EIC553 TRANSLATION

SKILLS
THE HISTORY & ROLE
OF TRANSLATION
PAVITHRAN RAVINTHRA NATH
TRANSLATION
Derived from the Latin term
‘TO BRING ACROSS’
 THE HISTORY OF TRANSLATION

o Logically, translation and interpreting didn’t enter the scene until

language began to show up in written form – around 3200 BC, in the
form of hieroglyphics.
o Later in spoken form when the Greeks and Romans began to use their
slaves to interpret for them.
o Major technological advances – availability of paper, invention of the
printing press led to the first ever book being printed.
o The Internet and mechanical translation that has really revolutionised
the field of translation – no personality, no style.
 More than
7000 different languages
spoken around the world!

o Almost every culture in the world has interactions with every other
culture.
o This means that there are incalculable number of translation
requirements.
 TRANSLATION
SL TL
Source Target
Language/Text Language/Text
(Bahasa Melayu) (English)
The language that is The language into which
to be translated into another language is to be
another language translated
 TASK

o Why is it important for the translator to have a good command of the

source language and target language?
o What happens if a translator does not have a good command of the
source language and target language?
o Besides knowledge on subject matter, how can one be well versed on
knowledge of culture?
THE ROLE OF TRANSLATION

The main purpose of translation is to

transfer the original tone and objective
of a message, taking into account
regional and cultural differences
between source and target language
 QUALITIES OF A
GOOD TRANSLATOR

PASSION
Put in extra effort to deliver/complete
every task/assignments.
 QUALITIES OF A
GOOD TRANSLATOR

CURIOSITY
A translator must be curious and
motivated to keep on learning new
words and expressions.
 QUALITIES OF A
GOOD TRANSLATOR

CLARITY
A good translator’s goal is to express the
idea of the source text as clearly as
possible, without ambiguity. They should
avoid difficult structures when they can
use simple ones.
 QUALITIES OF A
GOOD TRANSLATOR

ACCURACY
A good translator should provide an exact
transfer of information. Despite it being
tempting sometimes, the translator
should not correct the source text.
CULTURAL BIAS

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 conduct research
and note it down for future reference.
THANK
YOU!