MARIELA EULA // PERFIL PROFESIONAL - PROFESSIONAL PROFILE

by Per N. Dohler

when Gabe asked me to "be" the Translator Profile for this issue of his wonderful Translation Journal, I felt opportunity knocking. A typical freelance translator, spending most of his or her time alone in a room (well, alone with the world since the advent of the Internet, but still), will readily discourse at length on just about anything, given a fraction of a chance. My wife Thea, who has had ample occasion to study the social behavior of translators, calls this "translators' logorrhea" and considers it a professional disease.

Unfortunately, on top of all that, I am also probably one of the world's most eminent experts on how not to become a translator.

I know what I am talking about. In my first years as a translator I did almost everything wrong, and I certainly made plenty of the most elementary mistakes.

I'd say I wasn't even a translator initially; I was just posing as one. True, I had an academic background in U.S. literature and English linguistics, painfully acquired after meandering through the academic system for too many years (easy enough to do at those unstructured German universities). And, having spent a couple of years in California, I felt that my English was adequate and that I knew a little about the U.S. But that, of course, is nowhere near good enough to hang out one's shingle as a translator.

My first paid translations were done, somewhat accidentally, in 1982, for a professor of history. I had to translate source documents from U.S. history into German for inclusion in an annotated textbook. The volume in question did eventually appear; my contribution was hardly recognizable. But no one told me what I had done wrong, or how.

The next step in that dubious career of mine came over a year later, when my father—a dentist and director of the state dental association—referred Germany's largest dental publisher to me (just like that, he had no idea whether I would perform OK or not). So I started doing dental translations, all of which were edited by my father. ("That may sound good, Per, but it's not what a dentist would ever say!") (HINDSIGHT: What I gained from this cooperation over the next few years was the best practical education in the field I could have had, short of actually becoming a dentist myself.) But from a business angle, the whole setup was a disaster because I simply swallowed what I was fed. I would receive two or three dental articles a month to translate from English into German. I was getting paid by the printed page, a few months after the article appeared in print (if it appeared), at a rate set by the publisher. It was not until over a year later that a new editorial coordinator took pity on me and suggested that I submit an invoice for what I had not heretofore thought of as accounts receivable.

Meanwhile, my M.A. thesis was finally completed, even well received—but there were no jobs for linguists. I'd had an invitation to work toward a Ph.D. at the University of California at Berkeley, but the family finances did not stretch that far. To turn a dead end into something useful, I started out to get a second degree, this time in computer science (there were, and still are, no tuition charges at German universities, so that was no problem). Something with language and computers—that could be hot, or so we thought, even though it was not quite clear how. (HINDSIGHT: This was going to give me an enormous advantage in the 1990s, when localization became a big hit.) To put bread on the table, I continued working for my dental publisher, even acquired a second one and a pharmaceutical company somehow (word of mouth, probably), and audited assorted university-level classes in medicine and dentistry. I managed to muddle through in this manner for some time more.

Finally, one morning in 1988—six years after my first translation!—I looked at myself in the mirror and said, almost a bit surprised, "You, Per, are actually a translator." (HINDSIGHT: I was not, yet.) I dropped out of school, bought a new computer and more dictionaries, sent out some makeshift mailings—I didn't know anything about marketing either—and actually landed one or two new clients.

So what happened in 1991? CompuServe, the U.S.-based online service, started doing serious business in Germany. I signed up and soon found the legendary FLEFO community of translators—then just about the only such online community, with the possible exceptions of sci.lang.translation on Usenet and LANTRA-L , if I remember correctly. A new world opened up for me—the world of actual translation. And actual translators. (And virtual translation. And virtual translators.)

Translators must be one of the most interesting breeds of people. Many are probably a little weird, myself quite possibly not excluded; but most of those I met in the ensuing years—and I met plenty of colleagues at home and abroad over the years, enjoyed their company, enjoyed their hospitality, tried to lure them to Barendorf ("Hotbed of North German Translation"), almost as if to make up for lost time—are really interesting people with strong opinions, which they are eager to try on others. We come from an incredible wealth of backgrounds and bring this diversity to the incredible wealth of worlds that we translate from and into.

I don't know who said it, I may even have made this up myself: "Everything I ever learned I learned from someone else." In my case, when it comes to the art, the craft, and the business of translation, the "someone else" would usually have been someone I originally met on FLEFO, and the time would have been the early 1990s.

So in this manner, I became a translator after all. Things have been largely uphill ever since.
 

I am afraid more people than care to admit it have taken an equally long time and equally circuitous routes in becoming translators. If you are just starting out, save yourself some valuable time. Do not emulate our haphazard paths. Instead, proceed as follows:

• Take a sober inventory of what you bring to the job. All of us—all of us!—have learned interesting things in our lives, which might be useful in one way or another when translating in various fields. But if you lack certain essentials—for example, if you are not a good writer in your native language—then do consider pursuing a different path.
• Take a sober inventory of what you still need to acquire. Then acquire it. Spend some time on training first—it need not be in translation as such—specialty fields are just as important for many. Allow yourself some time abroad; read, read, read; and listen, listen, listen. Even if you think you already have a solid foundation and you have work, set aside enough time so that you can still do all of the above on the side.
• Seek out colleagues wherever you can. Good places to look are Internet "hangouts" for translators and (yes) translators' associations. Collaborate whenever you have a chance. Edit and be edited, even if you hate editing. Above all, keep your mind open. What we learn today isn't going to last us a lifetime!
• Don't deceive yourself into thinking you are some kind of an artist enjoying artists' (and fools') privileges—99% of the time you are not.
• Think of yourself as a businessperson first and foremost. Be dependable. Be available. Be visible. Be serious. Market yourself. Stick to deadlines religiously. Don't guess what your customer needs—if you aren't 100% sure, ask. If you don't like what you hear, say no. If you are called upon to do something you cannot do, say no. But if you do engage in a contract, abide by its terms. Sound trivial? You'd be surprised how many translators fail in precisely these trivial things. The most rigorous translation is worthless if it arrives after that atomic power plant blows up.
• Develop a set of negative criteria for those projects you don't want to do. Then don't do them.
• Develop an O.K. set of positive criteria for those projects you really do want to do. Then pursue them whenever you have a minute to spare.
• Determine where you want to go. Ask yourself: What would I like my professional life to be, say, ten years from now? From time to time, calibrate the things you do on a daily basis against that overall goal.

• It has been predicted that translators would be obsolete "in ten years" for about fifty years now. These predictions will probably continue to be issued regularly for the next fifty years.
• There are translators who claim they never allow a less-than-perfect translation to leave their desk. They are lying.

Translation

• Translation is not a commodity. (Translators are usually not freely interchangeable.)
• Translation is a potentially scarce item. (Neither the number of its producers nor their output can be increased at will.)
• Translation is not scalable. (Volume discounts in translation don't make sense.)
• Terminology is to translation what trees are to the forest. But you often don't see the latter for the former.
• There is no such thing as a perfect translation. There isn't even such a thing as a translation most people would consider pretty good.
• "Quality" in the sense used in ISO 900x has nothing, absolutely nothing to do with "good" or "bad." ISO 900x is not applicable to mental activities such as translation.

Marketing

• All marketing methods (such as a website) work best as part of an overall marketing concept. Such a concept need not be aggressive. But why not try "quietly pervasive"?
• There are clients with low-quality needs, clients with top-quality needs, and the gamut in between. There are translators to accommodate all those markets. Over time, the choice is ours.
• A company that is a delinquent payer will probably stay a delinquent payer. Caveat vendor.

Business

• Like all other human activities, translation is subject to the law of diminishing returns. Happy translators know when to stop worrying about the remaining details.
• There are more translators earning decent money than the general chorus of complaining suggests.
• Saying no to unreasonable demands may do nothing for your checking account in the short run, but it will work wonders for your self-esteem in the long run.
• The Internet revolution is actually over. The CAT revolution is actually over. The next revolution has not yet surfaced. Those who catch it early will be ahead of the game. But don't expect anyone to tip you off—you have to look around for yourself.

Tools

• Our most precious tool, beyond our brains, is our own data on our own computers. Dictionaries, programs, CD-ROMs can usually be replaced if lost. Our own original data can't be.
• CAT tools make translation faster. They can make translation more consistent. But CAT has pitfalls, such as disparate translation memories, which probably lie at the bottom of a lot of incoherent translations—mumbo-jumbo like nothing anyone would have ever come up with before CAT.

by Kate James

1. Translation is a kind of activity which inevitably involves at least two languages and two cultural traditions." (Toury 1978:200). As this statement implies, translators are permanently faced with the problem of how to treat the cultural aspects implicit in a source text (ST) and of finding the most appropriate technique of successfully conveying these aspects in the target language (TL). These problems may vary in scope depending on the cultural and linguistic gap between the two (or more) languages concerned (see Nida 1964:130).

   an important aspect is to determine how much missing background information should be provided by the translator

   The cultural implications for translation may take several forms ranging from lexical content and syntax to ideologies and ways of life in a given culture. The translator also has to decide on the importance given to certain cultural aspects and to what extent it is necessary or desirable to translate them into the TL. The aims of the ST will also have implications for translation as well as the intended readership for both the ST and the target text (TT).

   Considering the cultural implications for a translated text implies recognising all of these problems and taking into account several possibilities before deciding on the solution which appears the most appropriate in each specific case. Before applying these methods to the chosen text, this essay will examine the importance of culture in translation through a literature review. The different general procedures of treating the cultural implications for translation will be examined as well as analysing the ST and the aims of the author. The translation process will also be treated using specific examples found in the ST before discussing the success of aforementioned theoretical methods applied to the TT.

   Although corresponding to cultural categories examined, the title will be considered separately in order to determine the pertinence of conserving, highlighting, or excluding certain aspects. Due to these considerations, the title will be considered after the other aspects as all other cultural implications need to be examined before reaching relevant conclusions.
    

2. The Importance of Culture in Translation

   The definition of "culture" as given in the Concise Oxford Dictionary varies from descriptions of the "Arts" to plant and bacteria cultivation and includes a wide range of intermediary aspects. More specifically concerned with language and translation, Newmark defines culture as "the way of life and its manifestations that are peculiar to a community that uses a particular language as its means of expression" (1988:94), thus acknowledging that each language group has its own culturally specific features. He further clearly states that operationally he does "not regard language as a component or feature of culture" (Newmark 1988:95) in direct opposition to the view taken by Vermeer who states that "language is part of a culture" (1989:222). According to Newmark, Vermeer's stance would imply the impossibility to translate whereas for the latter, translating the source language (SL) into a suitable form of TL is part of the translator's role in transcultural communication.

   The notion of culture is essential to considering the implications for translation and, despite the differences in opinion as to whether language is part of culture or not, the two notions appear to be inseparable. Discussing the problems of correspondence in translation, Nida confers equal importance to both linguistic and cultural differences between the SL and the TL and concludes that "differences between cultures may cause more severe complications for the translator than do differences in language structure" (Nida, 1964:130). It is further explained that parallels in culture often provide a common understanding despite significant formal shifts in the translation. The cultural implications for translation are thus of significant importance as well as lexical concerns.

   Lotman's theory states that "no language can exist unless it is steeped in the context of culture; and no culture can exist which does not have at its centre, the structure of natural language" (Lotman, 1978:211-32). Bassnett (1980: 13-14) underlines the importance of this double consideration when translating by stating that language is "the heart within the body of culture," the survival of both aspects being interdependent. Linguistic notions of transferring meaning are seen as being only part of the translation process; "a whole set of extra-linguistic criteria" must also be considered. As Bassnett further points out, "the translator must tackle the SL text in such a way that the TL version will correspond to the SL version... To attempt to impose the value system of the SL culture onto the TL culture is dangerous ground" (Bassnett, 1980:23). Thus, when translating, it is important to consider not only the lexical impact on the TL reader, but also the manner in which cultural aspects may be perceived and make translating decisions accordingly.
    

   1. General cultural implications for translation

   Language and culture may thus be seen as being closely related and both aspects must be considered for translation. When considering the translation of cultural words and notions, Newmark proposes two opposing methods: transference and componential analysis (Newmark, 1988:96). As Newmark mentions, transference gives "local colour," keeping cultural names and concepts. Although placing the emphasis on culture, meaningful to initiated readers, he claims this method may cause problems for the general readership and limit the comprehension of certain aspects. The importance of the translation process in communication leads Newmark to propose componential analysis which he describes as being "the most accurate translation procedure, which excludes the culture and highlights the message" (Newmark, 1988:96). This may be compared to the scale proposed by Hervey et al, visualised as follows:

   

   (Hervey et al, 1992:28)

   Nida's definitions of formal and dynamic equivalence (see Nida, 1964:129) may also be seen to apply when considering cultural implications for translation. According to Nida, a "gloss translation" mostly typifies formal equivalence where form and content are reproduced as faithfully as possible and the TL reader is able to "understand as much as he can of the customs, manner of thought, and means of expression" of the SL context (Nida, 1964:129). Contrasting with this idea, dynamic equivalence "tries to relate the receptor to modes of behaviour relevant within the context of his own culture" without insisting that he "understand the cultural patterns of the source-language context" (idem).
    

3. Source Text
    
   1. The nature of the source text

   The text chosen for translation ("Les Loukoums chez l'Arabe') is an extract from La Première Gorgée de Bière et autres Plaisirs Minuscules (L'Arpenteur, 1998) by the prize-winning French author, Philippe Delerm. It is a self-contained chapter of a collection of similar extracts where the author's intention to present certain aspects of French life in a lyrical way presents matter for thought both culturally and linguistically. The subject matter is centred around thoughts on Turkish Delight and the Arab shop where this sweet can be bought, thus introducing not only French, but North African cultural aspects. Reflections on the subject, action and dialogue are all presented in the same narrative form where the voice of the author is omnipresent. The text contains several culturally-specific words and notions whose implications for translation merit attention.
    

   2. The ideal reader

   A question that needs to be asked when considering a text for translation is for whom the original text was destined and whether this readership corresponds to the potential TT reader. Thus two types of ideal reader may be distinguished: the ST ideal reader and the TT ideal reader. In the text Les Loukoums chez l'Arabe, this notion may be seen as particularly relevant due to the literary nature of the extract with the subject matter being specifically linked to culture.
    

   1. The ideal ST reader

   Coulthard (1992) highlights the importance of defining the ideal reader for whom the author "attributes knowledge of certain facts, memory of certain experiences ... plus certain opinions, preferences and prejudices and a certain level of linguistic competence." When considering such aspects, it should not be forgotten that the extent to which the author may be influenced by such notions is dependent on his own sense of belonging to a specific socio-cultural group.

   These principles may be applied to "Les Loukoums chez l'Arabe" and conclusions may be reached concerning Delerm's ideal reader in the following way:

   1. Certain facts.
   The author supposes that his ideal reader has a knowledge of historical events and links between France and Northern African countries as well as a certain cultural familiarity with the customs of these countries.
   2. Memory of certain experiences.
   The experiences in this instance may be considered as contact with cultural situations described in the text such as previous visits to the kind of Arab shop described and other cultural elements (French town life).
   3. Certain opinions, preferences and prejudices
   . In this category may be placed the widespread French associations concerning Arab immigration. Delerm does not seek an anti-immigrant or racist readership yet inherent cultural prejudices are not avoided.
   4. A certain level of linguistic competence. The text chosen corresponds to the description of the average text for translation given by Newmark, namely for "an educated, middle-class readership in an informal ... style (Newmark, 1988:13). It may be considered that the social category "middle class" may find an approximate corresponding category in France. On a semantic and cultural level, there are several potential problems for a reader not corresponding to the criteria of the ideal reader.
      
