Name Naeem Akram

Roll no 19011517-026

Course code TRAN-402

Course Name Practical Translation

Assignment Topic Summary

Submitted to Ms Faria Shaheen

Department CeLTS
Before we discuss types of translation, a distinction should be first made between translation
methods (or strategies) and translation procedures (or techniques). ‘While translation methods
relate to whole texts, translation procedures are used for sentences and the smaller units of
language’ (Newmark 1988a: 81). Methods of translation are classified into six types: word-for-
word translation, literal translation, faithful translation, communicative translation, adaptation
and free translation. These will be explained below with examples illustrating each type.

Word for Word Translation

This type of translation keeps the SL word order; words are translated out of context according to
their most common meaning. Such kind of translation can be used as a preliminary translation
step but it is not applied in real translation tasks. For example:

On my right hand there were lines of fishing stakes resembling a mysterious system of half-
submerged bamboo fences, incomprehensible in its division of the domain of tropical fishes.
‫ سمجھ‬،‫پر میرا دائیں ہاتھ وہاں تھے الئینں کی ماہی گیری داؤ مشابہت ایک پراسرار نظام کی آدھے ڈوبے ہوئے بانس باڑ‬
‫سے باہر میں اس کے تقسیم کی ڈومین کی اشنکٹبندی مچھلیاں‬
This type of structure and sentence is meaningless to Urdu readers because neither its
grammatical structure is true nor its semantics can help the reader to make sense of it.

Literal Translation
This type of translation preserves the grammatical structures of the SL where they are translated
into their nearest TL equivalents. It takes place when the SL and TL share parallel structures.
Words are translated out of context paying no attention to their connotative meanings. The
following example illustrates this point.
I am afraid I lost all saved data. We are back to square one.
‫میں خوفزدہ ہوں کہ میں نے سارا ڈیڈا کھو دیا ہے۔ ہم ایک مربع پر واپس آ ٰگے ہیں ۔‬
In this example translation of square one shows that context wasn’t considered. In the context, it
means we are back to zero.

Faithful translation
This method maintains a balance between the literal meaning of the SL word and the TL
syntactic structures. It sounds more reasonable as it takes the context into consideration, aiming
at producing more precise meaning of the SL texts.
Paragraph 1
For if the proper study of mankind is man, it is evidently more sensible to occupy yourself with
the coherent, substantial and significant creatures of fiction than with irrational and shadowy
figures of real life.

‫ترجمہ‬
‫یرمبہم اور منتقی‬$$‫دگی کے غ‬$$‫و گی کہ حقیقی زن‬$$‫ات ہ‬$$‫دانہ ب‬$$‫ادہ عقلمن‬$$‫بہ یہ زی‬$$‫و بالش‬$$‫ان ہے ت‬$$‫العہ انس‬$$‫وع مط‬$$‫ا موض‬$$‫انیت ک‬$$‫ر انس‬$$‫اگ‬
‫ معقول اور اہم کرداروں کے ساتھ مال کر دیکھیں۔‬،‫کرداروں کی بجائے افسانے کے مربوط‬

Paragraph 2
Fiction is like a spider’s web, attached ever so lightly perhaps, but still attached to life at all four
corners. Often the attachment is scarcely perceptible.

‫ترجمہ‬
‫اتھ‬$$‫دگی کے س‬$$‫ے زن‬$$‫اظ س‬$$‫ر لح‬$$‫ر بھی ہ‬$$‫ا ہے لیکن پھ‬$$‫لک ہوت‬$$‫افسانہ ایک مکڑی کے جھالے کی طرح ہوتا ہے۔ جو ہلکے سے منس‬
‫منسلک ہوتا ہے۔ اس کا انسالک بہت کم مانا جاتا ہے۔‬

Communicative Translation
This type of translation attempts to render the exact contextual meaning of the original text in
such a way that both content and language are readily acceptable and comprehensible to the
reader. It is particularly suitable when translating conventional formulae or proverbs and it
involves some levels of cultural approximation. Communicative translation aspires to create the
same effect created by the SL text on the TL reader. Though it is not as accurate as semantic
translation which sticks to the original text, it communicates the meaning at the expense of
accuracy.
1. A burnt child dreads the fire.
‫دودھ کا جھال چھاچھ بھی پھونک کر پیتا ہے۔‬
2. A cat has nine lives.
‫بلی سب کی خالہ ہے۔‬
3. Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched.
‫وقت سے پہلے مت اچھلو۔‬
Adaptation
This strategy is considered as the freest form of translation, and it is not usually differentiated
from the following types (free translation). Adaptation is used mainly for plays (comedies) and
poetry; the themes, characters and plots are usually preserved, the SL culture is converted to the
TL culture and the text is rewritten. Basically adaptation is giving the same replacement of
culture to Target readers. This strategy will be dealt with in detail in the drama section.
1. Love me, love my dog.
‫پیار دوسرے کی خوشی میں خوش ہونا ہے۔‬
2. A jack of all trades is master of none.
‫دھوبی کا کتا نہ گھر کا نہ گھاٹ کا۔‬
3. Haste is waste.
‫جلدبازی شیطان کا کام ہے۔‬

Another example of adaptation can be of replacing the names of cities and person that it
shouldn’t sound foreign.

