4. Classification of the Types (Methods) of Translation

№

Criterion

Characteristics of the type of translation

1

According to the overall ST function we distinguish between informative and literary translation.

1. Informative translation is rendering into the target language non-literary texts, the main purpose of which is to convey a certain amount of ideas, that is, to provide information to readers. The source texts can be represented by scientific and technical texts, newspaper materials, official papers, public speeches, political and propaganda materials, advertisements, etc.

2. Literary translation (novels, short stories, plays, poems, etc.) involves various lexical, grammatical and stylistic techniques as each genre calls for a specific arrangement and makes use of specific artistic means to impress the reader.

2

According to the translation approach used in producing the target text, translations can be characterized as semantic or communicative.

Semantic translation attempts to render, as close as the semantic and syntactic structures of the second language allow, the exact contextual meaning of the original. It is appropriate for translation of serious literature, autobiography, ‘personal effusion’, any important political or other statement (Introducing translation studies, p. 44-45) whose content is addressed to specialists.

Ex: the translation of legislation and legal documents.

Communicative translation attempts to produce on its readers an effect as close as possible to that obtained on the readers of the original (Introducing translation studies, p. 44-45) whose content is addressed to the general reader.

Ex: the translation of Pushkin’s poems.

3

According to the degree of modification introduced in the translation, it can be literal or free.

1) ‘literal’ translation / word-for-word translation (дословный перевод) consists in mechanical substitution of the elements of the original text for their equivalence in the language of the TT (Ex: to play with fire – играть с огнем);

2) ‘free’ translation / sense-for-sense translation (вольный перевод) means rendering the most essential things of a ST without formal correspondences being taken into account. ((Introducing Translation Studies, p. 20)

4

According to the integrality of translation, i.e. the amount of the ST translated, translation can be either full or selective.

Selective translation is a translation of selected parts of a document (the extraction of information). It covers not only translation of certain passages in a text but also abstracts or summaries prepared on the basis of a ST in another language. (Roda P. Roberts, Towards a Typology of Translations, p. 74)

Full translation is a translation of the whole piece of writing, whose content is so important for the recipient that it should be translated into the TL in detail. The most widely used methods of full translation are literal translation, semantic translation and communicative translation.

5

According to the medium of translation the translation can be oral and written.

1. Oral translation is commonly known as interpreting or interpretation.

There are two main kinds of oral translation – consecutive (последовательный) and simultaneous (синхронный перевод). In consecutive translation the translating starts after the original speech or some part of it has been completed.

In simultaneous interpretation the interpreter is supposed to be able to give his translation while the speaker is uttering the original message.

2. Written is the reproduction of the content of the original document by means of the language of translation in written form.

The Russo-American linguist Roman Jakobson (Jacobson 1959/2000 'On Linguistic Aspects of Translation') makes a very important distinction between three types of written translation:

1. intralingual translation - translation within the same language, which can involve rewording, or paraphrase;

2. interlingual translation - translation from one language to another, and

3. intersemiotic translation - translation of the verbal sign by a non-verbal sign, for example music or image.

Back-translation and adaptive translation are another two types of written translation.

"Back-translation" is a translation of a translated text back into the language of the original text, made without reference to the original text.

Adaptive translation represents the concept of the original but it is different because a created text cannot be substituted for the original text completely. Adaptive translation is characterized by the following features: simplification + interpretation. Its aim is to make the TT clear to certain groups of people who don’t possess certain professional or other types of knowledge to understand this material if it were translated word-for-word.

6

According to the ways of employing the newest technologies we distinguish between computer translation and web-based human translation.

Computer-assisted translation (CAT) is a form of translation wherein a human translator creates a target text with the assistance of a computer program. The machine supports a human translator.

Web-based human translation is generally favored by companies and individuals that seek more accurate translators. In view of the frequent inaccuracy of machine translators, human translation remains the most reliable, most accurate form of translation available.