CHAPTER II

CONCEPT OF MEDIATED TRANSLATION AND ITS ROLE IN

LITERATURE AND CULTURE

2.1. Brief Outline of the Concept of Translation

The concept of translation is described as almost the same thing by different

representatives of linguistic theory. According to Barkhudarov “translation is a process of
converting a text of another language into a text of another language, preserving the content,
that is, the meaning1.” The notion of translation is a comprehensive phenomenon, the
separate aspects of which can become the subject of study in different sciences. The theory of
translation as well as the notion of translation, on the whole, are used in different fields, such
as phonetics, lexicology, semantics, as well as stylistics, methods of psycholinguistics etc.
Traditionally, translation is defined in terms of completeness and accuracy of the
transmission of the original. It is in this sense that one speaks of “good” or “bad” translations.
A. Fyodorov considers that kind of translation to be complete, which conveys the content of
the original and fully corresponds to it from a functional-stylistic point of view 2. Critics of
different translation texts, referring to the original, often forget that the original text does
not exist for its own sake, but serves as means of conveying certain ideas, emotional state to
the reader. Basically, translation is used for that particular reason. Therefore, there is the
same task between the original text and the translated version, that is, to influence the reader
through the translated version of the text. A translation can be done well or badly, but even
“the worst translation remains a translation because it is meant to represent (a fully
legitimate substitute for) the original text3”.
These days translation serves as a tool for communication as well as an efficient
method of learning and applying knowledge. Additionally, it facilitates the development of
solid corporate and political relationship. Moreover, translation contributes to the
development of the cross-cultural understanding. A professional translator should have some

1
Бархударов Л.,Язык и перевод., М., 1975, p.11
2
Федоров А., Основы общей теории перевода, M., 2002, p.148
3
Комиссаров В.Н., Слово о переводе, Издательство «Международные Отношения», Москва, 1973, p.20
familiarity with the history of the language they are translating into in order to accurately
translate a specific text into another language. This would enable them to translate more
accurately; after all, translation is more than merely translating a text into another language.
A translated text should always convey the intended meaning.
There are several methods of translation, such as literal, faithful, semantic, adaptation,
free translation, word for word etc. Scholars investigating this field have elaborated many
works devoted to this topic. They, in their turn, studied translation methods elaborating
different kinds of translations each one for themselves. Despite the fact that a variety of
translation techniques have been proposed, it is clear that striking to any one of them will
not result in a translation that is significantly better than the original. The translator uses a
combination of these various techniques during the translation process, depending on the
type of source language material.
There are several types of translating written texts, such as literary translation,
scientific translation, translation of administrative documents, etc. In this subchapter there
will be a short reference to translating literary texts. The written word is literature. Language
and literature are closely related. Without language, there wouldn’t be literature. Numerous
communities that were formed throughout the world during the evolution of mankind
created countless languages based on the sounds they could standardize to represent diverse
object and emotions. Many of these languages eventually evolved scripts that were
appropriate for their pronunciations, and then “literature” was created to preserve the
thoughts of wise people in a particular community. Ideas vary from one person to another
and from one society to another. Therefore, literature produced by distinct individuals in a
setting of various communities is destined to differ in form, features, ideas and values
included therein. Only translation can make such knowledge of one community accessible to
another, bringing two communities closer together. The experience of translators and
translation researches in the 19th and 20th centuries served as the foundation for the theory of
literary translation. From the perspective of the general theory of activity and speech
activity, translation stands out as a unique type of activity where the information is
exchanged and where certain strategies of the subject(translator) in relation to the object
(oral or written text) are expressed in the search for the necessary types of transformations to
achieve the most complete equivalence of the meaning of the primary(original) text in
relation to the secondary text(TL). Both literary and poetry translation can be seen as a form
of cross-linguistic and cross-cultural communication 4. In other words, it is possible to argue
that bilingual and bicultural5 issues of translation exist. Issues primarily related to
biculturalism are the main difficulties in translating fiction. These issues are most often
associated with ignorance of cultural background of the particular language that is being
translated. Realia terms expressing the national cultural character of the people bring specific
translation challenges in works of literature. The translator’s limited background knowledge
and cultural expertise cause the meaning distortion.

