V. Basic Theories of Translation

Translation is a linguistic process, interlingual transformation or transformation of the text of one language into the text of the other language. It is a means to provide possibility of intercourse between people talking in different languages.

The theory of translation is the logically grounded model of the bilingual communication or a theoretical part of linguistics of translation.

There are several stages in the development of the theory of translation:

1) The translators properly were the first theorists of translation who aspired to generalize the own experience and the experience it their colleagues by a profession activity. In early translations an aspiration of the literal copying of the source language text prevailed, but it often lead to the situations when the target language text was not good for its understanding.

2) At the end of the XIX century the translators began to formulate some similarity of «the normative theory of translation», setting a row of claims, which «a good translation» must meet.

3) The science of translation covers any conceptions, positions and observations that concerns to the practice of translation, methods and terms their realization, different factors that influence on it directly or not.

In wide sense a term « the theory of translation» is opposed to the term « the practice of translation» and coincide with notion of «the science of translation» at such understanding. In the narrow sense «the theory of translation» includes only the theoretical part of the science of translation and is contrasted to its applied aspects.

The variety of the process of translation results not only in appearing a plenty of different theoretical models, but it also sets a question about a necessity to distinguish the general theory of translation, theories of the separate types of translation and partial theories of translation. All that characterizes communication and the process of translation on the whole, regardless of terms of their realization, genre character of texts, contacting languages is important for the general theory of translation.

The general theory of translation is engaged in translating universal words. In this relation the science about translation follows the linguistics in which a question about the study of universal vocabulary lately became very actual. If linguistics attributes all the phenomena that are present in all the languages of the world to the universal vocabulary, then the science about translation considers the phenomena and categories what are typical for all types of translation to be a universal vocabulary.

The translating universal words are well known. They include equivalents, the methods of translation, information stock, components of act of communication etc. All this is necessarily distinguished in any type of communication with the use of the two interlocutors that master different languages. The translating universal words are added by the phenomena that are typical for some processes of translation, for example, transmission of author’s style in the literary translation etc. and they become the determining words during the selection of the theories in science about translation that generated by the specific ontology of an object.

The general theory of translation is based on the data that are got from the observation of the object in its different displays. These displays can be accidental, untypical, and they are not taken into account then. These displays can repeat themselves, to be typical, and then a theory considers them appropriate on the whole or for that or the other type of translation in particular.

A great deal of time an axiom that interlingual transformations can be carried out only by a man was not called in question. Scientific and technical progress brought substantial clarification in this statement that both a man and a machine could accomplish interlingual transformations. Thus the first basis for classification of translation appeared. It says that the basis for translation is mechanism of interlingual transformations.

The theory of machine translation was found on this basis. The theory of machine translation passed the stormy period of its development. For the short deal of time it did a great contribution in the general theory of translation, as well as the existent theories of translation carried out by a man. It was the machine translation where a necessity to consider the analysis of the source language text and synthesis of the target language one separately was exposed. Unfortunately, unlike the translation carried out by a man, the machine translation is not faithful and exact one.

The theory of machine translation still exists as something whole. It is related to the stability of terms of the process of machine translation and low competence of machines. It’s quite another matter if a translator gets down to work. A translator often has to work under various conditions. Depending on the situation a translator have to translate in the oral or written form and perceive the source language text with own eyes and ears. It is not difficult to notice the difference that exists between written translation not limited by time when a translator can use dictionaries and various reference books and oral translation which is accomplished in the extreme functioning conditions of mental processes of a translator. The difference that exists between written and oral translation, related to the conditions of functioning the mental processes, which are the basis for classification of translation that is carried out by a man.

Of course, it is impossible to say that the conditions of functioning of the mental processes coincide in any type of oral translation. In the consecutive translation there is a great loading on the memory while in the simultaneous translation it is necessary to be able simultaneously to listen and to speak. However, in any type of oral translation the mental processes of a translator work in a situation close to stressing, when a necessity to do a great deal of entrance information and constantly make decision in very short time appears. The difficult terms of work put the skills and abilities brought to perfection in the first place but assume inaccuracies in the stylistic registration of translation.

