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Sense-for-sense translation

January 19, 2024

Sense-for-sense translation is the oldest norm for translating. It fundamentally means translating the meaning of each whole sentence before moving on to the next, and stands in normative opposition to word-for-word translation (also known as literal translation).

History edit

Jerome, a Roman Catholic priest, theologian, and historian coined the term "sense-for-sense" when he developed this translation method when was tasked by Pope Damasus to review the existing translations of the Gospel and produce a more reliable Latin version.[1] He described this method in his "Letter to Pammachius", where he said that, "except of course in the case of Holy Scripture, where even the syntax contains a mystery," he translates non verbum e verbo sed sensum de sensu: not word for word but sense for sense.[2] He adopted a framework that corrected the mistakes of previous translators as well as the alterations of critical scholars and the errors made by careless copyists[3] by collecting the oldest Greek manuscripts, which he compared with the Old Latin versions, and translated the scripture into a version that is close as possible to the original meaning.[3]

Jerome did not invent the concept of sense-for-sense translation. It is believed that it was first proposed by Cicero in De optimo genere oratorum ("The Best Kind of Orator"). In this text, he said that in translating from Greek to Latin, "I did not think I ought to count them out to the reader like coins, but to pay them by weight, as it were."[4] Cicero did not mention sense-for-sense in his works but it is considered to be a type of "segmental" theory, which is attributed to him and Horace. This translation approach is based on segmentation, which considers the how long a segment (word, phrase, or sentence) is before moving on to the next.[5]

Jerome was not the originator of the term "word-for-word" either. It has possibly also been borrowed from Cicero as well, or possibly from Horace, who warned the writer interested in retelling ancient tales in an original way Nec verbo verbum curabit reddere / fidus interpretes: "not to try to render them word for word [like some] faithful translator."[6]

Some have read that passage in Horace differently. Boethius in 510 CE and Johannes Scotus Eriugena in the mid-9th century read it to mean that translating literally is "the fault/blame of the faithful interpreter/translator," and fear that they have incurred it.[7] Burgundio of Pisa in the 1170s and Sir Richard Sherburne in 1702 recognize that Horace is advising not translators but original writers, but still assume that he is calling all translation literal.[7] Finally, John Denham in 1656 and André Lefevere in 1992 take Horace to be warning translators against translating literally.[7]

Similar concepts edit

Paraphrase edit

 
John Dryden by Sir Godfrey Kneller

In John Dryden’s 1680 preface to his translation of Ovid's Epistles, he proposed dividing translation into three parts called: metaphrase, paraphrase and imitation.[8] Metaphrase is word-for-word and line by line translation from one language into another.[9] Paraphrase is sense-for-sense translation where the message of the author is kept but the words are not so strictly followed as the sense, which too can be altered or amplified.[10] Imitation is the use of either metaphrase or paraphrase but the translator has the liberty to choose which is appropriate and how the message will be conveyed.[11]

Leaving the reader in peace edit

In 1813, during his “Über die Verschiedenen Methoden des Übersetzens” lecture,[12] Friedrich Schleiermacher proposed the idea where “[E]ither the translator leaves the author in peace, as much as possible, and moves the reader towards him, or he leaves the reader in peace, as much as possible, and he moves the author towards him”.[13]

Dynamic equivalence edit

In 1964,[citation needed] Eugene Nida described translation as having two different types of equivalence: formal and dynamic equivalence.[14] Formal equivalence is when there is focus on the message itself (in both form and content);[15] the message in the target language should match the message in the source language as closely as possible.[16] In dynamic equivalence, there is less concern with matching the message in the target language with the message in the source language;[17] the goal is to produce the same relationship between target text and target audience as there was with the original source text and its audience.[18]

Communicative translation edit

In 1981, Peter Newmark referred to translation as either semantic (word-for-word) or communicative (sense-for-sense).[19] He stated that semantic translation is one that is source language bias, literal and faithful to the source text and communicative translation is target language bias, free and idiomatic.[20] A semantic translation's goal is to stay as close as possible to the semantic and syntactic structures of the source language, allowing the exact contextual meaning of the original.[21] A communicative translation's goal is to produce an effect on the readers as close as possible to that as produced upon the readers of the original.[22]

Idiomatic translation edit

 
Lawrence Venuti

In addition to these concepts, in 1990, Brian Mossop presented his concept of idiomatic and unidiomatic translation.[23] Idiomatic translation is when the message of the source text is conveyed the way a target language writer would convey it, rather than staying to the way in which it was conveyed in the source text.[24] Unidiomatic translation is innovative and translates individual words.[25]

