AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF THE PROCESS OF TRANSLATION (With special reference to English / Arabic)

BY

Layachi AISSI

A Thesis Submitted To The University of Salford Faculty of Arts Department of Modern Languages in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

1987

Dedication

To my mother, brothers, and sisters who have endured with patience, understanding and courage.

CONTENTS

page Transliteration table List of abbreviations and symbols List of diagrams and tables Acknowledgement Abstract

Introduction

Chapter One: Historical Survey and Review of Literature A- Historical Survey- 1.Early Arab Translators and Their Methods 2.The Toledo Translation Movement B- Review of Literature- 1.What is translation? 2.Toward a theory of Translation C- Approaches to Translation 4 4 5 9 11 12 14 25

Chapter Two: The process of Translation A- Models of Translation 1.The Linguistic Model 2.The Hermeneutic Model 42 38 38

39

page 3.The Situational Model 4.The Transformational Generative Model B Toward a comprehensive Representation of The process of translation 51 44 47

Chapter Three: Levels of the Translator's Competence 1.Linguistic Competence 2.Comprehension Competence 3.Encyclopedic Competence 4.Reexpression Competence 5.Translation as a Decision Making Process 67 68 71 72 73 76

Chapter Four: The Analysis Phase A Primary Level Analysis 1.Linguistic Identification and Syntactic analysis 2.Semantic Analysis a.lexicosemantic analysis b.sentence meaning 3.Pragmatic Analysis B Secondary Level Analysis 1.Text Analysis 2.Stylistic Analysis 95 98 98 101 80 86 78 80

Chapter Five: The Transfer Phase and the Units of Translation 106 A The transfer Phase 106

page B The Unit of translation 1.The Morpheme 2.The word 3.The Syntagm and the Phrase 4.The Sentence 111 113 115 118 123

Chapter Six: The Synthesis Phase and Translation Procedures. 133 A Source LanguageOriented Translation Procedures 1.Borrowing 2.Calque 3.Literal Translation B Target LanguageOriented Translation Procedures 1.Transposition 2.Recasting and Restructuring 3.Modulation 4.Situational and Cultural Equivalence 5.Adaptation 6.Paraphrase

135 135 137 140

143 143 150 152 155 158 159

Summary and Findings

167

Bibliography

174

Appendix A: Sample Text: The Cohesive Devices Used in Text HD:66 Appendix B: Presentation of the Data: A Brief Study of Joseph Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness'

189

197

TRANSLITERATION

The following transliteration system has been used when representing Arabic script in this research project.The scheme is as in Haywood "A New Arabic Grammar"(1965).

th

c
h kh
Li

gh

dh

Li

Lt. L.?

sh

5 t_L

ay aw

ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS USED

SL TL SLT TLT UT TP HD NH LIT

Source Language Target Language Source Language Text Target Language Text Unit of Translation Translation procedure Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" , Arabic Translation of HD by Nuh Hazin Literally

/ III II I CC * [ ]

Enclose phonemic transcription Sentence boundary Clause boundary Syntagm boundary Rankshifted clause boundary Unacceptable form or expression Coordination

List of Diagrams and Tables

page Fig.1 Fig.2 Fig.3 Translation as Rank Bound Correspondence The Hermeneutic Model of Translation Translation Based on The Equivalence of Situations The Transformational Generative Model of Translation Generalized Communication model Extended Communication Model Translation as Interlingual Communication Process Primary Level analysis Source Language Oriented Translation Procedures 40 43

45

Fig.4

48 52 54

Fig.5 Fig.6 Fig.7

60 97

Fig.8 Fig.9

162

Fig.10 Target Language Oriented Translation Procedures

163

Acknowledgement

I wish to express my sincere thanks to my supervisor: Dr. Hassan Mustapha, who helped me during the progress of this research. I am much indebted to him for his valuable critical comment and discussion.

I would like also to express my gratitude to the Ministry of Higher Education (Algeria), and to the University of Salford for their financial help.

ABSTRACT

This study attempts to analyse the process of translation and to explore its phases (Analysis, Transfer, Synthesis ) and its related aspects.

Translation theory is usually addressed as if languages alone were at stake. In contrast to most studies on

transaltion, this study is devoted to analysing the process of translation rather than to a comparative analysis of two languages.

The study is set up on the basis of communication theory in general, and draws upon various linguistic theories and other languagerelated disciplines such as

psycholinguistics, semiotics, etc.

The basic suggestion

posited is that translation should be viewed as a special case of communication process.

Four models of the translation process are presented and discussed. All were found to be inadequate in representing the process as a whole (in its entirety). Thus, a more

comprehensive representation of the process of translation which takes into consideration various factors is proposed. The representation proposed describes the process of translation as a complex network of operations based on linguistic and extralinguistic factors.

It is argued that the main issue in translation theory should not be whether to translate literally or freely but how we can achieve an optimum translation which is the approach taken in this study. It is also hoped that this

study may be of benefit to those interested in teaching translation and training would be translators. It is also

recognized that further research is required in the area of the mental processes involved in translation.

The motivation for this study is the need felt for clarifying and describing the process of translation in order to improve the quality of translation and to design consequently an adequate syllabus for teaching translation.

Introduction

The process of translation has aroused much discussion and debate and continues to do so. Many linguists as well as

translation theorists have attempted to describe and explain the process of translation. In seeking to achieve this,

many models of translation have been proposed, their common denominator being the translator as a mediator between a source language writer and a target language reader.

However, although these models represent a treatment which surpasses the traditional approaches to translation, they are either too theoretical or limited in their scope. Moreover, they tend to be inclined toward one or the other of the main approaches to translation : TL-oriented translation. SL-oriented, or

Translation, in this study, is considered as a complex process of communication. Hence, we shall attempt to

present and analyse each phase of the process of translation and describe the various interactive operations involved in it. The representation of the process is set up on the

basis that translation is a multidisciplinary activity. The aim is to arrive at a comprehensive understanding of the process of translation.

We

shall first present a activity with an

historical survey of the emphasis on two main

translation

translation movements in the history of mankind :

the Arabs

and Toledo, their translation methods and problems.

We

shall then present an outline of the stages of translation studies and discuss earlier and more modern views on translation with an emphasis on the two main tendencies in translation translation. SLoriented translation and TLoriented

Since translation is viewed in this study as a multifarious discipline we shall draw on various views and theories from linguistics and other Languagerelated disciplines.

Having

presented we

and shall

discussed then

certain to

models propose

of a

translation,

proceed

comprehensive representation of the process of translation as a complex communication process, describe its phases and its related aspects.

It is assumed, in this study, that during the act of translating certain levels of the translator's competence coupled with decision making and problemsolving strategies are active. We shall present a general outline of what

these levels of the translator's competence might be and show their importance in the process of translation.

Our representation of the process of translation initially involves an analysis phase in which the SL text is assumed to be analysed according to a set of dimensions: syntactic,

semantic and pragmatic at primary level, and textual and stylistic at secondary level.

It should be pointed out that translation is not considered in the present study as a direct transfer from SL surface to TL surface, but through a stage of mediation dealing with meaning. Hence, in the chapter concerning the transfer

phase, we shall attempt to present and discuss some views on the abstract representation of meaning and on information processing and data storage in the human mind. Moreover, we shall relate the problem of meaning to that of finding the appropriate unit of translation.

We shall then proceed to a description of the synthesis or reconstruction phase. Assuming that the source language

text is analysed and comprehended, we shall investigate the means and procedures used to reconstruct the SL message in the IL text.

In order to illustrate and demonstrate certain aspects of the process of translation we have selected published English / Arabic textual novel materials taken mainly from

and its Arabic of Darkness' 'Heart , n A summary and a brief translation by Nuh Hazin (1979). J.Conrad's study of the novel is appended to this thesis. The reason

for the choice of the novel is that by its complexity and wide range of subject matters, it offers a great variety of linguistic and cultural facets. Moreover, it exhibits a It

number of relevant problems a translator may encounter.

should be noted however, that although most of our examples are from English and Arabic, some of the remarks may be applicable to other languages.

CHAPTER ONE

Historical Survey And Review of Literature

A. Historical Survey

Translation has been practised for thousands of years. is as old as history.

It

References to this occupation goes

back to the first traces of translation which date from 3000 BC (1).

We take it for granted that the appearance and the existence of translation was the result of the diversification of Languages and the need of people to communicate. Its

importance must have been felt from the beginning of the human civilisation. For it was and still is an

important factor in establishing contact among people of diverse languages and cultures . In order to meet the need

of communication between different people; and cultures, centres of translation were established as early as the second century BC (Alexandria). own translators and Almost each state had its (Cicero [106-43BC],

interpreters

St.Jerome [AD.347-419], Hunain [810-873] ).

Throughout history, humanity witnessed many translation movements .

However, the two main movements which had a

great influence on the development of human civilization were : the wide scale movement of Arabic translation during

the Abbasid period (750-1258), and the Toledo centre of

translation.

Followin g the advent of Islam, the Arabs knew a great scientific and cultural and development. created new They ones, developed thanks to

existin g sciences

translations from Greek, Persian, and Indian.

In its turn

their contribution to human civilization and the advancement of science was transmitted, in the Middle Ages, to Europe through Spain (2).

1. Early Arab Translators and Their Methods

The Arabs practised translation, or at least interpreting well before the advent of Islam. At all times they were in contact with other nations and cultures through trade and travel. However, the g reatest translation movement the

Arabs knew was during the Abbasid era (8th 13th century). As a result of the establishement of a great Islamic empire, the Arabs were in permanent contact with other advanced civilizations such as the Persians, the Indians, and the Byzantines.

During

Abu

Ja c -far

al

Mansilr's

rule

(8th

Century),

translation was udertaken under the auspices of the state (the Caliphate), and the first books to be translated were scientific (3).

In AD 820/832, Al ma'moun (4) founded 'Dar Al Hikma' (The House of wisdom), in Baghdad, where Greek scientific and

philosophical works were translated. At the beginning, most translators in 'Dr Al Hikma' were Nestorians whose mother tongue, Syriac, was used as an intermediary language between Greek and Arabic.

The Abbasid translators worked in groups. Their method and organization was based on 'the division of labour' taking into account the aptitudes of each translator

(see:Redouane,1980). Their method of work was as follows:

1- Study and analysis of the original text 2- Translating the text. 3- Intervention of an editor (working on the style of the TL text) 4Revision of the translated version (usually done by a 'reviser' who is a translator himself).

The Abbasid translators, not only translated works of great scientific terminology importance but carried out research on This

and compiled specialized glossaries.

marginal, but nonetheless important, activity emerged as a result of the difficulties naturally encountered while With regard to the

translating Greek scientific works.

problem of terminolo g y, the Arab translators resorted to two main techniques : (a) word-for-word translation, and (b)

the use of derivation which usually takes the form of semantic extension(5). However, when they could not find

equivalent terms or expressions, they usually transliterated the Greek terms and Left the task of finding Arabic equivalents ,1982,216). to future translators (see: Assamarg'i

During the Abbasid dynasty, Baghdad became a melting pot of the cultures of the time. Its school of translation 'Dr Al Hikma' was led by Abui Zayd Hunain Ibn Ish'iq Al c ib5di (AD 810-873)(6), and assisted by his son Ish5q (d.AD 910), and his nephew Habish Ibn Al A c sam (7).

Almost, all the branches of science of the time were "indebted to the indefatigable efforts of Hunain Ibn 1sh5q

anahis team of Translators" (GAlal,1979,47). The school made accessible to the ArabIslamic world masterworks of Greco Hellinistic science and philosophy. It also encouraged the development of a technical vocabulary in Arabic. It should be pointed out also that Hunain not only

translated directly from Greek into Arabic but corrected existing translations and commented on them as well.

In the case of translation in general, two methods were used by the Arab translators of the time : "literal" and "free" translation

1 Literal translation was practised by Yuhanna Ibn Al Batriq and cabd Al Masih- Ibn Na `man Al himsi. Their method

consists of finding to each source language word its Arabic equivalent and keeping the same structure of the SL text in the target language. As many SL words did not have

equivalents in Arabic (see: Remke,1976,16-17), this led to a heavy use of loan words which made the translated versions sometimes incomprehensible.

2 The second method, which we may call "free translation", was practised by Hunain Ibn Ish g q and his team of translators. It consists of rendering the meaning of the SL sentence into Arabic; The emphasis must be on the content, the idea and meaning of the sentence rather than on SL words or structure. According to this method, the translator

should analyse the SL text, bring out its meaning and reformulate it in Arabic whether the syntactic structures correspond or not.

In

fact,

third method combining

literal and free

translation was mentioned by Salah Ad din al Safadi in the fourteenth century (see: believed, was the KhulOsi,1982,16). This method, he most adequate, especially for

non scientific works.

Unfortunately, we do not have full

details of this method, but this suggests that throughout the history of translation, people have always tried to narrow the gap between the two tendencies in translation namely free and literal translations (see p:28ff)

In his 'Kit g b Al Hayaw-g n s (Book of animals), Al

J5hiz (AD

775 868) (8) expressed some general remarks on translation (9) which can be summarised as follows

i The translator should be at the same intellectual level as the author he translates. ii The translator should be fluent in both the source language and the target language.

iii There is no perfect correspondence between languages. Each language is suigeneris. iv Through translation, languages influence each others.

v- There are difficulties in translating scientific texts but it is more difficult, if not impossible, to translate religious texts (see:Badawi,1968,21-25). Al Jahiz's main point was that translation is impossible since there is no perfect structural and semantic

equivalence between two languages. The classic example in this case concerns the Qoran which, for the muslims, is considered to be untranslatable. All these ideas and

remarks made by Al J5hiz are still topical (10).

2. The Toledo Translation Movement

In the ninth century, cultural contact was established between Europe and the Islamic world mainly through Spain. The difference in the quality of culture and civilisation between the christian Europeans and the muslims gave birth to a great translation movement, translations of Greek and the muslims, through their scientific works of

other

Antiquity, not only developed many branches of science but they also ensured the transmission of knowledge to the western world. Gailal (1979,52) reports that:

"from the 12th century to the renaissance, via translation and copying activities in Spain, Sicily, and Syria, the bulk of Arabic writings in all fields was made available in Latin. Despite the poor quality of translation and scholarship that prevailed in the West at that time, these Latin versions revived the spirit of learning in western Europe during the Middle Ages".

From the eleventh to the thirteenth century, translation flourished in Sicily, Toledo and Catalonia (see:Redouane 1980). Toledo, which was taken by the muslims in AD 715 and

10

retaken by Alfonso VI in 1085 (Werrie,1969, 203), was a great cultural and religious centre. Alfonso X, 'King of

the three religions' as he was called, was always looking for translators to render Arabic works - on medecine, mathematics, astronomy, etc - into Latin or Castilian (11). Khan (1983,77) suggests that:

"Atfonso's establishment of a bureau of translation and a house of science was perhaps a conscious imitation of the 'Dar Al Ilikma' established by the great Abbasid caliph Ma l moun in AD 830.The patronage of science and literature by Alfonso X the wise (1252-1284) followed such patronage by muslim caliphs and rulers". We do not have exact information on the method used by the Toledo translators. However, it seems that translation from Arabic was difficult because many translators lacked the linguistic competence in the source language, Arabic. It

was reported by Werrie (1969,215) that these translators were usually assisted by 'experts' in Arabic. The Arabic

'expert' would translate the arabic words literally in the colloquial speech of Spain, then the translator would render the colloquial speech into Latin. For instance, Jean de

Seville translated Arabic texts into colloquial spanish then Gonsalve translated word-for-word in Latin what his

colleague dictated to him (12).

As is being suggested, the Toledo translators used an intermediary language - usually Hebrew or colloquial spanish - when translating from Arabic into Latin. Some Arabic

works were first translated into Hebrew then into Spanish and ultimately through Latin to other European languages.

11

Despite the poor quality of translation at that time, the Latin versions ensured the transmission of knowledge from the Muslims to the Christians. scientific

B. Review of Literature

During the Middle Ages, translations were scarce. educated people spoke Latin in Europe.

All

From the fifteenth

century, with the invention of printing, translated works became widespread and had greater audiences. This led some scholars and thinkers to have some thoughts about

translation and its practical difficulties (13).

The theory and practice of translation have been studied since Cicero's time (14). Views and remarks on translation

were derived directly from practice, and translation studies were more like instructions on how to translate rather than studies of the problems and difficulties of translating.

In the nineteenth century, studies on translation became more theoretical, and in the twentieth century, the help of linguistics was sought to investigate the problems and difficulties of translation.

Before embarking on any discussion of the different theories and approaches to translation, reviewd certain translation

definitions will be

in the following section

discussing what translation is.

12

1.What is Translation?

Traditionally, translation is considered to be a change of form, that is a change of surface structures from a source language into a target language. A rather simple definition of translation as "the replacement of textual material (SL) by equivalent textual material in another (TL)" is suggested by Catford (1965,20). In this respect, Catford is more

concerned with formal language rules and grammar, rather than the context or the pragmatics of the text to be translated. Nonetheless, he stressed that:

"Since every language is formally suigeneris, and formal correspondence is, at best, a rough approximaton it is clear that the formal meaning of SL items can rarely be the same" (Catford, 1965,36). Indeed, form is a vehicle of meaning, and translation consists mainly of transferring the meaning of the SL text into the TL. Hence, translation, according to Nida

(1969,12),

"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". This definition reveals a notion of equivalence in

translation at the semantic and stylistic levels.

It views

translation as a reproduction of a similar response of the TL reader by reproducing equivalent meaning and style. In

other words, it favours a maximum equivalence of meaning and effect as suggested by Tytler (1793) (15):

13

" A good translation is one in which the merit of the original is so completely transfused into another language as to be distinctly apprehended and as strongly felt by a native of the country to which that language belongs as it is by those who speak the Language of the original". Most definitions of translation describe an aim being sought from translation. Others are instructions on how to

translate, or a List of factors that should be taken into consideration when translating. Mounin(1976), for example,

suggests that to translate is not only to respect the structural or linguistic meaning of a text but also the global meaning of the message including the environment, the period, the culture, etc.

In brief, it seems that definitions differ from one another in certain aspects. While some definitions present the aim

of translation, others describe the profession itself, the translator as a mediator in a communication process, or consider the general aspect of interlingual transfer. The

present study is concerned more with the process of translation itself . Hence, we shall consider translation We

as a mediation and as a complex interlingual transfer.

do not intend to give a new definition to translation, for any definition is bound to be limited in its scope. The

profusion of definitions to translation and the problem of finding a unified definition are, most probably, due to the complexity of the process of translaton itself.

14

2. Toward a Theory of Translation

The twentieth century could be once more considered as the 'age of translation '. The huge quantity of books and works in all fields of knowledge translated in different languages along with the increasing importance of the daily role played by translation in the modern world communication suggest this claim.

Since the foundation, Internationale des

in 1953, of Traducteurs)

F.I.T. (16),

(Federation interest in

translation, as a discipline to be studied and investigated, developed rapidly. Series of studies on various aspects of

translation, ranging from the linguistic to the aesthetic and humanistic were published (17).

Prior to the twentieth century, translation difficulties were described by translation theorists (Cicero, St Jerome, Dryden, Dolet) as being mainly stylistic and aesthetic. Generally, the main issue was whether translation should be "literal" or "free" (18).

The interest in translation, in the twentieth century, ranges from the practical concerns of professional

translators to the theoretical speculations of linguists seeking to understand the intricacies of translation. It is

interesting to know that although professional translators have set some rules and techniques for the process of translation, and presented some personal views on different

15

aspects of their activity, they have produced no theory of translation. Linguists, on the other hand, used translation to shed some light on certain linguistic issues such as bilingualism, foreign language teaching, or as a criterion in the comparison of the patterns of two languages.

Nevertheless, it may be said with some confidence that translation theory as a discipline was initiated in the middle of the sixties by Nida, Catford, Mounin, etc. They

attempt to apply certain linguistic theories to translation and shed some light on its process. In the seventies,

translation theory advanced considerably thanks to numerous contributions and new achievements in languagerelated theories, particularly semantics, textlinguistics,

communication theory, psycho and socio linguistics which provided a new stimulus to the systematic study of the process of translation.

Since 1950's, linguists began to consider translation as a scientific task using the rigorous tools available to linguistics. Many 'theories' of translation have been

constructed on the basis of theories of language (see Lefevre 1970a). Linguists believed that translation

difficulties are mainly linguistic in a narrow sense rather than semantic or aesthetic. central position in Hence, translation occupies a for it entails some

linguistics,

fundamental issues the science of language has to tackle.

16

However, as early as 1935, J. R. the domain of semantics.

Firth put translation in

In his seminal paper "The

Technique of Semantics", he suggests that 'The whole problem of translation is in the field of semantics'. For him,

there was phonetic meaning, phonological meaning, lexical meaning and situational meaning and all were involved in the process of translation (see Gregory 1980, 455).

Generally, translation has been considered by linguists as a topic to be studied that is, with the linguists means have of contrastive

linguistics,

tended to give

preference to an approach to translation based on the comparison of Linguistic structures to assess their

potential use as translation equivalents (see Pregnier, 1978).

By

considering

language

as

system

and

social

institution, De Saussure (1949, chapter 111, 2) stresses the importance of linguistic communication as a social

phenomenon and consequently puts translation within the sociolinguistic perspective. Thus, the translator should

take into account the fact that linguistic communication occurs usually as an exchange and an interaction between individuals belonging to a certain group. When this

exchange goes beyond the group, the linguistic differences and most importantly the socio cultural differences should be taken into consideration. Accordingly, wordforword

translation for De Saussure cannot function satisfactorily as words in one language do not have the same 'conceptual

17

surface' in another language.

Sharing the same views as de

Saussure, Bloomfield studied language in its context and stated that any communication process occurs in a complex social and cultural context (see Dussart 1977).

However, while some

linguists insists on the role of

Language in the apperception of the world and highlight the differences existing between languages, others such as Greenberg and Chomsky (see: Comrie,1981) look for

'language universals', that is,

features or properties

shared by all languages. Language universals may throw some light on the possibility of translating from one language to another if we assume that similarities do exist between Languages. In contrast, it is suggested that each language

makes its own distinctions differently, since according to Humboldt, languages do not reflect the same experience of the world in a similar way (see: Mounin,1963,chap.IV).

Language, for Humboldt, is a reflection of extralinguistic realities which are characteristic of the speech community involved. In other words, languages are not 'universal

copies' of universal realities.

Fedorov (1953), on the other hand, incorporated the study of translation in the general framework of linguistics and insisted that translation is a purely linguistic operation. He considered translation theory as "deriving from

observation and providing the basis for practice" (see: Newmark 1982,9). Contrary to Humboldt, he believes that all

18

experiences are translatable.

Vinay and Darbelnet (1958), although sharing some of the views with Fedorov, acknowledge that translation is an independent discipline which has its own peculiar techniques and problems. methods of Nonetheless, it can be studied with the contemporary linguistics. In addition to

applying de Bally's linguistic theories to translation through 'stylistique comparee', their biggest contribution to translation theory is the notion of situational

equivalence.

This notion suggests that, for each SL

situation a similar TL situation should be sought (see: chapter two).

Mounin (1963) discussing translation theories and their relation to semantics, suggests that for each language corresponds a particular organization of experience.

According to this notion, language is a reflection of culture, and since each culture has its own organization and characteristics, organization. _ similarily each language has its own

Consequently, the experience formulated by

one language cannot occur with the same form in another language (see: Mounin 1963,44-45). Thus, for Mounin, the

experience formulated by a source language text can be rendered in the TL by analysing the characteristics of the situation expressed by the message.

19

Different languages do express, with different linguistic structures, the same physical event; but as Humboldt sees it, they do not reflect the same experience of the event similarily. Mounin considered translation as point of

contact between languages and believed that linguistics may throw some light on the process of translation itself which constitutes a theoretical problem for linguists. However,

he stresses that, to a certain extent, it is not possible to include all aspects of translation in an exhaustive

definition which depends exclusively on linguistics.

Mounin supports Cary's claim (1958) that translation is a sui generis operation, and therefore should be studied as such in all its aspects. As a literary translator himself,

Cary believes that literary translation is primarily a literary operation and not a linguistic one. His argument

is that the linguistic content constitutes only the basic tool for the process of translation. the relations between two It is the context and

cultures which characterize

translation. Hence, for Cary, translation should be studied separately from other disciplines.

Literary translation is indeed a literary endeavour, but linguistic knowledge or analysis is necessary for the understanding of a source language text. Some translations, on the other hand, cannot be solely the result of a linguistic process. A translation of a theatrical play

cannot be the result of a purely linguistic analysis but mainly a product of a dramatic activity.

20

To the literary critic who concerns himself with the aesthetic and creative aspect of language, translation may be regarded as an art which has nothing to do with linguistics. Hence, some literary translators, were and

still are against the idea of considering translation as a linguistic discipline. Translation considered as an

'artistic' operation, eliminates any scientific aspect of the process which will enable it to be included in the general framework of linguistics.

On the other hand, some linguists such as Pinchuck (1977,17) believe that "linguistics, undoubtedly, has most to give and translation as a discipline should be regarded as a branch of applied linguistics". defend the Linguists, idea that as well as some translation is

translators,

fundamentally a linguistic process.

Linguistic knowledge,

they argue, is essential to understand the source language text, and therefore to reconstruct it in the target

language.

Since linguistics is a 'science' the subject of

which is to study how human communication system functions and since translation is an exercise on a text which is part of the communication system, linguistics, therefore, may provide the translator with the necessary tools and

techniques to analyse and understand how two languages function and also may enable him to perform an adequate transfer of a source language message into the target language.

21

The notion that translation is based on linguistics, in a narrow sense, stems from the idea that a text is a sum of signs and structures that have to be analysed, decoded and understood by the translator. However, translation does not operate mainly on linguistic structures but on messages. Hence, any model of translation should take account of discovering the concepts and situations the words or linguistic structures represent rather than transposing word for word or structure by structure. Each structure and each utterance may have several possible meanings.

Consequently, a knowledge of the situation and of the writer/reader relationship is necessary to be sure of the intended meaning.

Translation does involve an operation on the linguistic elements of the text, i.e, a linguistic analysis, before involving the meaning. But most importantly it deals with

meaning and the process is carried out within the domain of meaning. This necessitates a semantic analysis of SL text

(20). Moreover, one aspect in translation is related to the difficulty of translating connotations (see for- this

instance Nida 1969, Mounin 1963). Connotations do, indeed, constitute obstacles to the transfer of one civilization to another, from one language to another, and even to the transfer of a message from one person to another within the same cullture and language (see Mounin 1963,8). As usually stated, what a sign indicates corresponds to what it denotes, but what it expresses does not correspond

22

automatically to what it connotes. Accordingly, a pragmatic analysis is necessary if we want to understand the SL text fully.

The three types of

analyses linguistic,

semantic and

pragmatic, mentioned, interact with each other to solve certain translation difficulties related to meaning. These difficulties originate partly from the non existence of direct equivalence between languages, because even if the lexical units seemed to be similar, their semantic fields or pragmatic equivalence interpretations is almost never are different. by the Textual formal or

produced

correspondence

either

word for word

structurefor structure.

However, the SL and the TI items,

as Catford (1969,49) puts it, "rarely have the same meaning in the linguistic sense, but they can function in the same

Si tuation".
Nevertheless, it is sometimes argued that translation of the differences

difficulties are mainly the result between SL and TL cultures.

Languages, as we suggested

before (p:17), are not universal copies of a universal reality, but each corresponds to a particular organization of the human experience (cf Mounin 1976,61). Translation

difficulties are the reflection of cultural differences materialized by the differences of two linguistic systems.

23

However, in many cases, the translator may be faced with problems raised mainly by differences in the systematic structures of the two difficulties are, as languages. Popovic These problems and 75) sees them,

(1970,

unavoidable but "cannot be considered significant as they are the result of disparity and assymetry in the development of the two linguistic. traditions". Nonetheless, we should

not neglect any aspect of the differences existing between languages significant' since may any attempt the to consider of them 'not

affect

accuracy

translation.

