Unit 1 - Task 2 - Translation in Action

Katherine Duran 1.001.939.472

Marelvis Epalza cc.44.157.360
Julian Andres Lucumi
Laiza Alejandra Newball
Leidi Alejandra Ortega

Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia – UNAD

Escuela de Ciencias de la Educación – ECEDU
Licenciatura en Lenguas Extranjeras con énfasis en inglés – LiLEI
551037A_951 – Translation Techniques.
Uriel Dario Gonzalez Montoya
March , 2020.
Step 1: Annotated translation
JULIAN ANDRES LUCUMI

PART 1
They had been walking along Oxford Street. Now they stopped, Greg's hand on
her arm.
"This is the place,"he said."I thought you might get the sort of thing you liked here."
Helen nodded, but there were tears in her eyes as she looked through the shop-
window. The new hat had been his idea, not hers.
"What about the black one? “He pointed. “It would go with your suit!"
Her lips trembled. One of the little things she loved so much about him was the
really genuine interest he had always taken in what she wore. It had made you feel
young, somehow, loved, though in your heart you knew you were young no longer.
"Yes. Yes, it would, wouldn't it? “She carefully avoided meeting his eyes, because
there was so much in her own eyes that he must never see.
They went into the shop. A clerk appeared to wait on them.
Helen described the hat. It was in the window.
She was wishing now that they had never come into the shop. But Greg had been
insistent. He wanted to give her something. A parting gift, he had called it.
PARAGRAPH 1 TRANSLATED.
Ellos habían caminado por la calle Oxford Ahora, ellos se detuvieron, Greg la
cogió de la mano
"Este es el lugar," él dijo. "Pensé que podrías conseguir el tipo de cosas que te
gustaban aquí"
Helen movió su cabeza, pero había lágrimas en sus ojos a como ella miro la vitrina
El nuevo sombrero había sido su idea, no la de ella.
"Que tal el negro?", El señalo. "Iría bien con tu traje!"
Sus labios temblaron Una de las pequeñas cosas que amaba tanto de él era el
verdadero genuino interés que el siempre había puesto en lo ue ella usaba. te
había hecho sentir joven, de alguna manera, amada, sin embargo, en su corazón
tu sabias que ya no eras joven.
"Si" Si, Lo seria, ¿verdad? Ella cuidadosamente evito mirarlo a los ojos, porque
había tanto en sus propios ojos que él nunca debe ver
Ellos ingresaron en la tienda Un empleado apareció para atenderlos
Helen describió el sombrero. Estaba en la ventana.
Ella ahora estaba deseando que nunca hubieran entrado en la tienda. Pero Greg
había sido insistente El quería darle algo a ella. Un regalo de fiesta, lo había
llamado.
PROBLEMS FACED DURING THE TRANSLATION PROCESS:
Note 1. Generally speaking, there were some problems that were faced during the
translation process of the selected paragraph from the text Final Break. While
translating the text, I had the necessity to search for words in a dictionary in order
to get a meaning that was aligned to the context described in the text. Lexical-
semantic problems are typical to find in these situations, there are several reasons
behind (lack of vocabulary, poor synonyms and neoglims knowledge,), hence, they
affect semantic features and lexical networks. For instance, in the line number 2,
the utterance “Now they stopped, Greg's hand on her arm” seems to be basic a
simple, but their meaning is differing slightly from the target language meaning, so,
applying reformulation or equivalence as technique provided a close meaning.
Newmark (1991:10-12) writes of a continuum existing between "semantic" and
"communicative" translation. Any translation can be "more, or less semantic—
more, or less, communicative—even a particular section or sentence can be
treated more communicatively or less semantically." Both seek an "equivalent
effect."
Note 2. Moreover, gramatical use problems cannot be ignored since there were
cases where the structure sentence seemed to be basic and clear, but its meaning
was totally different having taking into account the context represented. Despite the
fact that is a language that It is supposed to be known by us, some utterances
required a deep analysis to be comprehended nor being extremely literal and lose
the focus and meaning of the sentence. For instance, the sentence “A Clerk
appeared to wait on them”. Evidently, the phrase alludes the fact that someone
provides attention to clients, however, for the sentences had a real meaning in the
target language, it was considered the use of one of the major translation methods,
which is “communicative”, the final result is as follows “Un empleado aparecio para
atenderlos”. This not affects the excat contextual meaning of the original, rather, it
keeps the meaning as well as the content making the text redible and
compressible. Naturalization, which is the technique used, adapts the SL word first
to the normal pronunciation, then to the normal morphology of the TL. (Newmark,
1988b:82)
Note 3. Despite the fact that is a language that It is supposed to be known by us,
some utterances required a deep analysis to be comprehended nor being
extremely literal and lose the focus and meaning of the sentence. That is the
reason why literal translation technique was sometimes rejected and hardly
applied. On occasions, there are words that are joined forming complex terms
being not easy to understand and some solutions come up with were to search for
words that best represent the message. The use of transposition as translation
technique was employed It was required to move from one gramatical category to
another without altering the meaning of a particular phrase. A clear example is the
sentence “It would go with your suit!”. That translation technique involves a
change in the grammar from SL to TL, for instance, (i) change from singular to
plural, (ii) the change required when a specific SL structure does not exist in the
TL, (iii) change of an SL verb to a TL word, change of an SL noun group to a TL
noun and so forth. (Newmark, 1988b:86)
Note 4. Sum up, translating a text is a challenge translator frequently face and
some strategies need developing and put into practice to achieve the expected
results in terms of meaning, content and comprehension. Also, as It is known, a
simple translation process may imply several techniques , methods and strategies
since It is sometimes difficult for the translator to find the suitable phrases and
words that match with the desired meaning in the target language, therefore, a high
knowledge and comprehension of sentence structure patterns, semantic and
grammar rules is essential apart from other aspects that are important to be taken
into account when it refers to shift to one language to another one.
LEIDY ALEJANDRA ORTEGA

