Introducere In Stiinte Mediului

Commented Translation

Introduction to Environmental Science

By Barbara Akre, Jean Brainard, Hugues Goosse, Michelle Rogers-Estable, Robert Stewart

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Introducere în știința mediului

Contents

Preface ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..5

The importance of translation ………………………………………………………………………5

1. Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………………….7

1.1. Description of the domain and the source text ……………………………………………7

1.2. Plan of the diploma paper ………………………………………………………………………..8

2. Translation process ……………………………………………………………………………..10

2.1. Models of the translation process ………………………………………………………11

2.2. Justification of the chosen model ………………………………………………………13

2.3. Translation situation ……………………………………………………………………13

2.4. Analysis of the translation instructions ……………………………………………………14

3. Source text analysis. Anticipation of target text features ………………………………..4

3.1. Source text analysis according to the chosen model ……………………………….16

3.2. Anticipation of the target text features ………………………………………………..22

3.3. Translation problems and difficulties ………………………………………………….23

3.4. Translation methods ……………………………………………………………………….24

3.4.1 Choice of the translation method……………………………………………………………..4

4. Target text ……………………………………………………………………………………………4

5. Comments on translation …………………………………………………………………………4

5.1. Translation problems………………………………………………………………………………4

5.2. Translation difficulties……………………………………………………………………………4

6. Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………………………..4

Bibliography ………………………………………………………………………………………………..4

Appendix…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….4

Preface

The importance of translation

Translation represents an influential valid feature of our society, being one of the most important aspects in shaping the upcoming course of the planet.

It has always played and continues to play an important role as a means of communication within the socio-political, economic and cultural life among nations, contributing to the exchange of the spiritual values and mutual enrichment. A study made by Gerzymisch-Arbogast (2005:2) has shown that the need for translation has increased tremendously after Second World War, especially because of the great need for cooperation in politics, science and economics. As a result, translation and interpreting became very important disciplines, being very much useful in various spheres of human activities.

When thinking what translation is, another question may be raised, and that is: “Why does translation matter?” In order to understand the concept of translation, we should first consider what George Steiner says in his study on translation, After Babel: Aspects of Language and Translation: “human communication equals translation” and “a study of translation is a study of language” (1998:49). In a broader sense, we can say we are continually in some form of a translation process. Our ideas, speech, facial expressions, perceptions, movements and our interpretations are products of a complex translation dynamic. There isn’t much activity or action in our everyday life that does not involve some form of translation. We may consider everything as an act of translation: verbal, visual, musical interpretations. For example, in communication with other people, we translate sound and physical gestures to understand the full content of a conversation. An actor translates the spoken word into the performance on the stage as sound, gesture and movement. The conductor translates the spirit of an orchestral score for the musicians, who in turn give life to the notes they read in the scores and the pianist translates the notes of the score to the piano. The same can be said about writers, composers, and visual and multimedia artists, because they translate their visions into the possibilities of their respective medium; not to mention the translation that takes place from one medium into another: musical sounds into visual images, novels into film, and images into musical sounds. Therefore, as I said above, it would be difficult to find human activities that are not in one form or another involved in the act of translation.

Translation may be defined in many ways and may be understood differently by people. For example, people who are not translators see translation as a text, but translators see it as an “activity”. According to Rodica Superceanu (2009:pagina), the term “translation” is ambiguous as it can denote at least three things: an activity during which a process evolves; a text, which is the result or product of the activity; a task, which is a specific piece of work, rendering information from one language into another, entrusted to a translator. The translator’s tasks are so complex and refer to his abilities of dealing with every aspect of the translation process. His power lies in his responsibility for the final product.

“Anthony Burgess, who excelled not only through his writing but also through his sensitive remarks on language and languages, neatly expresses this limitation or rather transcendence of words in a translated text: “Translation is not a matter of words only: it is a matter of making intelligible a whole culture” (Anderman & Rogers, 1999:124), because the art of translation entails accuracy, clarity and also flexibility to produce the translation which a reasonable reader can expect and accept. So translators do not translate languages or words, they translate ideas, and therefore, translation is not a simple process of translating word by word and using a dictionary, it requires a lot of understanding and cultural awareness to be able to say it just like a ‘native’ would. Thus, translators don’t have to be only intermediaries between different language systems, but they also have to be intercultural mediators, or as it has been stated by Aniela Korzeniowska and Piotr Kuhiwczak in the book Successful Polish-English Translation: Tricks of the Trade – they have to be both ‘bilingual and bicultural’ (2006:71).

In this age of globalization, we very often need to communicate beyond the national borders for different purposes, so there is and will always be a great need for translation services, because “without translation, we would be living in provinces bordering on silence.” (George Steiner)

Introduction

Description of the domain and the source text

The domain my diploma paper pertains to is science. It is a very important aspect of every human being because as Earl Nightingale said: “Our environment, the world in which we live and work, is a mirror of our attitudes and expectations.”

