Lecture-1: Introduction to

Translation Studies

Prof. H. Darir
Translating Literary Texts
The objectives of this course are:
*To give a general outline of literary translation;
*To show that translation theories apply to non-
literary as well as literary texts (with some
adjustments);
*To demonstrate that translation practice can
benefit from theory, hence bridging the gap
between theory and practice.
*To gain a first hand experience translating
literary texts
 A few general distinctions
*What translation is. What translation is not.
*Literal vs. Literary Translation
*Translation vs. Translation Studies
*Written Language vs. Spoken Language: Translating
vs. interpreting
*Translation Proper vs. adaptation
*Translation as a process vs. Translation as a Product
*Translation Theory (TT), Translation Studies (TS)

*Source language (SL) / Target language (TL)

*Source Text (ST) / Target Text (TT)
 * Literal vs. Literary Translation
* The two terms “literary translation” and “literal translation” have
nothing in common. The term literary translation refers to one type of
translation based on text types. It is the translation of literary texts:
literature.
* Literal translation, on the other hand, refers to an approach to translation
as opposed to both word-for-word and free translation, which are the
three classic types of translation.
* In this presentation, I will assume you are already familiar with the three
classic types of translation. Make sure you understand the three types.
(Otherwise select definitions from the internet)
* In order to appreciate the purpose as well as the limitations of literal
translation, try translating the following idioms: “It is raining cats and
dog”s; to “kick the bucket” into Arabic.
* Now translate the same idioms using literal translation.
* You basically try to do some morphological and grammatical adjustments
on the translation.
* Now try to come with something that is not only grammatical but also
meaningful, and acceptable in the target language: Try a free translation.
 ‫تعرف على اغرب اسماء المطر عند العرب‬
‫* ”يقول ابن دريد‪ ،‬المتوفى سنة ‪ 321‬للهجرة‪ ،‬في (جمهرة اللغة)‪ ،‬إن أشّد "ما يوصف به المطر" هو‬
‫في القول‪" :‬أصابنا مطٌر جاّر الضبع"‪".We were hit by a torrential rain" .‬‬
‫* ويؤكد (لسان العرب) ما ورد في الجمهرة‪" :‬جاُّر الَّضُبِع أشّد ما يكون من المطر"‪ .‬وينقل استعماًال تناقلته‬
‫العرب في هذا السياق‪" :‬أصابتنا السماُء بجار الضبع"‪ .‬ويشرح اللسان سّر تسمية العرب للمطر بجاّر‬
‫الضبع فيقول‪" :‬جاّر الضبع‪ ،‬أشد ما يكون من المطر‪ ،‬كأنه ال يترك شيئا إال أساَله وجَّره"‪ .‬وينقل‪:‬‬
‫"جاءنا‪ ،‬جاّر الضبع!"‪ .‬ويوضح ابن سّيده‪ ،‬المتوفى سنة ‪ 458‬للهجرة‪ ،‬في (المحكم) أن إطالق اسم‬
‫(جاّر الضبع) على المطر الشديد‪ ،‬سببه أن المطر يتسبب بسيل يخرج الِّض باَع من ُو ُج ِرها! فيقول‪:‬‬
‫"جاّر الضبع‪ ،‬المطر الشديد" ثم ينقل‪" :‬وقيل إن جاّر الضبع‪ ،‬هو أشّد ما يكون من المطر‪ ،‬كأنه ال يدع‬
‫شيئًا إال وجَّره"‪.‬‬
‫* ويقال‪ :‬غيٌث جاّر الضبع‪ ،‬أي أنه غزير إلى درجة دخوله إلى ِو جار الضبع‪ ،‬وإخراجها منها‪”.‬‬