Final Break by Ian S. Thompson

PART 2
He was smiling now out of blue, untroubled eyes. Which surprised her. And yet
why should it, she asked herself, as she took the hat from the clerk and placed it
on her blue-gray hair?
She had always tried to be modern, and part of modernity was to see these things
through bravely, when and if they came.
Her mind turned back. And she saw herself in the hat shop mirror, not as someone
in a black tailored suit, but as a bride. Smiling, radiant, on Greg's arm. At least they
had said she had looked like that. She had never thought of it, never cared. She
had been so completely, so blindly happy.
Five minutes later they were out again in the sunshine of the street and Greg, after
looking at his watch, suggested tea.
"I know a place-" There was an expression of excitement in his eyes which she
could not understand. "You'll like it there."
It was a small, very ordinary café in one of the side streets off Oxford Street. He
ordered for them both, and then leaned back.
PARAGRAPH 2 TRANSLATED.
El a hora sonríe con sus ojos azules oscuros, lo que la sorprendió. Ella sin
embargo pregunto ¿porque debería ir? tomo el sombrero del empleado y lo coloco
en su cabello gris azulado ella siempre ha tratado de ser moderna, y parte de su
modernidad fue ver estas cosas con valentía cuando y si llegaban. su mente volvió
y se vio al espejo de la sombrera, no como alguien de traje negro si no como una
novia sonriente, radiante, en el brazo de Greg´s.
al menos habían dicho que ella se veía así ella nunca había pensando eso nunca
le importo.
ella había sido tan completa, tan ciegamente feliz. 5 minutos tarde salieron de
nuevo al sol de la calle y Greg, después de mirar el reloj, sugirió una tea. "conozco
un lugar" había una expresión en sus ojos que ella no podía entender te gusta allí
era una café pequeño, muy común en una de las calles laterales de la calle Oxford
el ordeno para los dos y luego aprendió de nuevo.
CRITICAL COMMENTARY ON THE ENGLISH-SPANISH TRANSLATION OF
FINAL BREAK BY IAN S. THOMPSON.
Nota 1
During the translation of the text I could find difficulties such as unknown words in
my dialect for which I had in mind the following expression
Delisle et al. (1999), where fidelity is defined as a property of the translation that,
according to the translator's intention, respects the prescription assumed meaning
of the source text as much as possible and conforms to the appropriate uses of the
target language. for which use an eraser to find the best possible structure giving
meaning to the text.
Note 2
In the translation of the text in line number 2
And yet why should I do it? She wondered as he took the clerk's hat and placed it
on his blue-gray hair
I came across this phrase that I found difficult to translate word for word. For which
I used the classification of Vinay and Darbelnet’s (SCFA) (1958) that makes a
classification of translation techniques with a methodological purpose.
Note 3
In line number 3 (her mind turned back) when translating it word by word I did not
make sense since it was her mind-transformed-back) for which I used the voiture
techniques? Mallblanc (1968) changed the reinforcement of Vinay and Darbelnet’s
as the inversion and changes of words that as a purpose I kept his mind returned.
Note 4
in the text we can find different difficulties as well as (SL and TT). For which it is
important to have a basic draft to find the environment and the situation that gives
purpose to the text, for which it is important to have basic texts of the translation
techniques exposed by the different authors.
MARELVIS EPALZA

