1.

TRANSLATION STUDIES – KEY ISSUES

1. Translation Studies –a discipline in its own right

2. Definition of Translation
3. Models of Translation
4. Translation – possible or impossible?
5. Equivalence and Adequacy
6. TR and SKOPOSTHEORIE

 1. INTRODUCTORY NOTES

André Lefevere – in “Louvain Colloquium on Literature and Translation”, 1976

‘Translation Studies’ – discipline concerned with ‘the problems raised by the production and
description of TR’- a discipline in its own right: complex.

The term translation studies was coined by James Holmes, in a seminal paper presented in 1972 at
the 3rd International Conference of Applied Linguistics in Copenhagen, "The Name and Nature of
Translation Studies".

Translation Studies-Refers to “the academic discipline concerned with the study of TR at large,
including literary and non-literary TR, various forms of oral interpreting, as well as dubbing and
subtitling”

Translation Studies-“Covers the whole spectrum of research and pedagogical activities, from
developing theoretical frameworks to conducting individual case studies to engaging in practical
matters such as training translators and developing criteria for TR assessment” Mona Baker

a) in the early 1960s the field of Translation Studies is characterized by “the growing acceptance of
the study of linguistics and stylistics”
b) in the late 1970s, i.e. its early years, literary TRs provide the scope for scientific scrutiny.
c) in the 1980s, the focus moves towards cultural studies “involving ideological pressures […] that
may be associated with the translator’s work” (Dimitriu 2005: 19);
d) in the late 1990s the discipline is seen to address linguistics and thus, “to occupy a new space of
its own”
The 20th century, the age of TR, witnessed an enormous increase of multilateral and international
contacts which conditioned the systematization of TR experience data and set TR rules and methods
which could be applied to any lg that could be used in practice.

 2. Definition of Translation

TR is a unidirectional and 2-phased process of interlingual and intercultural communication. Based

on the source text (ST), which is analyzed from the translation’s viewpoint, the secondary text is
created and substitutes the ST in another linguistic and cultural sphere.

Translation is "the substitution of a text in one Lg for a text in another Lg" (C. Catford 1965);
 Translation is "an attempt to replace a written message/statement by the same message/statement
in another lg" (P. Newmark 1981).
Translation has also been defined as a "bilingually mediated communication" (J.Deliste 1988).

Several approaches are used for defining TR:

SEMIOTIC APPROACH

o Lg system is the part of semiotics dealing with sign systems.

o According to the semiotic approach, TR is lg code switching.
o When translating, we switch from one lg to another one.

American linguist Roman Jakobson in his article “On Linguistic Aspects of Translation” spoke of 3
possibilities of code switching:

1. Intralinguistic TR, or rewording, i.e. interpreting verbal signs through other signs of the same lg.
Diachronic level: Chaucer’s text is translated into modern English.
Synchronic level, this kind of code switching is called a paraphrase.
I am not much of a cook.
I do not like to cook.
I do not cook well.
2. Interlanguage TR, substituting verbal signs of one lg by verbal signs of another gg, or switching from
one lg code to another one. This type of code switching is TR proper, the object of Translation Studies.
3. Intersemiotic translation, i.e. substituting signs of one semiotic system by signs of a different semiotic
system. Implies transmutation - decoding some ideas, themes expressed in a poem through the “lg” of
music or dance.

For the translator to be adequate and effective,

 the TT should be equivalent to the ST

 the better a translator's work, the less his/her work is observed.
 the translated text is attributed to the author speaking another Lg and
 this text is used everywhere as if it were the original.

Thus TR unifies 2 different Lg speech acts in one communicative situation.

 It can be defined as a special type of communication intended to convey info between the
participants speaking 2 different Lgs.

 E. Nida, C. Taber “translating consists of reproducing in the receptor language the closest
natural equivalent of the source-language meaning and secondly in terms of style. (”Theory
and Practice of Translating. – Leiden: Brill, 1969)
DIALECTICS OF TRANSLATION

a. Inseparability of form and meaning.

 A translator is to convey not only the ideas and themes of the ST (meaning, sense);
 s/he should also pay attention to the adequate form to express these ideas.
 s/he should not become carried away with a free (loose) form of TR, nor force the TL by
following the ST word for word.
 A translator always bears in mind a standard language of the TT

b. Social functions.
 TR does not exist outside of society.
 When communities began to trade and exchange ideas.
 TR helps the world community develop.
 Without TR and translators the world would not be able to progress.

c. Translation and culture are inseparable.

