ABSTRACT
This study sought to investigate issues of equivalence in translating the source text (ST) from French to English.
The ST – Les banques centrales dans la tempête pour un nouveau mandat de stabilité financière was selected as a primary source material. The design in the work was primarily analytical and contrastive, as it analyzed issues of equivalence owing to linguistic and extra- linguisitic factors, such as false friends, ambiguity, non-equivalence and context. Translation strategies and theories served as a guide to explain and overcome the challenges of equivalence encountered that were a threat to translatability.
The study found that formal equivalence like dynamic equivalence, as a strategy, was capable of producing equivalent effect so that meaning is not distorted. On the other hand, it may be a fertile ground for false friends. Additionally, replacing SL textual material with TL textual material was found to lead to a loss in information content although the message was fully conveyed. Finally, full equivalence was not always achieved. This was evident in some cases of idiomatic expressions where the best strategy was to understand the message of the author and to re-express it with the appropriate equivalents.
Key words: Linguistic factors, extra-linguistic factors, non-equivalence, translatability, equivalent effect
RESUMÉ
Cette étude visait à examiner les questions d’équivalence dans la traduction du texte source (TS) du français vers l’anglais.
L’ouvrage Les banques centrales dans la tempête pour un nouveau mandat de stabilité financière a été choisi comme texte source. La méthode de l’étude était principalement analytique et contrastive, puisqu’elle analysait les questions d’équivalence en raison de facteurs linguistiques et extralinguistiques tels que les faux amis, l’ambiguïté, la non-équivalence et le contexte. Les stratégies et théories de traduction ont servi de guide pour expliquer et surmonter les problèmes d’équivalence rencontrés qui menaçaient la traduisibilité.
L’étude a montré que l’equivalence formelle tout comme l’equivalence dynamique, en tant que stratégie de traduction était capable de produire un effet équivalent en raison du fait que la traduction ne déforme pas le sens. De plus, le remplacement du matériel textuel de la langue de départ (LD) par du matériel textuel de la langue d’arrivée (LA) est avéré entraîner une perte de contenu d’information bien que le message ait été entièrement transmis. Enfin, l’équivalence totale n’a pas toujours été atteinte. Ceci était évident dans certains cas des idiomes où la meilleure stratégie était de comprendre le message de l’auteur et de le ré-exprimer avec les équivalents appropriés.
Mots clés : Facteurs linguistiques, facteurs extra-linguistiques, non-équivalence, traduisibilité, effet équivalent
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION………………………………………………………………………………………………………. i
DEDICATION…………………………………………………………………………………………………………. ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT………………………………………………………………………………………. iii
ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………………………………………………… vi
LIST OF TABLES…………………………………………………………………………………………………. vii
ABBREVIATIONS……………………………………………………………………………………………….. viii
CHAPTER ONE………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1
1.0 INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1
- Background……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 1
CHAPTER TWO……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 16
2.0. CORPORA ALIGNMENT…………………………………………………………………………………. 16
CHAPTER THREE……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 63
3.0 Analysis and Discussion of Translation problems…………………………………………………. 63
- Word Equivalence…………………………………………………………………………………………… 64
3.2.3. Fixed expressions…………………………………………………………………………………………. 79
3.4. Abbreviations…………………………………………………………………………………………………. 80
CHAPTER FOUR………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 81
GLOSSARY…………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 87
REFERENCE………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 91
SITOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 93
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 65
Table 2…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 67
Table 3…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 74
Table 4…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 75
Table 5…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 82
Table 6…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 79
ABBREVIATIONS
Source Text – ST Target Text – TT Source Language – SL Target Language – TL Texte source – TS Langue de départ – LD Langue d’arrivée – LA
CHAPTER ONE
Background
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Translation became necessary because of the proliferation of languages at the tower of Babel (Ladmiral, 1979). Although the actual study of translation as an academic discipline started in the twentieth century, translation has been used throughout history. This has made translation an indispensable aspect of human communication. The demand for translation services is undoubtedly on the increase and is more important than ever before in today’s world – commonly referred to as a global village. A global community where businesses cannot expand internationally or penetrate foreign markets without the translation of documents. This claim is based on Roger’s (2017, CNBC news) assertion that “the number of people in the translation and interpretation industry has doubled in the past seven years” and is expected to “grow by 29%” through 2024. Translation is very essential to the development of literature. Translation gives new life to documents written centuries ago when they are reproduced in another language with the content remaining the same. Benjamin (2004) emphasized this idea by stating that a translation comes long after its original and therefore the translation of important works marks their stage of continued life. With regards to technical texts, Salama-Carr et al. (1995, p. 101) cited in (Krein-Kutiile, 2003, p. 10), posited that “technical and scientific translation, more than any other mode of translation perhaps, is an instrument of cross- fertilization, transformation and progress. Without translation, the modern phenomenon of “technology transfer” would not exist”.