Final Break by Ian S. Thompson

PART 3
He didn't speak, but his hand came out across the table and took hers.
"Please, God, don't let me cry," she prayed. "Not now. Not so long as he's with
me." The tea arrived. He drank one cup quickly, lit himself a cigarette, and then
said:
"You're quite certain that you want to stay on in that house alone? I mean- well, I
feel rather badly about the whole thing, and if there's anything I could do-" There
was one thing, but it would have been hysterical weakness to have suggested it.
She shook her head. She didn't want him to have any feelings of regret, any pains
of conscience. It had been wonderful having him for all those years. of conscience.
It had been wonderful having him for all those years.
"No, really," she said. "It'll be all right."
But he still didn't seem satisfied.
"There's another thing I'd like to mention," he said. "I didn't say anything about it
before because I know- well, I know how sensitive you are about that sort of thing-"
He broke off and then went hurriedly on, his eyes avoiding hers. "It's money. I've
arranged with the bank...
PARAGRAPH 3 TRANSLATED.
Él no habló, pero su mano se extendió sobre la mesa y tomó la de ella. "Por favor,
Dios, no me dejes llorar", oró. "Ahora no. No mientras él esté conmigo." Llegó el
té. Se bebió una taza rápidamente, se encendió un cigarrillo y luego dijo: "¿Estás
bastante seguro de que quieres quedarte solo en esa casa? Quiero decir ... bueno,
me siento bastante mal por todo el asunto, y si hay algo Podría hacer ... Había una
cosa, pero habría sido una debilidad histérica haberla sugerido. Ella sacudió su
cabeza. No quería que él tuviera ningún sentimiento de arrepentimiento, ningún
dolor de conciencia. Había sido maravilloso tenerlo durante todos esos años. "No,
de verdad", dijo. "Estará todo bien." Pero todavía no parecía satisfecho. "Hay otra
cosa que me gustaría mencionar", dijo. "No dije nada al respecto antes porque
sé… bueno, sé lo sensible que eres acerca de ese tipo de cosas…" Se interrumpió
y luego siguió apresuradamente, evitando los ojos de ella. "Es dinero. Lo he
arreglado con el banco ..."
CRITICAL COMMENTARY ON THE ENGLISH-SPANISH TRANSLATION OF
FINAL BREAK BY IAN S. THOMPSON.
Note 1
Generally, the translator faces six types of problems: lexical-semantic,
grammatical, syntactic, rhetorical, pragmatic and cultural (localization). At the
moment of starting with the translation of the text chosen by me, the first thing I did
was try to interpret the idea in a general way to locate the starting point of the
translation. in line number 4 "There was one thing, but it would have been
hysterical weakness to have suggested it." A rhetorical problem arose since at the
time of translating the phrase it said "it would have been a hysterical weakness" I
did not take into account that this phrase was a metaphor. Newmark (1991:10-12)
writes of a continuum existing between "semantic" and "communicative"
translation. Any translation can be "more, or less semantic—more, or less,
communicative—even a particular section or sentence can be treated more
communicatively or less semantically."
Note 2
Antich de León expresses that the only easily recognizable use of the verb form
ending in –ing is the one used with the verb -to be, equivalent to the Spanish
construction "estar" followed by the gerund. However, in line 6 “It had been
wonderful having him for all those years. of conscience. It had been wonderful
having him for all those years”. The verb "having” (teniendo), the wrong translation
that I committed is to have forgotten that the gerund has varieties of use and in this
case, it works as an infinitive.

