translation 1 - htnguyen - week 1 2

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LAC HONG UNIVERSITY TRANSLATION 1

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LECTURER : HOANG THUY NGUYEN, M-ED TESOL

COURSE OUTLINE

COURSE TITLE : TRANSLATION 1

COURSE LENGTH : 60 teaching periods

PREREQUISITE :

Good command of the mother-tongue Sufficient competence in English

AIMS : Translation 1 aims to help students to:

improve their language competence develop three qualities essential to language learning: accuracy, clarity and flexibility understand better the influence of one language on the other and correct errors of

habit that creep in unnoticed

explore the potential of both languages-their strengths and weaknessesOBJECTIVES: On completion of Translation 1, students should be able to:

develop their language awareness increase their power and range of expressions search (flexibility) for the most appropriate words (accuracy) to convey what it meant

(clarity)

TEACHING AND LEARNING PROCESS

Translation 1 will be provided through pair/ group or class discussion of students works

REFERENCES

1. Duff, A (1998) Translation. OUP2. Hervey, Sndor G. J.; Higgins, Ian. (1992) Thinking Translation: A Course in Translation

Method, Taylor & Francis Routledge

3. Hornby , A.S (1993) Guide to Patterns and Usage in Engli shOUP4. Truong .Q. P (2001), Gio Khoa Cn Bn Mn Dch Anh Vi t, Vi t- Anh,NXB a i HocQuc Gia Tp H Ch Minh


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WEEKLY TIMETABLE AND TOPICS

WEEK TOPIC

1 IntroductionIndentifying sentence patternsMain part and subordinators: noun, noun clauses . Text

for translation

2 Indentifying sentence patternsMain part and subordinators: verbs, passive voiceText for translation

3 Indentifying sentence patternsMain part and subordinators: verbs, passive voice. Text for

translation

4 Indentifying sentence patternsMain part and subordinators : adverbs, adverbial

Text for translation

5 Indentifying sentence patternsMain part and subordinators: prepositional phrase. Text for

translation

6 Indentifying sentence patternsMain part and subordinators: participle phrases. Text

for translation7 Indentifying sentence patterns

Main part and subordinators: participle phrases. Text for

translation

8 Indentifying sentence patternsMain part and subordinators: adjective and attributives,

absolute phrases


9 Indentifying sentence patternsMain part and subordinators: adjective and attributives,

absolute phrases . Text for translation

10 Indentifying sentence patternsMain part and subordinators: to infinitive


11 Proximity & parallelism. Text for translation


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WEEK 1

I. Some definitions1 Translation as a process

Text : Any given stretch of speech or writing produced in a given language and

assumed to make a coherent whole. A minimal text may consists of a single word

for example, Look! A maximal text may run into volumes

Source language (SL) The language in which the text requiring translation is couched

Target language (TL) The language into which the original text is to be translated.

Source text (ST) The text requiring translation.

Target text (TT) The text which is a translation of the ST. the translation process = understanding a ST and formulating a TT.

2 Translation as a product

As we have seen, translation can be viewed as a process. Now we shall view it as a

product. Here, too, it is useful to examine two diametric opposites, in this case two opposed

degrees of translation, showing extreme SL bias on the one hand and extreme TL bias on the

other.

Literal translation, where the literal meaning of words is taken as if from the dictionary

(that is, out of context), but TL grammar is respected.At the extreme of TL bias is completely free translation, where there is only a global

correspondence between the textual units of the ST and those of the TT. The

following example contrasts a literal and a free translation of a stock conversation in

Chinese between two people who have just been introduced:

Literal TT Free TT

A Sir, are you well?

B Are you well?

A Sir comes from where?

B I come from England.

A How many persons in your family?

B Wife and five children. And you?

A How do you do?

B Pleased to meet you.

A Do you come here often?

B No, this is my first visit

A Nice weather for the time of year.

B Yes, its been quite warm lately.

