Peculiarities of psycho-linguistic classification of translation

MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND EDUCATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN

COLLEGE OF FOREIGH LANGUAGES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

psycho-linguistic classification of translation

 

 

                               Course Paper

 

 

 

 

 

                                                         Student: Aizhan Mendybayeva

                              Group: PD-37 

                                                              Supervisor: Ramilya N.Abdullina

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONTENTS

 

 

INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………3

 

Chapter I: HISTORY AND CLASSIFICATIONS OF TRANSLATIONS……….5

1.1. History of translation………………………………………………………….5

1.2. Psycholinguistic Classification Translation……………………………….....16

 

 

Chapter II: Peculiarities of psycho-linguistic classification of translation………..…………………………………………………….21

2.1. Peculiarities of psycho-linguistic classification of translation……………….21

2.2. Linguistic peculiarities of simultaneous translation……………………….…23

2.3. Peculiarities of written translation…………………………………………... 26

 

 

CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………...34

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………...………………………………………36

 

APPENDIX

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION

 

The theme of course paper is psycho-linguistic classification of translation. 

The actuality of the chosen theme is now important to know and study the classification of translation, because this classification of translation is the most common and popular in sphere of translation. And every translator must fully know it.  Each high-quality and well-educated translator has skillfully and efficiently use their knowledge and apply them when he wants.

When you stop and think about it, everything in life is translation. We translate our feelings into actions. When we put anything into words, we translate our thoughts. Every physical action is a translation from one state to another. Translating from one language into another is only the most obvious form of an activity which is perhaps the most common of all human activities.

This maybe the reason people usually take translation for granted, as something that does not require any special effort, and at the same time, why translation is so challenging and full of possibilities. There is nothing easy or simple about translation, even as there is nothing easy or simple about any human activity. It only looks easy because you are used to doing it. Anyone who is good at a certain activity can make it appear easy, even though, when we pause to think, we realize there is nothing easy about it. Translation in the formal sense deals with human language, the most common yet the most complex and hallowed of human functions. Language is what makes us who we are.

Language can work miracles. Language can kill, and language can heal. Transmitting meaning from one language to another brings people together, helps them share each other's culture, benefit from each other's experience, and makes them aware of how much they all have in common.  The conditions of oral translation impose a number of important restrictions on the translator's performance. Here the interpreter receives a fragment of the original only once and for a short period of time. His translation is also a one-time act with no possibility of any return to the original or any subsequent corrections. This creates additional problems and the users have sometimes to be content with a lower level of equivalence. These days, it is important to know the types of translations, it is necessary.

Subject of course paper is to describe of: psycho-linguistic classifications of translation.

The object of course paper is: to consider all kinds and types of psycho-linguistic classifications of translation.

Purpose of course paper is: to consider and examine all classifications of the psycho-linguistic classification of translation.

Aims of the course paper are:

-to study of literature and examples of each type of translation;

-to study of the terminology;

-to examine types of psycholinguistic classification;

-to consider and examine all the methods psycho-linguistic classifications of translation;

-to consider each type of translation as a single;

Methods of course paper are: theoretical analysis, selection of methods and techniques the translator in this classification of translation.

Course papers consist of introduction, 2 chapters, conclusions, bibliography and appendixes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter I: 1.1. History of translation

 

When we talk about the history of translation, we should think of the theories and names that emerged at its different periods. In fact, each era is characterized by specific changes in translation history, but these changes differ from one place to another. For example, the developments of translation in the western world are not the same as those in the Arab world, as each nation knew particular incidents that led to the birth of particular theories. So, what are the main changes that marked translation history in both the West and the Arab world?

Translation in the western world

For centuries, people believed in the relation between translation and the story of the tower of Babel in the Book of Genesis. According to the Bible, the descendants of Noah decided, after the great flood, to settle down in a plain in the land of Shinar. There, they committed a great sin. Instead of setting up a society that fits God's will, they decided to challenge His authority and build a tower that could reach Heaven. However, this plan was not completed, as God, recognizing their wish, regained control over them through a linguistic stratagem. He caused them to speak different languages so as not to understand each other. Then, he scattered them allover the earth. After that incident, the number of languages increased through diversion, and people started to look for ways to communicate, hence the birth of translation [Abdessalam Benabdelali, p.56, 2006].