       

   2. The ideal TT reader

      Once the ideal ST readership has been determined, considerations must be made concerning the TT. Coulthard states:

      The translator's first and major difficulty ... is the construction of a new ideal reader who, even if he has the same academic, professional and intellectual level as the original reader, will have significantly different textual expectations and cultural knowledge (Coulthard, 1992:12).

      In the case of the extract translated here, it is debatable whether the ideal TT reader has "significantly different textual expectations," however his cultural knowledge will almost certainly vary considerably.

      Applied to the criteria used to determine the ideal ST reader it may be noted that few conditions are successfully met by the potential ideal TT reader. Indeed, the historical and cultural facts are unlikely to be known in detail along with the specific cultural situations described. Furthermore, despite considering the level of linguistic competence to be roughly equal for the ST and TT reader, certain differences may possibly be noted in response to the use of culturally specific lexis which must be considered when translating.

      Although certain opinions, preferences and prejudices may be instinctively transposed by the TT reader who may liken them to his own experience (in Britain, for example, comparing Algerian and Moroccan immigrants to Indian or Pakistani communities), it must be remembered that these do not match the social situation experience of the ST reader. Therefore, the core social and cultural aspects remain problematic when considering the cultural implications for translation.
       

4. The Translation Process

It has already been noted that the text in this case is surely intended for "an educated, middle-class readership" and, more specifically, a French one with knowledge of the foreign cultural aspects implied. The problems when translating such a text are therefore not only of a purely lexical character but also of an equally fundamental nature - the understanding of a social, economic, political and cultural context as well as connotative aspects of a more semantic character. As with all texts of foreign literature, historical, political and other such cultural references are always of a certain importance and the TT reader is unlikely to have a full understanding of such notions. When considering the cultural implications for translation, the extent to which it is necessary for the translator to explain or complete such an information gap should be taken into account; on the basis of conclusions reached concerning the ideal TT reader, the translator should decide how much may be left for the reader to simply infer.

Taking these last points into consideration, different elements will be discussed in relation to their cultural implications for translation. The different aforementioned theories will be considered and their relative pertinence examined.
 

1. Cultural categories

   Adapting Nida, Newmark places "foreign cultural words" in several categories (Newmark 1988:95-102). Following these categories, in the text "Les Loukoums chez l'Arabe," the examples leading to cultural implications for translation may be classed essentially as material culture, and as gestures and habits although other cultural terms are also present. These aspects may be translated in different ways according to their role in the text and the aims for the TT reader. Newmark also states the relevance of componential analysis in translation "as a flexible but orderly method of bridging the numerous lexical gaps, both linguistic and cultural, between one language and another" (Newmark, 1988:123). The two orientations in translation examined by Nida, namely formal or dynamic equivalence, should also be considered when analysing the cultural implications for translation of elements in these categories.
    

   1. Material culture

      "Food is for many the most sensitive and important expression of national culture; food terms are subject to the widest variety of translation procedures" (Newmark, 1988:97). The terms coming under this category are further complicated due to the "foreign" elements present. One such case is the reference to the brightly coloured pâtisseries tunisiennes (l.17). Translating according to the French idea of pâtisseries would imply using the English "cakes" or "pastries" yet in the context of Tunisian culture this hardly seems appropriate bearing in mind the difference in form of the TL reference. This illustrates the theory developed by Mounin (1963) who underlines the importance of the signification of a lexical item claiming that only if this notion is considered will the translated item fulfil its function correctly. In this case the translation as "sweets" seems to correspond to the idea of the original signification, even if it is a more abstract translation of the French original, and is therefore more appropriate concerning its function in the TT than a translation of formal equivalence.

      Another example of material culture includes an eponym, namely bouteilles de Sidi Brahim (l.42). In France this low-quality, Algerian wine is widely known and is the traditional drink with North African dishes, therefore widely sold in supermarkets as well as this type of small shop. This example can be seen as corresponding to the new ideal reader as described by Coulthard, having different cultural knowledge (Coulthard, 1992:12) as an English-speaking reader would not necessarily know the name of this wine and even less its associations. By using strictly formal equivalence, all meaning would be lost. It would however be possible to neutralise the original term Sidi Brahim by translating as "wine" or else to introduce a form of componential analysis, translating as "cheap, Algerian wine." Sidi Brahim being the area where the wine is produced, it seems appropriate to keep the original term in the TT but it is necessary to add a qualifier, here "wine." In this way, although the cultural implications are not so strong as for an "initiated" French reader, the information is passed on and elucidated by a qualifier. The cultural implications automatically understood by the ST reader, namely the notion of cheap, low-quality wine, are not however conveyed, the emphasis in this context being on the exotic nature of the product as conveyed by Sidi Brahim and not on the low cost.
       

   2. Gestures and habits

      Newmark points out that gestures and habits are "often described in 'non-cultural' language" (Newmark, 1988:103). In this extract many gestures and habits are implied yet not specifically described thus making an entirely communicative translation difficult. Once again, these are cultural references which imply a certain knowledge of the way of life of the North African community in France and of the attitudes towards it.

      North African men, often working in groups, are often caricatured by the French as being crafty. As well as this, the popular French expression "un travail d'Arabe" used to describe work that has been poorly done further explains popular attitudes. Due to linguistic and cultural factors, lower class Algerian and Moroccan men appear overtly servile in French society. All of these factors are inherently present in the text, yet their full cultural significance is difficult to portray without such background knowledge.

      The possible lack of cultural knowledge of the TT reader implies translating in a way so as to clearly convey notions which may otherwise go unnoticed. The proposed translation of "obligeance" as "obsequiousness" may overemphasise the strength of the original ST term yet the mockingly over-servile attitude aimed at being conveyed by the author is respected. When explaining certain principles of dynamic equivalence, Nida states that "the emotional tone must accurately reflect the point of view of the author" (Nida, 1964:139). Newmark's definition of compensation, being "when loss of meaning...in one part of a sentence is compensated in another part" (Newmark, 1988:90) may seem relevant here. By translating in this way, although culturally implicit translation loss is inevitable here, a form of dynamic equivalence through compensation is adopted in order to counterbalance such loss and seems an appropriate way of conveying cultural implications present in the ST.

      The expression d'après le café also needs further explanation. In French society, this would immediately be understood as the time after the small expresso coffee drunk at the end of a meal. As Sapir claims, "no two languages are ever sufficiently similar to be considered as representing the same social reality" (Sapir, 1956:69), and even a lexical item seen as having an apparently simple translation (here, café =coffee) may have a considerably different signification. The emphasis given by Nida on a TT having to produce the same response as the original (Nida, 1964) encourages the addition of "mealtime" as does the aforementioned theory developed by Mounin. In this way, the lexical function is transferred as far as possible in the TT as are the ST cultural connotations.
       

2. Cultural references

Three examples of potentially opaque cultural references for the TT reader may be found in the text. The first of these is "un Berbère à petit beret bleu." The author regrets not finding a typical Berber shopkeeper each time he goes into an Arab shop, a notion full of cultural meaning given the context of French colonisation of Algeria and Arab immigration yet of no great cultural significance for the TT reader. The slightly ironic touch portrayed by the image of a typical Berber man wearing the classic symbol of a Frenchman, namely a blue beret, may not be entirely lost on a TT reader yet without understanding the historical and cultural background the depth of the irony of comic paradox may be lost. It does not however seem appropriate to explore Nida's theory of dynamic equivalence by replacing this image with a TL equivalent as the cultural implications here are extremely specific. The text-type as well as the definition of the ideal TT reader and his motivations may imply preferring the use of transference or formal equivalence despite translation loss concerning cultural implications.

Secondly, the term "kabyle" must be considered. This is another reference which has strongly attached associations due to the same cultural and historical factors and the meaning is only fully understandable if these associations are known. A literal translation of the text would be "...where even the red piles of coca-cola cans have taken on a small, Kabyle look." An educated French reader would have enough knowledge of Algerian problems to instantly associate Kabylia with a fiercely independent community which has always refused to be influenced culturally, linguistically and politically by the surrounding countries despite great pressure. A communicative approach implies an explanation of this cultural reference and may be obtained by the addition of explanatory adjectives in the TT, thus translating as "...even the red piles of coca-cola cans have taken on that fiercely independent Kabyle look." This potential solution is not a direct translation of the ST, however it enables the TT reader to approach the cultural reference in a more meaningful way, yet again illustrating Nida's concern that a TT should produce the same response as the original.

Lastly, the term "boétien" needs consideration. Transferring this term using formal equivalence would have little cultural effect on an English-speaking reader and be of no value considering the text-type and the definition of the ideal TT reader. Indeed, Boeotians in Antique periods were considered to be a nation of rough peasants lacking in culture. In French the term béotien maintains this concept and although the adjective could be translated formally as "Boeotian," the true sense would be lacking in the TT. The cultural implications for translation require a full understanding of the notion rather than an emphasis on the original SL reference. In this case an appropriate translation would consider the use of a cultural equivalent and the term "philistine" could be used to represent a similar cultural concept.
 

3. Lexical feature

As can be frequently found in literary texts, lexical features present cultural implications for translation. One example of lexis in this text which may have a different effect on the ST and the TT reader is the reference "dans la fraîcheur du soir." This would seem welcoming to a ST reader used to hot days where fresh temperatures provide a welcome relief. To a British reader however, this may not produce the pleasurable effect intended by the author and care must be taken to convey the drop in temperature positively. By translating as "in the cool of the evening," the same positive aspect may be maintained on the TT reader as in the SL country.
 

4. The translation of the title: "Les Loukoums chez l'Arabe'

The title of this extract may also be considered as having cultural implications for translation. Considering the titles of the other chapters in the collection, it may be noted that almost all have cultural connotations and that this is one of the author's aims. According to Newmark, in literary translation "the title should sound attractive, allusive, suggestive ... and should usually bear some relation to the original" (Newmark, 1988:56). This can be seen as relevant here, the aim being to portray culturally bound aspects; thus the title may be seen as conveying aspects of the narrative and deserves further attention.
 

1. Les Loukoums

Firstly, the word loukoums must be considered. There are basically two possibilities when translating this word, keeping the original term or using the wider known term, Turkish delight, which may however carry a semantic incompatibility with chez l'Arabe. Loukoum is a term that is used in English but probably by a smaller community, those familiar with Oriental customs and countries, particularly Turkey and Greece. It may be misleading to introduce such a term which could be interpreted as an exotic translation using the scale presented by Hervey et al, shown previously.

On the other hand, a translation where loukoums are referred to as Turkish delight may introduce a widely accepted yet false cultural notion, namely that such a sweet is primarily Turkish and not something equally common to North African culture. In French no other term exists, loukoum is a cultural word that has been transferred as such and French links with North African countries reinforce the notion of loukoums as a cultural feature.

In English the term loukoums would need an explanation in the context of this text, destined for a wide general readership. The cultural knowledge of the TT does not correspond to the ST reader and it would therefore be difficult to justify the use of loukoum instead of Turkish delight, a word instantly understandable to the ideal TT reader and thus corresponding more to the notion of communicative translation as defined by Hervey et al (1992:31-32) and Newmark (1988:47).
 

2. Chez l'Arabe

This part of the title has several cultural implications to be considered when translating. Whilst conserving the original aspect of the ST title, a non-French reader would not necessarily react in the same way to the word "l'Arabe." As we have seen with the historical context, the French have obvious reasons to feel cultural implications when dealing with l'Arabe and an average French reader would necessarily have a large range of associations connected to the word, not primarily positive. Here, the word refers not only to the ethnic origin of the shopkeeper but also to the notion "Arab shop," a place which is always open and where almost everything can be found. This notion deserves to be maintained although a culturally bound translation loss is inevitable due to missing background knowledge. To translate the title simply as "Turkish Delight" would minimise the importance of l'Arabe in the SL cultural context and reinforce this loss. This case may be seen to illustrate Nida's aforementioned theory that differences in culture are often a greater problem than differences in language.

It must also be noted that a qualifier must be added to fully translate chez l'Arabe. Several possibilities may be considered, ranging from "Turkish Delight bought from the Arab," "...sold by the Arab," "...bought at the shop of the Arab," "...from the Arab shop." Considering the lack of background knowledge for the TT reader, the last possibility may be the most appropriate, the idea conveyed by "Arab shop" implying a notion of difference in French/Arab culture. Following Newmark who claims "the additional information a translator may have to add to his version is normally cultural (accounting for difference between SL and TL culture), technical...or linguistic" (Newmark, 1988:91), it may in this case prove useful to explain further this relationship by adding a footnote. An example may be "North Africans have strong colonial ties with France and many have set up local shops open long hours and selling a large variety of goods, both of French and native origins."
 

5. Conclusion

A variety of different approaches have been examined in relation to the cultural implications for translation. It is necessary to examine these approaches bearing in mind the inevitability of translation loss when the text is, as here, culture bound. Considering the nature of the text and the similarities between the ideal ST and TT reader, an important aspect is to determine how much missing background information should be provided by the translator using these methods. It has been recognised that in order to preserve specific cultural references certain additions need to be brought to the TT. This implies that formal equivalence should not be sought as this is not justified when considering the expectations of the ideal TT reader. At the other end of Nida's scale, complete dynamic equivalence does not seem totally desirable either as cultural elements have been kept in order to preserve the original aim of the text, namely to present one aspect of life in France.

Thus the cultural implications for translation of this kind of ST do not justify using either of these two extremes and tend to correspond to the definition of communicative translation, attempting to ensure that content and language present in the SL context is fully acceptable and comprehensible to the TL readership. (Newmark,1988).
 
 

REFERENCES

Bassnett, S. 1991. Translation Studies. London: Routledge

Coulthard, M. 1992. "Linguistic Constraints on Translation." In Studies in Translation / Estudos da Traducao, Ilha do Desterro, 28. Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, pp. 9-23.

Hervey, S., Higgins, I. 1992. Thinking Translation. London: Routledge.

Lotman, J., Uspensky, B. 1978. "On the Semiotic Mechanism of Culture," New Literary History, pp. 211-32.

Mounin, G. 1963. Les problèmes théoriques de la traduction. Paris: Gallimard.

Newmark, P. 1988. A Textbook of Translation. New York: Prentice Hall

Nida, E. 1964. "Principles of Correspondence." In Venuti, L. The Translation Studies Reader. London: Routledge.

Sapir, E. 1956. Culture, Language and Personality. Los Angeles: University of California Press.

Toury, G. 1978, revised 1995. "The Nature and Role of Norms in Translation." In Venuti, L. The Translation Studies Reader. London: Routledge.

Vermeer, H. 1989. "Skopos and Commission in Translational Activity." In Venuti, L. The Translation Studies Reader. London: Routledge.

