original.

Thus, translation can be defined as a type of language mediation, in which a text that is communicatively equivalent to the original is created in a translating language, and its communicative equivalence is manifested in its identification by the Receptors of translation with the original in functional, substantive and structural terms. For those who use the translation, he completely replaces the original, is his full representative. The communicative approach to translation is the leading principle of the modern theory of translation.

As in communicating using one language, in the process of translation, interlingual communication is accomplished by combining two forms of communication in an act of communication, which are considered communicative as communicative. However, there is a very significant difference. In the process of “monolingual” communication, the invariance of the transmitted and received message is ensured by the fact that both communicators use the same language system, with the same set of units with a more or less stable meaning, which they interpret in the same way. The translation is more complicated. Here, quasi-identical forms (incarnations) of the same message are texts created on the basis of different language systems from units that do not coincide in form or content. Therefore, the discrepancy between these incarnations is caused not so much by individual differences of communicants, as by differences between languages. Of course, individual differences also exist, but they recede into the background. Therefore, the very possibility and patterns of translation are determined, first of all, by the ability of multilingual texts to act as communicatively equivalent in the process of communication.

The most important task of the theory of translation is to identify linguistic and extralinguistic factors that make it possible to identify the content of messages in different languages. The generality of the content (semantic closeness) of the texts of the original and the translation is called the equivalence of translation (the original). Studying the real relationship between the content of the original and the translation allows you to set the limits of this community, i.e. the maximum possible semantic closeness of multilingual texts, as well as to determine the minimum closeness to the original, at which the given text can be considered an equivalent translation.

Fully or partially equivalent units and potentially equivalent utterances objectively exist in the source language and the translating language, but their correct assessment, selection and use depend on the knowledge, skills and creative abilities of the translator, on his ability to take into account and compare the entire set of linguistic and extralinguistic factors. In the process of translation, the translator solves the difficult task of finding and properly using the necessary elements of the system of equivalent units, on the basis of which communicatively equivalent utterances are created in two languages and which are not given directly, but are only revealed during theoretical research when comparing many originals with their translations.

All the activity of a translator is objectively subjective, and his actions are never reduced to a mechanical substitution of units that translate language instead of units of the original language. The existing opinion that “translation begins where the dictionary ends,” mistakenly assumes that, in the presence of vocabulary correspondence, the task of the translator is to mechanically transfer such correspondence to the translation text. With this approach, translational creativity is reduced only to non-trivial unique solutions that are necessary in such “exotic” cases as the translation of images, puns, slang, etc. In fact, the main theoretical and practical problems of translation are not connected with peripheral phenomena, but with the use of all the resources of the language to achieve the tasks of interlingual communication.

When describing translation activities, translation theory takes into account that, as a language mediator, a translator can perform not only translation, but also various types of adaptive transcoding. The specifics of adaptive transcoding is determined by the orientation of language mediation to a specific group of translation receptors or to a given form of conversion of the information contained in the original.

To the greatest extent, translational characteristics are preserved in such types of adaptive transcoding as abbreviated translation and adapted translation. In these cases, a partial functional identification of the source and destination texts is preserved, taking into account the fact that the text to be created in the target language contains intentional deviations from the original in a structural and substantive way and is not intended for a full-fledged communicative replacement of the original. The abbreviated translation is omission when translating separate parts of the original for moral, political or other practical reasons. It is assumed that the translated parts of the original are transmitted by communicatively equivalent segments of speech into the translating language, although the entire original is reproduced only partially.

Adapted translation consists in partial explication (simplification and explanation) of the structure and content of the original in the translation process in order to make the translation text accessible for perception to certain groups of Receptors that do not have sufficient knowledge and professional or life experience that is required for a full understanding of the original. Most often, such an adaptation is related to the fact that the translation of an “adult” text is carried out for young readers, or the translation of a complex scientific text is intended for a wide range of non-expert readers.

Reduction and adaptation of translation can be interrelated and carried out simultaneously when translating the same original. In any case, the text being created is referred to as “translation,” although the fact of reduction or adaptation is usually specifically discussed.

Most types of adaptive transcoding are not even associated with partial functional or structural identification of the source and destination texts. They are intended for more or less complete transmission of the content of the foreign language original in a form that is necessary to achieve the goal of interlanguage communication. This goal can be either to have the desired effect on a certain group of Receptors, or to extract a certain piece of information from the original. In accordance with this, the specific type of adaptive transcoding is determined either by indicating the nature of the impact that the created text should provide, or the nature and amount of information that should be contained in this text. In any case, adaptive transcoding is characterized by the transformation of the content of the original, due to a specific social order.

 

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