Actually, with the birth of translation studies and the increase of research in the domain, people started to get away from this story of Babel, and they began to look for specific dates and figures that mark the periods of translation history. Researchers mention that writings on translation go back to the Romans. Eric Jacobson claims that translating is a Roman invention [see McGuire: 1980] Cicero and Horace (first century BC) were the first theorists who distinguished between word-for-word translation and sense-for-sense translation. Their comments on translation practice influenced the following generations of translation up to the twentieth century.

Another period that knew a changing step in translation development was marked by St Jerome (fourth century BC). "His approach to translating the Greek Septuagint Bible into Latin would affect later translations of the scriptures." [Munday, 2001]

Later on, the translation of the Bible remained subject to many conflicts between western theories and ideologies of translation for more than a thousand years.

Moreover, these conflicts on Bible translation were intensified with the coming of the Reformation in the sixteenth century, when "translation came to be used as a weapon in both dogmatic and political conflicts as nation states began to emerge and the centralization of the Church started to weaken evidence in linguistic terms by the decline of Latin as a universal language." [McGuire, 1980]

Needless to say that the invention of printing techniques in the fifteenth century developed the field of translation and helped in the appearance of early theorists. For instance, Etienne Dolet, whose heretic mistranslation of one of Plato's dialogues, the phrase "rien du tout" (nothing at all) that showed his disbelief in immortality, led to his execution.

The seventeenth century knew the birth of many influential theorists such as Sir John Denhom , Abraham Cowley , John Dryden , who was famous for his distinction between three types of translation; metaphase, paraphrase and imitation, and Alexander Pope .

In the eighteenth century, the translator was compared to an artist with a moral duty both to the work of the original author and to the receiver. Moreover, with the enhancement of new theories and volumes on translation process, the study of translation started to be systematic; Alexander Frayer Tayler's volume Principles of Translation is a case in point.

The nineteenth century was characterized by two conflicting tendencies; the first considered translation as a category of thought and saw the translator as a creative genius, who enriches the literature and language into which he is translating, while the second saw him through the mechanical function of making a text or an author known.

This period of the nineteenth century knew also the enhancement of Romanticism, the fact that led to the birth of many theories and translations in the domain of literature, especially poetic translation. An example of these translations is the one used by Edward Fitzgerald for Rubaiyat Omar Al-Khayyam.

In the second half of the twentieth century, studies on translation became an important course in language teaching and learning at schools. What adds to its value is the creation of a variety of methods and models of translation. For instance, the grammar-translation method studies the grammatical rules and structures of foreign languages. The cultural model is also a witness for the development of translation studies in the period. It required in translation not only a word-for-word substitution, but also a cultural understanding of the way people in different societies think. With this model, we can distinguish between the ethnographical-semantic method and the dynamic equivalent method.

Another model that appears in the period is text-based translation model, which focuses on texts rather than words or sentences in translation process. This model includes a variety of sub-models: the interpretative model, the text linguistic model and models of translation quality assessments that in turn provide us with many models such as those of Riess, Wilss, Koller, House, North and Hulst.

The period is also characterized by pragmatic and systematic approach to the study of translation. The most famous writings and figures that characterize the twenties are those of Jean-Paul Vinay and Darbelnet, who worked on a stylistic comparative study of French and English, Alfred Malblanc, George Mounin, John C. Catford. , Eugene Nida , who is affected by the Chomskyan generative grammar in his theories of translation, De Beau grand who writes a lot about translation, and many others who worked and still work for the development of the domain.

Nowadays, translation research started to take another path, which is more automatic. The invention of the internet, together with the new technological developments in communication and digital materials, has increased cultural exchanges between nations. This leads translators to look for ways to cope with these changes and to look for more practical techniques that enable them to translate more and waste less. They also felt the need to enter the world of cinematographic translation, hence the birth of audiovisual translation. The latter technique, also called screen translation, is concerned with the translation of all kinds of TV programs, including films, series, and documentaries. This field is based on computers and translation software programs, and it is composed of two methods: dubbing and subtitling. In fact, audiovisual translation marks a changing era in the domain of translation.

