All Words are Not Created Equal

BASIC ORIENTATION FOR TRANSLATORS

By Madeline Newman Rios
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For purposes of translation, we deal with words differently
depending upon whether they can be categorized as:

a) Terminology,
b) Conceptual, or
c) Structural

a) Terminology. Terminology can be defined as a consciously created word or
group of words with a specific meaning in a given field of endeavor. A word could be a
term in one context but simply conceptual in another. For example, the word boiling
would be a term in a cookbook, medicine, or a power plant, but boiling emotions uses
that same word figuratively. Terminology should be translated with an exact equivalent as
possible.
b) Conceptual. The meaning of these words must be conveyed in the target
language, but they do not rise to the level of terminology. For example, in a phrase such as
the earthquake made us cancel the class, the words made us conceptually establish a
cause and effect relationship between the earthquake and the cancellation, but can be
translated with a fair degree of freedom (A causa del terremoto, tuvimos que cancelar, la
ocurrencia del terremoto nos oblig a cancelar, etc.)
c) Structural. These words essentially hold the sentence together
grammatically or stylistically, but do not necessarily convey a meaning per se. In the example
of the earthquake made us cancel the class, the word us might be considered structural,
in which case, for the sake of style, a translation such as A causa del terremoto, se tuvo que
cancelar might be preferible.

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Similarly, All Sources are Not Created Equal

a) Primary sources are written by experts in their own field of knowledge and their
own language. A law or business journal from would be a good example of a
primary source.

b) Secondary sources are written by persons who extract information from primary
sources. A classic example of a secondary source would be a bilingual
dictionary. These sources are very helpful in finding terminology, but need to be
checked.

Sources can sometimes fall in between these two categories. For example, monolingual
encyclopedias are often very close to qualifying as a primary source. Other sources are
secondary, but are generally reviewed by multiple source-language experts. This would
include sources such as IATE (InterActive Terminology for Europe:
http://iate.europa.eu/) or even Wikipedia.

Translators often rely on much too heavily on translator forums. Here, translators ask
their colleagues for help with terms. Often, the person who asked the original question
rates the answer. There are also translator databases on-line such as Linguee, which
provide sample translations from a large number of sources, ranging from international
organizations to machine translations. These answers must ALWAYS be checked
against a more vetted source.

Finally, All Source Documents should Not be Handled Equally!
Depending upon the type of source document, different aspects will take priority for
preservation. Here are some examples of different types of documents, their objectives,
stylistics, and priorities.

Instructional:
Need: How do I do this?
Language: Do this. Do that.
Purpose: To get people to pull the plastic off the toner before they put the cartridge in the Xerox machine.
Didactic:
Need: I want to understand this.
Language: Because otherwise the plastic will melt and the machine will break.
Purpose: To get the point across - to explain - to enlighten.
Scientific: Similar to didactic, but assumes that the reader is a professional. Thus, you are likely to use more
jargon, and you can get away with stiffer syntax (though good syntax would be nicer).
Journalism: Top priority is Information. In news articles, presentation is often in order of importance, which
may conflict with the best syntax.
Legal: Purpose is to set an objective standard for society, or to interpret those standards. Thus, the
language becomes independent of the person who wrote it. Furthermore, the wording itself is
material, because it is the focus of the attention of those using the translation. One must conserve
all legally acceptable interpretations of the meaning in the translation. This makes the translation
less flexible than the types of translation listed above. Style should be the standard legal style in
the target language. Priorities: accuracy, wording, legal impact.
Literary: Priorities are feel, mood, style, message, and emotional impact. Phonetics, rhythm, flow, and
register take on an added importance, and often justifies changes in the factual content of the
source document.
Diplomatic / Political: Political implications and connotations become a priority. Accuracy, wording, and legal
impact must also be preserved. The tone of the document (eg. aggressive, humble,
dogmatic, flexible) becomes an important factor.
National Security/Intelligence: Tend to focus on wording even more than legal translations. DOD handouts at
the ((ATA)) conference, for example, ((have)) often placed a double parentheses
around words implied by a translation, or necessary to communicate ((its))
meaning, ((yet)) not included in the original wording.
Religious: Similar to literary, but message generally takes priority over style. Often includes terminology and
concepts with specific, determined meanings. Theological coherence is important to conserve in
the translation. - For example, a decision regarding whether to translate Espritu Santo as Holy
Ghost or Holy Spirit will depend upon the writer or publisher's theological orientation and
interpretation of that concept.
Advertising: Combines an informational purpose with a literary approach. The information, if any, cant be
distorted unless an obvious joke is involved, but the literary features tend to dominate. The
decision on whether to change fictional elements will often depend upon the advertising themes
and visual elements being used in the overall campaign. Some advertising companies refer to this
process as transcreation.