Translation Theory Research Articles

Luther in Norwegian

Abstract: The article traces the translation history of Luther's texts into Norwegian. Until their independence in 1814, the Norwegians became acquainted with Luther through Danish translations. His Small Catechism dominated the reception, mainly due to the Pietist school reform of the 1730s. Hymns and sermons from the Church Postil were important genres in the nineteenth century, but also major works such as Luther's Genesis Lectures and his Galatian commentary appeared in Norwegian. Many of these were translated by conservative theologians, who wanted to preserve Lutheran roots. In the twentieth century, the picture is less clear, but Luther was used in the ongoing battle over the legacy of liberal theology before World War II. The most important publication came as a six-volume edition at the Reformer's 500th birthday, a selection of mostly early writings of Luther, albeit with some texts from his later years.

TRANSLATING ANIME AND ITS DIFFICULTIES

This study examines various translation strategies employed by English and Russian translators, with a focus on their application in the localization and adaptation of multi-semiotic video-verbal texts, such as animated films. Drawing from the classifications of translation strategies by English linguist and translator P. Newmark, as well as insights from translation theorist I. S. Alekseeva's research explores eight key strategies.

TURKIYZABON MILLIY MATBUOTDA “GULISTON” TARJIMASI MASALASI

This article delves into the historical narrative surrounding the translation of Saadi's masterpiece "Gulistan" as covered in the pages of "Shoro" magazine, a significant publication among Turkic peoples. Notably, "Shoro" stands as a pioneer in the realm of mass media, being the first to disseminate articles and critiques on translation theory within the Turkish-language press.

RENDERING AL-MAFUL AL-MUTLAQ IN QURANIC TRANSLATION:A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THREE MALAY VERSIONS

The maintenance or modification of the language style of a source text in its translated version is one of the aspects that is often observed in the study of style analysis or translation strategy. Al-Quran as a holy book that is rich and loaded with its own styles of language has caused polemics among scholars of translation of sacred texts from time to time such as differences of opinion and approach between them regarding strategies, methods, styles or techniques of translating the diversity of language styles of this holy book of all Muslims. Al-Maful al-Mutlaq which is one of the aspects of language style in the syntax of the Arabic language has seen a variety of strategies and ways of translation in its translation versions. Starting from that, this study aims to identify the holy verses of the Quran that contain the language style of al-Maful al-Mutlaq, analyze the verses containing al-Maful al-Mutlaq from morphological and syntactic aspects.and compare the translation strategies used when translating the three types of al-Maful al-Mutlaqin the three versions of the Malay translation of the Quran which is the sample of this study Terjemahan Al-Hidayah, Terjemahan Pimpinan Ar-Rahman Kepada Pengertian Al-Quran and Terjemahan Kompleks Percetakan al-Quran Raja Fahad. This study uses a qualitative approach by means of contrastive content analysis by comparing the syntax of Arabic and Malay regarding the concept and structure of al-Maful al-Mutlaq through the texts of selected verses of the Holy Quran. This study finally concludes that there are several discourse markers used by translators when translating al-Maful al-Mutlaq into Malay. This study is expected to be able to provide understanding and guidance to students of the Quranic language to recognize the style and strategy of translating al-Maful al-Mutlaq found in the Quran into the Malay language.

System and Parody: Notes Towards a Description of Two Aspects of the Theory of Translation of Russian Formalism

System and Parody: Notes Towards a Description of Two Aspects of the Theory of Translation of Russian Formalism

Dali Ancient City Tourism Industry Culture and Tourism Publicity Text Translation Characteristics

With the continuous development of tourism in Dali, more and more tourists are attracted to visit Dali, including a large number of overseas tourists. Therefore, in order to help overseas tourists better understand the local folk customs and promote the better development of tourism in Dali, this paper, from the perspective of tourism translation texts in Dali and the German functional theory, compares and analyzes the English Translation Materials of tourism texts in Dali. Based on the principles of English-Chinese translation, this paper summarizes the characteristics of tourism text translation in Dali Ancient City from three aspects: vocabulary, grammar and tense. The theoretical basis of this thesis is that the German functional theory can play a useful role in translation practice, especially in non-literary translation and tourism translation. On the one hand, it provides evidence for functional translation theory. On the other hand, it provides some constructive suggestions for English translation of tourism culture materials in Dali. Thus draw the distance between tourists and the propaganda text, so that tourists can not only enjoy the beautiful scenery, but also feel the charm of Dali culture.

