Vocabulary 2

Read the second part of the article and give synonyms to the following underlined words in expressions below. Then translate these expressions from English into Russian:

1. value-added part of the translator’s work;

2. to pay particular attention to the point of view of the translation user;

3. the ideas to be transmitted;

4. a rough translation in English;

5. to convey a positive, future-oriented message;

6. a period of turmoil marked mainly by students;

7. the overall notion given by the French text is rather blurred;

8. the author fails to convey his ideas in a persuasive way;

9. in order to put on record our mutual achievements;

10. I deliberately chose to add “for better future cooperation”;

11. to give effective communication priority over fidelity to the original;

12. creativity is best appreciated and yields the best result when used appropriately.

Translation

Perform the written translation from English into Russian of the sentences taken from the second part of the article.

1. In order to give an example of this value-added part of the translator’s work, let us take the following excerpt, taken from a speech to be delivered by a local official working for a French “Mairie” (i.e., the local authority managing public services in French towns and cities) on the occasion of a visit from British partners as part of a twinning agreement (Par. 1).

2. Obviously, the text of a speech not only has a written dimension, a quality shared by all other texts whatever the field, but also an oral dimension (Par. 1).

3. In the mind of most French people, the collocative “mémoire collective” brings about images of the two world wars and of other vivid French historical events such as “Mai 68,” which as you probably know was a period of turmoil marked mainly by students’ demonstrations (Par. 2).

4. This adapted translation is much more suitable for two essential reasons: it clarifies the original message, and consequently gives it greater power while also providing it with a positive dimension (Par. 3).

5. I simply chose to consider my work as a creative process in the best interest of the original message (Par. 4).

6. Professional translators, while giving the above issues a serious thought, should however never forget that most texts to be translated do not require “adaptation” or “reader-oriented rewriting” (Par. 5).

Speaking

1. Work in pairs and tell your partner a short summary of the second part of the article, paying particular attention to the author's translation examples.

2. Discuss the following questions in pairs:

• What additional tasks does an oral translator (interpretor) need to perform in comparison to the translator of written texts? What type of translating process from your point of view is more complex and difficult to perform and why?

• Do you agree with the author's ideas that communicative effect of a source text is in some cases of paramount importance? Can you give any examples of translation/ interpretation types when communicative priority is of secondary importance?