Stuff for your blog!

by Vanessa Leonardi
 

• Intralingual (within one language, i.e. rewording or paraphrase)
   
• Interlingual (between two languages)
   
• Intersemiotic (between sign systems)

1. The extent of translation (full translation vs partial translation);
    
2. The grammatical rank at which the translation equivalence is established (rank-bound translation vs. unbounded translation);
    
3. The levels of language involved in translation (total translation vs. restricted translation).

1. Structure-shifts,
which involve a grammatical change between the structure of the ST and that of the TT;
 
2. Class-shifts,
when a SL item is translated with a TL item which belongs to a different grammatical class, i.e. a verb may be translated with a noun;
 
3. Unit-shifts
, which involve changes in rank;
 
4. Intra-system shifts,
which occur when 'SL and TL possess systems which approximately correspond formally as to their constitution, but when translation involves selection of a non-corresponding term in the TL system' (ibid.:80). For instance, when the SL singular becomes a TL plural.

by Magdy M. Zaky

There is a difference between the referential meaning of a word and the contextual meaning of the same word. Let us consider, for example, three lexical items which have the same physical reference in the world of non-linguistic reality, but are not simply used alternatively in free variation on each other. The words 'father', 'daddy' and 'pop' refer to the same physical object, i.e. the male parent. Yet other factors contribute to the choice of one rather than the other two in different situations. These factors may vary in accordance with the personality of the speaker or addressor, the presence or absence of the male parent in question, the feelings the addressor has towards his father as well as the degree of formality or informality between the two. In the case of translation, it is almost needless to point out the significance of such factors.

The same difference is recognized between referential and contextual types of meaning of lexical items, by the use of a different set of labels. Distinction is made between the signification of a given lexical item and its value or meaning when used in a particular context. In translation, consequently, the translator ought to translate the communicative function of the source language text, rather than its signification. A translator must, therefore, look for a target-language utterance that has an equivalent communicative function, regardless of its formal resemblance to original utterance as far as the formal structure is concerned. In other words, translation should operate or take place on the level of language use, more than usage. It has to be carried out in the way the given linguistic system is used for actual communication purposes, not on the level of the referential meaning or the formal sentence structure. Conveying textual effect of the original is the final objective to which a translator aspires, "A text is a whole entity, to be translated as a whole"..

by Abdolmehdi Riazi, Ph.D.
Associate professor, Department of Foreign Languages & Linguistics
Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

 
  This Paper was Presented at
The First International Conference on Language, Literature, and Translation in the Third Millennium
  Bahrain University
March 16-18, 2002

It is conventionally believed that familiarity with the source and target languages, as well as the subject matter on the part of the translator is enough for a good translation. However, due to the findings in the field of text analysis, the role of text structure in translation now seems crucial. Therefore, the present paper sets out with an introduction on different types of translation followed by some historical reviews on text analysis, and will then describe different approaches to text analysis. As a case in point, a text analysis of the rhetorical structure of newspaper editorials in English and Persian and its contribution to the translation of this specific genre will be discussed. It will be indicated that newspaper editorials in these two languages follow a tripartite structure including "Lead," "Follow," and "Valuate" making translation of this specific genre possible and more accurate between the two languages. The paper will be concluded with the idea that text analysis can contribute and lead to more accurate and communicative translations.

Introduction

onventionally, it is suggested that translators should meet three requirements, namely: 1) Familiarity with the source language, 2) Familiarity with the target language, and 3) Familiarity with the subject matter to perform their job successfully. Based on this premise, the translator discovers the meaning behind the forms in the source language (SL) and does his best to produce the same meaning in the target language (TL) using the TL forms and structures. Naturally and supposedly what changes is the form and the code and what should remain unchanged is the meaning and the message (Larson, 1984).

Therefore, one may discern the most common definition of translation, i.e., the selection of the nearest equivalent for a language unit in the SL in a target language. Depending on whether we consider the language unit, to be translated, at the level of word, sentence, or a general concept, translation experts have recognized three approaches to translation:

In the first approach, for each word in the SL an equivalent word is selected in the TL. This type of translation is effective, especially in translating phrases and proper names such as United Nations, Ministry of Education, Deep Structure, and so on. However, it is problematic at the level of sentence due to the differences in the syntax of source and target languages. Translated texts as a product of this approach are not usually lucid or communicative, and readers will get through the text slowly and uneasily.

In conceptual translation, the unit of translation is neither the word nor is it the sentence; rather it is the concept. The best example is the translation of idioms and proverbs such as the following.

Such idioms and proverbs cannot be translated word for word; rather they should be translated into equivalent concepts in the TL to convey the same meaning and produce the same effect on the readers.

In addition to word-for-word, sentence-to-sentence, and conceptual translations, other scholars have suggested other approaches and methods of translation. Newmark (1988), for example, has suggested communicative and semantic approaches to translation. By definition, communicative translation attempts to produce on its readers an effect as close as possible to that obtained on the readers of the source language. Semantic translation, on the other hand, attempts to render, as closely as the semantic and syntactic structures of the TL allow, the exact contextual meaning of the original. Semantic translation is accurate, but may not communicate well; whereas communicative translation communicates well, but may not be very precise.

Another aspect of translation experts have attended to is the translation processes. For instance, Newmark (1988: 144) contends that there are three basic translation processes:

1. the interpretation and analysis of the SL text;
    
2. the translation procedure (choosing equivalents for words and sentences in the TL), and
    
3. the reformulation of the text according to the writer's intention, the reader's expectation, the appropriate norms of the TL, etc.

The processes, as Newmark states, are to a small degree paralleled by translation as a science, a skill, and an art.

This paper is concerned with some aspects of the first process. It will be suggested that a major procedure in the interpretation and analysis of the SL text should be text analysis at the macro-level with the goal of unfolding rhetorical macro-structures. By macro-structures we mean patterns of expression beyond sentence level. In the next parts of the paper, first a brief history of text analysis will be presented followed by approaches to text analysis. The paper will then continue by indicating how two specific genres; namely, newspaper editorials and poetry, lend themselves to macroanalysis of texts and how this analysis will help translators.

Historical Perspectives on Text Analysis

It is a major concern of linguists to find out and depict clearly how human beings use language to communicate, and, in particular, how addressers construct linguistic messages for addressees and how addressees work on linguistic messages in order to interpret and understand them.

Accordingly, two main approaches have been developed in linguistics to deal with the transmission and reception of the utterances and messages. The first is "discourse analysis," which mainly focuses on the structure of naturally occurring spoken language, as found in such "discourses" as conversations, commentaries, and speeches. The second approach is "text analysis," which focuses on the structure of written language, as found in such "texts" as essays and articles, notices, book chapters, and so on. It is worth mentioning, however, that the distinction between "discourse" and "text" is not clear-cut. Both "discourse" and "text" can be used in a much broader sense to include all language units with a communicative function, whether spoken or written. Some scholars (see, e.g., Van Dijk, 1983; Grabe and Kaplan, 1989; Freedman, 1989) talk about "spoken and written discourses"; others (see, e.g., Widdowson, 1977; Halliday, 1978; Kress, 1985; Leckie-Tarry, 1993) talk about "spoken and written text." In this paper, we stick to "text analysis" with a focus on the structure of written language at micro- and macro-levels.

According to Connor (1994), text analysis dates back to the Prague School of Linguistics, initiated by Vilem Mathesius in the 1920s. Later on it was elaborated by Jan Firbas and Frantisek Dane in the 1950s and 1960s. Connor (1994) believes that The Prague School's major contribution to text analysis was the notion of theme and rheme, which describes the pattern of information flow in sentences and its relation to text coherence.

On the other hand, Stubbs (1995) states that the notion of text analysis was developed in British linguistics from the 1930s to the 1990s. In this regard, the tradition, as Stubbs (1995) continues, is visible mainly in the work of Firth, Halliday, and Sinclair (See, e.g., Firth 1935, 1957a, 1957b; Halliday 1985, 1992; Sinclair 1987, 1990). The principles underlying these works, as stated by Stubbs, demand studying the use of real language in written and spoken discourse and performing textual analysis of naturally occurring language.

As (Connor 1994: 682) states, "systemic linguistics, a related approach to text analysis and semiotics, emerged in the 1960s with the work of linguists such as Halliday, whose theories emphasize the ideational or content-bearing functions of discourse as well as the choices people make when they use language to structure their interpersonal communications (see, e.g., Halliday, 1978)." Halliday's systemic linguistics has influenced text analysis tremendously as well as curriculum models for language education (see, e.g., Mohan 1986). Following Halliday and Hasan's (1976) taxonomy, the notion of cohesion has been one of the popular issues in text analysis.

According to Connor (1994), in the 1970s and 1980s, many linguists, psychologists, and composition specialists around the world embraced text and discourse analysis. Connor believes that this New School of Text Analysis is characterized by an eclectic, interdisciplinary emphasis, placing psychological and educational theories on an equal status with linguistic theories (whereas the Prague and systemic approaches primarily orient themselves to linguistics). Examples of text analysis from this new approach include studies of macro-level text structures such as Swales's (1990) studies of the organization of introductions in scientific research articles; and Biber's (1988) multidimensional computerized analysis of diverse features in spoken and written texts.

Bloor and Bloor (1995) contend that by the process of analysis, linguists build up descriptions of the language, and gradually discover more about how people use language in social communication. The same thing can be considered with the dynamic process of translation in that the discourse and rhetorical structures encoded in the source language can be reconstructed in the target language, and then the translator goes for the appropriate syntax and lexicon. One of the indexes of a "good" translation would, therefore, be to see to what extent a translator has been able to reconstruct the rhetorical structures of the source text in the target language through text analysis.

Approaches to Text Analysis

We may roughly divide the available literature on text analysis into two groups. First, those aiming at providing a detailed linguistic analysis of texts in terms of lexis and syntax. This approach has mostly referred to as analysis at micro-structure. Second, those related to the analysis and description of the rhetorical organization of various texts. This approach has been labeled as macro-structure analysis of texts. In this paper, we are concerned with macro-analysis and its implication in translation. First, the macro-structure of newspaper editorials in two languages, English, and Persian, will be presented. Then, the macro-structure of the poems of a famous Persian Poet, Hakim O'mar Khayam, and the English translation of these poems by a well-known English translator, Fitzgerald, will be presented as two cases in point. It would, of course, be naïve to generalize these cases to all languages and all types of genres without adequate research and empirical evidence. However, the point of discovering and unfolding macro-structures in a SL with the goal of reconstructing nearly the same patterns in the TL in the process of translation deserves theoretical and practical attention.

Bolivar (1994) studied editorials of The Guardian. She selected 23 editorials from The Guardian during the first three months of 1981. Based on the analysis of these editorials, she found out that a tripartite structure called "triad" organizes the macro structure of the editorials. Bolivar explains that the function of the triad is to negotiate the transmission and evaluation in written text and that it consists of three turns or elements, namely, Lead, Follow, and Valuate, serving distinctive functions of initiation, follow-up, and evaluation of the two. It shares similarities with the "exchange," as the minimal unit of spoken discourse. The following excerpt taken from The Gardian, "Behind closed Irish doors." March 3, 1981, cited in Bolivar (1994: 280-1) is an example of a triad.

According to Bolivar, not all triads have three turns. Triads can exhibit more than three turns provided that the sequence LF is repeated and V is the final turn. Thus, triads such as LFLFV or LFLFLFV can be found when the V turn is delayed by the writer.

The study of editorials from other British newspapers conducted by Bolivar confirmed the existence of three-part structures in those newspapers.

Parallel to Bolivar's study, Riazi and Assar (2001) conducted a similar study on Persian newspaper editorials to see if the same macro-structures are detectable in this particular genre. The editorials of six currently published Persian newspapers were examined. A sample of 60 editorials, 10 for each newspaper, was randomly selected to be analyzed.

The editorials were analyzed at two levels 1) at a rhetorical macro-structure level, and 2) at a micro syntactic level. Each text (editorial) was segmented by sentence units and was codified according to its function; lead, follow, or valuate. The inter-coder reliability indices of the segmentation and codification of the editorials were then determined. An inter-coder reliability index above .80 was obtained. The following excerpt from Iran (June 27, 1997), one of the newspapers, is an example of a triad in Persian newspaper editorials.

Results of the analysis performed on the editorials indicated that the most frequent pattern pertaining to all the studied newspapers was LFV. In other words, we can say that the general macro-structure of Persian newspaper editorials is LFV. This finding is in line with that of Bolivar's (1994) as related to The Guardian newspaper. This common pattern between the two languages enhances the translatability of the newspaper editorials. The task of translators would be to look for the triads and go for the appropriate syntax and lexicon. It is interesting to point out that in both Bolivar's and our study, it was found that each turn is characterized by specific sentence types. For example, it was found that "Leads" were mostly expressed in interrogatives; "Follows" mostly used passive structures; and "Valuates" used conditional and copulas. The usage of special syntactic structures for specific turns can be justified partly in light of the discoursal function, attributed to each structure and reported in previous studies. Interrogative sentences, for example, are used with the goal of eliciting information or presenting some new topic for discussion. Since the main function of L turn is to introduce the aboutness of the triad and a subject, therefore, it seems quite reasonable to have interrogatives mostly in L turns. On the other hand, the correspondence of passive structures and F turns might be due to the fact that passives provide development and elaboration of the events. Reid (1990: 201) points out that "the passive voice is indicative of the formal interactional character of ...[a] prose as opposed to the more personal, interactive prose of narrative." As for V turns, we can say that the function of conditionals is to produce or suggest some kind of solution or desirable action on some conditions (Bolivar 1994), thus, the association between V turns and conditionals. Becoming aware of these macro- and micro-features of texts, we can make our translations of particular texts and genres more accurate, meaningful, and communicative.

The Case of Khayam's Robaiyat (Quatrains)

Omar Khayam was one of the most famous and beloved Persian poets of middle ages. The Robaiyat of Omar Khayam is among the few Persion masterpieces that have been translated into most languages, including English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Chinese, Hindi, Arabic, and Urdu. The most famous translation of the Robaiyat from Persian into English was undertaken in 1859 by Edward J. Fitzgerald. He has tried his utmost to adhere to the spirit of the original poetry.

Yarmohammadi (1995) studied the rhetorical organization of Khayam's Robaiyat (quatrains) and compared it with its English translation by Fitzgerald. His study revealed that the macro-structure of all Khayam's Robaiyat included three components, namely, "description," "recommendation," and "reasoning" which can be used as a criterion to distinguish between the real Khayam's Robaiyat and those erroneously attributed to him. Based on his analysis, Yarmohammadi came to the conclusion that the reason for Fitzgerald's successful translation of Khayam's Robaiyat is that he was able to reconstruct the same macro-structures in English and then apply appropriate sentence structures and lexis. The following is an example of one of the Khayam's quatrains as translated by Fitzgerald.

Conclusion

As Hatim and Mason (1997) state, a translator typically operates on the verbal record of an act of communication between source language speaker/writer and hearers/readers and seeks to relay perceived meaning values to a group of target language receiver(s) as an separate act of communication. However, according to Hatim and Mason (1990), we know little about what patterns there are and how equivalence could be achieved between them. One thing of which we can be confident, nevertheless, is that the patterns are always employed in the service of an overriding rhetorical purpose. This is an aspect of texture which is of crucial importance to the translator. The structure of the source text becomes an important guide to decisions regarding what should or should not appear in the derived text. The point that the present paper tried to make is the benefit translators may derive from text analysis in translation by determining the micro- and macro-indices of the texts to support them in their difficult task.

Text analysis is, thus, becoming a promising tool in performing more reliable translations. There are numerous studies done on text analysis, which can have interesting messages for translators. For example, the kind of structure frequently reported for argumentative genres include "introduction, explanation of the case under discussion, outline of the argument, proof, refutation and conclusion" (Hatch 1992: 185). As a final word, we may say that in translation we should first try to reconstruct the macro-structure and rhetorical structure of the source text in the target language and then look for the appropriate words and structures; this is a procedure that skillful translators perform in the process of translation consciously or unconsciously.

Biber, D. (1988). Variation across speech and writing. New York: Cambridge University Press.

, Bloor, T. & Bloor, M. (1995). The functional analysis of English: A Hallidayan approach. London: Arnold.