Nowadays, the world around us is changing very rapidly. Although some changes are beneficial, many of the changes are causing damage to our planet. The field of environmental science is a major resource for learning more about these changes and how they can affect the world we live in. I consider it an important tool in understanding our existence and therefore, one of the reasons for choosing this topic is because studying and knowing things about our environment, about what is happening in it and how people affect it, may determine us to develop solutions for our current issues.

The title of the material that I chose to translate is Introduction to Environmental Science, which was written by several authors: Barbara Akre, Jean Brainard, Hugues Goosse, Michelle Rogers-Estable, Robert Stewart and edited by Michelle Rogers-Estable. It is a textbook that was published on CK-12 Foundation (a non-profit organization) on 2 February 2012 with the mission to reduce the cost of textbook materials.

The entire work consists of 20 chapters and it covers all the important areas of this vast subject, such as energy and chemistry of life, biochemical cycles and recycling matter, evolution of species and ecosystems, ecology, biodiversity crisis, air pollution, climate change, etc.

The parts that I have to translate consist of Chapter 5: Evolution of Species and Ecosystems, and part of Chapter 6: The principles of Ecology.

Chapter 5 covers important information about Darwin's Theory of Evolution, which is explained in detail. His theory is an extremely controversial topic and despite the wealth of evidence from the fossil record, genetics and other fields of science, some people still question its validity. Some religious leaders and politicians denounce the theory, invoking a higher being as a designer to explain the complex world of living things, especially humans. School boards debate whether the theory of evolution should be taught alongside other ideas, such as intelligent design or creationism. Mainstream scientists see no controversy. A lot of people have deep religious beliefs and also accept evolution so there can be real reconciliation.

Chapter 6 includes valuable information about ecology, which is featuring as the key talk in world forums as the world tries to mitigate the destruction that is already rife in the ecosystem. Talks and forums are held to push for the world to embrace ecology, reserve and conserve the ecosystem and this chapter provides useful information about the science of ecology, including the laws and principles of ecology, the way in which food is produced and used and also about the flow of energy.

The subject that I chose to translate is highly topical today and I believe the world today is greatly concerned with environmental issues and ecological knowledge will continue to be in high demand to help the world in conserving the environment.

Plan of the diploma paper

My diploma paper is divided into several parts.

The introductory chapter, Chapter 1, provides the description of the domain and source text and presents the plan of the diploma paper.

Chapter 2 includes a theoretical approach on the translation process and a justification for the model used for translation, an imagined translation situation of the source text (ST) and the analysis of the imagined translation brief.

Chapter 3 deals with the analysis of the source text done accordingly to the chosen analysis model, as well as with the anticipation of the target text (TT) features. Problems and difficulties of the translation process encountered along the way are listed and analyzed, and a translation method is proposed.

Chapter 4 provides the target text.

The paper also includes a commentary on translation, giving solutions to translation problems (Chapter 5).

Chapter 6 consists of the conclusions on our translation and on our translating experience.

The bibliography used for drawing up this paper is attached, as well as an appendix including TL text.

Translation process

To understand translation in an immediately accessible form, Manser (1996:441) defines translation as the activity of changing something spoken or written into another language. This means that whatever we are doing with something (for example: information, idea), when it is changed into another language is called translation.

To better understand the conceptual frame of translation, we will see some other definitions stated by some linguists. Nida and Taber (1974:12) state that translating consists of reproducing in the receptor language (RL) the closest natural equivalent of the source language (SL) message, first in terms of meaning, and secondly in terms of style. Here, we know that in reproducing the message there is a good relationship between RL and SL that should be equivalent.

Newmark (1988:28) says that translation is rendering the meaning of a text into another language in the way that the author intended the text. In essence, this means that the meaning of a text should be the same with the author’s aim when it is translated.

This multi-disciplinary process is a procedure which consists of some steps in the practice of translating. Two experts, Nida and Taber, suggest three stages in the process of translation, namely: analysis, transfer, and restructuring. With respect to that matter, they state as follows: “The second system of translation consists of a more elaborate procedure comprising three stages: (1) analysis, in which the surface structure, i.e. message as given in language A is analyzed in terms of a) the grammatical relationship and b) the meaning of the words and combination of words, (2) transfer, in which the analyzed material is transferred in the mind of translator from language A to language B, and (3) restructuring, in which the transferred material is restructured in order to make final message fully acceptable in the receptor language”. (1974: 33)

Furthermore, Nida (1964: 246) considers some steps of procedure relevant to the translation process. The steps employed by competent translator can be outlined, as follows:

1.   Reading over the entire document.

2.   Obtaining background information.

3.   Comparing existing translation of the text.

4.   Making a first draft of sufficiently comprehensive units.

5.   Revising the first draft after a short lapse of time.

6.   Reading aloud style and rhythm.

7.   Studying the reactions of receptors by reading of the text by another person.

8.   Submitting a translation to the scrutiny of other competent translators.

9.   Revising the text for publication.

Translation is thus a complex and cumulative process that involves a host of activities drawing upon other disciplines related to language, writing, linguistics and culture. It is more complex than replacing source language text with target language text and includes cultural and educational nuances that can shape the options and attitudes of recipients.