 Translation could not have developed without culture.
 Literature, science, and philosophy influence translators’ conceptualizations.
 On the other hand, culture could not have developed without TR, since translations enrich
nations with the cultural values of other nations.

d.Reflection and creativity in TR

 TR reflects the ST but it does not copy it.
 To translate adequately, a translator must do his or her best to find a proper means of
expression.
 A translator bears in mind that the receptor has a cultural background other than that of a
receptor of the ST; has to be very resourceful in producing the same impact upon the
receptor as that of the ST.
 Problems arise in translating dialects, slang, etc., translator is in constant search for new
tools to solve TR problems.

e. Translation is an art and a science.

 Translation is dominated by objective, scientific, and linguistic description and explanation.
 At the same time it is a subjective choice of means preserving stylistic equivalence of the ST.

Target text = meta text

Source text = proto text

TR is a process which has the aim to transmit the communicative effect of the ST taking into account the
differences between the 2 lgs, 2 cultures / 2 communicative situations.
TR viewed generally as: rendering of SL text into TL text, so as to ensure that:

 the surface meaning of TL / SL texts will be approximately similar

 the structures of SL text will be preserved as closely as possible, BUT not so closely that
the TL structures will be seriously distorted.
“Translation is the expression in another language (TL) of what has been expressed in another, SL,
preserving semantic and stylistic equivalence” (Dubois J., 1973).

As a means of interlingual communication, translation is a transfer of meaning across cultures. More

specifically, is the process and the result of creating in a (TL) a text which has approximately the same
communicative value as the corresponding text in the (SL). (Бурак А.Л. 2002.)

Translation is a transformation of a text in one language into an equivalent text in another language,
preserving the contents of the message and the style of the original text. (Bell, Roger)

 3. Models of TR

A TR model is a conventional representation of the translating process describing mental operations

used to transform a ST into TT. TR is viewed as an ordinary act of communication.
A simple model of communication looks as follows: Sender> message>receiver
Applying the model to interlingual transfers Sender>a message> translator>a message> a recipient.
Looking at the message alone we can identify: A ST>a TR process>a translation

Model of Translating: (Nida 1969)

- SOURCE LANGUAGE TEXT
- ANALYSIS
- TRANSFER
- RESTRUCTURING
- TARGET LANGUAGE TR

Situational Model

It is extralinguistic - the description of the ST. The text is understood and then paraphrased in the TT.

- keep off the grass = nu călcaţi pe iarbă/не ходите по траве

- in the afternoon = după amiază/после полудня/днем
- no parking = parcarea interzisă/ парковка запрещена
Thus a transformation is required, preserving only the meaning, but not the original form.

Semantic-Transformational Model

E. Nida - the process of TR can be described as a number of transformations and there are 3 stages :

stage of analysis: the structures of the original are transformed into SL nuclear structures
stage of TR: SL nuclear structures are substituted by the equivalent TL nuclear structures
stage of synthesis: TL nuclear structures are joined into final structures of the TT.

Operational Model

Lexical transformations:

- Specification, or substituting words with a wider meaning with words of a narrower meaning:

Will you do the room? – Vei face curăţenie în cameră? Ты уберешься в комнате?
 - Generalization, or substituting words of a narrower meaning with those of a wider meaning:

She bought the Oolong tea on her way home./ – În drum spre casă, ea a cumpărat ceai
chinezesc. (Oolong- a kind of Chinese tea)

Grammar transformations:

- Transposition (Tr) - oblique procedure replacing a grammatical class by another without altering
the meaning. Grammatical classes involved :

1. Verbs replaced by nouns:

We deliver - Livrări la domiciliu/Доставка на дом.

- Sentence fragmentatation
- Sentence integration
- Stylistic transformations: the usage of different stylistic devices, but with the same pragmatic
effect.

 4. Translation – possible or impossible?

The myth of the Tower of Babel - interpreted as either the beginning of TR or as a warning that TRs are
doomed to failure.

Another lexical argument against translatability is that of the lack of symmetry between Lgs, both in
terms of synonymic series and of semantic fields. The Eskimo lg - there are 30 words for snow, in
Argentina 200 names for horse-skins are used, Arabic provides many synonyms for camel.

There comes, the special category of "untranslatable terms", relating to a specific geographic, historic,
socio-cultural experience, which have always been touchstones for the translators. Words such as
gentleman (English), dor, taină, spaţiu mioritic (Romanian) belong to this category.

Friederich Schleiermacher came to the conclusion that there is not a single word in one language to
have an exact correspondent in another.

