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STUDYING TRANSLATION PRODUCT,

FUNCTIONAL THEORIES & DISCOURSE
ANALYSIS APPROACHES

Chapter 4, 5 and 6
 Contents
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1. Studying Translation Product & Process(Chapter-4)

1.1 Vinay and Darbelnets Translation strategies
1.2.Catford and Translation shifts
1.3.Translation as a Cognitive Process
2. Functional theories of translation(Chapter-5)
2.1.Reisss Text Type Model
2.2. Holz-Mnttri s Translational Action Model
2.3.Vermeer Skopos Theory
2.4Christiane Nords Text Analysis Model
3. Discourse and Register Analysis Approaches(Chapter-6)
3.1.Hallidayan Model of Language and Discourse
3.2.Mona Bakers Text and Pragmatic Level Analysis
 1. Studying Translation Product &
Process
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Since 1950s, there has been a variety of

linguistic approaches to the analysis of
translation:

a) Vinay & Darbelnets Model

b) Catfords Model
 1.1 Vinay and Darbelnets
Translation strategies
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Two translation strategies are given by Vinay and Darbelnet i.e

Direct and Oblique(Literal & Free) The two strategies comprise
seven procedures, of which direct translation covers three:
1. Borrowing: The SL word is transferred directly to the TL.
2. Calque: This is a special kind of borrowing (1995: 323; 2004:
12930) where the SL expression or structure is transferred in a
literal translation. For example, the French calque Compliments de
la Saison for the English Compliments of the Season.(An
expression introduced into one language by translating it from
another language e.g; superman is a calque from German
ubermensch)
3. Literal translation (1995: 335; 2004: 1302): This is word-for-
word translation, which Vinay and Darbelnet describe as being
most common between languages of the same family and culture.
5

In those cases where literal translation is not possible, Vinay and Darbelnet
say that the strategy of oblique translation must be used. This covers a
further four procedures:
1. Transposition (2004: 132 and 1995: 949): This is a change of one part
of speech for another without changing the sense.
2. Modulation: This changes the semantics and point of view of the SL. It
can be: obligatory: e.g. the time when translates as le moment o [lit.
the moment where]; optional: though linked to preferred structures of
the two languages: e.g. the reversal of point of view in it is not difficult to
show il est facile de dmontrer [lit. it is easy to show].
3. Equivalence: Vinay and Darbelnet use this term (1995: 389; 2004: 134)
to refer to cases where languages describe the same situation by
different stylistic or structural means. Equivalence is particularly useful in
translating idioms and proverbs.
4. Adaptation (1995: 3940; 2004: 1346): This involves changing the
cultural reference when a situation in the source culture does not exist in
the target culture.
These seven translation categories operate on three levels
(1) the lexicon; (2) syntactic structures; (3) the message.
 Translation steps According to Vinay and
Darbelnet are :
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1. Identify the units of translation.

2. Examine the SL text, evaluating the descriptive,
affective and intellectual content of the units.
3. Reconstruct the metalinguistic context of the
message.
4. Evaluate the stylistic effects.
5. Produce and revise the TT.
 1.2.Catford and Translation shifts

Catford (1965: 20) follows the Firthian

and Hallidayan linguistic model, which
analyses language as communication,
operating functionally in context and on
a range of different levels (e.g.
phonology, graphology, grammar, lexis)
and ranks (sentence, clause, group,
word, morpheme, etc.).
8

Catford makes an important distinction between

A formal correspondent is any TL category
(unit, class, element of structure, etc.) which
can be said to occupy, as nearly as possible,
the "same" place in the "economy" of the TL
as the given SL category occupies in the SL
(Catford 1965: 27).
A textual equivalent is any TL text or portion
of text which is observed on a particular
occasion . . . to be the equivalent of a given SL
text or portion of text.
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When the two concepts diverge, Translation Shifts occur.

Shift: A shift is a linguistic deviation from the original text, a change
introduced in the translation with respect to either the syntactic
form or the meaning of the ST. (Palumbo 2009:104)
Catfords own words (1965: 73; 2000: 141), translation shifts are thus
departures from formal correspondence in the process of going from the SL
to the TL.
Catford considers two kinds of shift: (1) shift of level and (2) shift of category:
1. A level shift (1965: 735; 2000: 1413) would be something which is
expressed by grammar in one language and lexis in another. For example;
this is intended for = Le present Manuels addressse a
this translated as le present (where le is article & present is adjective)
2. Most of Catfords analysis is given over to category shifts (1965: 7582;
2000: 1437). These are subdivided into four kinds:
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1. Structural shifts: involve mostly a shift in grammatical

structure. E.g SOV, SVO etc.
2. Class shifts: These comprise shifts from one part of speech
to another. N into V
3. Unit shifts or rank shifts: These are shifts where the
translation equivalent in the TL is at a different rank to the
SL. Rank here refers to the hierarchical linguistic units of
sentence, clause, group, word and morpheme.
4. Intra-system shifts: These are shifts that take place when
the SL and TL possess approximately corresponding systems
but where the translation involves selection of a non-
corresponding term in the TL system (1965: 80; 2000: 146).
e.g Singular in one language is plural in another language
etc.
 1.3.Translation as a Cognitive Process

