TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE
- Description of Institution 8
CHAPTER 2 ORIGINAL DOCUMENT 12
- L’économie du Gabon : Une économie à la remorque de son pétrole 12
CHAPTER 3 TRANSLATED DOCUMENT 47
- Gabon’s economy: An oil-dependent economy. 47
- Trade balance and business partners 62
CHAPTER 4 ANALYSIS OF PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS 82
- Transposition 82
- Reordering 82
- Reduction 83
- Amplification 84
- Borrowing 85
- Condensation 85
CONCLUSION 87
BIBLIOGRAPHY 89
GLOSSARY 91
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE PAGE
- Répartition du PIB du Gabon par secteur d’activités, 1997-2001 17
- Production pétrolière et participation du pétrole dans les recettes de l’État au Gabon 21
- Évolution des échanges commerciaux du Gabon 29
- Répartition des importations Gabonaises 30
- Destination des exportations gabonaises par pays ou zone commerciale 32
- Provenance des importations gabonaises 33
- Exportations canadiennes vers le Gabon par groupe de produits 36
- Exportations canadiennes vers le Gabon par groupe de produits 37
- Données sur le commerce canado-gabonais 39
- Répartition des emplois salariés par secteur d’activité au Gabon, 1995-1999 42
- Breakdown of GDP per business sector, 1997 – 2001 52
- Oil production and contribution to Gabon’s revenue 56
- Evolution of Gabon’s Trade Activity 64
- Distribution of Gabon’s Imports 65
- Destinations for Gabon’s exports by country or commercial zone 67
- Sources of Gabon’s imports 68
- Canadian exports to Gabon by product group 71
- Canadian imports from Gabon by product group 72
- Canada-Gabon Trade Data 74
- Distribution of wage-employment by business sector, 1995-1999 77
LIST OF GRAPHS
GRAPH PAGE
- Importations canadiennes et québécoises du Gabon 34
- Exportations canadiennes et québécoises vers le Gabon 35
- Balance commerciale du Canada et du Québec avec le Gabon 38
- Évolution du commerce entre le Canada et le Gabon 40
- Canadian and Quebecois imports from Gabon 68
- Canadian and Quebecois exports to Gabon 70
- Canada and Quebec’s trade balance with Gabon 73
- Evolution of trade between Canada and Gabon 75
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
FRENCH
AGRIPOG : Société agricole de Port-Gentil
AGROGABON : Société de développement de l’Agriculture et de l’Élevage du Gabon
BAD : Banque africaine de développement
CEMAC : Communauté économique et monétaire de l’Afrique centrale
CFG : Compagnie forestière du Gabon COMILOG : Compagnie minière de l’Ogooué
DREE : Direction des relations économiques extérieures (France) F CFA : Franc de la Communauté financière africaine
FMI : Fonds monétaire international
HEVEGAB : Société de développement de l’hévéaculture au Gabon
MAECI : Ministère des affaires étrangères et du commerce international (Canada)
NTIC : Nouvelles technologies de l’information et des communications
OAB : Organisation africaine du bois
OCTRA : Office des Chemins de fer transgabonais PDDT : Plan directeur de développement touristique PME/PMI : Petites et moyennes entreprises/industries SEEG : Société d’énergie et d’eau du Gabon
SHM : Société de la Haute Mondah
SNAT : Société nationale d’acconage et de transit SNBG : Société nationale des bois du Gabon SOGARA : Société gabonaise de raffinage SOSUHO : Société sucrière du Haut-Ogoo0ué TVA : Taxe sur la valeur ajoutée
$CAN : Dollar canadien
$US : Dollar américain
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
ENGLISH
ADB: African Development Bank ATO: African Timber organization
CEMAC: Central African Economic and Monetary Community DFAIT: Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization
IMF: International Monetary Fund
OPEC: Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries SME / SMI: Small and Medium-Scale Enterprise / Industry TDP: Tourism Development Plan
VAT: Value Added Tax
ABSTRACT
People cannot co-exist without communication. In the situation where people speaking different languages need to communicate, translation becomes imperative. It is for this reason that many theorists have taken keen interest in the subject of translation. The objective of this dissertation is to underscore some of the difficulties translators encounter in the translation activity and to promote an appreciation of translation techniques that may help translators to provide accurate translations for any source language text.
This dissertation is made up of an introduction, an internship report, an original document, an analysis of the problems faced when translating the document, a conclusion and a glossary.
The introduction addresses the concept of translation and factors that influence it. It examines some factors that influence translation such as equivalence, text function, linguistic knowledge and social knowledge. Chapter one presents a report on the three month internship undertaken at the end of the MA translation program – place of internship, experience gained as well as challenges encountered. The original document is presented in chapter two and the translated version follows in chapter three. Chapter four analyzes the problems faced when translating the document and the techniques used to resolve them. The conclusion sums up the entire dissertation.