2.2 Concept of Mediated Translation

The linguistic, structural and linguocultural features of languages used in the
translation process are all of significant importance when looking at indirect or mediated
translation as linguistic and literary phenomena. Despite the conflicting views of theorists
and practitioners of translation through the intermediary language, it is nonetheless useful
for the representation of many national literatures including Armenian literature. This kind
of translation, which is being done using “lingua franca” is called mediated translation. The
process of the mediated translation, defined as a translation of a translation, has a long
history, is widely used in many aspects of today’s society and in some ways, has a promising
future. Despite all this, translation scholars have historically given only sporadic attention
too mediated translation; it has only recently gained considerable attention in the area of
translation studies. Insights into the historiography of intercultural relationships, the
complex role of intermediary centers in the cross- cultural transfer between peripheries, and
other recent developments have all made a significant contribution to the state of the art of
translation research. These developments have also challenged the conventional binarism in
the study of translation. They have also demonstrated that there is still a ton of research to be
done. In particular, it has become clear that the research considering mediated translation is
4
Гончаренко С.Ф., Поэтический перевод и перевод поэзии, константы и вариативность// Тетради переводчика:
Научно-теоретический сборник, М., МГЛУ, 1999, p.108
5
Томахин Г.Д., Перевод как межкультурная коммуникация// Перевод и коммуникация., М., Ин-т языкознания РАН,
1997, pp. 129-130
still quite fragmented, which means that this idea is still largely undertheorized and occupies
a marginal place within translation studies. It would be useful to start the research by
establishing the primary claims, assumptions, and motivations of mediated translation before
addressing the main terminological, theoretical and methodological concerns. It is reportedly
a typical practice. Mediated translation tends to be negatively evaluated because it is believed
that it would increase the distance to the ultimate source text and as a result, it also tends to
be hidden or camouflaged due to this predominantly negative evaluation given an apparent
still-dominant demand for closeness to the source text. If translation is typically thought to
be bad because it is derivative, mediated translation is supposedly worse. It is claimed that it
occurs more frequently in the reception of literary works from distant (geographically,
culturally and linguistically) literary systems and that it tends to decrease as relations
between distant systems get closer. As a result of globalization, mediated translation appears
to be on the rise, given that intercultural text transfer frequently involves dominant systems
as a mediator within a worldwide network of power relations. As for its motivations, this
kind of translation frequently occurs as a result of lack of translators, lack of linguistic
proficiency, difficulties in obtaining the source material, or translating from a language that
is substantially different. Reusing previously translated texts is possible both intralingually
(within the same language) and interlingually(across languages). Intralingual situations
involve the creation of a second target text in the same target language from a first target
text. The concept of mediated translation is defined by Ringmar as “a chain of (at least) three
texts, ending with a translation made from another translation: (original) ST>intermediate
text> target text (2012:141). Interlingual mediated translation, which is considered to be the
one more coherently researched of the two types, is known to be used in translating
literature, mostly involving (semi)peripheral languages such as Polish into Portuguese,
Russian into Chinese, Norwegian into Chinese. In case of Armenian Literature and Culture,
many English literature works were translated into Armenian, represented to Armenian
society due to Russian. The reason of that was that Armenia was one of the countries of the
Soviet Union and being unable to translate famous literature works from English, Armenian
translators did their work from Russian. It is evident that these translations did not retain
much of the original, and instead of being literary translations in the traditional sense, they
were more like story transcriptions. No wonder, the attitude towards this kind of translation
is quite negative, but there are also exceptions. Ringmar emphasized the main effect of
mediated translations: “the TT differs more from the ST than the MT(mediating text) differs
from the ST”, it will inevitably produce differences that more often than not will increase
the distance to the ST6. Reusers of interlingual mediated translation are likely to discover
that textual qualities like attenuated alliterations, errors inserted either intentionally or
accidentally, and omissions removed from the target texts are virtually always recreated
when they only rely on previously translated texts. Although translators may consult the
original text and/or a number of translations into other languages, the degree of separation
between the second translator and the original source text is so great that there is unlikely to
be any contact with the source text at all, leading to “compilative translations”. Mediated
translation is sometimes used with meanings as a translation of a translation. For instance,
Grutt (1989) uses this label to denote a particular translation that does not focus on the
resemblance to the ST. In order to describe and comprehend the phenomenon of Mediated
Translation, several types of indirectness should be distinguished, depending on

a) The number and types of mediating texts included in the process;

b) The number of mediating languages and their choice- including the usage of one
mediating language and the usage of more than one mediating language.
c) The measure of indirectness used in translation.