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The interpretive model of translation, explains translation

as an (overlapping) three-stage process involving:
1)Reading and understanding (Lederer 1994; 2003: 2335)
using linguistic competence and world knowledge to grasp
the sense of the ST. The linguistic component needs to be
understood by reference not only to explicit but also to
implicit meaning in an attempt to recover the authorial
intention. The world knowledge we have, according to
Lederer, is de-verbalized, theoretical, general, encyclopaedic
and cultural and activated differently in different translators
and by different texts: Translators are privileged readers
called on to understand the facts in a text and to feel its
emotional connotations. That is why translators do not feel
equally close to all texts (Lederer, p. 31).
12

(2) Deverbalization (Lederer, p. 115) is an essential

intermediate phase if the translator is to avoid
transcoding and calques. An explanation developed to
explain the cognitive processing of the interpreter,
where transfer is supposedly through sense and not
words, deverbalization is claimed to be less obvious in
translation . . . but is still present (p. 13).
(3) Re-expression (Lederer, pp. 3542) where the TT is
constituted and given form based on the deverbalized
understanding of sense.
A fourth stage, verification, where the translator revisits
and evaluates the TT, was added by Jean Delisle
(1982/88, see Lederer 2003: 38).
 2. Functional theories of translation (Chapter: o5)

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The 1970s and 1980s saw a move away from the

static linguistic typologies of translation shifts
and the emergence and flourishing of a
functionalist and communicative approach to the
analysis of translation.
1. Reisss functional approach
2. Justa Holz-Mnttri s Translational Action Model
3. Hans J. Vermeer Skopos Theory
4. Christiane Nords Text Analysis Model
 2.1.Reisss Text Type Model
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Reisss Text Type Characteristics

Reisss functional approach aims initially at systematizing the assessment of

translations. It borrows Karl Bhlers three-way categorization of the

functions of language. Reiss links the three functions to their corresponding

language dimensions and to the text types or communicative situations in

which they are used.

(1) Plain communication of facts: information, knowledge, opinions, etc.

The language dimension used to transmit the information is logical or

referential, the content or topic is the main focus of the communication,

and the text type is informative.

(2) Creative composition: the author uses the aesthetic dimension of

language. The author or sender is foregrounded, as well as the form of the

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(3) Inducing behavioural responses: the aim of the

appellative function is to appeal to or persuade the

reader or receiver of the text to act in a certain way.

The form of language is dialogic, the focus is

appellative and Reiss calls this text type operative.

(4) Audiomedial texts, such as films and visual and

spoken advertisements which supplement the other

three functions with visual images, music, etc.

16

She suggests specific translation methods according to text type

(Reiss 1976: 20). These methods given by Reiss are;
(1) The TT of an informative text should transmit the full referential
or conceptual content of the ST. The translation should be in plain
prose, without redundancy and with the use of explicitation when
required.
(2) The TT of an expressive text should transmit the aesthetic and
artistic form of the ST. The translation should use the identifying
method, with the translator adopting the standpoint of the ST author.
(3) The TT of an operative text should produce the desired response
in the TT receiver. The translation should employ the adaptive
method, creating an equivalent effect among TT readers.
(4) Audio-medial texts require what Reiss calls the supplementary
method, supplementing written words with visual images and music.
Reiss gives Criteria to assess the adequacy of translation. These are;
(1) intralinguistic criteria: semantic, lexical, grammatical and stylistic features;
(2) extralinguistic criteria: situation, subject field, time, place, receiver, sender
and affective implications (humour, irony, emotion, etc.).
 2.2. Holz-Mnttri s Translational
Action Model
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According to Holz-Mnttri translatorial

action views translation as purpose-driven,
outcome-oriented human interaction and
focuses on the process of translation as
message-transmitter compounds involving
intercultural transfer: [It] is not about
translating words, sentences or texts but is
in every case about guiding the intended
co-operation over cultural barriers enabling
functionally oriented communication.
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Interlingual translation involvies a series of roles and players (pp. 109

11):
1. the initiator: the company or individual who needs the translation.
2. the commissioner: the individual who contacts the translator.
3. the ST producer: the individual within the company who writes the
ST, not necessarily always involved in the TT production.
4. the TT producer: the translator(s) and the translation agency or
department. the TT user: the person who uses the TT, for example
as teaching material or sales literature.
5. the TT receiver: the final recipient of the TT, for example the
students in a TT users class or clients reading the translated sales
literature.
Translatorial action focuses very much on producing a TT that is
functionally communicative for the receiver. This means, for example,
that the form and genre of the TT must be guided by what is
functionally suitable in the TT culture, rather than by merely copying
the ST profile.
 2.3.Vermeer Skopos Theory

