All about "Translation"

 

Meaning and Definition of Translation 

 Meaning of Translation 

The English word translation has been derived from the Latin word translation, which 

itself comes from trans- and latum—together meaning "a carrying across" or "a bringing 

across. In other words, it is the business of carrying across a message/written content 

from one text to another, from one person to another and from one language(source 

language) to a different language (target language). It can happen within the same 

language (from one dialect to another dialect or from one form to another) or between 

languages. It is best seen as a communication process where the transfer of a 

message/written content from one language into a new language takes place. 

However, poets engaged in the job of translation often think of translation as 

‘interpretation’, ‘taking a view’, ‘bringing to life’, or ‘transformation’. Whatever may be 

its meaning, every act of translation involves the expression of sense. A translation is a 

text that is considered to be different from the original (the source text) but it is also a 

fact that the source text and the translated text are the same in terms of the sense they 

convey. It is often said that translation gives new clothes to a piece of writing by putting 

it in a different form. This interactive relationship between source and translation goes on 

in the hands of mature translators of prose and drama but it is the best in poetry. 

Definition of Translation 

Roman Jakobson, a leading linguist and noted expert in the subject of translation, defined 

translation as "the interpretation of verbal signs by means of some other language."' 

Through this process of translation, texts in one language are transformed into texts in 

another language with the same meaning. These materials range from the isolated words 

in a language to the complex network of sentences of philosophical texts.

Some scholars define translation as an art or craft and some others call it a science. It is 

called an art as all good translations are expressions of the creative urge of the translators. 

Likewise, it is a science because of the technical formalities and complexities involved in 

its process. 

Oxford University defines translation as ‘The process of translating words or text from

one language into another:’ The Cambridge Dictionary also endorses that. This can

mean the word to word rendering of the text in one language to another or replacing

the equivalents of the words or phrases in one text to another

Responsibilities of a Good Translator

A good translator is not born, but made. With a little care and some labour, a person can

acquire the skills of a good translator. Some of the qualities that distinguish a good and

successful translator from a bad or unsuccessful translator are mentioned below.

Faithfulness to the Original Text and the Author: A competent translator should try to

get into the mind of the writer of the original text in the source language. S/He should

also fully understand the sense and meaning of the original author. S/He should try to putin every effort to ensure that the translation resembles the original text or is very close to

the original text in terms of its sense and message. Expert and experienced translators

know the requirements of a text, and make changes to communicate the style and

essence of a text with minimal variations from the original. While trying to be faithful to

the original text, s/he should not try to find difficult equivalent words in the hope that this

will add to the perfection of your translation. A faithful translator should act like the

author's mouthpiece in a way that he knows and comprehends fully whatever the original

author has said in his text. The translation should have all the ease of the original

composition.

 Technical Expertise: The translator has to be an analytical person with necessary

flexibility, adaptability and expertise in the use of technology so that s/he can pay close

attention to all details and adapt whenever there is a need. Moreover, s/he should have

thorough knowledge of the subject that s/he deals with. A person translating the

biography of a great personality should have thorough knowledge about the life and

achievements of the person concerned. A translator should be an excellent writer with

good research and language skills so that s/he can find out things which s/he requires and

make use of them in appropriate places. Writing skills help a translator make intelligent

choices in regard to words, structures and expressions. The translator should use forms of

speech and expressions in common use so that the audience is able to comprehend them

properly. Finally s/he should choose and order words appropriately to produce the

correct tone and convey the desired meaning.

 Using the Right Tools: The experienced translators know how to use the tools like good

monolingual and bilingual dictionaries, encyclopedias, e-dictionaries, glossaries of

technical and standard works, etc. pertaining to the SL text and style guides to help

him/her out in moments of difficulty. One should start using them from the beginning so

that in course of time it becomes easy to find out the equivalent terms without wasting

much time and energy on them. Having the dictionaries on the computer can also save

a lot of time and labour. .

 Focus on Creativity: Expert translators are always creative. They always try to put the

text in the target language in a new and attractive garb to make it more acceptable to the

audience in the target language. They do this by using a new vocabulary, new

expressions and structures whenever necessary to make the translated text more

appealing to the audience. It is because of the creative component and the amount of

liberty involved in an act of translation, a translator finds his/her job very rewarding and

intellectually stimulating.

 Focus on Reading as an Important Pre-requisite: A serious translator should read a

lot to have an in depth understanding of the nuances of the languages s/he deals

with(both the source language and the target language). This habit is essential to help a

translator gain command of the language. In the list of reading materials, one may put the

classics, newspapers and digital material available online on the internet. .