Accuracy, here, is not used in a strictly formal sense, but is related to meaning. Accuracy may be judged according to the extent to which the response of the TL reader is equivalent to the response of the SL reader (see Nida 1964,88) provided that the message or the meanin g in SLT and TLT is similar despite the linguistic and cultural

differences.

Indeed, linguistic problems are often compounded by sharp cultural differences between the people asso c iated with languages dealt with in translation. Often the difficulties

emerge because 'things' to be translated from One language do not exist in corresponding culture of the oth e r language. Hence, cultural differences pose greater diffi c ulties for translation than linguistic differences do.

Some expressions are difficult, if not imp o ssible, to translate environment because they of people come within out from the life and For

specific

cult u res.

24

instance, an Arab hearing good news may use the expression

ondiLI

"

/ athlaja

qalbi/ (lit, he snowed my heart )

to express his satisfaction with the good news. The use of (snow) in the Arabic expression may be explained by the fact that for an Arab who lives in a hot environment anythin g that is cool is desired. However, for a French to express the same emotion, he may use the expression " a m'a rechauffd le coeur" (lit, it warmed my heart). Thus

different environment may impose the use of different linguistic means to express the same experience.

Meaning, we assume, is the basic link between culture and Language. The latter is not only a set of verbal and

syntactic forms, but also a system of ideas and thoughts peculiar to it (22). interrelated. expressed, enriches Culture and language are closely

It is through language that culture is mainly may the metaphorically language that say, culture carries it.

whereas we and nourishes

Consequently, the absence of a cultural background knowledge of a text may restrict the possibility of an adequate translation. As is held by Cary (1958), the linguistic

context constitutes the primary material of the translation process. It is the complex context of the relation between

two cultures, two thoughts which characterize translation.

Earlier and more modern views and theories in general, if taken as a whole, consider translation as an

interdisciplinary topic which draws upon such fields as

li nguistics,

c................... .

pragmatics, psycholinguistics, etc.

25

This

stems

from

the

notion

stressed

many

times

by

translation theorists (see for instance Nida, Taber) that translation embodies linguistic as well as extralinguistic factors which influence the process of translation.

Translation, therefore, should be viewed as an all embracing and multi dimensional process. But first, let us examine

the two main approaches to translation which characterized 'translation theory' throughout the ages.

C. Approaches To Translation

As was suggested earlier (see:p:8), there was, throughout the history of translation, controversy between "literal" and "free" translation. This dichotomy was discussed by

many scholars in the pre linguistic period of writing on translation. to the other. Writers and translators favoured one approach This dichotomy is still being discussed in communicative ' (Newmark), 'formal

terms of 'semantic vs. correspondence vs. vs.

dynamicequivalence' (Nida), and 'overt To this extent,

covert' translation (House), etc.

these new divisions are an 'up dating' of the old discussion concerning 'literal' and 'free' translation, and claim to supersede and surpass the old controversy about whether a translation should be inclined towards SL or TL.

The aim of literal translation is to render the meaning of the lexical items of SL text without taking into account the context. The extreme case of literal translation involves

the rendering of the primary meaning of SL words as well as

26

reflecting the same SL word order and structure in the target language. Consequently, this kind of translation The

leads to misinterpretation and probably to nonsense.

main danger of literal translation is that, in general, it does not render the original meaning of the utterance. Even if it does render the apparent meaning of the SL text, the result is, most often, an expression which is not used in TL and which probably refers to a cultural fact with which the TL reader is not accustomed and therefore cannot understand i t.

Literal translation cannot generally reproduce meaning and may lead to incomprehensibilty. In literal translation, the This

word is usually taken as the unit of translation.

presupposes that words are not influenced by the context. In this investigation, we hold the view that, contrary to this notion, words do not stand on their own , their meaning is mainly derived from the context in which they occur.

The aim of free translation is to give the general meaning of the SL text in TL means and expressions. Advocates of

free translation believe that the meaning of the SL text is best communicated by translating into the natural form of the target language, whether this parallels the form of the SL text or not. One danger of this view is that free For instance,

translation may lead to a loss of meaning.

the translator in his attempt to avoid literality may undertranslate certain keywords.

27

In free translation, the individual word is ignored, only the general meaning of a source language expression is rendered in the TL without taking into account the emphatic or emotive importance of some individual words.

The difference between the two approaches is recognized by di Virgilio (1984,115) as

" a contextual distinction rooted in the first case in a strict adherence to formal aspects of the source Language , and in the second case rooted in a concern for a deep understanding of the meaning of the source culture text in a parallel context in the target culture". The distinction between the two approaches stems from the interest in the linguistic form to communicate the meaning of the SL text, i.e, which linguistic form should be used in order to communicate the SLT meaning. Those who adhere to

the first approach believe that the meaning of the SLT is best communicated by transferring it into a TL linguistic form which closely parallels that of SLT. Others, on the

other hand, believe that the meaning of SLT is best communicated in a form that is natural in TL.

Extensive translations of Western works into Arabic fall into these two categories. Some of the extreme examples of these two approaches are presented by Al Taht5wi and Yaggrib SarUf (see: Peled,1979,132-140). AL Tahtawi admits in his .....: f ' tilim5k" that before

introduction to "Mawiqi c al (
-1141.5 .1. JI . ilLi \ tI Vi9 L./ . 7,1 t_9,5 )

afl1k

(Beirut,1867)

translatin g the story of the adventures of Telemachus (by Fenelon), he had thought of molding the story :

28

"in a form suitable to the temperament of the Arabic language by giving it a different form that I should add to it poetry insert proverbs and counsel the wisdom...that is to say that I should weave it differently in a style that might be inferior to that of the source so that the translation becomes only an However, I have decided it approximation of it ... to keep the original would be more appropriate ... form and castaway any doubt and retain everything as Peled 1979,140). it is" (see: On the other hand, Ya ` ciGb SarGf states, in his introduction to his translation of Walter Scott's "The Talisman renamed "Lionheart and Salah Al Din":

"We have condensed this novel from a famous English novel called The Talisman' written by Walter Scott. But we felt free to add to it, change and replace things in it, so that it should conform to the taste of readers in these Lands as well as tally with the historical truth of most of the events described in it "(so as to be consistent with that of those readers) (see : Peled 1979,13B). Along with the discussion on literal vs. free translation,

Nida (1969) claims that the 'old' focus of translation was the form of the message , but the 'new' focus is the response of the receptor. In Nida's view, the aim of

translation is to achieve an equivalent effect on the TL reader similar to that produced on the SL reader by the original text. Accordingly, the form of the message should

be changed in order to preserve the meaning. The extent to which form is changed depends on linguistic and cultural differences between the two languages. As the aim is to

find the closest possible equivalent, Nida rejected literal translation and suggested that the form should be

sacrificed for the sake of the content' (Nida ,1964,157).

29

Nida (1964,159) uses the expression "FormalCorrespondence" and "Dynamic equivalence" in broadly comparable sense to Literal and Free (21). In'formal correspondence', the form

and content are taken into consideration, but the TL text "should match as closely as possible the different elements in the source language" (Nida,1964,157). In other words,

the translator should attempt to reproduce "as literally as meaningfully the form and content of the original" (ibid.)

Nida (1964,165) recognized that 'Formal Correspondence' is basically source language oriented. Both formal

correspondence and literal translation aim at reproducing the SL formal elements. What Nida calls formal In

correspondence is another label for literal translation.

formal correspondence, the translator does not attempt to make adjustments but reproduce expressions literally. Nida

agreed that such a "principle may, of course / be pushed to an absurd extent with the result being relatively meaningless strings of words" (ibid,165).

Dynamic

equivalence,

on the other hand,

attempts to

reproduce an equivalence based upon the principle of equivalent effect, that is a translation in which "the message of the original text has been so transported into the receptor language that the response is essentially that of the original receptor" (Nida & Taber 1969, 202). The TL text should ,therefore, have the same effect on the TL reader as the original had on the SL reader. In dynamic

equivalence, the TL . features should be respected; and

30

consequently, the form of the SL message should be changed. For Nida, in order to be communicatively efficient,

linguistic utterances must be receptor oriented.

What Nida terms as 'formal correspondence' is no more than literal translation in all its aspects, and what he calls 'dynamic equivalence
1

is another terminology for the

notion, advocated by Tytler(1793), that translation should aim at reproducing the same effect on the reader as the original did.

Newmark's

'Semantic

vs.

Communicative'

translation

is

another modern description of the old controversy between Literal and free translation. Newmark's communicative

translation is an "attempt to reproduce on its readers an effect as close as possible to that obtained on readers of the original" (Newmark,1982, 39). This approach assumes the translation to achieve the same effect on the TL reader as does the SL text on SL readers. 'Dynamic Equivalence' Newmark and It is similar to Nida's Tytler's that definition of

translation.

suggests

communicative

translation is mainly required in texts belonging to the domain of non literary writing such as j ournalism, reports, etc.

Semantic translation, on the other hand , is " an attempt to render as closely as the semantic and the syntactic

structures of the second language will allow, the exact contextual meaning of the original" (Newmark,1982,39).

31

Semantic translation seeks to render the 'exact' meaning of the SL text. However, as it follows the syntactic

structures and vocabulary of SL text, a certain distortion of the message may occur. Newmark suggests that this type of translation is required in texts belonging to literary writing (novels, poems, etc.) where the style of the writer is as important as the content.

Communicative and Semantic translation are considered by Newmark (1982) as complementary. They can both be useful

depending on the nature of the texts. However, in semantic translation, the style is likely to be complex and detailed. The need to be more specific in order to get every shade of meaning, and the tendency to translate every element of the text taking into account only the primary meaning will undoubtedly lead to misinterpretation. In communicative

translation, the style of the translation is likely to be simple and more direct, but since the emphasis is on the effect the message may have on TL readers and the SL text form is not important, communicative translation tends to undertranslate.

Undoubtedly, Newmark's aim was to narrow the gap existing between literal and free translation; however, even by using different terminology this gap remains wide.

In my opinion, there are no such definite types of translation as 'literal' and 'free'. However, in any text,

translation procedures or techniques which are either Sl

32

oriented or TL -oriented may be used (see :

Chapter VI).

The frequency and appropriacy of using any technique or procedure depend largely on the nature of the text we have to translate and its content. The specific purpose for

which the translation as a product is required determines which approach will be dominant.

In this respect, House (1977), for instance, distinguishes between 'overt' and 'covert' translation. An overt

translation is called for whenever a SL text is source culture oriented and has independent status in the SL community and the TL reader recognizes it as such. This

type of translation leaves the SL text "as intact as possible given the necessary linguistic recoding" (House, 1977, 247). Covert translation, on the other hand, is

required whenever the SL text is not source - culture bound and the TL reader recognizes the translation as part of his language and culture.

The choice between one of these approaches to translation is -taken from the pragmatic view that different techniques of translation at different times are justified by different aims and objectives of translators and readers.

One way of describing the dichotomy of approaches to translation was provided by A. Lefevre (1977). He made a distinction between 'SL-text-oriented translation' and

'reader-oriented translation'.

In other words, either the

translation as a product meets the expectations of the TL

33

readers, or the TL readers are transposed to the SL culture and environment.

It should be pointed out that translation is not a question of whether to translate literally or freely but of how exactly we can translate respecting the meaning of the SL text on one hand, and the structure and nature of the target language on the other. It is a question of joininig

together literality and freedom (see : Darbelnet, 1970) and striking a balance by taking into account the meaning of the individual words and the meaning of the whole utterance within the context in which they occur.

Thus, the old controversy of 'literal vs.

free' translation

becomes irrelevant because what has often passed for literal translation was, in most cases, a violation of the TL What

structure, since the form parallels that of the SL.

has been termed as 'free' translation was often based on the assumption that all languages are similar in expressing with the same emotive weight the same reality with different Linguistic structures.

Far

from enrichening

the

theory

of

translation,

the

continuing debate on whether to translate literally or freely, described in different terms, has actually

impoverished it and rendered it sterile.

The notion of

bringing the text to the reader or the reader to the text should be put aside in favour of a more elaborate approach and study of translation in a general farmework of

34

translation as a complex communication process.

NOTES 1. Indeed "the first traces date from 3000 BC during the Egyptian kingdom, in the area of the first Cataract, Elephantine, where inscriptions in two languages were found" (Newmark, 1982, 3). Perhaps, the obvious evidence of translation activity in the ancient times is "the oldest known bilingual dictionary, in Elba, in the Middle East, 4500 years old" (Klein, 1982). Another example is the Rosetta stone which was found near Rosetta on the western mouth of the Nile, in 1799 by Napoleon's soldiers; its inscriptions (196 BC), in Egyptian hierogliphics, demotic characters, Greek made and it possible to decipher hierogliphics. Other examples include "the cuneiform writings of Benheitum (old persian, Elamite, and Babylonian) produced during the reign of king Darius (522-481 BC) (Pinchuck, 1977, 17). 2. The muslims settled in Spain for eight centuries. As the Europeans were in constant contact with them, they ultimately benefited from the high cultural and scientific advance of the muslims. 3. The first non scientific book "Kalila wa Dimna" was translated in AD 750 by Ibn Al Muclafa t from a persian version of the Indian fables of Bidpai. AlMa i moun was the seventh Abbasid caliph, he ruled 4. between-AD 813 and 833. His reign was a period of great cultural development. 5. For a detailed study of word formation in Arabic and the usefulness of 'Al majaz' in creating new words, see : J. Stetkevitch 'The Modern Arabic Literary Language' Chicago, 1970; and Vincent Monteil 'L'Arabe Moderne', Paris, 1960 Chapter 2. 6. Salah addin Khalil Ibn Aybak Al safadi, in his "Kitab Al Wfi bi al wafalat" C edited by Franz Steiner, Verlag GMBH Weisbaden 1984, vol.13 pp: 215-216, said about Hunain Ibn Ishaq e--.U
US

LJ

I -4 I L:S

... LL1

...,Ii,I

0-3 - L::---Le--11

35

( He knew perfectly the Greek language, and it was him who translated Euclid... and the Almagest... His translations reflect his perfect knowledge of Arabic ). See : Majallat Al Mashrpq 294 : 30 . Other famous 7. translators were : Abu Bashr Ibn YunGs (d.974), Abu zakaria Yabia Ibn c all Al Mantiqi (d.940), abu C ali c issa Ibn Al Khamm5s (942-), and Qusta Ibn LOqa (820-) who translated from Greek into arabic Via Syriac. 8. Abu c othman Ibn Bahr Al J:jhiz was born in Bassorah in AD ab Al Hayatian ' was written in seven volumes, His . Kit 775. and is a study of the particularities of the animals. Al Jahiz also accumulated in this book religious comments and personal views on different aspects of life, literature, etc. The first volume includes his remarks on translation. 9
ri.1 I

.3 1

crt.i Lae ric..; 1

_Li La,IUi,

j1

vi u 6

1)

Lrz- 1--L1 ILlr.C....; ea-, 1,J 1,

( The [translator] must be the most knowledgeable man about the source language and the target Language, so that he will be an authority equally in both of them. Furthermore, we find that if he speaks two languages he is liable to do For one of the languages will violence to [both of] them. How can he master both languages to influence the other. the same degree that he were to master one of them only).
10. It should be noted that the remarks made by Al Jahiz in the eight century are reechoed by Estienne Dolet in the sixteenth century, for the latter suggests - The translator must understand perfectly the sense and matter of the author he is translating. - The translator must have perfect knowledge of the language he is translating, and be likewise excellent in the language into which he is going to translate. - Each language has its properties. - do not render word by word . J.Holmes ,1981 "Estienne Dolet, The Way to Translate (see: Modern Poetics Well From One Language to Another" , in: Today , 41-42 / 1981 pp: 53-57)

36

11. One of the famous translators of that period was Gerard of Cremona (d.1187) who translated more than eighty Arabic books into Latin. Consequently, the method was so literal that in order 12. to understand the translation, one has to know not only Latin but Arabic as well. 13. Some pragmatic studies on translation appeared between 1530 and 1600 : Dolet (1540), Amyot (1513 - 1593) in France; Luther (1483 -1540) Sendbrief von Dolmetshen' in Germany; in England: Pope (1681 - 1744), and Dryden (1630 1700) who recognized three types of translation namely metaphrase (literal), paraphrase (free), and imitation. Huet (1661) "De Optimo Genere Interpretandis" Paris 1680, recommended the use of strict formal correspodence (see : Kelly , 1979, 76). For Huet, if a translation is to be faithful, the translator must leave nothing to his own judgement. His treatise was one of the "fullest, most sensible accounts ever given of the nature and problems of translation" (Steiner 1975, 233). Other interesting studies include Tytler's "Essays on the Principles of Translation" which appeared in 1793, and des Schliermacher's "Vier die Verschiedenen Methoden Gbersetzens" (1817). After the publication of these two books, "the question of the nature of translation [was] posed within the more general framework of theories of language and mind " (Steiner, 1975, 237). Cicero's precept was not to translate 'verbum pro 14. verbo' ( "Libellus de Optimo Genere Oratorum" 46 BC). That is, word - for -word translation is to be avoided; and that "the inmost nature (genus omne vimque) of the words must be kept" (Kelly, 1979, 80). Horace reiterated Cicero's precept in his 'Ars Poetica' in 20 BC. See : Lord Woodhouslee Tytler "Essays on the 15. Principles of Translation" , Dent, 1793. 16. This organization was founded in December 1953, at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, by translators representing six countries. published its first In 1954, the F.I.T. Babel. issue of the International Quaterly Review : 17 For a detailed bibliography, see : Bibliographie Internationale de la Traduction, Babel 1955 onwards, and K.R.Baush, J.Klegraf, W.Wilss "The Science of Translation : An Analytical Bibliography" , vol.I (1962 - 1969), and vol.II (1969 - 1971), TObingen; Spargenberg 1971, 1973.

37

Important essays were written by Goethe(1816), Novalis 18. (1798), Schopenhauer (1951), and Nieeihe (1882). They all were inclined towards more literal methods of translation. On the other hand, Mathew Arnold (1861) favoured a simple and direct style for translation ,i.e., a free translation. It should be pointed out that although Goeth favoured literal translation, he believed that translation , in general, is impossible because, he argued, the words of all languages overlap and leave gaps of meaning. Fedorov (1953) A. 19. Translation. Introduction to a Theory of

Starting from tthe assumption that the translator has 20. some and not the structure, render the message to translation theorists believe that the message is totally independent from the form. This is a fallacy since the stucture itself is the carrier of the message and may constitute an obstacle to the understanding of the message Therefore, the message is not if not analysed properly. totally independent from its linguistic form. In a later work 'The Theory and Practice of 21. Translation', Nida and Taber (1969) use the term "formal correspondence" rather than "formal equivalence" as they close similarity in very for "a reserve 'equivalence' 202). meaning, as opposed to similarity in form " (p:

34q

(4)The extent of the Arabic translation movement in the 19th century can be compared to that of the Abbasids. However, the reasons and 'motives for translation are different. The Abbasid movement aimed at deepening the Arab scientific advance when the Arabs were at their peak. The translation movement of the 19th century sought to revive the intellectual and scientific life in the Arab world when it was in its stage of decadence and decline. The impetus for the 19th century Arabic translation movement was the French expedition to Egypt in 1798 1801. At first, translation concentrated on administrative and political documents. After the retreat of the French from Egypt, Mohammad Ali Pasha assumed power. He felt the need to modernize the country and rid his people of backwardness and illiteracy. One way to achieve this was through translating European works. Teachers were brought from Europe and Egyptian students sent to study European languages. In 1885, it was decided that a school of translation should be established. Translation of European Languages into Arabic flourished in the last decade of the 19th century. This movement continued steadily with more emphasis on the quality of the translation rather than on the quantity. Hence, they were often classical works which have been translated. At the beginning, the majority of the translations were literal although they aimed at preserving the meaning of the original texts. Gradually, the quality of the translations improved. Translation of literary works by great classical and modern writers and poets brought the Western influence on the modern Literary Arabic language. The influence has not only been in subject and content but also in form and style. This contact with the West through translation into Arabic gave birth to new genres of literature such as drama and fictional prose which were unknown in Arabic.

38

CHAPTER TWO

The Process of Translation

A.Models of Translation

In the context of formulating theories and hypotheses concerning the process of translation, many models were developed. However, the difficulties involved in explaining and clarifying the process constitute a great obstacle for the development of of a comprehensive representation of the process of translation. These difficulties arise "from the

fact that translation is a specific form of linguistic performance"

(Wilss,

1982,13)

which

cannot

be

fully

investigated in a systematic way.

Translation models suggested by linguists and translation theorists placed emphasis on one aspect of the process or another rather than give a full representation of the different phases which characterize the process.
_

Before

suggesting a general representation of the process of translation we shall present and discuss four major models of translation: transformational, model. the linguistic and grammatical model, the the situational, and the hermeneutic

39

1 The Linguistic Model

The linguistic approach to translation stems from the notion that "since translation has to do with language, the analysis and description of translation processes must make considerable use of categories set up for the description of languages" (Catford, 1965,viii). In the linguistic model,

translation is viewed as a replacement of each element in SL by its TL equivalent element. It considers translation as a simple transcoding of textual units at the levels of phonology, syntax, and lexicology. This approach draws

heavily upon Halliday's (1961) scale and category grammar in which the structure of language is seen as an interesting set of scales and categories operating at different levels (phonic, grammatical, lexical, graphic).

Catford,

using a

refinement

of

Halliday's grammatical

'rank scale' (1), regarded translation as depending on the existence of formal correspondence between linguistic

elements at different structural levels.

To illustrate

this, we take the example used by Catford (1965,72):

[1] eg: [grammatical] [lexical] [grammatical, lexical, and phonic] [grammatical, lexical, phonic and graphic]

This is the man I saw Hadha at man 'iii seetu This is the rajul I shufed

Hadha ar rajul

shuftu

(511

(note: The arabic version here is colloquial)

40

This example shows that the linguistic model considers translation as a mere exchange of SL units by TL units at different levels. Form based equivalence as illustrated by

Catford rests on the principle of simple synoymy. According to the linguistic model translation merely consists of

exchanging Sl units by TL units:

rwaserm..morw..n

,...aw'srIIII.r.II7 nn,n...m...wnnnnnnn*1

units

Grammatical Lexical graphic phonic

> Transcoding --->

TL units

Grammatical lexical graphic phonic

fig:1 Translation As RankBound Correspondance Although translation to be a is considered by Catford it is

(see:1965,20-26)

rank bound

correspondence,

assumed that there is a oneto one relationship between the levels. However, it is suggested by Catford (1965, 25-26)

that there are three types of correspondence and of translation. For instance, the English sentence

[2] It is raining cats and dogs can be rendered in French by: corespondence a a translation), at word level (word for word

II est pleuvant des chats et des chiens b a correspondence at phrase or clause level (literal translation),
IL pleut des chats et des chiens

c a correspondence at sentence level (free translation)

IL pleut a verse

41

Translation correspondence between SLT and TLT is thus based on the selection of TL equivalents to SL grammatical units at the same rank. Each type of translation is determined by the selection of a particular grammatical unit as a unit of translation. This notion of translation as rankbound

correspondence may have prompted Catford's definition of translation as "the replacement of textual material in one language (SL) by equivalent textual material in another language (TL)" (Catford, 1965,20).

This linguistic approach to translation is not typical of Catford, other linguists and translation theorists, such as Jakobson (1971), view the process of translation as an attempt to overcome structural differences between the source language and the target language. This may stem from their belief that, in going from SL to TL, the translator "must render an SLT in the TL in such a way as to guarantee, despite different code systems, a translation of equal rank" (Wilss 1982, 146).

Although Catford propounded the linguistic model, he agreed that 'formal correspondence is, at best, a rough

approximation' (1965,36). The linguistic model reDresents a translation in which the content and style in the TL are somewhat neglected, and interest is centred on and grammatical form. tructural

42

The

interchanging of

units usually

fails

to produce

acceptable TL texts when the context is not taken into consideration. Translation involves more than a mechanistic replacement of lexical and grammatical units from SL into TL. Usually, as is often demonstrated by the translation of idioms and other types of culture bound expressions, the process may involve discarding the linguistic elements of the text in order to convey the meaning. Since it does not take the text as a whole or the context into account, the linguistic and grammatical model can hardly be considered as a representation of translation process which seeks an efficient and ap p ropriate rendering of SLT into TL.

2. The Hermeneutic Model

This model was proposed to be used mainly when dealing with the interpretation of religious texts and explore their meanings in context. However, it developed, mutatis

mutandis, to be applied to other types of texts. According to Steiner (1975), this approach to translatin g a text is based on four stages.

The

first

stage

is

the

'initiative

trust'

where the

translator 'believes' that the original text makes sense and contains a message worth rendering in the target language. As Steiner (1975, 296) puts it "we grant ab initio that there is something there to be understood, that the transfer will not be void". The second stage is that of 'aggression'

43

or penetrating the meaning of the text.

In this stage of

understanding and comprehension, the translator 'invades' the text to bring its meaning and find what it has to offer. The third stage , 'the incorporative move' or the "import of meaning and not of form " (Steiner, 1975, 298) is the transfer of the message from SLT to TLT. Finally,

'restitution' is the last stage which is characterized by the exact rendering of the message and by the fidelity to the SL text only as regards meaning (2).

Diagrammatically, the hermeneutic model can be represented as follows:

SL TEXT

> INITIATIVE TRUST

I
AGGRESSION INCORPORATED MOVE

I I

RESTITUTION

> TL TEXT

fig.2 The Hermeneutic Model

Steiner's approach to translation "as a hermeneutic of trust, of penetration, of embodiment and of restitution" (1975,303) was proposed to overcome the sterile triadic approach to translation, namely literalism, paraphrase, and free imitation.

44

The hermeneutic model is an attempt to clarify the process of translation; but it concentrated mainly on the

interpretaion of the text. Translation is, thus, viewed as an intersubjective interpretation and explanation of texts. For Steiner (1975,277):

"The mechanics of translation are primarily explicative they explicate (or strictly speaking they 'explicitate') and make graphic as much as they can of the semantic inherence of the original, The translator seeks to exhibit what is already there". Therefore, the hermeneutic model represents a process of translation in which more emphasis and weight is given in the TL to the interpreted message to the detriment of the stylistic and linguistic features and characteristics of the SL text. Moreover, it aims at making explicit to the IL

reader the SL author's world.

3. The Situational Model

This model views translation as a process of seeking situational equivalence between SLT and TLT. The idea that if we want to translate a source Language expression we must find its situationally equivalent counterpart, was Vinay's and Darbelnet's (1958) greatest contribution to translation theory.

45

SL TEXT

TL TEXT

Situation S

> Situation S'

fig.3: Translation Based on the Equivalence of Situations. Bysubstituting the SL situation by TL situation, this model centres on the reader and his environment. For example:

[3] Shall I compare thee to a summer's day ? (3) -11 ri---e.1-:, dl--,----
`4=t---11 1

/ a ushabbihu busnaki bi ayyami al rabici/ Shall I compare you to spring days) (lit. The shift from 'summer' to 'spring' is dictated by the need to express the same situation. 'Summer' for the British

reader is considered to be the finest season of the year. However, for the Arab who experiences a very hot and scorching summer, the equivalent would be 'spring'.

The situational model does not take into consideration the linguistic meaning of the elements of the sentence but concentrates on the situation they describe. Vinay and Darbelnet-(1958, 22) believe that:

"II nous faudra passer par dessus les signes pour retrouver des situations identiques, car de. cette situation doit naltre un nouvel ensemble de signes qui sera par definition l'dquivalent unique des premiers" (4). Thus, they agree, in a sense, with Nida's statement that "the meaning of any linguistic item must be considered in terms of the situation in which they occur" (Nida, 1945, 207). Nida's dynamic equivalence (5) represents such

46

approach which aims at substituting the meaning of SL situation by a TL equivalent where equivalent means 'analogous' rather than 'identical'.

