The Art of Translation

Abstract

Summary: Translation is important for effective international communication. Translation can help make scientific and technical material common among scientists from different nations. Although of its recognized importance a comparatively small amount of critical attention has been given to the art of translation, among which one can find many contradicting principles. The governing principle of translation is that the nature of the content, the purpose of translation, and the intended reader determine whether the translation will be literal, paraphrasical, idiomatic or partial. It is advisable to blend the four methods when necessary to achieve the prime goal of translation: conveying the original meanings through the language of rendition. Specific problems in translation are grouped under two main headings: lack of equivalence, and idiomatic problems. By "lack of equivalence" is meant two things: (1) unidentical meanings attached to two corresponding words, (2) nonexistent words in the language of rendition corresponding to words in the original language. Faced with these problems, the translator has to choose between three alternatives: (1) transliteration, (2) adaptation, or (3) the coining of new words. Technical terms of Greek and Latin origin and nonexistent in the language of rendition should be transliterated or adapted. Idiom was defined as all patterns of linguistic expressions peculiar to the language, and the style of the writer. Idioms can be classified according to their method of translation: literal, idiomatic, and paraphrasical. It is difficult to preserve the style of the author. However if the style is significant, the translator has to strive to preserve the style without obscuring the meaning. In technical and scientific translation the meaning is of greater importance than the style. Translation should always be done into one's own language. A good translator should be familiar with the cultural background of the original piece of work. He should have satisfactory knowledge of the foreign language, the scientific subject matter under translation, and he should possess a high degree of sympathy to be able to translate literary material. Ability to write his own language is a necessary qualification. Translating machines can be of help in translating scientific and technical material, but not in translating literary material. With the development of translating machines this limitation might be overcome.