Models of the translation process

Within translation theory, there are several models that have been developed and claim to adequately comprehend and reflect the process of translation. Superceanu (2009:pagina) says that the most important ones worth mentioning are the two and the three-phase models, as well as the looping model. Christiane Nord briefly describes in her book Text Analysis in Translation: Theory, Methodology and Didactic Application of a Model for Translation-Oriented Text Analysis (2005) the first two models, being the first developer and proponent of the third one, the looping model.

The two-phase model is rather simple and contains two phases, as we can infer from its name: analysis (the decoding or comprehension phase) and synthesis (the re-encoding, reconstruction or reverbalization phase). Although this model consisting of a code-switching operation (which expresses the meaning from one language into another) does not include the phase when meaning is transferred into the target language, Wills (1982:80) considers it more concise than the three-phase model. In his view, the two-phase model expresses more clearly the double function of the translator: ST receiver and TT sender. Therefore, the two-phase model would be more successful to be applied to simultaneous interpreting due to the fact that all the situational factors of the two texts are identical and the action of transfer is so rapid that it can be neglected in a representation. Reiss and Vermeer also explain in the book Towards a General Theory of Translational Action: Skopos Theory Explained that “in such a model, non-linguistic phenomena, such as cultural values, are easily overlooked. Transmitting a message by merely transcoding it – an exclusively formal procedure – does not leave any room for non-linguistic aspects”. (2014:pagina)

As compared to the two-phase model, the three-phase model involves one more intermediate phase: that of transference (transcoding), which is “inserted between the comprehension phase and the reconstruction phase in the three-phase model, so that the translation process is divided into three steps: analysis (decoding, comprehension phase), transfer (decoding), and synthesis (recoding).” (Nord, 2005:35). Although the three-phase model seems to be closer to the reality of professional translation and introduces the first notions about the “text function”, it isn’t a satisfactory representation of the translation process since it doesn’t take into consideration the translation situation formulated by the initiator. Therefore, these two models are lacking in the sense that they start from the premise that source text alone contains all the necessary information for the translation process.

Nord proposes a model that gives a full representation of the different phases which characterize the translation process. This model may be applicable in a thorough ST analysis, even though she clearly prioritizes the function of the skopos (Reiss & Vermeer, 1984) as the over-riding principle. From the functionalist’s perspective, it is the most important concept in translation according to Superceanu (2009), occupying this position due to the fact that it is a determining factor regarding the translator’s choices throughout the task, including the choice of the translation method, techniques, text format, and also the choice of the target language lexical units and grammatical structures. The name “looping” stems from the fact that Nord (1991:34) sees translation rather a circular, recursive process which consists of regular feedback loops that make it possible to return to the earlier stages of analysis, than a linear, progressive process leading from starting point to target point. This means that the translator constantly goes back and forth to choose the most appropriate solutions and not to miss any important factors; this process is illustrated in the following figure taken from Christiane Nord’s looping model of the translation process (1991:34):

Justification of the chosen model

The model that I intend to follow in my diploma paper is Nord’s approach towards translation, because I think it provides a more realistic representation of what the translation process truly is and it also gives the translator the possibility to translate the text accurately. Another quality of this model is its functionality, in the sense suggested by Reiss (as cited in Koller, 1971) and, likewise, in accordance with the Skopos theory (Reiss & Vermeer, 1984). Nord considers functionality as “the most important criterion for a translation”, meaning that no matter how logical it may seem at first, it is neither a ST or its effect on a recipient nor a function assigned to it by the author that “operates the translation process” (1991:28).

Translation situation

With functionalism, numerous scholars (e.g. Christiane Nord, Justa Holz-Mänttäri and Janet Fraser) started stressing the importance of having a translation brief. Every translation task should be accompanied by a brief that defines the conditions under which the target text should carry out its particular function.