Keywords: Translation techniques, equivalence, translation problems, factors that influence translation
INTRODUCTION
The word translation derives from the Latin translatio which originates from merging the words, Trans and fero, meaning “to carry across” or “to bring across”. The term translation has several connotations. It can refer to the general subject field, the product (i.e. the text that has been translated) or the process of translating (Munday 2001, p. 4). According to Munday, “translation entails changing an original written text (the source text or ST) in an original verbal language (the source language or SL) into a written text ( the target text or TT) in a different verbal language (the target language or TL)”. In this section of the dissertation, we shall address some factors that influence translation such as equivalence, text function, linguistic knowledge and social knowledge.
Catford (1995) defines translation as the “replacement of textual material in one language (SL) by equivalent textual material in another language (TL). Here, Catford mentions the notion of equivalence which has been the major problem of translation practice. Texts in different languages can be equivalent in many ways. They could be equivalent according to different levels of presentation (context, semantics, grammar, lexis, etc.). The notion of ensuring that equivalence is preserved at all costs has been the major problem of translators. The translator has the option of focusing on formal equivalence which renders the text literally (word-for-word) at the expense of features natural to the target language or he may choose dynamic equivalence which conveys the essential message at the expense of the original word order. The former is described by theorists as ugly but faithful whereas the latter is described as beautiful but inaccurate.
There is no clear-cut boundary between dynamic equivalence and formal equivalence. Each is used at various times and in various contexts by the same translator and at various points within the same text, sometimes simultaneously. The most important element that must be taken into consideration is the “function” of the text.
Every text type has a corresponding text function. Fawcett (1997, p. 104) explains that a content- centered text type will have an informative function; a form-centered text type focusing on the sender will have an expressive function whereas a behavior-centered text type focusing on the receiver will have a persuasive function. Each major text type has subdivisions into numerous text types such as novel, play or lyric for the expressive type; text book, report and essay for the informative type; and sermon, propaganda and advert for the persuasive type. In translation, the translator must maintain the same text function as the original. If the text function of the original text is to produce a persuasive effect, then the translation must also have such an effect.
In order to decipher the function of text, the following questions must be asked: what, why, when, how, where, who? In his book, Translation and Translating: Theory and Practice, Roger T. Bell (1991) explains that these questions define one or more parameters of variation:
- What? Refers to the message contained in the text.
- Why? Directs the receiver towards the intention of the sender.
- When? Shows the time of the communication in the text and sets in the historical, current or future context.
- How? Refers to either the manner of delivery (the tenor of the discourse i.e. serious, flippant or ironic) or medium of communication (the mode of the discourse i.e. verbal or non-verbal, speech or writing).
- Where? Refers to the place of communication; the physical location of the speech event realized in the text.
- Who? Is concerned with the participants involved in the communication; the sender and receiver.
The six questions asked above have one important notion running through and that is communication. Translation is an example of written communication. Thus, to better explain the translation process we need to begin by describing the communication process in a monolingual communication.
In monolingual communication the sender selects his message and chooses a code (language). He then encodes the message and selects a channel. Next, he transmits a signal containing the message to the receiver. The receiver receives the signal containing the message. He recognizes the code and decodes the signal. He then retrieves the message and comprehends it.
Bell (1991) describes the human information processing as involving three stages carried out by three storage systems:
- The first stage involves reception, filtering, storage and initial processing of information by the sensory information system.
- The second stage involves the final analysis, short-term storage and a second filtering of the data by the short-term memory system
- The third stage entails assessing the long-term memory system and integrating new information.
Through the sensory systems of the body – sight, smell, hearing, taste touch, smell, the human brain receives a huge quantity of information. The brain filters the information and may discard all information with the exception of what the system may be focusing on at a particular period. This information is then stored briefly for about half a second in the sensory information store. Here, it is rehearsed and analyzed in terms of features and knowledge. Next, it is passed on to the short-term or working memory where it is analyzed in terms of its distinctive and constituent features, organized into a coherent pattern, passed on to be disambiguated and finally entered into the long- term store. The long-term memory system allows new data to be stored and existing data to be
accessed. It also serves as a database in which information is stored in a manner that facilitates access.
In the translation process the translator receives a signal containing a message and recognizes the code. He decodes the signal, retrieves the message and comprehends the message. He then encodes the message by means of another code or language. Next, he selects a channel, verbal or non- verbal, speech or writing to transmit the message. It is important to note however, that the process is not as easy as the process seems to portray. Roger T. Bell in his book Translation and Translating (1991) provides a more complex and detailed model of the translation process. He asserts that the initial stage of translation is in reading the text. The reader of a text is faced with three problems: 1.What the text is about 2. What the writer’s purpose was in producing it and 3. What suitable context is for its use. In order to answer these questions, and get the meaning of the text, the reader must draw on appropriate linguistic and social knowledge.
The translator calls upon many domains of knowledge in processing texts but the centrality of linguistic knowledge cannot be overemphasized. There are three levels of linguistic knowledge of which the translator must be a master. These are syntactic knowledge, Semantic knowledge and pragmatic knowledge.
Syntactic knowledge entails knowing what elements exist in a language and how they may be properly combined. Here, what is involved is the knowledge of the systems of ‘chain and choice’ which organize the semantic meaning of a proposition. Fawcett (1997, p.6) explains that the order in which we put words is governed by syntax – the rules of our language which tell us what kind of word can come in what place in a sentence. A critical look at the sentence below will reveal that because the syntax or word order of the sentence is jumbled up it is void of meaning:
- The he boy asked come to.