‫‪" (Jaar al-Diba) is that the‬جاّر الضبع" ‪* The reason for naming heavy rain‬‬
‫‪rain causes floods that drive the foxes out of their dens. So, people‬‬
‫“‪," which means "Jaar al-Diba, the heavy rain.‬جاّر الضبع‪ ،‬المطر الشديد" ‪say‬‬
‫‪* Now, this is the exact functional equivalent of: « It is raining cats‬‬
‫» ‪and dogs‬‬
* Compare the following: kick the backet vs.
pass away.
Think of other idioms, proverbs, metaphors, connotations
and try to translate them first literally and then freely.
In free translation your task will be to find a TL idiom,
proverb, or metaphor.
 * Translation vs. Translation Studies
*It was James S. Holmes in his paper titled "The Name and
Nature of Translation Studies" (1972) who founded
Translation Studies as a coordinated research program by
giving the field a name as well as a map”.
*He stressed that it “would not be wise to continue referring
to the discipline by its subject matter” (Holmes 2000: 173–
174).
*The difference between Translation vs. Translation Studies
is related to the the difference between The subject field
(or phenomenon), which is being investigated, vs. the
discipline investigating the field or phenomenon, e.g.:

*Other examples: Communication//Communication Studies

*What about: Linguistics?? Media??
* Translation Studies (TS) as a Multidisciplinary
Field

*“Translating is thus a multi-faceted activity, and

there is room for a variety of perspectives.”
(Hatim, 2001, 2013, p. 13).
 Translation : A Multidiscipline
* “Translation: A Multidisciplinary
Approach provides readers with exciting
new insights into the cross-linguistic and
cross-cultural practice of translation – a
field of rapidly growing international
importance. World-renowned experts
address the subject from a variety of
different perspectives, viewing translation
as social action and intercultural
communication, as a phenomenon of
languages in contact and as a socio-
cognitive process. The volume presents up-
to-date discussions of important issues such
as the evaluation of translations, the
question of ethics in translation, translation
as re-narration, literary translation, the role
of corpora and New Media in translation,
and translation in the context of language
learning and teaching.” (p. 2)
 Translation : A Multidiscipline

* “…translation studies would itself be the Phoenician trader among

longer-established disciplines. It has the potential for a primary
relationship with disciplines such as:
* linguistics (especially semantics, pragmatics, applied and
contrastive linguistics,
* cognitive linguistics);
* modern languages and language studies;
* comparative literature;
* cultural studies (including gender studies and postcolonial
studies);
* philosophy (of language and meaning, including hermeneutics and
deconstruction and ethics);
* and, in recent years, with sociology, history and creative writing.”
(JEREMY MUNDAY. Introducing Translation Studies : Theories and
applications (4th Edn, 2016)
Anything Missing in the diagram?
• comparative literature
• literary studies
• Etc.
 map” of translation studies“

Holmes, J. S. 1988. “The Name and Nature of

Translation Studies.” In The Translation Studies
Reader, edited by L. Venuti, 172–185. New York:
Routledge
Holmes’ conception /”map” of translation studies
(Toury 1991, P. 181)

Reproduced from Guideon Toury (1995). Descriptive Translation

Studies and Beyond. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. p4
:Same diagram from another angle
Holmes’ Map of Translation Studies: A more detailed picture
 Translation theories
TT can be:
Product-oriented→focusing on the
translated text as a product on its own
Function-oriented→examining the context
and purpose of the translation
Process-oriented→analysing the
psychology of cognitive processes behind
the translation act.
*But it usually has elements of all three
Partial theories of translation
*Medium restricted: man or machine?
*Area restricted: specific languages/cultures
*Rank-restricted: word/sentence/text: The Unit of
Translation
*Text-type restricted: different genres: Literary,
legal, medical, technical,
*Time-restricted: historical view
*Problem-restricted: specific problems, e.g.
equivalence, metaphor, connotation, tense, etc.
TT: The professional perspective

*Translator training
*Interpreter training
*Translation aids
*Translation criticism
*Translation quality
*Translation policy
*Professional translation standards
 *References
*Holmes, James S. (1972/2000). “The Name and Nature
of Translation Studies.” In Holmes, Translated! Papers
on Literary Translation and Translation Studies,
Amsterdam: Rodopi, pp. 67–80. Holmes, James S.. In
The Translation Studies Reader, Lawrence Venuti (ed.)
2000, 172–185. London/New York: Routledge.
*(Hatim, B., 2001, 2013. Teaching and researching
translation. 2001, 2013, Taylor & Francis)
*JEREMY MUNDAY. Introducing Translation Studies :
Theories and applications (4th Edn, 2016)
*Toury, G. 1995. Descriptive Translation Studies and
Beyond. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.