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WarmWarm- up activity

1. Question 1:
How old is translation?
- Answer: since the dawn of civilization

Page  2

2. Question 2:
When was the first dictionary created?
- Answer: 6000-10000 years ago

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3. Question 3:
What is the world's best selling and most
translated book of all time?
- Answer: the Bible

Page  4

4. Question 4:
What is the name of a special tower in the Bible?
- Answer: the Babel

Page  5

5. Question 5:
When was the first School of translators established?
- Answer: 12-13th century

Page  6

6. Question 6:
- What is the most popular religion in the world?
- Answer: Christianity

Page  7

FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION


TRANSLATING & INTERPRETING DIVISION

INTRODUCTION TO HISTORY OF

UNIT 1

TRANSLATION AND TRANSLATION


STUDIES

Translation Theory 1

CONTENTS
I. Definitions of Translation
II. Historical overview of Translation Practice
III. A Quick look at Translation Studies

Translation Theory 1

Page  9

I. Definitions of translation
The term TRANSLATION itself has several meanings:


The general subject field, the PRODUCT (the text that


has been translated)

The act of producing the translation, the PROCESS.

Translation Theory 1

Page  10

I. Definitions of translation
Translation is the replacement of textual material in one
language by equivalent textual material in another
language (Catford, 1965)

Translation Theory 1

Page  11

I. Definitions of translation
Translation
is
the replacement
of
a
representation of a text in one language by a
representation of another equivalent in a
second language. (Hartman & Stock - 1972)

Translation Theory 1

Page  12

I. Definitions of translation
Translation involves the rendering of a source language
(SL) text into the target language (TL) so as to ensure
that: (1) the surface meaning of the two will be
approximately similar and (2) the structure of the SL will
be preserved as closely as possible, but not so closely
that the TL structure will be seriously distorted (McGuire,
1980).

Translation Theory 1

Page  13

I. Definitions of translation
Translation is a craft consisting in the attempt to replace a
written message and/or statement in one language by
the same message and/or statement in another
language" (Newmark, 1981).

Translation Theory 1

Page  14

I. Definitions of translation
Translation consists in 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. (Nida & Taber- 1974)

Translation Theory 1

Page  15

I. Definitions of translation
Translation, consists of (1) studying lexicon, grammatical
structure, communication situation, cultural context of the
source language text, (2) analyzing it in order to determine
its meaning, and then (3) reconstructing this same meaning
using the lexicon and grammatical structure which are
appropriate in the receptor language and its cultural context
(Larson,1984)

Translation Theory 1

Page  16

I. Definitions of translation
Translation, as the process of conveying messages across
linguistic and cultural barriers, is an eminently
communicative activity, one whose use could well be
considered in a wider range of teaching situations than may
currently be the case (Tudor, in Duff - 1989)

Translation Theory 1

Page  17

II. Historical overview of Translation Practice


 Translation is one of the oldest occupations in the
world.
 One of the earliest dictionaries was discovered in the
ancient town of Ebla, in the Middle East, dating back
anywhere between 6,000 and 10,000 years

Page  18

1. Translating the Bible


 The history of translation begins with religion
 The Hebrew Bible was created around 1300 -300 B.C.
 In order to disperse the Bible to people who spoke languages other
than Hebrew, the original Hebrew text had to be recited and written
in different languages. Thus, several translations of the Bible
emerged.
 9th century: the beginning of Bible translation into English.
 The Bible is the most translated book in the world, having been
translated into over 2000 languages and dialects.

Page  19

2. Translation in the East Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism


 After the spread of Islam throughout the Middle East, North
Africa and Spain, the new Muslim empire undertook
ambitious programs of translating the classics, notably Greek
philosophy, astronomy and medicine.
 The sacred scriptures of Buddhism were translated from
Sanskrit into Chinese by the Buddhist monks and pilgrim to
India

Page  20

3. Translators opening the door to the Modern World


 12th 13th century: the most glorious period in the history of
translation, represented by the so-called Schools of
Translators of Toledo in Spain. The cultures of antiquity were
translated first into Latin and later into new languages of
Europe.
 The great discovery of the New World by Columbus and
other discoveries might have never occurred without the
transmission of knowledge and science that took place in
Toledo in those years.
 The Toledo school attracted translators from all parts of
Europe.

Page  21

4. Translation in the New World


 During the age of the Great Discoveries, interpreters became
bridge between the white people and other races.
 The great civilization of the ancient Maya and Central America
was made known to us through the translation into Spanish
 The conquerors looked down on native people whose language
and culture were considered worthless, and imposed their own
language, culture and religion on them.
 The European colonists who settled this continent had little need
for translation, and soon developed an insular attitude still
reflected to this day.

Page  22

5. The 20th century


 Translation in this century has seen some good times and
some bad times.
 As the twentieth century came to a close, two linguistic
phenomena became dominant.
- The first is the growing incursion of American English into
nearly all the languages of the world, mostly because of
American pop culture and high tech.
- The second is the reemergence of national languages
throughout the world.

