Content navigation: table of contents - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7
Foreword
A good translation is more than just the simplistic transfer of textual
elements from the source language to the target language.
It is an achieved masterpiece that represents the ideal symbiosis of
art and craftsmanship, and its precision is a mark of the respect in which
it holds the person for whom it is destined.
A successful translation does not just reproduce the original text in strict form – it must also be easy to understand, sound natural and and make a lively impression.
The objective is to give the reader the impression that he¹ is faced with a work that has been composed exclusively in his own language, the target language. The text must be rendered in such a way that it appears to the reader that his own language is the medium of communication.
Taken all in all, the translation must have the same effect on readers in the target language as the original document has had on readers of the source language.
So it is essential that the translator must be a native speaker of the target
language; and he must also have a very good command of the language of the
source.
To produce a good translation, he must not only be equally familiar
with the grammar of his mother tongue and that of the source language, he
must also have a thorough knowledge of the subject area; and moreover he
must be sensitive to the social, cultural and emotional nuances of the source
document.
In the process of translation the translator must, in a case of doubt, work
through all the cultural and linguistic differences between one language
and another, including those resulting from recent linguistic evolution,
and translate them into a form that is correct in terms of the content and
subject matter and at the same time stylistically convincing.
Such things as evanescent buzz-words and regional contrasts, and even
certain linguistic taboos, are all matters that need to be taken into account.
In this essay we will discuss points that are relevant to the understanding
of the problems faced by the translator, and propose some solutions for dealing
with these problems.
If you want to have a better insight into the daily work of the translator
and the problems he faces, a careful reading of this document may well prove
rewarding.
¹ Note: for the sake of simplicity, the masculine pronoun has been used throughout in a generic sense; it should be understood as referring to both sexes.
Previous chapter | Next chapter