The situational model stems from the idea that there is a relationship between situations and specific utterances. In other words, any given utterance is governed and conditioned by a given situation. explains that: To illustrate this, Nida (1966,28)

" it is quite impossible to determine the meaning of I to heap coals of fire on one's head by knowing the semantic distribution (types of discourse in which such words may be used) of all the component parts. The meaning of this idiom, can be determined only by knowing the distribution of the unit as a whole". i.e.,Knowin g what the situation is . Thus, as he explained Later (1969, 493)

"A literal transfer of the biblical idiom 'heap coals of fire on his head' normally involves considerable distortion of meaning. [...). The meaning of this idiom, that is, its componential structure must be completely redistributed so that it can be transfered in a form such as 'to be good to one's antagonist as to make him ashamed". Therefore, any understanding of an utterance is only, according to this model, possible if the situation is known. Translation may, thus, be based on the equivalence of situations discarding if necessary the linguistic elements.

However, it is not certain that for every situation in one language, there is an equivalent one in another language. Moreover, the interpretation of a situation is, generally, subjective and depends on extralinguistic factors such as

47

the translator's competence, environment, culture, etc. The situational model can be applied in certain cases as those where the expressions depict certain facets of the culture specific to SL which cannot be rendered in TL. Many works

on Bible translation, especially Nida's, abound in such examples (see also: Beeckman and Callow, 1974).

4. The Transformational Generative Model

The transformational generative model for translation was first introduced by Nida and Taber (1969) to deal with ambiguities with special reference to Bible translation. The model consists of three stages, namely : transfer, and restructuring. analysis,

The process of

translation,

according to this model,

involves a transformational analysis and synthesis, that is, a reconstruction of a deep structure representation from a surface structure through an analysis into kernels (basic sentences), a transfer of the elements resulting from the analysis, and finally a restructuring of these elements in the target language. In other words, it consists of

reducing or splitting up the SL sentence into basic structures and most semantically evident basic sentences (6). Then, the translator transfers these structures into

the TL on a structurally simple level, and proceeds, via necessary transformations, to restructure the message into a TL text where stylistically and semantically appropriate

48

expressions are generated.

SL TEXT

IL TEXT

ANALYSIS

1
RESTRUCTURING > TRANSFER --* KERNELS

I
KERNELS

fig.4: The Transformational-Generative Model of Translation

In considering the process of translation as involving a deep structure transfer, Nida and Taber's model of

translation is based on the assumption (made by, among others, Chomsky) that the deep structures of different languages are similar whereas the surface structures vary infinitely (see also Taber,1972). As Nida (1979,214) himself puts it clearly "languages do not differ primarily in the content of what can be communicated but in the diversity of ways in which the content is expressed".

The transformational-generative model makes explicit the linguistic procedures that might be required to achieve a reader-oriented dynamic equivalence between SL and TL expressions (see Hartmann, 1980,53). Moreover, By going

through a deep structure from a source language surface structure to a target language surface structure, the model discards any translation method based on an algorithmic correspondence between the surface structures of SL and TL.

49

Nida

and

Taber

based

their

model

on

transformational generative grammar (7) believing that there are "fundamental similarities in the syntactic structures of languages, especially at the so called kernels or core level" (Nida, 1969,483). Splitting up sentences into in showing more clearly the

'kernels'

can be useful

"relationship between the component parts" (ibid,489) and in getting the meaning of complex sentences. For the

translator, the view of language as a generative device may be useful, although it is not the only one which can be valid, but as Nida puts it "it provides him with a technique for analysing the process of decoding the source text".

However, the transformational model can mainly be useful in dealing with the meaning that single sentences convey, especially in the area of Bible translation where it is assumed that each sentence can stand on its own as Nida suggests by applying the transformational generative approah to translation. seem to Although sentences in different languages have, as suggested by the

'transformational generativists', similar or common deep structures, they do not have the same pragmatic function.

Indeed, one cannot establish a pragmatic equivalence between SLT and TLT by considering isolated sentences only. One

must, therefore, take into account what the sentences mean in context because, as Widdowson (1980,105) suggests:

"The context whether linguistic within the discourse or extralinguistic within the situation will provide

50

the conditions whereby an utterance can be interpreted as representing a particular message or communicative act". All the models described and discussed so far were attempts to define translation as well as clarify the process of translation and analyse the task of the translator(8). However, the scope of these models is limited as they dealt with specific aspects of the translation process. To this

extent, it would be appropriate to consider them as translation techniques or approaches rather than models. Moreover, the differences between the proposed models of translation are due to the difference in purpose. Each

model seems to deal with one aspect of the process of translation or another. Each one is specifically designed

to describe a certain approach or aspect of the process of translation. We do not want to make any value judgement on However, we do believe that the

any of these models.

process of translation should be studied in its entirety and not just apply a certain linguistic theory to one of its phases or aspects.

51

B. Towards a Comprehensive Representation of the Process of Translation Starting from the idea that language is an instrument, a set of means that enables man to communicate, and that every message can be phrased in many ways or in a different code, some linguists (see for instance Fedorov and Catford) as well as laymen seem to believe that translation consists merely of transforming signs of one code in order to match signs of another code. This implies that translation is However, it is

considered as a 'mechanistic' operation. more than that.

As any communicative process, translation

is a complex one subsuming linguistic and extralinguistic factors (see subsequent chapters).

As an essential 'configuration of the communicative act' (see Martin, 1982), the process of translation should be envisaged in a framework of an extended communication model. One of the reasons that translation should be incorporated in the research paradigm of the science of communication is that, according to Wilss (1982, 66) "the object of

translation is to establish communication betweeen members of different speech communities". Moreover, the structure

of the communication process may serve as a general framework to the process of translation and as a theoretical springboard' for a theory of translation.

Communication is refe rred to and defined as "the transmission of information between a sender and a receiver using a signalling system" (Crystal, 1980,70). This definition

52

applies to any type of communication :

written / spoken In linguistic

language/ road signals, sign language, etc.

contexts, language is the signalling system involved in the communication. It may be written or spoken, the sender may

be the writer or the speaker, and the receiver may be the reader or the hearer.

The basic components of the communication process, that is , the sender, the message, and the receiver are usually represented in the following manner:

Code ^ SENDER
>

MESSAGE Channel

>
r

RECEIVER

fig.5:

Generalized Communication Model

Following this diagram,

communication is seen as the

transfer of information (message) from one person (the sender) to another (the receiver) through a channel (phonic or graphic medium ) in a coded form. general view of communication. This is the most the model

However,

illustrated above is limited in that it does not show the relationship between the sender, the receiver, and the message as referring to a certain reality in a certain context shared by both participants in the communication.

However, in linguistic contexts, communication is much more complex than a simple transfer of a message from a sender to a receiver as is suggested in the above model. An extended model of communication may highlight the important elements

53

involved in the process and the activities associated with each participant, and may clarify the process of linguistic communication (see fig:6). The sender's intentions and

thoughts constitute the message which is coded (according to language rules and norms), carried through a channel (sound / script), and finally reached the receiver who identifies the signals (phonemes / words), undestands their

combination, interprets them within a certain context, and may or may not react to the message (9). 'Noise', a term

borrowed from information theory, may be added to the model to mean all the unintended distortions added to the signals. It ties within the sender receiver continuum. In linguistic contexts, these unintended distortions added to the message may be represented by such interferences as phonolgical deviations, graphological errors, socioeducative

differences between the participants, etc.

Communication may be said to be established between the sender and the receiver when the latter receives and comprehends the message. This can only be achieved if the

code into which the message is put is known to both participants. As Jakobson (1971 b, 573) puts it " a common code is their [the interlocutors] communication tool which underlies and makes possible the exchange of message". Moreover', the sender has to select the signs from his linguistic repertory and formulate the message in such a way as to be easily intercepted and understood by the receiver.

54

rrl 11=1 Z ITI U1

II

", '41 i (1)

0

30
".0

c+Q n u I
Ul

IS

UU

SS

fr, to P7 0 III U1

orautaaoz c+ ca
Z n 10 O (T1 0-U0 0 ul 0. 0 P. uz 0 11:11 =s"

7 z

Ci 0- rD 0

irt a.
0 P.

cf

171

X
1

7.1 IT1 C

IT1 C) 171 7.1

55

Generally

speaking,

communication

between

two

English speaking individuals, for instance, can take place because they share the same language. Moreover,

communication "stands the best chances of success when the individuals belong to the same group" (James,1981,122), especially when the members of this group share, in addition to a common linguistic code, the same culture, social status, etc. To use Jakobson's terminology (1971 b), this

type of communication is 'intralingual' because it occurs within a linguistic system common to both the sender and the receiver.

However, communication in linguistic contexts may not be established between two individuals speaking different

Languages unless there is a third participant in the communication process, a mediator who decodes the sender's message and encodes it in the receiver's code. The

mediation, in this case, is usually done by a translator or an interpreter. This type of communication is labelled

'interlingual' by Jakobson.

In the present

study, the process of translation is

considered to be an essential part of an intertingual communication process as indicated by Jakobson. The two main participants in the communication process, that is, the sender and the receiver, will be assumed not to share the same linguistic system. As a result, the sender's message In addition since

cannot be comprehended by the receiver.

any message is, primarily, directed toward a receiver, and

56

in order to establish a communication link between the two participants who do not share the same linguistic code, a third participant who is competent in the two linguistic codes is imperatively needed to establish the communication exchange. In this respect, translation is viewed as vital

to interlingual communication.

A more totalising notion of any type of communication as translation is suggested by Steiner (1975, 45) who claims that " any model of communication is at the same time a model of translation". He believes that all processes of

verbal understanding can usefully be called translation. He, thus, considers that " all procedures of expressive articulation and interpretative reception are translational" (Steiner, 1975, 272). Along this line, de Beaugrande (1980, 25) considers the understanding of texts as being "a kind of translation in its own right".

This totalising notion of translation is best illustrated by Octavio Paz (1970, 38) who claims that all texts are translations of translations

"Each text is unique, yet, at the same time it is the translation of another text. No text is entirely original because language itself is essentially a translation. In the first place it translates from the non verbal world. Then, too, each sign, each sentence, is the translation of another sign, another sentence". This reasoning is similar to Steiner's claim presented above. This same view is not new; Humboldt and Novalis

declared that any type of communication is translation.

57

They argued that if we take an individual, we find that his utterance is no more than a translation of his thoughts. The obverse of Steiner's claim would still be valid: model of translation is a model of communication. any Both

translation and communication take into consideration the three main components, namely the sender of the message, the message itself, and the receiver of the message.

Translation, in the broader sense, is involved in any communication process. the decoding of It is represented by the coding and For Jakobson (1971 b)

the message.

intralingual and interlingual communication are types of translation. The former is "a rewording or an

interpretation of verbal signs by means of other signs of the same language" (Jakobson, 1971,261); that is from It is also as

message to code within one language code.

Nida (1974, 47) puts it "another way of saying the same thing in the same language". The second type is

'translation proper' or "an interpretation of verbal signs by means of some other language" (Jakobson,- 1971b, 261). That is, from message in one language code in another code. A third type of translation distinguished by Jakobson is 'intersemiotic translation' or 'transmutation' which he

defines as 'an interpretation of verbal signs by means of non verbal sign system' (op.cit). Thus, we may say that

translation, according to Jakobson and Steiner, can be equated to any type of communication process be it verbal or nonverbal.

58

One obvious difference between intralingual and interlingual communication is the introduction, in the latter, of a third participant between the sender and the receiver of the message, and a second language. In this respect,

translation can be seen as "a process of communication in which the translator is interposed between a transmitter and a receiver who uses a different language to carry out a code conversion between them" (see M. van Dijk 1983).

As an essential part of the interlingual communication process, translation should which be may considered benefit as from a the

multidisciplinary

process

achievements and findings of linguistics, psycholinguistics, semiotics, etc. In this respect, a full understanding of

how language and the communication process work may help in understanding the intricacies of the process of translation.

The interlingual communication process is primarily based on the same model as intralingual communication process. This approach puts translation in the framework of communication theory. It views translation, as Hartmann (1980,55) puts

it, as "a directional process of communication mediation" where the translator is in a peculiar situation of being a receiver and a sender of the message at the same time.

In equating translation with intralingual communication, Steiner (1975) underestimates the complexity of translation and the specific problems involved in the process (10). Basically, translation is viewed as a decoding and encoding

59

activity; that is, a code switching operation (see Hartmann, 1980). However, this operation is much more

complex because the translator, as a mediator, is at the same time a receiver as well as a sender. This double role involves a decoding and encoding activity; a task which is complex and constitutes a tangled network of different operations involving linguistic and extralinguistic factors.

The mental processes of decoding and encoding messages are nonobservable phenomena. Hence, the study of the process

of translation in its entirety was, for a long time, neglected. Primarily, translation is seen as a mediation

which undergoes two main overlappin g phases, namely analysis and synthesis. These phases can be investigated through a

retrospective reconstruction of the process on the basis of the relationship between SLT (input) and TLT (output). A

third operation which is nonobservable as a phenomenon is that of transfer which lies in the area of overlap between analysis and synthesis. The study of this phase requires

further research which would draw upon such disciplines as psychology, neurology, psycholinguistic, and other related fields.

The process of translation is, undoubtedly one of the best examples that show the complexity of human communication. Interlingual communication is complex and process' (Nida,1978,118). all embracing

Its complexity is intensified by a) SL vs.

the following dichotomies :

TL (concerning
TL reader

norms, conventions, cultures, etc.), b) SL vs.

60

I N P U T

1 1 SL Text
1
, 1 1 SLT 1 Decoding I
I

SL Writer

SL Encoding

1
SLT Reception I Analysis I I

H E D
I A T I 0 N

1
I

Transfer

I I 1 Recoding
I

1 1 I I Synthesis I

p r o c e
S

4.----

1
0 U U T P U T TL Text TL Reader

TL Decoding

Fig.7 The Process of Translation as an Interlingual communication process.

61

expectations, and c) writer (first sender) vs. (second sender).

translator

As is shown in fig:7, the writer's message encoded in the SL system is received by the translator who, after a process of analysis and synthesis, recodes the message in the TL to be read and interpreted by the TL reader. It should be noted, however, that the process of analysis and synthesis do not take place successively in the translator's brain as will be explained in subsequent chapters.

A comprehensive representation of the translation . should be explicative and analytical. to allow adaptation It should be flexible in order It is true that

and evolution.

languages are infinitely complex and any linguistic model is bound to be only a tool which enables us to understand, at least partially, the complexity of the process of

translation,

however, no model should view translation as a

purely mechanistic process (11).

As was mentioned earlier, the existing models of translation center on specific aspects of the process of translation. Moreover, as was said earlier, each proposed model favours one approach ot the other of the old dichotomy 'literal' vs. 'free'.

The aim of the present study is to propose an extended and analytical representation of the process of translation with an attempt to balance the two main tendencies: SLToriented translation and TLreaderoriented translation. A

62

representation of the process of translation based on a modified and extended communication model may be of help in seeking to represent an adequate transfer of a message from SLT writer to TLT reader.

To avoid a communication breakdown between the two main indirect participants (the SL in the communication through

translation

writer and the TL

reader), the

translator should attempt to reproduce the SL message into the TL taking into consideration not only linguistic and semantic factors but pragmatic and extralinguistic factors as well. In other words, as Wilss (1982,66) suggests

"It is the translator's job in a communication process to correlate the intentions of S [sender] with that of R [receiver], while doing this, he must take into the SLT, all available on account information the and under originated conditions which it functional perspectives at which it aims". The process of translation involves a great deal of non linguistic factors. It is obvious that it is based mainly However,

on some internal and non observable phenomena.

'translation theory', for long, dealt mainly with linguistic matters excluding the role of the translator, the human element which manifests itself in all aspects of the process.

As was suggested earlier, the process of translation can be divided into two main phases : analysis and synthesis. The area of overlap of these two phases constitutes the transfer phase which is described by Nida (1969,99) as "the focal point of the translation process. Hence, any approach to

63

translation should not confine itself solely to observable phenomena but should consider other factors of mental and extralinguistic nature. Along this line, more

psycholinguistic research is needed to unravel the different mental processes involved in translation, especially those concerning the transfer of meaning from SL to TL. The

problem of representing this transfer of meaning is mainly due to the problem of comprehending the nature of thought in its abstract form. The essence of translation is, thus,

more complex involving areas of no direct connection with linguistics.

As for the other phases of the process, the analysis phase is mainly a phase of understanding (from SL form to meaning) in which the SLT is analysed at the syntactic, semantic, pragmatic, textual, and stylistic levels. The synthesis

phase is one of reconstruction (from meaning to TL form) in which the SLT which has been analysed is reproduced in the target language passing through an intermediary stage namely the transfer phase. _

In practice, the different phases of the process overlap and give the impression that translation is almost an

instantaneous operation. During the process of translation, several levels of the translator's competence, coupled with decision making and problem solving strategies, come into action. This matter will be presented and discussed in the We shall also investigate and discuss,

following chapter.

in detail, each phase and related aspects involved in the process of translation in subsequent chapters.

64

NOTES 1.'Rank'in Hallidayan linguistics refers to one of the scales of analysis which interelates the categories (class, system, structure). For instance, the grammatical rank scale recognizes sentence clause group word morpheme in a relationship of inclusion, i.e., each bigger unit consists of one or more smaller units. 2. M.G.Rose (1980) proposed a six steps scheme for the process of translation which has a partial correlation to G.Steiner's hermemeutic model. The steps are: a preliminary analysis which corresponds to Steiner's trust. b exhaustive style and content analysis corresponding to Steiner's aggresion and comprehension. c acclimation of the text; and d reformulation of the text comprise the embodiment. e the analysis of the translation; and f review and comparison are suggested by Rose to ensure the restitution. Rose emphasized that "although the steps are discussed sequentially, some having sequential logic, for a translators, various on could carried steps be simultaneously "(Rose, 1981,1). 3. Shakespear, W. Exegi Monumentum . p: 352 in: Shakespear to Hardy, ed. A. Methuen. Methuen & Co ltd, London 1922 4. We should look beyond the signs for identical situations because from this situation, a new set of signs should emerge and will be by definition the equivalent of the former SL signs. For a presentation and discussion of this approach see 5. chapter one. 6. Nida and Taber (1969,53) give the following example of an analysis of SL sentences into near kernels. Thus, the sentence "for by grace, are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast " (Ephesians, 2:8) becomes the following seven Kernels :

65

i God showed grace ii God saved you iii you believed (ie.'faith' is treated as an event and therefore turned into a verb) iv you did not save yourself
V

God gave it

vi you did not work fot it vii No man should boast 7. A generative grammar is based upon the notion that out of certain fundamental kernel sentences, a language builds up its structure by various techniques of permutations and transformations. Perhaps, the salient feature of this grammar is that it recognizes a level of deep structure and a level of surface structure The relationshi p between the two levels is made "explicit in Chomskyty p e grammar by the transformations involved in converting the former into the Latter" (James, 1981,172). Many models depicting the process of translation were 8. proposed. schumacker (1973), for instance, described a step assimilation, : process the by step analysis of confrontation, and restitution. Bathgate (1981) tried to incorporate many models into one 'operational model' which "represents the various activities one might observe if one at work" while shoulder Looked over a translator's (1981,11); He distinguished seven steps in the process (a) tuning, (b) analysis, (c) Leading from SLT to TLT: (f) restructuring, (e) understanding, (d) terminology, checking, and (g) discussion. Nevertheless these models do not take into consideration the mental and extralinguistic factors which influence the process of translation. It should be noted that there is a possible difference 9. between the source of the message and the sender of the message, in that one can be the source of a message but need In addition, not all messages not have purposely sent it. sent an messages received, and not all messages received are messages understood or for that matter acted upon. Although Steiner (1975,47) claims that "C...] inside 10. or between languages, human communication equals translation", he, however, suggests that translation "is a special hightened case of the process of communication and reception" (1975, 414).

66.

process the studying interest in The first 11. 'scientifically' begun with the early efforts to mechanize the process by using computers. However, Machine Translation has not been very successful because it takes a mechanical and atomistic view of language.

67

CHAPTER THREE

LEVELS OF THE TRANSLATOR'S COMPETENCE

Competence is usually referred to, in linguistics, as a speaker's Linguistic knowledge (Chomsky, 1958,1965; Carroll, 1964). As far as translation is concerned, this linguistic constitutes one Level of the translator's

knowledge

competence (1). translator's

In translation, all the levels of the are interrelated, as will be

competence

explained later (see p:74 ff).

The term 'competence', in

this study, is used in a general sense to mean any type of knowledge be it linguistic or nonlinguistic. Moreover,

since competence is a property of the individual (Chomsky), we should assume that the levels of the translator's

competence, the amount of knowledge, and the ability to use it would differ from one translator to another.

Nonetheless, some general outline of what these levels of competence might be can be put forward.

Many attempts have been made to classify knowledge and describe how it is organized. Miller (1973) assumed that

this knowledge, in the case of a language user, is organized on five levels: phonological, syntactic, lexical,

conceptual knowledge, and system of beliefs.

68

Phonological knowledge: any person must have some

information about the sounds of the language he uses. This suggests, as Akmajian (1979,101) noticed that the speaker has "internalised abstract principles that characterize the conditions on pronunciation of the language he is involved with".

b Syntactic knowledge: a knowledge about the formation of sentences and how they are structured. Therefore, we assume that the user must have a knowledge of a finite set of grammatical rules concerning the language he uses.

Lexical knowledge :

information about the meaning of

words and combination of words.

d Conceptual knowledge of the world he lives in and talks (or writes) about.

e System of beliefs in order to evaluate what he hears or reads.

As far as translation is concerned, Straight (1984,41) gives an outline of the knowledge translators must have. identifies two types of knowledge: He

cultural (ecology,

material culture, technology, social organization, mythic patterns ), and linguistic (phonology, syntax, morphology ). On the ' other hand, Delisle (1984,234-236) suggests four major levels of competence which are essential to

translation: reexpression.

linguistic, comprehension, encyclopedic, and We shall present each level of the

69

translator's interrelationship

competence, and

and to

highlight translation,

their in

importance

subsequent sections.

It should be noted that the five levels of knowledge proposed by Miller (1973) may be included in this general classification of the levels of the translator's competence. We consider the phonological and syntactic knowledge as part of linguistic competence, whereas the lexical knowledge is both related to the linguistic and comprehension (2). Finally, the conceptual knowledge and the system of beliefs are allocated to the encyclopedic competence. All these

will be disccussed when presenting each level of the translator's competence.

1. Linguistic competence

Generally speaking, any person, in order to use a language effectively must know the language. This does not mean

that the language user must know endless and infinite sets of sentences but must have a linguistic knowledge in a finite form which explains the language. In other words,

although the language generated is infinite as Chomsky (1980,22) pointed out, the grammar itself is finite. This

grammar encompasses a finite system of principles and set of rules on phonolo gy, syntax and morphology.

70

However, The Translator is more than an ordinary language user. The translator as a special user of languages may

find this knowledge of a limited set of rules governing the language not sufficient to translate. He may require

additional knowledge which might enable him to understand the characteristics of the language involved and might provide him with adequate linguistic means to accomplish his task.

The Translator's linguistic competence may be enhanced, for instance, by a knowledge of wordformation in the languages in which the translator is involvedvThis kind of knowledge may serve to analyse complex words and derive their meanings. For instance, the word "readable" in the

following sentence:

[4] "Oh, said I, that fellow...what's his name ? the brickmaker will make a readable report for you" (HD:138). even if it is considered on its own, it contains information that can be extracted from its morphology. The suffix

'able' when attached to the verb 'read' converts it into an adjective and gives the primary meaning ' able to be read '. It is not claimed here that the meaning of a complex word is merely a composite of its parts; the word 'readable' may undergo, a semantic shift to mean that the 'report is well written' or 'has a good style', etc. This semantic drift

depends on the pragmatic inference from the context or the actual use of the word. Indeed, a word taken in isolation Its meaning within

may have different and various meanings.

71

a text is governed by the context.

In order to understand

the context and assign the exact meaning to the word, the translator is assumed to have another level of competence which we may call 'comprehension competence'. shall present in the following section. This, we

2. Comprehension competence

Linguistic competence is not self sufficient.

Whatever the

Language user may know of his language, it is necessary for him to comprehend this language, because any linguistic representation implies semantic information, communication

can be accomplished because the language user can assign meaning to certain sounds and shapes represented in his linguistic knowledge.

The language user can store a finite amount of information concerning the features of the language he uses. He has, as Chomsky (1958) assumed, " a system of rules that generate and relate certain mental representation including, in particular, representation of form and meaning". That is

why the language user can extract new information from previously unknown sentences. It is this ability of

extracting information and assigning meaning to stretches of Language that we call 'comprehension competence'.

For Delisle (1984,234), comprehension competence is "celle qui permet d'extraire l'information du texte, le sens du vouloir dire du redacteur original" (4). In other words,

72

Comprehension competence is the ability to analyse a text semantically and pragmatically. The translator must be able to extract information from the text, understand and interpret it. However, much of the information required in understanding a text is drawn from the language user's general knowledge. As Van Dijk and Kintsh (1983,42) put it:

" During comprehension readers pull out from their general store of knowledge some particular packet of knowledge and use it to provide a framework for the text they are reading". This store of knowledge is embodied in the translator's encyclopedic knowledge.

3. Encyclopedic Competence

By encyclopedic competence we

do not

mean that the

translator should know absolutely everything about anything. However, due to the variety of subject matters with which the translator is confronted, a certain encyclopedic When dealing

knowledge ( or 'culture generale' ) is needed.

with a specific text, for instance a literary text, the translator has to acquaint himself with the cultural, political, and historical aspects of the text if there are any. That is, in short, he must have backgound knowledge

concerning the text he sets to translate. The translator of Joseph Conrad's novel 'Heart of Darkness', for example, would need to be familiar with all the facets of Conrad's time (political, cultural, etc.) in order to be able to

understand the novel and ultimately translate it adequately.

73

Obtaining background information about the text to be translated is of great importance to its comprehension, and in the Long term, it enhances the translator's encyclopedic competence.

A full understanding of a source language text depends on the translator's comprehension competence and his

encyclopedic competence.

It is the interaction between the

SL text and the translator's comprehension and encyclopedic competence which determines the understanding and

iterpretation of the text.

In other words, as De Beaugrande

and Dressler (1981,6) suggest:

"A text does not make sense by itself, but rather by the interaction of textpresented knowledge with peolpe's stored knowledge of the world". This notion of adding one's own knowledge to the text, or 'inferencing' as this process is called (see: De Beaugrande

and Dressler,1981), might imply that the comprehension of any expression is hardly conceivable without at least a minimum of general knowledge.

4. Reexpression Competence

A fourth important level of the translator's competence is that of reexpression without it translation is

inconceivable.

Possessing a linguistic, encyclopedic, and

comprehension competence is not sufficient to translate. The translator should be able to reexpress the SL message into the target language. That is, in addition to his 'SLT

74

analytical competence' (see: by the linguistic,

Wilss,1982,118) as represented and comprehension

encyclopedic,

competence, the translator must have a . TLT reproductive competence'. He must possess specific abilities and

strategies for TLT synthesis. The reexpression competence, thus, represents the translator's ability to reformulate SL messages into TL in accordance with TL conventions and rules.

We assume that during the analysis phase the three levels of the translator's competence ( linguistic, comprehension, and encyclopedic) are active. However, when the reexpression

competence is 'activated' interaction takes place between the levels of the translator's competence that were active in the SLT analysis and those that are specifically This

activated whenever a target language is involved. interaction determines the translator's

reexpression

competence. When applying his reexpression competence, the translator is constantly 'calling' his knowledge of the two linguistic systems of SL and TL, and referring at the same time to his encyclopedic competence which determines, in part, his comprehension competence.