The translation brief, also referred to as translation instructions (Nord, 1991) is a set of instructions prepared by a requester that accompanies a translation assignment, thus enabling the requester to convey information about the source text, the specific communicative purpose and context in which the text is used, the intended uses of the translation and what it aims to accomplish. This set of instructions is crucial in determining a number of factors which will dictate the translation method and the final form of the target text. Since I don’t have a translation situation, I have taken the liberty of designing one that will fit the purpose and scope of the current translation:

The professor of the Chemistry Faculty of the Polytechnic University of Timișoara decided to introduce a new course for the 2nd year students, entitled Introduction to Environmental Science. He requested therefore the translation of the textbook, aiming to offer the students a comprehensive overall knowledge of the subject of environmental science. Thus, the purpose of the text is to educate and inform. The book has been divided among several translators and the completion of the full translation is due by 28 of July 2016. I have been assigned Chapter 5 and also part of Chapter 6; although the book is not for publication, the general layout and meaning of the source text is of great importance and is to be preserved, as well as the tone and structure to the best possible extent.

Analysis of the translation instructions

The translation situation is characterized by two main groups of factors, namely situational and textual. The situational factors consist of time, use and cost factors (Sager, 1997: 173-175), while the textual factors are broken down into two groups: extratextual and intratextual (Nord, 1991).

The most important situational factors are the time factor and the translator competence. Concerning the time factor, it is extremely important as it influences the speed of work and quality of the target text. Once the translator knows the required deadline, he/she can assess whether he/she can accept the task or has to refuse it. (Superceanu, 2009: 58); in this case, it was established at two months from the request was made. The translator competence refers to his ability to translate a specific text in view of the subject matter in the established deadline.

The importance and relevance of all these main groups of factors may differ from one translation to another. In my case, the cost factor is not important. The other two factors are significant and they are: the deadline: 28 July 2016 and the use: to inform.

With the help of the translation brief that I designed, I was also able to give the following values to the extratextual factors of the target text:

The sender: The professor of Chemistry Department;

The sender’s intention: to introduce a new course about environmental science;

The receiver: students;

The medium: textbook;

The motive for communication: to educate and inform;

The place: Timișoara;

The time: summer of 2016;

The text function: informative.

Since I had to translate two chapters of the source text, the translation mode I had to use is selective.

After having analysed the translation situation, it was a simple matter of carefully reading and understanding the source text, establishing the presuppositions regarding the target text based on the translation brief described below and anticipating any potential problems and difficulties encountered along the way.

Source text analysis

Source text analysis according to the chosen model

In order to carry out a thorough and complete analysis of the source text, a set of textual factors must be established and identified. Fortunately, Christiane Nord distinguished between extratextual and intratextual factors, describing them in her previously cited book. It is said that the extratextual factors are the starting point of the analysis and have to be analyzed first in order to predict the intratextual factors. She enumerates and describes these factors by using a set of “Wh-questions”, one pertaining to the translation situation, and the other one to the text itself:

Who transmits?

To whom?

What for?

By which medium?

Where?

When?

Why ?

With what function?

According to this set, the extratextual factors follow:

The sender/author of the text is usually a person or an institution, who communicates a certain message to a certain group of readers with the purpose of producing an effect and can be identified from the text environment. In general, the sender and the producer/writer of the text are the same person, but in some cases they can be also distinct persons.

In the text I have chosen to translate the sender and the writer are identical, being represented by several authors: Barbara Akre, Jean Brainard, Michelle Rogers-Estable, Robert Stewart, Hugues Goosse, who are famous academic writers that write and develop books, textbooks and encyclopedia articles.

The receiver is considered to be a very important factor, if not the most important one, both for the source and target text. The receiver influences the text production through his background knowledge, expectations and the position regarding the subject matter presented in the text. The thing that is important to know is that the source text and the target text can never have identical receivers, since they belong to different cultures and linguistic communities.

Sender’s intention means what the sender wants to achieve with his text. Intention determines structuring of a text (what to mention and what to omit) and its form (for example, the choice of a TT text type, non-verbal elements, etc.). It is the sender who defines the intention, and the translator should exert himself to adhere to it when creating a TT. Christiane Nord says: “At the same time, the particular organization of a text marks the text type and is a pre-signal which tells the recipient in which function he is expected to use the text”. (1991:48)

In this case, the goal of the sender is to inform and educate the reader regarding the vast subject of environmental science.

Medium represents the form through which the message is communicated and it also determines the receiver’s expectations as to text function. A text can be either transmitted in spoken communication or in written communication. In this case, the channel used is the written form through the book Introduction to Environmental Science.

Place of text production and reception has an important significance as the source text language can vary from one geographical area to another. By determining the place of text production and reception, the translator may determine in which culture the text is embedded, in which language variety or dialect. It can also give the translator information about other factors, such as the senders, the target readers, the motive or the medium. The place of publication in this case is the United States of America and although it was written in English, the book is addressed to both Americans and foreigners.

