TRANSLATION ETHICS

More Than You See in the Codes

Diane Howard CHICATA May 2009

 What is translation?

Diane Howard CHICATA May 2009

 ETHICS
• Qualifications
• Confidentiality (consultation, use of
information)
• Payment & references
• Nonsolicitation
• Continuing education
• Conflict of interest
• General moral behavior

Diane Howard CHICATA May 2009

 ETHICS
• Subcontracting
• Deadlines
• Objectivity
• Responsibilities to other translators
– Encouraging & assisting beginners
– Refraining from unfair competition
– Respect & support fellow professionals
– Not working for substandard fees
• Disciplinary procedures

Diane Howard CHICATA May 2009

 CODES
• Professional organizations
• Government organizations
• Some companies & agencies
• Scholars of Translation Studies

Diane Howard CHICATA May 2009

 CODES
• ATA Code of Ethics
– http://www.atanet.org/aboutus/code_of_profession
al_conduct.php
• Institute of Linguists Code of Professional
Conduct
– http://www.iol.org.uk/Charter/CLS/CodeofProfCon
ductCouncil17Nov07.pdf
• ATIA Code of Ethics
– http://www.atia.ab.ca/ethics.htm

Diane Howard CHICATA May 2009

 CODES
• AUSIT Code of Ethics
– http://server.dream-
fusion.net/ausit2/pics/ethics.pdf
• FIT The Translator’s Charter
– http://www.fit-ift.org/en/charter.php

Diane Howard CHICATA May 2009

 CODES
• United Nations Recommendation on the
Legal Protection of Translators and
Translations and the Practical Means To
Improve the Status of Translators
– http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-
URL_ID=13089&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SE
CTION=201.html

Diane Howard CHICATA May 2009

 What do codes say about
linguistic competence?
• Generally into A language
• Educated native speaker mastery of TL
(ATA)
• Advanced & idiomatic command of
languages concerned (IoL)
• Sound knowledge of SL, mastery of TL
(FIT)
Diane Howard CHICATA May 2009
 Translation in the Codes
• Translators shall not alter, make
additions to, or omit anything from their
assigned work (AUSIT)
• Translate the original message
faithfully, to satisfy the needs of the end
user(s) (ATA)
• Render a faithful translation of the
source text (meaning & register) (IoL)
Diane Howard CHICATA May 2009
 Translation in the Codes
• Provide translation of high quality both
linguistically and stylistically
• Guarantee that translation is a faithful
rendering of the original (UN)

Diane Howard CHICATA May 2009

 Translation in the Codes
• Refuse to give text an interpretation of which
he/she does not approve
• Translation to be faithful and render exactly
the idea and form of the original
• Faithful translation should not be confused
with a literal translation, cultural adaptation
may be needed
(FIT)

Diane Howard CHICATA May 2009

 In Summary
• Faithful
– Meaning, register, and form
• But not literal
– Culturally appropriate
– High quality linguistically/stylistically
• Satisfy needs of end users
– But not to extent of reinterpreting
– And no alterations, additions, or omissions
Diane Howard CHICATA May 2009
 So what’s a translator to do?
• Skopos theory
– Drop the idea of “fidelity”
– Intended purpose of the target text
determines translation methods/strategies
– Goal is functionally appropriate target text
– Gives the translator more freedom of action
– Provides framework for educating clients

Diane Howard CHICATA May 2009

 Choices on a Continuum
Literal Free
Semantic Dynamic
Documentary Instrumental

<————————————————>

Diane Howard CHICATA May 2009

 HOWEVER
• Skopos theory depends on the
translator receiving translation
instructions with clear statement of
purpose
• Assumes that translator is viewed as an
independent expert
• May lead to ethically problematic
situations
Diane Howard CHICATA May 2009
 Subtitles for 2002
Documentary Jenin, Jenin

Original: “What can I say, by God, by God,

our home is no longer a home.”

Translation: “What can I say? Not even

Vietnam was as bad as this.”
Translation and Conflict: A Narrative Account
Mona Baker, 2006: 99-100

Diane Howard CHICATA May 2009

Rules for the Rest of the Time
• Always work to create trust
• Bad translation is unethical translation
• Keep your source language grammar to
yourself
• Know the linguistic resources available
in your languages
• Be aware of various translation
strategies
Diane Howard CHICATA May 2009
 Create and Maintain Trust
• Cultivate a sense of loyalty to all parties
– This includes readers
• Be aware that people are depending on
you
– Because they really are dependent
• Think of yourself as a professional
– Remember, it always matters

Diane Howard CHICATA May 2009

 Bad Translation is Unethical
Translation
• “The nearest we get to non-text in
actual life … is probably in the speech
of young children and in bad translations.”
(Halliday & Hasan)
• “But that’s what it says” is not a defense
• Not justifiable as fidelity to source text
• If a machine can do it, no one needs
you
Diane Howard CHICATA May 2009
 Keep Your Source Grammar
to Yourself
• Resist pull of source language
• Does the text need to sound like a
translation?
• Analyze the source text for text type
and register
• Maintain type and register unless
instructed otherwise
Diane Howard CHICATA May 2009
 Know the Linguistic
Resources Available
• How text types are structured
– Infinitive to imperative, degree of formality,
etc.
• Collocations
– Restrictions on how words can be used
together (e.g., verb + preposition patterns)
– Text flow, marked and unmarked text

Diane Howard CHICATA May 2009

 Know the Linguistic
Resources Available
• Cohesion elements
– Usually fairly explicit in English
– Implicit in topic-prominent languages
– Gender, grammatical elements
• Tolerance for repetition
• Punctuation and sentence length
• Sentence structure
Diane Howard CHICATA May 2009
 Understand Translation
Strategies
• Literal translation
– Why not, when it works
• Transposition (changing the word class)
– Languages like different parts of speech
• Modulation (different phrases to convey the
same idea)
– La vache qui rit
– The cow that laughs cheese??

Diane Howard CHICATA May 2009

 Understand Translation
Strategies
• Reformulation
– Idioms, advertising slogans
• Compensation

Strategies from Fawcett, Translation and

Language: Linguistic Theories Explained

Diane Howard CHICATA May 2009

 Back to the Codes
• Ideal appears to be Nothing Added
Nothing Subtracted (NANS) translation
• Easier said than done
• Make relevance a guiding principle

My cousin invited me to dinner.

Diane Howard CHICATA May 2009

 NANS Plus
Nothing important to the task at hand
added or subtracted
No unnecessary elements of the source
language included

Diane Howard CHICATA May 2009

 Linguistic Knowledge
Know working languages in a translation-
appropriate way.

Ability to analyze source language for

grammatical, syntactical, and contextual
elements and transfer these appropriately

Diane Howard CHICATA May 2009

 Further Reading
Baker, Mona. In Other Words: A Coursebook on Translation. Routledge. 1992.
Chesterman, Andrew. Memes of Translation. Benjamins. 1997.
Chesterman, Andrew and Emma Wagner. Can Theory Help Translators? St.
Jerome. 2002.
Fawcett, Peter. Translation and Language: Linguistic Theories Explained. St.
Jerome. 1997.
Gouadec, Daniel. Translation as a Profession. Benjamins. 2007.
Nord, Christiane. Translating as a Purposeful Activity: Functionalist
Approaches Explained. St. Jerome. 1997
Pym, Anthony, ed. The Return to Ethics. Special issue of The Translator (Vol. 7,
No. 2, 2001.)

Diane Howard CHICATA May 2009

 Thank You

Diane Howard CHICATA May 2009