Contents introduction 2 I. The meaning and purpose of translation

I. THE MEANING AND PURPOSE OF TRANSLATION.

1. Types of translation.

Translation Studies is a field of study that deals with the theory, description, and application of translation. Because it examines translation both as an interlingual transfer, and as an intercultural communication, Translation Studies can also be described as an inter-discipline which touches on other diverse fields of knowledge, including comparative literature, cultural studies, gender studies, computer science, history, linguistics, philosophy, rhetoric, and semiotics.
Beautiful is not faithful. Faithful is not beautiful. Between these two propositions pendulums the entire scenario of translation. The first form of translation is textual or etymological translation is word by word translation. This sort of translation is very faithful to the writings of the author. But it hardly reads nice and beautiful. The second form is thematic translation. Here, the translator picks up the thoughts of the writer and reproduces in his own words and makes it beautiful according to his own aptitude. This sort of translation although reads beautiful but not faithfully to the writer.
Taking account of the above two forms of translation different methods of translation may be categorized into eight types: word-for-word translation, literal translation, faithful translation, semantic translation, adaptive translation, free translation, idiomatic translation and communicative translation.

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   Word for Word translation: The SL word order is preserved and the words translated by their most common meanings. It is a translation of a text done by translating each word separately, without looking at how the words are used together in a phrase or sentence. Cultural words are translated literally. The main use of this method is either to understand the mechanics of the source language or to construe a difficult text as pre-translation process. “Word-for-word” translation is generally considered as the rendering of text from an original language to the target language by following the exact words of the original text, while “sense-for-sense” translation emphasizes the idea of preserving the meaning of the write-up without obeying the exact grammar or structure of the original text. The debate on which approach is better runs through the history of western translation, and the exploration of this problem can be traced back to the ancient Roman period when western translation originated. At that time, Cicero, Jerome, Augustine and other great scholars had already put forward opinions on “word-for-word” or “sense-for-sense” translation. Reviewing the questions of “word-for-word” and “sense-for-sense” translation can not only help to test translation theory and guide translation practice, but also help translators rethink the essence of translation. Scholars generally accepted that Jerome emphasizes on using “sense-for sense” translation in literary translation, while supports “word-for-word” translation in religious translation. As depicted above, Tan holds that Jerome believed “literary translation” and “religious translation” should be treated differently. Xie et Al also claimed that Jerome preferred “sense-for-sense” translation for literary works, “word-for-word” strategy be adopted for Bible translation. However, different views have been raised. Through comparative analysis of a large number of examples in the Bible translated by Jerome, Brown concluded that for the Old Testament “sense-for-sense” approach was actually adopted. Kraus also pointed out that Jerome’s Bible translation adheres to “sense-for-sense” approach. By examining Jerome’s translation preparation and the influence of religious politics and cultural context on his translation, Jiang claims that the common understanding of Jerome’s translation theory is actually misreading.
   
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