Translation Strategies and Equivalence Models in Modern Translation Studies
Lecture Three
•
Whether the suggested target segment is
an appropriate equivalent would depend on circumstances, audience
and the type of
equivalence envisaged. On a racecourse, the ST phrase might well no
t be so metaphorical and might require more formal equivalence in tr
anslation.
•
The problem of the inevitable subjectivity that the invariant entails ha
s been tackled by many scholars. we discuss taxonomic linguistic appr
oaches that have attempted to produce a comprehensive model of tra
nslation shift analysis. We considers modern descriptive translation
studies. Its leading proponent, Gideon Toury, shuns a prescriptive d
efinition of equivalence and, accepting as given that a TT is ‘equivalen
t’ to its ST, instead seeks to identify the web of relations between th
e two. Yet there is still a great deal of practically oriented writing on
translation that continues a prescriptive discussion of equivalence. Tr
anslator training courses also, perhaps inevitably, tend to have this foc
us: errors by the trainee translators tend to be corrected prescriptivel
y according to a notion of equivalence held by the tutor.
Vinay and Darbelnet’s model
•
Influenced by earlier work by the Russian theorist and transl
ator Andrei Fedorov (1953), as described by Mossop (2013)
and Pym (2016), Vinay and Darbelnet carried out a compara
tive stylistic analysis of French and English. They looked at te
xts in both languages, noting differences between the langua
ges and identifying
different translation ‘strategies’ and ‘procedures’. These te
rms are sometimes confused in writing about translation. I
n the technical sense a
strategy
is an overall orientation of th
e translator (e.g. towards ‘free’ or ‘literal’ translation, towar
ds the TT or ST, towards domestication or foreignization)
whereas a
procedure
is a specific technique or method use
d by
the translator at a certain point in a text (e.g. the borrowing
of a word from the SL, the addition of an explanation or a fo
otnote in the TT).
•
The two general translation strategies identified by Vinay and Darbelnet
•
(1995/2004: 128–37) are (i)
direct translation
and (ii)
oblique translation
,
•
which hark back to the ‘literal vs. free’ division discussed in Chapter 2. Indeed, ‘literal
’ is given by the authors as a synonym for direct translation.
The two strategies comprise
seven procedures
, of which
direct translation
covers thr
ee:
•
(1)
Borrowing:
The SL word is transferred directly to the TL. This category covers wor
ds such as the Russian
rouble, datcha
, the later
glasnost
and
perestroika
, that are
used in English and other languages to fill a semantic gap in the TL. Sometimes bor
rowings may be employed to add local colour (
sushi, kimono, Osho–
gatsu
in a tourist brochure about Japan, for instance). Of course, in some technical
fields there is much borrowing of terms (e.g.
computer, internet
, from
English to Malay). In languages with differing scripts, borrowing entails an additional
need for transcription, as in
the borrowings of mathematical, scientific and other terms from Arabic into Latin and
, later, other languages (e.g. [
al- jabr
] to
algebra
).
•
(2)
Calque:
This is ‘a special kind of borrowing’ where the SL expressi
on or structure is transferred in a literal translation. For example, th
e French calque
science-fiction
for the English.
•
Vinay and Darbelnet note that both borrowings and calques often be
come fully integrated into the TL, although sometimes with some se
mantic change, which can turn them into false friends. An example is
the German
Handy
for a
mobile
(cell)
phone
.
•
(3)
Literal translation
: This is ‘word-for-word’
translation, which Vinay and Darbelnet describe as being most co
mmon between languages of the same family and culture.
•
Literal translation is the authors’ prescription for good translation: ‘
literal- ness
should only be sacrificed because of structural and metalinguistic r
equirements and only after checking that the meaning is fully prese
rved’ . But, say Vinay and Darbelnet, the translator may
judge literal translation to be ‘unacceptable’ for what are gramm
atical, syntactic or pragmatic reasons.
•
In those cases where literal translation is not possible, Vinay and Darb
elnet say that the strategy of
oblique translation
must be used. This
covers a further four procedures:
•
(4)
Transposition:
This is a change of one part of speech for another (
e.g. noun for verb) without changing the sense. Transposition can be:
•
Q
obligatory:
French
dès son lever
[‘upon her rising’] in a past conte
xt would be translated by
as soon as she got up
; or
•
Q
optional:
in the reverse direction, the English
as soon as she got
up
could be translated into French literally as
dès qu’elle s’est levée
o
r as a verb-to-noun transposition in
dès son lever
[‘upon her rising’].
•
Vinay and Darbelnet see transposition as ‘probably the most com
mon structural change undertaken by translators’. They
list at least ten different categories, such as:
•
verb A noun:
they have pioneered
A
they have been the first
;
•
adverb A verb:
He will soon be back
A
He will hurry to be back
.