Thus, we see that for meaning to be derived syntactic knowledge must be combined with semantic information.
Semantics is defined as the study of meaning. Semantic knowledge refers to knowledge of such concepts as denotation, connotation, componential analysis, presupposition and entailment. Semantic knowledge is important in both monolingual communication and translation. Given the text below, we realize that the text will be devoid of meaning if words are not provided to fill the blank spaces. However, if the words – scientific, is, branches, has, of – are provided a competent user of the language will have little difficulty in filling in the gaps. This ability is as a result of his semantic knowledge.
- Linguistics…….the……………study……………….. language.
Fawcett (1997, p. 19) explains that meanings and meaning structures do not match between languages. Every language has gaps and shifts when compared with other languages. He adds that variation between languages in the different components and relations of word meaning has two consequences for translation. Firstly, the meaning that is transferred will be decided by the context, not by the dictionary, and secondly, the transfer will nearly always involve some form of loss or change. Albrecht (1973:23), cited by Fawcett (1997, p. 26) also asserts that human translation “is always to some extent false”. He uses the analogy of currency transfer to explain the differences in ‘pure’ meaning between languages. According to him, although the aspect and numerical value of the coins and notes change, their ‘real’ value should not change, but in reality, their real value does change because they fit into a different price structure. Taking the French example, je suis allée chez moi, we notice some difference in meaning with its English equivalent, I went to my house. The French version shows the speaker to be a woman whereas the English doesn’t. A competent translator would be able to handle such meaning differences with his semantic knowledge. However, semantic knowledge and syntactic knowledge alone do not guarantee equivalence. In
addition to them, the translator is expected to deduce the intentions of the authors by applying his pragmatic knowledge.
Pragmatic knowledge refers to knowledge of the intended meaning which is derived from context. It involves the textual characteristics of intentionality, acceptability and situation, that is, the attitudes of the producer and receiver regarding the context of use. It takes into consideration such factors as culture, epoch, and experiences of life, etc. Pragmatic knowledge goes beyond syntax and semantics to include real use of code or language for communication.
Text processing operates in both directions: reception and production (i.e. reading and writing). According to Bell (1991), every text has its propositional content and illocutionary force which the translator must retrieve, explicate, negotiate, structure and finally reconstruct context to ensure efficient translation. This being the case, there must be two texts that share a common propositional content but which differ in terms of force; text 1 reflecting the intentions of the writer in producing the text (illocutionary force) and text 2 attempting to make sense of text 1, the (perlocutionary force). Text 2 becomes the semantic representation of text one. To convey the intended meaning of an original text, the translator must according to Durieux (1990:671) cited by Fawcett (1997, p. 125), “possess the knowledge that the author presupposes their readers to have”.
Besides linguistic knowledge – syntactic, semantic and pragmatic knowledge, several social factors need to be considered in text processing. 1) The context, i.e. setting and scene of writing differs as between writer and reader. 2) Participants, i.e. writer and reader who are different individuals with different experiences of life. 3) Goals, for both the writer and the reader which may be different. 4) The tenor– what the writer intended the text to mean may differ drastically from the way it is actually taken by the reader. For instance, what the writer intends to be entertaining may be felt to be annoying by the reader. 5) Norms – expectations concerning behavior of participants – producers and receivers – must be shared and realized in socially recognized text-types which are readily identified by users.
The social status of a people influences the way they use language. Translators must, therefore, have knowledge of the social status of the target audience. Fawcett (1997, p. 117) gives the example of ‘belles infidèles’ translations of the seventeenth and eighteenth which were based on sociolinguistics. The people, for whom these translations were made, were of a social class whose lifestyle was based on concepts of decency and decorum. Thus, translations were expected to conform to the same concepts. Similarly, translations made for the President of the Republic of Ghana will most certainly use diplomatic language given his profession and social status.
In this dissertation, we shall apply the factors discussed above to translate “l’économie du Gabon: Une économie à la remorque de son pétrole”. We shall strive to achieve equivalence between the source text and the translation.
CHAPTER 1 INTERNSHIP REPORT
To become a master of an art, one will have to train ceaselessly. Thus, as part of the M.A Translation program, students are required to work as interns in institutions where they could practice in-field translation so as to master and improve upon the skills acquired in the classroom. In this section of the dissertation, we shall first of all describe the institution in which we worked. Next, we shall address the nature of the internship we undertook – our responsibilities, tools that were available to us, the environment in which we worked, transport and telephone accessibility, our challenges and finally, our assessment of the internship.
Description of the institution
Although it is a requirement to undertake an internship, the University does not assign students to specific institutions. The student has the tedious task of searching for an institution. After having searched far and wide, we got accepted at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration. This ministry’s core function is to advise the Government in the formulation and implementation of Ghana’s Foreign policy objectives. It also exists to promote and protect the interest of Ghana and its citizens abroad and to enhance Ghana’s security and prosperity.