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Skopos theory focuses above all on the

purpose of the translation, which
determines the translation methods and
strategies that are to be employed in
order to produce a functionally adequate
result. This result is the TT, which
Vermeer calls the translatum. Therefore,
in skopos theory, knowing why a ST is to
be translated and what the function of
the TT will be are crucial for the
translator.
 The rules of translation according to skopos theory are:
(1) A translatum (or TT) is determined by its skopos.
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(2) A TT is an offer of information (Informationsangebot ) in a
target culture and TL
concerning an offer of information in a source culture and
SL.
(3) A TT does not initiate an offer of information in a clearly
reversible way.
(4) A TT must be internally coherent.
(5) A TT must be coherent with the ST.
(6) The five rules above stand in hierarchical order, with the
skopos rule predominating.
An important advantage of skopos theory is that it allows the
possibility of the same text being translated in different
ways according to the purpose of the TT and the
commission which is given to the translator
2.4Christiane Nords Text
Analysis Model
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The importance of the translation commission (Nord 1997: 5962):

Before close textual analysis, the translator needs to compare ST and TT
profiles defined in the commission to see where the two texts may
diverge.
The role of ST analysis (pp. 627): Once the above STTT profiles
have been compared, the ST can be analysed to decide on functional
priorities of the translation strategy.
The functional hierarchy of translation problems: Nord establishes
a functional hierarchy when undertaking a translation:
1. The intended function of the translation should be decided
(documentary or instrumental).
2. Those functional elements that will need to be adapted to the TT
addressees situation have to be determined (after analysis of the
translation commission as in 1 above).
3. The translation type decides the translation style (source-culture or
targetculture oriented).
4. The problems of the text can then be tackled at a lower linguistic level.
 3. Discourse and Register Analysis
Approaches (Chapter: 06)
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There is a link between text analysis and

discourse analysis i.e both see language
above sentence level. While text analysis
normally concentrates on describing the
way in which texts are organized
(sentence structure, cohesion, etc.),
discourse analysis looks at the way
language communicates meaning and
social and power relations.
Hallidayan Model of Language and Disco
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According to Halliday, meaning of languge lies in the writers

linguistic choices which are related to sociocultural
framework. In Hallidays model, there is a strong interrelation
between the surface-level realizations of the linguistic
functions and the sociocultural framework. Thus, the genre
(the conventional text type that is associated with a specific
communicative function, for example a business letter) is
conditioned by the sociocultural environment and itself
determines other elements in the systemic framework. The
first of these is register, which comprises three variable
elements:
(1) field: what is being written about, e.g. a delivery of goods;
(2) tenor: who is communicating and to whom, e.g. a sales
representative to a customer;
(3) mode: the form of communication, e.g. written.
 Sociocultural Environment
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Genre

Register
(field,tenor,mode)

Discourse Semantics
(ideational, interpersonal, textual)

Lexicogrammar
(transitivity, modality, theme/cohesion)
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Systematic- concerned with choices that are made

Functional Grammar available to speakers of a language by
grammatical systems, relating to
intentions to a form of language
('context of situation' = 'through a
systematic relationship between social
environment and functional organization
of language')

Field - Register what is happening, nature of social

[CONTENT] interaction taking place, what participants
are engaged in, what language figures as an
essential component?

Tenor - Register who is taking part; social roles/relationships

[PARTICIPANTS] of participant, status/roles of participants.

Mode - Register symbolic organization of text, rhetorical

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Each of the variables of register is associated with

a strand of meaning. These strands, which
together form the discourse semantics of a
text, are the three metafunctions:
1. ideational,
2. interpersonal

3. textual.

The metafunctions are constructed or realized

by the lexicogrammar, that is the choices of
wording and syntactic structure. The links are
broadly as follows (see Eggins 2004: 78):
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1. The field of a text is associated with ideational

meaning, which is realized through transitivity patterns
(verb types, active/passive structures, participants in the
process, etc.).
2. The tenor of a text is associated with interpersonal
meaning, which is realized through the patterns of
modality (modal verbs and adverbs such as hopefully,
should, possibly, and any evaluative lexis such as
beautiful, dreadful ).
3. The mode of a text is associated with textual meaning,
which is realized through the thematic and
information structures (mainly the order and
structuring of elements in a clause) and cohesion (the
way the text hangs together lexically, including the use
of pronouns, ellipsis, collocation, repetition, etc.).
 3.2.Mona Bakers Text and Pragmatic Level Analysis

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A Coursebook on Translation (1992). Baker looks at

equivalence at a series of levels: at word, above-
word, grammar, thematic structure, cohesion and
pragmatic levels. The fact that the Hallidayan
model of thematic analysis is English-oriented
must cast some doubt on its validity for
translation. Baker (pp. 1607) accepts this, and
also outlines the alternative functional sentence
perspective model of thematic structure, which,
because it takes into account communicative
dynamism as well as word order, may be more
suitable for languages with a frequent VS order.
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The most important point for ST thematic analysis is that

the translator should be aware of the relative
markedness of the thematic and information
structures. Baker points out (p. 129) that this can help
to heighten our awareness of meaningful choices made
by speakers and writers in the course of
communication and, therefore, help decide whether it
is appropriate to translate using a marked form. Again,
what is marked varies across languages.
According to Baker there are three major pragmatic
concepts: coherence, presupposition and
implicature; these pose problems for the translators.
30 Thank You