Iv - University of Salford Institutional Repository

Iv - University of Salford Institutional Repository Iv - University of Salford Institutional Repository

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Literary translation is in fact an attempt to reconstruct the SL message in a new text, a text that would have been crated by the original text author had he bean a native speaker of the language of translation. This, however, does not obliterate the fact that any literary text is part of a unique national, cultural, linguistic and literary tradition which, in turn is part of a larger cultural and literary polysystem. Adequate translation is based on an appropriate reading strategy which should subsume a gradual shift from a reading based predominately on reader-supplied information to a reading based predominately on text-supplied information. Robert de Beaugrande (1978, p87) distinguishes between "the initial comprehension of the text and subsequent interpretation that gathers more and more text- based information". While reading, the translator strives to dismantle, assimilate and comprehend the linguistic, stylistic, semantic and aesthetic structures of the source text. For the 'compound bilingual' . -- who is said to have two language systems in a contiguous and interdependent reservoir, the transition from the mental representation to the target language would be process since small-scale aspects could be handled directly. ordinate bilingual', on the other hand,has to transpose a simpler The 'co- larger stretches of text and hence must work backwards from the result to correlate small-scale aspects of the original and the translation since the two language systems at his command are viewed as functioning independently. If we insist that the 'perceptual 102

potential' of the source text be preserved as far as possible in the target langauge, as it is usually the case in the translation of poetry, the co-ordinate bilingual is at a decided disadvantage. (For more information see Bilinguality and Bilingualism , Eng. Trans. by J F Hamers and M H A Blanc, 1989, pp244-258.) Therefore, a theoretical model for translating must focus on the formulation of a "set of strategies for equivalence which not only correlate the source- language-based mental representation, but which also integrate into such a process of correlation a systematic knowledge of the incompatibilities of the langauge at the systemic level". (de Beaugrande, 1978, p90) The 'act of translating can be described as a dialectic interaction of binary oppositions; a logical disputation of inter-linguistic incompatibilities. As such, total equivalence, ie. equivalence at the phonological, grammatical, lexical, and semantic levels is not easy to achieve. To achieve phonological equivalence (rhyme or onomatopoeia), for instance, the translator is confronted with a situation in which he has to relax his grip on syntactic or semantic equivalence. That literary texts, particularly poetic texts, possess aesthetic properties is an indisputable fact. Aesthetic equivalence is non-achievable since aesthetic appreciation derives from the perception of affinities whereas intellectual pleasure derives from disparities. Therefore, a competent translator will have to shift his foci of expression from lexical equivalence through semantic, syntactic, stylistic and/or aesthetic equivalence at his own convenience and whenever he deems 103

Literary translation is in fact an attempt to reconstruct the SL<br />

message in a new text, a text that would have been crated by the<br />

original text author had he bean a native speaker <strong>of</strong> the language <strong>of</strong><br />

translation. This, however, does not obliterate the fact that any<br />

literary text is part <strong>of</strong> a unique national, cultural, linguistic and<br />

literary tradition which, in turn is part <strong>of</strong> a larger cultural and<br />

literary polysystem.<br />

Adequate translation is based on an appropriate reading strategy<br />

which should subsume a gradual shift from a reading based<br />

predominately on reader-supplied information to a reading based<br />

predominately on text-supplied information. Robert de Beaugrande<br />

(1978, p87) distinguishes between "the initial comprehension <strong>of</strong> the<br />

text and subsequent interpretation that gathers more and more text-<br />

based information". While reading, the translator strives to<br />

dismantle, assimilate and comprehend the linguistic, stylistic,<br />

semantic and aesthetic structures <strong>of</strong> the source text. For the<br />

'compound bilingual'<br />

. --<br />

who is said to have two language systems in a<br />

contiguous and interdependent reservoir, the transition from the<br />

mental representation to the target language would be<br />

process since small-scale aspects could be handled directly.<br />

ordinate bilingual', on the other hand,has to transpose<br />

a simpler<br />

The 'co-<br />

larger<br />

stretches <strong>of</strong> text and hence must work backwards from the result to<br />

correlate small-scale aspects <strong>of</strong> the original and the translation<br />

since the two language systems at his command are viewed as<br />

functioning independently. If we insist that the 'perceptual<br />

102

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