Transcript Slide 1
Three Paradigm Shifts in
Translation Studies: An Overview
Dr. Hosni Mostafa El-dali
Associate Professor of Linguistics
Department of Linguistics
United Arab Emirates University
E-mail: [email protected]
Presented at the International Conference on Language, Literature and
Culture in Education (LLCE 2014), 7-9 May, 2014, Nitra, Slovakia.
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Introductory Remarks: Why?
The interest in translation is growing
1
2
Cultural exchanges have
been widening
3
International
communication
has been intensifying
Knowledge has been increasingly expanding
Today human communication depends
heavily on translation
The phenomenon of translation has
become fundamental
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The Purpose
Theoretical and Pedagogical
A. Theoretical
This study is an attempt to outline the
scope of the discipline of TS, to give
some indication of the kind of work that
has been done so far.
It is an attempt to demonstrate that TS is
a discipline in its own right. It is a vastly
complex field with many far – reaching
ramifications.
B. Pedagogical: Using Translation in FL
Classroom: Why and How?
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Rationale
1. Translation has a very wide and rich history.
Since its birth, translation was the subject of a
variety of research and conflicts among
theorists. This fact gives its history a changing
quality.
2. In my attempt to examine such a changing
quality, the present study discusses the
relationships between the changing definitions
of translation and the turns of TS: (1) Linguistic
Turn; and (2) Cultural Turn; and (3) Social and
Psychological Turn.
3. Thomas Samuel Khunn’s Paradigm Theory.
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Linguistics and TS
Translation was initially studied as a linguistic
phenomenon, as a process of meaning transfer via
linguistic transcoding. Consequently, Translation
Studies was conceived as a linguistic discipline.
Justification
Since linguistics deals with the study of
language and how this works;
Since the process of translation
entails language,
The relevance of linguistics to
translation should never be in doubt.
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F. de Saussure’s ideas of structuralism lays the
foundation of modern linguistics, and from 1940s
on, TS begins to be integrated closely with
modern linguistics, and the concept of
structuralism.
One of the first to propose that linguistics should
affect the study of translation was Jakobson
(1959).
In 1965, Catford opened his “A Linguistic Theory
of Translation” with the following assertion:
“Clearly, any theory of translation must draw
upon a theory of language – a general
linguistic theory”.
Fawcett (1997) points out that:
“without a grounding in linguistics, the
translator is like somebody who is working with
an incomplete
toolkit”.
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Up to the end of the 1970’s, as SnellHornby reports, most linguisticallyoriented theories were centered around
the concept of equivalence.
The Problem of Equivalence
It is a central concept in the theories of most
scholars working within a linguistic paradigm.
And, it has been particularly criticized by
theorists invoking a cultural frame of reference.
It has been analyzed, evaluated and extensively
discussed from different points of view, and has
been
approached
from
many
different
perspectives.
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Roman Jakobson
Nida
Catford
House
Baker
Halliday
(1959)
(1964)
(1965)
(1977)
(1992)
(2001)
Nida defines translation as the transference of
messages from one language to another.
Newmark views translation as the meaning
exchange between two languages.
1. Due to inevitable differences between languages,
there could never be a full equivalence between
code-units.
2. The concept of “Equivalence” is essential to any
definition of translation, and as Snell-Hornby
(1988) observes, “all definitions of translation
could be considered variations on this”.
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Cultural Turn
John L. Austin’s “Speech Act Theory” and the
Pragmatic Turn of TS
the Context.
Since 1980s, TS was characterized by the socalled “Cultural Turn”. What happened was a
shift from linguistically-oriented approaches to
culturally-oriented ones.
Snell-Hornby has defined translation as a
“Cross-cultural Event”.
Vermeer claimed that a translator should
be “Pluricultural”.
Ivir states that “translating means
translating cultures, not languages”.
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Cultural Turn
Accordingly,
Translation was defined as text production,
as retextualising a SL-text according to the
TL conventions. The text, then, moved into
the centre of attention.
Vermeer’s theory “Skopos Theory”
(A) Translation is a specific
communicative action;
kind
of
(B) Each action has a specific purpose;
(C) Therefore, the most decisive criterion for
any translation is its purpose.
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Cultural Turn
Another theory was introduced by Toury (1995):
A norm-based theory of translation.
A norm-based theory of translation focuses on
regularities of translation behavior and the
situational, or cultural features (norms) which
may account for these regularities.
The past fifteen years or so have seen the focus of
TS shift away from linguistics and increasingly to
forms of cultural studies, including,
1. Postcolonialism
2. The concepts of identity and non western
traditions.
3. The effects of globalization on translation.
4. Translation universals
5. Technological advances, and their role in
transforming the working conditions of the
translators.
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Paradigm No. (3)
Social and Psychological Turn
As the name implies, social and psychological
turn has close relation with the study of
psychology and sociology.
In the book, “Translation and Identity in the
Americans: New Directions in Translation Theory”,
Edwin Gentzler (2008) proposes that:
“The next turn in TS should be a socialpsychological one, expanding a functional
approach to include social effects and
individual effects” (p. 180).
The introduction of Psychoanalysis plays a great
role for TS, as it draws our attention to identity
studies.
Jean Laplanche; Sigmund Freud*, Jacques Lacan*
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Paradigm No. (3)
Freud believes that the mental condition of human being
is composed of three stages: Id, Ego, and Superego.
Only if we keep the three ones in balance can we
maintain health. In most cases, our neurosis owes to the
repression of “id” and we usually translate our mental
condition into dream.