Connor, U. (1994). Text analysis. TESOL Quarterly, 28, 682-685.

Firth, J.R. (1935). The technique of semantics. Transactions of the philological society, 36-72.

Firth, J.R. (1957a). Papers in linguistics. London: Oxford University Press.

Firth, J.R. (1957b). A synopsis of linguistic theory, 1930-1955. Studies in Linguistic Analysis, Special Vol., Philological Society, 1-32.

Halliday, M. (1978). Language as social semiotic. London: Edward Arnold.

Halliday, M. & Hasan, R. (1976). Cohesion in English. London: Longman.

Halliday, M. (1985). An introduction to functional grammar. London: Edward Arnold.

Halliday, M. (1992). Language as system and language as instance: The corpus as a theoretical construct. In J. Svartvik (Ed.), Directions in corpus linguistics (pp. 61-77). Berlin: Mouton.

Hatim, B. & Mason, I. (1990). Discourse and the translator. London: Longman.

Hatim, B. & Mason, I. (1997). The translator as communicator. New York: Routledge.

Hartmann, R. (1980). Contrastive textology. Heildberg: Julius Groos Verlag.

Hinds, J. (1980). Organizational patterns in discourse. In T. Givon (Ed.), Syntax and semantics: Vol. 12: Discourse and syntax. New York: Academic Press.

Reid, J.M. (1990). Responding to different topic types: A quantitative analysis from a contrastive rhetoric perspective. In B. Kroll (Ed.), Second language writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Riazi, A. M., & Assar, F. (2001). A Text Analysis of Persian Newspapers Editorials. Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities of Shiraz University, Vols. 31 & 32.

Sinclair, J. (1987). Collins Cobuild English Language Dictionary. London: Happer Collins.

Sinclair, J. (1990). Collins Cobuild English Grammar. London: Happer Collins.

Stubbs, M. (1995). Text and corpus analysis. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Publishers Inc.

Swales, J. (1990). Genre Analysis: English in Academic and Research Settings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Yarmohammadi, L. (1995).The discoursal and textual structure of Khayam's poetry in Fitzgerald's English versification. In L.Yarmohammadi (Ed.), Fifteen Articles in Contrastive Linguistics and the Structure of Persian: Grammar, Text and Discourse. Tehran: Rahnama Publications.

for Learning/Translating English

Communication is basic to all human communities and, according to McEldowney (1990:13), can be broadly defined as the process by which information is exchanged. She indicates that there are many ways in which communication takes place—through spoken language, through written language, through signs, through sound, through gesture, through facial expression and so on. It is, however, language which is the central concern of this study.

As indicated, human communication is motivated by a need to accumulate and impart information. The more cohesive and coherent a text produced for this purpose, the more comprehensible it will be. In this respect, as referred to above with regard to McEldowney's work, it is possible to establish norms as to the way in which information is communicated and, in general terms, the more closely a piece of writing adheres to those norms the more immediately comprehensible it is.

Such immediate comprehensibility is related to the impersonal nature of the language which is conventionally used to communicate what the writer regards to be factual information. A text written in this way, which cannot be attributed to a particular writer and which does not give rise to a debate about meaning (see Text 1 below), is unlikely to attract the attention of a student of stylistics. The text is appreciated in terms of the reader's interest in the informational content and the explicitness with which it is expressed. As suggested previously, however, there are thousands of deviations from the norm, ranging from le criteaux of the streets to the greatest works of literature and once the norms are flouted, a study of stylistics becomes the focus of attention.

A central aim of this study is the teaching of translation to potential translators and interpreters whose reading comprehension skills in English still need more practice. An important by-product of learning to translate is the enhancement of their reading skills with regard to English text. With this in mind, we note that transactional language is central for learners of English as foreign language. In this respect McEldowney (1996/7:4) argues that, as transactional language is predictable in both form and vocabulary, it is most immediately learnable and that once it is learned, transactional language can be the medium for learning less predictable forms of the language.

Now, let us turn to an illustration of the features which are related to the two types of language with which we are concerned.

Transactional Language

The purpose of the following text is to impart information about Charlemagne in a straightforward way

Eleven centuries ago one man ruled most of Western Europe. Charlemagne could hardly read or write, yet he built up a vast empire. Charlemagne was a Frank, one of the people who had invaded the Roman Empire when it collapsed in the 5^th century and who then settled in northern France. He was a great warrior. When he became king in AD 768, his territory was small and threatened by its French neighbours. Charlemagne soon overcame them and invaded northern Italy. (Children's Illustrated Encyclopaedia, 1991: 107).

As already indicated, the purpose of this text is to convey facts, language being used merely as a carrier of factual information. Such text can be seen as committed to the organisation of the real world (Beaugrande & Dressler, 1981:160). Expectations of what readers can extract from this text are more or less defined—three events in Charlemagne's life, three events in the settlement of the Franks, descriptive information about Charlemagne, and the situation in Western Europe eleven centuries ago. This information is conveyed in linguistic forms (Clusters of particular verb forms, verb types, sentence patterns and textual organisation of information are matched with particular communicative purposes) identified by McEldowney (1996/7) as typical of these purposes.

by Cecilia Quiroga-Clare
 

Introduction

Despite the fact that ambiguity in language is an essential part of language, it is often an obstacle to be ignored or a problem to be solved for people to understand each other. I will examine this fact and attempt to show that even when perceived as a problem, ambiguity provides value. In any case, language ambiguity can be understood as an illustration of the complexity of language itself.

As a start, I will define some terms to clarify what we mean by "ambiguity." By defining "lexical and structural ambiguity," "connotation, denotation and implication" and tropes as metaphor and allegory, I will try to construct a base upon which language ambiguity takes on extra meaning.

Following this, I will use three major accomplishments of human creativity: literature, psychoanalysis and computational linguistics, as examples of where language ambiguity has an important place. I will briefly comment on the consequences of the different interpretations of one of the most, if not the most, controversial work of literature in history: the Holy Bible.

Something is ambiguous when it can be understood in two or more possible senses or ways. If the ambiguity is in a single word it is called lexical ambiguity. In a sentence or clause, structural ambiguity.

Examples of lexical ambiguity are everywhere. In fact, almost any word has more than one meaning. "Note" = "A musical tone" or "A short written record." "Lie" = "Statement that you know it is not true" or "present tense of lay: to be or put yourself in a flat position." Also we can take the word "ambiguity" itself. It can mean an indecision as to what you mean, an intention to mean several things, a probability that one or other or both of two things has been meant, and the fact that a statement has several meanings. Ambiguity tends to increase with frequency of usage.

Some examples of structural ambiguity: "John enjoys painting his models nude." Who is nude? "Visiting relatives can be so boring." Who is doing the visiting? "Mary had a little lamb." With mint sauce? (7)

In normal speech, ambiguity can sometimes be understood as something witty or deceitful. Harry Rusche (15) proposes that ambiguity should be extended to any verbal nuance, which gives room to alternative reactions to the same linguistic element.

There is a category, called "complementary polysemy" wherein a single verb has multiple senses, which are related to one another in some predictable way. An example is "bake," which can be interpreted as a change-of-state verb or as a creation verb in different circumstances. "John baked the potato." (change-of-state) "John baked a cake." (creation) (9)

Denotation: This is the central meaning of a word, as far as it can be described in a dictionary. It is therefore sometimes known as the cognitive or referential meaning. It is possible to think of lexical items that have a more or less fixed denotation ("sun," denoting the nearest star) but this is rare. Most are subject to change over time. The denotation of "silly" today is not what it was in the 16th century. (11) At that time the word meant "happy" or "innocent."

Connotation:

Utterance: "A bus!" → Implicature (implicit meaning): "We must run." (11)

These are only a few of the language figures or "tropes," providing concepts useful to understanding ambiguity in language.

Metaphor: This refers to the non-literal meaning of a word, a clause or sentence. Metaphors are very common; in fact all abstract vocabulary is metaphorical. A metaphor compares things. (Examples: "blanket of stars"; "out of the blue")

A metaphor established by usage and convention becomes a symbol. Thus crown suggests the power of the state, press = the print news media and chair = the control (or controller) of a meeting. (11)

Having defined terms, I would say that language ambiguity is a phenomenon we can include as an illustration of the Paradigm of Complexity. Complexity is a weave constituted by diverse events, interactions, and randomness; it is disorganized and unpredictable. For this we need to put order, discard what is uncertain, distinguish, clarify, and classify. But all those operations, necessary for language to become intelligible, put us at risk of blindness.

I could say that ambiguity in language is the uncertainty within the very core of the organized system of language.

We tend to think of language as a clear and literal vehicle for accurately communicating ideas. But even when we use language literally, misunderstandings arise and meanings shift. People can be intentionally or unintentionally ambiguous. Nevertheless, when someone uses a potentially ambiguous sentence or expression, usually the intention was to express only one meaning. As we know, most words can have denotations, apparent meanings, connotations and implied or hidden meanings. Also, we often use words in a figurative way. Even though figurative language is more often used in poetry and fiction, it is still very common in ordinary speech.

Ambiguity is a poetic vehicle. It is human nature to try to find meaning within an exchange. A text is given to us and in return we give our interpretation. Our own associations give understanding of what is presented to us.

A characteristic of the late twentieth century, as well as of postmodern literature, is that certainties are continuously called into question, and thus allegory becomes a suitable form for expression. Allegory is a classic example of double discourse that avoids establishing a center within the text, because in allegory the unity of the work is provided by something that is not explicitly there. (16)

In contrast to symbols, which are generally taken to transcend the sign itself and express universal truths, allegories and metaphors divide the sign, exposing its arbitrariness. (I use "sign" here in the sense of the direct intended meaning - see below) Thus the allegorical impulse in contemporary literature can be seen as a reflection of the postmodern emphasis on the reader as co-producer, since it invites the reader's active participation in making meaning. (16)

Metaphors are indeed highly appropriate postmodern devices, because they are obvious vehicles for ambiguity. A living metaphor always carries dual meanings, the literal or sentence meaning and the conveyed or utterance meaning.

A metaphor induces comparison, but since the grounds of similarity are not always given, metaphors serve to emphasize the freedom of the reader as opposed to the authority of the writer. (16)

Historically we can point to Saussure as initiating the discussion related to the arbitrariness of the sign as described in his Course of General Linguistics. The signifier may stay the same but the signified will shift in relation to context. In terms of change over time, Saussure states "whatever the factors involved in [the] change, whether they act in isolation or in combination, they always result in a shift in the relationship between the sign and the signification." (Saussure, 1983, p. 75)

Taking into consideration why all the aforementioned could be considered as a curse, no example of literature better serves than the Bible. This special book, because of its central place at the heart of three of the world's most important religions, has been subject to enormously detailed scrutiny over the centuries in an attempt to glean meaning and to determine "once and for all" the proper way of living and worshipping.

Persecution and oppression have resulted from these interpretations, whether done in the true belief of the of the heretics' evil nature or by cynically using the Bible for political purposes, as Hitler did in his attempted annihilation of the Jews.

Where are the Cathars? Where are the Huguenots now? There is no doubt that these people, were any still surviving, would view the ambiguity of language as a curse, for their interpretations of the Bible were viewed as heresy, and they were extinguished because the same Bible was read in different ways by different men.

When Sigmund Freud refers to the difficulties in the patient narrative: "Neurotic Family Novel," it is in relation to the value of the historical truth through its discursive expression. Thus memory is contrasted with a way of forgetting; the objective of the cure is to re-write the history, similar to an archeological work, which begins with hieroglyphics to decode an epoch. (17)

The interpretation interposes meaningful words that allow the meaning to shift. The operability of the psychoanalysis relies on a semantic base, that is to say, the attribution of significance and its verbalization.

The Freudian concept of symptoms as symbols, his consideration of dreams as hieroglyphic writing, and the cure based on the spoken word, immediately established a link between psychoanalysis and linguistics. Freud presents words as bridges between unconscious and conscious thoughts. Similarly, neurosis presents a peculiar bond between disease and language, representing a usage dysfunction or a symbolization process that failed, or the existence of an archive that contains pathogenic memories. (18)

The study of oral or written slips of the tongue, the forgetting of names, the importance of polysemy and homophony for the Unconscious, the psychic mechanisms like condensation and displacement (metaphor and metonym), is a substantial part of the psychoanalytic discovery-invention-theory.

And the most important aspect is the use and significance of the language in the therapeutic discourse, that is to say, speech as a working tool.

For the discourse analysis, who is talking, how, why and when something is said, are essential. Speech is not a simple vocalization in abstract but a speech about something for someone, about someone, or about something. It is also important how significance and coherence are reached and how the mental processes and representations are involved in the comprehension. All these issues are basic to the psychoanalyst's interpretative work (17)

Therefore, homophones, mistakes provoked by polysemy, metaphors, and metonyms are considered as primary characteristics of the constitutive heterogeneity of the discourses, rather than incorrectness.

If everything we know is viewed as a transition from something else - Freud said in The Antithetical Meaning of Primal Words (4), every experience must have a double meaning or for every meaning there must be two aspects. All meaning is only meaningful in reference to, and in distinction from, other meanings; there is no meaning in any stable or absolute sense. Meanings are multiple, changing, and contextual. (8)

Computational linguistics has two aims: To enable computers to be used as aids in analyzing and processing natural language, and to understand, by analogy with computers, more about how people process natural language.

One of the most significant problems in processing natural language is the problem of ambiguity. Most ambiguities escape our notice because we are very good at resolving them using context and our knowledge of the world. But computer systems do not have this knowledge, and consequently do not do a good job of making use of the context. (16)

The problem of ambiguity arises wherever computers try to cope with human language, as when a computer on the Internet retrieves information about alternative meanings of the search terms, meanings that we had no interest in. In machine translation, for a computer it is almost impossible to distinguish between the different meanings of an English word that may be expressed by very different words in the target language. Therefore all attempts to use computers alone to process human language have been frustrated by the computer's limited ability to deal with polysemy.

Efforts to solve the problem of ambiguity have focused on two potential solutions: knowledge-based, and statistical systems. In the knowledge-based approach, the system developers must encode a great deal of knowledge about the world and develop procedures to use it in determining the sense of the text.

In the statistical approach, a large corpus of annotated data is required. The system developers then write procedures that compute the most likely resolutions of the ambiguities, given the words or word classes and other easily determined conditions.

The reality is that there no operational computer system capable of determining the intended meanings of words in discourse exists today. Nevertheless, solving the polysemy problem is so important that all efforts will continue. I believe that when we achieve this goal, we will be close to attaining the holy grail of computer science, artificial intelligence. In the meanwhile, there is a lot more to teach computers about contexts and especially linguistic contexts.

Language cannot exist without ambiguity; which has represented both a curse and a blessing through the ages.

Since there is no one "truth" and no absolutes, we can only rely on relative truths arising from groups of people who, within their particular cultural systems, attempt to answer their own questions and meet their needs for survival.

Language is a very complex phenomenon. Meanings that can be taken for granted are in fact only the tip of a huge iceberg. Psychological, social and cultural events provide a moving ground on which those meanings take root and expand their branches.

Signification is always "spilling over," as John Lye says, "especially in texts which are designed to release signifying power, as texts which we call 'literature'." The overlapping meanings emerge from the tropes, ways of saying something by always saying something else. In this sense, ambiguity in literature has a very dark side, when important documents are interpreted in different ways, resulting in persecution, oppression, and death.