Free Translation
This strategy preserves the meaning of the original but uses natural forms of the TL, including
normal word order and syntax, so that the translation can be naturally understood. It preserves
the content at the expense of the form, and it provides a longer paraphrase of the original. It is a
form of idiomatic translation that favors colloquialisms and idioms which do not exist in the SL.
1. In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life. It goes on. Robert Frost.
‫را‬$‫ا اور ب‬$$‫نی اچھ‬$‫تی ہے یع‬$‫تی رہ‬$‫دگی چل‬$‫ زن‬،‫یکھا ہے‬$‫و میں نے س‬$‫میں تین لفضوں میں زندگی کے بارے میں بتا سکتا ہوں ج‬
‫وقت دونوں نہیں رہتے۔‬

MODULE 2: LITERARY TEXTS

Literary translation, as other types of translations, makes the reader aware of the existence of
literary works of other cultures. It helps him or her read such works and appreciate them, thus
fostering cultural dialogue. Indeed, literary works of various cultures have been translated into
other cultures all over the world. One can talk about a universal literary canon that was
established via literary translation. Literary figures in almost all cultures are universally
acknowledged, thanks to the role of translation in promoting such a work.
The translator has the duty of a social mediator between both cultures since it is necessary to
decide on how to translate concepts represented in the SL and TL using different ideas and
images and how to translate idiomatic expressions that may carry extra meaning in the translated
literary genre.

Fiction
The word ‘fiction’ is used in literature to refer to a literary genre that is characterized by
narration. It is usually prose written in the form of a novel, a short story or a novella. Fiction is
basically narration of events, objects and concepts which are not happened in the society or real
world. Writer creates those events, objects and subjects by his imagination. There can be
different types of imagination like science evolution, historical events by recreating those events
and settings by his thoughts.
Translating fiction can be challenging in a sense that it was created by the domination of source
culture thoughts and linguistic choices reflect that.

Cultural problems, domestication and foreignization

Translation is not simply a matter of translating words. When you translate, you are working
with language and culture. Language is one of the many social activities through which the
culture of its speakers is manifested. As a translator, you need to understand the culture of the
audience you are communicating with. You are standing as a mediator between the SL and TL. If
the SL is your mother tongue, then half of the problem is solved. All that you need to do is to
understand the cultural background of the target reader/audience so as to be able to convey the
SL message to them. You need to develop a strategy that can help you tackle culture-bound
idioms for instance. Cultural problems in translation are also related to the sociolinguistic aspects
of language such as politeness and terms of address, as well as aspects related to discourse. Such
aspects involve speech acts, maxims of speech, Implicature, inference and presupposition. The
translator should be aware of how these concepts are manifested in each culture.
The following strategies are suggested to deal with culturally bound words (Harvey 2000: 2–6): •
Functional Equivalence: where a referent in the TL culture whose function is similar to that of
the SL referent is used.
Formal Equivalence, ‘linguistic equivalence’ or ‘word-for-word’ translation.
Transcription or ‘borrowing’ (i.e. reproducing or, where necessary, transliterating the original
term): it stands at the far end of SL-oriented strategies.
Descriptive or self-explanatory translation: using generic terms to convey the meaning
If you are translating text to make understand the reader that text is foreign then foreignization
strategy applies as the names of that culture are translated as it is, culture concepts are presented
as it is.
For example the concept of church will be translated as the church. But if you are domesticating
the text then church will be replaced by the mosque to feel it as local text.
Similar cultural expressions like “tu ty hva vchu shapr nalon vi teiz ain” will be translated into
English using the strategy of descriptive that you are too fast. There are generic terms are used.

DRAMA
Drama as a literary genre differs from fiction. In essence, it is written to be performed on stage.
Therefore, dialogue plays a considerable role in drama. Moreover, drama is not only a literary
piece; it is a cultural one. The translator deals with both linguistic and meta-linguistic elements
that include body language and gesture. All linguistic aspects of the play have to be taken into
consideration. Special attention should also be paid to prosodic features, since ‘the dialogue will
be characterized by rhythm, intonation patterns, pitch and loudness, all elements that may not be
immediately apparent from a straightforward reading of the written text in isolation.
Adaptation and domestication are usually the most frequent techniques used in translating drama
since ‘adaptation is sometimes regarded as a form of translation which is characteristic of
particular genre, most notably, drama.
Example:
As we discussed, it is not about just the text, it’s also about setting of the situation. Forest Gump
is English movie which is translated into Laal Singh Chadha. In that translation adaptation
examples are used.
Example 1:

These two pictures are parallel in the movie context. The first picture is from the Forest Gump
which is our Source Text. This picture depict that the male lead actor of the movie was sitting at
the bench and start to narrate his own story while eating chocolate.
The second picture is from Laal Singh Chadha which is our Target Text. In this picture the
male lead actor named “laal Singh” in the movie was eating "gol gappay" while narrating the
story. He was sitting in the train.

Analysis:
This example shows that to make an effect on the audience as real, the chocolates were replaced
by the "Gol Gappas". In Indian culture, it is not most fluent for someone eating chocolates in the
train.