Jacques Lacan associated Freud’s theory with language
study. He regards Unconsciousness as the essence of
language: “I am not where I think, and I think where I am
not”.
Since our mental condition now is influenced by the memory
of the past, psychoanalysts usually try to recreate the sights
of the past so as to find out the specific demand which is
repressed.
As Gentzler (2008: 184) points out, “through the process of
transference, an alternative translation is possible; one that
is less repressive”.
Accordingly, based on the studies in the USA, Canada,
Brazil, Latin America and Caribbean, Gentzler proposes that:
It is translation that forms people’s identity in the Americans.
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A translator, then deals with two
languages + two different cultures.
different
He is a bilingual mediating agent
between monolingual communication
participants in two different language
communities (House, 1977)
Taking account of culture does not necessarily mean
having to dismiss any kind of linguistic approach to
translation.
Even from a linguistic point of view, language and
culture are connected.
In order to enhance the role of culture when
translating, it is not at all necessary to reject the
fact the translation is primarily a linguistic
activity. On the contrary, if we aim at a cultural
goal, we will best do so through linguistic
procedures.
As Manfredi (2007: 204) affirms: Culturallyoriented and linguistically-oriented approaches to
translation are not necessarily mutually exclusive
alternatives.
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The Soviet Scholar Juri Lotman.
No language can exist unless it is steeped in
the context of culture.
No culture can exist which does not have at its
center, the structure of natural language.
Language, then, is the heart within the body of
culture.
It is the interaction between the two that results
in the continuation of life-energy.
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In the same way that the surgeon, operating on
the heart, cannot neglect the body that
surrounds it, so the translator treats the text in
isolation from the culture at his peril.
Language is not a simple matter of vocabulary
and grammar; it can never be separated from
the culture it operates in.
Edward Sapir
+
Benjamin Lee Whorf
Language is a guide to social reality, and human
beings are at the mercy of the language that has
become the medium of expression for their
society.
Experience is largely determined
language habits of the community.
by
the
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Chesterman considers that the growth in TS
as
an
interdiscipline
has
led
to
fragmentation. The alternative is to adopt
the term “Consilience” which has its roots
in the ancient Greek concept of the unity of
knowledge.
According to Chesterman, this term is
relevant since modern Translation Studies
announces itself as a new attempt to cut
across boundaries in the search for a
deeper understanding of the relations
between texts, societies, and cultures.
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B. Pedagogical View
Those who recommended nothing but
English in an English lesson neglect many
important facts:
1. FL learners translate in their minds and think
in their own language, and this can not be
controlled.
2. The unknown (L2 patterns) can not be
explained via something less known (the L2)
3. Mother-tongue is first in terms of acquisition
and proficiency; it is so ingrained that no
amount of direct method drill can override its
influence.
4. There are individual differences among
students; the weaker students may have
difficulties in grasping a point in the foreign
language.
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B. Pedagogical View
Accordingly,
1. Disregarding
the
mother-tongue
and
considering it “a bogey to be shunned at all
costs” is a myth.
2. The teacher who says, “I forbid the use of the
pupil’s own language in my class; nothing but
English”, is deceiving himself.
3. It is better to capitalize on the students’
knowledge of the mother-tongue, than to
pretend it is not there.
4. There are many situations in which a few words
in the mother-tongue will help clarify something
students may not have comprehend in English.
5. It is a myth to believe that the best criterion for
effective target language teaching is the total
absence of the mother-tongue in the classroom.
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B. Pedagogical View
6. Absence of the mother-tongue may result in
meaningless and mechanical learning situations
in which one may learn how to repeat a phrase
or a sentence in a foreign language, without
knowing what is means.
7. Using the mother-tongue wisely can enhance
the element of “meaningfulness” in the teaching
process.
•
Students become motivated and active if they
really understand what is going-on. So, it is
important not to disregard the learners’ need for
comprehension of what they learn.
•
Mother-tongue plays a vital role in diminishing or
eliminating the psychological factors that have
on inhibiting effect on FL teaching and learning.
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B. Pedagogical View
8. Mother-tongue use helps create a climate that
alleviates the learners’ tension, insecurity and
anxiety.
9. Finally, it must be kept in mind, however, that
Mother-tongue should be used as little
possible, but as much as necessary. It should
be rule-governed, not be freely or randomly
used.
Unlimited use of MT is so harmful that it
discourages the learner from thinking in
English.
FL teachers should guard against mental
translation. They can: (1) permit their students
to express themselves within their linguistic
capacities. (2) They can use students’ native
culture as content in the English language
classroom (familiar content can positively
affect students’ comprehension of L2).
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B. Pedagogical View
With careful and functional mother-tongue use,
intelligibility can be achieved, and the time saved
(by giving difficult meanings in the mother
tongue, can be used for more practice in the
target language.
Maximum exposure to the foreign language
without understanding is the real waste of time
and effort of both teachers and learners.
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In Conclusion,
The problem does not lie in whether mothertongue has a place in FL teaching/learning on not,
but in how much of it is permitted.
Many factors determine the quantity to be used:
A) The maturity level of our learners and their
linguistic level.
B) Teachers’ competence.
C) The material to be taught.
D) The availability of the teaching materials.
It is the individual teacher who sensitizes when
to switch codes and when not to. It is also the
teacher who can decide the pragmatic quantity
to be used because what is workable in a certain
class may not be so in another.
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