Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Main points:
the tension between the truth or facts of the matter and the
translators competence
2 STEP BY STEP
1.1. Introduction
Quote 1.1
El traductor siempre ha sufrido un complejo absurdo,
pero real. Es como el crtico literario, del que siempre
se dice que es un escritor frustrado. El traductor
parece que quera llegar a otra cosa, pero al final se
qued en traductor [...] La traduccin es un trabajo tan
poco creativo como ayudar a un ciego a cruzar la calle.
No podemos, adems, intentar ensearle a bailar el
tango.
Mendoza, E. 2001
THE INS AND OUTS OF TRANSLATION 3
Quote 1.2
The process of translation between two written
languages involves the translator changing an original
written text (the source text or ST) in the original verbal
language (the source language or SL) into a written text
(the target text or TT) in a different verbal language (the
target language or TL).
Munday, J. 2001: 5
Quote 1.3
Singulirement, quand il sagit de traduction, la rflexion
commence dabord par sinterroger sur la possibilit mme
de cette pratique quelle prend pour objet; bien plus, la
tendance lourdement prdominante est de conclure
limpossibilit de traduire!
Ladmiral, J.R. 1979: 85
not deny their existence just because they do not match those
faultless models to perfection:
Quote 1.4.
Muy bien. Es imposible traducir. Pero la imposibilidad a la
que suele aludirse as es la imposibilidad de la Traduccin.
Es decir, es aquella imposibilidad que aconsejara no
construir ms casas, pues, en definitiva, todas terminan
teniendo goteras y cayndose; porque no se puede construir
la Casa.
Lpez Garca, D. 1991: 9
Quote 1.5.
Translators will always be needed. Without them, there
would be no summit talks, no glasnost or perestroika, no
Cannes Film Festival, no Nobel prizes, no advances in
medicine, science, or engineering, no international law, no
Olympic Games, no Hamlet, no War and Peace...
Duff, A. 1989
Quote 1.6
Traductores olmpicos. Me apena comprobar que en el
artculo sobre Personajes olmpicos (El Pas Semanal, 19
de julio), que agrupa a 197 personas representantes de los
colectivos que han hecho posibles los Juegos Olmpicos,
hayan omitido a los traductores e intrpretes; sin nosotros,
Barcelona hubiera sido una inconexa babel en la que la
gran idea no se hubiera hecho realidad.
From Beeby, L.A. 1996: 4
Quote 1.7
[] with the proviso that although equivalence can usually
be obtained to some extent, it is influenced by a variety of
linguistic and cultural factors and is therefore always
relative.
Baker, M. 1992: 6
3. SL WRITER 8. TL CULTURE
7. SL CULTURE 4. TL
READERSHIP
2. TRANSLATOR
4 However, some people claim that this is just a legend that has managed to
survive in marketing textbooks and business seminars as an example of human
folly (cf. http://www.snopes.com/business/misxlate/nova.asp. Retrieved 12 March
2007).
14 STEP BY STEP
TT 1.1.1
Sabes el del lepero que intent secuestrar un avin
para ir a Huelva?
Pues resulta que eligi uno que ya se diriga all.
TT 1.1.2
Saba el del irlands que trat de secuestrar un avin y
dirigirlo a Dubln?
Ya iba all [M.P: 292]
ST 1.2
Oly-er than thou [Witteman, P.A. (1994) Time Magazine,
21 February]
The author argues that those who think that the aggressive
professionalism of Olympic athletes such as Harding is
besmirching the honour of the Games should reconsider that
fighting has always been part of the game and that Harding is
by no means the first skunk at the garden party. For the
headline, the writer creates quite an elaborate play on words:
by adding the comparative suffix er to the beginning of the
word Olympics, he creates an adjective that sounds similar to
Holier. In this way, the wordplay activates the meaning Holier
than thou, which makes reference to the need for athletes to
THE INS AND OUTS OF TRANSLATION 19
TT 1.2.1
La primera piedra
TT 1.2.2
Conflicto en las Olimpiadas
ST 1.3
Akira Sakazaki has typed his last question, [...] popped a TV
dinner into the microwave oven, and, while waiting for it to
cook, reads his airmail edition of the Times Literary
Supplement and listens to Mendelssohns Violin Concerto
on his stereo headphones [...] Akira Sakazaki strips the foil
from his TV dinner and tunes his radio to receive the BBC
World Service. [S.W: 113]
TT 1.3.1
Akira Sakazaki ha mecanografiado su ltima pregunta, [...]
metido una cena rpida en el horno microondas y, mientras
espera que se cueza, lee su edicin va area del Times
Literary Supplement y escucha el concierto de violn de
Mendelssohn en sus auriculares estereofnicos [...] Akira
Sakazaki rasga el papel de aluminio de su cena rpida y
sintoniza su radio para captar el World Service de la BBC.
