Task for seminar 1

Task for seminar 1.

Answer the following questions

1. 
   What is the subject matter of the theory of translation?
   

2. What are the main directions in the history of translation?

3. What are the main features of the nature of translation?
4. What stages of communicative act can be defined?
5. What linguistic and extra-linguistic aspects of translation do you know?
6. What meaning is important in translation, dictionary or contextual? Why?
7. What is the main difference between translation and interpretation? Which of them is usually made at a higher level of accuracy?

Answers.

1. In the world of translation, subject matter expertise refers to the translator’s knowledge of the material being translated.There are three main types of subject matter expertise: Academic, Experiential, and Performance-based. While these areas may have different designations in various documents and be referenced differently by different services, the fundamental attributes of each is the same regardless of label.
The subjects discussed include the subject –matter of the theory of translation and the natureof translating, semantic and pragmatic aspects of translation/these lectures were written byI.D.Shvaytser/,Grammatical problems of translation and grammatical transformations (L.S.Barkhudarov),Lexical problems of translation and lexical transformations (A.M.Fiterman), Stylistics aspects of translation and
its socio-regional problems.

2. The theory of translation is subdivided into general theory, dealing with the general characteristics of translation, regardless of its type, and special branches, concerned with a theoretical description and analyses of the various types of translation, such as the translation of fiction poetry, technical and scientific literature, official documents, etc.

3. The earliest linguistics theory of translation was developed
by Russian scholars Y.L.Retsker and A.V.Fedorov who pioneered in a linguistic analysis of translation problems. Their theory came to be known as the theory of regular correspondences. Translation, they argued, is inconceivable without a sound linguistic basis, and this study of
linguistic phenomena and the establishment of certain correspondences between the language of the original and that of the translation.

4. Translation is the communication of meaning from one language (the source) to another language (the target). The purpose of translation is to convey the original tone and intent of a message, taking into account cultural and regional differences between source and target languages.

6.Context
The context influences the meaning of a phrase or sentence. It is linked to the environment in which the communication takes place. In translation, the context is very important: one word may mean a different thing depending the context in which it is used.

Understanding

To translate you need to understand the text. A good understanding is the key to an efficient translation. A sentence or a text is composed of words and phrases, but it requires thought, comparing the sentences around it to fully understand its meaning.

Translation

Translation has to take into account in which the industry or field the document will be used, and its purpose. Translation / language can be targeted at specific fields; its context can be technical, medical, legislative etc.

Specialization

Being able to translate specialized documentation means the translator has to have specific skills and knowledge in order to understand the context and how to phrase a translation. That means translators need to be specialized in a specific field to translate correctly. You need to understand engines, for example, to describe them. Knowing an engine is powered by combustion and a motor by electricity would mean you should use different words to describe how power is supplied.
7. Often, the difference between translation and interpretation is confused. So, what is the real difference between the two? To directly compare translation vs. interpretation, we need to evaluate some key aspects.


On a general level, the difference between interpretation and translation is that interpretation deals with spoken language in real time while translation focuses on written content. Another difference is that translation happens over a period of time with extensive access to external resources, compared to interpretation which occurs on the spot during a live scenario. Below, we will dive deeper into translation vs. interpretation