( The extreme freedom seen in the second version

is of the type found in communicative translation)


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Communicative translation is, however, formal for many culturally

conventional formulae that do not allow literal translation. Public notices, proverbs and

conversational clichs illustrate this particularly clearly, as in:

Lost property.

Half a loaf is better than no bread.

Dont mention it.

Between the literal and free extremes, the Chinese conversation given above might be

rendered at the three intermediary points as follows:

Faithful TT Balanced TT

(literal/communicative)

Idiomatic TT

A Are you well?

A Where do you come from?

B I come from England.

A How big a family do you

have?

B A wife and five children.

And yourself?

A How do you do?

A Where are you from?

B England.

A Have you any family?

B Yes, a wife and five

children. Have you?

A How do you do?

A Where are you from, then?

B Im English.

A Any family?

B Wife and five kids. How about

you?

II. Principles of translationBelow are some general principles which are relevant to all translation

a. Meaning: the translation should reflect accurately the meaning of the original text.

Nothing should be arbitrarily added or removed, though occasionally part of the meaning can

be transposed

e.g: This is the best solution : y l gii php tt nhtWed appreciatean opportunity to discuss with you my sons class performance and what you

think we must do to ensure his success.

Ask yourself:

- is the meaning of the original text clear? If not, where does the uncertainty lie?

- are any words loaded, that is, are there any underlying implications? (Correct

me if Im wrong suggest I know Im right !)


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- is the dictionary meaning of a particular word the most suitable one?

- does anything in the translation sound unnatural or forced?

b. Form. The ordering of words and ideas in the translationshould match the original as

closely as possible. (This is particularly important in translating legal documents, guarantees,

contracts, etc. ) But differences in language structure often require changes in the form and

order of words. When in doubt, underline in the original text the words on which the main

stress falls.

A B

D you know who he is?

Yes, I do.

D you know who he is?

I do indeed !

c.Register. Languages often differ greatly in their level of formality in a given context (say,

the business letter). To resolve these differences, the translator must distinguish betweenformal and fixed expressions (Please find enclosed ) and personal expressions , in which the

writer or speaker sets the tone.

Consider also:

- would any expression in the original sound too formal/ informal, cold/ warm,

personal / impersonal if translated literally?

- what is the intention of the speaker or writer? (to persuade/ dissuade, apologize/

criticize?) Does this come through in the translation?

d.Source language influence. One of the most frequent criticism of translation is that it

doesnt sound natural. This is because the translators thoughts and choice of words are toostrongly molded by the original text. A good way of shaking off the source language (SL)

influence is to set the text aside and translate a few sentences aloud, from memory. This will

suggest natural patterns of thought in the first language (L1) which may not come to mind

when the eye is fixed on the SL text.

e. Style and clarity. The translator should not change the style of the original. But if the text

is informally written, or full of tedious repetitions, the translator may, for the readers sake,

correct the defects

f. Idioms. Idiomatic expressions are notoriously untranslatable. These include similes,

metaphors, proverbs and sayings. (too many cooks spoil the broth), jargon, slang, and

colloquialism (user- friendly, the Big Apple, yuppie, etc), and (in English) phrasal verbs. If

the expressions cannot be directly translated, try any of the following:

- retain the original word, in inverted comma: yuppie

- retain the original expression, with a literal explanation in brackets: Indian summer

(dry, hazy weather in late autumn)


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- use a close equivalent: Out of the frying pan into the fire

- use a non- idiomatic or plain prose translation:

Anh y quyt nh ln Si Gn tm t dng v: He decided to go toSG in search of an opportunity to develop his talents.

i n cm bi: go out to the roadside food stalls for lunchThe golden rule is : if the idiom does not work in the L1, do not force it into translation.

III. Practice: Study the noun patterns below. Then work in pairs/

groups and translate the examples of different noun patterns in

italics into Vietnamese.


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Week 2

Work in pairs/ groups, discuss and then translate

the examples of verb patterns in the tables below

into Vietnamese


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translation 1 - htnguyen - week 1 2

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