Giving meaning to human behavior is one of the challenges for Psychoanalysis and Psychology in general -- a risk to be taken during a psychoanalytic session. After Ferdinand de Saussure proposed that there is no mutual correspondence between a word and a thing, to ascribe significance becomes much more complicated. The meaning in each situation appears as an effect of the underlying structure of signs. These signs themselves do not have a fixed significance, the significance exists only in the individual. "Sign is only what it represents for someone." The sign appears as pure reference, as a simple trace, says Peirce. (18)

"Disambiguation" is a key concept in Computational Linguistitics. The paradox of how we tolerate semantic ambiguity and yet we seem to thrive on it, is a major question for this discipline. (3)

Computational Linguists created "Word Sense Disambiguation" with the objective of processing the different meanings of a word and selecting the meaning appropriate to the use of the word in a particular context. Over 40 years of research has not solved this problem.

At this time, there is no computer capable of storing enough knowledge to process what human knowledge has accumulated.

It can be seen, therefore, that ambiguity in language is both a blessing and a curse. I would like to say, together with Pablo Neruda, "Ambiguity, I love you because I don't love you."

(1) Clare, Richard Fraser. (Historian) Informal conversations about historal consequences of different interpretations of the Bible.

(2) Engel, S. Morris. "Fallacies & Pitfalls of Language" from Fallacies & Pitfalls of Language: The Language Trap. Ed Paperback Nov.1994.

(3) Fortier, Paul A. "Semantic Fields and Polysemy: A correspondence analysis approach" University of Manitoba. Paper.

(4) Frath, Pierre "Metaphor, polysemy and usage" Université MarcBloch, Department d'anglais. France.

(5) Freud, Sigmund "

(8) Lye, John "Some characteristics of Contemporary Theory" (Lacan) Department of English, Brock University 1997/2000.

(9) Long, David "

(11) Miller, George "Ambiguous words" iMP Magazine. March 22, 2001.

(12) Misa, Luis

(14) Portner, Paul "Semantic Issues for Computational Linguistics" Department of Linguistics, Georgetown University, Washington. Fall 1998.

(15) Rusche, Harry

(16) Traugott, Elisabeth Gloss. "'Conventional' and 'Dead' Metaphors Revisited." The Ubiquity of Metaphor: Metaphor in Language and Thought. Ed. Wolf Paprotte and Rena Dirven. Amsterdam: Benjamins, 1985. 17-56.

(17) Vinocur de Fischbein, Susana

(18) Zoroastro, Gastón A. "Problemas epistemológicos de la interpretación" Paper.

The term 'culture' addresses three salient categories of human activity: the 'personal,' whereby we as individuals think and function as such; the 'collective,' whereby we function in a social context; and the 'expressive,' whereby society expresses itself.

Language is the only social institution without which no other social institution can function; it therefore underpins the three pillars upon which culture is built.

Multiculturalism, which is a present-day phenomenon, plays a role here, because it has had an impact on almost all peoples worldwide as well as on the international relations emerging from the current new world order. Moreover, as technology develops and grows at a hectic pace, nations and their cultures have, as a result, started a merging process whose end(-point?) is difficult to predict. We are at the threshold of a new international paradigm. Boundaries are disappearing and distinctions are being lost. The sharp outlines that were once distinctive now fade and become blurred.

As translators we are faced with an alien culture that requires that its message be conveyed in anything but an alien way. That culture expresses its idiosyncrasies in a way that is 'culture-bound': cultural words, proverbs and of course idiomatic expressions, whose origin and use are intrinsically and uniquely bound to the culture concerned. So we are called upon to do a cross-cultural translation whose success will depend on our understanding of the culture we are working with.

Is it our task to focus primarily on the source culture or the target culture? The answer is not clear-cut. Nevertheless, the dominant criterion is the communicative function of the target text.

Let us take business correspondence as an example: here we follow the commercial correspondence protocol commonly observed in the target language. So "Estimado" will become "Dear" in English and "Monsieur" in French, and a "saludo a Ud. atentamente" will become "Sincerely yours" in English and "Veuillez agréer Monsieur, mes sentiments les plus distingués" in French.

Finally, attention is drawn to the fact that among the variety of translation approaches, the 'Integrated Approach' seems to be the most appropriate. This approach follows the global paradigm in which having a global vision of the text at hand has a primary importance. Such an approach focuses from the macro to the micro level in accordance with the Gestalt-principle, which states that an analysis of parts cannot provide an understanding of the whole; thus translation studies are essentially concerned with a web of relationships, the importance of individual items being decided by their relevance within the larger context: text, situation and culture.

In conclusion, it can be pointed out that the transcoding (de-coding, re-coding and en-coding?—the term 'transcoding' appears here for the first time) process should be focused not merely on language transfer but also—and most importantly—on cultural transposition. As an inevitable consequence (corollary?) of the previous statement, translators must be both bilingual and bicultural, if not indeed multicultural.

Is it our task to focus primarily on the source culture or the target culture? The answer is not clear-cut. Nevertheless, the dominant criterion is the communicative function of the target text.

Let us take business correspondence as an example: here what we do is to follow the language commercial correspondence protocol commonly observed in the target language. So "Estimado" will become "Dear" in English and "Monsieur" in French, and a "saludo a Ud. atentamente" will become "Sincerely yours" in English and "Veuillez agréer Monsieur, mes sentiments les plus distingués" in French.

Finally, attention is drawn to the fact that among the variety of translation approaches, the ´Integrated Aproach´ seems to be the most appropriate. This approach follows the global paradigm in which having a global vision of the text at hand has a primary importance. Such an approach focuses from the macro to the micro level in accordance with the Gestalt-principle which lays down that an analysis of parts cannot provide an understanding of the whole and thus translation studies are essencially concerned with a web of relationships, the importance of individual items, being decided by their relevance in the larger context: text, situation and culture.

In conclusion, it can be pointed out that the transcoding process should be focused not merely on language transfer but also—and most importantly—on cultural transposition. As an inevitable consequence of the previous statement, translators must be both bilingual and bicultural if not multicultural.

Grammatical Conversion in English:

Some new trends in lexical evolution

1. Introduction

English is a very productive language. Due to its versatile nature, it can undergo many different word formation processes to create new lexicon. Some of them are much lexicalised—such as derivation or compounding. However, new trends are pointing up in the productive field. This is the case of the minor methods of word-formation—i.e. clipping, blending—and conversion. As they are recent phenomena, they have not been much studied yet. Even scholars differ in their opinions about the way they should be treated. There is only one point they all agree with: these new methods are becoming more frequently used. For example, conversion will be more active in the future, and so, it will create a great part of the new words appearing in the English language (Cannon, 1985: 415).

"Conversion is the derivational process whereby an item changes its word-class without the addition of an affix" (Quirk, Randolph and Greenbaum, 1987: 441). Thus, when the noun 'sign' (1) shifts to the verb 'sign(ed)' (2) without any change in the word form we can say this is a case of conversion¹. However, it does not mean that this process takes place in all the cases of homophones (Marchand, 1972: 225). Sometimes, the connection has to do with coincidences or old etymological ties that have been lost.. For example, 'mind' (3 and 4) and 'matter' (5 and 6) are cases of this grammatical sameness without connection by conversion—the verbs have nothing to do today with their respective noun forms in terms of semantics (ibid.: 243).

Conversion is particularly common in English because the basic form of nouns and verbs is identical in many cases (Aitchison, 1989: 160). It is usually impossible in languages with grammatical genders, declensions or conjugations (Cannon, 1985: 430).

The status of conversion is a bit unclear. It must be undoubtedly placed within the phenomena of word-formation; nevertheless, there are some doubts about whether it must be considered a branch of derivation or a separate process by itself (with the same status as derivation or compounding) (Bauer, 1983: 32).

Despite this undetermined position in grammar, some scholars assert that conversion will become even more active in the future because it is a very easy way to create new words in English (Cannon, 1985: 415). There is no way to know the number of conversions appearing every day in the spoken language, although we know this number must be high (ibid.: 429). As it is a quite recent phenomenon, the written evidence is not a fully reliable source. We will have to wait a little longer to understand its whole impact, which will surely increase in importance in the next decades.

The terminology used for this process has not been completely established yet. The most usual terms are 'conversion', because a word is converted (shifted) to a different part of speech; and 'zero-derivation', because the process is like deriving (transferring) a word into another morphological category with a zero-affix creating a semantic dependence of one word upon another (Quirk, 1997: 1558). This would imply that this affix exists—because it is grammatically meaningful—although it cannot be seen (Arbor, 1970: 46). Other less frequently used terms are 'functional shift', 'functional change' or 'zero-marked derivative' (Cannon, 1985: 412), denominations that express by themselves the way the process is considered to happen.

Conversion is extremely productive to increase the English lexicon because it provides an easy way to create new words from existing ones. Thus, the meaning is perfectly comprehensible and the speaker can rapidly fill a meaningful gap in his language or use fewer words (Aitchison, 1989: 161). "Conversion is a totally free process and any lexeme can undergo conversion into any of the open form classes as the need arises" (Bauer, 1983: 226). This means that any word form can be shifted to any word class, especially to open classes—nouns, verbs, etc.—and that there are not morphological restrictions. Up to date, there has only been found one restriction: derived nouns rarely undergo conversion (particularly not to verbs) (Bauer, 1983: 226). This exception is easily understood: if there already exists one word in the language, the creation of a new term for this same concept will be blocked for the economy of language. For example, the noun 'denial' (7) will never shift into a verb because this word already derives from the verb 'deny' (8). In that case, the conversion is blocked because 'to deny' (8) and '*to denial' would mean exactly the same. However, there are some special cases in which this process seems to happen without blocking. This can be exemplified in the noun 'sign' (1), converted into the verb 'to sign' (2), changed by derivation (suffixation) into the noun 'signal' (9) and converted into a new verb, 'to signal' (10). In this case there is no blocking because these words have slight semantic differences (Bauer, 1983: 226-227).

It must be pointed out that the process of conversion has some semantic limitations: a converted word only assumes one of the range of meanings of the original word. For example, the noun 'paper' has various meanings, such as "newspaper" (11), "material to wrap things" (12)... The denominal verb, though, only contains the sense of putting that material on places like walls. This shows the converted item has only converted part of the semantic field of the source item.

The aim of conversion varies with the user. Adults convey it to use fewer words, whereas children perform it in order to be understood, although they frequently produce ungrammatical utterances (Aitchison, 1989: 161). Anyway, it always helps to make communication easier. Thus, trying to gather this double functional raison d'être we have compiled our corpus of examples from international newspapers and magazines, such as The New York Times or Newsweek, and popular literature, such as the teenagers' magazines Smash Hits and Teens. The complete list of extracts can be found in the appendix.

There are many cases in which the process of conversion is evident. Nevertheless, conversion is not as simple as it may seem: the process is easily recognisable because both words are graphically identical; the direction of this process, though, is sometimes nearly impossible to determine. This is not very important for the speaker: he just needs a simple way to cover a gap in the language. As this paper tries to give a comprehensive vision on conversion, it will attempt to establish the direction of the process. Therefore, both the original category and the derived one will be mentioned.

The criterion to establish the original and derived item has been taken from Marchand (1972: 242-252). It focuses on several aspects:

1. the semantic dependence (the word that reports to the meaning of the other is the derivative)
    
2. the range of usage (the item with the smaller range of use is the converted word),
    
3. the semantic range (the one with less semantic fields is the shifted item)
    
4. and the phonetic shape (some suffixes express the word-class the item belongs to and, if it does not fit, this is the derivative).
    

After this analysis, intuition is still important. Verbs tend to be abstract because they represent actions and nouns are frequently concrete because they name material entities. Conversion is quickly related to shift of word-class. With this respect, it mainly produces nouns, verbs and adjectives. The major cases of conversion are from noun to verb and from verb to noun. Conversion from adjective to verb is also common, but it has a lower ratio. Other grammatical categories, including closed-class ones, can only shift to open-class categories, but not to closed-class ones (prepositions, conjunctions). In addition, it is not rare that a simple word shifts into more than one category.

We shall first study the shift from verb to noun. It can be regarded from seven different points of view (Quirk, 1997: 1560). These subclassifications are not well defined in many cases. The same pair of converted words can be placed into two different categories depending on the subjectivity of their meaning. Nouns coming from verbs can express state of mind or state of sensation, like in the nouns 'experience' (13), 'fear' (14), 'feel' (15) or 'hope' (16). Nouns can also name events or activities, such is the case of 'attack' (17), 'alert(s)' (18) and 'laugh(s)' (19). The object of the verb from which the noun is derived can be observed in 'visit' (20) (with the sense of that which visits), 'increase' (21) (that which increases), 'call' (22) and 'command' (23). In the fourth division the noun refers to the subject of the original verb. Examples of this kind are 'clone' (24) (the living being that is cloned), 'contacts' (25) or 'judge' (26). Other nouns show the instrument of the primitive verb, like in 'cover' (27) (something to cover with) and 'start' (28). Finally, a place of the verb can also be nominalised, like in 'turn' (29) (where to turn) or 'rise' (9).

Verbs converted from nouns have also many subclassifications (Quirk, 1997: 1561). They can express the action of putting in or on the noun, such as in pocket(ed) (30) (to put into the pocket), 'film(ing)' (31) (to put into a film) and 'practice' (32). These verbs can also have the meaning of "to provide with (the noun)" or "to give (the noun)", like 'name' (33) (to give a name to somebody), 'shape' (34) (to give shape to something) or 'fuel(s)' (35). The verbs belonging to the third division will express the action done with the noun as instrument. It can be exemplified with 'hammer' (36) (to hit a nail by means of a hammer), 'yo-yo' (37) (to play with a yo-yo) 'dot' (38) or 'brake' (braking) (39). Another group of verbs has the meaning of to act as the noun with respect to something, as exemplified in 'host(ed)' (40) (to act as the host of a house). Other subclassification has the sense of making something into the original noun, like in 'schedule(d)' (41) (to arrange into a schedule) and 'rule' (42). The last group means to send by means of the noun, that is the case of 'ship(ped)' (43) or 'telephone(d)' (44) (in an abstract sense).

Adjectives can also go through the process of conversion, especially to verbs. De-adjectival verbs get the meaning of "to make (adjective)". It can be easily seen by means of examples like 'black(ed)' (45) (to make black), 'open' (46), 'slow(ing)' (47)... In some cases, when these transitive verbs are used intransitively, a secondary conversion may happen (Quirk, 1997: 1561-1562), as it will be explained later on.

Closed-class categories can also undergo conversion. Although their frequency is much less common, the process is not ungrammatical. All morphologic categories have examples of this kind (Cannon, 1985:425-426). Prepositions are probably the most productive ones. They can easily become adverbs, nouns and verbs. This is the case of 'up' (48 and 49) and 'out' (37 and 50). Conversion to noun may as well occur in adverbs like in 'outside' (51) and 'inside' (51); conjunctions, as regarded in 'ifs' (52) and 'buts' (52); interjections and non-lexical items, like 'ho ho ho's' (53) and 'ha ha ha' (54); affixes such as 'mini-' (55) can appear as noun (56) and proper noun (55).... Conversion to verb is frequent in onomatopoeic expressions like 'buzz' (57), 'beep' (57) or 'woo(ing)' (58). Finally, phrase compounds can appear as adjectives, such as in 'borrow-the-mower' (59), 'down-to-earth' (60) or 'now-it-can-be-told' (61).

Conversion from noun to adjective and adjective to noun is rather a controversial one. It is called 'partial conversion" by Quirk (1997: 1559) and Cannon (1985: 413) and 'syntactic process' by Bauer (1983: 230). This peculiar process occurs when "a word of one class appears in a function which is characteristic of another word class" (Quirk, 1997: 1559). Most of these cases should not be treated as conversion but as nouns functioning as adjectives and vice versa.