[M.P: 150]
TT 1.3.2
Akira Sakazaki ha mecanografiado su ltima pregunta, [...]
metido el plato precocinado en el horno microondas y,
mientras espera que se haga, lee en soledad su edicin va
area de la revista de literatura del Times y escucha el
concierto de violn de Mendelssohn con los auriculares de su
estreo [...] Akira Sakazaki le quita el papel de aluminio a su
plato precocinado y sintoniza la radio para escuchar las
noticias internacionales de la BBC World Service.
1.7. Summary
The first and most basic definition of translation that springs to
most peoples minds is probably that of a process between two
different written languages. But such an effortless, clear-cut
description is nothing but illusive. The truth is that undergoing
the translation process is by no means a simple task. In
performing their work, translators have to face a great number
of problems that force them to take difficult decisions in order
to solve the difficulties at the least expense in time, effort and
loss of meaning. In the following chapters, we will attempt to
show how linguistic and textual analysis can guide translators
decisions when carrying out their work. Here we have
discussed the nature of the object of study and examined some
of the factors that place translators in those puzzling situations
and make translation a problem-solving task.
Review questions
THE INS AND OUTS OF TRANSLATION 23
Further reading
Translatability is commonplace in most translation works; the
question is raised either directly (that is, formulating the
question openly) or indirectly (for instance, in relation to the
concept of equivalence, translation difficulties and methods to
overcome them, etc.). In this sense, the basic factors that in
Nidas (1964: 53-55) opinion constitute the grounds for human
communication become an excellent justification for
translatability. More specifically, Hatim and Mason (1990: 21-
35) offer a clear and concise summary of this question, relating
the impossibility of translation to the strong version of the
Sapir-Whorf linguistic relativity hypothesis and to structuralist
approaches to translation. Venutis (2000) selection of some of
the most important twentieth-century contributions to
24 STEP BY STEP
Exercises
Layout of Exercise 1
Working Procedure
Working in pairs, students discuss the different situations and
try to identify the type of activity involved in any of the
conditions. Then, the solutions are compared in a class
discussion in which partners justify their conclusions.
1. Cheryl Summerbee was very much in favour of love. She firmly believed
that it made the world go round, and did her bit to keep the globe
spinning on its axis by her discreet management of the seating on British
Airways Tridents. On the shelf under her counter she kept a Bills and
Moon romance to read in those slack periods when there were no
passengers to deal with. [S.W: 114
Cheryl Summerbee era una gran partidaria del amor. Crea firmemente
que ste haca girar el mundo, y aada su granito de arena para
mantener el globo girando sobre su eje gracias a su discreta
manipulacin de los asientos en los Tridents de la British Airways. En el
estante debajo de su mostrador guardaba una novela rosa Bills and
Moon para leer en aquellos perodos de calma en los que no haba
pasajeros a los que atender.
(N. del T.) Mills and Boon es una editorial britnica especializada en este
tipo de novelas. [M.P: 152
Layout of Exercise 2
Materials needed
Here we have used a selection of passages from David Lodges
novel Small World and its translation into Spanish El Mundo es
un Pauelo by Esteban Riambau Saur. The translation of the
extracts chosen poses various problems of a humorous and
cultural kind that are particularly hard to overcome.
Working Procedure
THE INS AND OUTS OF TRANSLATION 27
Layout of Exercise 3
Working Procedure
Students are first asked to individually write a list of all the
applications of translation that spring to their minds. Later,
they are asked to compare their lists in groups of three or four
in order to make a new list with all the possibilities. Finally, the
groups read out their lists in class and a debate is led by the
teacher.
LITERAL
FREE
eg. translating
a contract for
legal purposes
Layout of Exercise 4
Aim of the exercise
The aim of the exercise is to make students aware that opting
for a literal or a free method is a matter of degree and depends
ultimately on the translation situation and the purpose of the
translation command.
Working Procedure
Working in groups of three or four, students decide on which is
the most appropriate place along the continuum for each of the
translation situations described. When finished, the solutions
provided by the different groups are compared in a class
discussion led by the teacher.