•
(5)
Modulation:
This changes the semantics and poin
t of view of the SL. It can be:
•
Q
obligatory
: e.g.
the time when
translates as
le m
oment où
[lit. ‘the moment where’];
•
Q
optional
, though linked to preferred structures of
the two languages: e.g. the reversal of point of view i
n
it is not difficult to show
>
il est facile de démontrer
[lit. ‘it is easy to show’].
•
Modulation is a procedure that is justified ‘when, alth
ough a literal, or even transposed, translation results
in a grammatically correct utterance, it is considered
unsuitable, unidiomatic or awkward in the TL’.
•
Vinay and Darbelnet place much store by modulation
as ‘the touchstone of a good translator’, whereas tr
ansposition ‘simply shows a very good command of
the target language’. Modulation at the level of me
ssage is subdivided along the following lines:
•
abstract< >concrete
, or
particular< >general:
She can do no othe
r > She cannot act differently
; Give
a pint of blood
>
Give a little blood
•
explicative modulation
, or
effect< >cause:
You’re quite a stranger
•
>
We don’t see you any more
.
•
whole< >part:
He shut the door in my face
>
He shut the door in my no
se
•
part< >another part:
He cleared his throat
>
He cleared his voice
•
reversal of terms:
You can have it
>
I’ll give it to you
•
negation of opposite:
It does not seem unusual
>
It is very normal
•
active<
>passive:
We are not allowed to access the internet
>
they don’t allow
us to access the internet
•
rethinking of intervals and limits in space and time:
No p
arking between signs
>
Limit of parking
•
change of symbol
(including fixed and new metaphors):
En.
He saw red
[‘he became very angry’].
•
Modulation therefore covers a wide range of phenomena.
There is also often a process of originally free modulations b
ecoming fixed expressions. One example given by Vinay an
d Darbelnet (1995: 254) is
Vous l’avez échappé belle
[lit. ‘
You have escaped beautifully’] >
You’ve had a narrow escape
.
•
(6)
Équivalence
, or
idiomatic translation:
Vinay and Darbel
net use this term to refer to cases where languages describe
the same situation by different stylistic or structural means.
Équivalence is particularly useful in translating idioms and pr
overbs.
•
Adaptation
: This involves changing the cultural reference w
hen a situation in the source culture does not exist in the tar
get culture. For example, Vinay and Darbelnet suggest that t
he cultural connotation of a reference to the game of cricke
t in an English text might be best translated into French by a
reference to the Tour de France. The authors claim that a ref
usal to use such adaptation in an otherwise ‘perfectly correc
t’ TT ‘may still be noticeable by an undefinable tone, someth
ing that does not sound quite right’. However, whereas thei
r solution may work for
some restricted metaphorical uses, it would make little sens
e to change the domain cricket to that of cycling in phrases s
uch as
that isn’t cricket
(‘that isn’t fair’) or ‘a
sleepy Wednesday morning county match at Lords [cricket gr
ound in London]’.
In modern translation studies, the concept of equivalence and different translation strategies are explored. Scholars have debated the subjectivity involved in translation, with some advocating for a descriptive approach while others stick to prescriptive discussions of equivalence. Influenced by past work, translation theorists like Vinay and Darbelnet identified general strategies such as direct and oblique translation, each encompassing specific procedures like borrowing and calque. These strategies aim to capture the nuances of translating between languages effectively.
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Whether an appropriate equivalent would depend on circumstances, audience and the equivalence envisaged. On a racecourse, the ST phrase might well no t be so metaphorical and might require more formal equivalence in tr anslation. The problem of the inevitable subjectivity that the invariant entails ha s been tackled by many scholars. we discuss taxonomic linguistic appr oaches that have attempted to produce a comprehensive model of tra nslation shift analysis. We considers modern descriptive translation studies. Its leading proponent, Gideon Toury, shuns a prescriptive d efinition of equivalence and, accepting as given that a TT is equivalen t to its ST, instead seeks to identify the web of relations between th e two. Yet there is still a great deal of practically oriented writing on translation that continues a prescriptive discussion of equivalence. Tr anslator training courses also, perhaps inevitably, tend to have this foc us: errors by the trainee translators tend to be corrected prescriptivel y according to a notion of equivalence held by the tutor. the suggested target segment is type of
Influenced by earlier work by the Russian theorist and transl Vinay and Darbelnet s model ator Andrei Fedorov (1953), as described by Mossop (2013) and Pym (2016), Vinay and Darbelnet carried out a compara tive stylistic analysis of French and English. They looked at te xts in both languages, noting differences between the langua ges different translation strategies and procedures . These te rms are sometimes confused in writing about translation. I n the technical sense a strategy is an overall orientation of th e translator (e.g. towards free or literal translation, towar ds the TT or ST, towards domestication or foreignization) whereas a procedure is a specific technique or method use d the translator at a certain point in a text (e.g. the borrowing of a word from the SL, the addition of an explanation or a fo otnote in the TT). and identifying by