Digital Data for the Sociology of Translation and the History of Translation

Digital Data for the Sociology of Translation and the History of Translation

The post-Babel condition: Paul Ricoeur’s translator’s task

ABSTRACT Paul Ricoeur’s ethics of translation has recently inspired a number of authors in Translation Studies. In this article, I argue that the entire scope and potential impact of Ricoeur’s thought on translation theory and practice can only be fully grasped when considering his critical dialogue with previous traditions of thought. This dialogue manifests itself in two rereadings that Ricoeur performs throughout On Translation: Firstly, of the myth of Babel and secondly, of Walter Benjamin’s essay ‘The translator’s task.’ In the first part of this article, I retrace how Ricoeur rejects the traditional idea of Babel as a catastrophic event and instead argues for an understanding of multiplicity as a gift, the ‘human condition’ as it ought to be. In the second part, I explore how Ricoeur, based on this rereading of the Babel narrative, engages with Walter Benjamin’s essay. I argue that it is essentially through a reinterpretation of Antoine Berman’s reading of Benjamin that Ricoeur rearticulates the translator’s task in ethical terms. While this particular constellation between Benjamin and Berman has received little attention, my claim is that it is actually essential for Ricoeur’s idea of translation as ‘linguistic hospitality’ and its potential relevance for Translation Studies.

Transcreation in Advertisement Slogans from the Perspective of Communicative Translation Theory

Transcreation in Advertisement Slogans from the Perspective of Communicative Translation Theory

Transliteration in Chinese-to-English Translation from the Perspective of Xuanzang's "Five Principles of Non-Translation"

Xuanzang, a renowned translator of Buddhist scriptures in ancient Chinese history, advocated the use of transliteration in his translation theory, which is primarily reflected in his "Five Principles of Non-Translation". These principles primarily apply to five aspects: mysterious terms, polysemous words, borrowed words, conventionally translated terms, and special Buddhist terminology. This article delves into the transliteration methods employed in translating Chinese to other languages, drawing on the "Five Principles of Non-Translation". It examines the essence of this theory and its contemporary feasibility, highlighting the value of Xuanzang's principles.

A Contrastive Analysis of selected English and Urdu translations: The story of Adam and Eve in the Holy Qur’an

The objective of this study is to examine the differences and similarities in the meanings and concepts of the translated story of Adam and Eve ?????? ????? in English and Urdu languages. The study focuses on the translation procedures utilized by the translators and traces interference in the Qur’an’s story of Adam and Eve as it is translated into English and Urdu languages. The study delimits the verses of the story of Adam and Eve and utilizes Eugene Albert Nida’s equivalence translation theory (1964) to identify, describe, and explain the linguistic components of the story of Adam and Eve in English and Urdu languages. The study discovers that there are morphological and word omissions and additions, syntactic and semantic shifts in the story of Adam and Eve in English and Urdu languages. The study observes English and Urdu language translators construct the meanings and concepts differently with the help of different choices of words in the target texts (TTs) and with the utilization of the translation procedures and interfere in the story of Adam and Eve in English and Urdu languages.

Domestication and Foreignization Translation Strategies Used in Nepali Constitution

This research examines the domestication and foreignization translation strategies used in the Constitution of Nepal 2015 analyzing official and unofficial translations of the constitution. How these translation strategies have been used to convey the source language (SL) message to the target language (TL) readers despite the linguistic and cultural differences is searched. The corporate author’s official translation of the Law Book Management Board (LBMB) and the unofficial translation by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) have been used to collect, analyze, and interpret data. Venuti’s translation theory of domestication and foreignization is used for the theoretical framework. The objective of this research is to find the effectiveness of these two strategies for the translation of the Nepali constitution. This research finds both the domestication and the foreignization translation strategies have been used in parallel for the translation of the Constitution of Nepal 2015. It concludes that using both strategies simultaneously as complements of one another increases the comprehensibility of the translation.

Who is the language policy for? Translation discrepancies and their implications to (dis)trust

This paper investigates the impact of language policy translation as a discursive action on historical and political mechanisms of trust within the context of Indigenous language revitalization in Taiwan. Combining a critical discourse studies approach and translation theories, we examine the translation discrepancies between the Chinese source text and the English translation of Tawain’s Indigenous Language Development Act (2017). We focus on the analysis of the interpersonal meanings conveyed by two Chinese modal verbs (ying/應 and de/得), aiming to elucidate how Taiwan’s Government positions itself within both language versions. The findings suggest that the government constructs itself as more actively responsible for the Indigenous language development in the English version. This strategic move reflects the government’s commitment to enhancing Taiwan’s international reputation as the English version is meant for global audiences. Considering language policy is inherently ideological with the government’s political intentions, we discuss the implication of distrust created by the translation discrepancy. This study highlights that language policy translation can be recontextualized to suit a government’s political agendas and ideological appropriations.