The main difference between the faithful translation and mediated translation is that
they have different speech forms. If the faithful translation is traditionally based on the
characteristics of the oral speech and corresponding type of translation (for instance,
from English into Russian) and has fixed correlation of letters through oral perception
during the transliteration of Latin into Cyrillic, then mediated translation most often
occurs in writing, which is why there are erroneous identifications of the original
English form with a borrowed form, for instance, from Russian. Mediated translation can
be carried out in several ways; firstly, by transferring the original form to the phonetic-
6
Ringmar M., Roundabout Routes, Some remarks on indirect translation, 2007, p.10
 graphic conditions of the target languages; secondly, by actually translating parts of the
original form; thirdly, by interpreting the meaning of the original form. The first method
is expressed through transliteration (transmission of the literal appearance of the original
form by letters of the target languages) and practical (translation) transcription
(transmission of the sound appearance of the word by the letters of the target languages).
The second method is called calque, the third is translating through explanatory. The
term “mediated translation” has been revived in our time due to the increase in the scale
of intercultural communication through the languages of international communication,
especially through English, which has become an intermediary language or lingua
franca(ELF7= English as a Lingua Franca). Mediated translation is the process of
translating between two-non-native cultures using an intermediary language. If the
English language is used in communication between, for instance, Chinese, using the
Chinese variant of the English language and Russian whose version of the language of
communication is actually Russian English, then the translation from Chinese English
into Russian will be mediated translation. In other words, translating from a local or
regional variant of the language of international communication is known as mediated
translation. Scientific researches as well as practical usage of this kind of translation are
particularly popular among that kind of variants of languages that are formed as a result
of interaction with the English language, as most of the language interactions today are
carried out through the intermediary language in writing.

2.3. Role of Mediated Translation in Armenian Literature and Culture

It is a well-known fact that literary relations and connections among literature of

different cultures are highly influencing one another and take on new meanings. The
sources from which a given national culture derives its nourishment vary, depending on how
much contact that culture has with the cultures of other people. Literary translation serves as
the foundation for contacts and interactions between different literary works and cultures.
Evidently, in recent years, the field of scientific inquiry into the difficulties of literary
7
The international scientific community ELF was formed holding annual conferences of its association. Under the auspices
of the association a magazine is published since 2012 by De Gryter-Mouton.
translation has broadened, and the study of translation theory has developed into a
recognized academic discipline with representative both in our country and internationally.
Due to the translation legacy of classical writers, which includes both translated works and
theoretical studies, examination articles, and reviews devoted to the issues and principles of
this art. Armenian literature has a wealth of study material in this area. Armenian literature
began with translations. As soon as writing was invented in the fifth century, scholars
undertook and completed the Bible translation, which eventually came to be regarded by
European Armenologists as the “queen of translation” and which outshines all other
translations. If we take into account the obvious language challenges the ciliators had to deal
with, the utter lack of deposits, it was in fact a really difficult job. The 5 th century brought
further translations to the Armenian spiritual literature, enriching it with the motto “holy
translators”. Writing hymns, lectures, and poems with a spiritual theme, they also
established the basis for independent Armenian literature. The selection of the works to be
translated reflected not only the preferences of the writer-translator but also the social and
political atmosphere of the moment as well as the socially acceptable standards of aesthetics.
However, these conditions were vague and simple in nature. The writer-translator had a
responsibility to direct readers, shape their ingrained reading preferences, and make rigorous
selections when introducing them to the works of authors who wrote in other languages.
Many of Armenian writers were translators as well. From this point of view they did
enormous work, enriching Armenian literature with their writings and representing the
masterpieces of foreign writers to Armenian society. “Development of translated literature
within us will be the strongest assurance for the growth of our literature.” 8

The diverse contacts of Armenian literature have been formed over the centuries, and
if some layers of that problem have been subjected to philological and typological scrutiny,
the basis of these contacts, translated literature, is still waiting for the research and scientific
evaluation of its history, traditions, development patterns, which, without a doubt, will
contribute to a deeper and comprehensive study of national literature with a historical and
comparative aspect.