There are some clues, though, to make sure conversion has taken place. In the case of adjectives coming from nouns, the hints are quite easy: they can be considered as cases of conversion only when they can appear in predicative as well as in attributive form. If the denominal adjective can be used attributively, we can affirm conversion has happened. If it can only appear predicatively, it is merely a case of partial conversion. 'Mahogany music box' (62) can be used in an attributive way, "the music box is mahogany". This implies 'mahogany' is a denominal adjective. However, in the predicative phrase 'antiques dealers' (63) we cannot treat 'antiques' as an adjective because the attributive form of this expression is ungrammatical (*dealers are antique). Another way to make sure we are in front of a case of conversion is to change a word for another similar one. For example, in 'Dutch Auction' (64) we are sure the word 'Dutch' is an adjective because it has the specific form of adjective. Therefore, in 'South Jersey Auction' (65) or 'Texas Auction' (66) we can affirm these are cases of denominal adjectives.

Adjectives can also shift into nouns, though it is not very frequent. It mainly happens in well-established patterns of adjective plus noun phrase. Nominalisation occurs when the noun is elided and the adjective is widely used as a synonym of an existing set pattern. This could be the case of 'a Chinese favorite' (67).

The adjective nature in cases of partial conversion is evident, though. They are nouns from the point of view that they appear in the same syntactic position. Their grammatical nature, though, is a different one. These adjectives can still be changed to the comparative and superlative form (adjective nature). This can be exemplified in 'worst' (68) and 'merrier' (69). However, these adjectives cannot behave as nouns: if their number or case is changed, they will produce ungrammatical sentences. This can be seen in the case of 'more' (69) in cases like "*the mores we get". If the '-s' for the plural is added to any of these items, we would get ungrammatical sentences. The case of 'cutie' (70), though, could be argued. It seems to be much used and established within certain groups. This could have converted it into a lexicalised example of adjective to noun.

Up to this point conversion has only been considered as a shift from one grammatical category to another. However, these are not the only cases where it may happen. "The notion of conversion may be extended to changes of secondary word class, within the same major word category" (Quirk, 1997: 1563). This process has no clear terminology; for example it is called 'change of secondary word class' by Quirk (1997: 1563) and 'conversion as a syntactic process' by Bauer (1983: 227). Within the field of conversion, it has not been much studied because it is less evident than the classical conversion. Some scholars argue that these cases are products of syntactic processes, and so, they may not be considered as part of word-formation (they shift within the same grammatical category but not to a different one) (Bauer, 1983: 227).

The noun category can undergo four different kinds of secondary conversion (Quirk, 1997: 1563-1566). First, an uncountable noun can shift to a countable noun, like in the case of 'supplies' (71). It can also happen the other way round, a countable noun can become an uncountable one by becoming abstract, such as in 'cabaret' (72), 'chief' (73) and 'touch' (74). A third case occurs when a proper noun is converted into a common noun, as can be seen in 'diesel(s)' (75) (person's name), 'Bordeaux' (76) (usually related to high-quality French wines but not necessarily made in that particular city), 'yo-yo' (77) (trademark) or 'Stradivarius' (76) (famous maker of violins). Thus, this category can be rephrased as "a product of the (proper noun)". The fourth and final type happens when nouns shift from their static nature to a dynamic meaning when they follow the progressive of the verb 'to be'. Examples of this kind are 'student' (78), 'president' (79) and 'trouper' (80). These cases assume the meaning of "temporary role or activity". This fourth type is a product of the dynamic nature of the tense of the verb; it is not a characteristic of the noun by itself. This means that these nouns would return to their static nature by eliding the progressive form.

Verbs may undergo four different types of conversion. The first one happens when an intransitive verb is used transitively. This type has the meaning of "to cause to (verb)". Examples of this kind are 'worked a computer' (81), 'stop the manual recount' (82) and 'run the day-to-day operations' (83). Transitive verbs can also be used intransitively, that is the case of 'closed' (84). This category has been previously converted from adjective to verb, and, afterwards, it has experienced a secondary conversion from transitive to intransitive verb. In this sense, the verb would change the meaning from "to make close" (85) (transitive use) to "to become closed" (intransitive use) (84). A third type involves intransitive nouns converted into copulas. Examples like 'sat frozen' (86), 'grew silent' (87), 'were nailed shut' (88) or 'go global' (89) are quite current in daily conversations for the economy of language. In the case of 'sat frozen' (86) the strongest meaning remains with the verb, while, in the other two examples, the resulting meaning of the adjective prevails over the verbal one. Finally, verbs also shift form a monotransitive nature to a complex transitive one. Verbs commonly used with a unique object—direct or indirect—shift their behaviour and take more than one complement, as it can be seen in examples (90), (91) and (92). In 'won him the award' (90), the verb 'win' takes an indirect object and a direct one, although it usually takes only one direct one. The verb 'make' in 'make it a cabaret' (91) takes two different direct objects as well as the verb 'find' in 'find it very satisfying' (92).

The adjective category can only be converted in two different ways. Like in the case of nouns, the static nature of adjectives can shift to a dynamic one because of the influence of the progressive form of the verb 'to be', such as in 'accused' (93). The other case happens when non-gradable adjectives turn into gradable ones. This category, though, is rather difficult to find. This gradation happens in 'incredulous' (94).

Adverbs may also undergo secondary conversions within themselves. For example, the adverb 'still' can have a temporal sense (37) or be a manner adverb (95).

There are some few cases of conversion in which there are slight non-affixal changes. These can be considered marginal cases of conversion (Bauer, 1983: 228-229). Although the shift takes place, they are called "marginal" because of the alterations produced in the word. Words belonging to this category are a close and long-established set. This marginal group can be divided regarding two different aspects: the pronunciation and the word-stress (Quirk, 1997: 1566).

With respect to pronunciation, there are some nouns ending in voiceless fricative consonants /-s/, /-f/ and /-θ/ which are converted into verbs with the voicing of the final consonant into /-z/, /-v/ and /-δ/, respectively². For example, the noun 'use' /-s/ (96) shifts to the verb 'to use' /-z/ (97) without any change but the voicing of the final consonant. There are also some examples in this category that have a change in spelling for historical reasons. This is the case of the noun 'advice' /-s/ (98), which began to be written with 'c' in the 16^th century (Oxford English Dictionary, 1979, vol. I: 139), whereas its corresponding verb 'advise' /-z/ (99) did not change its original spelling. Similarly, the noun 'belief' /-f/ (100) changed from 'beleeve' to 'beleefe' in the 16^th century, "apparently by form-analogy with pairs like grieve grief, prove proof" (Oxford English Dictionary, 1979, vol. I: 782), while the verb 'believe' /-v/ (101) kept the original 'v'. In all those cases the change in graphic form corresponds to the shift in sound nature from a voiceless to a voiced consonant. Therefore, the voicing is also represented graphically. This category is no longer productive.

The other marginal type has to do with the stress pattern. There are some bisyllabic verbs which shift to nouns or adjectives with a change in word stress from the verb distribution /-´-/ to the noun and adjective pattern /´—/ (this stress shift also affects the phonetic pattern, especially the length of the vowels involved). These are the cases of the verb 'conduct' (102) /kən'dVkt/ to the noun 'conduct' (103) /'kQndVkt/, from the verb 'protest' (104) /pr@'test/ to the noun 'protest' (105) /'pr@Utest/, or from the verb 'increase' (106) /iŋ'kri:s/ to the noun 'increase' (107) ('iŋkri:s/. This distinction is not kept in all the varieties of English and it tends to be lost. However, the shift of stress is still productive, as the following quotation from the entry corresponding to 'increase' in the Longman Pronunciation Dictionary shows (2003: 387):

There is a great amount of phrasal verbs which are being nominalised with a change in the stress patterns, such as in 'layoffs' (108), 'outbreak' (109) or 'outlets' (110).

Most new words are not as new as we tend to think. They are just readjustments within the same language, like additions to existing items or recombination of elements. This is where the field of action of conversion may be placed, and that is why this type of morphological studies reveals interesting aspects in the diachronic evolution of the English language.

There are evident cases of conversion from one part of speech to another, unclear cases in which the grammatical category is not definitely shifted, secondary changes within the same word and marginal cases where the change has produced slight modifications.

The real examples provided indicate the high frequency of this process. It is quite a common phenomenon is everyday English. In addition, it is not a great source of problems for nonnative speakers and translators because the meaning of converted items is easily recognisable. However, nonnatives and translators are strongly advised to be taught conversion so that their passive knowledge of it can be turned into an active skill, with the subsequent lexical enlargement for their everyday communication.

¹ Hereafter, the figure in brackets refers to the number of example as classified in the appendix containing our corpus of examples.

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BAUER, L. (1983). English Word Formation, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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Interpreting is defined as "oral translation of a written text" (Shuttleworth & Cowie: 1997:83). Mahmoodzadeh gives a more detailed definition of interpreting:

Interpreting consists of presenting in the target language, the exact meaning of what is uttered in the source language either simultaneously or consecutively, preserving the tone of the speaker (1992:231).

Whether novice or experienced, all interpreters find this profession demanding and challenging. Phelan says that "when an interpreter is working, he or she cannot afford to have a bad day. One bad interpreter can ruin a conference" (2001:4). In discussing the qualifications required for an interpreter, Phelan mentions that:

"The interpreter needs a good short-term memory to retain what he or she has just heard and a good long-term memory to put the information into context. Ability to concentrate is a factor as is the ability to analyze and process what is heard" (2001:4-5).

Mahmoodzadeh also emphasizes that a skillful interpreter is expected to "have a powerful memory." (1992:233). Daniel Gile (1992,1995) emphasizes the difficulties and efforts involved in interpreting tasks and strategies needed to overcome them, observing that many failures occur in the absence of any visible difficulty. He then proposes his Effort Models for interpreting. He says that "The Effort Models are designed to help them [interpreters] understand these difficulties [of interpreting] and select appropriate strategies and tactics. They are based on the concept of Processing Capacity and on the fact that some mental operations in interpreting require much Processing Capacity."(1992:191) According to Gile, Consecutive Interpreting consists of two phases: a listening and reformulation phrase and a reconstruction phase (1992:191, 1995b:179):

Phase One: I=L+M+N

I=Interpreting, L=listening and analyzing the source language speech, M=short-term memory required between the time information is heard and the time it is written down in the notes, and N=note-taking.

In this Phase Two of Consecutive Interpreting, interpreters retrieve messages from their short-term memory and reconstruct the speech (Rem), read the notes (N), and produce the Target Language Speech (P). Gile's Effort Model for Simultaneous Interpreting is:

M=Short-term Memory, which includes "all the mental operations related to storage in memory of heard segments of discourse until either their restitution in the target language, their loss if they vanish from memory, or a decision by the interpreter not to interpret them."

P=Production,

Gile emphasizes that the memory effort is assumed to stem form the need to store the words of a proposition until the hearer receives the end of that proposition. The storage of information is claimed to be particularly demanding in SI, since both the volume of information and the pace of storage and retrieval are imposed by the speaker (1995a:97-98).

In both models, Gile emphasizes the significance of Short-term Memory. It is actually one of the specific skills which should be imparted to trainees in the first stage of training. Among all the skills and techniques which are required for a good interpreter, memory skill is the first one which should be introduced to trainee interpreters.

Psychological studies of human memory make a distinction between Short-Term Memory (STM) and Long-Term Memory (LTM). The idea of short-term memory simply means that you are retaining information for a short period of time without creating the neural mechanisms for later recall. Long-Term Memory occurs when you have created neural pathways for storing ideas and information which can then be recalled weeks, months, or even years later. To create these pathways, you must make a deliberate attempt to encode the information in the way you intend to recall it later. Long-term memory is a learning process. And it is essentially an important part of the interpreter's acquisition of knowledge, because information stored in LTM may last for minutes to weeks, months, or even an entire life. The duration of STM is very short. It is up to 30 seconds. Peterson (1959) found it to be 6 - 12 seconds, while Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) and Hebb (1949) state it is 30 seconds. Memory in interpreting only lasts for a short time. Once the interpreting assignment is over, the interpreter moves on to another one, often with different context, subject and speakers. Therefore, the memory skills which need to be imparted to trainee interpreters are STM skills.

The purpose of memory (STM) training in interpreting is to achieve a better understanding of the source language, which will lead to adequate interpreting. As Lin Yuru et al. put it, "Memory in consecutive interpreting consists of nothing more than understanding the meaning, which is conveyed by the words" (Lin et al., 1999:9). Understanding is the first step in successful interpreting; therefore, memory training is to be provided in the early stage of interpreter training. Memory functions differently in consecutive and simultaneous interpreting, because the duration of memory is longer in CI than in SI. There are different methods of training STM for CI and SI respectively. Interpreting starts with the encoding of the information from the original speaker. According to Gile's Effort Model, interpreting is an STM-centered activity; the process of interpreting could be re-postulated into:

In Consecutive Interpreting, there is probably up to 15 minutes (depending on the speaker's segments) for the interpreter to encode and then store the information. This is the first phase of Gile's Effort Model for CI. In the second phase of Gile's Model, the interpreter starts to retrieve information and decode it into the target language. In SI, encoding and decoding of information happen almost at the same time. The duration for storing the information is very limited. Therefore, in the first step of interpreting, encoding (understanding) information uttered in the SL is the key to memory training.

According to the previous description, there are three main possibilities of storing information in STM: (1) Acoustic Coding; (2) Visual Coding and (3) Semantic Coding. Visual coding may be used by interpreters in conference situations with multimedia. Notes in interpreting are to assist in such visual coding of information. But in most interpreting contexts, interpreters will depend on acoustic and semantic coding. Therefore, exercises should be designed for this purpose. The following methods are recommended:

There is another tool which is effective in memory training: Mnemonic to Memory. Mnemonic is a device, such as a formula or rhyme, used as an aid in remembering. Mnemonics are methods for remembering information that is otherwise quite difficult to recall. A very simple example of a mnemonic is the '30 days hath September' rhyme. The basic principle of Mnemonics is to use as many of the best functions of the human brain as possible to encode information.

The human brain has evolved to encode and interpret complex stimuli—images, color, structure, sounds, smells, tastes, touch, spatial awareness, emotion, and language—using them to make sophisticated interpretations of the environment. Human memory is made up of all these features.

Typically, however, information presented to be remembered is from one source—normally words on a page. While reading words on a page reflects one of the most important aspects of human evolution, it is only one of the many skills and resources available to the human mind. Mnemonics seek to use all of these resources. By encoding language and numbers in sophisticated, striking images which flow into other strong images, we can accurately and reliably encode both information and the structure of information to be easily recalled later (Manktelow:2003).

It is also advisable that Exercises with Interference (e.g. noises) be provided in order to prevent information loss in the Short-Term Memory, since the environment and other information present in the storage may reduce the information encoded. Recording speeches with specially 'inserted' noises as a background is a recommended classroom practice, since this is a very effective method to enable the students to concentrate and thus strengthen their STM duration.

Short-Term Memory is an essential part of interpreting, but memory training has long been ignored by professional trainers. From the above analysis, we can conclude that memory skills in interpreting could be acquired by effectively designed exercises. With a well-'trained' short-term memory, interpreters are actually equipped with an effective tool for the encoding and decoding information. It is, therefore, advised that institutions of interpreter training include "memory training" in the design of their courses.