Page  23

5. The 20th century


 Linguistic diversity as well as a growing influence of one
international language, namely English, should characterize
the beginning of the next century.
 As the twenty-first century begins to unfold, translators are
standing on the threshold of a new golden age for translation.
Translators play a critical role in shaping history and helping
civilization make the translation into the next age.

Page  24

III. Translation studies


1. Overview of Translation studies
2. A brief history
3. Scope of research

Translation Theory 1

Page  25

1. Overview of Translation Studies


 This discipline is now known as "translation studies", thanks to the Dutchbased US scholar James. S. Holmes. He describes this new discipline as
being concerned with "the complex of problems clustered round the
phenomenon of translating and translations".
 Translation studies has become prominent thanks to two factors: a
proliferation of specialized translating and interpreting courses at both
undergraduate and postgraduate level; and a proliferation of conferences,
books and journals on translation in many languages.
 From being a little-established field a relatively short time ago, translation
studies has now become one of the most active and dynamic new areas of
research

Translation Theory 1

Page  26

2. A brief history
 Although the practice of translating is long established, the study of the field
developed into an academic discipline only in the second half of the
twentieth century.
 In academic circles, translation was previously relegated to just a
language- learning activity.
 A split has persisted between translation practice and theory
 The study of translation began through such approaches as comparative
literature, translation workshops and contrastive analysis.

Translation Theory 1

Page  27

3. Scope of research
 James S. Homess The name and nature of translation
studies is considered to be the founding statement for the
field". Crucially, Holmes put forward an overall framework,
describing what translation studies covers. The objectives of
the "pure" areas of research are:
+ the description of the phenomena of translation (descriptive
translation theory);
+ the establishment of general principles to explain and
predict such phenomena (translation theory).

Page  28

3. Scope of research
 According to Newmark (1988), in a narrow sense: translation theory is
concerned with the translation method appropriately used for a certain
type of text.
 In a wider sense, translation theory is the body of knowledge about
translating.
 Translation theory includes the following things:
+ identify and define a translation problem
+ indicate all the factors that have to be taken into account in solving the
problem
+ list all the possible translation procedures
+ recommend the most suitable translation procedures, and the most
appropriate translation

Page  29

References:
 Morry, S. The translator's handbook. (1999). Maryland: Schreiber
Publishing
 Munday, J. (2008). Introducing Translation Studies (2nd ed). USA,
Canada: Routledge.
 Newmark, P. (1988). A Textbook of Translation. UK: Prentice Hall
International Ltd.

Page  30

LECTURE 1
INTRODUCTION TO TRANSLATION STUDIES
Key points
-

Various definitions of translation by different scholars


Important periods and factors in the history of translation
practice around the world
The development of translation studies as an independent
discipline

Already in the early 1980s Susan Bassnett (Translation Studies) stated in quite clear terms: No
introduction to Translation Studies could be complete without consideration of the discipline in
an historical perspective (1980, 39); and again, a few pages later: The history of Translation
should therefore be seen as an essential field of study for the contemporary theorist (1980, 75).
On the same lines,
Antoine Berman (1984, 12): The construction of a history of translation is the first task of a
modern theory of translation.
1. Definitions of translation
The term TRANSLATION itself has several meanings. It can refer to:
-

The general subject field, the PRODUCT (the text that has been translated)

The act of producing the translation, the PROCESS.

 The process of translation between 2 written languages involves the translator changing an
original written text (Source Text ST) into another written text (Target Text TT)
-

Translation is the replacement of textual material in one language by equivalent textual


material in another language (Catford, 1965)

Translation is the replacement of a representation of a text in one language by a


representation of another equivalent in a second language.
(Hartman & Stock - 1972)

Translation is the transformation of a speech product in one language into that of other
language keeping the content (or meaning) unchanged (L.S. Barkhudarov, 1975)

Translation involves the rendering of a source language (SL) text into the target language
(TL) so as to ensure that: (1) the surface meaning of the two will be approximately similar
and (2) the structure of the SL will be preserved as closely as possible, but not so closely that
the TL structure will be seriously distorted (McGuire, 1980).

Translation is a craft consisting in the attempt to replace a written message and/or statement
in one language by the same message and/or statement in another language" (Newmark,
1981).

Translation is the process of changing speech or writing from one language (the Source
Language) into another (the Target Language), or the target-language version that results
from this process (Richards et al - 1992)

Translation consists in 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. (Nida
& Taber- 1974)

Translation, then, consists of (1) studying lexicon, grammatical structure, communication


situation, cultural context of the source language text, (2) analyzing it in order to determine
its meaning, and then (3) reconstructing this same meaning using the lexicon and
grammatical structure which are appropriate in the receptor language and its cultural context
(Larson,1984).

2. Historical overview of Translation Core reading 1 Text 1 "The translator's handbook"


P.19 P.29
-

Translation is one of the oldest occupations in the world.