This interaction of the different levels of the translator's competence, which determines the reexpression ability of the translator, may be schematically represented as follows:

75

Linguistic Competence (in SL and TL)

Reexpression Competence

Comprehension Competence

Encyclopedic Competence

We believe that, in translation, there is a relationship of dependency between the different levels of the translator's competence. errors of A deficient linguistic competence may lead to comprehension which in turn influences the Likewise, a

reexpression competence of the translator.

deficient encyclopedic competence may hinder comprehension and therefore affects reexpression.

Moreover, there is a certain relationship between the different phases of the process of translation and the different levels of the translator's competence. In the

analysis phase, the translator analyses the SLT on the basis of his linguistic competence at the syntactic and textual level, and on the basis of his comprehension and

encyclopedic competence at the semantic and pragmatic level. As for the transfer phase, the result of the interaction of these three levels of the translator's competence

(linguistic, comprehension, and encyclopedic ) with the SLT is crystalized' in a certain type of mental representation ready to be transferred into the TL whenever the

reexpression or TLT reproductive competence is 'activated' during the synthesis phase.

76

5.Translation As A Decision Making Process

During the whole process of translation in which the levels of the translator's competence interact, the translator "finds himself in conflict and decision marked situations" (Wilss,1982,65). The decision making process is very active in the synthesis or reexpression phase during which the translator constantly makes choices between alternatives so as to match the SLT. In J.Levy words (1967,1171):

" From the point of view of the working situation of the translator, at any moment of his work, translation is a DECISION PROCESS : a series of a certain number of consecutive situations [...] situations imposing on the translator the necessity of choosing among a certain number of alternatives". Thus, the translator is often compelled to make a choice whenever he is confronted with a number of alternatives in conveying the meaning of an expression. For instance, at

the word level, he has to make a decision as to the exact value or meaning of each linguistic item depending on the particular text and context in which it appears.

Although, sometimes, the translator has some freedom of selection and choice from among several approximately TL equivalent possibilities; he, however, has to make a

decision by giving priority to either the syntactic or the semantic perspective, or as in the case of literary

translation to the stylistic perspective of the text.

77

NOTES
The term 'competence' as explained by Chomsky (1980,59) 1. "entered the technical literature in an effort to avoid entanglement with the slew problem relating to knowledge". Chomsky stresses that the term 'competence' is misleading in that it suggests 'ability'. As Chomsky (1980,4) noticed "having the capacity to do so andso is not the same as knowing how to do soandso". The morphology and the phonology of the lexical item is 2. stored in the memory (embodied in his linguistic knowledge). Each lexical item has a meaning and thus, must be understood by the language user (through his comprehension competence). For instance, if we take the syntactic aspect of this 3. knowledge, the various linguistic studies might increase the translator's 'grammatical sensitivity', that is "his ability to recognize the functions of form classes and construction and to perform tasks requiring the ability to perceive these functions" (Caroll, 1964,68). That which helps to extract information from a text and 4. what the original writer intended.

78

CHAPTER FOUR

THE ANALYSIS PHASE

As was mentioned before, the process of translation would be viewed here as consisting of three main phases: Analysis,

Transfer, and Synthesis. The analysis phase is undoubtedly the most important in the process of translation, for all the decisions to be made in the course of the synthesis (reconstruction) chapter, we phase will be based on it. In this

would

like to investigate the steps the

translator should in theory follow in the analysis phase.

It is suggested that, in practice, the translator as a reader and as a linguist starts with the syntax and works from there to semantics and then to "what is relatively context-variable", i.e, pragmatic analysis (see: 1983; Caroll, 1964). Leech,

We would like to claim that the analysis phase has two Levels, one primary, and the other secondary. At the

primary level, the analysis phase could be regarded as consisting of linguistic analysis, comprehension, and

interpretation.

All these aspects of the analysis at the

primary , level are related, respectively, to the three areas drawn by Morris (1946), namely syntactics, semantics, and pragmatics (1).

79

Syntactics is simply concerned with "the relationship of symbol to symbol, their arrangement including order and hierarchical structures" (Nida, 1964, 35); semantics studies the "relationship between signs and designata" (House, 1981, 86); whereas pragmatics is "the study of how utterances have meaning in situation" (Leech, 1983,x).

We will discuss each analytical aspect separately in this chapter; but by doing so, we do not assume that each aspect of the analysis is separate or independent from the other aspects.

At the secondary level of the analysis phase, the translator proceeds to a stylistic and textual analysis. In other

words, he has to discover the cohesive and stylistic devices used in the source language text. Since we consider

translation as a process which leads from a source language text to an equivalent target language text, this requires not only a syntactic and semantic analysis but also a stylistic and textpragmatic understanding of the source language text.

Let us now examine these levels of the analysis starting with the primary level which includes linguistic

identification and syntactic analysis as well as semantic and pragmatic analysis.

80

A. Primary level Analysis

1. Linguistic Identification and Syntactic Analysis

The reading process leading to the comprehension of a stretch of language, as we see it, may be based on a reconstruction of the structure of this stretch of language through a binary construction representation. this kind of structural representation We propose de

following

Beaugrande's and Dressler's (1981, 79) suggestion that short range stretches of the surface structure may be analysed in terms of "closelyknit We patterns of grammatical

dependencies".

also follow Nida's

suggestion that

"combinations of more words are usually structured into hierarchically arranged sets of binary constructions" (Nida, 1964, 57). representation The importance of this binary construction is that it describes the type of

relationships existing between the different items of the stretch of language (see examples below).( a)

Let us now illustrate the procedure in detail by applying it to a sentence taken from Conrad's "Heart of Darkness":

C5a7 III

A haze rested on the low shores that ran out to (HD: 45).

sea in vanishing flatnessIII

We assume that the reader first identifies the first item of the sentence, i.e, the item "a"; the reader's linguistic knowledge enables him to identify this item as an indefinite article and as a pre modifier. He expects this premodifier

81

to be followed by a headword as this is usually the case in English which in this sentence is "haze". Thus, we have our first binay construction representation in the sentence consisting of a pre modifier (m), and a headword (h):

a haze m h

L_J
Assuming this type of analysis, the translator as a reader goes on analysing the other parts of the sentence, indentifying the items and linking them to each other until he gets an overall representation of the stretch of language he is examining. Hence, the configuration of the linkage in the sentence will be:

5 b] A haze rested on the low shores that ran out to sea in va. fl.

LI

1_1

L 1

The sentence is viewed here as a configuration of links between pairs of items many of them having further linkage. For a simple description of the linguistic analysis, we assume that the reader starts with the identification of items from the smallest unit, the morpheme, to the sentence. It is somehow suggested that when we read a stretch of language. in its linear progression, we analyse it in a number of layers. At each layer, there is a meaningful For

combination of items which constitutes a construction. instance:

82

C5 c] 111 A haze
II

rested' on the low shores [[that ran.

1 I I

1.

f
1

f
1

f+b
1

f+b

liii i 1 f f+b ffff f+b f+b

1 1 1 1 1111 1 1

Mill

1111

m h 2. (ind (noun art.) sing

v (past)

pmmh (def.(adj)(n art.) pl.)

h v+e php m h 1 n adj n (past) (sing)

l
q
3. 4. NG S VG PG A

Symbols used: f = free morpheme, b = bound morpheme, m = modifier, h = headword, p = preposition, v = verb, e = ending, q = qualifier, ind.art. = indefinite article, def.art. = definite article, sing = singular, pl = plural, adj = adjective, n = noun, NG = nominal group, VG = verbal group, PG = prepositional group, S = subject, P = predicate, A = adjunct. At layer 1, the morphemes are identified in terms of 'free' or 'bound' morphemes that is as one and indivisible unit or attached to another morpheme. Bound morphemes cannot stand For instance,

on their own but may have specific meaning.

the morpheme 's' in 'shores' indicates plurality, and the morpheme ing' in 'vanishing' is a suffix indicating

continuity.

At layer 2, each item is characterized from the grammatical aspect. headword For example, the item 'haze' is characterized as a and 'rested' as a verb. Classification and

characterization of the items of a stretch of language may seem at first not significant but they are of primary importance in understanding the grammatical and syntactic relationship existing between the different items, and consequently in the comprehension of the entire stretch of

83

language.

At

layer

3,

the

items

are

grouped

into

structural

constituents of the sentence, that is, into syntagmatic groups, for instance, 'a haze' constitutes a nominal group.

At layer 4, each syntagmatic group is assigned a syntactic function. For instance, the nominal group 'a haze' is

assigned the function "subject" in its relation with other syntagmatic groups which constitute the sentence. This is

based on the assumption that a stretch of language is not only a series of words but also a nesting of grammatical patterns as well.

At this stage of the analysis, each item in the sentence is identified and characterized from the grammatical point of view, and each combination of binary linkage(s) is assigned a syntactic function. Thus, the analysed sentence is found

to have an SPA structure (subject + predicate + adjunct). '...that ran out to sea in vanising flatness' is a modifying clause which supplies us with additional information on the headword 'haze', and acts as a qualifier to it. Therefore,

we may include this rank shifted clause in the syntagmatic group PG as is illustrated in the following tree diagram:

84

h v+ephpmh The linguistic analysis adopted here stems from the

postulate that any stretch of language can be decomposed into minimal units. The types of relations established

between these units determine their grammatical category and their syntactic function. the distinction between From the syntactic point of view, subject and predicate rests,

according to Lyons (1977, 430) "upon the assumption that the nucleus of a single sentence (...) is composed of two

immediate constituents one of which is nominal (NP) and the other a verbal (VP)".

The type of analysis presented in this chapter is assumed to be necessary before translating. The problem is that we

know little of how words are processed and even less about how the processing of structures is done. assume that this However, we

linguistic analysis is usually done

intuitively by the translator.

Usually, the translator may consciously proceed to a segmentation of a stretch of language using one or the other of the following methods: (a) segmentation of the stretch

of language into group of words, that is, finding words that go together and form an indivisible whole; and (b)

85

segmentation of the structure, that is, finding the logical sequence of the ideas and grammatical units. At a later

stage, correct segmentation of the text into units may be of a great help in avoiding erroneous translation (see chapter five). One aspect of text segmentation is to show Linkage

within a sentence and the different syntagms, or clauses the sentence may contain:

Sample of text segmentation

[6] III

The sea reach of the Thames I

stretched I

before

us like the beginning of an interminable waterway III In the offing I the sea and the sky ! were welded I

together without a joint II, [and] in the luminous space I the tanned sails of the barges CC drifting up with seemed I canvas to stand still I in red

the tide ]] I clusters of

sharply

peaked with gleams of rested I on the low

varnished spirits III

A haze I

shores CC that ran out to sea in vanishing flatness II !II The air I was I dark I above Gravesand II [and]

farther back still I

seemed condensed into a mournful

gloom CC brooding motionless over the biggest and the greatest town on earth 7] III (HD: 45)

In this paragraph, each sentence is segmented into syntagms, bearing in mind that each linguistic item has already been identified and characterized, and each syntagm assigned a syntactic function. Each syntagm is related to other

syntagms to form a sentence. The meaning of a sentence can

86

be derived, at least superficially, from the signalling relationship of the various syntagms that constitute the structure of the sentence. The derivation of meaning or

comprehension of a stretch of language will be investigated in the following section.

2. Semantic Analysis

According to the model suggested here, the parsing of the surface text, from the linear string into a configuration of grammatical dependencies and syntactic relations, is

followed by a semantic analysis. The elements representing the surface expressions activate the translator's or the reader's mental 'dictionary' which assigns to each element its likely meaning. Since theoretically "all words have a

minimum semantic content" (Newmark, 1974,40), the translator or the reader would assign a particular significance to each linguistic item, that is, its meaning or the value it acquires within a context. This is so since each word is

related to other words in a complicated set of grammatical and sense relationship which defines its meaning. It is the interdependence of the items within a stretch of language which assigns to each item its meaning.

At this stage of the analysis, the task of the translator would be to discover the ways by which referential information is distributed among the constituent elements of the text implicit (see Hartmann, 1980,36), and of "explicating semantico logical dependency relations" (Wilss

87

1982,140).

In our

model,

it

is

suggested that the

translator would resort to semantic analysis intuitively and consciously in order to reach the meaning of a word, of an expression, or of a whole text.

A semantic analysis of some sort applied to the source language text is necessary to its comprehension.

Comprehension is one of the most important factors in the transfer of a message from a source language text to a target language. In literary translation, for instance, the

more the translator understands and comprehends the SL text, the less his difficulties in translating it.

Before any attempt is made to translate a text, the semantic analysis of SLT should be based on a prior reading of the entire text, and on a study of the factual and cultural background of the text, usually, this is the case when

dealing with a literary text such as Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" (see Appendix B). A background knowledge of the

text may reduce translation difficulties because, more too often, the difficulty in translating is not only due to the differences between the structures of two languages but to the different associations and specific meanings of even simple words as well.

In analysing a text primarily proceed to:

semantically, the translator may (a) lexico semantic analysis, that

is, finding the significance of linguistic items; and (b) sentence meaning analysis, that is finding the significance

88

of whole linguistic structures.

We shall discuss these two

aspects of the semantic analysis in the following sections.

a) Lexico Semantic Analysis

The meaning of lexical items in a stretch of language should be considered both outside and within the context. Outside

the context because, theoretically, any lexical item has a particular meaning in the sense of being a referrer to a certain reality in some possible world. However, as most

words have more than one meaning, their comprehension by the reader or the translator depends, in some measure, upon the Linguistic and cultural context within which they are used. Sometimes, a lexical item can carry a significance which goes beyond the conventional meaning assigned to it. Therefore, as Biihler (1965) points out "situation and

context are roughly speaking the two sources which in each case make it possible to gleam a precise interpretation of linguistic utterance" (2).

These two aspects of lexical meaning may be called 'primary' meaning and 'secondary' meaning. Primary meaning may be

defined as the direct, specific, and first meaning of a lexical item which is more likely "to be understood without contextual conditionning" (Nida,1964,111). associated with denotation, Ca that is It is usually the item] meaning that is

conventionally

assigned to

lexical

definable independently of context of use' (Wirth, 1985,5). Secondary meaning, on the other hand, is that aspect of the

89

meaning of a particular lexical item which can be derived only by taking the context into consideration. For

instance, an author may use a lexical item denoting one thing but contextually means something else. It is the

function of the context to specify and elucidate the particular meaning intended by the author.

For example:

En

He

resembled

pilot,

which

to 45)

seaman

is

trustworthiness personified' (HD:

(NH:5)

LS...1.JI

L".-11

61-5

/kana ashbaho....bi at tayy g ri atladhi ya c tabiruhu at _ bahh g ru In this example, the mistranslation of 'pilot' is believed to be caused by the translator's defective comprehension competence (see chapter three). The first meaning that came into his mind was J /tayyar/ (air pilot).

However, taking the context into consideration would have solved the problem; For 'pilot' in this particular sentence, meaning "a steersman or person qualified to take charge of ships entering or leaving a harbour; would have been rendered by an Arabic equivalent (b) /murshid al sufun/. term such as

Mistranslation of

some

lexical items,

usually, occurs

because translators take the first (primary) meaning which a lexical item may inherently suggest (3). For instance, the

90

Arabic translation of following sentence:

the lexical item

mine

in the

[8] 'Another mine on the cliff went off, followed by a slight shudder of the soil under my feet' (HD: 66)

has been rendered asr,. -

' /manjam/ which is the

primary meaning of 'mine' (excavation from which minerals are extracted,

C1-3 ., Lit 1--.--; J I (61) L. Li..ej I LriL i:74 1. ....A j...3 ,L.,....,...; .

r--?---

17.i>i,

(NN:23)-6*----:J-Lii tri
LL,

..:3

/ikhtafa manjamun akhar min 'al 5 al jurfi wa tal-a dh5lika irti t ishun fi t turbati tahta qadami/ If the translator had taken the context into consideration (see appendix A) and looked back at page 66 of HD, he would have translated the lexical item as
I n j?-1-1. 4

t (...1

'

/ lughm/ or

/mutafajjira/ (explosive charge).

It is more

Likely that even if he mistranslated 'mine', he would have got a clue from 'went off' to correct it. It should be

pointed out here that a mistranslation of one lexical item may lead to mistranslation of another in the same sentence. For instance, by rendering the word 'mine' as
1
(-: n.;....

/manjam/, the translator mistranslated as a consequence the verb 'went off' instead of as
1

/ikhtaf5/

(disappeared)

/infajara/ (exploded).

Another aspect which may affect translation is that a word in one language may sometimes have two, or several, different equivalents in another language. It is from the

context that we may usually deduce which equivalent to use.

91

For example in order to translate the word 'aunt' in the sentence:

[9] 'My dear aunt's endeavour to nurse up my strength seemed altogether beside the mark'. (HD: 152)

The translator into Arabic needs to be provided with supplementary information to decide whether aunt' maternal or paternal. The choice between the is two

alternatives is obligatory because Arabic has two distinct and specific terms for the lexical item 'aunt', depending on whether 'aunt' is paternal'j.. ' /kWilla/(4) . /camma/, or maternal

Generally speaking, this dilemma

may be solved by referring to the context as 'the richer the context of the message, the smaller the loss of information' (Jakobson, 1971,2064). could not be of help. However, sometimes even the context In the above example, although the

word 'aunt' is mentioned four times in the novel referring to the same person, the translator could not draw from the context if 'aunt' is maternal or paternal. Thus, he has to

make a decision as to which Arabic ward he should use in all the occurences of the word 'aunt' in the novel (see chapter three for decision- making process).

b) Sentence-Meaning

In analysing the meaning of a sentence, the translator would look for the relationship between the different items, and how these items interact and combine to form a proposition.

92

He may ask:

'what does what to or for whom with what where in order to indentify the agent, Consider the

when for what and how?'

the goal, the action, the manner, etc. following sentence,

[10] 'In the offing, the sea and the sky were welded together without a joint, and in the luminous space, the tanned sails of the barges drifting up with the tide seemed to stand still in red clusters of canvas sharply peaked with gleams of varnished spirits' (HD:45). A segmentation of this example into syntagms and an

identification of semantic relations between the syntagms may be taken as the first step to determine the meaning of the sentence assuming that each lexical item in the sentence is analysed semantically analysis). (see earlier: lexicosemantic

[10 a] III In the offing,' the sea and the skyl were welded! agent state location together without a joint'', Cand]l in the luminous spacel location + manner the tanned sails of the barges [[drifting up with the tideill agent seemed to stand stilli in red clusters of canvas [[sharply state manner peaked with gleams of varnished spirits]]III This sentence consists of two coordinated clauses having the same semantic structure: location + agent + state + manner.

Both clauses are descriptive; the first is a description of 'the sea and the sky', the second is a description of the 'sails of the barges'. Both clauses have a semantic This is one way of analysing

relationship of simultaneit 7 .

93

the semantic relationship between the various segments of the sentence. The segmentation of the sentence is based on the semantic definitions of syntactic categories (5). It

should be pointed out, however, that the semantic structure does not by itself determine the meaning of a sentence. Usually, any sentence is interpreted on the basis of the reader's knowledge and on his comprehension competence (see chapter three).

Another technique for analysing a sentence semantically is suggested by Nida (1974) who, applying his analysis of grammatical meaning to translation, splits the surface

structure of a sentence into underlying basic sentences, the kernels, in order to facilitate the understanding of a sentence. example: If we apply his technique to the following

. [11]

The sea reach of the Thames stretched before us like the beginning of an interminable waterway' (HD:45).

near We may have the following(basic sentences:

a The Thames reaches the sea (in a certain place) ==> a' The place where the Thames reaches the sea b a' stretched before us. c a' is like the beginning of an interminable waterway.

We may find this type of analysis useful in dealing with complex, or with ambiguous syntactical surface structures. The splitting up of the sentence into basic sentences brings

94

out the meaning of certain segments and clarifies the relationship existing between the different units of the sentence. In the above example, the sea-reach' is a

keyword and must be understood clearly. This compound noun does not exist in the dictionary as such, but the context can determine its meaning. If the nominal phrase the

sea-reach of the Thames' is paraphrased, the meaning of 'sea-reach' may be brought out. Thus, the sea-reach of the Thames' becomes the place where the Thames reaches the

sea'. Ultimately, the whole sentence will be understood and its content language. ready to be transferred into the target

It is repeatedly said that the total meaning of a sentence is not a linear sum of the meaning of the words that it comprises. Therefore, any comprehension of a sentence would involve not only the meaning of the sentence as a whole but also its relationship with the context be it immediate or wider.

Nevertheless, non-literal.

sentence

can

be

either

literal

or

A sentence is said to be literal when we

assume the author means exactly what he says, that is when the meaning of the sentence and the author's intented meaning Are the same. Conversely, a sentence is said to be non-literal when it is assumed that the author does not mean what his sentence means literally, and here, we enter the domain of pragmatics.

95

3. Pragmatic Analysis

Having dealt with what the sentence meant, the translator should analyse the sentence from its pragmatic aspect. As Nida (1964,491) suggests:

"The analysis of a text in the source language must not be limited to a of the syntactic study relationships between or the linguistic units denotative (or referential) meaning of these same units. Analysis must also treat the emotive (or connotative) values of the formal structure of the communication". That is, an analysis of the pragmatic aspect of the sentence. The pragmatic aspect of meaning is important in translation, because a translator should not only know what a sentence means, but also what the author meant by such a sentence. The treatment of connotative meaning is part of Basically, connotative meaning,

the pragmatic analysis. according to Caroll

(1964,41), is an individual matter

because the reader constructs the meaning of an expression

"in terms of the concepts and conceptual relationships it evokes, also by utilizing whatever further information he may have concerning the situation in which he hears Eor reads] it" Thus, the translator proceeds to an investigation of the relationship between the sentence and the context in which it is performed. He embarks on discovering the purpose for which the sentence is used, and in doing so, he analyses the conditions under which the sentence has been produced. Moreover, this kind of analysis may show the important relationship between the producer of the expression and the receiver, and the importance of the context in which the

96

paticipants in the communication interact (see chapter two for a description of this interaction).

As it is suggested, the pragmatic interpretation of an expression depends on the context. Context, following Leech (1983,13) is "any background assumed to be shared by S [speaker] and H [hearer] and which contributes to H's interpretation of what S means by a given utterance". Consider the following example:

[12]

This devoted band called itself the Eldorado Exploring Expedition, and I beleive they were sworn to secrecy. Their talk was the talk of sordid buccaneers; it was reckless without hardihood, greedy without audacity, and cruel without courage; there was not an atom of foresight in the whole batch of them, and they did not seem aware these things are wanted for the work of the world. To tear treasure out of the bowels of the land was their desire, with no more moral purpose at the back of it than there is in burglars breaking into a paid the Who expenses the safe. of noble enterprise, I don't know; but the uncle of our manager was the leader of that lot'. (HD:87)

If we take the context into account we may interpret the stretch of language 'who paid the expenses of the noble enterprise, I don't know' as ironic. Background information about the author and the text (see Appendix B) might confirm this interpretation. The Eldorado Exploring Expedition

mentioned in the text may actually be the Katanga Expedition of 1890. The author, Conrad, had a ferocious loathing for

such band of exploiters and denounced them by describing them as 'buccaneers', 'greedy', and 'cruel'; he also

compares them to 'burglars breaking into a safe', and Later (HD:104) 'unwholesome' and 'unappetising'. Conrad was aware

97

that the 'noble' missions to Africa were merely a facade to extract the bounty of ivory available there. Therefore, the only interpretation that can be given to the expression the noble enterprise' must be ironic, irony being defined as "stating something literally but with the implication that the opposite is really true" (Brett, 1976,39).

Moreover,

the sentence may also be considered as a

rhetorical question which although cast in the form of a question is not intended to obtain information but to express the author's attitude.

What has been described so far in this chapter can be represented as follows:

Linguistic identification of : items constructions

I syntactic analysis : characterizing the items from the grammatical point of view. assigning to each construction a syntactic role

Semantic analysis of : lexical item sentences

Pragmatic analysis o

: sentences (taking into account the attitude of the author)

fig:8 Primary level Analysis

98

B. Secondary Level Analysis

1. Text Analysis

In the primary level of analysis, we dealt with short stretches of language, namely sentences. In the secondary

Level of analysis we deal with long stretches of language, with text as a whole. Sentences are considered in this

study to be part of a text and any decoding of a sentence is made taking into consideration the context provided

primarily by the text. A text is not a random configuration of sentences but a coherent stretch of language in which the individual sentences are related and linked to one another into a larger unit to form a cohesive whole. is performed by various formal This cohesion cotextual

devices of

reference which 'signal the nature of the relationship holding between succesive sentences' (James, 1983,103).

These devices which contribute to making a text cohesive and also contribute to establishing intersentential connections are identified by Halliday and Hasan (1976) as:

conjunction, reference, lexical cohesion and substitution (6).

a Conjunctions: presuppose discourse'

These 'express certain meanings which other components in the They may be

the presence of

(Halliday & Hasan, 1976,226). and), adversative (eg: thus).

additive (eg: (eg:

however), temporal

then) or causal (eg:

99

Reference items: These are items 'instead of being

interpreted semantically in their own right, they make reference to somethin g else for their interpretation' (ibid:31). These items are personal pronouns, demonstratives, and comparatives.

c Lexical cohesion: The cohesive effect is also achieved by the selection of vocabulary, it involves repetition or reiteration which includes the occurence of a related item which may be anything from a synonym of the original to a general word dominating the entire class' (ibid:279)

d Substitution:

This is a replacement of some linguistic

element such as a word or a phrase by another (see ibid:88ff). Ellipsis is considered by Halliday and Hasan

(1976, 142) to be a type of substitution where a linguistic item is replaced by zero. (The importance of these cohesive

devices in translation is demonstrated in Appendix A).

These are by no means the only cohesive devices a language may use. There are other devices which contribute to the a text such as parallelism (repeating a

cohesion of

structure but filling it with new elements), or paraphrase (repeating content conveying it with different expressions). The translator should bear in mind that 'while every Language has at its disposal a set of devices for

manipulating textual cohesion, different languages have preference for certain of these devices and neglect others' (James, 1981,113).

100

The role of the cohesive devices is to create texture. The text derives its texture "from the fact that it functions as a unity with respect to its environment" (Halliday and Hasan, 1976,2). Translation of long stretches of language

can be made easier by taking into consideration the structure and the cohesion of the SL text, and by knowing what the equivalent structures and cohesive devices are in the TL. The wholeness of SL text and the SL message can be

preserved in the TL if the TL text itself is cohesive and coherent.

To illustrate this, a passage extracted from Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" has been analysed to discover the various cohesive devices used in the text and also to highlight their importance to translation (see Appendix A). It was

found that by taking into account, or identifying, the cohesive devices employed in the SLT we may reduce the risk of mistranslation. The failure to recognize the

relationship between certain lexical items may lead to erroneous interpretaton. The translator usually relies on

the cohesive devices as guidelines to the interpretation of a text. He moves forwards or backwards in the text to (de

'regroup components around informational clusters' Beaugrande, 1978,32).

Many words and phrases point toward

other words and phrases and none of these can be interpreted in isolation.

101

2. Stylistic Analysis

One of the task of the translator, especially when dealing with a literary text, is to consider the style of the source language text. The translator has to know and identify the stylistic conventions used in the text such as parallelism, poetic structure, etc; For style is characterized by the specific use of language. The stylistic features of a text can be embodied, for example, in the syntactic structure itself or in the sheer length of the sentence, .