Domesticated translation edit

In 1994, also in modern translation studies, Lawrence Venuti introduced the concepts of domestication and foreignization, which are based on concepts from Friedrich Schleiermacher's 1813 lecture.[26] Domestication is the adaption of culture-specific terms or cultural context, where as foreignization is the preservation of the original cultural context of the source text (in terms of settings, names, etc.).[26]

Venuti also described domestication as being fluent and transparent strategies that result in acculturation,[26] where “a cultural other is domesticated, made intelligible”.[27] Schleiermacher's distinction between "bringing the author to the reader" (domestication) and "taking the reader to the author"[28] (foreignization), dealt with a social concern and Venuti's distinction between domestication and foreignization deals with ethical principles.[26]

References edit

  1. ^ Coogan, Michael David; Brettler, Marc Zvi; Newsom, Carol Ann; Perkins, Pheme (2007). The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books: New Revised Standard Version. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 466. ISBN 9780195288803.
  2. ^ Douglas Robinson, ed., Western Translation Theory from Herodotus to Nietzsche (Manchester, UK: St. Jerome, 1997, 2ed 2002), 25.
  3. ^ a b Freedman, Harry (2016). The Murderous History of Bible Translations: Power, Conflict and the Quest for Meaning. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 45. ISBN 9781472921673.
  4. ^ Robinson, ed., Western Translation Theory, 9.
  5. ^ Robinson, Douglas (2014). Translation and Empire. Oxon: Routledge. p. 50. ISBN 9781900650083.
  6. ^ Robinson, ed., Western Translation Theory, 15.
  7. ^ a b c For Boethius, Eriugena, Burgundio, and Denham, see Robinson, ed., Western Translation Theory, 35, 37, 42, and 156. For Sherburne, see T. R. Steiner, English Translation Theory, 1650–1800 (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1975), 89. André Lefevere's translation of Horace appears in Lefevere, ed., Translation/History/Culture: A Sourcebook (London and New York: Routledge, 1992), 15: "Do not worry about rendering word for word, faithful translator, but render sense for sense." This of course not only makes Horace's advice for the writer into advice for the translator, but anachronistically imports Jerome's coinage back into Horace's dictum, which actually preceded it by four centuries. For discussion, see also Douglas Robinson, Who Translates (Albany: SUNY Press, 2001), 170–174.
  8. ^ Lawrence Venuti, The Translation Studies Reader. 3rd ed. (New York: Routledge, 2012.), page 38.
  9. ^ Venuti, The Translation Studies Reader, 3rd ed., 38.
  10. ^ Venuti, The Translation Studies Reader, 3rd ed., 38.
  11. ^ Venuti, The Translation Studies Reader, 3rd ed., 38.
  12. ^ Yves Gambier, Luc Van Doorslaer, Handbook of Translation Studies, (Amsterdam: John Benjamins Pub., 2010.), 40.
  13. ^ Gambier, Handbook of Translation Studies, 40.
  14. ^ Lawrence Venuti,. The Translation Studies Reader. (New York: Routledge, 2000.), page 129.
  15. ^ Lawrence Venuti, The Translation Studies Reader. (New York: Routledge, 2000.), page 129.
  16. ^ Venuti, The Translation Studies Reader, 129.
  17. ^ Venuti, The Translation Studies Reader, 129.
  18. ^ Venuti, The Translation Studies Reader, 129.
  19. ^ Peter Newmark, Approaches to Translation, (Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1981)
  20. ^ Newmark, Approaches to Translation, 31
  21. ^ Newmark, Approaches to Translation, 39
  22. ^ Newmark, Approaches to Translation, 39
  23. ^ Brian Mossop, "Translating Institutions and “Idiomatic” Translation." Meta: Journal des traducteurs 35, no. 2 (January 1990)
  24. ^ Mossop, “Translating Institutions,”, 343
  25. ^ Mossop, “Translating Institutions,”, 343
  26. ^ a b c d Gambier, Handbook of Translation Studies, 40.
  27. ^ Lawrence Venuti, "Genealogies of Translation Theory: Schleiermacher." TTR : Traduction, Terminologie, Rédaction 4, no. 2 (1991)
  28. ^ Douglas Robinson, ed. Western Translation Theory From Herodotus to Nietzsche. (Manchester: St. Jerome., 2002)

Further reading edit

  • Gentzler, Edwin (2001). Contemporary Translation Theories. 2nd Ed. London and New York: Routledge.
  • Lefevere, André. (1992). Translation/History/Culture: A Sourcebook. London and New York: Routledge.
  • Newmark, Peter. (1988). A Textbook of Translation. New York: Prentice Hall.
  • Nida, Eugene A., and Charles R. Taber. (1969). The Theory and Practice of Translation. Leiden: Brill.
  • Robinson, Douglas. (2001). Who Translates? Translator Subjectivities Beyond Reason. Albany: SUNY Press.
  • Robinson, Douglas, ed. (2002). Western Translation Theory From Herodotus to Nietzsche. Manchester: St. Jerome.
  • Steiner, T.R. (1975). English Translation Theory, 1650–1800. Amsterdam: Rodopi.
  • Venuti, Lawrence. (1995). The Translator's Invisibility: A History of Translation. London and New York: Routledge ()