1. Training of professional interpreters has a three-part structure: the first stage is introduction to skills specific to interpreting, for example through memory training and note-taking exercises. This is followed by intensive classroom practice. The third stage involves work experience and observation where the main focus is on task achievement.

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by Leandro Wolfson
Translated by Laura Pakter

one day I receive a small envelope in the mail; it's been sent by Miguel Ángel Montezanti. Miguel is a professor of Literary Translation at the University of La Plata. We've already corresponded several times, mainly about his magnificent version of Shakespeare's sonnets. This time, however, what I receive doesn't seem to be very related with his activities and interests.

It's a 27-page opuscule including five short stories, all of which focus on the gauchos of the Argentine pampas in the past. The small book, I read on the cover, had been awarded first prize in the "Hesperides International Contest on Short Stories and Poetry." Not so much the award itself but the fact that Miguel had written it immediately inspires me to read this surprising material.

I am even more surprised when I read the short stories. I had imagined Miguel to be totally immersed in, and imbued by, the Anglo-Saxon world. Apart from Shakespeare's sonnets and other works, he has translated T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets and Wilfred Owen's poems. As a professor he has always worked with English and American authors. Everything I knew about him had made a very different impression on me than the one which this small book suggests: that of a man profoundly knowledgeable of the language, customs and mind of the gauchos. An unexpected bent. As if a highly regarded painter had presented ... his latest quartet for strings!

I relish the five short stories, especially one called, in the gaucho's' laconic manner, "Fate." No sooner had I finished reading it than I began to outline a project.

Much has been said about the "untranslatability" of some works, the utopian goal of recovering the endless nuances, subtleties and intricacies of a different centuries-old culture in another language. Traduttore, traditore is an irrefutable truth. As readers or translators, we've all had experiences with attempts that are frustrated by the nature of the task itself. In this case, I suddenly realized that I had before me a potentially useful example, and the circumstances were very favorable. I had a story with many elements about the gaucho culture, which according to what I said above are, a priori, impossible to render in another language. I had an author who knew the English language like the back of his hand. Finally, I knew an American translator who has lived in Argentina for years and was a good reader of works about the culture of the pampas.

At the time Laura Pakter was participating in one of my Spanish translation workshops. She had consulted me with the aim of improving her Spanish. She usually translated from Spanish into English but didn't feel at home the other way around. I asked her to read Miguel's "Fate" and, when she told me she had liked it, I proposed she translate the beginning of the story, more or less four hundred words. Afterwards, I told her, we would discuss her translation and the final version would be sent to Miguel for his approval.

Thus we did. But we couldn't foresee that the minutiae of which I'll speak later (see the "Comments") forced us to make five versions before daring to consult the author—and another two after he had given his opinion.

So, here we have the beginning of "Fate," which can be read independently of the rest of the story. Then comes the seventh English version, left as it was, without any explanatory notes, in compliance with the express wishes of the author. This is the version that would be read by any interested English-speaking reader. The "Comments" indicate two kinds of elements. On the one hand, the solutions that in our view are satisfactory and why. On the other hand, the "untranslatable" is explained in greater detail for the English reader to understand as much as a Spanish reader that is knowledgeable of the gauchos' world. These betrayals were inevitable—at least for these translators.

by Miguel Ángel Montezanti

Translated by Laura Pakter

[The original Spanish for every phrase and/or clause is given first, and then its English translation].

— Desde el cepo colombiano, ...

Criterios para las selecciones textuales

en la formación de traductores especializados

Resumen

A pesar de constituir un aspecto crucial para la correcta formación de traductores especializados, la selección de textos según criterios didácticos y su progresión ha sido y sigue siendo el talón de Aquiles en la didáctica de la traducción. Tras la exposición de algunas propuestas para la selección de textos como material didáctico (Delfour,1994; Göpferich, 1996; Sevilla y Sevilla, 2003; Cámara, 2003), comentamos qué factores dificultan la elaboración de selecciones textuales apropiadas para la formación de traductores. Para concluir, ofrecemos una propuesta metodológica, así como una serie de criterios, a nuestro juicio, indipensables en cualquier selección textual.

Palabras clave: selecciones textuales, formación de traductores especializados, criterios didácticos, mercado laboral.

Despite its crucial importance for the adequate training of specialized translators, selecting texts according to didactic criteria and their progression have been and continue to be the weak points in the field of Translation Didactics. After showing some proposals for text selection used as a pedagogical tool (Delfour,1994; Göpferich, 1996; Sevilla y Sevilla, 2003; Cámara, 2003), we discuss what factors hinder determining text selections suitable for the training of translators. Finally, we provide a methodological proposal and a set of criteria essential, in our opinion, to any text selection.

a elaboración de selecciones textuales y su progresión como material didáctico para la formación de futuros traductores ha sido y sigue siendo el talón de Aquiles en la didáctica de la traducción.

La dificultad que entraña el establecimiento de unos criterios válidos, de modo que la selección de textos se aparte de la arbitrariedad y sea lo más apropiada posible a efectos didácticos, ha contribuido, sin duda alguna, a la escasez de propuestas con un fundamento teórico, así como a la falta de unanimidad de algunas de ellas, a pesar de tratarse de la misma disciplina, idéntica combinación lingüística y ubicación próxima de los Centros académicos. Con el fin de ilustrar la falta de unanimidad antedicha, mostramos aquí dos propuestas concebidas para la formación de estudiantes de traducción médica (francés-español) en las Universidades españolas de Málaga y Granada.

Los criterios para la selección de los textos objeto de traducción en la Universidad de Málaga los expuso Ortega en el Seminario de Traducción e Interpretación en el Ámbito Biosanitario, organizado por el Grupo de Investigación de Lingüística Aplicada y Traducción e Interpretación de la Universidad de Málaga, celebrado del 30 de marzo al 2 de abril de 1998 (1998: 93-95):

1. La omnipresencia del inglés en gran número de ámbitos científico-técnicos hace que la selección de textos incida sobre aquellos ámbitos en los que más se traducen textos de francés a español.

2. La limitación de tiempo (un curso académico) condiciona también la selección, que habrá de ser representativa pero no extensiva de un ámbito específico [...]. Preferimos abordar varias temáticas con textos representativos de cada una de ellas, con objeto de concienciar al alumno de la versatilidad del mundo profesional de la traducción y de la diversidad de textos que se pueden encontrar dentro del ámbito científico-técnico.
3. Aunque no se puede hablar de una tipología de textos "exclusiva" del ámbito científico-técnico, ciertamente podemos establecer una clasificación académica en "textos científico-técnicos" propios de este ámbito de especialidad "textos híbridos" y "textos divulgativos". En nuestro curso prestamos atención, sobre todo, a los textos de carácter especializado, mientras que tratamos de una forma marginal los que hemos denominado "híbridos" o "divulgativos" [...].
4. [...] Ahora, asistimos a una mayor o menor "contaminación" de las demás lenguas con respecto al inglés en función de factores sociolingüísticos, políticos, económicos y científico-técnicos. Esto facilita la traducción cuando la combinación lingüística implicada incluye el inglés, sin embargo, añade un "plus" de dificultad a la traducción cuando el inglés está presente de forma diferenciada en un par de lenguas que no incluye a esta lengua.
5. Por último, hemos de destacar que en nuestra propuesta didáctica nos centramos en aquellos temas que tienen una producción suficiente dentro de la combinación lingüística francés-español y obviamos otro tipo de temas que sólo se traducen teniendo como referencia el inglés como lengua de partida o de llegada del proceso de traducción [...].»

Partiendo de estos factores, se propone una división del curso de traducción en dos bloques temáticos: traducción dentro del ámbito biosanitario y traducción dentro del ámbito científico y técnico, con una duración cuatrimestral cada uno (1998: 95 s.).

El corpus de textos para traducir del ámbito biosanitario se desglosa de la siguiente manera:

«1.1. Textos médicos de carácter científico:

b) Artículos de revistas especializadas (selección de especialidades médicas).

1.2. Textos médicos de carácter técnico:

1.3. Textos médicos de carácter divulgativo:

a) Folletos de información sanitaria general y/o de prevención de enfermedades.

1.4. Textos médicos científico-jurídicos:

Los criterios que rigen la selección de textos para las clases de traducción en el ámbito biosanitario en la Facultad de Traductores e Intérpretes de Granada fueron expuestos por Sánchez en los VI Encuentros complutenses en torno a la traducción, celebrados en Madrid, del 28 de noviembre al 2 de diciembre de 1995.

Estos se centran, tal y como se desprende de su comunicación, en los campos temáticos que se consideran más productivos en los ámbitos españoles y franceses dentro del campo de la medicina; en este caso concreto se trata de las enfermedades infecciosas, y concretamente el tema del sida se ha revelado, según la autora, como un sector importante de la investigación en España y sobre todo en Francia (1997: 458).

La selección textual en torno al tema del sida y el orden de su clasificación es la siguiente (1997: 458 s.):

—Artículos publicados en las páginas científicas de la prensa diaria.

—Folletos publicados por organismos de salud pública y educación.

—Extractos de monografías sobre sida publicadas en España.

—Artículos publicados en revistas de divulgación científica.

—Artículos de revistas publicados por especialistas.

—Artículos de una revista especializada en el tema.

Como se habrá podido observar, mientras que en la primera de las propuestas se presta atención a diversos factores como la relevancia de las clases de texto y campos temáticos en la práctica de la traducción, la especialización de los textos objeto de traducción y la complejidad lingüística, en la segunda predomina la productividad de los campos temáticos en los ámbitos españoles y franceses, así como el interés por trabajar con textos de naturaleza distinta en cuanto a la función comunicativa que desempeñan.

Puede que no nos equivoquemos al afirmar que la escasez de propuestas eficaces desde un punto de vista didáctico se deba, principalmente, a dos factores: 1) la falta de investigación sobre las necesidades del mercado de trabajo y 2) la escasez de estudios textuales.

Antes de proceder a la exposición de los factores que, a nuestro juicio, dificultan la elaboración de selecciones textuales apropiadas para la formación de traductores, pasamos a continuación a la presentación de algunos de los criterios propuestos para llevar a cabo dicha tarea.

Son numerosos los autores que se han pronunciado sobre qué criterios han de adoptarse para la elaboración de selecciones textuales tanto para las clases de traducción general como para las de traducción especializada; por tanto, para no caer en un listado interminable de autores, recogemos aquí solo algunos de ellos.

Según Delfour (1994: 180), en el campo de la traducción especializada, las selecciones textuales han de constituirse «teniendo en cuenta las dificultades que plantea la traducción técnica:

1. la comprensión del texto original;
2. la búsqueda de documentación y de terminología;
3. la creación del texto traducido, las transformaciones y técnicas empleadas o las reglas de reformulación y de creación».

Para las clases de traducción, tanto especializada como general, Göpferich (1996: 9) considera necesario elaborar selecciones textuales siguiendo unas pautas didácticas, de tal modo que permita al docente enfrentar al alumnado al mayor número de clases de texto posible, así como a sus convenciones tanto en la lengua origen como en la lengua término.

Los criterios que Sevilla y Sevilla (2003) sugieren para establecer una selección de textos son los siguientes:

1. Que los textos sean auténticos, es decir, que procedan de una fuente real y que sean susceptibles de convertirse en encargo de traducción.

2. Que sean completos, o lo que es lo mismo, que contengan una idea de pensamiento completa, pues de otro modo no se podría llegar a una comprensión del discurso, lo que imposiblitaría su traducción.
3. Que sean variados en cuanto a temática y género, y que permitan establecer una progresión en cuanto a la dificultad traductológica.
4. Que sean adecuados al perfil de los alumnos. No se seleccionarán los mismos textos para unos estudiantes que se inician en la traducción que para los que cursan traducción científico-técnica, por ejemplo.»

Por último, de nuevo en el ámbito de la traducción especializada, Cámara (2003: 209) señala qué cuestiones ha de plantearse el docente a la hora de organizar las clases de traducción:

1. Tipo de alumnado

1. Características del centro y del plan de estudios
2. Necesidades del mercado
3. Objetivos que se quieren cubrir
4. Grado de especialización que pueden llegar a alcanzar los alumnos
5. Grado de especialización o conocimiento del campo temático que necesita tener el profesor»

Partiendo de estas cuestiones, la selección de textos que sugiere para las clases de traducción especializada es la siguiente (2003: 210):

1. Textos divulgativos

1. Textos de carácter didáctico
2. Manuales
3. Abstracts
4. Comunicaciones a congresos
5. Monografías
6. Artículos de revistas especializadas»

Diversidad de criterios, que, a pesar de su indiscutible utilidad, nos disponemos a comentar, jerarquizar, y, si cabe, ampliar a continuación.

¿Qué criterios deben regir, pues, una selección textual destinada a la formación de traductores especializados? A nuestro juicio, la respuesta a esta pregunta nos la brindan, en primer lugar, los siguientes factores externos:

• Tipo de alumnado y plan de estudios¹, y
• necesidades del mercado de trabajo.

El problema surge a la hora de vincular docencia y mercado laboral, y, especialmente, optar, en la medida de lo posible, por las clases de texto más relevantes en la práctica de la traducción. La falta de investigación sobre las necesidades del mercado de trabajo y la importancia, repetimos, de vincular ambos sectores han sido puestas de manifiesto por numerosos autores (Göpferich, 1996; Schmitt, 1998; Aguilar, 2004; Montalt, 2002; Mayor, 2003a; Mayor et al, 2004; Mayor, 2005b). Si bien ya se ha producido un acercamiento a la realidad del mercado de trabajo en algunas modalidades de traducción (como, por ejemplo, la médica) y contamos con valiosas aportaciones de algunos traductores desde el ejercicio práctico de su profesión, sería necesario seguir estudiando este sector, estudio que, como afirma Aguilar (2004: 24), es:

Sin embargo, como venimos subrayando, el conocimiento del mercado, en concreto

constituye aún una asignatura pendiente entre los estudiosos de la traducción. Así, Montalt, consciente de la necesidad del conocimiento del mercado laboral para los Estudios de Traducción, sugiere la siguiente propuesta (2002: 221):

No obstante, el conocimiento de las necesidades del mercado laboral, en particular qué clases de texto son más relevantes en las distintas modalidades de traducción, no basta a la hora de seleccionar el material idóneo para las clases prácticas. A efectos didácticos, resulta conveniente optar por aquellos textos que, además de poder ser representativos de los textos a los que se verá enfrentado el alumnado a lo largo de su profesión, nos posibiliten introducir paulatinamente a los estudiantes a las peculiaridades de la comunicación en un campo determinado e ilustrar de manera eficaz y progresiva, y ateniéndonos a unas pautas didácticas, los diversos problemas de traducción característicos de las clases de texto del ámbito en cuestión. O, como sostiene Schmitt (1987: 122):

En efecto, lo que hay que preguntarse en primer lugar a la hora de elaborar una selección textual no es solo qué clases de textos se van a traducir sino, ante todo, qué objetivos de aprendizaje se desea alcanzar y qué problemas se quiere enseñar a resolver a través de los textos, entendidos estos como herramientas de trabajo.

El concepto de «problema de traducción» resulta muy útil a la hora de estructurar la enseñanza y los objetivos de aprendizaje. Así, Nord (1991: 158) sostiene que la clasificación de problemas de traducción ya sea en un texto en particular, ya en todos los textos seleccionados para una unidad didáctica determinada, supone una serie de ventajas no solo ya para el docente sino también para el alumnado. Para el primero porque puede contar con unas pautas generales que le sirven para identificar qué aspectos de la traducción se han de tratar en el curso. Para los segundos porque aprenden a distinguir los problemas de traducción (objetivos) de las dificultades de traducción (subjetivas).