Some scholars adopted the notion of relative equivalence between the (SL) and the (TL). Nida (1964,
1969) refers to "the capacity for adjustment" of lgs as an argument for translatability. TR practice has
shown that the degree of translatability is historically determined and never thoroughly achieved. As
Steiner shows "not everything can be translated at any time".

The strongest arguments for TR have been based on the existence of universals in Lg, thought and
culture. Human reason can be expressed in all language systems, which are the particular eases of a
"lingua universalis".

Nida (1982) shows that, if semantic criteria are adopted, all languages have the following classes of
referents: entities, activities, states, processes, characteristics. On the other hand, power relations,
solidarity, religion characterize, for instance, any cultural community (Nida 1996a). Various kinds of
asymmetries between languages and cultures can finally be solved through the expressive resources of
each lg, elicited by means of complex (con)textual incursions that may offer surprising TR solutions.
The extent to which a text is translatable varies with the degree to which it is embedded in its own
specific culture, also with the distance that separates the cultural background of ST and target audience
in terms of time and place (…). Literary texts, especially those embedded in a culture of the distant past,
tend to be less easily translatable than those texts dealing, with the ‘universals’ of modem science.

 5. Equivalence and Adequacy in Translation

TR Process includes the problem of EQ between texts. The extent to which it is desirable or possible to
“preserve” the semantic, stylistic characteristics of the SLT in translating it into TLT. R. Bell points out
that the ideal of total EQ is a chimera.

Lgs are different from each other in form, having distinct codes and rules regulating the construction of
grammar. These forms have different meanings, no absolute synonymy between lgs. That is why
something is lost-translator is accused of betraying the author’s intentions. TR are subject to different
social, cultural and literary contextual factors.
The translator’s task is to strive for the highest possible degree of “matching” or EQ between the SL and
TL, TL text must try to achieve a similar effect on the foreign reader as the SL text does on the native
reader. An equivalent TT will always satisfy the criterion of adequacy.
EQ is a special case of adequacy, which can be found in communicative TR where there is full semantic,
pragmatic and cultural adequacy and the TT reads like an original TLT
Adequacy is a function of the relationship between means and end and is process-oriented; Adequacy is
appropriateness.
Equivalence reflects the correlation between 2 products, the ST and TT.

TYPES OF TRANSLATION EQUIVALENCE

Importance of the ST is found in the theories of equivalence promoted by E. Nida, P. Newmark etc. Nida
introduced a distinction in the thinking about EQ, a concept that roughly refers to “the sameness in the
ST and TT”.

FORMAL EQUIVALENCE focuses on the message itself in both FORM and CONTENT. Based on formal
CORRESPONDENCES:

 word-for-word
 sentence-to-sentence
 concept-to-concept
 aims to allow the reader to understand as much of the SL context as possible

DYNAMIC EQUIVALENCE is based on the principle of EQUIVALENT EFFECT :

 i.e. the relationship between the RECEIVER/MESSAGE should aim to be the SAME as that
between the ORIGINAL RECEIVER and the SL MESSAGE – the communicative model of TR.

 6. TR and SKOPOS THEORY

Skopos theory focuses on TR as an activity with an aim or purpose, and on the intended addressee or
audience of the TR.
TRANSLATION OF A SLT INTO THE TLT:

- SLT = an offer of information which the ST author takes into account the presumed interests,
expectations, knowledge an situational constraints of the source-culture addressees.

TRANSLATOR in the process of TR = the receiver of the ST

- has the task of informing another audience located in a situation under target-culture conditions
about the offer (of information) made in the ST. The translator has his own assumptions about
the needs, expectations, previous knowledge of the TL audience/receivers/addressees.

- The translator CANNOT offer the same amount and kind of information to the TL
audience/receivers as the ST producer. Vinay & Darbelnet (1958) and Mounin (1963):
untranslatability personal experience in its uniqueness is untranslatable

6. Language and culture in translation

Sapir-Whorf hypothesis: (relativism)

- No 2 languages are ever sufficiently similar to be considered as representing the same social
reality. The worlds in which different societies live are distinct worlds, not merely the same
world with different labels attached.

- Language is a modelling system: No language can exist unless it is steeped in the context of
culture. No culture can exist which does not have at its center, the structure of natural language
(Lotman). A text cannot be treated in isolation from the culture where it works.