Time of text production and reception: this extratextual factor is important for the text analysis performed before every translation. The current edition of the textbook Introduction to Environmental Science was published in 2012.

According to Nord, motive expresses the reason why the text was written. The dimension of motive applies not only to the reason why a text has been produced but also to the occasion for which a text has been produced (Nord, 2005:77-78). The motive that has lead to the appearance of this book is not mentioned, but we can infer the authors wanted to share their knowledge with all the people that are interested in this subject.

The notion of text function refers to the communicative function, or the combination of communicative functions, which a text fulfils in its concrete situation of production/reception. It is derived from the specific configuration of extratextual factors (Nord, 2005:77-78). Therefore, the function of the text coincides with the author’s intention, which in this case is to inform and educate the readers about the importance of environmental science.

As stated by Nord, the second set of “Wh questions” are the intratextual factors, that determine what problems may arise. They are considered in the pre-translation stage and their analysis helps the translator to arrive at in-depth understanding of ST, decide what ST elements are relevant for the translation situation (for example: contest, style) and to decide which elements have to be adapted and which have to be discarded.

The second set of Wh-questions reads:

On what subject matter does he say what (what not)?

In what order?

Using which non-verbal elements?

In which words?

In what kind of sentences?

In which tone?

To what effect?

According to this set, the intratextual factors are the following:

Subject matter is of fundamental importance in all approaches to translation-oriented text analysis, as emphasized by Christiane Nord (1991:84). When talking about this factor, the translator must take into consideration the following aspects: the number of subjects treated into the text and the subject hierarchy, the kind of interest is raises, whether the text is culturally bound or not and whether the subject is expressed explicitly or not.

In my case, the text pertains to the domain of environmental science, and it treats two subjects: the Evolution of Species and Ecosystems and The principles of Ecology, as we can infer from the titles. The subjects are of general interest and offer information about the study of patterns and processes in the natural world and survey some of the many environmental science topics at an introductory level, ultimately considering the sustainability of human activities on the planet. To understand current environmental problems, we need to consider physical, biological and chemical processes that are often the basis of those problems. 

According to Superceanu (2009:80), content refers to the items of information which the sender considers to be informative and meaningful for the receiver. The items may be facts about the people, actions, events, places, times or may be opinions reasons and objectives.

The textbook Introduction to Environmental Science is divided into twenty large chapters. As I was assigned to translate only a fraction of the whole and since an overview of the book would prove far too large for the purpose of this paper, I will briefly describe only the sections that concern me:

Chapter 5 – This chapter covers Darwin's Theory of Evolution, the common ancestry of all life and natural selection, including fossils, comparative anatomy and embryology, molecular biology, and biogeography.

Chapter 6 – This chapter covers ecology and its relationship to energy flows through ecosystems, habitats, photosynthesis, chemosynthesis, and respiration, as well as community interactions such as predation, competition, symbiosis and ecological succession.

Presuppositions refer to the information which is not expressed explicitly in the text because the author expects to be part of the readers’ background knowledge.

In the text that I had to translate, most of the presuppositions are expressed by the presence of the specialized terminology (of the domain of science) and it might have been difficult to be understood by some of the target readers (especially by the general readers).

The text composition represents the way in which the content is structured and presented. In fact, it refers to how the text sections are delimited, for example, chapters, subchapters, paragraphs and sentences. It is important for the translator to analyze this factor because it may help him/her understand better the meaning of the text.

In this case, the text is independent as every chapter has a different subject. The part to be translated consists of two chapters with subdivisions, tables, schemata, illustrations, several figures, maps and cladograms. Chapter 5 has 7 subdivisions and chapter 6 consists of 8 subdivisions, every chapter beginning with an introduction and ending with a summary of the chapter.

According to Superceanu (2009:88), the non-linguistic elements are widely used in non-literacy texts since their main purpose is to provide a clearer view than their prose equivalents. The non-verbal elements come in the form of charts, pictograms, photographs, diagrams, maps and graphs.

The text I have chosen to translate contains a lot of such elements, including: photographs, that illustrate the animals Darwin found on his voyage on the Beagle; a map that shows the route he made; figures, which provide a better understanding of the text; videos, which explain processes, for example: the evolution of whale moving from the land into the sea, if the fossil record supports evolution, information about homology and analogy; links and videos, to find out more information about the voyage, the process of evolution, Farallon Islands, the evolutionary importance of butterflies, etc. I had to preserve all the non-verbal elements, since their role is informative and enhance the understanding of the text and also because it was mentioned in the translation brief.

