Translation One Dr Mahmoud Altarabin What is translation

Translation One Dr. Mahmoud Altarabin

What is translation?

q. Theorists and linguists have not yet come to a consensus on the definition of translation.

(Simpson and Weiner 1989: 410) 1. The action or process of turning from one language into another; also, the product of this; a version in a different language. 2. The expression or rendering of something in another medium or form, e. g. of a painting or etching.

• Hornby (2010: 1646) says that translate means: 1. to express the meaning of speech or writing in a different language. 2. to be changed from one language into another.

• Again, translation means: 1. the process of changing something that is written or spoken into another language. 2. a text or work that has been changed from one language into another.

In Arabic ● ﺗﺮﺟﻢ tarjama (to translate) means “to explain speech into another language” (Ma’loof et al. 1908/1956: 60) and (Al Bustani 1998: 69), “transfer speech into another language” (Al. Basha 1992: 253).

• Rida (1958: 391) defines ﻛﻼﻣﻪ ﺗﺮﺟﻢ tarjama kalamahu (lit. translated his speech) as “explained it”. ﺍﻟﺘﺮﺟﻤﺎﻥ atturjuman (the translator) is “the person who transfers speech from one language into another” (ibid. ).

• However, the word ﺃﻮﻝ awwala (which is the past tense of ﻳﺄﻮﻝ yu? awwel ‘to interpret’) means “explain” (Ma’loof et al. 1908/1984: 121) and Rida (1958: 224).

Nida and Taber (1974: 12) • “translating consists of reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the source language message, first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style”.

• “the replacement of textual material in one language (SL) by equivalent textual material in another language (TL)”.

• Vermeer (1987: 29) says “to translate means to produce a text in the target setting for a target purpose and a target addressee in the target circumstances. ” • Newmark (1988: 5) considers translation as “rendering the meaning of a text into another language in the way that the author intended the text. ”

• Venuti (1995: 17) defines translation as “a process by which the chain of signifiers that constitutes the source-language text is replaced by a chain of signifiers in the target language which the translator provides on the strength of an interpretation. ”

Signifier meaning • A symbol, sound, or image (as a word) that represents an underlying concept or meaning.

Hatim and Munday (2004: 6) • Define translation as “the process of transferring a written text from SL to TL, conducted by a translator, or translators, in a specific socio-cultural context. ”

• Toury (1995: 56) says “translation is a kind of activity which inevitably involves at least two languages and two cultural traditions. ”