The special conditions of functioning of the mental processes attract attention of researchers to the special problems, which make a separate independent theory that is the theory of oral translation.

The theory of oral translation covers questions general for all the types of verbal translation. The specific problems of the successive, simultaneous or unseen translation which are considered in the proper theories, unchangingly concern the functioning of the mental processes, sign method of translation and other questions that do not overstep the limits of the theory of oral translation. The problem of genre character of a text and transmission of stylistic nuances of the source language text does not stand before the oral translation, as well as before the machine one. There is no sense to translate the works of fiction literature orally as even experienced translators are not able to store the invariant and the translation stops to be a translation properly. The problem of functioning the skills, abilities and auxiliary devices of translation such as system of records, technical equipment etc. is put to the first place. The following division of the theory of oral translation is related exactly to the terms of a translator’s work.

It’s quite another matter in concern to the written translation. The functioning of the mental processes of a translator takes place in the relatively quiet terms. The theoretical aspect of a translator’s work, his ability to estimate and choose language devices correctly, to save style of the source language text is put in the first place in the written translation. Thus, the written translation of the fiction literature differs greatly from the translation of the other texts. The language of the literary works is characterized by the expressive devices, rhythmics of a language, individual style of an author. Passing the expressive language devices and stylistic features more depends on the literary talent of a translator, his feeling of language, than from the automatic skills formed in him.

The translator of scientific material must work differently. In the scientific texts there are a lot of terms, facts that are possible to understand only having the proper preparation. The success of a translator’s work in the scientific area is determined by his knowledge, ability to use terminology more than by his translating skills. This is the evidence that the written translation gets its specific only in connection with the features of the source language texts, with the features of the language devices used in them.

The language devices determine the genre character of the texts, which is a basis for classification of the written translation and determines the appropriateness of distinguishing the theory of the literary translation and theory of the special translation as well.

The theory of the literary translation is the oldest of the theories of translation. Even today a lot of authors develop the theoretical statements about translation in the area of the fiction literature, i.e. in the notions and terms of the study of literature. This circumstance is fully appropriate and its result is the wide use of methods of comparative stylistic analysis of the source language text and its translation. The works in the area of theory of translation of the fiction literature did not only contribute in the general theory of translation, but also put the beginning of the development of the general theoretic problems of translation.

In the theory of special translation the attention is paid to the terms and clichés. The terms form groups of professional character that serve the different areas of knowledge. The terms with notions they define form the closed systems, which should be learned to work successfully in the economic, technical, social, political and other types of translation. Independently on the area of knowledge the translation of the texts rich with terminology and clichés, is related to the only circle of problems, the aggregate of which is the theory of the special translation properly. Thus, one and the same theory of the special translation serves the opposite areas of knowledge, for example, space and agriculture, jurisprudence and bioengineering. The special translation accumulates different types of translation, among which the social, political, technical etc. come forward into the first place.

Thus, the science about translation must have the general theory of translation, which covers all that is typical for any type of communication with the use of two languages.

The theories described above belong to the general theory of translation and include the theory of written translation, the theory of oral translation, the theory of fiction literature translation etc. The process of translation is always related to two concrete languages.

The translation specified by two languages is not considered to be general but is the partial theory of translation, within the framework of which a comparison of two languages should be done a lot.

From the one hand, the comparison of two languages, means returning into linguistics, and from the other hand, it gives a great number of material for a general theory to translation. The comparative study of two languages is not a theory of translation in the essence by oneself. It is related to the grammar, lexicology, stylistics etc. The comparative study of two languages gets the translating specificity, if it takes place in the process of translation and if the comparison of texts in translation does not become end in itself but a means of cognition of the process of translation. The conclusions got as a result of comparison of two languages from position of tasks and science purposes about translation have a matter mainly for the partial theory of translation.

The comparison of two languages not in the translation generally, but in the concrete type of translation, for example, in machine, oral, written, special translation etc. is the basis of the partial theory of machine translation, the partial theory of written translation, partial theory of fiction literature translation etc.