Master of Translation solutions Anthony Pym Master of

Master of Translation solutions Anthony Pym

Master of Translation Your questions on solutions: - What should I do to solve “real translation problem”? Is there a strict distinction between free translation and literal translation? How should I translate those informal words form the internet? How to address all the ideas which can sometimes be lost in translation due to cultural difference? When translating a text, is it suitable to use catchwords? What is the point when translating jokes, entertainment works, especially some unique artistic forms into a completely different cultural background? When should we make an annotation in translation? How can I improve the quality of my translations?

Master of Translation Please translate for publication in technical texts in China: 1. Segway 2. Zeitgeist 3. Hoverboard 4. Skyscraper 5. Translation Studies 6. No vacancies 7. The Real IRA 8. The final whistle (in a soccer game) 9. “You can call me Bill. ” 10. Pearls before swine. 11. Before you could say Jack Robinson. 12. There is a 327 -meter freeway between the two cities.

Master of Translation Please translate for publication in technical texts in China: [Here just indicate the problem and how you would solve it. ] The Spanish Government retains the sole property rights to this document without prejudice to rights of the holder and therefore recommends that the holder take the utmost care regarding the custody and use of the passport and requests that whatsoever authority or other person return the passport to the Spanish authorities should it be lost or used in an unjustified way.

Master of Translation What interpreters do: Eliminate superfluous material. Compress. Add explicitation when necessary (“CPT” means Colored Persons Time”) Add metalinguistic commentary when necessary (“A proverb meaning act now. ”)

Master of Translation What happens in written translation?

Master of Translation What happens in written translation?

Master of Translation Applied to Chinese-English translation Loh (1958):

Master of Translation Pym 2016:

Master of Translation Copying words: Taking words straight into another language, e. g. "software, “ "punk. ” Because the target language has no (generally used) equivalent: "sputniks. “ Or because the source-language word sounds "better" Or to retain some "feel" of the source language: "Madrileños are surprisingly unworldly. ” - But strangeness wears off: �� (ma li) -

Master of Translation Copying structure (calque): - skyscraper, gratte-ciel, rascacielos, arranha-céu, 摩天搂 Airplane, �机 ? ? Coca Cola 可口可乐 ‘The Price is Right’ rendered as ‘Der Preis ist heiß’ All instances where form predominates over content.

Master of Translation So which solutions did you use? : 1. Segway 2. Zeitgeist 3. Hoverboard 4. Skyscraper 5. Translation Studies

Master of Translation Perspective change - No vacancies / Complet (antonomy) Shallow / Peu profond ‘Yesterday I gave an unprepared speech before a big audience’ ‘昨天我在广大听众之前即席致词’ [yesterday I big audience before improvise speech] (Loh 1958).

Master of Translation Perspective change - Voice: ‘Here in Australia’ / ‘in Australia’ - Register: ‘Is it more “Hey dude” or “Dear Sir”? ’

Master of Translation Density change 1. Spread the information over more textual space: Explicitation: “Eton” becomes “The exclusive private school Eton” 2. Offer multiple translations: A sense of jouissance (at once enjoyment and orgasm) 3. Reduce the amount of information in the same textual space: “La festa de Sant Jordi” becomes “A Catalan fiesta”

Master of Translation Density change 4. Simplified syntax makes the expression less dense: The public service is carrying out ongoing adjustments to its tax review policy. We are changing the way we review your tax payments.

Master of Translation Resegmentation 1. Cutting up sentences or joining them together. 2. Changing paragraph divisions. 3. Changing chapter divisions.

Master of Translation Compensation 1. Translating on a different linguistic level: Informal pronouns rendered as informal contractions (aint, wanna…) Fr. “On se tutoie”, En. “Call me Bill”. 2. Translating in a different place in the text: Footnotes, prefaces, paratexts

Master of Translation Cultural correspondence 1. Corresponding idioms: “Give him an inch and he will take a mile” 得寸�尺 [get inch, take foot] (Loh 1958: 2. 107) Apple of one’s eye 掌上明珠 2. Culture-specific items: Units of measurement Currencies Forms of address

Master of Translation Text tailoring 1. Correction of mistakes 2. Updating 3. Omission of content 4. Addition of content

Master of Translation solutions for many languages

Master of Translation So which solution types did you use? 1. Segway 2. Zeitgeist 3. Hoverboard 4. Skyscraper 5. Translation Studies 6. No vacancies 7. The Real IRA 8. The final whistle (in a soccer game) 9. “You can call me Bill. ” 10. Pearls before swine. 11. Before you could say Jack Robinson. 12. There is a 327 -meter freeway between the two cities.

Master of Translation The Spanish Government retains the sole property rights to this document without prejudice to rights of the holder and therefore recommends that the holder take the utmost care regarding the custody and use of the passport and requests that whatsoever authority or other person return the passport to the Spanish authorities should it be lost or used in an unjustified way. The white man has led human progress for the past two thousand years.

Master of Translation Your mission: Please identify instances of the eight main solution types in at least one page of a translation. Tag them with Comments. Count how many there are of each. For example:

Master of Translation Your mission: Very briefly: Is it easy to distinguish between the solution types? If not, why not? How do you think these categories could be improved? Which of these solutions do you think tend not to be given by MT systems?