Unit-4

Session-12

Distortions
while
Transition from one Language to another
By
Dr. Jyoti Laxmi Kashyap
Department of Humanities
 1. Language

➢ It is a System that deals with the development, acquisition and

application of complex system of communication.

3. Henry Sweet, an English phonetician and language scholar, states:

“Language is the expression of ideas by means of speech-sounds
combined into words.
Words are combined into sentences, this combination answering to that
of ideas into thoughts.”

Thus Language is a system of Signs for encoding and decoding of

information.

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 1.2 Characteristics of Language

Five Fundamental Characteristics of language are:

1. Language is Symbolic, it therefore can be represented.

2. Language is a construct of sound and symbols both.
3. Each symbol has a meaning.
4. The meaning depends upon cultural difference.
5. Language is a the most powerful, convenient and permanent means of communication.

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 1.3. Functions of Language- I
There are many functions of language. Below mentioned are some of them:
1. Micro:
➢ Physiological function
➢ Phatic function
➢ Recording function
➢ Identifying Function
2. Macro Functions:
➢ Ideation Function
➢ Interpersonal Function
➢ Poetic Function
➢ Textual Function

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 1.4. Functions of Language: II

• Geoffery Leech (1974) in one of his essay has also enlisted following five
functions of language:

➢ Informational (to convey information)

➢ Expressive ( to express emotions)
➢ Directive (go give orders, commands etc.)
➢ Aesthetic (to create aesthetic effect)
➢ Phatic (to Maintain social bonds for sociability

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 Translation:
➢ Change or transfer of meaning from one language source language (SL) to Target language
(TL).
➢ In the act of translation, a translator converts source-language words, grammar, or syntax into
the target-language rendering.
➢ Sometimes, spill-overs too are imported, as useful source-language calques and loanwords go
on to enrich target languages.
➢ As, translation process is laborious, there have been efforts, since 1940, to automate translation
or to mechanically aid the human translator for translation process.
➢ The strategy of translation include using source language terms in the target text. Or
Transposition, substituting one word class with another without changing the meaning of the
message.

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 Translator

A Translator is not just the one who knows a foreign language, but should have following
characteristics:
1. Passion. A translator should be passionate, use all means and efforts to deliver every project in
excellent shape.
2. Translation Skills. A good translator must have a linguistic education and skills of translation.
3. Curiosity. A translator must be curious and motivated to keep on learning new words and
expression.
4. Rich Vocabulary. A good translator must have a wide lexicon, including those of the foreign
language, as well as the mother tongue.
5. Clarity. A translator’s goal is to clearly express the idea of the source text without ambiguity.

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 Translator: Continued…

6. Translation Quality. A good translator should take care of the quality of the work at hand.
7. Resources. A translator should be well read to make use of all available resources.
8. Accuracy. A good translator should be capable enpugh to transform the message
accurately.
9. Honesty. Translators are humans after all, therefore it is normal for them to not know
some expressions or words. Nevertheless they shouldn’t just skip it, but they should
conduct research and note it down for future reference.
10. Humble Pride. A good translator should deliver translation that he could be proud of.

The most important thing to remember is that at the end of any project it is the
quality of the translation that actually counts.

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 Translation Techniques

1. Literal Translation
2. Borrowing
3. Transposition
4. Adaptation
5. Equivalence
6. Modulation
7. Calque

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 Transition:From One Language to Another
Transition is the process of Translation leading to change form one state to another whether
form, structure or content.
• Translation is a complex process of communication.
• Translation depends on analysis, transfer and synthesis.
• Translation deals with two languages.
• The objective is to convey message, meaningfully appropriate from source language (ST) to
translated (TT).
• Correct transition is the amalgamation of various linguistics theories with language related
discipline mixed with the communication objective.
• Transition thus considers, all these elemental factors comprehensively.
• Translation process a is multidisciplinary activity

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 Elements of Translation

➢ Language Competency.
➢ Translators competency.
➢ Linguistic competency.
➢ Socio-cultural construct of ST & TT.
➢ Analytical and critical synthesis.
➢ Transfer phase
➢ Synthesis phase.
➢ Restructuring.

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 Transition: Steps
➢ Analysis of source language text (SLT) as per the set dimensions:

syntactic, semantic and pragmatic

➢ Stages of mediation to understand meaning.

➢ Finding appropriate unit of translation.
➢ Comprehending meaning, synthesis or reconstruction phase.
➢ Reconstruct the Source Language (SL) message in the Translated Language (TL) message.
➢ Aim is to reach at the sense to sense translation rather than word to word.

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 Translation Process
• Starts with the knowledge and use of language as an instrument.
• Langauge enables to communicate, every message into many ways of phrasing.
• Phrasing rests on different code, linguists.
• Translation consists merely of transforming signs of one code in order to match signs of
another code.
• Translation is more than a merely a 'mechanistic' operation.
• As a process has subsuming linguistic and extralinguistic factors so as to 'configure in a
meaningful communicative act.
• The process of translation establishes communication between members of different speech
communities".
• The structure of the transferring process may serve as a general framework ,to the process of
translation.
• The transmission of information is between a ST to TT using a sign system.

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 Further Studies

• http://lingueletteratureculturestraniere.uniroma3.it/bacheca/egrazzi/wp-
content/uploads/sites/29/2017/10/Jakobson_Essay-on-Transaltion.pdf
•

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