Ahora bien, tanto para el diseño de objetivos de aprendizaje como para la vinculación de clases de texto y problemas de traducción, resulta indispensable el conocimiento exhaustivo de las manifestaciones textuales propias de cada ámbito del saber. En este sentido, Hurtado (2001: 492) señala, y con razón, que

Sin embargo, la escasez de estudios acerca del funcionamiento de los textos (análisis contrastivos intra e interlinguales; identificación, caracterización y clasificación de diversas clases de texto; dificultades comunes a todos los textos de una misma clase, etcétera) es aún notoria a pesar de que, como sostiene Pilegaard (1997: 169), «the principles and rules for the production of [...] texts are highly genre-specific. Moreover, the interaction between content, form, structure, and medium is close and culture-bound».

Resultan, pues, necesarios trabajos que

1. efectúen una descripción rigurosa de todos aquellos factores que caracterizan la comunicación y traducción (ya sea en el ámbito jurídico, económico, científico-técnico, etc.);
2. se centren en los problemas concretos de dichas modalidades de traducción y su vinculación con las diversas clases de texto;
3. así como estudios sobre la identificación y caracerización de sus rasgos textuales, y su tipologización.

Este modo de proceder, además, vendría a satisfacer los deseos de los alumnos, los cuales «quieren organización y variedad, quieren que los problemas sean definidos y presentados de manera racional y sistemática» (Beeby, 1996: 61).

Solo de este modo, a nuestro entender, se podrán acometer selecciones textuales que, teniendo en cuenta una progresión didáctica, permitan a los estudiantes:

• Conocer las diversas situaciones discursivas que configuran el ámbito social o profesional objeto de estudio.
• Ejercitarse en la detección y resolución de problemas que plantean las diversas clases de texto.
• Adquirir principios relacionados con los diferentes problemas que plantean las diversas clases de texto de un campo del saber dado, desarrollar estrategias adecuadas para su solución y explicar y justificar sus propuestas.
• Crear textos equivalentes en lengua de llegada teniendo en cuenta las convenciones de las clases de texto.

Aguilar Río, J. M. (2004). «La enseñanza de la traducción y su relación con las exigencias del mercado laboral: estudio de caso». TRANS 8: 11-28.

Beeby Lonsdale, A. (1996): «La traducción inversa». En: A. Hurtado Albir (ed.), La enseñanza de la traducción. Castellón: Universitat Jaume I., 57-78.

Cámara Aguilera, E. (2003): «El papel de la terminología en las asignaturas de traducción especializada científica y técnica». En Gallardo San Salvador, N. (dir.). Terminología y traducción: un bosquejo de su evolución. Granada: Atrio, 205-212.

Delfour, C. (1994). «Introducción a la metodología de la traducción especializada». En Raders M, Martín-Gaitero, R. (eds.). IV Encuentros complutenses en torno a la traducción. Madrid: Editorial Complutense, 179-187.

Göpferich, S. (1996). «Textsortenkanon: Zur Text(sorten)auswahl für fachsprachliche Übersetzungsübungen». En Kelletat A. F. (ed.). Übersetzerische Kompetenz: Beiträge zur universitären Übersetzerausbildung in Deutschland und Skandinavian. Francfort: Peter Lang, 9-38.

Hurtado Albir A. (1995). «La didáctica de la traducción. Evolución y estado actual». En Fernández Nistal P, Bravo Gozalo, J. M. (coords.). Perspectivas de la traducción inglés/español. Tercer curso superior de traducción. Valladolid: Universidad de Valladolid, 49-74.

Hurtado Albir A. (2001). Traducción y Traductología. Introducción a la Traductología. Madrid: Cátedra.

Mayor Serrano, M.ª B. (2002). «La ¿formación de traductores médicos? Sugerencias didácticas», Panace@, Boletín de Medicina y Traducción 3: 9/10, 83-89, http://www.medtrad.org/panacea/IndiceGeneral/Pana9_tribuna_mayor.pdf.

Mayor Serrano, M.ª B. (2003a). Tipología textual pragmática y didáctica de la traducción en el ámbito biomédico. Tesis doctoral [CD]. Granada: Editorial Universidad de Granada.

Mayor Serrano, M.ª B. (2003b). «La formación de traductores médicos en España: ¿otra asignatura pendiente?» TRANS 7, 131-136.

Mayor Serrano, M.ª B. (2003c). «Qué "palabras" hay que enseñar a los aprendices de traducción médica? ¿De qué modo? ¿Con qué objetivo?». En Gallardo San Salvador, N. (dir.). Terminología y traducción: un bosquejo de su evolución. Granada: Atrio, 181-190.

Mayor Serrano, M.ª B. (2004a). «What is anthrax? Los folletos como material didáctico para la formación de traductores médicos en la combinación lingüística inglés-español». Lebende Sprachen 2, 68-72.

Mayor Serrano, M.ª B. (2005a). «Análisis contrastivo (inglés-español) de la clase de texto "folleto de salud" e implicaciones didácticas para la formación de traductores médicos». Panace@, Boletín de Medicina y Traducción 6: 20, 132-141, http://www.medtrad.org/panacea/IndiceGeneral/n20_tribuna_mayorserrano.pdf.

Mayor Serrano, M.ª B. (2005b): «Consideraciones fundamentales en la formación de traductores: mercado de trabajo y tipo de alumnado». TRANS 9, 195-201.

Mayor Serrano, M.ª B. (2006a) (en imprenta): «Hacia la especialización en los Estudios de Traducción». Panace@, Boletín de Medicina y Traducción.

Mayor Serrano, M.ª B. (2006b) (en imprenta): «Diseño de objetivos de aprendizaje para la introducción del aprendiz de traducción (inglés-español) a la comunicación médica en lengua materna». Lebende Sprachen.

Mayor Serrano, M.ª B./J. J. Arevadillo/X. Castro Roig/E. de Miguel/M. Turrión (2004): «¿Y ahora qué? Salidas profesionales del traductor médico». Panace@, Boletín de Medicina y Traducción 5: 16, 127-134, http://www.medtrad.org/panacea/IndiceGeneral/n16_tribuna_MayorSerranoEtCols.pdf.

Mayoral Asensio, R. (1998). «Aspectos curriculares de la enseñanza de la traducción e interpretación en España». En García Izquierdo, I, Verdegal, J. (eds.). Los estudios de traducción: un reto didáctico. Castellón: Universitat Jaume I, 117-130.

Mayoral Asensio, R. (2001). «Por una renovación en la formación de traductores e intérpretes: revisión de algunos de los conceptos sobre los que el actual sistema basa su estructura y contenidos». Sendebar 12, 311-336.

Montalt Resurrecció V. (2002). «Entre el aula y la profesión: reflexiones y propuestas en torno a la formación de traductores especializados». En Alcina Caudet A, Gamero Pérez, S. (eds.). La traducción científico-técnica y la terminología en la sociedad de la información. Castelló de la Plana: Universitat Jaume I, 219-228.

Muñoz Martín R. (2002). «De la ciencia, la inseguridad y las perlas de tu boca». En Alcina Caudet A, Gamero Pérez, S. (eds.). La traducción científico-técnica y la terminología en la sociedad de la información. Castelló de la Plana: Universitat Jaume I, 65-85.

Nord C. (1991). Text Analysis in Translation. Theory, Methodology, and Didactic Application of a Model for Translation-Oriented Text Analysis. Amsterdam/Atlanta: Rodopi.

Ortega Arjonilla E. (1998). «La formación del traductor científico-técnico en general y del biosanitario en particular dentro de la combinación lingüística francés-español: experiencia docente en la Universidad de Málaga». En Félix Fernández L, Ortega Arjonilla, E. (coords.). Traducción e interpretación en el ámbito biosanitario. Granada: Comares, 89-101.

Pilegaard, M. (1997). «Translation of medical research articles». En Trosborg, A. (ed.). Text Typology and Translation. Amsterdam/Filadelfia: John Benjamins, 159-184.

Sánchez D. (1997). «La traducción especializada (español-francés): Un enfoque didáctico para los textos científicos». En Vega, M. A, Martín-Gaitero, R. (eds.). La palabra vertida. Investigaciones en torno a la traducción. Madrid: Editorial Complutense, 457-462.

Schmitt, P. A. (1987). «Fachtexte für die Übersetzer-Ausbildung: Probleme und Methoden der Textauswahl». En Ehnert, R, Schleyer, W. (eds.). Übersetzen im Fremdsprachenunterricht. Beiträge zur Übersetzungswissenschaft-Annäherungen an eine Übersetzungsdidaktik. Regensburg: DAAD, 111-151.

Schmitt, P. A. (1998). «Marktsituation der Übersetzer». En Snell-Hornby, M, Hönig, H. G, Kußmaul, P, Schmitt, P. A. (eds.). Handbuch Translation. Tubinga: Stauffenburg Verlag, 5-13.

Sevilla Muñoz, M, Sevilla Muñoz, J. (2003). «Ideas fundamentales en la formación de traductores». El Trujamán, http://www.cvc.cervantes.es/trujaman/anteriores/mayo_03/14052003.htm (consultado el 14-07-2003).

Practical tips for practicing translators. 
  Q:

Dear Fire Ant & Worker Bee,

About a year ago a law firm contacted my small (2-person) translation company about a litigation involving foreign parties and documents. My partner and I had never done business with them before, but they're apparently a respectable outfit. When we realized that their immediate need was for an interpreter, we referred them to an excellent interpreter and translator who's worked with us in the past, and asked them to remember us if they had any translation work.

Her experience with them was very unpleasant: they hemmed and hawed, refused to sign a contract, and repeatedly canceled previously scheduled bookings. Finally, after setting up an assignment in Paris (complete with demands to fly economy class and then work as soon as she hit the ground to save on hotel bills) they canceled only a few days in advance. Big mess, lots of arrangements to undo, and potential opportunity cost. The interpreter's reading is that their behavior is cost-driven.

A cancellation fee would have been an obvious choice, but with no contract, she didn't feel she could make it stick. In her defense, I should add that we've found law firms to be unusually resistant to signing contracts. This should feel like a paradox but somehow it isn't.

The immediate lessons are 1) to look for clients who are focused on value and expertise rather then nickels and dimes, and 2) to refuse to commit to anything until the client does (i.e. ALWAYS get a signed contract). The bigger question is how to negotiate effectively to get the signed contract—assuming that there are any strategies beyond Just Say No. Any advice ?

Vexed in Virginia

A:

Dear Vexed,

A lawyer of our acquaintance suggests presenting the lawyers with the very thing they use themselves — an "engagement letter". Be sure to list the terms you expect, including the cancellation fee.

One way or another, all service providers benefit from having a written set of terms and conditions to send out before negotiations get under way. Putting essentials down in writing really does make a difference, forcing the drafter to consider what her minimum acceptable conditions are and why.

Content can be expanded to include, e.g., a brief explanation of why it doesn't make sense to hire a professional interpreter for a critical meeting and then send her into the arena in a sleep-deprived state. This is in the client's interest; it's all about spending money wisely. Just be sure to keep the tone firm and informative—not lecturing, not strident.

It will be scant comfort now, but you might tell your interpreter friend that with experience it becomes easier to identify clients with bad-risk potential. Hemming and hawing is a red flag, or should be. And even with a signed contract, suing a law firm is to be avoided.

FA & WB

Q:

Dear Fire Ant & Worker Bee,

I find I translate much better in the nude. My style is far more flowing, the words much easier to find. Is this something to worry about?

Baring Soul

A:

Dear Baring,

In general we are all in favor of adapting working conditions to maximize productivity, but we need more information. Do you work at home or in an office? (Do you live in a temperate zone?)

FA & WB

Q:

Dear Fire Ant & Worker Bee,

I currently translate from French into English, mainly in the legal sector, and would be interested in your opinion on language combinations for English mother-tongue translators on a long-term basis.

Multi-speak

A:

Dear Multi,

To be sure, China is well on its way to becoming an economic powerhouse worldwide.

But even if you start learning the language now, it will be years before you are capable of actually translating anything from Chinese to English. Ideally you would have to go and live in China for a while, and study Chinese law while there—is that part of your plan?

More to the point, there is already massive demand in your current language combination and specialization, but only for seriously expert practitioners. Make no mistake, lawyers regularly criticize the superficial nature of many would-be legal translations, even when performed by experienced translators claiming specialization who have been in the business for years.

So we think you've got the wrong end of the stick. Unless there are special personal circumstances—you see a move to China shaping up through a spousal transfer, or there is a devilishly attractive Chinese translator across the street and you're casting about for an ice-breaker—you are better off sticking to your current combination and deepening your specialization.

That might include developing your knowledge of legal systems in English and French-speaking countries, and selecting a few particularly promising areas to make your own, gradually becoming the translator of choice in those niches—the person that demanding clients turn to.

FA & WB

Q:

Dear Fire Ant & Worker Bee,

I've just read your column in the latest issue of the Translation Journal and would like to sound the following note of warning.

Business Grower

A:

Dear Business,

Thanks for that update on the UK scene. Point taken: it would be suicidal to launch any type of outreach without checking first to ensure that your plans comply with local legislation.

And true, networking can be expensive and time-consuming. But is there any other serious option? All too often translators take a short-term view, rejecting out of hand investment that business people in other sectors would view as normal, even essential.

A self-employed translator is at once business development strategist, project manager, chief accountant, head of marketing, R&D expert and tea lady. Not to mention factory-floor operative, of course. Investing to hone your expertise, then making potential clients aware of those skills and your availability is part of the deal.

Example: One of us recently spent just under €600, not counting billable hours lost, to attend a two-day conference for business leaders. Yet contacts made in the first two hours generated €1500 in business over the next month, with more to come.

The trick is to identify the most promising events by tracking what client companies (and potential client companies) are up to, then studying attendance/exhibitor lists before shelling out. You might also simply ask existing clients which industry events they consider the best opportunities to learn more about their sector. This sends out the right message: you are developing your knowledge of the field to serve them better. That you coincidentally link up with new prospects is the icing on the cake.

FA&WB

FA & WB

Q:

Dear Fire Ant & Worker Bee,

I live in France and intend to set myself up as a translator. As I start out, I have been advised to go through a Société de Portage to avoid the crippling social security charges involved when declaring oneself as a freelance in France. Could you please tell me of any Société de Portage adapted to the payment of translation work?

Farmgirl

A:

Dear Farmgirl,

The French national translators' association SFT (www.sft.fr) has plenty to say about sociétés de portage, which operate in a gray area and by no means reduce social security charges.

On the contrary, in exchange for taking you on as a pseudo-salaried employee, they will claim a chunk of your billings in exchange for providing "administrative services." Fair enough, perhaps, but what they don't usually tell you is that you will never ever be able to cash in on some of the perceived benefits, e.g., unemployment, and this despite compulsory payments into those kitties.

The appeal of sociétés de portage is above all psychological, it would appear, especially for translators worried about their own numeracy or ability to handle paperwork in the Land of Red Tape.

Our advice? Sign up for a year if the idea of dealing directly with the tax and social security authorities freaks you out, but use that time to acquire the knowledge you need to run your own business. Billing customers, tracking receipts and outflows, then calculating and paying tax and social security contributions is not rocket science. A good starting point is the guide to setting up as a freelance translator in France published by the SFT (Vademécum du traducteur, €15 from SFT, 22 rue des Martyrs, 75009 Paris, France).

FA & WB