The lexical features: the level of formality is determined by the author’s relation with the receiver; in this case, it is a formal one. As for the lexical categories preferred by the authors of the book, there is a vast array of such categories, for instance:

phrasal verbs, e.g: come up with

break out

make up

derivates, e.g: inheritance

coevolution

offspring

compounds, e.g: blue-footed

saddle-shaped

seabird

marshland

Latin terms, e.g: Equus

Pliohippus

Hyracotherium

technical terms, e.g: genetic drift

macroevolution

allopatric speciation

punctuated equilibrium

gene flow

allele frequency

The sentence structure: refers to the grammatical structuring of the text, such as syntactic structures. The analysis of such elements may provide useful information about the content, presuppositions, subject matter and composition.

In this case, the authors of the book have used, in general, simple declarative sentences (short or medium-length) that discuss one idea. For the authors to obtain a clear and fluent text, they use conjunctions, conjunctive adverbs, etc.

Anticipation of the target text features

The analysis of the TT features is done the same criteria as for the source text, that is the factors and their categories remain the same. It is useful to predict these features because this will aid the translator to take the correct decisions during the translation process.

The target text extratextual factors are the following:

The target text intratextual factors are:

Translation problems and difficulties

As the process of translation always involves two or more languages, it is clear that the work of translation is inherently a difficult activity, since not all people can master other languages and not all people know well about translation. Beside the fact that someone has to comprehend the message of the text, he also has to master the system of the SL and the TL, because each language has its own system that is different from one to another. Because of these phenomena, the translator may face many problems and difficulties.

Christiane Nord distinguishes between translation problems and translation difficulties – two features closely connected with errors. To define the former one, a translation problem is “an objective problem which every translator has to solve during a particular translation task” (1991:151). This thus applies to every translator regardless of his level of competence and other factors influencing the process of translation, such as software or deadline.

According to Nord, there are four types of problems in translation. These problems require specific transfer strategies; that is why they are considered the starting point in the translation process and, consequently, have to be identified before we start working. The four problems referred to in Nord’s Text Analysis in Translation (1991) are:

pragmatic (arise from the nature of the translation task);

linguistic (arise from the structural differences in norms and conventions between the source and target culture)

cultural (arise from the differences in norms and conventions between the source and the target culture);

text-specific (arise from the particular features of the source text).

Anthony Pym (2004:3) also mentions the term “translation problem” in his works where he defines it as follows: “A linguistic element becomes a translation problem when the translator has to decide between more than one way of rendering it”. In one of his former works, he also breaks such problems down into binary (there is only one right solution) and non-binary errors (Pym, 1992:1).

Translation difficulties, on the other hand, are “translator specific”. They are subjective and connected with the translator’s competence and his specific working conditions. Translation difficulties disappear with time as the translator masters his craft, contrary to translation problems, which are constant. They depend on three factors: the translator’s level of competence, the translation purpose and stylistic qualities required of the TT as compared to the ST, and the technical working conditions.

The difficulties are also classified into four categories, as follows:

text-specific difficulties (refer to the “comprehensibility of the ST)

translator-dependent difficulties (refer to the translator level of competence regarding the translation task)

pragmatic difficulties (refer to the degree of task difficulty)

technical difficulties (refer to the level of documentation resources availability in a certain translation situation).

Translation methods

In translating one text into another text in different language, a translator, of course, needs a method. I would like to note the distinction between translation methods and translation procedures, as outlined by Peter Newmark in Approaches to translation: “while translation methods relate to the whole texts, translation procedures are used for sentences and the smaller units of language.” (1988:81)

As we know, the question of translation involves the nature of readership and the type of text. Considering these two aspects, Newmark (1988) suggests the solution of conflict of loyalty, or in other words, narrowing the gap between emphasis on source and target language by replacing such old terms as word for word, sense for sense, literal, free and faithful translation with those of semantic and communicative translation.

According to his view, the semantic translation is “personal and individual, follows the thought processes of the author, tends to over-translate, pursues nuances of meaning, yet aims at concision in order to reproduce pragmatic impact”. On the other hand, the communicative translation is “social, concentrates on the message and the main force of the text, tends to under-translate, to be simple, clear and brief, and is always written in a natural and resourceful style” (1988:47-48).

He proposed these two translation methods for three main types of texts: expressive, which are more author-centered, informative, which are more content-centered and vocative-more reader centered. Thus, semantic translation is suitable for expressive texts; care should be given to transfer the cultural components of an expressive text intact. In case of the informative texts, they may be transferred and explained whereas replaced by cultural equivalents in vocative texts, being more suitable for a communicative translation.