EXERCISE 5. On equivalence
THE INS AND OUTS OF TRANSLATION 29
1.Morris Zapp took his departure from Milan as soon as he decently could,
if decent was a word that could be applied to the Morgana Mnage,
which he ventured to doubt. The troilism party had not been a success.
As soon as it became evident that he was expected to fool around with
Ernesto as well as Fulvia, Morris had made his excuses and left the
mirrored bedchamber. [S.W: 150]
2.In this sport, Akira sees an allegory of the elations and frustrations of his
work as translator [...] Neglected at his feet lies a blue aerogramme with
questions neatly typed: p. 152, jam-butty. What is it? p. 182, Y-fronts.
What are they? p. 191 sweet fanny adams. Who is she? [S.W: 142]
3. Another conference?
Right. Some conference on John.
John? John who?
Pabst shrugs. Angie didnt say. She just said she was going to a
conference on John, University of Hawaii.
Could it have been Genre?
Thats it. Pabst looked at his watch. Im sorry, McGarrigle, but I have to
leave now. You can walk me to the plane if you have any more questions.
[S.W: 279]
30 STEP BY STEP
Otro congreso?
Exacto. Un congreso sobre Genaro.
Genaro? Genaro qu?
Pabst se encoge de hombros.
Angie no lo dijo. Slo dijo que iba a unas conferencias sobre John, en la
Universidad de Hawai.
Pudo haber sido Gnero?
Eso es. Pabst consult su reloj. Lo siento, McGarrigle, pero ahora
tengo que marcharme. Puede acompaarme si tiene ms preguntas
que hacer. [M.P: 349]
Layout of Exercise 5
o the top of the Adult to Child Translation world.'
Aim of the exercise
The aim of the exercise is to introduce students to the concept
of equivalence, laying special emphasis on its pragmatic and
relative role.
Materials needed
Any text containing several terms or expressions which cannot
be translated literally into Spanish. Here we have chosen
several passages from David Lodges Small World and its
translation into Spanish El mundo es un pauelo by Esteban
Riambau Saur.
Working Procedure
Students work with a partner. They compare ST and TT and
discuss the problems encountered and their solutions, focusing
on the equivalence between the SL and TL expressions. Finally,
the different analyses are compared in a class discussion led by
the teacher.
Layout of Exercise 6
Aim of the exercise
The aim is to increase students awareness of the fact that
translation errors can have serious social implications,
encouraging them to reflect on the perils of altering the
meaning of the ST.
Working Procedure
Students are first asked to individually make a list of the
possible consequences a mistake in translation could have in
each of the situations stated above. Later, they compare their
lists in groups of three or four in order to make a new list of the
possibilities. Finally, the groups read out their lists and the
teacher initiates a class debate.
As we crunched up the drive at last with a pause for God to put his
thumbs together and do a few minutes trance practice God told me that
the house was owned by Carl and Marianne, friends of Eva, whod recently
been trekking in India. This was immediately obvious from the sandalwood
Buddhas, brass ashtrays and striped plaster elephants which decorated
every available space. And by the fact that Carl and Marianne stood
barefoot at the door as we entered, the palms of their hands together in
prayer and their heads bowed as if they were temple servants and not
partners in the local TV rental firm of Rumbold & Toedrip. []
After shaking a few hands I managed to get comfortably settled on a
shiny black sofa, my feet on a furry white rug, with my back to a row of fat
books handtooled in plastic abridged versions (with illustrations) of
Vanity Fair and The Woman in White.[]
Beside the double-glazed French windows, with their view of the long
garden and its goldfish pond glowing under purple light was a bar. Not
many people were drinking on this big spiritual occasion, but I could easily
have put back a couple of pints. It wouldnt have looked too good, though,
32 STEP BY STEP
even I knew that. Mariannes daughter and an older girl in tight hotpants
were serving lassi and hot Indian nibbles, guaranteed, I knew, to make you
fart like a geriatric on All-bran. [B.O.S: 30-1]
rose to t
Layout of Exercise 7
e top of the Adult to Child Translation world.'
Aim of the exercise
The aim of the exercise is to make students aware of the
problems relating to the transfer of cultural information,
especially the difficulties of deciding what relevant details
should be transmitted explicitly to the TL audience.
Materials needed
A text containing several terms or expressions that involve the
transmission of cultural information. We have chosen here a
text from The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi.
Working Procedure
Students first work individually doing their own translation.
Afterwards, they discuss the problems and their solutions with
a partner. To finish, the different translations are compared in a
class debate led by the teacher.