8
Տերյան Վ․,Անունը կա, անունումը չկա, հոդված,երկերի ժողովածու, Հ․, Երևան, 1961, p.217
 According to several experts, the rapid expansion of translated literature in the Soviet
Union, accomplished through interlinear translation, greatly influenced the establishment
and growth of the translation school in the former Soviet Union countries, including Soviet
Armenia. According to scholars, it was at that time that it became clear that literary
translation is a matter of national relevance, in which the kinship peoples were interested
and who had the chance to exchange literary works. Since it was vital to preserve the
national peculiarities of the people, while also taking into account the interests of the
Russian- speaking recipients, translating national literature was a monumentally tough job.
The cultural and linguistic policy of the Soviet government strictly regulated the status and
function of translation. The works of foreign linguist S. Witt9, according to whom the
process of translation in the Soviet Union was a part of a political system that had existed for
sixty years, highlight this aspect of literary translation, which is typical of all post- Soviet
republics. Russian language also served as a lingua franca in the Soviet Union, serving as a
medium language due to which all translations from native languages into other languages
and vice versa were conducted. According to the scientists, during the era of the Soviet
Union, there were 2 kinds of translations:

1)the translation of works of foreign literature into the languages of the peoples of the USSR
via Russian (for instance, the translation of works by W. Shakespeare, C. Dickens, D. Defoe,
W. Saroyan into Armenian via Russian editions of these classics;

2)the literature of the peoples of the USSR, which was almost always translated into foreign
languages via Russian publications.

Analyzing the question of the translation of Armenian literature works, it should be

mentioned that Russian had an enormous role in translation field of Armenia. It became a
kind of “window” for Armenians to the world of foreign literature. Due to Russian language,
Armenian writers and translators “spoke” foreign language. All translations of multilingual
literature from the Soviet and post- Soviet times were made thanks to the abundance of
skilled translators who could translate from Russian into other languages. When it comes to

9
Witt S., Baer B. J., Translation in Russian Contexts, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2018
the drawbacks of mediated translation, several scholars have noted that there are limitations
that are genre-based. The degree of accuracy in the translation of prose works using a third
language can be relatively high, but the difficulty of translating poetic works is nearly
insurmountable. Even if the work is to be translated from the original, it doesn’t guarantee
that it will be successful. Although the text in mediated translation has some loss of meaning,
at least proportionally, it did establish the framework for modern translations. Without it,
there wouldn’t be such fine translations of literature works, which we have today.
Undoubtedly, close geopolitical, economic, cultural and social ties with Russia
contributed to the formation and development of translation in Armenia. Moreover, the
spread of the Russian language in various spheres of life has led to the phenomenon of
bilingualism, which contributed to the emergence of bilingual writers and translators in the
literary field, improving the quality of Russian-Armenian, Armenian-Russian translations.
Mediated translation has played a huge role and has conveyed to the Armenian reader
world-class literary values that are priceless. They primarily focused on the 1950s and 1970s,
a period in which translations were mostly mediated. Such translators, doing mediated
translations, were kind of representatives of international literature in Armenian society.
They were motivating people to get acquainted with world-known works of literature and
were educating Armenian people in that way. One of the examples of representing
international literature to Armenian readers was mediated translations of the prose by W.
Saroyan. W. Saroyan had a great popularity within Armenian society, mostly due to his
Armenian origin. This was one of the reasons, that Armenian translators started to translate
his prose via “lingua franca”, in this case using Russian.
Mediated translation had a crucial role in education, because both school and university
books were actually translated from Russian. This allowed the Armenian reader to become
familiar with the most significant books in the fields of education, literature, science.