Translators adopt two different approaches to the style of a source language text (see Kelly, 1979,179). They either:

(a) imitate the SLT style via formal correspondence, or (b) they use a TL style deemed functionally equivalent. For us, the second approach seems more worthy to follow because the style of a translation must be compatible with the IL norms and conventions, and at the same time be dynamically equivalent to the SLT style, at least, in so far as the stylistic dynamic equivalence does not infringe on the TL norms.

The analysis of the structure of several sentences taken at random from the beginning, the middle, and the end of Conrad's novel "Heart of Darkness" has shown that one of the features of this particular novel is the abundant use of long and complex sentences as in:

102

[13]

Their talk, however, was the talk of sordid buccaneers; it was reckless without hardihood, greedy without audacity, and cruel without courage, there was not an atom of foresight or of serious intention in the whole batch of them, and they did not seem aware these things are wanted for the work of the world. (HD:87)

Though Arabic may allow the use of long sentences, the translator prefered to render the above sentence in two sentences: one short, and the second long being explicative

of the first: 6 L.z.J Icr___..r.

$14-i )

4.) 1-5 j--=. 6 )1./ U.;

1-; j:)

LL L. )1...5

LC

LLA
L.s./.13 I j_j

rJ
u

1.a-.1 )1/

4_--' IL./11'3A

JI

j
rtj `1t":"- Cr-S12

I 6 LA l)

(tsivizt421
Another stylistic feature is the use of structural

parallelism or partial parallelism as in:

greedy [13 a] !!! It was reckless without hardihood,! [and] cruel without courage!!! without audacity,! (HD: 87) This stretch of language consists of three descriptive segments, each containing adjective + (without) + noun. The same structure was kept in Arabic: /Cal ishan bila quswatin/,' ..e.A; )L! tahawwur/, )1... ' Uo

LA

/sh5rihan bila

L_Jj

/cfasiyyan bi la shaj5 c at/ .

In some passages of the novel, we came across unusually constructed sentences which may attract the attention of the reader, for instance,

103

[14]

'Camp, cook, sleep, strike camp, march' (HD:71)

(NH:27)

cr.;

ttL

/takhyim, wa tabkh wa nawmun wa tafkiku al mukhayyam fa masir/ The SL sentence, for instance, is characterized by the use of monosyllabic verbs suggesting repetition, and monotony of the trek and the routine of the daily march (7).

From the semantic point of view, the novel is found to be full of such stylistic features as the use of a noun modified by negative adjectives in which Conrad tries to express ideas that can hardly be communicated in words (see Appendix B) for example: 'invisible wilderness' 'impalpable greyness' (HD:150), (HD:148), 'inaccessible distance'

(HD:131), 'unextinguishable regrets' (HD:150), etc.

Moreover, the specific use of some words can have a great impact on the reader semantically as well as stylistically. For instance:

[15]

'Strings of dusty niggers with splay feet arrived and departed; a stream of manufactured goods, rubbishy cottons, beads and brass-wire set into the depths of darkness, and return came a precious trickle of ivory' (HD:68). 'stream' and

In this sentence, the use of the words

'trickle' - both belon g in g to the same semantic field - is very important. As a 'stream' is bigger than a 'trickle',

the translator has to keep the same distinction in size in the target language if he is to keep a certain semantic and stylistic effect on the reader. failed to do so,
I L3 L zr.r.t._;._J cj-.;;J LS

However, the translator

;--"-'*--J

n-.4-:-H t*J-- t

Lri

04
L_J

I ei

.09i-J I

-6*,:.6_J

I c, U.; I I Lsi
I

.5

I
A change of ... badb'i badPi into

ir.;

r )1LJ I j L
6,ts.__IJI 0J.5.1 /

J.;

(NH:25) LJI

/sufGfun mina al saylun mina al

c i/
C.

into and

/saylun mina al / ma si lun mina al

c-.. aj /

1_,J I cr.

ij / would

have been prefered to keep the semantic and stylistic effect produced by the English sentence.

In the same English sentence, we noticed a syntactic inversion in 'came a precious trickle of ivory' (verb + subject). This is another device which may attract the

attention of the reader through the unusualness of its construction and have an impact on him.

The

step by

step description of the analysis phase,

presented in this chapter, is arbitrary. We assume that all the various levels interact in an intricate way. For

instance, semantic analysis does not necessarily follow the full syntactic analysis. It is assumed in this chapter that

at the primary level of the analysis, the translator is concerned with the analysis of short range of textual stretches, and at the secondary level with long textual stretches relationships. It is also suggested that a

translator can make adequate translation on the basis of a comprehensive syntactic, semantic, pragmatic, and text/ stylistic analysis of the SLT.

In the next chapter, we shall investigate the possible unit(s) which might be appropriate to the transfer of

meaning from SLT to TL taking into account the results of the initial analysis suggested in this chapter.

105

NOTES

1. Morris, in: Signs, Language and Behavior (1946,218-219), explained that "pragmatics is that portion of Semiotics which deals with the original uses and effects of signs within the behavior in which they occur; semantics deals with the signification of signs in all modes of signifying; syntactics deals with combinations of signs without regard to their specific signification in their relation to the behavior in which they occur". 2. Quoted in Wilss 1982, p: 71

explained that 'the 3. Beeckman and Callow (1986:94) primary sense is the first meaning or usage which a word apart from context will suggest to most people. Secondary sense are those which the same word carries and which are related to one another and to the primary sense by sharing threads of meaning'. Lexical items denoting kinship are among the problems 4. facing the translator of English texts into Arabic. Some kinship terms such as 'cousin' may have as many as eight Arabic equivalents depending on which side of the family the cousin is:

Father's side paternal uncle's side paternal aunt's side

Pi 'yr 11

Mother's side maternal uncle's side 6,1 materna! aunt's side aJL,Jt ce. n

CC-OAR

LL,4

JLJ

5. For further details see Lyons, 1977, vol:1, 438ff For a further description and categorization of these 6: Halliday & Hasan (1976). cohesive devices, see: 7. the sentence appears in a passage describing the journey of Marlow and sixty natives who left the outer station for a two hundred miles trek (see also Appendix B). analysis of system this use may translator (q)The consciously when he encounters linguistic and semantic prOblems.

(Oft

should be noted that Arabic dictionaries are, in general, not necessarily helpfut for translators to find the adequate cultural or lexical equivalence.

106

CHAPTER FIVE

THE TRANSFER PHASE

AND THE UNITS OF TRANSLATION

So far, we have been dealing with the analysis of the source Language text without considering the target language, except when highlighting the importance of certain aspects of the analysis to translation, all the linguistic units

investigated in the previous chapter were units of analysis. In this chapter, we shall investigate the transfer of meaning from the SLT into the TL as well as present and discuss the units of translation.

1 The Transfer Phase

The transfer phase may be considered as a transition stage linking the analysis speaking, phase to the this synthesis phase, phase.

-Theoretically

during

'semantic

representations' are extracted from the surface structure of the SLT in order to be transferred to the TL. BC1hler

(1979:451), describing the transfer phase suggests that:

."If we regard translation as a communication process, i.e., the transfer of a message from source language to target language with the translator as mediating agent in a double function of receptor and source, we should not forget the fact that in human translation there is no direct transfer from SL to TL systems, but there must be an intermediate link,

107

koeller, whether we call it 'das Gemeinte' (cf. 1974) or 'sense' (cf. Seleskovitch, 1977), the non verbal nature of which is a reality to the translator's introspection". Most translators and writers on translation emphasize the notion that translation is not a direct transfer from SL to TL, but that it can be achieved only through an intermediary stage.

In terms of an information processing description, the transfer phase is the phase where after decoding the SL sentence, for instance, the translator 'maps it into some abstract re p resentation' (Massaro, 1978,389). However, no

one knows what this abstract representation really is.

as
Linguists as well vpsycholinguists tackled this 'notoriously difficult problem' of determining what a semantic

representation is (see:

van Dijk, 1983,71).

In translation

theory the content of the transfer phase was [and still is] a problem which exercised many' (Kelly, 1979,37). Some

attempts were made to describe this phase through psychology and semiology which produced complex schemes to illustrate the mental processes concerned. However, they were faced

with the difficulty, if not the impossibility, of describing how meaning is represented in the human mind, since 'that blackest of black boxes always turned out to be the centrepiece' (Theo Hermans, 1985,9-10).

We do not wish to embark on investigating how meaning is represented within memory, for this is beyond the scope of the present study. However, we shall present, in brief,

108

Nida's (1964) and Taber's (1972) g enerativist hypothesis concernin g the transfer of meaning from SL to TL.

Startin g from the distinction made between the surface structure and the deep structure, Nida and Taber based their model on the notion that deep structure is identical to semantic structure (see chapter two). For Taber and Nida,

the deep structures of all languages are, to a great extent, similar. This suggests that by transferring the deep

structure at a 'near kernel' level (basic sentence) from SL to TL 'one is least likely to distort the meaning' (Nida, 1969,492).

Accordin g to Taber

(1972), one aspect common to all

languages is that, on the semantic level, they essentially comprise objects, events and abstractions (2). That is, any concept occuring in any language will refer to either an object, an event, or an abstraction. Objects can represent inanimate and animate things, processes, and abstractions events are actions and include qualities and

quantities. A fourth category may be added namely relations which are the relationships between any pair of object, event, abstraction, expressed by coordination, simultaneity, sequence, etc. Relations refer to semantic relationships

between items and include all those relations posited between.semantic units (3).

109

Generally speaking, as suggested by Taber (1972), the semantic representation, or the derivation of the meaning of a sentence is based on discovering the semantic relations between its units which are expressed in terms of objects, events, and abstractions. Many different ways could be used to represent a sentence semantically. For simplicity in

presentation, we have choosen the following:

[16]

He agent

the candle blew activity affected by the 1 action

out

suddenly manner

(HD: 80)

In chapter four, we have dealt with linguistic units which are more easily definable. The grammatical classes of the

Linguistic units differ from their semantic classes, for there is a great deal of skewing between semantic classes and grammatical classes; for instance the sentence:

[17] He began to speak as soon as he saw me (HD:74)

is grammatically a subject, predicate, object, adjunct (SPOA) sentence as far as its order of grammatical units is concerned. But in the semantic structure to speak' which This

is a verb (an event) is being used as an object.

suggests that nouns do not correspond automatically to objects, or verbs to events, etc. There is a skewing The

between semantic classes and grammatical classes.

translator needs to be aware of this kind of skewing when he translates. Most importantly, this shows that translation

should not be viewed as a one-to-one correspondence.

110

If translation was only a matter of matching TL words from a dictionary to words in SLT, machine translation would have been a purely technical problem. This, however is not the case, and the failure of machine translation to equal human translation shows that translation is not a mechanical process but a process involving non observable phenomena namely 'mental. processes' which cannot be studied

empirically.

Thus, we do not know exactly and precisely Little if anything

what goes on in the translator's mind.

is known of how data is stored and processed in the brain.

Nevertheless, we assume that the central focus in data storage and processing in the translator's brain is

'meaning'.

The SLT symbols and structures are processed to

derive the meaning contained in the SL message. Afterwards, the meaning of the SLT is cast into the TL symbols and structures which should be organized in the form required by the target language conventions (see Nida, 1964,145-146).

The problem of describing the abstract representation of meaning and how this meaning is transferred from one language to another can be related to the problem of finding the appropriate unit of translation. Indeed, the problem of finding the appropriate unit of translation is also a problem of finding at which level of meaning transfer is best carried out. This we shall investigate in the

following section.

111

2 The Unit of Translation

language

is thought, by Wirth

(1985,3), to be

collection of structures that are the bearers of meaning'. These structures are 'linguistic units of varying types that are related hierarchically morphemes, words, phrases, and sentences' (ibid.). Thus, meaning, following Wirth's

suggestion, can be carried by any of these units. The unit of meaning and consequently the unit of translation may vary accordingly.

The unit of translation (UT) is generally defined as the smallest translatable segment of the discourse, that is, a segment of text which is small enough to be isolated and Large enough to be translated as a whole (see: Darbelnet, 1975:31). 1958, Van Hoof, 1978:89, and Vinay and Schumacker,

This definition claims that any unit ranging from the word to the sentence can be isolated and translated as a whole. Thus, UT according to this definition can be related to any grammatical unit: sentence. a word, a phrase, a clause, or a

According to Vinay and Darbelnet (1958,16), UT is "le plus petit segment de Penance dont la cohesion des signes est telle qu'ils ne doivent pas tre traduits separement" (4). They also stipulated that UT can be situated at any level. It can be a word, a phrase, a clause, or a sentence. Nevertheless, they stressed that 'le traducteur... part du

112

sense' (ibid.37), that the translator translates ideas and not words. Thus, UT should be a semantic unit (unite

semantique). By considering as equivalents the terms 'unite de pensee', 'unite lexicologique' and 'unite de traduction', Vinay and Darbelnet made the concept of UT more vague. The concept of UT is made so undetermined that the problem of delimiting it structurally appears without solution.

The task of finding a reliable unit of translation has been dealt with by linguists and translators alike. as Vasquez Ayora (1982,70) puts it: elusive It has been,

"one of the most

and controversial question in the history of

translation theory"; he believes that "the need for a concrete and operational unit as a text segmentation measure, semantic or otherwise is indeniable".

Indeed, the translator should know at what level he should translate. Should he take the sentence, the clause, the

phrase, the word, or the morpheme as a basic unit of translation?. different This controversy both is reflected in the

opinions of

linguists and translators.

Different approaches to translation (see Chapter two) lead to differnt views and definitions of the appropriate unit of translation.

Any attempt at delimiting the units of translation within a text mist take into consideration different criteria ranging from the linguistic factors involved in the linguistic analysis to the extra linguistic factors involved in the

113

semantic and pragmatic analysis of the SLT and the transfer of SL message into the TL.

The different approaches to translation and the large body of literature on translation, with all the differences in opinion, gave no definite formal boundaries to UT. This may have resulted, as Vasquez Ayora (1982,70) suggests, because "there are no external criteria for delimiting translation units so that the translator may know them beforehand in order to identify them".

In this study, it is believed that since translation is based entirely on rendering the meaning, UT ought to be a unit of meaning. But, as was mentioned earlier, the unit of

meaning cannot be delimited beforehand since it can be anything from the word to the whole text. Hence, we assume

that the boundaries of a unit of translation depends on the level at which meaning is sought. Before deciding at which

level translation is best carried out, we will first examine each unit of analysis starting from the morpheme to the sentence.

The Morpheme

The morpheme is the smallest grammatical and meaningful unit (Crystal, 1980). It can be either free or bound, that is, cat), or attached

it can be one and indivisible unit (eg: to another morpheme (eg: cats).

Bound morphemes cannot

stand on their own, their meaning is derived from their

114

relation with the words they are bound to.

They include

such items as affixes (suffixes, p refixes,...), or items denoting tense, number, etc.

For instance:

[18] Indistinguishable _ prefix (negation) suffix (capacity)

Homes (plural)

Signed (morpheme) denoting

past tense)

Let

us now consider the morpheme as a unit of translation.

Consider the sentence:

[19] I was thinking of very old times (HD:49)

SL:

was

thinking

of

very old

times
1

1 I
TL: ana Ignoring the

1 1
k-na

1 1
tafkir

1 1
fi

1 I

pronoun aux.

verb+ _ ing prep adj

adj

noun (plural)

I
the SL

kathir qadima azmina translation

morphemebymorpheme

sentence will be in Arabic:

..k_A_e (NH:8) it

4).35'.A ,2_112;cs.i.. .:)_j1,&. 3

/wa khatarat bi b5li tilka al azmina al qadima/

This example shows that at the morphemic level, we have a string of TL morphemes. The relationship between the

morphemes has not been taken into account, and as a result the whole TL string is meaningless. This does not mean that we should dismiss the importance of the morpheme as a unit of linguistic analysis, for we believe that the linguistic structure of a sentence is determined by the arrangement of

115

morphemes. Nevertheless, translation at the morphemic level shows that the morpheme should not be taken as a unit of translation. Like words, the value of the morphemes be it

grammatical or semantic is determined by their environment.

We have shown briefly that a morpheme cannot be taken as a unit of translation, now we shall investigate the word as a possible candidate for the status of unit of translation.

The Word
The word a free morpheme or a compound of morphemes constitutes a minimal element of speech having a meaning as such. Grammatically, words are traditionally divided into open (nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs) and prepositions, and conjunctions).

two classes: close

(pronouns, they

Morphologically, grammatically

can be variable, that is, when forms are found (see Robins,

different

1978,187), for instance:

eat, eats, eating, ate, eaten; or

invariable, that is, words appearing in only one form. These words are, in fact, limited in number (eg: seldom, when, since,

Semantically, if we consider the

correspondence between the units of meaning and the words of a text, three cases or aspects as classified by Vinay and Darbelnet (1958,38) may arise. consider the following example: As an illustration, let us

116

[20] SL: as soon as I had put on a dry pair of slippers, I dragged him out, after first jerking the spear out of his side which operation I confess I performed with my eyes shut tight' (HD:119) TL: 1--a-,

1-..?-.) Li- j

4.--i-t---,.-... 6-3 .1-..o

cj--...-t-i L..., cr-t-i--i- -4-...-J--.4-3-.0

1.........i L...,.

(11-it73)z, :

. ; i..! Z....4; L., 1 6.-cr...4 1-..,..1_,J 1 t 1 j.:-.... c- 1_11 j L.t.L..ii ear...! .:1,_.3 0_1_1 .:_,,J1 (..i._;,.

ifiyayni sahabtuhu /hlama anta c altu khaffayni h kWarijan ba c da an qumtu bi intizi ` i al hirbat min kh5siratihi bi su c Ubatin wa a 4 tarifu annani qumtu bi hadhihi al 'amaliyati wa an g mughmadu al 'aynayni/ In this example three types of words as classified by Vinay and Darbelnet (1958) are identified: units, and fractional units. simple units, diluted

1. word.

Simple units:

where a unit corresponds to a single

[21] eg: spear

>

i-!.1-,..

'

/ hirbatun/

2.

Diluted unit:

when the unit covers more than one word

SLT

in SLT but functions as one word both in

4

and TLT.

[22] eg: As soon as

>

Lill,.

'

/ hblamg/

diluted unit is a cluster of words which usually

constitutes a single unit because the constituents share the same expression which has one single idea and behaves as a simple word.

3.

Fractional unit:

where two morphemes which appear to be

two separate words constitute in fact one single unit.

[23] eg: put on

> ' J.....1.:J s,

'

/ intaala/

117

However, although each word or lexical unit has a potential meaning, its meaning within a text depends on its

environment. As Synder (1981,129) puts it:

"No word in a language stands alone, each one is related to others in a a complicated set of grammatical and/ or sense relationship which define and delimit its meaning" In other words, the meaning of a word depends on its environment. Words have meaning by virtue of their

employment in sentences within texts. Their function in the context and their meanings are derived from their

combinations with other grammatical and lexical items.

Words

considered

independently

may

lead

to

literal

translation.

In addition, without taking into account the

environment in which the word is used, that is, its meaning

14

within a context, mistreslation is bound to take place (see () example 'mine' p:90). (1974,31) write: In this respect, Beeckman and Callow

"The literal transfer of lexical units is no more successful than the literal transfer of grammatical features. Both can lead to wrong meaning, and even if they do not, they often obscure the message of the original or make it seem ridiculous and obviously foreign". Moreover, it is very seldom that we can find a particular word in SL ready to be translated by one and always the same word in the TL. Halliday (1966,132): As was pointed out by Mc.Intosh and

"Languages vary considerably in their organization of lexical meaning in the sense that a given item in one language will not always enter into the same

118

as combination and contrast of relation translation equivalent in another language".

Syntagms and Phrases

its

Words are usually grouped or clustered into units of meaning to form syntactic and semantic structures. We can consider a syntagm, a phrase, or a group of words as units of translation when all the elements are bound in a way that they cannot be translated separately.

Vinay and Darbelnet (1958,37-38) classified the units of translation at the syntagmatic or phrasal level into four types: functional, semantic, dialectic, and prosodic. In

this work, we adopt this classification but with some modification. Since we consider all these units as

semantic, and since we want a more precise and clear differentiation between the units, we call Vinay's and Darbelnet's 'semantic unit' the 'idiomatic unit'

1.

Functional unit:

this is a unit where all the elements The

participate in giving the same grammatical function.

segmentation of a sentence into functional units follows its division into subject, verb, complement, and adjunct. instance: For

[24] SL: III A haze! rested! on the low shoreslIl (HD:45) subjects verb
1

adjunct

TL: (N 1-1:5)

. 01. 1.,...t-11 iris.

1 i

119

/istaqarral dab5bun khafifunl 'ali al shaw5ti' al munkhafida/ verb

1

subject

adjunct

2.

Idiomatic units:

where all the elements present a Idiomatic units are expressions

single unit of meaning.

which cannot be subdivided into other categories and/ or translated word by word, but should be treated as

indivisible units. an idiom is:

Following Beeckman and Callow (19774,12)

"An expression of at least two words which cannot be understood literally and which functions as a unit semantically". For instance: [25] SL: III It is too beautiful altogether and if they were to set it up it would go to pieces before the first sunsetIII (HD:59)

TL:

La..?1

(NH:17)

u-"J

I ,7-r.-5 L:1

/innahu fa'iqu al jamIli fa idh5 h5walnb iciamatahu tahattama qabla an taghruba al shshams/ In this example 'go to pieces' is considered as one single lexical item and rendered in Arabic by one single word
0

14 .7LN;

habattama/.

This

shows

that

idiomatic

expressions

are non compositional,

i.e., their meaning

should not be seen as the sum total of the meaning of each

120

item in the expression (5).

3.

Dialectic units: indicate a

dialectic units are usually connectors reasonning (eg. in fact, however,

which

nevertheless, etc.) or any cohesive device which may link a sentence with one or more preceding sentence. For instance:

In [26] SL: . ...I am not disclosing any trade secrets. Kurtz's fact, the manager said afterwards that Mr. methods had ruined the district' (HD:131) J I J__I A JI (NH; 83) 131.-1

I N
0_11

faqad /inni la udhi t u ayyata asrarin mihaniyyatin. dhalika anna asaliba mudiru ba c da akhbarani al as sayyad Kurtz qad dammarat al mintaqa/

In this example, the second sentence which may indicate what is said in the previous sentence(s) to be the real truth is marked for this purpose by in fact' (6). The translator

has to treat the dialectic unit in fact' as a connector and to render it by ' /faqad/ which has more or less the

same function as in fact' in this particular example.

4.

Prosodic unit:

Where all the elements participate in

producing the same intonation and tone. For instance:

[27]

...you don't say!

>

/a haqqan/

An exclamation mark is usually a primary clue, in a written text, tb a prosodic unit. In g eneral, punctuation marks

such as exclamation and interrogation should be taken into account when translating because they are clues to the

'121

semantic and pragmatic interpretation of the unit to be translated. Consider the sentence:

[28] SL:

poor fool!

if he had only left that shutter

alone (HD:119)

IL:

-;1:-

1.1.01.-1 I (61) J

.a3 6 IS. I

(N4193) /Al ahmaq at miskin! wa sha'nahu/ law taraka dh5lika at misrt

Here, the exclamatory expression 'poor fool!' the literal meaning of

does not have

' /majnTin faqir/. The

exclamation mark in the above sentence may influence the translator's decision in choosing an Arabic equivalent for 'poor fool!' rather than another. The English expression

carries a tone of pity, commiseration, or sympathy which can be rendered in Arabic by choosing the appropriate lexical items which carry this meaning. ' /miskin/ has this Usually, the Arabic word same emotive weight.

However, the whole expression 'poor fool!'

carries, not

only a meaning of 'sympathy' but also a meaning of 'blame' embodied in the word 'fool'. Someone would be called a

'fool' when blamed for something wrong he might have done as a result of his stupidity or ignorance. stupidity is rendered in Arabic by the word This meaning of /ahmaq/.

Thus, because of the interpretation of the exclamation mark, the expression 'poor fool!' means which, in Arabic, literally /majnim faqir/ becomes

' / ahmaq miskin/.

122

Taking a syntagm or a phrase as a unit of translation can yield sometimes an appropriate translation of a sentence. For example,

[29] SL: Ill In a few days! the Eldorado Espedition! wentl 3 1 2 into the patient wilderness!! that closed upon it 5 4 as the sea closes over a divert!! (HD:92) TL: LJ
I

0J c!

lija..! I ES
I

r
(371J1

(04 , 49 )I
/khil5la

at ayyaminl kdnat bi c thatu Eldorado! 2 1 al bariyyati al sabOr al-lati qad dhahabati 4 3 a yahtawi al bahru al ghaww-asa/ ihtawat h kam5

ila

In the translation provided, the TL sentence is structurally 'calqued' sentence. (see: "calque" in chapter six) on the SL

It follows the same arrangement of syntagms as

that of the SL sentence, thus, showing that translation may be possible at the syntagmatic level. However, in some

instances where a sentence is used in a metaphorical manner or a figurative expression, any translation at phrasal or syntagmatic level may lead to not only literality but possibly to incomprehensibility on the part of the target language reader. For instance,

[3o] TL: *

!!!Every cloud!

has!
1,r)

a silver lining!!!

JS

123

anatun min fiddatin/ /kullu sah abatin laha bit This is a literal translation which to an Arab reader may be meaningless. individual However, if we go beyond the meaning of words and phrases to the meaning of the

expression as a whole, we may find that, among the possible equivalents to the English expression the following Arabic expression:

[31] (Qoran, Al sharh

V.

15)

1.1-2

C7

0*

/inna ma c a al c usri yusran/ (lit. There is ease after hardship) (7)

As was seen in this example, the meaning of an expression can go beyond the sum total of its phrasal or syntagmatic units. Consequently, the whole expression is taken as a The sentence as a possible unit of

unit of translation.

translation will be investigated in the following section.

The Sentence

Let us suppose that the sentence as considered by Crystal (1980,319) is "the largest structural unit in terms of which the grammar of a language is organized". Structurally, a

sentence can be either simple or complex. It can be made of one clause (a subject + predicate unit) or more than one clause.

If the clause within a sentence is semantically complete, it may be considered as a processing unit and consequently as a unit of translation. However, in many cases, the semantic

124

interpretation of a clause can only be completed if we go beyond the boundaries of the clause and consider the sentence as a whole (see: in the following sentence : van Dijk, 1983,36). For example,

[32] III On the whole river there was nothing [C that (HD:45) looked half so nautical ]]III

If the type of analysis, presented in chapter four, is followed, the rank shifted clause can only be processed with its previous clause; "that looked half so nautical" is a qualifier of "nothing".

It is suggested here that in order to avoid literality or mistranslation, the sentence should be chosen as a unit of translation. In this respect, we agree with linguists such

as Halliday et al (1973,126) that:

"It is seldom that translation at the rank of the sentence fails to produce an acceptable equivalent, whereas translation clause by clause does sometimes yield versions which a move to the sentence will correct" This view may be based on the assumption that the sentence is 'the minimum unit of content and at the same time the maximum unit of processing' (A.Lazlo, 1964, 25). Thus, as pointed out by Mc.Intosh and Halliday (1966,29) "the nearer we come to the sentence the greater becomes the possibilty of equivalence". Nevertheless,

in order to avoid misinterpretation, we

should, in the analysis phase, take into consideration units below and beyond the rank of the sentence. The procedure,

125

as suggested in chapter four, is to take into account each element of the sentence, determine its grammatical category and its function through its relationship with other

elements and finally determine the structure of the sentence as a whole and determine its meaning in accordance with the context in which it occured. following sentence: Consider, for instance, the

[33] My dear aunt's endeavours to 'nurse up' my strength (HD:152) seemed altogether beside the mark. which will be analysed according to the procedure suggested in chapter four and translated into Arabic after completion of the analysis.