In short, translation has a very wide and rich history in the West. Since its birth, translation was the subject of a variety of research and conflicts between theorists. Each theorist approaches it according to his viewpoint and field of research, the fact that gives its history a changing quality.

Translation in the Arab world

The early translations used in Arabic are dated back to the time of Syrians (the first half of the second century AD), who translated into Arabic a large heritage that belongs to the era of paganism; Syrians were influenced in their translations by the Greek ways of translation. Syrian's translations were more literal and faithful to the original According to Addidaoui, Jarjas was one of the best Syrian translators; his famous Syrian translation of Aristotle's book In The World was very faithful and close to the original.

Additionally, the time of the prophet Mohamed (peace is upon him) is of paramount importance for translation history. The spread of Islam and the communication with non-Arabic speaking communities as Jews, Romans and others pushed the prophet to look for translators and to encourage the learning of foreign languages. One of the most famous translators of the time is Zaid Ibnu Thabet, who played a crucial role in translating letters sent by the prophet to foreign kings of Persia, Syria, Rome and Jews, and also letters sent by those kings to the prophet.

Another era that knew significant changes in Arabic translation was related to the translation of the Holy Koran. According to Ben Chakroun [p.458, 2002], the early translators of the Koran focused on its meaning. Salman El Farisi, for instance, translated the meaning of Surat Al Fatiha for Persian Muslims, who didn't speak Arabic. Ben Chakroun states that Western libraries still preserve many translations of the Koran, and that some of them such as the Greek translation of the philosopher Naktis belong to the third century (BC). Besides, the Holy Koran received a special interest from the translators. It was translated into Persian by Sheikh Mohamed Al-Hafid Al-Boukhari and into Turkish language by Sheikh Al-Fadl Mohamed Ben Idriss Al-Badlissi.

Despite the proliferation of the Koran translations, this matter was and is still the point of many debates and conflicts in the Arab world. An example of these conflicts occurs after the translation of the Koran into Turkish language by the Turkish government in the time of Mustapha Kamal Ataturk. The latter aimed to use the translation instead of the original book as a way to spread secularism in the Islamic country. This led to a wave of criticism from Arab intellectuals, journalists and muftis.

Besides, the core of the conflicts that existed and still exist in the translation of Koran is related to the reason behind translation itself, i.e., whether to use the translation as a way to teach the principles of Islam or to use it in praying and legislation was the difficult choice that faced translators. In general, translation of Koran knows various changes, the fact that led to the creation of special committees that took the responsibility of translating it in a way that preserves it from falsification.

Another era that knows important developments in the Arab translation is that of 'the first Abbasid period’. Translation knew an enhancement with the Caliph Al-Mansour, who built the city of Baghdad, and was also developed in the time of the Caliph Al-Ma'moun, who built 'Bait Al Hikma', which was the greatest institute of translation at the time. During the period translators focused on Greek philosophy, Indian science and Persian literature

The Arab history of translation is also characterized by the name of Al-Jahid one of the greatest theorists in translation. His theories and writings in the domain of translation are still used today by many professional Arab translators. According to Al-Jahid, "the translator should know the structure of the speech, habits of the people and their ways of understanding each other."

In addition to his insistence on the knowledge of the structure of the language and the culture of its people, Al-Jahid talked too much about the importance of revision after translation. In brief, Al-Jahid puts a wide range of theories in his two books Al-Hayawān and Al-Bayān Wa Attabayyun.

Further, the Egyptian scholar Mona Baker distinguished between two famous methods in Arab translation; the first belongs to Yohana Ibn Al- Batriq and Ibn Naima Al-Himsi, and is based on literal translation, that is, each Greek word was translated by its equivalent Arabic word, while the second refers to Hunayn Ibn Ishaq Al-Jawahiri and is based on sense-for-sense translation as a way to create fluent target texts that preserve the meaning of the original.