Note 3
In line 6 "I feel rather badly about the whole thing," the term "rather" at the time of
translating it into Spanish says "enough" that is to say, the sentence translates "I
feel rather badly". I think that the use of compensation was Wrong since I had to go
to the main text to be able to capture it without changing the meaning of the text.
LAIZA ALEJANDRA NEWBALL

PART 4
The color came at once to her cheeks. Not because of any false pride. That was a
luxury you couldn't afford if you had no one to support you. But- "Oh, Greg, you
shouldn't," she said with embarrassment.
He brushed that aside. Angrily almost.
"Why not? It's something I want to do. And Sandra-" He mentioned the girl's
name- "She agrees. We were talking about it last night."
Sandra.... We.... How easily, familiarly, he spoke of her. Helen thought with an
ache.
And yet two months ago they hadn't even met. Two months.... Was it really only
that
time since he'd gone up to London on that business trip?
She had realized, of course, after he came back, that there was something,
although
he hadn't actually said a word then. Some deep-rooted woman's instinct had
warned
her that he wasn't all hers any longer, that she was sharing him with someone else.
A girl. Young, fresh, and lovely. The imagined picture had filled her with a sense of
panic. He had changed his job for a better one and gone up to live in London. For a
month she hadn't seen him. And she had never met the girl.