The

Analysis

of

the

sentence

shows

the

diffeAt

relationships existing between the various elements which gradually build up the sentence. First, the identification

of the relationship of morpheme to morpheme, for example, the possessive particle 's' in aunt's has a relationship with 'endeavours'; Then the recognition of the relationship between words, such as adjective + noun in 'dear aunt' where 'dear' qualifies aunt'; and the identification of the to

relationship between groups of words, for instance,

nurse up my strength' qualifies 'my dear aunt's endeavours'. In turn, both groups of words form a larger nominal syntagm which in relation with other syntagms in the sentence functions as subject. of the The item 'altogether' is a summation syntagm (subject) and thus is

whole nominal

represented diagrammatically as related to it.

126

-4 r

.
77"

3
.7
0.

n-

I- 1- --Ii 0 0 < 1' b... I 14 a I 0 1 13

.-. -----I.--- N 1...

0,

0,

7'

-....

0
0

131
3
.7 0'

N 0

0.

0' n-

01 77' 7 Co.

1
47
01

0.
I : -

o
01 C'.

N p,.

IP

*a - -

h.

n 7
1 -

s..
al .0
A..

.0 ID 4,

0 3

.0 1... Er 0
.

a C 0 r.- 1.-

'7
. a -,
O

0 7-- 0 1.- . r. 0
c.
Q
e

0, -

... 0

e.

.0 r

...

z 0 a.
C

o ...

7 <
c.
171

-o a

cf 111

3 11.

00 0. 90

t-. 7
a

O 0. --I .0 co. c+ 41 is 1

127

In

translating

the

sentence,

the

different

relations

existing between the different elements of the sentence are taken into account. As was suggested earlier (see:

morpheme), it was found that at morphemic level, the translation seems to be a meaningless string of words, although all the elements of the sentence are recognized individually and understood within the TL linguistic system.

At word level, each word is linked with its dependent bound morpheme, for example: kh51a + iy (possessive particle)

> khalati; but still the translation at this level Lacks an overall meaning. This same remark is also valid

for the translation at group of words level where each word is related to the other according to the grammatical and functional relationship they have with each other. instance, in ' /kh5lati/, '
A)...!

For

/ C aziza/ we have a

which group

qualifies of words:

u...-J

1.>

/ kh5lati al caziza/. At the phrase or

clause level, the translation is somehow acceptable and can be understood. At the sentence level, after some structural and stylistic adjustements (see: chapter six for

translation procedures), the TL sentence becomes clear.

However,

although the translator had taken the whole

sentence as a unit of translation, he did not render the exact meaning of the verb 'seemed'. He incorporated it with the expression 'beside the mark' and made a semantic adjustement to give in Arabic ' (did not succeed). cii....7 rJ

/lam tuflih/

The translator made a choice to render

128

the English sentence into Arabic in a way that may suggest categorically that the 'aunt's endeavours' did not achieve their aim, whereas in the SL sentence, because of the use of the verb 'seemed' there is no way in knowing precisely whether the 'aunt's endeavours' actually achieved their aim or not. In order to render this vagueness, the translator

should have taken into consideration the verb 'seemed' and translated the sentence accordingly.

This analysis shows that if all the linguistic units are considered and dealt with as UTs, a onetoone semantic equation will not be achieved between SL and TL. On the

other hand, if any of the different linguistic units is ignored, mistranslation may occur. This seems to argue for not taking any linguistic unit as the sole unit of

translation.

Nevertheless, for practical reasons, the sentence Itould be considered as an appropriate UT only if it is regarded as a linguistic expression of an event or a situation. We do not want to choose a unit of translation beyond the sentence because we suppose that the processing of information is hampered by the constraints and limitations imposed by the human short term memory capacity. As T.A.van Dijk (1983,25) noticed:

(or production) always "Discourse comprehension operates under the constraints imposed by the limits limitations imposed of the human processing system: by the short term memory are particularly serious continuous of a ones flow in processing the discourse".

129

This may mean that the translator's mind cannot process in one bulk a stretch of language exceeding a certain length. In general, the average length of an information processing unit has been said to be more or less similar to that of the sentence (see: Miller,1973; Hittleman, 1978). This does

not mean that we should not take into account other units of analysis below and beyond the sentence, but the sentence should be considered as:

a)

A construct of constituents, that is, a structure

comprising other smaller units; and,

b)

A constituent of a construct, that is an element of a

larger unit, the text, and forming part of a sequence of other sentences. In other words, a sentence should be cosidered as part of a total discourse and cannot be dealt with separately.

The choice of the sentence as a unit of translation is mainly determined by the assumption made in this study that, generally, a sentence expresses a complete event or

situation. This may lead us to suggest that a sentence has a double relevance to translators:

a)

Generally, it consists of a complete semantic content;

and,

b) It has boundaries and a structure which may determine its interpretation and its stylistic or rhetorical perspective (9).

130

The problem of choosing which linguistic unit should be taken as a unit of translation is closely related to the problem of which main approach to translation should be followed by the translator (see: Chapter One). We assume

that it is the choice of UTs which determines which specific approach to translation should be taken.

The two main approaches to translation, the SLoriented translation and the TL reader oriented translation, are linked to the problem of the unit of translation.

Translation tends to be inclined to the first approach whenever smaller units are considered for themselves. On

the other hand, when units are considered in a larger context, translation tends to follow the second approach. Moreover, as was suggested earlier, the inclination towards one approach rather than the other is also determined in part by the use of certain translation procedures and techniques. These, we shall present and discuss in the

following chapter.

131

NOTES

Even on the neuroanatomical aspect of the problem, 1. scientists continue to debate as to which structures of the brain are committed to the various linguistic capacities, although they argue, generally speaking, that the structures of the left hemisphere of the brain are vital for speech and Since the Left (see Akmajian, 1973,308). language hemisphere of the brain is 'alone being capable of interpretin g more abstract expressions' whereas, the right hemisphere of the brain is 'able to interpret expressions referring to concrete objects' (Lyons, 1977,89), we might presume that on the neuro anatomical aspect of the problem, the left hemisphere is the most probable place where abstract representation are located. Although the parts of the brain responsible for semantic representation may be identified, the process of how the semantic representation takes place is difficult to describe. 2. For further discussion of the subject, see: and Callow (1974:68). Beeckman

3. Taber (1972) claims that for each semantic category corresponds in the surface structure a grammatical category for each language. For instance, in many IndoEuropean languages, objects correspond to nouns, events to verbs, and abstractions to adjectives and adverbs. However, he acknowledged that the hypothesis may be undermined by the fact that grammatical categories may overlap, for example nouns may express not only objects but events, etc. 4. UT is the smallest segment of the discourse in which the cohesion of the items is such that they should not be translated separately (Vinay & Darbelnet). 5. Chomsky (1980:149) noticed that idiomatic ex p ressions in addition to their being non compositional they "have several relevant properties. In the first place, they typically have the syntactic form of non idiomatic expressions and in fact, sometimes have a perfectly reasonable literal meaning if undestood as nonidiomatic". 6. The function of the connector here is to link the two sentences. It may show that language is a sequentially organized communication system, in which judicious ordering and placing of emphasis may be important for the understanding of the message and its implications. The Qoran, translated by Muhammad Zafrullah Khan, 7. Sees London, third edition, 1981, p:623. It should be pointed out that although the sentence is a 8. syntactically and semantically well defined unit and as such can be considered as an appropriate unit of translation,

132

translators tend, generally, sentence, usually syntagms, relatively easy to process.

to take segments of the as UTs because they are

Unless the word happens to be a sentence in itself such as 'yes' or 'no' answers.

133

CHAPTER SIX

The Synthesis Phase and Translation procedures.

Generally

speaking,

the

synthesis

phase

is

the

transformation of the raw results of the analysis and transfer process into a stylistic and structural form appropriate to the target language and accepted by the TLT reader (see Nida 1964, Taber 1972, Gouadec 1974).

Followin g the comprehension and interpretation of the source language text as well as the determination of its

characteristics on the linguistic, semantic, pragmatic and textual levels, the translator proceeds to reexpress the SLT message in the target language using sentence patterns specific to the target language.

Assumin g that the meaning of the SLT is fully comprehended and rendered in the TL, the complete TLT is then

stylisticall y 'reconstructed' bearing in mind that the TLT style ought to be functionally equivalent to that of the SLT.

The ways in which translators replace the SL textual material by TL textual material have been formalized in translation theory (see Vinay and Darbelnet, Newmark and Pinchuck). They are called translation procedures (TPs).

TPs are the result of the contact of two linguistic and cultural systems. Linguistically, they reveal the

differences and similarities between the languages involved.

134

Culturally, they show how two communities perceive reality.

If

we

assume

that

TPs are used consciously

by the

translator, then the translator's freedom to choose between TPs is limited by: (a) the nature of textual material scientific) may favour

involved, thus one type of text (eg:

the use of certain procedures which may not necessarily be preferred in another type of text (eg: degree of poetic); and (b) the

difference and similarity between the two For as Danielson (1982:9) noticed:

languages.

'It is the sameness which permits us to retain certain features of the original, while diversity forces us to deconstruct and rewrite the text'. For Vinay and Darbelnet (1958), the contrastive approach to translation is relevant since 'stylistique comparee' which aims at comparing two languages with a view to establishing differences translation of linguistic structures may help the and pinpointing to

difficulties,

translator

determine which translation procedures to adopt.

Vinay and Darbelnet (1958) distinguished seven translation procedures which are used intuitively and automatically by the translator. They are divided into two groups:

Direct translation, which we

call SL oriented TPs:

Borrowing, calque, and literal translation.

ii Indirect translation, or TL oriented TPs: modulation, equivalence and adaptation.

Transposition

Each of these TPs,

in addition to others

(recasting,

135

paraphrase,

etc.)

will

be

presented,

discussed

and

exemplified in the following sections.

A. SL oriented TPs:

1. Borrowing:

Almost any language borrows from other languages.

In

borrowing, there is an introduction into a language, or a dialect, of elements from another language. In other words,

it is a transfer of a source language term into the TL without translating it. The SL term is either transcribed Normally, borrowed terms, as

or transliterated in TL. Robins (1978:325)

pointed out, 'are assimilated to the

phonetic sound classes and to the phonological patterns of the borrowing language'.

BY frequent use, the borrowed term may at the end be assimilated phonologically and become vocabulary. For example: part of the IL

E34) strategy

>

"i-t......1 j;--Is.

'

- tij i yya/ . / i stra

In the case of related languages such as English and German, certain borrowed terms in TL mirror the phonemes of the SL term exactly (eg: Blitz).

Other types of borrowed terms which are often accepted in the target language even when they have no equivalents are 'proper names' and 'cultural terms'.

a)

proper names:

Usually, English proper names

are

136

transliterated in Arabic(1).

For instance:

35]

SL: 'It had known and served all the men of whom the nation is proud, from Sir Francis Drake to Sir John Franklin, knights all, titled or untitled' (HD:47)

TL:
1-4 "J I I I 6.5

I (wH:7)l,L c.J 1. 4 1

jJ
0.1:.

wa kulla-rrij5la /laqad 4 arafa khadama l-ladhina taftakhiru bihim al-ummatu min as-sir Francis Drake ila-s-sir John Franklin. Fakulluhum furs5n saw5gun c hasalG ala-l-laqabi am lam yahsuLu 4aLayhi/. _ .

b)

cultural terms:

Some English token words (such as

titles, weights, ecology ..) which add local colour to the text are usually left untranslated but sometimes explained in a footnote. untranslated In the above example, the term 'sir' is left in Arabic but the translator gave an In

explanation and a definition of the term in a footnote. another example:

36] SL: 'As he weighed sixteen stones, I had no end of rows with the carriers' (HD:71)

TL:
L._,J -

(NH:28)

/wa li'anna waznahu k5na sittato 'ashar stone, lam tantahi mush5jarlti ma c a l-hammalin/. The translator transliterated the term 'stone' because there is no direct equivalent to it in Arabic. However, he

supplied its definition and its equivalent in 'pounds' in a in a footnote.

137

It

should be noted

that

not

all proper names are

transliterated or even translated. A proper name used as a modifier to a noun can be omitted in the TLT when the proper name (eg: a trade mark or a brand name) does not have any

cultural or emotive value to the TL reader. For instance:

C37) SL: 'She rang under my feet like an empty Huntley & Palmer biscuit tin kicked along the gutter' (HD:85)

IL:

oyj .L.JC1i
(NN:40)

L.

Lrai

jja_2

/k5na yatruqu tahta qadami ka c ulbat bisktit Farigha rukilat Fawqa mizIb/. In this example, the trade mark Huntley & Palmer has been omitted in the TL sentence. As 'Huntley & Palmer biscuit

tins' are unknown to the IL reader, we assume that the translator has felt that omitting the brand name would not affect the response of the TL reader.

2. Calque:

Calque usually occurs at the phrase or sentence level and consists of imposing the structural, semantic or stylistic features of SL on TL.

a) At the phrase level, we distinguish two types:

138

i- exact calque (or exact rendition), that is borrowing the idea exactly through translation. For instance,

[38]

Security Council /maj Lis al' amn/

ii- Loan rendition; that is copying the idea but not exactly. For instance:

[39] Minister without portfolio ---->

j1.j

j-2ji

/wazirun bil5 wiz5ratin/.

b) At the sentence level, there are three types:

i- structural calque:

This type occurs when we introduce For

a source language structure in the target language. instance:

[40] SL: III The long stretches of the waterwayl ran on deserted into the gloom of overshadowed

distances!!!

(HD:93)

TL:
I

0_1

Li I I

I Li

(NH:49).

L L. I j I

/wa-mtid5d5ti-l-mamarri-l-m5 ii bikhadharan nahwa qatAmati ii- stylistic calque:

al

batidati

tajri

This occurs when we keep the same Often, this kind of It follows

stylistic feature of SL in TL (2).

calque goes hand in hand with structural calque.

the same phrase and word order of the SL. For instance:

139

[41] SL: 'In a few days, the Eldorado Expedition went into the wilderness that closed upon it as the sea closes over a diver' (HD:92)

TL:
_ 0---d

LC

r Le. i
I ts--J

(NH:49)

/khil5la bidcati ayyimin k5nat bi c thatu Eldorado qad dhahabat il l-bariyyati ssablir al1ati-htawat-h5 kama yahtawi-l-bahru l-ghaww3sa/. iii- semantic calque: This occurs when a TL expression is

'calqued' on SL expression retaining the same word order and the same primary meaning of the lexical elements.

[42] SL: I was rather excited at the prospect of meeting kurtz very soon (HD:92).

TL:
LLL/

j (5) `":- 

(NH:49)
ar mustathdh7ilika-l-waqt /kuntu fi mucCabalati-l-washikati Ii Kurtz/. An intere sting example of semantic bi tasawwuri

'calques'

is

the

translation of many English idioms into Arabic.

Because of

the influence of European languages, especially French and English, Arab writers and journalists in particular 'calque' the SL :idioms when in fact many can be rendered by one single Arabic word. For instance:

140

43] To put pressure... To have breakfast

..; L --;

-4
-4

To ask permission from --4- .

3. Literal translation:

occurs when there is a oneto one structural and 0) conceptual correspondence. For instance,

It

44]

He reads a book

>

/yaqra i u Kit5ban/ Literal translation is sometimes possible and meaningful from English into Arabic when the stylistic and syntactic features of Arabic are respected and the meaning rendered.

45]

SL: TL:

The end justifies the means.

/algh ayatu tubarriru at was-ilata/.

C46] SL: It was just two months from the day we left the creek. (H092) TL jj ,.1.>J1

LI5j;
mina 1

faqat /1(5na dhlika bacda shahrayni yawm al ladhi tarakr1 -6 fihi al jadwal/. (NH:49)

In literal translation, the words and phrases of the SL are translated taking no account of the context but respecting the syntactic structure of TL. Therefore, many exam p les of literal . translation especially instance: when a can be meaningless to TL reader

cultural elemem

is

invoLved . For -

141

[47] SL: "I let him run on, this papier mache Mephistopheles and it seemed to me that if I tried I could poke may forefingers through him and would find nothing inside but a little loose dirt may be" (HD 81)

TL: jJ

tsJ

13_,

. (NH:32)

1_,

6-9 I

.)1

/dhahaba Mephistopheles al waraqi wa qad bad 5 Li annani awaltu lastata L tu ikhtir5qahu bi r usbu c i haythu Lan law h ajida ghayr qudh5ratin mutahallilatin/ The Arabic version of the English sentence is literal. first part of the sentence "I papier mache Mephistopheles" The

let him run on, this is rendered almost

word by word.

'I Let him run on' is rendered in Arabic by /dhahaba/ (went) where in fact if the

translator took the context into account, the expression would have been translated as '

joly,

/taraktuhu yuwAsilu l hadith/. The word 'Mephistopheles' is an allusion to the Legend of Faust (1488-1541) and a reference to the demon to whom Faust sold his soul. The

lexeme 'papiermache' in addition to its literal meaning may undergo a semantic drift to mean 'Fake or false'. Hence, if literality and misinterpretation are to be avoided the first part of the sentence should be in Arabic (among other possibiljties): 1,
-

. L.A.;

jj

Li

114

142

/laqad taraktu hldha-l-m5rid-azza'if yuw5silu had-ithahu/

Moreover, literal translation , for structural reasons, may lead to misinterpretation or ambiguity. For example,

[48] SL: Ill It is a bookl as I said previously! of Mohammed Diblli 1 2 3 TL: 'Lai LS ,.-1_15 IaA /h5dha KitIbun/ kam5 qultu sabigan/ Ii Mobammed Dib/ (1) (3) (2) The Arabic sentence is ambiguous, it can have two meanings: (a) 'It is Mohammed Dib's book', or (b) 'I said to M. DIb, it is a book'. A change on the structural level of the Arabic sentence is necessary to avoid this ambiguity and render the SL sentence appropriately. Thus:

[48a] TL: /h5dha Kit7hbun/ limuhammad Dib/ Kam 5 qultu Sh-bicon/ (1) (3) (2) or C48b7 L /Kama' qultu Sdbician/ hadha kit -5bun/ limuhammed Dib/ (2) (1) - (3) -

These necessary changes and modifications on the structural level are part of the recasting and restructuring procedures which are part of the TL-oriented procedures.

143

B. TL-ORIENTED TPs

1- Transposition.

Vinay and Darbelnet (1958,16) defined transposition as 'procede par lequel un signifie change de categoric

grammaticale', that is a substitution of one part of speech by another. Generally, transposition is a replacement of a

source language grammatical unit by a different TL one when restructuring the form.

Any translation involves some modifications and changes on the linguistic level, because of structural and syntactic differences between the two languages involved. Therefore, we would expect this type of TP to be widely used.

Vinay and Darbelnet

(1958)

draw a distinction between

obligatory and optional transpositions:

a A transposition is obligatory when there is no other alternative to preserve and render the SL meaning in the TL, that is when there is only one way of rendering the SL structure in TL.

English word order on the phrase level usually demands obligatory transposition in Arabic. For instance, an

English 'adjective + noun' is, in most cases, rendered in Arabic by a 'noun + adjective':

[49] SL: A narrow and deserted street in deep shadow, high houses, innumerable windows with venetian blinds, a

144

dead silence, grass sprouting between the stones, imposing carriage archways ri g ht and left, immense double doors standing ponderously ajar' (HD:55).

TL:
_. 4

ISJL,
I V 1.,Li cy,

I I

Li

IJ
cr.J1s,

Lrt--e

J1 crt

- I ll

(NH:13)

In this example the phrase 'a narrow and deserted street' which is composed of 'adjective + adjective rendered in Arabic J.,":"Z"1 6-t-'1' by ' noun' is

dayyaq mahjiir/ which is structured as "noun + adjective + adjective".

b An optional transposition occurs when the translator is faced with two choices. His choice of one or the other

option is usually stylistically motivated.

In the example [49], the translator could have literally rendered the prepositional phrase 'in deep shadow' by an Arabic prepositional phrase

te

/fi zillin

c amiq/; but, instead he has chosen to render it by a verbal phrase h5lika/. " /ghamarat hu zil5l

145

A clear example of the optional transposition are such examples as [50] 'when he arrived' (a) J.4.5 which can be /cindama

translated in Arabic as either: wasala/ or (b)

/cinda wusaihi/.

As pointed out earlier in this section, transpositions operate at the grammatical level. are useful in describing the Catford's shifts (1965) different types of

transposition:

1-

class

shift:

This

occurs

when

'the

translation

equivalent of an SL item is a member of a different class from the original item' (Catford 1965:76). Usually, there nouns,

are four word classes that can be interchanged: verbs, adjectives and adverbs. possible types of class shifts.

Hence, there are twelve Here are some examples:

Noun

Verb:

[51] SL: He sealed the utterance with that smile of his, as though it had been a door opening into a darkness he had in his keeping (HD:74). TL:

Le.A5 5

Ls:J I d.1-1--;
(W H: 31) i-JE LA

/Thumma khatama hadTthahu bi-btis -matihi tilka-l-lati badat wa ka'annah5 b -abun yufdi il5 tulmatin yatacahhaduh5/.

In this respect, Arabic is richer than English in optional transpositions. It gives more choice to the Arabic translator in structural and stylistic adjustments.

146 Noun Adjective: [52] SL: TL: in red clusters of canvas (HD:45) . n
1 j.....,

(NH:5).

_ i..:-; L-S .1...3 LS oar-

aqi d kattIniyya hamr51/ /ka c an Verb Noun: (HD:45)

C533 SL: It was difficult to realize ... IL: (NH:5) ... Ix)
I cf. (:)

/k5na mi na-ssa`bi idrbk/

Verb ---> Adjective: [54] SL: TL: The flood had made (HD:45)
(NH:5 ) I

. 6 0

0J,

/kana al ma ddu murtafi "an/

Adjective ---> Noun, and Adverb ---> Adjective:

[55]

SL: IT came at the end of his speeches like a seal applied on the words to make the meaning of the commonest phrase appear absolutely i nscutabeND:73)
adv adi r

TL:

a4J

-z;- Cr;

u:s

L-C
LS-1-4A

(NH:30)

1Af:5

/k5nat ta'ti fi ni h -iyat jumalihi ka lkhatam yu - da cu c a yuhi la ma c na aktharuha shuyii can i l5 ghumiidi n mutlaqin/ Adjective ---> Verb:

C563 SL: The sea-reach of the Thames stretched before us like the beginning of an interminable adi (HD:45) waterway

IL:

tj--1 ./12

L-4
(NH:5)

y>4

orl-'-= \J

Ls-1

147

multaq5 ttaymz bi-l-bahri yamtaddu am5mani / k5na (NH:5) kabid5yat tariq ea si 15yantahi/.

Adverb ---> Noun: [57] SL: TL : and farther back ..

(lay

(HD:45) /wa fi-l-budi/

(Nti:5)

L57; j n-

Adverb ---> Verb: [58] SL: Between us there was ...

cAdv

(HD:45)

TL:

(NH:5) ...

LAL,

/k ana yarbituna I. [59] SL: Afterwards, there was silence on board the yacht
ad./

(HD: 46)

TL:

(NH: 6)

Ijr1,

u44 . c!J.LJ

Y.;

/wa ta1 dhalika samtun

zahri-l-yakht/

Pre p osition ---> Adverb: [60] SL: He had sent his assistant down the river with a rtge note to me (HD:89) TL: (NH:45) ...

ami Ian cibirat/. /laqad arsala musI g idahu ilayya h -

2.

unit shift:

This occurs when there is a change in the For instance, a word in SLT can be Unit shifts may

rank of the unit.

rendered by a phrase in TL and vi ce-versa.

involve . either a contraction when a higher unit in SL becomes a lower unit in TL, or expansion, a source language unit of a lower rank becoming a unit of a higher rank in TL.

148

i . Examples of contraction. group of words > sing le word:

going up t hat river was like t rave l ling back to [61] SL: earlier beginnings of the world (HD:92)
TL:

Ls1 ty,..r1 I
(NH:49)

it_IJ

Ls", tsJ
tsf.,

j I

6 15

r.. 1

LI I z, LIj
i LS

/k5na ssu g Odu i1 a q annahr yushbi hur ruj i-J c o bi dydt l c 5l am at OlA/

preposi ti ona l phrase

> word.

[62] SL: The sky, without a speck, was a benign immensity of unstained light (HD:46)
TL: i3 1
Y-

Li I
tabdG kamis5hatin

6) (N11: i i .

k5nat assam5 1 assafiyati ragigatin minaddawi ssafi/ .

Examples of expansion. > a phrase. i (NH:13) nnume rab le windows ' (HD:55)
\J) Jat.

[63] a word SL: ' TL:

a,

/ c adadun l5 yuhsa _ mi nannaw5 fidh/ . [64] SL:

TL:

In the offing

,r2-4 (.5-. t.5" (NH:5) /wa finih g yati ma rmalbasar/

(HD:45) t

or [65] SL: Mealtimes ... (10:74) TL: (NH:30) L'I'J /awqlt waj a b5t tta c am / 3. internal shift:

UJ1

This occurs when there is a shift

04) within a system, for instance, within the system of voice (passive < > act ive) or the system of number (plural

<====> singular) or within any other system (transitive (b) In the derived form of the verb, Arabic seems to have more cases of contraction than English. However, compound nouns in English are usually expanded into two or more words in Arabic.

149

<====> intransitive,

definite <====> indefinite, tense:

present <====> past etc.).

Examples of internal shifts:

passive ----> active. [66] SL: when ... (HD:74) TL: annoyed at mealtimes by the constant quarrel

(NH:30) /indama k5nat tuzijuhu shijar5t/.

In this example, we have a shift within the system of voice from passive to active. In addition, we have a change in In the SL

the syntactic function of certain elements.

clause, the agent 'constant quarrel' is represented as an adjunct, whereas in TL it is represented as a subject.

Usually, the shift from passive to active is obligatory in Arabic when the agent is known as in the above example. Generally, English agentless passive constructions are However, in

translated by Arabic equivalent constructions.

some cases, even if the agent is not known, a shift from passive to active can be preferred in Arabic for stylistic effect or because of a change of point of view (see: modulation). For instance,

[67] SL: He was obeyed. TL:

(HD:73) (passive) IS (NH:30) (active)

ik"ina yufriduttcat/ We notice in this example that in addition to the shift from passive to active, there is a modulation, or a variation in

150

point of view, from effect (obeyed) to cause (impose obedience).

(;-. 11.-J1 cje.ru)

2. Recasting or Restructuring.

This occurs when the TL structure does not match the exact SL structure and word order at phrase, clause or sentence level. That is, the structure of the sentence may be

altered in order to conform with the use and conventions in the target language. For instance:

i.

at phrase level:

68] SL: These moribund shapes were free as air (HD:66) TL: (NH:24) I,J 15 I.
cl eil;

/kanat tilkalashb-h ka hatig/

al muhtadara

hurratun

69]

moribund shapes ----> /ashb .Ah muhtadaral adj + noun noun + adjective

This shift at phrase level from English adjetive + noun to Arabic noun + adjective is a demonstration of the

differences between the two languages.

English, in general,

tends to premodify, that is, place the adjective before the head noun, whereas Arabic tends to postmodify, i.e place the modifier (adjective) after the headword. In some examples,

it was found that a string of adjectives in English is usually . rendered in Arabic by a paratactic string of adjectives by reversing the order. For instance,

151

C703 SL:

A beardless, boyish face, ... (HD:122) (1) (3) (2)

LC (.51W 4-e'i (NH:76) 6-.---1->j / kana waj huhu a lf atly al ha q/ (1) (3) (2)

TL:

i i .

structure shift at clause/sentence level:

Sometimes a

change in the structure of a sentence is necessary in order to conform with the use and features of the TL.