Definition of culture: (Goodenough 1964)

- A society's culture consists of whatever one has to know or believe in order to operate in a
manner acceptable to its members, and do so in any role that they accept for one of themselves.
Culture is not a material phenomenon; it does not consist of things, people, behaviour, or
emotions. It is rather an organization of these things. It is the forms of things that people have in
mind, the models of perceiving, relating, and otherwise interpreting them.

Conclusions

- TR must take into consideration the linguistic, semantic and pragmatic context.
- TR always involves cultural TR, because cultures shape concepts and text differently.
- TR is not a secondary or mechanical process, but a creative one.
- TR must be raised to the dignity of the original work.
- The importance and difficulty of the TR have to be grasped.
- TR studies must be both source and target oriented.
- TR is a complex task, involving a great deal of skill, preparation, knowledge and intuitive feeling
for texts.
- Everything can be translated, but this is possible only through hard work.

Concerning loss and gain principle, if any losses occur they must be “made up for”, this idea rejecting 2
opposite theses: The impossibility of TR and Absolute translatability
 2. TYPOLOGY OF TRANSLATION
‘On Linguistic Aspects of Translation’, R. Jakobson - 3 types of TR:

(1) Intralingual TR., or rewording (interpretation of verbal signs by means of other signs in the same lg.).

(2) Interlingual TR or translation proper (interpretation of verbal signs by means of some other lg).

(3) Intersemiotic TR or transmutation (interpretation of verbal signs by means of signs of nonverbal sign
systems).

R. Jakobson - central problem in all types is that while messages may serve as adequate interpretations
of code units or messages, no full equivalence through TR.

R. Jakobson shows how Intralingual TR resorts to a combination of code units in order to fully interpret
the meaning of a single unit.

Vehicle:

• a thing used for transporting people or goods, especially on land, such as a car, truck, or cart
• a thing used to express, embody, or fulfill something
• as a synonym for conveyance
1. the action or process of transporting someone or something from one place to another
2. the legal process of transferring property from one owner to another

In neither case - complete equivalence, each unit contains within itself a set of non-transferable
associations and connotations:
• Ro/transport, mijloc de transport, transmitere, transfer
• Ru/перевозка, перевозочные средства, транспортировка, передача

I. TR identified in accordance with the correlation of ST and TL types:

A. Intralingual TR - interpretation of lg. signs using the signs of the same lg:
1. diachronical (historical): TR into the modern lg. of a historical text which was written in the lg.
of the previous age.
2. transposition: TR of a text of one genre or functional style into another genre or functional
style.
B. Interlingual TR- transformation of a message expressed by means of a sign system into the message
expressed by means of another sign system
1.Binary TR: from one natural lg. into another
C. Intersemiotic TR: from one natural lg. into an artificial one (esperanto, programmer’s lg)
• 1.transmutation: from one artificial lg. into another artificial lg.

II. TR - the character of the subject of the TR activity and its relation to the author of the Translated
Text

 traditional translation (human TR.) - done by the translator who is not the author of the ST
 author’s TR: done by the author of the ST
  authorized TR: translation of the ST approved by the author
 machine TR: done by the computer
 mixed TR(CAT): human TR and machine TR

MT - a procedure whereby a computer program analyzes a ST and produces a TT without further

human intervention. MT typically does involve human intervention, in the form of pre-editing and post-
editing.
In regard to texts (weather reports, sport commentaries) with limited ranges of vocabulary,
simple sentence structure, MT can deliver results that do not require much human intervention to be
useful. Use of a controlled lg, combined with a MT tool will generate comprehensible TRs.
Nowadays, MT - a major goal of natural-language processing - has met with limited success.
MT brought to a large public by tools available on the Internet, Yahoo!'s Babel Fish, Babylon, and
StarDict. These tools produce a "gisting TR" - a rough TR that, with luck, "gives the gist" of the ST.

Computer-assisted translation (CAT), - "computer-aided TR“, "machine-aided human TR

(MAHT)" and "interactive TR," is a form of TR wherein a human translator creates a TT with the
assistance of a computer program. The machine supports a human translator.
CAT can include standard dictionary and grammar software. It refers to a range of specialized
programs available to the translator, including translation-memory, terminology-management,
concordance, and alignment programs (making use of existing TR materials).
CAT systems are divided into two groups: machine-aided human translation (MAHT) and
human-aided machine translation (HAMT). The difference between the 2 lies in the roles of computer
and human translator.