PARAGRAPH 4 TRANSLATED.
El color llegó inmediatamente a sus mejillas. No por un orgullo falso Ese era un
lujo que no podía permitirse si no tenía a nadie que lo apoyara. Pero- "Oh, Greg,
no deberías", dijo con vergüenza. Lo dejó a un lado. Casi con rabia. "¿Por qué
no? Es algo que quiero hacer. Y Sandra-" Mencionó el nombre de la chica- "Ella
está de acuerdo. Nosotros estuvimos hablando sobre eso anoche." Sandra....
Nosotros.... Qué fácil, familiarmente, él hablaba de ella. Helen pensó con un dolor.
Y, sin embargo, hace dos meses ni siquiera se conocían. Dos meses.... ¿Fue
realmente sólo esa vez desde que se fue a Londres en ese viaje de negocios? Ella
se había dado cuenta, por supuesto, después de que él regresó, que había algo,
aunque en realidad no había dicho una palabra entonces. El instinto de una mujer
muy arraigada le había advertido que ya no era todo suyo, que lo estaba
compartiendo con otra persona. Una chica. Joven, fresca y preciosa. La imagen
imaginada la había llenado de una sensación de pánico. Él había cambiado su
trabajo por uno mejor y se había ido a vivir a Londres. Hacía un mes que no lo
veía. Y ella nunca había conocido la chica.
KATHERIN PAOLA DURAN
Final Break by Ian S. Thompson
PART 5
Sandra... She worked in the advertising business; he had told her. And very clever.
But that didn't matter to Helen. When you have loved somebody with every part of
you, you did not think of cleverness in considering that younger person to whom
you were losing him.
Was she really nice? Would she work to keep him happy as you had tried to do?
But Sandra...The name had a sharp quality. You couldn't imagine a girl with a
name like that being- Helen's eyes were drawn to a girl who had just walked into
the café, who was looking around hesitantly- well like that, for instance. Then the
girl turned. She was beautiful, with a shy, sweet loveliness that caught at your
heart. Helen stayed, quite unconscious that she was staring. And then her eyes
widened in surprise as she saw Greg rise to his feet. The girl was hurrying towards
their table.
"So, you were able to get here, darling!" She heard Greg's voice and then he had
turned, was smiling down at her. "A little surprise," he said. "This is Sandra,
Mother. Tomorrow's happy bride!"
PARAGRAPH 5 TRANSLATED.
Sandra… Trabajaba en el ámbito publicitario, le había dicho. Y muy inteligente.
Pero eso no le importaba a Helen. Cuando has llegado a amar a alguien con cada
parte de ti, no pensaste en la inteligencia al considerar a aquella joven por la cual
ahora lo estabas perdiendo.
¿Realmente era tan agradable? ¿Se esforzaría en mantenerlo feliz, así como tú lo
habías intentado hacer?
Pero Sandra... El nombre tenía una cualidad cortante. No podrías imaginarte a una
muchacha con un nombre como ese - Los ojos de Hellen se sintieron atraídos por
una chica que acababa de entrar en el café, que miraba a su alrededor
titubeantemente. - Bueno, así, por ejemplo.
Entonces la chica se volteó. Era hermosa, con una tímida y dulce belleza que te
atrapaba el corazón. Helen permaneció en la misma posición, totalmente
inconsciente de que estaba mirándola. Sus ojos se abrieron con sorpresa cuando
vio a Greg ponerse de pie. La chica se apresuró hacia su mesa.
"¡Así que pudiste venir, querida!" Oyó la voz de Greg y entonces él se había
volteado, estaba sonriéndole. "Una pequeña sorpresa," dijo. "Ella es Sandra,
Mamá"
¡La feliz novia de mañana! “i
CRITICAL COMMENTARY ON THE ENGLISH-SPANISH TRANSLATION OF
FINAL BREAK BY IAN S. THOMPSON.
FROM THE FIRST TO THE DEFINITY RENDERING
The preparation of the target text (TT) started out with an initial rendering meant to
capture the gist and the tone of the source text as spontaneously as possible by
drawing on the effect felt when first reading it. In order to achieve a more accurate
translation, I considered it necessary to read the source text several times in order
to internalize the situation and context in order to improve the writing of the text to
be translated.

