Level: L 2

Module: Introduction into Translation

Lesson four

1. What Do We Translate?

Task: Analyze the following sentences and then translate them.

e.g. Reading is pleasure.

This student got the best mark.
He is living from hand to mouth.
Translation is the interpretation of a source text meaning and the production of an
equivalent text meaning in another language. Translation is a process that deals with meaning
across language barriers. Therefore, we always translate the meaning. But what is the
meaning? It is difficult to answer this question easily, directly, and decisively. Meaning is a
complicated network of language components comprised of syntax, vocabulary, style, and
phonology.

Languagelala
components

syntax vocabulary style phonology

Sentences synonymy formality rhyme

Clauses polysemy ambiguity rythm

Word order connotations repetition alliteration

Tenses collocations redundancy consonance

Questions idioms irony foot

Connectors proverbs nominalization stress

Grammatical categories culture parallelism pitch

Institutional terms

Figure (3) illustrates the language components

Thus, the meaning is the product of the different components of language taken
together, occurring in a certain type of text and context, and directed to a certain kind of
readership.
We have to combine all these elements to produce and reflect the meaning.

Hence, with few exceptions, we translate meaning, nothing else but meaning. This
means that anything not relevant to meaning is usually disregarded in translation (except for
certain texts as poetry where sound / prosodic features are sometimes more important than
meaning). On the other hand, meaning is not the product of words only but also of syntax,
style, and sounds. Translating is the act of carrying meaning across languages.
The following picture clarifies the relationship between meaning, language elements and
translation.
language

syntax words style sounds

Meaning

Translation

Figure (4) illustrates the relationship between language components, meaning and
translation (Hassan Ghazala, 2008:3)
2. Words and Context

E.g.

1. Press my shirt.
2. I work in a press.
3. Press the button
4. I’m going to eat a date
5. Last night I went on a date
6. That’s my date of birth

a. Based on these examples, it is concluded that words (press and date) have different
meanings. They are polysemous words. Their multiple meanings change from one
context into another one.

So, polysemy refers to the phenomenon that one word acquires different, though obviously
related, meanings, often with respect to particular contexts.
The word’s meaning is defined by its context.

b. What does context mean?

The context of a piece of language (…) is its surrounding environment. But this can
include as little as the articulatory movements immediately before and after it, or as much as
the whole universe with its past and future. (Werth 1999: 78 – 79)

Text is highly specific term and refers to the written word as such while context is the
background, environment, framework, setting , situation surrounding an event. Text and
context are closely related concepts. Context is the more complex notion and thus in need of
further exploration.

c. Types of context

Context means a variety of things. It can be linguistic, involving the linguistic environment of
a language item, as well as situational, involving extra linguistic elements that contribute to
the construction of meaning.

1. Linguistic context

Linguistic context refers to the connections between words in the text. This requires an
understanding of the grammar and structure of the language and consideration of the word
 based on its relationship to other words in the text. For example, if the word “date” is used
as a noun, there are three possible translations (fruit, romantic meeting or a day of the
month/year). The translator would need to consider the wider linguistic context and figure
out whether the context of the sentence makes sense by taking into account the words that
come before and after it.

In addition, linguistic context or verbal context refers to the linguistic environment in

which a word is used within a text. As a matter of fact, understanding the meaning
of vocabulary items using linguistic context may involve syntactic and morphological
interpretation of the elements within a text. In other words, to determine the meaning of an
item, it is necessary to know whether the item is a noun, a verb, an adjective or an adverb,
functioning as a subject, a predicate or a complement. This information gives important
clues to the meaning of the text. But it is not sufficient to provide a full understanding of
utterances.

2. Pragmatic or situational context

Part of the pragmatic context is what makes it coherent, those elements that tell us who and
what we are talking about. Meaning can be inferred from the linguistic elements surrounding
a word.
Meaning can also be related to social variables involved in language use. Notions of
politeness, shared beliefs, cultural features and social organization play an important role in
the interpretation of meaning.

As has been demonstrated, context may give important information in the interpretation of
meaning. It is crucial to know why one has to say what to whom and where.

Moreover, situational context is less clear-cut but just as important for producing accurate
translations. It takes into account the broader circumstances surrounding the text such as
cultural factors, political context and ideologies. Proper situational context is impossible to
achieve without a thorough understanding of the culture in which the text was produced. For
example, in Australian English, a date is simply a dried fruit, whereas in Arabic religious
culture, dates hold a deep religious significance. Similarly, in some societies young people
going on a date is a normal and accepted part of the culture, whereas in others this may be
considered forbidden or taboo.
So, one simple word “date” can have a multitude of literal and implied meanings, depending
on its situational and linguistic context. Translating a text without a thorough understanding
of both linguistic and situational context can lead to misinterpretations (e.g. referring to a fruit
instead of a romantic meeting) or a loss of more nuanced meanings (e.g. translating the word
for a romantic date without conveying the very different way that dating is regarded or valued
in the source and target language culture).

Activity one: complete the following passage by these words (right (7), upright, right away

) then you translate them into Arabic language.

The teacher asked the student to draw a …………………… angle, but insisted that the
student draw it with his … …………………..hand while the student was left handed. Of
course he didn’t draw it …. ……………………and the teacher gave him low marks. …….
…………………………the student went to the headmaster and complained that it was his
……………………………..to draw with whichever hand he liked. The headmaster who was
an …….…………………………man agreed that he was …………….and that the teacher
didn’t treat him .. ………………and ordered the teacher to ..………………………….the
student marks.

Activity two: A/. Translate these sentences.

English Arabic
01 His friendship with the accused involved him in
the scandal.

02 The clouds involved the hills.

03 The matter involves my honour.

04 The job offered involves my liming in London.

05 The teacher involved the whole class in the

research.

06 The project involved me in unnecessary

expense.

B/. Complete.

English Arabic
 ‫‪ 01‬ضرب الالعب الكرة‪.‬‬
‫‪ 02‬ضرب الرجل الولد‪.‬‬
‫‪ 03‬ضرب مثاال‪.‬‬
‫‪ 04‬ضرب املدفع‪.‬‬
‫‪ 05‬ضرب يف األمر بسهم‪.‬‬
‫‪ 06‬ضرب النوم على أذنيه‪.‬‬
‫‪ 07‬ضرب له موعدا‪.‬‬
‫‪ 08‬ضرب خيمته يف الصحراء‪.‬‬