3.4.1 Choice of the translation method

My choice was the communicative method since the text to be translated is an informative and descriptive textbook. According to Peter Newmark, this method “attempts to render the exact contextual meaning of the original in such a way that both content and language are readily acceptable and comprehensible to the readership”. (Newmark, 1988:47) Speaking about that particular method, Superceanu says that it “renders the message of the source text, focusing on the target language norms in the attempt to produce a text which sounds so natural in the target language that the readers cannot ideally notice or distinguish it from a non-translated text”. (2009:66)

Target text

Introducere în știința mediului

Capitolul 5. Evoluția speciilor și a ecosistemelor

Capitolul 6. Principiile ecologiei

Comments on translation

Translation is inherently a difficult activity so translators may face a series of problems and difficulties, making the process even more difficult. In order to solve these problems, the translator will analyze them, do research and documentation and apply different strategies and techniques. In her previously cited book, Christiane Nord outlined several types for each of the two categories: translation problems and translation difficulties, which will be used from now onwards to analyze the obstacles encountered during the process of translation.

Translation problems

Pragmatic problems – they refer to the differences between the extratextual factors of the source text and of the target text, in terms of the time gap between the source text production and the target text production, text function, receivers with their background knowledge or the medium.

In the text I had to translate the problem I encountered was the difference between the receivers’ background knowledge. In the ST, the receivers are people with at least intermediate knowledge about this subject, whereas in the TT, the receivers are students who have no knowledge in this field. Therefore, the technical terms related to environmental science may be unknown to them:

Example 1:

English: For each gene, the gene pool includes all the different alleles for the gene that exist in the population.

Romanian: Pentru fiecare genă, fondul genetic include toate alelele diferite ale genei care există în populație.

Example 2:

English: Called Ellis-van Creveld syndrome, the condition is a type of dwarfism. People within the syndrome have extra fingers and short limbs.

Romanian: Numită sindromul Ellis-van Creveld, afecțiunea este un tip de nanism.

Example 3:

English: Explain how food chains and webs model feeding relationships.

Romanian: Explicați modul în care lanțurile și rețelele trofice modelează relațiile de hrănire.

The problems were solved by using the strategy called equivalence.

Example 4:

English: (a) Bottleneck effect occurs when a population suddenly gets much smaller.

Romanian: (a) Efectul de “gâtuire genetică” (efectul gâtului de sticlă) are loc atunci când o populație devine, brusc, mai mică.

The problem here was solved by means of calque.

Example 5:

English: As you already learned, energy is defined as the ability to move things, do work, or transfer heat, and comes in various forms, including light, heat, and electricity.

Romanian: După cum ați aflat deja, energia este definită drept capacitatea de a mișca lucruri, de a efectua lucru mecanic sau de a transfera căldură și se găsește în diverse forme, precum lumină, căldură și electricitate.

Here, the problem was solved by means of translation by a more specific equivalent.

Example 6:

English: The flower and bird in Figure 5.20 are a good example. They have evolved matching structures.

Romanian: Floarea și pasărea din Figura 5.20 sunt un exemplu potrivit. Ele au dezvoltat structuri compatibile de adaptare.

The strategy used was transposition.

Example 7:

English: They are the spawning grounds for numerous fish and invertebrate species, and at least 36 species of marine mammals have been observed in surrounding waters.

Romanian: Acestea sunt locuri prielnice de depunere a icrelor pentru numeroase specii de pești și nevertebrate, fiind văzute cel puțin 36 de specii de mamifere marine în apele din jur.

This problem was solved by explicitation strategy.

Cultural problems – they are present in almost every translation task particularly in instrumental translations and appear as a result of the differences in the norms and conventions guiding verbal and nonverbal behavior in the two cultures involved as each culture has its own habits, norms and conventions.

Example 8: A cultural problem was finding the equivalence in terms of less known species and plants that may be found in the Galapagos Islands and for which a Romanian equivalent doesn’t exist. An example is the “tool using finch”. In order to solve this problem, I used the strategy called paraphrasing and translated it as follows: “cinteză capabilă de folosirea uneltelor”.

Example 9: Another problem was the conversion of distance, since in English itis measured in miles. The Romanian readers couldn’t approximate it if these values wouldn’t be converted and very likely it would take time and would distract them from the meaning of the text.

English: Lying just 28 miles off the coast of California, the Farallon Islands sits amid one of the most productive marine food webs on the planet.

Romanian: Situate la numai 45 052 kilometri în largul coastei Californiei, Insulele Farallon se află în mijlocul unuia dintre cele mai productive lanțuri trofice marine de pe planetă.

As mentioned above, it is easier for the Romanian readers to understand these values if they are already converted. In order to solve this problem, the strategy used here was equivalence.

Example 10: A real problem was finding the appropriate equivalences for some of the English terms related to bird niches, which in Romanian language do not exist.