- In MAHT, a translator makes the TR, then uses the computer as a tool for typing, checking
spelling, grammar, for printing the TT, for looking up words in electronic dictionaries and data
bases, for getting references on CD-ROMs and other sources, for consulting about contexts, for
discussing problems in the web, for searching a job, etc.
- In HAMT the TR is automated, done by a computer but requiring the assistance of a human
editor. There are 2 phases of human help: pre-editing and post-editing. In pre-editing, an
operator (or a customer) prepares the text for input. A special computer translation program
transfers the text from 1 Lg to another. Then a translator does the post-editing, mostly by
correcting the word usage.

MT has a number of advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages

- its fast speed, which saves time,

- its tireless; it can work day and night.

- very flexible and convenient tool

- helps disabled people, especially computers working with a human voice.

Disadvantages

- computers are restricted to the materials

 - they can translate only clichéd texts
- they cannot translate unpredictable texts, like fiction, for example
- usually they provide ‘raw translation’
- they are still rather expensive
- they require constant upgrading, which is usually not cheap
- computer viruses are a serious danger to work
- computers are not absolutely safe for human health

III. Translation - the types of the text segmentation and the units used:
• morphemic TR: done at the level of separate morphemes without taking into account the
structural relations
Teacher/teaching/teaches
• word for word TR: - at the level of separate words without taking into account semantic,
syntactic and stylistic relations between the words.
Feature-caracteristică/признак/характерная черта
• phrasal TR: at the level of separate sentences or phrases translated one after another.
economic policy-politica economică/экономическая политика
to take steps/a lua masuri/предпринять меры
• sentence TR ( proverbs/sayings)
When the cows come home/La paştele calului/Когда рак на горе свистнет.
• textual TR: an entire text without the identification of separate words, sentences
as translation units. Such phenomenon is rather common when translating poetry.

IV. Translation - the presentation form of the TT and the ST:

• written TR: done in written form.
1. written TR of a written text.
2. written TR of an oral text.
• oral TR
• 1. oral TR of an oral text
– simultaneous TR
– consecutive TR
– unidirectional TR: oral TR which is done only in one direction
– bidirectional TR: consec. TR of a talk done from one lg. into another and vice-versa.
2. oral TR of a written text.

Modes of Interpreting

1. Consecutive interpretation: taking notes. Two Geneva conference interpreters, J.-F. Rozan and J.
Herbert, This brought to life recommendations to would-be interpreters on how to take notes in order
to memorize the message and not to interrupt the speaker.
The main principles of note-taking :
• only key-words and ‘precision’ words (i.e. words conveying unique information, e.g., proper
names, statistics, etc.) are put down;
• words are contracted;
 • special symbols are used;
• the syntactic structure has a vertical progression:
Subject group
Predicate
Object
Adverbial modifier(homogeneous parts of the sentence are written one under
the other).

2. Document sight translation is required in Consec interpretation work.

• combines interpretation and translation;
• the interpreter must read aloud the SL document to the TL as if it were written in the TL.
3.Relay interpretation occurs when several Lgs are the TL.
• A SL interpreter renders the message to a Lg common to every interpreter, who then renders
the message to his or her specific TL.
• A Japanese source message 1st is rendered to English to a group of interpreters, then it is
rendered to Arabic, French and Russian, the other TLgs.
4.Simultaneous interpreting
5. Ad hoc or liaison interpreting: telling both sides of the story
• passing info to and fro between 2 or more delegates.
• is used for smaller meetings and discussion groups around a table
• the ad hoc interpreter acting as a linguistic go-between.
6.Whisper interpreting: (chuchotage-French),
• involves a multi-lingual interpreter sitting between 2(or 3) delegates round the table and literally
whispering to them what each speaker is saying as the meeting proceeds.

V. Translation - the nature and the correspondence of the TT to ST:

• free TR: the main information of the ST with possible deviations (omissions, insertions); done at
the level of the text, it corresponds with the entire text as a unit and not separate lg. units.
• adequate TR: corresponds to the original and expresses the same communicative aims as the
original.
• authentic TR: an official document which has the same legal power as the ST according to the
international law a text of an agreement can be elaborated and adopted in one Lg, but its
authencity can be set in 2 or more Lgs. (genuine and official)
• certified TR (tr. legalizată/заверенный перевод ): “true to the original”, whose correspondence
with the original is legally certified.
•
VI. Translation - the genre, stylistic peculiarities of the translated material:
• Scientific and technical TR
• Social and political TR
• Military TR
• Legal TR
• Common TR - regarding manners, morals, lifestyle
• Literary TR – fiction
 LITERARY versus INFORMATIVE TRANSLATION
• Literary Translation - deals with literary texts, i.e. works of fiction or poetry, sung texts and
other, the main function of which is to make an emotional or esthetic impression upon the
audience. (Komissarov, p.51)
• Informative Translation - renders into the TL non-literary texts (documents, publicistic texts,
scientific or technical materials, etc.) and has as its main purpose to convey a certain amount of
information to the reader (facts, events, opinions, etc.) as accurately as possible. (Komissarov,
p.51)

