Name Naeem Akram

Roll no 19011517-026

Course code TRAN-304

Course Name Art of Translation

Quiz Topic Summary

Submitted to Ms Faria Shaheen

Department CeLTS
SUMMARY
Translation process, according to Newmark, works on different levels. It begins with choosing a
method of translation taking into consideration the text type, then, start translating with four
levels in mind: Textual, referential, cohesive and naturalness. After that, we are going to
separately tackle other aspects which can be problematic in the process of translation such as:
The unit of translating
The translation of lexes
The translation of proper names
There are two methods of translation: semantic translation (unnatural) and communicative
translation (natural).
Communicative translation:
It attempts to produce on its readers an effect that is obtained on the readers of the original text.
Here, translators should convert the source language (SL) culture into the target language (TL)
culture as much as they can, expecting to make the translation smoother, briefer and more
understandable and “natural” to the TT reader. At the same time, the source language would play
a part as material basis that should be respected by the translators (if possible).

Semantic translation:
On the other hand, semantic translation is ST- oriented. It attempts to follow, as close as
possible, the exact semantic and syntactic structures of the ST trying to retain the special features
and expressions of the source language and shows the writer’s thought-process in a best way (the
opposite may happen). It remains within the original culture while not allowing changing any
local expressions of the source language. Thus, semantic translation tends to be more complex
and awkward and mostly sounds “unnatural” to the TT reader.

Levels:
Textual Level: This level works on the transference of the ST structures into their ready
corresponding structures in the TT. This is the level of literal translation that you have to
eliminate (if necessary).
However, during this step, the translator will face struggles when s/he fails to find the
equivalence, by making automatic transpositions, in the TL and is in a position to make
structural changes (maybe substantial) to achieve the TL naturalness.
Referential Level: At this level, the translator has to ask him\herself: what is the type of the text,
serves what and whom and what is it about (extra-textual analysis). S\he has to be able to put the
whole text in one sentence that summarizes the message, the facts of the text, identify the key
words that lead you to the essence of the text and to mentally create a
referential picture.
Cohesive Level: This level links the two previous levels in that it deals with, first, how the
sentences, within the text, are structured and connected, considering the lengths of sentences,
paragraphs, sequence of time, space and logic in the text. This is determined by connective
words (conjunctions, definite article, referential synonyms, punctuation marks…etc.).
Naturalness Level: It is a level on which the translator has to make sure that the translation
makes sense and reads naturally. This can only be done by forgetting the SL text and use the
appropriate grammar, idioms, words and expressions of the TL that ,obligatory, correspond the
situation. However, it should be noted that natural translation does not undermine content
accuracy; an effort has to be made to employ the particularities of the TL forms but
simultaneously adhere to the SL content.

Translation of Lexes:
Many difficulties we may encounter while translating such as, lexical problems. These latter
consists of words, collocations, idioms and neologisms. We can distinguish two kinds of
difficulties with words: first, in case you don’t understand them, second, in case you find them
hard to translate. As to the former, when you can’t understand a word, it may be because all its
possible meanings are not known to you or its meaning is determined its unusual reference in the
text.

Translation of proper names:

Newmark believes that proper names are “a translation difficulty in any text”. Sometimes
translators have to decide whether any additional explanation or information has to be supplied
for the TL readership. Some personal names have specific connotations and omitting theses
implied information leads to unacceptable translation. For example, in the Persian culture, Hatam
Taaei- the name of a very generous man in Iranian stories- for say, my father is Hatim Taaei.
Newmark’s Recommendations:
At the stage of revision, Newmark, strictly, thinks that a good translator should give the priority
to the ST allowing some changes (if necessary) to make the reading understandable and makes
sure the main sense of the text is retained.

Newmark’s recommendation to accomplish this is:

Decrease the paraphrasing as much as you could.
Be accurate; you have no right to change words or structures that already have ready equivalence
just because you think they sound better than the original. That’s what the author wrote. Why
would you want to change it?
According to him, revision ought to take 50-70% of the time of the whole process, depending on
the difficulty of the text.