Chapter 5

translation oriented text analysis

Christiane Nord
 Two basic types of translation product :
DOCUMENTARY TRANSLATION It ‘serves as a document of a source
culture communication between the author and the source text (ST)
recipient’ e.g., literary translation, word-for-word or literal translations
(business contracts, certificates) ‘foreignizing’ or ‘exoticizing’ translations, etc

INSTRUMENTAL TRANSLATION It ‘serves as an independent message

-transmitting instrument in a new communicative action in the target culture, and
is intended to fulfil its communicative purpose without the recipient being
conscious of reading or hearing a text which, in a different form, was used before
in a different communicative situation.’ e.g., ‘function-preserving translations’ (software
manual) or ‘function-changing translations’ (translation of Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels for
children
 ST analysis
As noted above, any pragmatic-oriented analysis is
acceptable as long as it allows comparability between ST
and TT. For reasons of space, we do not undertake a detailed
analysis here, but shall pick out three elements from Nord's
list of intralinguistic factors that are of particular relevance
in the analysis of the present ST:
(1) non-verbal elements
(2) the register of the lexis
(3) Presuppositions ) guesses (
(1) Non-verbal elements: The features of medium noted above are
crucial for the translation process and product. The illustrations
cannot be altered and the length of each TT caption/instruction
must not exceed the length of the corresponding ST
caption/instruction. Clearly these are severe limitations on the
translator.
 (2) The register of the lexis: This is a factor that is difficult for the
translator to decide. There are two main relevant factors. One, as noted in
the intended text functions. For example, when we are dealing with a
recipe book and, as is well known, recipes are a strictly organized text
variety or genre with conventions that vary interlingually. Thus, English
tends to use imperative forms (cut the tomatoes', add the onion', etc.)
whereas some languages use infinitive forms. The other factor is related
to the appellative function and the fact that the addressees, for example,
are children.
 (3) Presuppositions: The real problem for the
translator of this text results from the divergence in
cultural background between the TT and ST
addressees. This becomes evident in analysing the
presuppositions implicit in the ST.