Translation Studies

Student: Nino Abramishvili

Jean-Paul Vinay and Jean Darbelnet

A METHODOLOGY FOR TRANSLATION

Critical Analysis

There are numerous methods and approaches in the field of translation today, but Vinay and
Darbelnet have narrowed this countless number down to seven.
The article makes it clear from the very beginning that in general, translators can choose
between the two methods of translation, specifically, direct or indirect translation. Generally
speaking, the main difference between direct and indirect translation is that direct
translation involves word-for-word rendering of the text from the source language to the
target language, while indirect translation techniques include making certain changes to the
text while translating.
The article clearly explains why a translator might use a particular 1 of these 2 methods. In
certain translation tasks, it is possible to literally transfer the message of the source language
into the target language, because it is based on either parallel categories (structural
parallelism), or parallelism meaning concepts that derive from metalinguistic parallelisms.
However this does not apply to all other translation tasks. Translators may catch sight of
deficiency in TL which need to be filled with relevant elements so that the main idea is
identical for both messages. Because of structural or metalinguistic differences, it might
happen that some stylistic effects do not transfer to the TL without disturbing the syntactic
order or even the vocabulary/lexis. Because of this circumstances, it is necessary to use more
compounded methods, which may seem very suspicious at first, but at the end translators can
manage the accuracy of their work: these procedures are claimed to be indirect translation
methods.
According to Vinay and Darbelnet, direct translation techniques involve: Borrowing, Calque
and Literal Translation, while others including:Transposition, Modulation, Equivalence and
Adaptation - can be considered as oblique translations. Each of them is quite clearly
presented in the article.
Lets begin with Procedure 1: Borrowing
According to the article, Borrowing is considered to be the simplest and most used of all
translation techniques, but why? Well, this technique fairly allows the translator to adapt the
text to a specific cultural context through the register of vocabulary used in it, translator uses
foreign term to add more flavour to the target text. Basically, this term means to take the
word from the source language and preserve it in the target language. This technique is
specifically used when there is no target language equivalent, such as food, clothing or other
terms, and can help to maintain the cultural context of the source text.
There is an example given as an illustration: in order to introduce the flavour of the source
langugae (SL) culture into a translation, foreign terms may be used, e.g. such Russian words
as “roubles”, “datchas” and “aparatchik”, “dollars” and “party” from American English,
Mexican Spanish food names “tequila” and “tortillas”, and so on (page 85). Several already
deep-rooted, mostly old loanwords are already so extensively used that they are no longer
even viewed as borrowings and are considered as the relevant TL vocabulary.
Then comes Procedure 2: Calque
In linguistics, calque is a partial borrowing, when new lexical units and phrases are created
by imitating the morphological-syntactic structure of words and phrases of another language,
or words acquire secondary meanings under the influence of polysemous words of a foreign
language. The result is either a lexical calque or structural calque, shown in a given example:

English-French calque:
Compliments of the Season - Compliments de la saison
Science-fiction - Science-fiction

Procedure 3: Literal translation

According to Vinay and Darbelnet, this translation method is only to be used under certain
circumstances. The term is also referred to as word-for-word translation from one language
to another. It does not pay much attention to the exact meaning of the sentence as a whole.
Since the placement of a word in a sentence or context affects its meaning, dictionaries
cannot provide translators with a prefabricated solution to every problem. Only translators
can know the integrity of the message, which controls their decisions. In the final analysis,
only the message and the reflection of the situation, allows us to decide whether the two
texts are appropriate alternatives to each other.
In case after trying the first three procedures, translators find the literary translation
unacceptable, then they will have to resort to other four indirect/oblique translation
methods.
First comes Procedure 4: Transposition
Shortly saying, Vinay and Darbelnet specified transposition method as changing word class
without changing the meaning of the message.
There are two different types of transposition: obligatory transposition and optional
transposition.
Obligatory transposition occurs when the target language has no other choices because of the
language system (Machali, 2009: 96). As for optional transposition style, it's up to the
translator to decide whether if it fits better into the utterance.
The following example from the article has to be translated literally (procedure 3), but must
also be transposed (procedure 4):
Dès son lever… - As soon as he gets up…
As soon as he gets/got up… - Dès son lever…
Dès qu’il se lève…

In this example, we see that English leaves no choice between the two forms, the base form
being the only one possible, which makes it obligatory transposition.
Contrary, the following phrases can be transposed:
Après qu’il sera revenu… - After he comes back…
Après son retour… - After his return…
So here the translator has two options and use one which fits better into the sentence as a
whole, therefore it's an optional transposition.
Procedure 5: Modulation
Modulation is a way for the translator to find a gradation of naturalness in their target text
without surrendering any meaning or reliability coming from the source text.
Here we differenciate between free or optional (As with transposition) modulations and
those that are fixed or obligatory.
Vinay and Darbelnet use great illustrations with English and French languages to distinguish
between free or optional modulations. It clearly shows how the double negative construction
used in English is uncommon in French, and how modulation would manifest this in French
as a simple affirmative statement using a positive modifier.
Procedure 6: Equivalence
According to Vinay and Darbelnet, equivalence is the best way to translate an idiom. For
instance, “To talk through one’s hat” and “as like as two peas” cannot be translated by means
of a calque (page 90).
This method allows the translator to find an equivalent to the original expression in the
target language. They explain equivalence as almost genetically cultural, with the illustration
of classical example: The classical example of equivalence is given by the reaction of an
amateur who accidentally hits his finger with a hammer: if he were French his cry of pain
would be transcribed as “Aïe!”, but if he were English this would be interpreted as “Ouch!”
(page 90). Both of this words would right away clarify to readers that there is some level of
pain involved.
Procedure 7: Adaptation
Apparently, adaptation is the most complex out of all Vinay and Darbelnet's translation
procedures, even though it's considered as a free form of translation technique. Generally,
adaptation refers to situations where cultural differences arise between the SL and TL. Its
provision is necessary when expressing the meaning of phrases that do not culturally exist in
the target audience or are not clearly widespread. In such a case, the translator has to replace
the original sentence with another phrase that is more culturally understandable and suitable
for the target area.
To clarify this statements, there is a great example shown in the article (page 91), about an
English father who would think nothing of kissing his daughter on the mouth, it is normal in
that culture but would not be acceptable in a literal rendering into French. So translator
should use an appropriate form of translation to convey the exact meaning to the French
audience.
To wrap it all up, Jean-Paul Vinay and Jean Darbelnet clearly showed us the methodological
and procedural importance of translation. It is also clear that the decisions of the translators
themselves are of great importance, in some cases it's upon them to decide which of these 7
procedures best suits the translation from SL to TL. Cultural aspects are very important
during translation (especially in adaptation), so that the meaning of the text/sentence or even
a single word is properly conveyed to the target audience. Therefore, many nuances should
be taken into account when translating specific texts, so that the finished work is easy to
understand, acceptable and relevant to the target audience.