Leonardi (2000) avers that defining equivalence poses a challenge which may be due to the lack of a general approach to this notiom. Nevertheless, the concept of equivalence highlights that the source text and target text “share some kind of ‘sameness’” (Panou, 2013, p.2).
Catford (1965) defines the translation activity in relation to equivalence. According to him, translation is “the replacement of textual material in one language (SL) by equivalent textual material in another language (TL) (p.20)”. In addition, Kenny (2009) cites (Pym 1992a:31) who evokes the notion of circularity in relation to translation and equivalence. He states that, “equivalence is supposed to define translation and translation, in turn, defines equivalence”. Nida (1964, p. 159) cites (Belloc, 1931), who argues that, “identical equivalents” do not exist and as such, a translator must look out for “the closest possible equivalent”. Issues of this nature draw attention to (Kenny, 2009) who described equivalence as both a “central concept” and a “controversial one.”
Centuries ago, theoretists such as Cicero, Horace and St Jerome started the debate on what the focus should be in finding TL equivalents. Some argued that the focus should be on the lexical item, that is, rendering word for word, whereas others emphasized the meaning (Amparo; Munday, 1990; 2008). The former represents a literal translation and the latter, free translation. In the course of time, new theorists emerged and so did the transition of the concept of equivalence: Eugene Nida’s seminal concepts of Formal and dynamic equivalence and the principle of equivalent effect, Peter Newmark’s Semantic and communicative translation, and Werner Koller’s Korrespondenz and Ǎquivalenz (Correspondence and Equivalence) (originally written in German but translated into English) served as percursors during the transistion period. According to Venuti (2004, p. 5), the concept of equivalence has been interpreted as “accuracy”, “adequacy”, “correctness”, “correspondence”, “fidelity” or “identity”.
Baker (1992) points out the different levels at which a translator must achieve equivalence. However, achieving equivalence at word and beyond word levels will be the focus of this study. That is, single words and lexical patterns such idioms and fixed expressions.
She further claims that a threat to the translation activity is the issue of non-equivalence and that a translator may have to manipulate the linguistic system of the language in question to achieve equivalence in some contexts. This is because, at the end of the day, a message and not words have to be communicated to TL readers. Unlike the “straight jacket effect” (p.100) the grammar of a language produces on the translator, translating words and lexical patterns may make room for dynamism. This throws more light on Nida’s (1964) theory of dynamic equivalence where the focus is on conveying a message and not words.
If indeed equivalence and translation go hand in hand, as Kenny (1998) has suggested, equivalence will continue to remain central to the practice of translation and will therefore remain a topic for discussion in the field of translation.
Problem statement
The controversies surrounding equivalence as a concept in translation stress the claim of Catford (1965) that “the central problem of translation practice is finding TL translation equivalents (p.21)”. The differences that exist between French and English make the quest for equivalence at all levels challenging, since every language has its own rules for the formation of words and sentences. This poses a threat to the translation activity. Baker (1992) evokes the issue of non-equivalence which may occur at the word level and beyond the word level. This is because there might be no direct equivalence between two languages. She further states that in the translation of idoms and fixed expressions, it is unworkable for the translator to always expect to find equivalence. A translator who resorts to formal equivalence as a means of achieving equivalence may always be in the wrong although formal equivalence makes an attempt to convey the message of the author as well, but in both form and content. To this end, this study seeks to investigate translation strategies that will create equivalent effect in spite of all the challenges a translator may be faced with.
