Unit One: Introducing the Main Concepts in Translation Studies
Overview.1
1.1 Definition
Translation is often regarded as a project for transferring meaning from one language to another. As can be seen, there are two key words in this definition, that is, transferring and meaning.
The first key word indicates that when translating, we must deal with two languages because translation, in the standard sense, is a form of interlingual communication that involves a Source Language (SL) and a Target Language (TL), i.e., the language we translate from and the language we translate into, respectively. So, whatever exercises we engage ourselves in within the same language belong to what is usually referred to as intralingual communication.
Paraphrase, explanation, interpretation, etc. are all examples of intralingual rather than interlingual communication.
The second key term in the above definition tells us that the main concern of translators is to capture or convey meaning in interlingual communication. However, meaning is a complex notion. Linguists usually divide meaning into denotation (the core conceptual meaning of the word) and connotation (the shades of meaning that are sometimes added to the denotation of the word).
For example, the English lexical pairs die/pass away and friend/comrade share the same denotations, but they differ in their connotations, that is, pass away expresses positive connotations that do not exist in die, and comrade has a political connotation (i.e., a communist) that is completely missing in friend. It should be noted that translators are supposed to capture both denotation and connotation in their translation. Because the concept of meaning is a rather thorny one, some translation experts often talk about translation as a project for transferring messages from one language to another.
Exercise 1
Translate the following English sentences into Arabic.
Example: Sami's grandmother passed away last month.
توفيت جدة سامي في الشهر الماضي
1. Ali often goes to bed early.
2. Sarah went shopping last night.
3. My sister works as an officer in the army.
4. Maha is twenty years old.
5. Shops stay open until midnight in Amman.
6. Finally, the police have managed to capture the killer.
7. Translation is an intersting subject.
8. A large number of tourists come to see the Roman ruins in Jordan every year.
9. Layla failed her driving test two days ago.
10. Ahmed will graduate in the fall.
Exercise 2
Explain and/or paraphrase the following English sentences (Use a good English-English dictionary where necessary).
Example: I didn't know that Sue moonlights.
I didn't know that Sue has another job at night.
1. Zayd managed to produce an alibi during the trial yesterday.
2. If things go on like that, the whole business will go to the dogs.
3. John saw red when I told him about the meeting.
4. I turned to Peter for help, but he gave the cold shoulder.
5. Jane takes after her mother.
6. The match was called off on account of rain.
Exercise 3
Translate the following English utteranaces into Arabic, making sure that you transfer both the denotations and connotations of these expressions (For many of these important colloquial utterances in English, you may have to use colloquial Arabic expressions in order to capture both denotation and connotation)
Example: Boys are boys: (الولد ولد (لو أنه قاضي بلد
1. Business is business.
2. Let bygones be bygones.
3. Enough is enough.
4. War is war.
5. A girl is a girl.
6. Life is life.
7. A father is a father.
8. A war is a war.
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