Can Theory Help Translators . [Autosaved] Revised

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The presentation is an argumentation between proponents of theory and practitioners of translation who deems academic studies useless and worthless. It serves as a balanced account of the two conflicting parties , with each voicing his concerns and grounds.

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Dialogue between the Ivory tower and the wordface. Chapter 4 Whats it all for ?( Classification of purposes- types, readerships) Can theory help translators ?

Can theory help translators ?

Yes !Theories can also be useful in providing translators with the proper terminology to speak about their work and defend their translations. Obviously, theory encourages translators to think ahead of translating, to determine the purpose of the text, the purpose of the translation, the target reader, and from that derive the most suitable translation strategy Nesrin

English to ArabicSource : Proz .com From the Horse mouth Experienced translators said so

We need to accept some facts sometimes and seek updates for our skills ,because there is no decent PROFESSION without a Theoretical Framework. It needs to be institutionalized and gain social respect. If we have a negative attitude towards theoretical ( insights from theory) , we are risking to keep our profession Underestimated and always looked upon as a secondary activity. Practitioners and researchers (who may happen to be practitioners as well) need to work together instead of nagging at each other.

You can reflect on your practices via referencing or making use of insights from the approaches and theories in the field of translation: all these theories have been a response to issues and problems raised by practitioners themselves, sometimes these practitioners happen to become reseraches or theoreticians themselves as well , so they know what they are talking about.

.Also , the theoretical insight is extremely important when you do proofreading or revision ( using commentary ).You need a metalanguage to justify your commentaries when you EVALUATE translations. There is no way you can do that without being acquainted with the theories/insights from TRANSLATION STUDIES (translation), especially with introduced QUALITY standards in the industry.

Fouad El karnichiCanadaArabic to EnglishIt frames your attitude to your profession and your work. You might manage to do that intuitively or after many years of contact with professionals, but formal training is a good starting point (or milestone) in any profession.

Bilbo Baggins Catalan to English source : Proze.com 1) It is concerned only with literary translation It has always been held that translation theory is dismissive of other non-literary types of translation.

The claim has become flimsy now more than ever. Juan Sager ( 1994) contributed much to the commercial translation ; translation as an industrial practice. Refuting misconceptions about translation theory

Has nothing to do with day-to- day workflow The assumption is groundless . Translation now tends to take a professional turn where it covers many areas like : Sager s model (1994) where translation is considered a project with different phases . Misconceptions

Sagers Contribution

Christine Nords Model (1997) incorporated many factors :

Misconceptions 11 Major contributions of Translation Theory : It raised and suggested answers to these crucial Questions One Classical starting point is Bhlers Model.

Why do people write , hence translate? If the translator knows why, he can decide which how to choose.

This is at the heart of the Skopos theory . the form of a translation is determined by its function Why14 Skopos means aim or purpose in Greek .

It is associated with German scholars following Hans J Vermeer .

Translation is an action that has an intention It is the skopos that determines what kind of relationship should be between Source and Target Text .

The same source text translated with two different Skopoi will give rise to a different kind of translation

Skopos Theory ( Christine Nord 1997)

The notion of skopos is broken down into three separate components

Christiane Nord (1997) In the initial phase - Coined as the specification phase by Sager (1994) translator should seek to find answers to these questions what kind of document is that ?( text type- general Topic ) Identify the intention Should the translation have a different intention from that of the source text ?

Interpreting the specifications What kind of document should the translation be . Not necessarily the same type as the source text . What is the expected reaction of the recipient ? What information can be presupposed ? What can we assume that the recipient already knows ?

Translation as a Project .

Generally speaking , translation is a kind of commuincation . The main principle is Relevance introduced by Ernst August Gutt (2000)

You should say or write in such a way that your words are optimally relevant to your hearers or readers. How

Clarity

Relevance Theory (2000) Communicative Semantic Newmark ( 1981)Covert Overt Julian House (1997)Instrumental Documentary Christine Nord (1997) How in Depth Binary classifications

Gouadec (2000) Away from the Binary Classifications Shuttleworth and Cowie (1997) Drawing upon the Skopos theory and relevance theory proves that translators are not translating in vacuum , they translate for readers .

Theory has offered some insightful classification of readership . To Whom

23 Homocultural Vs Hetrocultural Native Vs Nonnative.

Culture Distance

Vertical Translation Dimension. Readership

Addressees vs. Receivers Implied or intended vs Real Readers

Participation Dimension Anthony Pym (1992)

Participative Servational Excluder

Translate in such a way that the group of excluded readers is as small as possible . Readership

Communicate valuable research to practitioners. Practitioners in return should ask for help and guidance and raise challenges for research .

Always Refer to other works that would complete your contribution so people would have a coherent message and a relevant reading list and not a scattered pieces of research .

Recommendation for the theoreticians

Final Word Knowledge is not enough ; we must apply Willingness is not enough ; we must do .

J. W. Van Goethe