Translators are the shadow heroes of literature,
the often forgotten instruments that make it possible for different cultures to talk to one another, who have enabled us to understand that we all, from every part of the world, live in one world
Paul Auster
Communication is fundamental in our life. It promotes development in today’s global world. Translation enables people of different nations to understand each other, intensifies ideas and thoughts exchange and helps to acquire new knowledge and skills. It includes a number of skills and depends on a series of disciplines: linguistics, sociolinguistics, theories of communication, cultural anthropology, philology and psychology.
There exist different types of translation:
- religious translation (based on maintenance);
- art translation (based on language);
- translation of verses (based on the form of text);
- translation of the children’s literature (based on orientation to the addressee);
- translation of scientific work (based on the way of text use);
- translation of movies, etc.
Translation is a craft that promotes the transfer of the meaning from the source language message to the target. It requires training, practice and wishful thinking [4]. The hardships the translator encounters can be divided into:
a) lexical
- phraseological units;
- metaphors;
- idioms;
- semantic voids;
- proper names.
b) syntactic
- pragmatic aspects;
- word order;
- style;
- grammatical relations [1].
The higher the literary quality of the text, the more difficult it is to translate and translation may involve a certain loss [6]. To minimize it, the following set of rules should be taken into account:
- before starting the work a translator should understand what kind of text he is going to translate (it can be achieved by the analysis of the text. The translator should fully understand the sense and the meaning of the original text);
- choose vocabulary/collocations depending on the context;
- choose terminology to avoid difficulties in understanding (if unsure of the meaning of a word or phrase, always either check the meaning in a dictionary, with a native speaker or with the organization that requested the translation);
- sometimes the word order, syntax, and sentence structure should be changed to create an appropriate translation (you should always strive not only to convey meaning as precisely as possible, but also the tone, and make sure the translation reads well);
- choose the genre (for example, it would be extremely funny and highly improper to translate a detective novel in a scientific style, a fable in an adventure style or a poem in a prose, etc.);
- choose the target audience who will read your work [2, 3, 5, 7].
Thus translation encourages intercultural dialogue, reinforces cultural exchange and international cooperation. When one starts translating from one language to another, he should translate for the meaning rather than translate words, find the compromise between the original text and the language into which it is rendered, communicate the message in a culturally acceptable manner and keep the mood of the words.
References:
1. Miremadi S.A. Theories of translation and interpretation. Tehran: SAMT Publication. 1991.
2. Munday J. Introducing translation studies: theories and applications. London: Routledge, 2012. 384 p.
3. Nida E.A. Theories of translation. http://www.pliegosdeyuste.eu/n4pliegos/eugeneanida.pdf (accessed April 25, 2015).
4. Ordudari M. Good translation: art, craft, or science? // Translation journal Volume. 2008, Vol. 12, No. 1
5. Pym A. Exploring translation theories. London: Routledge, 2014. 192 p.
6. Readings in general translation theory http://www.bbt.se/Manuals/Readings%20in%20General%20Translation%20Theory%20%28EN%29.pdf (accessed April 25, 2015).
7. Venuti L. The translation studies reader. London: Routledge, 2012. 560 p.