One of the earliest dictionaries was discovered in the ancient town of Ebla, in the Middle
East, dating back anywhere between 6,000 and 10,000 years, to the dawn of civilization.

2.1.

Translating the Bible

The history of translation begins with religion and eventually leads into secular culture.

The Hebrew Bible was created around 1000 years ago (1300 -300 B.C).

In order to disperse the Bible around the Middle East to people who spoke languages other
than Hebrew, the original Hebrew text had to be recited and written in different languages.
Thus, several translations of the Bible emerged.

9th century: the beginning of Bible translation into English.

The Bible is the most translated book in the world, having been translated into over 2000
languages and dialects.

2.2.
-

Translation in the East Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism


After the spread of Islam throughout the Middle East, North Africa and Spain, the new
Muslim empire undertook ambitious programs of translating the classics, notably Greek
philosophy, astronomy and medicine.

The sacred scriptures of Buddhism were translated from Sanskrit into Chinese by the Chinese
monks and pilgrim to India.

2.3.
-

Translators opening the door to the Modern World


12nd 13th century: the most glorious period in the history of translation, represented by the
so-called Schools of Translators of Toledo in Spain. The cultures of antiquity were translated
first into Latin and later into new languages of Europe.

The great discovery of the New World by Columbus and other discoveries might have never
occurred without the transmission of knowledge and science that took place in Toledo in
those years. The modern world as we know it today might not exist.

2.4.
-

The Toledo school attracted translators from all parts of Europe.


Translation in the New World
During the age of the Great Discoveries, interpreters became bridge between the white
people and other races.

The European colonists who settled this continent had little need for translation, and soon
developed an insular attitude still reflected to this day.

2.5.

The 20th century

Translation in this century has seen some good times and some bad times.

As the twentieth century came to a close, two linguistic phenomena became dominant. The
first is the growing incursion of American English into nearly all the languages of the world,
mostly because of American pop culture and high tech. The second is the reemergence of
national languages throughout the world.

What is clear at this time is that linguistic diversity as well as a growing influence of one
international language, namely English, should characterize the beginning of the next
century.

As the twenty-first century begins to unfold, translators are standing on the threshold of a
new golden age for translation. Translators play a critical role in shaping history and helping
civilization make the translation into the next age.

3. Translation Studies - Core reading 2 Text 2 " Introducing translation studies" P7-P9;
Core reading 3 Text 3 "A textbook of translation" P9 10
3.1. What is translation studies ?
-

In the English speaking world, this discipline is now generally known as "translation
studies", thanks to the Dutch-based US scholar James. S. Holmes. He describes this new
discipline as being concerned with "the complex of problems clustered round the
phenomenon of translating and translations".

Translation studies has become prominent thanks to two factors. Firstly, there has been a
proliferation of specialized translating and interpreting courses at both undergraduate and
postgraduate level. Secondly, there has also been a proliferation of conferences, books and
journals on translation in many languages. International organizations have also prospered.

From being a little-established field a relatively short time ago, translation studies has now
become one of the most active and dynamic new areas of research.
3.2. A brief history

Although the practice of translating is long established, the study of the field developed into
an academic discipline only in the second half of the twentieth century.

In academic circles, translation was previously relegated to just a language- learning activity.

A split has persisted between translation practice and theory

The study of translation began through such approaches as comparative literature, translation
workshops and contrastive analysis.
3.3.
-

Scope of research

According to Newmark (1988), in a narrow sense: translation theory is concerned with the
translation method appropriately used for a certain type of text.

In a wider sense, translation theory is the body of knowledge about translating.

Translation theory includes the following things:


+ identify and define a translation problem
+ indicate all the factors that have to be taken into account in solving the problem
+ list all the possible translation procedures

+ recommend the most suitable translation procedures, and the most appropriate translation

References:
Morry, S. The translator's handbook. (1999). Maryland: Schreiber Publishing
Munday, J. (2008). Introducing Translation Studies (2nd ed). USA, Canada: Routledge.
Newmark, P. (1988). A Textbook of Translation. UK: Prentice Hall International Ltd.

Case study 1:
The book "Charting the future of translation history" writes "In spite of the progress made so far, particularly
in keeping with current trends in the humanities and the social sciences, the history of translation is still
largely viewed essentially as the straightforward documenting of past translating practices and theories, how
these relate to the present, and how they can help us chart the course to the future. In this regard, translation
history is often appraised as a subdiscipline of translation studies, mainly secondary in nature, and
translation historians as mere archivists whose main task is to record and document the various trends and
discourses that hold sway within the ever-expanding discipline of translation studies (p45-46).
Discuss the idea in the above paragraph.
Case study 2:
The book "In other words" writes: "Throughout its long history, translation has never really enjoyed the kind
of recognition and respect that other professions such as medicine and engineering enjoy" (p2)
Do you agree or disagree with the above statement. Give reasons to support your view.

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