January 19, 2024
sense, sense, translation, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, need, reorganization, comply, with, wikipedia, layout, guidelines, please, hel. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article may be in need of reorganization to comply with Wikipedia s layout guidelines Please help by editing the article to make improvements to the overall structure June 2012 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Sense for sense translation news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2019 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Sense for sense translation is the oldest norm for translating It fundamentally means translating the meaning of each whole sentence before moving on to the next and stands in normative opposition to word for word translation also known as literal translation Contents 1 History 2 Similar concepts 2 1 Paraphrase 2 2 Leaving the reader in peace 2 3 Dynamic equivalence 2 4 Communicative translation 2 5 Idiomatic translation 2 6 Domesticated translation 3 References 4 Further readingHistory editJerome a Roman Catholic priest theologian and historian coined the term sense for sense when he developed this translation method when was tasked by Pope Damasus to review the existing translations of the Gospel and produce a more reliable Latin version 1 He described this method in his Letter to Pammachius where he said that except of course in the case of Holy Scripture where even the syntax contains a mystery he translates non verbum e verbo sed sensum de sensu not word for word but sense for sense 2 He adopted a framework that corrected the mistakes of previous translators as well as the alterations of critical scholars and the errors made by careless copyists 3 by collecting the oldest Greek manuscripts which he compared with the Old Latin versions and translated the scripture into a version that is close as possible to the original meaning 3 Jerome did not invent the concept of sense for sense translation It is believed that it was first proposed by Cicero in De optimo genere oratorum The Best Kind of Orator In this text he said that in translating from Greek to Latin I did not think I ought to count them out to the reader like coins but to pay them by weight as it were 4 Cicero did not mention sense for sense in his works but it is considered to be a type of segmental theory which is attributed to him and Horace This translation approach is based on segmentation which considers the how long a segment word phrase or sentence is before moving on to the next 5 Jerome was not the originator of the term word for word either It has possibly also been borrowed from Cicero as well or possibly from Horace who warned the writer interested in retelling ancient tales in an original way Nec verbo verbum curabit reddere fidus interpretes not to try to render them word for word like some faithful translator 6 Some have read that passage in Horace differently Boethius in 510 CE and Johannes Scotus Eriugena in the mid 9th century read it to mean that translating literally is the fault blame of the faithful interpreter translator and fear that they have incurred it 7 Burgundio of Pisa in the 1170s and Sir Richard Sherburne in 1702 recognize that Horace is advising not translators but original writers but still assume that he is calling all translation literal 7 Finally John Denham in 1656 and Andre Lefevere in 1992 take Horace to be warning translators against translating literally 7 Similar concepts editParaphrase edit nbsp John Dryden by Sir Godfrey KnellerIn John Dryden s 1680 preface to his translation of Ovid s Epistles he proposed dividing translation into three parts called metaphrase paraphrase and imitation 8 Metaphrase is word for word and line by line translation from one language into another 9 Paraphrase is sense for sense translation where the message of the author is kept but the words are not so strictly followed as the sense which too can be altered or amplified 10 Imitation is the use of either metaphrase or paraphrase but the translator has the liberty to choose which is appropriate and how the message will be conveyed 11 Leaving the reader in peace edit In 1813 during his Uber die Verschiedenen Methoden des Ubersetzens lecture 12 Friedrich Schleiermacher proposed the idea where E ither the translator leaves the author in peace as much as possible and moves the reader towards him or he leaves the reader in peace as much as possible and he moves the author towards him 13 Dynamic equivalence edit In 1964 citation needed Eugene Nida described translation as having two different types of equivalence formal and dynamic equivalence 14 Formal equivalence is when there is focus on the message itself in both form and content 15 the message in the target language should match the message in the source language as closely as possible 16 In dynamic equivalence there is less concern with matching the message in the target language with the message in the source language 17 the goal is to produce the same relationship between target text and target audience as there was with the original source text and its audience 18 Communicative translation edit In 1981 Peter Newmark referred to translation as either semantic word for word or communicative sense for sense 19 He stated that semantic translation is one that is source language bias literal and faithful