VII. Translation - the completeness and type of rendering the semantic content of the ST:
• complete TR: renders the semantic content of the ST without omissions and abridgements.
• incomplete TR renders the semantic content of the ST with omissions and abridgements

abridged TR: renders the semantic context of the ST in a shortened form.

fragmentary TR: not of the entire text, but of one or a number of fragments.
aspect TR: only of a certain part of a text according to a specific selection criteria
annotated TR: reflects only the main theme, subject, and purpose of the text
abstract TR: contains rather detailed information about the summarized documents, its purposes,
themes, methods of research and results.

VIII. Translation done according to the main pragmatic function:

• practical TR- intended for practical use as a source of information
• working TR - unedited TR which is mainly intended for practical use, not ready for publication.
• consultative TR a type of informative TR – orally, includes elements of annotation, abstracting,
and selective TR at sight in the presence of the client, who specifies the aspects of the ST which
interest him/her the most during TR
• publishing TR - written TR introduced in circulation for publishing
• published TR - practical or educational TR which has been multiplied
• educational TR used in the teaching process in order to train t-ors, or as a means of teaching a
foreign language
• experimental TR done for research purposes
• standard TR- model TR used for the comparison with the text being qualified

IX. Translation - the primary nature of the ST:

• primary TR done directly from SL/the original
• secondary TR - which wasn’t done directly from the ST, but from its TR in another Lg
• back TR experimental or educational TR of an already translated text into the ST.

Back Translation - A literal translation of a TR, which can be understood by a translation consultant or
other speakers of a national Lg. Enables the consultant or other speakers to know what a TR means in a
TL and how that TR is expressed in the forms of that Lg. A BTR should be as literal as possible so its
reader can observe the forms in the target translation. It helps a translation consultant determine if the
original meaning has been preserved in the TL.

X. Translation - the type of adequacy:

A. semantically and stylistically adequate TR - semantically complete and correct, stylistically
equivalent, which also corresponds to the functional and stylistic norms of the TL
B. pragmatically adequate TR correctly renders the main communicative function of the ST
C. customer friendly TR completely and correctly meet the informative requirements of the customer
and doesn’t necessarily render the complete meaningful content and the predominant function of the
ST.
XI.EVALUATIVE CLASSIFICATION OF TRANSLATION

a. ADEQUATE TR provides communication in full.

b. Equivalent TR provides the semantic identity of the TT and ST

• Покажу тебе кузькину мать/– Nikita threatened , “I’ll put the fear of God into you!”

The Ru sentence is low colloquial, the English describes a similar situation, has another stylistic
overtone, a rather pious one.

Close to this understanding of translation adequacy is E. Nida’s concept of dynamic equivalence, “aimed
at complete naturalness of expression”. Nida’s principle of dynamic equivalence is widely referred to as
the principle of similar or equivalent response or effect.

Y. Retsker states that the notion of adequate TR comprises that of equivalent. According to him, an
adequate TT describes the same reality as does the ST and at the same tim, it produces the same effect
upon the receptor.

TR adequacy achieved 3 types of regular correlations:

• equivalents (geographical names, proper names, terms):

the Pacific Ocean – Тихий океан/Oceanul Pacific, hydrogen – водород/hidrogen.
• analogs, or variable, contextual correspondence, when the TL possesses several words to
express the same meaning of the SL word: soldier – солдат, рядовой, военнослужащий,
военный./soldat/military
• transformations, or adequate substitutions:
She cooks a hot meal in the evening. / На ужин она всегда готовит горячее. / Ea întotdeauna
pregătește mîncare caldă pentru cină.
c. LITERAL TR

• reproduces communicatively irrelevant elements of the ST. This usually happens when the
translator copies the ST form on this or that level of the Lg.

d. Free TR is the reproduction of the source form and content in a loose way -adding extra elements of
information or losing some essential ones.

It is not very accomplished of a translator to add details not described by the author, Neither is it
proficient to contract the ST like A. Houdar de la Motte who reduced the 24 books of the Iliad to 12 in
his TR, leaving out all the “anatomical details of wounds” and some other info. Scholars usually take a
negative view of this type of FTR, known as adaptation in history of TR.