Note 1
During the translation of the text, I was able to encounter various difficulties. Within
the first line of the source text, I found an expression (ST, line 1 word: “advertising
business”) that literally translated into the target language it was difficult to
understand and sound unnatural, so I used the technique introduced by Nida
(1964) with reference to naturalization. This technique consists of finding the
closest natural equivalent to the message of the source language. For that reason,
instead of literally translating “Trabajaba en el negocio de la publicidad” I decided
to do it as follows: “Trabajaba en el ámbito publicitario.”
Note 2
In the third line of the text (Source text, first paragraph line 3) I found a sentence
that I struggled a lot translating literally into the target language, especially
because of the stylistics found in this literary text. For that reason, to improve the
translation into the Spanish language I managed to apply the SCFA procedures
specifically the Addition (this corresponds to SCFA’s explicitation) in order to
amplify the implicit elements.
This paragraph translated literally into the target language will be: “Cuando has
amado a alguien con cada parte de ti, no pensaste en la inteligencia al considerar
a esa persona más joven por la que lo estabas perdiendo.” (TT, line 3) Talking into
account what I mentioned before I made the adjustments and it ended in this way:
“Cuando has llegado a amar a alguien con cada parte de ti, no pensaste en la
inteligencia al considerar a aquella joven por la cual ahora lo estabas perdiendo”.
(TT, line 3)
Note 3
A few translation problems only surfaced as such during the translation process. A
good example of this is “But Sandra...The name had a sharp quality” (ST, line 6)
where “sharp quality” initially posed no problem. However, when translating, it
became apparent that, although “agudo” and “afilado” are conceptual equivalents
for “sharp quality”, both sounded strange and didn’t coincide with the context of the
situation.
It then became clear that I needed to find another word in the target language that
fits with the text, that’s why I decided to use the word “cortante” as a description of
the woman’s name.
In this situation I applied the procedure of particularization (by Vinay and
Darbelnet’s SCFA), changing the general term for a specific one keeping the same
idea.
To conclude, the translation process requires a lot of concentration and knowledge
of both languages (SL and TT). Along the way, we will find different situations that
can become a barrier and delay the translation process, but in the end, it is
important to remember that if we have extensive knowledge about the different
techniques, methods as well as experiences shared by the different translators, we
can acquire the necessary skills and do an excellent job.
STEP 2: COMPARATIVE CHART
TRANSLATION TECHNIQUE. TRANSLATION METHOD. TRANSLATION STRATEGY.
Translation technique can be defined Translation method refers to the way a particular Strategies are the procedures (conscious or
as a set or amount of procedures that translation process is carried out in terms of the unconscious, verbal or nonverbal)
are used for sentences and smaller translator’s objective. used by the translator to solve problems that
units of language within that text. (Hurtado Albir 1996, 1999). Strategies are the emerge when carrying out the
Such procedures are applied by procedures (conscious or unconscious, verbal or translation process with a particular objective
translators when they need to develop non-verbal) that the translator uses to solve in mind. It also involves plans or tasks for
pan equivalence for the purpose of problems that arise when performing the translation choosing the text to be translated and coming
transferring elements of meaning from process with a particular goal in mind. (e.g. up with procedures to translate it. All of this
the source text to the target text. paraphrasing, re-translating, saying aloud, avoiding is determined by the translating situation.
Sometimes, a single translation is a words close to the
cluster of applied procedures that is original)
difficult to discern.
Translation method is the whole used
in the text in general, that is, this can
be:
- word by word
-literal translation
-semantic translation
-apdacion
-free translation
-communicative translation
 Transposition It’s getting dark
> comienza a oscurecer
 Modulation sleep by the fire >
sentarse junto a la chimenea
 Adaptation Yours ever > Le
saluda atentamente
 For example translate word by
word. (the Red dress)
 Free method: like father, like son (De tal  Distinguish main and secondary ideas
palo tal astilla)  Paraphrase
 Literal: “We use the latest technology to  Retranslate
provide the best service to our clients.”  Avoid words
“Usamos la última tecnología para ofrecer
el mejor servicio a nuestros clientes.”
Example:
Paraphrasing as a strategy will
necessarily lead to using an amplification
technique. The result may be a discursive
creation, an equivalent established
expression, an adaptation, etc.

REFERENCES:
 Jaaskelainen, R., (2005). Translation studies: what are they? Retrieved November 11, 2006 from
http://www.hum.expertise.workshop.
 Venuti, L. (1998). Strategies of translation. In M. Baker (Ed.), Encyclopedia of translation studies (pp. 240-244). London and New
York: Routledge.
 Krings, H.P. (1986). Translation problems and translation strategies of advanced German learners of French. In J. House, & S. Blum-
Kulka (Eds.), Interlingual and intercultural communication (pp. 263-75). Tubingen: Gunter Narr.
 Newmark, P. (1988a). A Textbook of Translation. Hertfordshire: Prentice Hall.
 3. Bergen, D. (n. d.). Translation strategies and the students of translation. Jorma Tommola, 1, 109-125. Retrieved July 21, 2010,
from http://www.hum.utu.fi/oppiaineet/englantilailentilologia/exambergen.pdf