Subtitle Translation of Chinese Elements in View of Cultural Translation: A Case Study of Ne Zha: I Am the Destiny

Guided by Bassnett’s cultural translation theory, this paper probes the strategies and methods used in subtitle translation of film and television productions containing Chinese elements. Taking the translation of lines from Ne Zha: I Am the Destiny, it analyzes the language expressions of Chinese tradition and categorizes the methods of dealing with cultural elements in the translation process. The aim is to elevate the translation quality of film subtitles from a cultural perspective, facilitating better communication between the original-language films and target-language audiences, and promoting cross-cultural exchanges.

Adopting agile in government: a comparative case study

ABSTRACT This study examines the adoption of agile in public administrations through the lens of Scandinavian institutionalism and translation theory. By conducting interviews in 19 German public administrations, we investigate how agile is translated into public settings and how they address associated challenges. Our findings reveal three translation modes: agile stripped down to a cultural concept, agile as governance to foster cross-functional collaboration, and agile as methodology, adhering closely to its original values and principles. As such, our study contributes to a better understanding of and theoretical advancements surrounding agile in government.

Translation as a synthesis of cultures in the context of modern theories of translation

Translation as a synthesis of cultures in the context of modern theories of translation

A Study of Humorous Subtitle Translation of the Big Bang Theory From the Perspective of the Translation Variation Theory

Under the background of economic globalization, British and American movies and TV series have become one of the important ways of cultural exchange and communication between China and the west, and subtitle translation also plays an increasingly important role in cross-cultural communication. Taking the American sitcom "the Big Bang Theory" as an example, its language is characterized by humor and personality. This paper first summarizes the characteristics of subtitle translation of sitcoms, then analyzes the types of humor translation from three aspects: general humor, cultural humor and linguistic humor, and then analyzes the specific examples of "addition, subtraction, compilation and modification" to investigate the guiding role of translation variation theory in subtitle translation.

Professionals’ views on the concepts of translation: the challenge of categorisation

ABSTRACT In this article, we analyse and discuss translation professionals’ views on the concepts of their trade: the concept of translation itself but also adjacent notions such as subtitling, interpreting, localisation and transcreation. Through focus groups with translators and translation project managers working for a translation agency, we explore how practitioners understand the concepts of translation, how they categorise and why they categorise as they do. Data were analysed by means of prototype theory, and results show that the focus-group participants understand prototypical translation rather narrowly as source-text oriented, written, interlingual transfer, but also that they have a broad and nuanced understanding of translation as a category. Beyond the prototype, they use ‘translation’ as a cover term for a wide variety of tasks that involve different degrees of intervention, transformation and creativity. Interestingly, the analyses show that the practitioners in the study categorise quite differently than translation scholars do. They draw on a fluctuating set of criteria for categorisation, some of which are highly pragmatic (e.g. pricing), and their definitions are much more floating and context-sensitive. In fact, they operate with different concepts depending on whom they interact with: clients, colleagues – or scholars.

The Analysis of Xu Yuanchong’s Translation Style

This article analyzes the current research on translations by Xu Yuanchong, a literary translator with over sixty years of experience who has translated approximately sixty works, encompassing both literary pieces and translation theory. His translation theory, rooted in extensive translation practice, holds practical value and significant guiding relevance. This article examines Xu Yuanchong’s translation characteristics based on his linguistic perspective and features. Finally, through specific translation examples, the article discusses the application of the “three beauties” theory, highlighting its limitations and the existing gap between theory and practice.

Translation Theory: A Historical-Thematic Account

The main function of Translation Studies is to study issues of translation production and propose solutions for translation problems. Today, Translation Studies is an academic discipline that is gaining more recognition in the academic community. More than that many scholars of different backgrounds and fields of study like literature, history, anthropology, semiotics, and philosophy have been attracted by translation studies. This article is divided into three sections. The first section presents a brief history of Translation Studies. The second section discusses definitions and meanings of the word 'translation'. The third section analyses different theories of translation.