Sentential intersentential Issues in translation 152022 1 Translation

Sentential & intersentential Issues in translation 1/5/2022 1

Translation Work levels

TEXTUAL VARIABLES ON THE SENTENTIAL LEVEL • From the point of view of Arabic/English translation, there are three major non-syntactic features of the sentence: • (i) prosodic features, such as intonation or stress; • (ii) theme and rheme; that is, the presentation of information as more or less predictable typically through the choice of a particular sequential order of elements within the sentence; • (iii) foregrounding and backgrounding; that is, the presentation of information as more or less important for the overall development of the text. 1/5/2022 4

GS determines an utterance purpose • Different grammatical arrangements create different assumptions in the listener or reader as regards the communicative purpose of an utterance. Consider these lines: Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun; [. . . ] They are partly an address to Autumn and partly an exclamation about it: • The very structure of the utterance leads the receiver to expect an expression of wonderment and enthusiasm. • A different grammatical arrangement, however, would most likely announce a different communicative purpose. For instance: Autumn is a season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. It is a close bosom-friend of the maturing sun. 1/5/2022 5

GS determines utterance purpose • Different grammatical arrangements create different assumptions in the listener or reader as regards the communicative purpose of an utterance. Consider these lines: ﺃﺒﺪﺭ ﺑﺪﻯ ﻣﻦ ﺟﺎﻧﺐ ﺍﻟﻄﻮﺭ ﻃﺎﻟﻊ ﺃﻢ ﺍﻧﻜﺸﻔﺖ ﻋﻦ ﻭﺟﻪ ﻟﻴﻠﻰ ﺍﻟﺒﺮﺍﻗﻊ This is an exclamation in the form of rhetorical question about the beauty of his mistress: The very structure of the utterance leads the receiver to expect an expression of wonderment and enthusiasm. • A different grammatical arrangement, however, would most likely announce a different communicative purpose. For instance: ﺍﻟﺒﺪﺭ ﺑﺪﻯ ﻣﻦ ﺟﺎﻧﺐ ﺍﻟﻄﻮﺭ ﻃﺎﻟﻊ ﻭﺍﻧﻜﺸﻔﺖ ﻋﻦ ﻭﺟﻪ ﻟﻴﻠﻰ ﺍﻟﺒﺮﺍﻗﻊ 1/5/2022 6

This structure announces a more purely informative text - even though, in the event, phonic and lexical features do give the utterances something more than simply informative value. In each version the GA marks the utterances as having a particular communicative purpose, whatever overtones may turn out to be involved. Looking at the communicative purpose of a given GA in its own right, we are considering the utterance on the sentential level. 1/5/2022 7

Dealing with sentential issues in translation, it is often impossible both in translation and in linguistic analysis to consider one sentence in isolation from other surrounding sentences. Discussing sentential issues will normally exceed the level of the discrete sentence, this intends to explicate features at the level of the individual sentence. 1/5/2022 8

A sentence is defined as: a complete, self-contained and readymade vehicle for communication: nothing needs to be added before it can be uttered and understood in concrete situations. The starter's one-word command ‘Go!’ is a sentence. So is ‘No way!' expressing refusal or disbelief, or 'Good' in response to confirmation of your accepting a proposal. 1/5/2022 9

Linking : Significant discourse level feature • GA at the sentential level can mark the text, for instance, as informative, rather than an expression of excitement. Part of this sentential effect derives from the pronoun 'It', [see: ﺍﻝ / ]ﻭ , which explicitly links the second sentence to the first as conveying additional information about Autumn [her Countenance]. Such linking of one sentence to another is the most significant feature on the discourse level. 1/5/2022 10

Reminders & Pieces of Advice

Sentence and discourse levels overlap • Sentential and discourse levels will necessarily overlap given the tendency for information conveyed in a single sentence in Arabic to be conveyed in more than one sentence in English. • This overlap need not pose a practical problem as to whether this feature belongs to sentence or discourse level. • Novice translators need to research expressions they think may have intertextual resonance. 1/5/2022 12

Function & relevance of intertextual allusion • In case you face an intertextual allusion, you should assess its function in the ST, and hence its strategic importance. • (Setting pieces for assessment or examination, it is reasonable to given intertextual references in a footnote or in the contextual information, unless they are obvious or can be easily traced in reference works. ) 1/5/2022 13

Arabic Vs. English Sentence Structure • Translating from Arabic ST, you need to meet the challenge of breaking up the ST into smaller TT sentences, and the more radical textual restructuring. • The somewhat poetic and lively tone of parts of the ST provides requires the use of appropriate rhetorical and metaphorical forms at various points in the TT. 1/5/2022 14

Cohesive Devices in ST and TT • English forms may have corresponding major inter-clausal/inter-sentential connectors as Arabic. However, they may not use forms corresponding to the Arabic connectors. • Arabic ST may be characterized by quite complex structures, as very often, are original English language texts involving a political undertone. 1/5/2022 15

Splitting and textual restructuring • Multiple relative clauses in Arabic would be expected to either be broken up into separate TT sentences, or to be subject to a variety of translation techniques in order to avoid over-repetition of ‘pronouns’ in TT. • Long Arabic sentences require splitting and/or appropriate textual restructuring. 1/5/2022 16

Discourse level textual variables & concern The textual variables considered on the discourse level are those that distinguish a cohesive and coherent textual flow from a random sequence of unrelated utterances. Discourse level is concerned with intersentential relations and with relations between larger units, such as paragraphs, stanzas, chapters, and so on. 17

Intra-sentential relations at DISCOURSE LEVEL It is sometimes useful also to consider relations between parts of sentences on the discourse level (and particularly clauses), as if the parts were sentences in their own right. This is particularly important with respect to Arabic; Arabic sentences are often extremely long, and the lack of consistent punctuation in much modem Arabic writing makes it impossible to determine unambiguously where one sentence ends in Arabic and another begins. 18

Translation Analysis at DISCOURSE LEVEL Intersentential issues most clearly illustrate translation issues on the discourse level. The crucial issue from the point of view of translation analysis is not that one assigns a particular feature to one of the two levels, but rather that the overall theoretical framework allows for the feature in question to be dealt with somewhere. 19

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