1st Edition

Translation and Language

By Peter Fawcett Copyright 1997
    172 Pages
    by Routledge

    296 Pages
    by Routledge

    Translation Studies and linguistics have been going through a love­-hate relationship since the 1950s. This book assesses both sides of the relationship, tracing the very real contributions that linguists have made to translation studies and at the same time recognizing the limitations of many of their approaches. With good humour and even­handedness, Fawcett describes detailed taxonomies of translation strategies and deals with traditional problems such as equivalence. Yet he also explains and assesses the more recent contributions of text linguistics, sociolinguistics, pragmatics and psycholinguistics.

    This work is exceptional in that it presents theories originally produced in Russian, German, French and Spanish as well as English. Its broad coverage and accessible treatment provide essential background reading for students of translation at all levels.

    1. Introduction


    A troubled relationship
    Langue/parole
    Signifier/signified
    Paradigmatic and syntagmatic: word sets and collocations
    Sociolinguistics and pragmatics


    2. Sub-Word Components


    Sound
    Morphemes
    Componential analysis


    3. Semantics


    Semantic fields
    Word relations
    Connotation
    Word meaning and translation


    4. Translation Techniques


    Russian approaches (Shveitser and Retsker)
    Translation as 'analogy'
    Translation as 'adequacy'
    Concretization
    Logical derivation
    Antonymic translation
    Compensation
    The view from Canada (Vinay and Darbelnet)
    Borrowing
    Calque
    Literal translation
    Transposition
    Modulation
    Équivalence
    Adaptation
    An American model (Malone)
    Matching: Substitution and Equation
    Zigzagging: Divergence and Convergence
    Recrescence: Amplification and Reduction
    Repackaging: Diffusion and Condensation
    Reordering
    Critique


    5. Equivalence


    Catford and textual equivalence
    Kida and dynamic equivalence
    Komissarov's sharp and fuzzy equivalence


    6. Beyond the Word


    Generative grammar
    Shveitser: translation and rewriting rules
    Malone and bridge building


    7. Beyond the Sentence: Context and Register


    Context
    Communicative event and register
    Register
    Register and language user
    Register and language use
    Register in paractice


    8. Text Structure


    Theme/rheme and functional sentence perspective
    Cohesion
    Cohesion through repetition
    Cohesion through ellipsis
    Cohesion through reference
    Parataxis and hypotaxis
    Coherence
    Translation as text


    9. Text Functions


    Language functions
    Text functions and types
    Reiss and the monofunctional approach
    The multifunctional approach
    Function-altering translation
    Overt and covert translation


    10. Sociolinguistics


    11. Pragmatics


    Presupposition
    Speech acts
    Implicature


    12. Psycholinguistics


    Relevance theory
    Translation strategies
    Conclusion and Perspectives

    Biography

    Peter Fawcett

    The author has brought together a wealth of theoretical ideas and concepts, which are synthesized with admirable clarity, and treated thoughtfully. (Sun Yifeng, Translation Quarterly)

    ... essential introductory reading to novices in translation studies, but ... also a very wise choice for both translation scholars and skeptical linguistis. (Sara Oliviera, Cadernos de Tradução)