[71]

SL: H lAnd the tranquil

waterway

uttermost ends of the earthl

(4)

Leading to the (2) (31 flowed! sombre!

under an overcast sky! II

(HD:162)

TL: (t41-1:112) (x) /wans abal ttayy5rul h -di k g ibanl

1,c_JI

ol
z m-61

(4)

tahta sam a l in mulabbadati q bi lghuyi-Jm/

In this example, the English NP + VP sequence (1+2) is rendered by an Arabi c VP + NP sequence (2+1) . Generally,

English is said to be an SV type language whereas Arabi c is VS type language. However, the sequence SV or VS can be

altered in both languages for styli stic reasons or for emphasis. It should be pointed out that the normal word

order in Arabic is VS (0); however, since Arabi c is a fully inflected language word order is not so crucial as it is in English. For instance, the English sentence

C723

/ / /Ali /ate/the apple/ // S V 0

can be rendered in Arabi c in di fferent structures such as:

152

a)

li.:J I

651 0.1s. j1
Li.:J I i.1i.JI

/galiyun akalattufahata/ SVO /akala c aliyun attuf5hata/ VSO /attufbhata akala aliyun/ OVS /attuf5hata 4 aliyun akala/ OSV

b) c)
d)

I J1
(j5I 0.1s.

When sentences (c) and (d) are spoken, intonation plays a great part in determining the subject and the object. As

these examples may show, the word order in Arabic does not necessarily determine the syntactic relationship between words in a sentence. Most importantly, it is,generally,the relationship.

inflections which display the grammatical

Hence, the translator may choose one of the structures on the basis of pragmatic or stylistic considerations.

3. Modulation.
While transposition, or recasting, operates on the syntactic and stuctural level of discourse, modulation operates on the semantic level and on the variation of point of view. Modulation consists of choosing other symbols for the same signification, i.e the same idea expressed differently in SL and TL (cf. Vinay and Darbelenet 1958,51, 88-90, 233, 241). In this respect, the translator should be aware as is argued in chapter one, that two languages may not use the same means to express the same idea. Therefore, translation as a whole could be viewed, from this sense, as a constant modulation.

153

Modulation, as a translation procedure, can be fixed or free:

a)

Fixed or traditional modulations can be found in

dictionaries, or proposed by writers and translators in the past and accepted in the target language every-day usage.

[73] honey moon

Jr1 -- (lit: honey month) /shahru-l-asal/.

We may say that fixed modulations are in fact cultural equivalences by virtue of their relatively wide use in the target language.

b) Free modulations:

Free modulations are those which are

not recorded in dictionaries but are proposed by the translator. the TL The translator resorts to free modulation when rejects a literal translation or simple

transposition.

For instance:

[74] SL: Vegetations rioted on the Earth, and the big trees were Kings (HD:92-93)

TL:

(NH:49)

u4s.

j_ LS

/ c arbadati-1 cala-l-ardi khudratu than tuwwijati-l-ashjru-l-kabiratumalikit/ In this example we have a change from: feminine: kings > malik5t (queens).

wa

masculine to

In many cases, modulation may involve formal changes. That is, sometimes modulation can be coupled with transposition.

154

[75]

To free a slave ---->

/tahriru raciabat/

here we have a transposition verb _,> noun: (to free ),and a modulation whole __,> part (slave ---> - /raciaba/ (neck)).

There are different

types of

mod ulat ion :

explicative

modulation ( for instance an effect in English may be rendered by a cause in Arabic), sensorial modulation (change in the perception of the world concernin g colour, taste, etc), change of symbols (usually a chan g e in metaphor), abstract <===> concrete, whole <====> part, etc. following are some examples: The

Effect ----> cause: [76] SL: He was obeyed (HD:73) TL: Lc-1111 615 . ( NH:30)

ana yufridu tt'ata/ /k (Lit. He imposes obedience).

change of symbol or comparison:

[77] SL: As cunning as a snake

TL: 6,4 Pandharu min dhi'bin/ whole ----> part:

(snake)

[78] SL In front of the first rank, along the river, three men plastered with bright red earth from head to foot strutted to and fro restlessly. (HD:145)
I L: L

L,
C---4 1--1

l_LJ

I cr.... CJ.,

I
J L.,

u,i j
,

(NH:98)

155

/wa fi muqaddimati ssaffi l awwali mina nn5si k5na hunIk thalthat rijl yaksilhum atturIb al ahmar min ru'Usihim batt5 akh5misi aqd5mihim/. (NH:98) Here we have a modulation from whole to part: . ---->',raLkJI uii sole " .
r ..1.0

foot

/akhmaslaqadam/ (hollow of the Usually, has the as expression its English

of 41
Li,:,.

the
1

foot).

ts.1 I v..1) I &... ..."

equivalent "From head to toe" which is another modulation . (a part for another part).

change of point of view: [79] SL: ... TL: to get a breath of fresh air (HD:68)
Ls_i_d I . l'id I Li.:...1;_J .

(NH:25)

/liyastanshiqa l haw'a nnaqiya/ (lit: to breathe clean air).

4. Situational and cultural Equivalence.

This occurs situations concepts. cultural

when SL and TL texts refer to parallel using completely different structures and

We prefer the use of the term 'situational/ equivalence' rather than the vague term

'equivalence' which has a more general use (see Ladmiral 1979:30ff). specific, 'Situational and cultural equivalence' is more for it deals with rendering situations and

cultural items specific to SL by similar or analogous

situations

and cultural items in the target language. are some types of

The

following equivalences:

situational/cultural

156

a Institutional terms: BO] SL: TL: (lit: b Proverbs: [81] SL: He is a chip off the old block.

Senate t,-..-t-I 1

u-4-

/maj Lis ashshuyukh/

council of the old/wise)

TL:

.. )

01

'

/'al ibnu sirru abihi/

(lit: the son is the father's secret)

c Figures of speech: 82] For instance:

J L.)

j....2.5

.'

/kathiru arramd /

(lit,

full of ash) ---> very generous.

Most of SL proverbs and figures of speech are usually rendered by IL equivalents. However, sometimes a IL

equivalent does not exist for a similar SL expression. The translator therefore should give or render the meaning. This is usually done in the case of allusions.

Allusions are references to well known realities and

situations expressed usually by a reference to a famous person, thing or myth which are part of the cultural background of a speech community. For instance, the

allusion to 'Mephistopheles' in:

84] ' I let him run on (HD:81) (for a full

this papiermache Mephistopheles ...'

discussion of this example see p:141), if it cannot be rendered by an equivalent reference or allusion in Arabic, it should be explained or paraphrased. The text itself may not provide much help, therefore the translator has to look

157

for the necessary information on the allusion elsewhere (eg: in an encyclopedia).

e addresses and idioms: [85] SL: Adieu! TL: ... Good bye (HD:58) (NH:16) /wadVan/.

[86] SL: TL:

I beg your pardon (HD:94) (NH:50)1ja..... /madhiratan/.

[87] SL: TL:

By hook or by crook (HD:53,97) (NH:12,53) 91

u.A

/bitariqatin aw bi'ukhr1/.

Equivalence deals with situation. The message is taken as a whole. A TL equivalent should usually carry the same

emotive weight as that of the SL expression and at the same time be understood by the TL reader. For instance:

[88] ---> (Arabic)

'To carry coal to New castle'. .7?.A 0JI J,LH

(J

(lit: to carry dates to hajar) ---> (French) porter l'eau la riviere (lit: to carry water to the river)

---> (German) Enfen nack athen trajen (lit: to carry owls to Athens). As these examples may indicate, equivalence as a translation procedure operates on a stretch of language by using different linguistic items to describe the same situation.

158

5. Adaptation.

This procedure is the extreme limit of translation.

It

consists of conveying an identical message depicting an analogous situation in the TL to that in the SL. It may be

used when a situation in the SLT does not exist in the TL. The translator should, therefore, look for, or create, another situation which evokes the same idea as that expressed and evoked by the SL situation.

As Wilss (1982:99) points out, adaptation usually 'amounts to textual compensation for socio cultural differences Thus in literary

between the SL and the TL communities'.

translation for instance, adaptation may involve a rewriting of an SLT in order to fit the target language environment and culture. This procedure alongside para p hrase is widely

used in translating the Bible into different languages and cultures (see Nida 1964; Beeckman & Callow 1974).

So far, it may be suggested that there is no clearcut distinction between adaptation and situational or cultural equivalence at sentence level. However, it should not be In many cases, sentences and

difficult to distinguish between them. situational equivalence operates on

expressions that are mainly fixed (proverbs, idoms, etc.), whereas adaptation operates on SL sentences or paragraphs which express situations that do not exist in the target Language. Adaptation, therefore, entails the creation of a

situation in the target language deemed to have the same

159

effect as that of the source language.

6. Paraphrase.

Paraphrase is the restatement of a word or sentence by amplification or free rendering. That is, a concept

expressed in a word or a sentence is diluted in the TL and expressed by more than one word or sentence. The translator may resort to paraphrase where SL words have no TL equivalent especially instance, in the case of neologisms. For

[89] SL: TL:

reaganomics.

/assiyasa-nnacidiya Ii hukGmat Reagan/ (lit: The monetarist policy of Reagan government).

or, when there is a culture bound term, for example: [90] SL: (HD:55) TL:

innumerable window with venetian blinds'

0.1J1

(NH:13)

/wa r adadun yuha mina -n -natiafidh la l-lati tatahakkamu bi-idkhIli-ddawli/. The term 'venetian blind' Arabic.

1 Li LI L.' bisat'iriha

has no direct equivalent in

Thus, it has been rendered by a paraphrase which

explains the function of blinds in general, 'controlling the amount of light to be admitted (or excluded)', without stating . what type of blind.

160

A paraphrase is, generally speaking, as Newmark (1982:130) puts it:

"an extended synonym and inevitably an expansion and a diffusion of the original text. It is only justified when an item of terminology (technical, institutional, cultural, ecological, scientific) cannot be handled in any other way ... It should be pointed out that some metaphors or idioms which do not have any TL equivalent or cannot be rendered literally, are usually paraphrased. For example:

[91] SL: He was devoted to his books which were in apple pie order (10:68) TL:
c2,-

I, LjC- !

,..4.1 .....i.; ,,... ..,5

/laqad karrasa nafsahu Ii kutubihi al lati IC5nat (NH:26) munazama bi-shaklin Wi t -in/. (lit: ... arranged in a remarkable fashion)

The translation procedures presented in this chapter are used by the translator consciously or intuitively. They

are, to a certain extent, the result of the contact between the two languages ; thus, highlighting the differences and the similarities that may exist between the two languages involved in the translation. Moreover, the use of certain

translation procedures rather than the others, as was shown through the examples, is dictated mostly by the nature of the material to be translated.

To sum up:

translation procedures may be SLoriented (5) (SL TPs) or target language oriented (TLTPs):

a) The SL TPs, borrowing, calque and literal translation,

161

focus on the source language text. Borrowing, for example, is used whenever the SL text contains untranslatable

institutional, technical, cultural terms or proper names; the technique used is transcription or transliteration plus or minus a definition or explanation in a footnote. Calque and literal translation, on the other hand, are usually the result of the influence of SL on TL, and may be used whenever the SL stretch of language, when translated, is semantically as well as structurally or stylistically

acceptable in the target language.

The source language

oriented translation procedures as discussed and presented earlier may be represented schematically as in fig.S.

b) The target language oriented translation procedures are those which focus on the target language features and culture. Following their description and discussion in this Those

chapter, these TPs are divided into two categories:

dealing with the structural and syntactic aspect of the target language (transposition, recasting) and those

required to fit the semantic situational and cultural aspect of the target language. Thus, diagrammatically, they may be represented as in fig. 10.

162

x; m ai 3 x -n -e.
1.0

co 0 -I
0

re -1.
0 m

Ft

c
> n

NO

to

...t 3

Cl, rt

-1 C

73

n
-I

re -C

cu

.J cu rt 3

11) 3 r o. o o n

x ii. Cl)
r (D
CD 3 < ri 4

.0 c

CD

(DD (-- 0 C,
CD

COI rt C . D 3 -$
Cn

a cu 1. (D C C) cm 3 3 '0 -1 cu
1

> ff

rt rt rt C 0. -a I cy

n r cia) r.. r'''

CD

Cl,
rt.

-C
..I .,nn VI

-c

r-

ft ..i. C,

0 7 C -I ni 3 a) co 31. 3 -I. n 3 ..I 3 n 0' 3 4, 1.10 -I 10 CO I r re c 0

CI) n C CD 0u) CU II'D

a'

1 63

3 41' ''. -2
co

in
=1 6

= 1...
Ci)

-It re

IA 0

re
nI

cn 7- C

-1. 3
r+ r+

-4

M X '0 Cu 3
(I)
a. o 0 3

-2 0) 3
V)

VI

--1

mr1 e

i
f 13

V) 3 v. re
...le (11
11 ft 3 al
I.'

0 tra
,mle

s< 0 r+ Cu 0 >r-t
V) -I.

< -1 I'D cu -"--

...le
0 3
XI

rt

V n
(D n

n
et

V)

Cr)

(1)

In

CD

I'D n CU
co
rt ---*

r+ 5 C 0 rf
n

Z nn

< 02 CD 3
- CI

3
(0

Cu f...

IV n - v- cu V) (1) 3 (I) X tO 3 '0 ("D rD V) r"

r+ 0 -1.

-n -2 (1) --t
co m

n 0 -2 n -I. ..). cl) - Co rt. -4.

(1)
a

0 0. C I...- cu
rt
.J 0

. sul 0 <

nI )c

'<

0' 0 r.

(0

(12 0.

-1

i
o

-a. al a) .-. -I -., ..I. (D O. a.- -o ri. .a. O. r- -) (0 X no "Cox n) a (I) (d) < .0 CL %.0 In VI -r. (21 -2 tn 0 '1 M --1 11) (12 (0 3 01A to (I) V) U) -2 3 0 V) 3 VI

-I -13

rrl .0 C ..1.
<
a, -

(i)
V)

t-')

CD 3
Ill

1CD z r) ro

c n r- r+

r+ -.1.

'1 .... 0.) r- Cil

.J.

CO

'-CD rg, 3 < 14 (D CD (-- 3 n (0 -V

cu

tn

S. r+ (A c '0 CO (o Ft > Cu '0 re ' CU re

.1. 0

n.I a

re

a.

0
7

a) ,-..,

-1 CI.

0 --%

112 0) <10 I'D -1 I- 0) '0 =

0 -., (0 C-2 -O 0 tn
' C CL '0

"Cl Cu -) a) V v- * -2 CD tfi 11)

164

Throughout this study, translation has been presented as a process which starts with an analysis of the SL text according to a set of dimensions, then a *restructuring of the semantic elements and results of the analysis into appropriate TL forms through a transfer phase. This may

seem to be a general way of looking at the process of translation. Translation, however, is actually much more In practice, the

complicated than such a view may indicate.

translator moves back and forth in the text analysing and restructuring. Although the phases were presented as if

they were in a progressive order, it must be kept in mind that in the actual process of translation, the analysis, the transfer, and the synthesis phases may occur more or Less at the same time.

For the sake of simplicity, the analysis phase was presented in this study as beginning with small units then moving up to the whole text, the opposite might also be true. That

is, the translator may analyse the larger units first than identify the smaller units and discover the relations between them.

Since translation is a dynamic process, both bottomup and topdown methods of analysis may be used alternatively as the translator moves back and forth between larger and smaller units, the translator may, for instance, move back

to a larger unit and reevaluate his analysis on the basis of the analysis of smaller units.

165

As was previously pointed out, the actual transfer of meaning from SL structure to TL structure takes place in the mind of the translator. In carrying out this transfer, the

translator may, consciously or intuitively, use translation procedures which will result in a concrete manifestation of the transfer of meaning from SL to TL. The result of this transfer constitutes the initial draft because translation procedures, as were presented in this study, operate mainly on smaller units (words, phrases, clauses, and sentences).

Once the initial translation was drafted, some adjustments may be made on the basis of the analysis. That is, the

translator may go back to the result of his initial analysis in order to check the accuracy of the translation as far as meaning is concerned. This may be done through a comparison wil-gthe SL text. The translator, when checking the accuracy

of his translation, may look not only at the meaning of individual words but also of the sentences, and the

relations between the sentences or between other larger units which constitute the whole text. This checking and

rechecking of the translation draft may be done several times before the final draft is ready.

166

NOTES
1. It should be pointed out that when a proper name is treated purely connotatively, it is either translated by its connotation (eq. Midas ---> u ji . /thariy/ [wealthy]), or replaced by another proper narrie in IL which gives the same connotation (eg. Midas ----> U /ciariln/). However, Newmark (1977,59) stresses that 'while surnames in fiction often have deliberate connotations through sound and meaning the translator should explain the connotation in a glossary and leave the name intact'. 2. Stylistic calque has played a tremendous role in the development of Modern Standard Arabic. Through stylistic calque, new expressions and syntactic structures were introduced into Arabic (see: Bakalla, 1984). 3. Literal translation entails a calque which is not always compatible with TL norms and conventions. 4. For a full description and discussion of the systems in English, see: Margaret Berry: An Introduction To Systemic Linguistics (Structures and Systems). Batsford ltd. London (Ch. 8 and 9; pp:141 ff). 5. It should be pointed out that the majority of translation procedures vary between 'servitude' (obligatory) and 'option' (optional) [see: Vinay & Darbelnet, 1958). instance, For certain aspects of the target language oriented translation procedures concerning the syntactic and structural level are in the domain of 'servitude' (see: The obligatory Transposition, word order). 'O p tion' is usually Linked to stylistic choice. For instance, when a single sentence may have several syntactic and stylistic alternatives in the target language, the choice of one or the other alternative depends on the translator's decison.

167

SUMMARY AND FINDINGS

This

study

attempted the

to process

present of

comprehensive As a

representation of

translation.

by product, it was shown that the never ending debates on whether to translate literally or freely, put in a more modern form, far from making translation studies more fruitfull have actually impoverished it and rendered it somewhat sterile.

Four major models of translation were presented and analysed in this study. They were found to highlight one aspect or the other of the translation act rather than give a full representation of the activities involved in the process of translation:

a) The linguistic / Grammatical model suggested by Catford (1965) favours a simple transcoding of textual units from the SL to the TL. It views translation as an attempt to overcome only structural differences between languages.

b) The Hermeneutic model advocated by Steiner (1975) centres on the interpretation of texts and sees translation as a mere explanation of the source language text.

c)

The Situational model suggested by Vinay and Darbelnet

(1958) seeks situational equivalence without taking into consideration the linguistic meaning. It stems from the assumption that each utterance is governed by a given

168

situation.

However, it was shown that not all situations in

one Language have equivalent ones in another.

d)

The

TransformationalGenerative

model

was

mainly

suggested by Nida and Taber (1964) to deal with ambiguities in Bible translation. It was based on the assumption that

the deep structures of Languages are similar. Altough this model is useful in analysing short stretches of language, isolated sentences in particular, it is cumbersome and unnecessary when dealing with long stretches of language.

All these models were found to be limited in their scope. They are best described as translation procedures rather than models. Each model seems to deal with one aspect of

the process of translation and can hardly be described as representing the whole process of translation.

Translation as a linguistic communicative process subsumes Linguistic and extra linguistic factors. Basically, it is

viewed as a complex decoding and encoding process where all the activities are interwoven and seem to take place at the same time.

During

this process,

many

levels

of

the translator's

competence coupled with decision making and problem solving strategies come into action. These levels of the

translator's competence are identified as:

169

1 Linguistic Competence, that is the translator is assumed to have a knowledge of principles and rules governing the phonology, the syntax and the morphology of the languages involved.

2 Comprehension Competence, that is the ability to extract information from linguistic structures and to analyse a text semantically and pragmatically

Encyclopedic Competence: in order to be efficient in

understanding a text, the translator draws much of the needed additional information from his encyclo p edic or general knowledge. It was suggested that a full

understanding of the SL text depends on the interaction of the linguistic, comprehension, and encyclopedic levels of the translator's competence. However, the translator must

be able to reexpress what he understood into another language.

Reexpression Competence: It is the ability to

reconstruct the SL meaning into a TL text, without it translation is inconceivable. the basis of is practice a mere It was also emphasized, on linguistic translation,

in translation that pre requisite to

knowledge

encyclopedic knowledge, comprehension, cognitive memory and perception of textual and cultural features are of the utmost importance to translation.

170

Although all the phases of the process of translation are presented and investigated separately, they all overlap and interact with each other. suggested that the In the Analysis phase, it was from language

translator proceeds

structure to meaning.

Theoretically, the translator may

proceed to the identification and recognition of linguistic elements and grammatical patterns of a sentence in a linear progression. which Then, he may segment the text into syntagms the semantic analysis. The latter

facilitate

comprises:

a) a lexicosemantic analysis, that is assigning meaning to each linguistic element, and discovering the ways by which referential meaning is distributed among the constituent elements of the text.

b)

sentence

meaning

analysis,

that

is

finding

the

significance of complete linguistic structures.

The meaning

of any linguistic structure should be considered both within and outside the context. As was demonstrated, the total

meaning of an utterance is not a linear sum of the meanings of the words that it comprises, but is dictated by the context be it immediate or wider. Moreover, the absence of

a cultural or situational background knowledge to the SL text may restrict its total comprehension and consequently its translation. The translator is sometimes compelled to

discover the purpose for which the text is used by analysing the conditions under which it was produced.

171

On the textual level, assuming that sentences are linked to one another into a larger unit namely the text to form a cohesive whole, it was argued that taking into consideration the cohesive devices used in the text may reduce the risk of mistranslation. It was also argued that as style depends on the specific use of language which may have an impact on the reader, the translator should be aware of any stylistic devices used in the SL text. An exact transposition of the stylistic effects into the TL is, to a certain extent, impossible. The answer is not to imitate the SL text style More

but to find a style deemed functionally equivalent. research in this area is needed.

In this study, we did not consider translation as a direct transfer from SL text to IL, but a transfer through an intermediary analysing a stage. source Theoretically, language result of after decoding and language, the

stretch of

translator puts the abstract

his analysis into some The mental processes

semantic representation.

involved are still not fully known. However, we assume that the central focus in this intermediary stage is meaning. This promptedus to discuss the problem of identifying the appropriate unit of translation. meaning and consequently that of

Various

linguistic units (morpheme, word, phrase, and

sentence) were investigated as possible candidates for a unit of translation. As a result, the sentence is found to Hence,

be usually taken as an information processing unit.

172

the sentence is chosen as an appropriate unit of translation - but not the ultimate one - because its meaning is usually determined by its use within a larger unit, the text, and according to its function within a context. Other units

below and beyond the rank of the sentence should be taken and considered as units of analysis in order to prevent and avoid erroneous translations. In other words, the sentence

should be considered as a construct of constituents and as a constituent of a construct.

It was also shown that whenever smaller units are coNsidered for themselves, translation tends to be SL-oriented. On the other hand, when larger units are taken as units of translation, translation tends to be TL reader-oriented.

Following the analysis and comprehension of the SL text, the translator proceeds to reexpress the SL message into the TL using intuitively It or was consciously shown that certain the use translation of certain

procedures.

translation procedures rather than the others depends on the degree of similarity or difference between the two languages involved, on the nature of the textual material, and on how two cultures perceive reality. Thus, two main types of

translation procedures were identified: SL-oriented TPs and TL-oriented TPs.

Translation as a multidisciplinary activity may benefit from the achievements of various fields of knowledge. Some

Linguistic theories may throw some light on the problems of

173

translation.

They may help us to understand how texts are

structured syntactically and semantically or may contribute to the identification of the differences and similarities between Languages. These are but few examples of the many

contributions to the study of translation maae and still to be made by various types of research such as linguistics, psycholinguistics, semiotics, etc.

Some remarks and conclusions of this analytical study of the process of translation may have some pedagogical and

practical implications. requiring a

The fact that translation is a task linguistic and extra

large and continuous

linguistic knowledge may direct and help in the design of a comprehensive program and syllabus for training would be translators and interpreters.

It is clear that the present study could not cover all the aspects of the process of translation and many details of the process, in particular those concerning the mental activities, remained vague. We tried to present not a

theory, but a framework for a comprehensive representation of the process of translation.

174

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Werrie,P. (1969) "L'Ecole des Traducteurs de Tolde" in: Babel vol.15 n: 4 /1969 pp:202 212 Whitehouse,J.C. (1973) "Translation" in: The Incorporated Linguist vol.12 n:2 April 1973 pp: 32-34 Widdowson,H.G. (1980) Explorations in Applied Lin uistics Oxford University Press Wilss,Wolfra m (1982) The Science of Translation. Problems and Methods GOnter Narr Verlag Tubingen Wirth,Jessica R. (1985) Beyond the Sentence: Discourse and Sentential Form Karoma Publishers, U.S.A. 1985 Yowell,Y.Azz iz (1982)"Cultural Problems of EnglishArabic Translation" in: Babel vol 28 1/82 pp:25-30 Zydatis,Wolf g an g (1983) "Text Typology and Translation" in: The Incorporated Linguist vol.22 n:4 Autumn 1983 pp: 212-225

189

APPENDIX A SAMPLE TEXT : The Cohesive Devices in Text HD:66

Li black people (p:64) (1) Black shapes crouched, lay, sat black men (p:64) L2 between the trees, leaning against the
USEM L3

trunks, clinging to the earth, half coming

L4

out, half effaced within the dim Light, in all the attitudes of pain, detonation, abandonment and despair. (2) Another mine ) mine (p:64) (-- - --- cliff (p:63,64) on the cliff went off, followed by a slight
T

L3S

shudder of the soil under my feet. L5 all the work was (3)The work was going on. J going on (p:64) Us REP (4)The work!. (5) [Andlthis was the place Lb R1 where some of the helpers had withdrawn to die LbREP L4 RIIP (6) They were dying slowly-it was very clear. RIP RIP (7) They were not enemies, they were not
RIP

criminals, they were nothing earthly now NS LS nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation, lying confusedly
LLj NS

L3 5 m

0 Crheiwt' e)

in the greenish gloom. k They (8) Brought from all the recesses of the coast
0(R.2.y tweet)

in all the legality of time contracts, lost in

(i)eyvA")
uncongenial surroundings, fed on unfamiliar LS (UP 011hvi) food, they sickened, became inefficient, and then Li WS (1heywcfc) KLD 'allowed to crawl away and rest.(9) These moribund

0(aso4)
shapes were free as air- and nearly as thin.

190

(10) I began to distinguish the gleam of the L2(0 eyes under the trees. (11) frheniglancing down LAW I saw a face near my hand. (12) The black bones reclined at full length with one shoulder against 5m
L./ O P LI 5611 II op tree, and slowly the eyelids rose and the sunken

ORO eyes looked up at me enormous and vacant, a kind of blind, white flicker in the depths of the
LISEtat L(.2120 Li

op

orbs, which died out slowly.

Symbols Used to Identify the Cohesive Devices L : Lexical cohesion S : Synonym NS: Near Synonym REP: Repetition, SEM: Semantic Field R : Reference, D: Demonstrative, P: Personal pronoun fir: Ellipsis, or substitution by zero ( ) :Ellipted item C :Cojunction.

131

J 1: '.2:N
; -

c Lt"' tsLs. I I ,J, Lk1

'T.1_4J I 5

v.t.t..J
5

0_1a
1 J1

J, . J isi-c c,..

1 0 L.5

Lc-. 1.1.-A (:) 1-5

I Ls:d

LC_.._1 I A

j.._,J

1_,j5-12

1kA

(-) J'A Lc

r _J c; 1.L.3J 1

cri

L":1

1,1_1

o..11..;

I Lii I 1 I r 11,J 1
6 I
L. )

U LS
1

j .1_,
CISI-; I j

(.5-1

lij

L.S LL:J
t--aj
Lc;
LJ

6.1A I L5 J I.

,)

ts-1

192

In the SL passage, four types of cohesive devices as defined by Halliday and Hassan (1976) are identified: conjunction, reference, lexical cohesion, and substitution.