The two general translation strategies identified by Vinay and Darbelnet (1995/2004: 128 37) are (i) direct translation and (ii) oblique translation, which hark back to the literal vs. free division discussed in Chapter 2. Indeed, literal is given by the authors as The two strategies comprise seven procedures, of which direct translation covers thr ee: (1) Borrowing: The SL word is transferred directly to the TL. This category covers wor ds such as the Russian rouble, datcha, the later glasnost and perestroika, that are used in English and other languages to fill a semantic gap in the TL. Sometimes bor rowings may be employed to add gatsu in a tourist brochure about Japan, for instance). Of course, in some technical fields there is much borrowing of terms (e.g. computer, internet, from English to Malay). In languages with differing scripts, borrowing entails an additional need for transcription, the borrowings of mathematical, scientific and other terms from Arabic into Latin and , later, other languages (e.g. [al- jabr] to algebra). a synonym for direct translation. local colour (sushi, kimono, Osho as in
(2) Calque: This is a special kind of borrowing where the SL expressi on or structure is transferred in a literal translation. For example, th e French calque science-fiction for the English. Vinay and Darbelnet note that both borrowings and calques often be come fully integrated into the TL, although sometimes with some se mantic change, which can turn them into false friends. An example is the German Handy for a mobile (cell) phone. (3) Literal translation: translation, which Vinay and Darbelnet describe as being most co mmon between languages of the same family and culture. Literal translation is the authors prescription for good translation: literal- should only be sacrificed because of structural and metalinguistic r equirements and only after checking that the meaning is fully prese rved . But, say Vinay and Darbelnet, judge literal translation to be unacceptable for what are gramm atical, syntactic or pragmatic reasons. This is word-for-word ness the translator may
In those cases where literal translation is not possible, Vinay and Darb elnet say that the strategy of oblique translation must be used. This covers a further four procedures: (4) Transposition: This is a change of one part of speech for another ( e.g. noun for verb) without changing the sense. Transposition can be: Q obligatory: French d s son lever [ upon her rising ] in a past conte xt would be translated by as soon as she got up; or Q optional: in the reverse direction, the English as soon as she got up could be translated into French literally as d s qu elle s est lev e o r as a verb-to-noun transposition in d s son lever [ upon her rising ]. Vinay and Darbelnet see transposition as probably the most com mon structural change undertaken list at least ten different categories, such as: verb A noun: they have pioneered A they have been the first; adverb A verb: He will soon be back A He will hurry to be back. by translators . They
t of view of the SL. It can be: Q obligatory: e.g. the time when translates as le m oment o [lit. the moment where ]; Q optional, though linked to preferred structures of the two languages: e.g. the reversal of point of view i n it is not difficult to show > il est facile de d montrer [lit. it is easy to show ]. Modulation is a procedure that is justified when, alth ough a literal, or even transposed, translation results in a grammatically correct utterance, it is considered unsuitable, unidiomatic or awkward in the TL . Vinay and Darbelnet place much store by modulation as the touchstone of a good translator , whereas tr ansposition simply shows a very good command of the target language . Modulation at the level of me
abstract< >concrete, or particular< >general: She can do no othe r > She cannot act differently; Give a pint of blood > Give a little blood explicative modulation, or effect< >cause: You re quite a stranger > We don t see you any more. whole< >part: He shut the door in my face > He shut the door in my no se part< >another part: He cleared his throat > He cleared his voice reversal of terms: You can have it > I ll give it to you negation of opposite: It does not seem unusual > It is very normal active< >passive: We are not allowed to access the internet > they don t allow us to access the internet
rethinking of intervals and limits in space and time: No p arking between signs > Limit of parking change of symbol (including fixed and new metaphors): En. He saw red [ he became very angry ]. Modulation therefore covers a wide range of phenomena. There is also often a process of originally free modulations b ecoming fixed expressions. One example given by Vinay an d Darbelnet (1995: 254) is Vous l avez chapp belle [lit. You have escaped beautifully ] > You ve had a narrow escape .
the same situation by different stylistic or structural means. quivalence is particularly useful in translating idioms and pr overbs. Adaptation: This involves changing the cultural reference w hen a situation in the source culture does not exist in the tar get culture. For example, Vinay and Darbelnet suggest that t he cultural connotation of a reference to the game of cricke t in an English text might be best translated into French by a reference to the Tour de France. The authors claim that a ref usal to use such adaptation in an otherwise perfectly correc t TT may still be noticeable by an undefinable tone, someth ing that does not sound quite right . However, whereas thei r solution may some restricted metaphorical uses, it would make little sens e to change the domain cricket to that of cycling in phrases s work for