to the source text and communicative translation is target language bias free and idiomatic 20 A semantic translation s goal is to stay as close as possible to the semantic and syntactic structures of the source language allowing the exact contextual meaning of the original 21 A communicative translation s goal is to produce an effect on the readers as close as possible to that as produced upon the readers of the original 22 Idiomatic translation edit nbsp Lawrence VenutiIn addition to these concepts in 1990 Brian Mossop presented his concept of idiomatic and unidiomatic translation 23 Idiomatic translation is when the message of the source text is conveyed the way a target language writer would convey it rather than staying to the way in which it was conveyed in the source text 24 Unidiomatic translation is innovative and translates individual words 25 Domesticated translation edit In 1994 also in modern translation studies Lawrence Venuti introduced the concepts of domestication and foreignization which are based on concepts from Friedrich Schleiermacher s 1813 lecture 26 Domestication is the adaption of culture specific terms or cultural context where as foreignization is the preservation of the original cultural context of the source text in terms of settings names etc 26 Venuti also described domestication as being fluent and transparent strategies that result in acculturation 26 where a cultural other is domesticated made intelligible 27 Schleiermacher s distinction between bringing the author to the reader domestication and taking the reader to the author 28 foreignization dealt with a social concern and Venuti s distinction between domestication and foreignization deals with ethical principles 26 References edit Coogan Michael David Brettler Marc Zvi Newsom Carol Ann Perkins Pheme 2007 The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocryphal Deuterocanonical Books New Revised Standard Version Oxford Oxford University Press p 466 ISBN 9780195288803 Douglas Robinson ed Western Translation Theory from Herodotus to Nietzsche Manchester UK St Jerome 1997 2ed 2002 25 a b Freedman Harry 2016 The Murderous History of Bible Translations Power Conflict and the Quest for Meaning London Bloomsbury Publishing p 45 ISBN 9781472921673 Robinson ed Western Translation Theory 9 Robinson Douglas 2014 Translation and Empire Oxon Routledge p 50 ISBN 9781900650083 Robinson ed Western Translation Theory 15 a b c For Boethius Eriugena Burgundio and Denham see Robinson ed Western Translation Theory 35 37 42 and 156 For Sherburne see T R Steiner English Translation Theory 1650 1800 Amsterdam Rodopi 1975 89 Andre Lefevere s translation of Horace appears in Lefevere ed Translation History Culture A Sourcebook London and New York Routledge 1992 15 Do not worry about rendering word for word faithful translator but render sense for sense This of course not only makes Horace s advice for the writer into advice for the translator but anachronistically imports Jerome s coinage back into Horace s dictum which actually preceded it by four centuries For discussion see also Douglas Robinson Who Translates Albany SUNY Press 2001 170 174 Lawrence Venuti The Translation Studies Reader 3rd ed New York Routledge 2012 page 38 Venuti The Translation Studies Reader 3rd ed 38 Venuti The Translation Studies Reader 3rd ed 38 Venuti The Translation Studies Reader 3rd ed 38 Yves Gambier Luc Van Doorslaer Handbook of Translation Studies Amsterdam John Benjamins Pub 2010 40 Gambier Handbook of Translation Studies 40 Lawrence Venuti The Translation Studies Reader New York Routledge 2000 page 129 Lawrence Venuti The Translation Studies Reader New York Routledge 2000 page 129 Venuti The Translation Studies Reader 129 Venuti The Translation Studies Reader 129 Venuti The Translation Studies Reader 129 Peter Newmark Approaches to Translation Oxford Pergamon Press 1981 Newmark Approaches to Translation 31 Newmark Approaches to Translation 39 Newmark Approaches to Translation 39 Brian Mossop Translating Institutions and Idiomatic Translation Meta Journal des traducteurs 35 no 2 January 1990 Mossop Translating Institutions 343 Mossop Translating Institutions 343 a b c d Gambier Handbook of Translation Studies 40 Lawrence Venuti Genealogies of Translation Theory Schleiermacher TTR Traduction Terminologie Redaction 4 no 2 1991 Douglas Robinson ed Western Translation Theory From Herodotus to Nietzsche Manchester St Jerome 2002 Further reading editGentzler Edwin 2001 Contemporary Translation Theories 2nd Ed London and New York Routledge Lefevere Andre 1992 Translation History Culture A Sourcebook London and New York Routledge Newmark Peter 1988 A Textbook of Translation New York Prentice Hall Nida Eugene A and Charles R Taber 1969 The Theory and Practice of Translation Leiden Brill Robinson Douglas 2001 Who Translates Translator Subjectivities Beyond Reason Albany SUNY Press Robinson Douglas ed 2002 Western Translation Theory From Herodotus to Nietzsche Manchester St Jerome Steiner T R 1975 English Translation Theory 1650 1800 Amsterdam Rodopi Venuti Lawrence 1995 The Translator s Invisibility A History of Translation London and New York Routledge Read full version here Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sense for sense translation amp oldid 1164855868, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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