Verified Document

Linguistics And Translation Assessment

Linguistics Translation and Linguistics -- Using one to Decode the Other

Every translation is an interpretation and requires a human actor as an intermediary. Despite all of our technological advancements, coming up with a "correct" or "proper" translation from one language to another is only possible when a human understanding of language and linguistics is applied to the task. In her article, "Linguistics and Translation," Gunilla Anderman follows the history of the intersection between linguistics and translation and provides insight into how the former has influenced the latter. Translation, after all, is not merely the rendition of a text from one language to another. It is also a "systematic comparison of two languages" (62). The relationship between linguistics and translation is inextricably intertwined, and Anderman follows their shared search for similarities between languages and that translators and linguists few similarities can be found.

Linguistics, in the latter half of the 18th century, when it was still known as philology, emerged as a discipline all its own. Translation as a separate discipline would take much longer to emerge, nearly 150 years. In early philology the focus of its practitioners was to define the distinctive and shared characteristics among languages and group them into families. This work greatly helped translators, who felt they could obtain a more literal translation between works that are written in two closely related languages (46). Many years after their work, it seems obvious to us that the romance languages, for example, would be easier to translate back and forth. But we are only able to have this conclusion, Anderman points out, because of their arduous work. We can only assume now because of what earlier scholars labored over in the past.

Anderman continues to trace the formations of linguistic theory through de Saussure, who stressed the importance of the study of language at a given point in time, the synchronic approach, and the important distinction between the underlying set...

de Saussure also gave modern linguists the concept of the sign and its two parts, the signifier and the signified (46). Translators need to be fluent in the langue, parole, and signs of both languages they are working with. Anderman uses details like those above in each period of history that she examines, building one upon another the steps by which both disciplines evolved. She examines the leaps the disciplines needed to make when encountering new languages, for example the languages of Native Americans, for which there was no previous equivalent in any other language and linguists were left to figure out what the "statement of meaning" was in each of the texts (47). The world of translation evolved from a word-for-word modality to a search for the transmission of meaning.
There are three specific types of linguistic aspect of translation, according to American structuralist Roman Jakobson, as quoted by Anderman (48). Interlingual translation involves the transfer of content in addition to form from one language to another. Intralingual translation involves rewording something in the original language as a means of clarifying the meaning of the text, for example, "translating" the works of Shakespeare into the modern vernacular so they can be more easily understood by children. Intersemiotic translation is perhaps the most difficult, because it is the effort to translate a written work in one language to another form, such as film or music. All of these methods must come under scrutiny by both the linguist and the translator because the question often becomes whether meaning can be maintained. If Shakespeare is "dumbed down" for modern school children who do not understand Elizabethan English, what is lost in that translation? Intersemiotic translation is becoming more and more of a hot topic among translators and linguists because of the increased use of modern technology to spread information across cultures and language barriers.

The…

Sources used in this document:
references above, she discusses the first attempts at automated translation in the 1940s and then jumps back to a linguistic development in the 1800s. Since part of her thesis is that both linguistics and translation need to build on the foundations established in the past, this jumping around seems counterproductive. Also, beyond information conveyance, the article falls short. Anderman makes no value judgment about any of the translation methods, which leaves the reader to assume that the most recent method depicted are automatically the best and the methods still used to this day. The author does express skepticism at the search of modern linguists and translators for a universal underlying set of rules that apply to all languages. Their journey, she says, is the same as when translators and linguists of old made their own great leaps.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Translation Linguistic the Challenges of
Words: 1211 Length: 4 Document Type: Seminar Paper

The result is a translation that fails either to satisfy the impulse for Arab audiences to appreciate the nuance of one of Shakespeare's great tragedies or to create a work that resonates with Arab-speaking audiences. In many ways, the challenges of translating this type of work are far greater than standard translations between the two distinct linguistic traditions. This is because of core structural differences that lead to common syntax

Translation As Gunilla Anderman Puts
Words: 624 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

Yet conference interpreter Anne Pearce emphatically disagrees. Pearce claims that there is nothing glamorous about conference interpretation, which is viewed as being the work of a "multilingual secretary." The dichotomies between translation and interpretation, between literary translation and literary interpretation, cannot be denied, though. Even if they become political arguments related to power, hierarchy, and social class status, these arguments reveal the complexities inherent in translating works of literature. Poetry

Translation Theory
Words: 743 Length: 2 Document Type: Term Paper

Translation -- Art or Science? One of the most interesting examples generated by the debate over the philosophy of the North American Translation Workshop is an anecdote that chronicles the practice of an experiment of Harvard students, all of whom had to translate a passage to contextually render its meaning to individuals of their own historical place in time. It is noted that this practice, of "actual translation" or enacted translation

Translation Theory
Words: 445 Length: 2 Document Type: Term Paper

Linguistics Russian Formalism to Translation Studies Scholars This report will focus on two translation methodologies, Russian Formalism and the Translation Studies Scholars. The paper is designed to be a contrast study of the two translation theories and will focus on their fundamental theoretical assumptions in regard to translations. The contrast will also include a critical analysis of the translation theories as opposed to only providing a simple literature review. In regard to

Linguistics of Arabic and English Contrastive Morphology
Words: 1753 Length: 6 Document Type: Research Paper

Linguistics of Arabic and English Contrastive Morphology Between English and Arabic Languages: The Use of Prefixes and Suffixes in Both Languages? There are many contrastive elements between the English and Arabic languages, beyond the obvious historical and cipher differences that are readily apparent to the casual observer. Arabic is a Central Semitic language from the Semitic language family; English is a West Germanic language stemming from Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the British Isles.

Translation Chapter 1 Of Venuti's the Translator's
Words: 668 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

Translation Chapter 1 of Venuti's The Translator's Invisibility is about why the goal of translation is to be "invisible." The translated text should be as close to the original as possible. In Chapter 1, the author explains the term invisibility and why it applies to the translator's work. The goal is to be faithful to the original author. There should be no evidence that the translator has taken liberties to put

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now