Conjunction:

In sentence (5), we have the item 'and'

which is categorized by Halliday and Hassan as an additve and is the simplest form of conjunction. It is used

cohesively to link sentence (4) and sentence (5) and to keep the normal flow of the narration. Another conjunctive

element functionning as a cohesive device is 'then' in sentence (11). This item functions as a temporal link

between sentence (10) and sentence (11), a relation of sequence in time. The translator should keep the same

temporal sequence of events carried by this cohesive item.

ii Reference: are identified:

In the SL text two types of reference items personals and demonstratives. For the

personal type of reference, we have the pronoun 'they' in sentence (6) and (7) which refers back (anaphoric) to the lexical item 'helpers' in sentence (5). Knowing which

lexical item the personal pronoun 'they' refers to, the translator should be able to maintain the reference by maintaining the same gender and number of the lexical item refered to in the verbs used in the sentence; for personal pronouns are usually omitted in Arabic. For instance, in

sentence (7) . 'they were not enemies' is rendered in Arabic P as 1.1..z1 /lam yakiinu a c d5 1 /, the personal

pronoun /hum/' identifying the

is lexical

not needed the gender and number item 'helpers' is kept and

193

maintained by the suffix /u/ /yakunu/.

1,

in

As for the demonstrative type of reference, we

have the demonstrative item 'this' in sentence (5) refering back to the lexical item 'work'; and 'these' in sentence (9) referring to the personal pronoun 'they' in sentences (6), ( (7), and (8). ) They, in turn, refers to the lexical item As Halliday and Hassan (1976,57)

'helpers' in sentence (5). pointed out

"Demonstrative reference is essntially a form of verbal pointing, the speaker identifies the referent by locating it on a scale of proximity". The demonstrative item 'these' refers to an item in a near proximity which in the text is the pronoun 'they' which itself refers to the lexical. item 'helpers' and to other Lexical items in the passage such as 'black shapes', 'black shadows'. etc.

iii Lexical Cohesion:

Four types of lexical cohesion have repetition, synonymy, near

been identified in the text:

synonymy and lexical items belonging to the same semantic field. In sentence (1), (7) and (12) we have the repetition

of the lexical item 'black' which has been used previously in other pages of HD. Another aspect of lexical cohesion

employed in the text is the use of noun phrases consisting of an adjective and a noun having the same referent as in 'black shapes' (sentence shapes' 1), 'black shadows' rng refei
P

(sentence7),'moribund

(sentence 9)

to

'black people', 'black men' (HD 64).

194

There is a near synonymy between 'dim light' in sentence (1) and 'gloom' in sentence (7). Also, some lexical items in

the text, belonging to the same semantic field, were used such as ( eyes in sentence (10) and 'eyelids' and 'orbs' in The translator should be aware of the

sentence (12).

lexical cohesive devices used in the SL text. These devices are identified by Halliday and Hassan (1976,279) under the heading 'Reiteration' which includes "not only the

repetition of the same lexical item but also the occurence of a related item, which may be anything from a synonym of the original to a general word dominating the entire class".

The translator may reduce mistranslations by taking into consideration the lexical cohesion of the SL text. For

instance, the word 'mine' in sentence (2) has been mentioned previously in the novel in page 64 alongside the word 'detonation'; However, the translator, failing to recognize the relationship between 'mine' and 'detonation' in a

previous page of the novel, has mistranslated the lexical item 'mine' /manjam/ (excavation from which

minerals are extracted) instead of ' ubuwwatun n5sifatun/ or ' (explosive charge). ' /mutafajjiratun/

Through textual analysis of the entire text, we may detect not only lexical repetition but also full recurrence of a whole sentence twice or more times in the text. Hence, the

translator should be aware of, at all times, that some sentences may recur in different parts of the text and act

195

accordingly.

For example, in HD, we found a repetition of

the following sentence in page 58 and 72.

"It should be interesting for science to watch the mental changes of individuals on the spot"(HD:58,72) (Db 1 (w b,2s)
1 . 11

j...-1_4j1
J1j.i1J

/qad yakGnu mina -l-muthiri attaghayyur -it adh-dhihniyya hudGthiha/

an yuriqiba li-l-afrid fawra

C.

iv- Substitution:

In the text, we found a substitution by For instance, in '...fed

zero (ellipsis) in sentence (8). on unfamilliar food...',

they were' is ellipted and the I where /kl-riTi/ they were' is

clause is rendered in Arabic as ' /yatanawalGna ghaira

which is the equivalent, more or less, to el. Ii

However, although the p assive in the English

clause is rendered by the active in Arabic, cohesion with the previous sentence is maintained through specifying the gender and number referring to the elli p ted theyin ) the verb /yatan5wali-Ina/ C..04.)(/Gn/ plural/masculin). In the use of pronouns, Arabic tends to be more explicit than English, and ndi indicating here

one way of rendering an ellipted item is by placing in its place a pronoun. For instance, 'These mo ribund shapes were

free as air and nearly as thin' 'as air' is ellipted at the end of the sentence to avoid redundanc y; however, in Arabic this ellipted item should be made explicit, but at the same

196

time, the translator should avoid repetition. Thus, we have

i_j_i..4 l it..,...; i . 1.,_ (..3 LS" -: .."-....

L-..--All 61; ,L. --; LS C-

/k5nat tilka -l- ashbahu -l- muhtalira hurratan kal haWi wa nahilatan mithlahu/. _. _ /hu/ 4 a-- substitution
1

in /mithlahu/ for air

.4...L.:L.

is a As a

' /al haw - 'i/. a

result, we have here an ellipted item substituted in Arabic by a pronoun.

Heart of Darkness was translated into Arabic by Nidi Haiin in 1979, Beirut. The Arabic translation is characterized by

Literal transfers of certain expressions which Led to wrong meanings and sometimes made the Arabic text ridiculous and foreign to the Arab reader.

In many instances, the transLator of Heart of Darkness did not take into account the Arabic norms and conventions. The Arabic translator adopted a literal approach and discarded the various relations existing between the sentences and between parts of the text.

A thorough

linguistic, semantic, pragmatic and textual

analysis as suggested in the present thesis might have helped the translator to avoid distortions and

misinterpretations.

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Appendix B

Presentation of the Data

A Brief Study of Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness'

It is a truism to say that before translating any text, it is necessary to understand it. But, in order to understand

it or its author, it is important to recognize not only the linguistic and stylistic features of the text, but also to be familiar with the cultural, historical, and ideological context in which the text is produced. We shall present, in this brief study of Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness", a general view of the features of the novel which may be relevant to the translator before he embarks into rendering it into Arabic (or into any other language). This, we

believe, is the first step to be taken by the translator. We do not assume that such study which undertakes the gathering of background information on the author and the novel, is in itself sufficent to help us translate the novel; but should be a first step towards understanding the novel and consequently translating it adequately. For, the translator should be aware of the cultural, historical, and ideological aspects of the novel in addition to its

linguistic and stylistic facets.

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Background to H.D

The nineteenth century has been called "the age of the novel" . As the last of the major forms of literature to

appear, The novel was one of the most fluent, diverse, and unpredictible of literary forms. It was the dominant

literary form which reached its apotheosis in the Last century. The novel may seem modern but is historically

related to other literary forms such as drama and the epic. It took many forms when it emerged in England, and various techniques have been employed by writers with a variety of purpose (1).

During the nineteenth century, literature reflected to some extent,the political, social and economic aspects of

European life more than the literature of any previous period. The world was undergoing major historical shifts

and changes.

The last quarter of the nineteenth century has seen the completion of the industrial revolution in Europe. This led to the creation of big monopolies and great competition outside Europe. The world witnessed massive exploitation of the colonies and widespread genocides in the name of white civilization and christianity. political, moral, It was a period of big

economical and philosophical turmoil

'kindled' by, among others, Freud, Darwin, Huxley, Marx and Tolstoi.

199

Joseph Conrad lived this period, witnessed the practices of white settlers in the colonies, and also condemned them. For most writers on the colonies, the essential truth was the white man. For Conrad, it was man himself whether he He saw the result of the

was white, black or yellow.

collision between the white and black civilisation and summarized it the words "the horror, the horror" (H.D.161). These might have been Conrad's words before being Kurtz's, one of his characters in "Heart of Darkness".

Most of Conrad's novels were written for readers still "secure in the conviction that they were members of an invincible imperial power, a superior race" (2).

Whereas some British writers and poets of the period describe the colonies as paradise, and the work of European settlers as constructive and beneficial to the subjected nations, Conrad depicts the colonies as places of

exploitation and death.

Two extracts, one a poem by the

poet of the British Empire, the nostalgic Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), and the other a passage taken from Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" may illustrate these opposing views:

1.By the old Moulmein pagoda, lookin' lazy at the sea, ther's a Burma girl asetting, and I know she thinks o' me; For the wind is in the palm trees, and the temple bells they say: "come you back,you British soldiers, come you back to Mandalay ... I am sick o s waiting leather on these gritty pavinlstones. And the blasted English drizzle wakes the fever in my bones. ... Ship me somewhere east of Suez, where the best is like the worst Where there aren't ten commandements an' a man can raise a thirst For the temple bells are calling, an'it's there I would be

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By the old Moulmein pagoda, looking lazy at the sea. R.Kipling "Mandalay"(3)

2. "... They were building a railway, the cliff was not in the way or anything, but the objectless blastings was all the work going on... Black shapes crouched, lay sat between the trees leaning against the trunks, clinging to the earth half effaced within the dim light in all the attitudes of pain, abandonment and despair. Another mine on the cliff went off, followed by a slight shudder of the soil under my feet. The work was going on. The work! and this was the place where some of the helpers had withdrawn to die. They were dying slowly. It was very clear. They were not enemies they were not criminals, they were nothing earthly now nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation lying confusedly in the greenish gloom. Brought from all the recesses of the coast in all the legaliity of time contracts, lost in incongenial surroundings fed on unfamiliar food, they sickened, became inefficient, and were then allowed to crawl and These moribund shapes were free as air and rest. I began to distinguish the gloom of nearly as thin. the eyes under the trees. Then glancing down, I saw a face near my hand. The black bones reclined at full Length with one shoulder against the tree, and slowly the eyelids rose and the sunken eyes looked up at me, enormous and vacant, a kind of blind, white flicker in (H.D. the depths of the orbs which died out slowly." 66) As this passage, full of anguish and nightmare,

demonstrates, Conrad's writing is more destructive of imperialist ideology than is constructive the

pro imperialist writings of Kipling.

Conrad's attitude and attack on colonial expansion and exploitation is clear, when speaking through one of his character, Marlow, he said

"The conquest of the Earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or a slightly flatter noses than ourselves is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much". (HD:50)

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BIOGRAPHY Joseph Conrad (Jozef Teodor Konrad Nalecz Kozeniowski) was born in Dec.3, 1857 in Berdichev in the Polish Ukraine. Following the death of his father in 1869, Joseph Conrad became the ward of his uncle in Cracow. In 1874, he left

Poland to Marseilles to seek a career at sea and begin a Life of a naval adventurer on ships plying the seas and the oceans of the world. His first contact with England was in

1878. Knowing little of English he was determined to make a career in the English Merchant service. In 1894, he gave up

the sea and settled in England until he died in Kent, August 3)1924.

His career as a novelist began late, at the age of thirty seven, when he published his first novel "Almayer's Folly" (1895). rapidly: Success came slowly, though his books followed "An Outcast of the Island" (1896), "The Nigger and

the Narcissus" (1897), "Tales of Unrest" (1898) "Lord Jim" (1900), and "Youth" with "Heart of Darkness" (4) and "The End Of The Tether" (1902), "Typhoon" (1903), "Nostromo" (1904). He collaborated with Ford Madox Ford in writing two novels "The Inheritors" (1901) and "Romance" (1903). Most

of his novels were tales of sea and remote countries depicting the conflict of races, the ventures of European traders and exploiters, the guilt, the fear and courage of man. In some works such as "The Mirror of the sea" (1906),

or "Some Reminiscece" (called later 'A Personal Record'

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(1912), Conrad wrote memoirs of his personal life.

In "The

Secret Agent" (1907), "A Set of Six" (1908), "Under Western Eyes" (1911) and "Chance" (1914), he explored themes of social, moral and political crisis His other works include "Victory" (1915), "The Shadow Line" (1917), "The Arrow of Gold" (1919), "The Rover" (1922),and other short stories which appeared in "Twixt Land and Sea" (1913), "Within the Tides" (1915) and "Tales of Hearsay"(1925), and a number of personal and Literary essays in "Notes on Life and Letters" (1921), and "Last Essays" (1926). Napoleonic novel "Suspence" appeared. In 1925, an unfinished

Conrad had an astonishing range of achievement and witnessed at first hand a variety of styles of life, nature and environments. His travels made him see almost the whole of The sea has been the It played a great

the British Empire at its height.

background in most of his literary works. role in forming his character.

The image of the sea in

Conrad's novels was not the traditional romantic image but a concrete image of solitude and tragedy.

Heart of Darkness

As a boy in Poland, Conrad saw a world map and pointed to central Africa and said: "when I grew up I go there" (4) A In 1889, he Ten years

quarter of a century Later, he did go there. took command of a steamer in the Congo river.

later he recorded his voyage to the Congo in one of his greatest novels "Heart of Darkness". After returning from

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the Congo, he suffered both psychologically and physically from the barbarism and the horror he witnessed in Africa as did his main character, Marlow, in HD. He returned from

a thousand miles voyage to the heart of the Congo with memoirs of the white man's power of destruction and violence

"Heart of Darkness" was written for and serialized in the pro-imperialst Blackwood Magazine in 1899. In 1902,

together with "Youth" and "The End of the Tether", it was published in a volume called "Youth: Other Stories". A Narration and Two

The novel opens with a description of the Thames at sunset. On the deck of "The Nellie", a cruising yawl, four men were Listening to Charles Marlow who first thinks aloud about ancient England and starts telling the story of his trip to the Congo. He describes how he enlisted the help of his

aunt to secure a position as a boat captain and how he took a french steamer to the mouth of the Congo river. There, he took another steamer and started the first part of his journey up river. Along the journey, he was struck by what he noticed, by the incongruity of the European presence in Africa. At the Company station, he became aware of the He continued his trip

inhuman exploitation of the natives.

up river accompanied by some natives and one other white man to the Central station where he was to take command of a steamboat. There, he started hearing about Kurtz and his

enormous success in the ivory trade.

204

Three months later, Marlow and a group of

'pilgrims'

(company employees), led by the manager of the station, began their trip up river to Kurtz's Inner station. journey took two months. It was difficult. The

Marlow was

impressed by the primitive nature of the country. At a mile and a half from their destination, they were attacked by the natives who, as we are later told, were ordered by Kurtz. Nevertheless, they succeeded in reaching the inner station. Marlow discovered, afterwards, more about Kurtz who, at the time although a dying man, was adored by the natives.

The novel took us from the Thames through the times when the Romans came to their own Heart of Darkness in Britain to the Congo (although never mentioned by name in H.D.), the heart of the dark continent. It took us to the deep and remote

corners of man himself to the self discovery concerning Marlow and to Kurtz the prophet of European civilization who at the end was submerged and destroyed by the 'primitive' African civilization.

Kurtz was one of the company's employees in the ivory trade Along the journey up river, Marlow collected more

information about Kurtz.

Kurtz is portrayed as the best

employee in the company, and also a good speaker, an artist, a poet, a great man. Nevertheless, he is portrayed also as a devil, and a savage. But when Marlow finally met him, he

found him a poor dying man surrounded by the relics of a 'primitive' civilization. Kurtz was to be taken back to

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Brussels.

However, on the journey to the central station he the horror!"

died uttering his final words "The horror!

Later, Marlow himself became very ill physically as well as spiritually and went back to Brussels where he found more about Kurtz.

Marlow's story ends when the setting returns to the deck of 'The Nellie'on the tranquil waters of the Thames which seem to "lead to heart of an immense darkness".
Ole

Structure of the Novel

Superficially, Heart of Darkness consists of three parts. However, the novel may be considered as having a Each of the three parts may comprise The novel is

complex structure.

several separate but interwoven scenes.

conceived as a short story with no specified chapters Nevertheless, we may think of the novel as consisting of the following:

Part I Into the Heart of Darkness:

The opening of the novel consists of a prologue set by the first narrator who is anonymous and opens and closes the narrative. The prologue consists of: (a) a vivid (b)

description of the

lower reaches of the Thames,

evocation of the past and list of ships and sailors, and (c) Marlow's soliloquy on the coming of the first Romans to Britain. This introduction to Marlow's narrative provides

the appropriate physical setting for the telling of the

206

story.

Within the first part of

the novel the stage

introduction of Marlow's recounting, to his friends on 'The Nellie', his his trip to the Congo river stars with (a)

preparation for the voyage, (b) along the coast, and (c) the Company's station. scenes: The pre-peak section consists of the

(a) The central station, and (b) Rivets and work to

repair the steamboat.

Part II In The Heart of Darkness:

This part may be considered also as as pre-peak section consisting of(a) a prologue to the trip up river; and (b) the scenes: up river toward the inner station, before the

attack, the attack, and the approach to the inner station.

Part III Out of the Heart of Darkness

This part consists of a peak section and a post-peak section with an epilogue. The peak section is made of: (a) the

Harlequin's story, (b) Kurtz viewed, (c) Pursuit of Kurtz and confrontation, and (d) The death of Kurtz. peak consists of: to Brussels. The post

(a) Marlow's ordeal, and (b) The return

In the epilogue, or the concluding part of the

novel the first anonymous narrator returns and closes the story.

Light and Darkness in H.D

From the beginning of the novel Conrad puts us in the heart of the tragedy and the darkness becomes the prevailing background of the story. Throughout the story, there is an

207

appropriate interplay between light and darkness. The story is built around oppositions and tensions.

The constant alternation of darkness and light in Heart of Darkness may be explained by the belief that Conrad "perceived the world dualistically and was preoccupied by the interaction of antagonistic forces"(6). Heart of

Darkness is the novel which confronts its readers with antagonistic forces. that This may be due to Conrad's belief

"the only legitimate basis of creative works lies in the courageous recognition of all the irreconcilable antagonisms that make our life so enigmatic, so burdensome, so fascinating so dangerous, so full of hope"(7). The dichotomy between black and white, darkness and light is almost an obssessive motif in most of Conrad's works. Generally, in western thought, the contrast between white and black stood for good and evil. In Conrad's Heart of The

Darkness, this dichotomy is made obscure and vague.

first impression we get from the reading of the novel is that there is no clear cut distinction between the two opposites.

Amongst the many interpretations proposed, the novel has been considered as an attack on imperialism, a journey into the unconscious a mythic descent into the primal underworld, etc. This wealth of interpretations as C.B.Cox (1978,16)

says "arises from the symbolic force of Darkness".

208

In Heart of Darkness, Conrad draws heavily on events he had witnessed in Africa, and from there he emphasizes the abuses of imperialism (8), and most of all expresses "the world revulsion from the horrors of Leopold's exploitation of the Congo"(9).

Conrad's voyage to the Congo in 1895 made him discover not only the horror of the European imperialism but also himself as a human being. As Aeneas in Virgil's Aeneid, Conrad

found the truth in Darkness.

Conrad's Use of Allusions in 'Heart of Darkness':

In addition to the symbolic opposition (light / darkness) HD abounds historical with mythical correspondences, Many critics find literary a and

allusions.

number of

parallels between Marlow's journey to the Congo and Aeneas underworld journey in book sixth of Virgil's Aeneid (10). Both Marlow and Aeneas gain a certain knowledge after a perilous journey into a far and dark region. Perhaps, for

Virgil as for Conrad truth is to be found in Darkness. Conrad describes the two women in the Brussels offices of the company as "guarding the door of Darkness", (HD 55). This may evoke the Sibyl in Virgil's Aeneid who guards "the door of gloomy Dis"(11).

I.Watts : (1980), C.Watts (1977), C.B.Cox (1978) and many other critics found that the description of the two knitters (H.D. 55-56) as a basis for a symbolic interpretation of HD

209

as a version of the traditional descent into hell, This is a close parallel to Virgil's and Dante's descent into the underworld. The different company stations mentioned in the novel are compared to the circles of hell; the 'Inferno' itself is mentioned in HD (p:66) as a direct reference to DF one of the books\rDante's "Divina Commedia" (1310-21).

The following passage from Heart of Darkness is found to be having many mythical and historical allusions :

"...Two women,one fat, and the other slim, sat on straw bottomed chairs, knitting black wool... ...In the outer room, the two women knitted black wool feverishly. People were arriving, and the younger one was walking back and forth introducing Her flat cloth them. The old one sat on her chair. slippers were propped up on a foot warmer, and a cat reposed on her lap. She wore a starched white affair on her head, had a wart on one cheek, and silver rimmed spectacles hung on the tip of her The She glanced at me above the glasses. nose. look indifferent placidity of that and swift troubled me. Two youths with foolish and cheery countenances were being piloted over, and she threw at them the same quick glance of unconcerned wisdom. She seemed to know all about them and about me too. An eerie feeling came over me. She seemed uncanny and fateful. Often far away there I thought of these two, guarding the door of Darkness, knitting black wool as for a warm pall, one introducing continuously to the unknown, the other scrutinising the cheery and foolish faces with unconcerned old Morituri te eyes. Ave! old knitter of black wool. satutant. Not many of those she looked at ever saw her againnot half by a long way" (HD,55-56). The unconcern of the two knitters recalls the Fates (the three Greek godesses of Destiny: Glotho, Lahesis, and

Antropos) spinning and breaking the thread of man's life. C.Watts (1977) finds in this passage parallels with the French "Tricoteuses" knitting, unconcerned about the events

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at the guillotine during the French Revolution.

One clear

reference to historical eventsis embodied in the sentence "Ave ! (Hail! old knitter of black wool, Morituri te salutant" old knitter of black wool, those who are about to This is a clear reference to the Roman

die salute you).

gladiators i tribute to their emperor to whom they address their farewell before they die in combat.

Conrad deliberately uses direct refrences such as these to put his story in a larger cultural and historical context. Indeed, the literary and mythical allusions are part of Conrad's style.

Some Stylistic Aspects of H.D.

Heart of Darkness is complex novel but is, generally, characterized by the indirect mode of narration (i.e., using a character to tell the story) which is described by C.B.Cox as an essential element in Conrad's works(12). Because

English is not Conrad's native language, his work is free of , local English idiosyncrasies. However, on one aspect of the

language use, we notice in HD a frequent use of negative adjectives such as "impenetrable", "inaccessible",

"inconceivable", which may be said to be part of his artistic purpose for he once claimed his "inalienable right to the use of my epithets". Hence, sometiimes he tries to express some ideas that are hard to communicate with negative distances" adjectival (HD,131), expressions "invisible such as "inaccessible (HD,148),

wilderness"

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"impal p able grayness" (HD,150), "unextinguishable regrets" (HD,150)(13).

An examination of Conrad's style indicates that the choice of certain words, structures, etc, is deliberate in order to produce the desired effect on the reader, be it stylistic or pragmatic. For instance:

"Strings of dusty niggers with splay feet arrived and departed; a stream of manufactured goods, rubbishy cottons, beads, and brasswire set into the depths of darkness, and in return came a precious trickle of ivory"(HD,66). On the use of certain grammatical features and the efforts made by Conrad to produce a stylistic impact on the reader, Ford Madox Ford writes about the last paragraph of Heart of Darkness

"The effect of what musicians call a "coda"a passage meditative in tone, suited for letting the reader or hearer gently down from the tense drama of the story, in which all his senses have been shut up, into the ordinary workaday world again. In the interest of that tranquility, either Conrad or I suggested the use of adjectival participle form in the last clause of the paragraph C...]; and to make that passage classic English prose, you would have to put it: the tranquil waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth, flowing sombre under an overcast sky seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness'. or, since Conrad or, in the alternative, I might object to the assonance of 'flowing' and 'leading': 'The tranquil waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth, flowed sombre under an overcast sky, seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness'. which last would be the version I should today adopt, as being, with its punctuation and all the most tranquilly classic.

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But, I suppose that, in the end, we both of us got up one morning feeling unbidledly Gallic and so you have only one coma and a french dash for punctuation of the whole sentence and the relatively harsh "seemed" instead of the tender "seeming" (14). Thus the last sentence is finally structured as : "The offing was barred by a black bank of clouds, and the tranquil waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed sombre under an overcast sky seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness." HD abounds in person_ification (eg: 'the mist itself

screamed "p:57; "the bush began to howl"p:65), and also in contrasts, comparisons and strong repetitive parallelisms which give persistent images, especially those of death decay and darkness.

Some critics find HD poetic.

Every element in its structure

(the title itself, the plot, the characters) contributes to its symbolism. Frequent use of alliteration gave HD a "slimy swell swung..."

certain musicality, for example: (p:20).

In addition, some passages are found to fall into

verse rhythm, for instance:

"The sun set, the dusk fell on the stream and tights began to appear along the shore."(p:47) Or: "She carried her head high; her hair was done in the shape of a helmet; she had brass leggings to the knee, brass wire gauntlets to the elbow, a crimson spot on her tawny cheek, innumerable necklaces of glass beads on her neck; bizzare things, charms, gifts of witchmen, that hung about her, glittered and trembled at every step"(HD,135).

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NOTES
1- For further details see L.Brett 1981, English Studies, p: 20 and W.Allen,The English Novel Ideological 2- Benita Parry, 1983, Conrad and Imperialism. MacMillan Press Ltd. Boundaries and Visionary Frontiers. London (p:3) 3- See R.Kipling Verse, inclusive edition 1885-1918, Hodder & Stoughton, London,(n.d) pp: 476-478 4- "Lord Jim" was translated into Arabic by Yunus Shahin and published by Dar el-alf Kitab in Cairo 1965-1966. "Youth" and "Heart of Darkness" were translated by Huda Habisha under the titles "As-shabab" and "Qalb-allalam" and published in Cairo in 1959 by Dar el-alf Kitab. The Araic examples given in this thesis are taken from the Arabic version of "Heart of Darkness" translated by Nuh Hazin in 1979,Beirut. 5- J.Conrad 1912, A personal Record . London. (p:13). 6- B.Parry,1983,p:3. 7- Conrad's Letter to New York Time 29 Aug.1901 8See M.Levenson "The Value of Fact in Heart of Darkness" in : Nineteenth Century Fiction vol.40 n:3 Dec 1985, pp: 261-280. I.Watts, 1980 Conrad in the Nineteenth Century Chatto & Windus, London (p:139) King Leopold II of Belgium justified the colonization and exploitation of the Congo by stating in 1898 that: "The mission which the agents of the state have to accomplish in the Congo is a noble one. They have to continue the development of civilizaion in the centre of Equatorial Africa, receiving their inspiration directly from Berlin and Brussels. Placed face to face with primitive barbarism, grappling with sanguinary customs that date back thousands of years, they are obliged to reduce these gradually, they must accustom the population to general Laws, of which the most needful and the most salutary is assuredly that of work" (Quoted in :Heart of Darkness. A Critical Edition, ed.Robert Kimbrough, W & W.Norton & Co. London 1971,p:86). 10- See L.Feder , "Marlow's Descent into Hell" in Ninenteenth Century Fiction lx March 1955 pp: 280-292. 11- C.Watts (1977) Conrad's Heart of Darkness ( A Critical and Contextual Discussion.) Mersia International . Milano J.M.Dent & Sons,

9-

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p: 56 12 C.B.Cox (1981) Conrad: Heart of Darkness, Nostromo, Under Western Eyes. MacMillan Press Ltd. London. and

13 We counted more than one hundred such negative HD. adjectives in Some, as such 'impenetrable', 'inconceivable', 'incredible', 'inscrutable' are repeated many times. Such repetition of negative adjectives is one of the salient features of HD. In this particular novel, the use of such adjectives may be attributed to MarLow's insistence on the unreality of his experience. 14 See: Ford Madox Ford, 'Heart of Darkness', Portraits From Life, 1936. pp: 61-63.