Nowadays, Arab translations know many changes. The proliferation of studies in the domain helps in the development of translation and the birth of new theorists. Translation in the Arab world also benefits from the use of computers, digital materials and the spread of databases of terminologies that offer translators a considerable number of dictionaries. This has led to the creation of many associations of translation like 'the committee of Arab translators' in Saudi-Arabia and many others. However, in comparing the number of translated books by Arab translators with those of westerners, we feel that the gap between them is still wide, as the translations used by Arabs since the time of Al-Ma'moun up to now do not exceed ten thousand books, which is less than what Spain translates in one year

In short, the history of translation in the Arab world is marked by many changes and events. Since its early beginnings with Syrians, translation knew the birth of many theorists who sited up the basis of Arabic translation and theories. In fact, it is in religious discourse where Arabic translation reaches its peak. For the translation of Koran received much interest from Arab translators. Today, translation in the Arab world knows a sort of progression, especially with its openness to Western theories and theorists, but it is still suffering from many problems and difficulties.

To sum up, translation history is rich in inventions and theories. Each era is characterized by the appearance of new theorists and fields of research in translation. It is true that the western history of translation is larger and rich in proportion to that of the Arabs, but we should not deny that the translation history of the latter started to develop year by year, especially with the great efforts of Arabic academia in the domain.

The Renaissance has been termed "the great age of translations." The rise of Humanism inspired translators from various European countries to translate many texts, especially those of the ancients. England in the early 16th century lagged far behind the Continent in the production of translations: by 1528, for example, Xenophon, Suetonius, Sallust, Thucydides, and Caesar were all readily-available in French; English translations would come only later.

Nicholas Grimshaw, in his 1558 preface to his English translation of Cicero focused on this phenomenon, criticizing the English for not having done for their country what "Italians, Frenchmenne, Spaniards, Dutchmen and other foreigns have liberally done for theirs."1 Henry Billinglsey stated, in the preface to his 1570 translation of Euclid, that he hoped that his translation would "excite and stirre up others learned, to do the like... By means whereof, our English tongue shall no lesse be enriched with good Authors, then are other strange tongues: as the Dutch, French, Italian and Spanish: in which are red all good authors in a manner, found amongst the Greeks or Latinas."

Latin was the reigning universal intellectual language of the day, and the best means of having a text read throughout Europe; for those who wrote in such languages as Flemish, Dutch, or Czech, Latin was almost indispensable in the spreading of texts. If the authors were not fluent in Latin, they hired translators or arranged to have the hiring done by their publishers. Translating a work from a foreign tongue into one's vernacular was seen by many as a noble challenge and a contribution to a national literature. Translation as a phenomenon was so esteemed and widespread during the 16th century that the printer Etienne Dolet's La manière de bien traduire d'une langue en alter served not only as a manual on how to translate but also as a sign of the times. Castiglione's The Courtier, for example was first published in Italian in 1528. Latin, French, and German translations were already published when Sir Thomas Hobby, declaring that it was his duty to his fellow countrymen to make available in English so useful and learned a guide, translated Castiglione into English in 1561. English translations gradually increased; indeed, "a study of Elizabethan translations is a study of the means by which the Renaissance came to England."

Translations from other Greek texts appeared in England during the English Renaissance, but some were based on translations of translations (e.g. North's Plutarch translated from French into English); others were translated from the original Greek, but generally into Latin, the universal scholarly language. Translations of Plato were practically non-existent in the Middle Ages.

Fifteenth century Italy saw a great revival of interest in Greek texts and translations, fueled by a proliferation of new manuscripts from the East, and culminating in the great Greek printed editions of Aldus Manutius in Venice between 1495 and 1515. England's growing interest in Greek texts derived largely from travel in and trade with Italy. While Manutius produced in 1513 a magnificent Greek text of Plato's works, it was two French Protestant refugees that achieved the most influential translation of the century: Henri Estienne and Jean de Serres, who dedicated their magnificent 1578 three volume Greek and Latin edition of Plato to Queen Elizabeth. This scholarly masterpiece is still used as a definitive Latin text of Plato's works.

More and more Platonic texts were available in England in the 16th century, but the translations were into Latin, and generally done by foreign scholars. Interest in Plato at this time was never as strong in England as it was on the Continent, and this is clearly reflected in the printing of texts: during the period 1485-1603, one edition of one authentic dialogue of Plato was printed in England, while more than 100 editions were published in France, including several editions of the complete works. While interest in translations in general ran high in England during the Tudor period, Plato was virtually ignored save for reading foreign editions.