English: specialist seed-eating; Romanian: care se hrănește cu un anumit tip de semințe;

netting; care se hrănește prin pescuit tip plasă;

probing; care se hrănește prin sondarea fundului apei;

surface probing; care se hrănește prin sondarea suprafețelor;

surface skimming; care se hrănește de pe suprafața apei;

filter-feeding; care se hrănește prin filtrare;

raptorial; care se hrănește cu prada;

I solved this problem by means of explicitation strategy, using a general concept?

Example: Another cultural problem was the name of an online tool that incorprorates multimedia content and assessments, the Waterloo's students information system.

English: Norman Penny, collections manager of the entomology department of the California Academy of Sciences, gives QUEST viewers a peek at the California Academy of Sciences vast butterfly collection, and discusses the evolutionary importance of butterflies.

Romanian: Norman Penny, director al colecțiilor departamentului de entomologie de la Academia de Științe din California, oferă vizualizatorilor platformei QUEST o privire asupra vastei colecții de fluturi de la Academia de Științe și discută importanța evoluției fluturilor.

I managed to solve this problem by means of borrowing.

Linguistic problems – arise from structural differences in the vocabulary, syntax and suprasegmental features of the two languages. Contrastive grammar and comparative stylistics can provide valuable help in solving these problems;

Example 11: As the method used for translation is the communicative method, the problem consisted here in rendering the message in a natural way.

English: They evolved a single large toe that eventually became a hoof.

Romanian: Numărul degetelor s-a redus până când au rămas cu un singur deget, care, în cele din urmă, a devenit copită.

The strategy was used here is explicitation.

Example 12: Some of the sentences needed to be merged into one single phrase because otherwise there would be to many disruptions in speech and wouldn’t sound natural for the Romanian readers.

English: The human appendix is another example of a vestigial structure. It is a tiny remnant of a once-larger organ.

Romanian: Apendicele uman este un alt exemplu de structură vestigială, fiind o rămășiță infimă a unui organ, care, odată a fost mai mare.

Example 13:

English: This was hard evidence that organisms looked very different in the past. It suggested that living things-like Earth’s surface-change over time.

Romanian: Acest lucru era o dovadă clară că organismele arătau foarte diferit în trecut și indica faptul că lucrurile vii-ca și suprafața Pământului- se modifică de-a lungul timpului.

The strategy that I used in both of the examples is transposition.

Example 14: Another problem was to preserve the academic register of the source text:

English: This pitcher plant is an exception. It consumes insects.

Romanian: Planta ulcior este o excepție. Ea se hrănește cu insecte.

The problem here was finding and choosing the correct equivalent of the “pitcher plant”. The translation “cănișoara” would have been too informal for this type of scientific text.

Example 15: As the source text is semi-specialized, the author also uses informal structures and other stylistic features.

English: There is no such thing as a free lunch.

Romanian: Nimic nu se capătă pe degeaba.

The problem here consisted in the translation of the idiomatic expression, which is a popular adage, communicating the idea that it is impossible to get something for nothing. A word-for-word translation in this situation would have been meaningless, hence the use of the strategy called modulation, which implies a change within the message of the original text in the target language text in conformity with the current norms of the target language.

Example 16: We must keep in mind that according to the domain to which the source text belongs, our translation may require different tenses or has different grammar rules or syntax.

English: The conditions for equilibrium are:

1. No new mutations are occurring. Therefore, no new alleles are being created.

2. There is no migration. In other words, no one is moving into or out of the population.

3. The population is very large.

4. Mating is at random in the population. This means that individuals do not choose mates based on genotype.

5. There is no natural selection. Thus, all members of the population have an equal chance of reproducing and passing their genes to the next generation.

Romanian: Condițiile pentru echilibru sunt:

1. Să nu apară noi mutații. Prin urmare, nu vor fi create noi alele.

2. Să nu existe migrație. Cu alte cuvinte, nimeni nu intră sau nu iese din populație.

3. Populația să fie foarte numeroasă.

4. Împerecherea să fie aleatorie în cadrul populației. Acest lucru înseamnă că indivizii nu își aleg partenerii în funcție de genotip.

5. Să nu aibă loc selecție naturală. Astfel, toți membrii populației au șanse egale de a se reproduce si de a-și transmite genele generației următoare.

The problem is represented here by the use of the tense. I solved it by adapting the grammatical structures of the source text in conformity with the Romanian rules. In order to solve this problem, I replaced the form of Present Simple Tense with the Conjunctive by using the strategy called: transposition.

Example 17: Another problem was finding the correct equivalence of the term “fitness”. In the dictionary, it is translated with “sănătate, vigoare, potrivire, adecvare”, but none of these is appropriate in the following cases:

English: Why might a full-sized, unused structure reduce an organism’s fitness?

Romanian: De ce ar putea o structură complet dezvoltată, dar nefolosită, să diminueze buna funcționare a unui organism?

English: Natural selection: occurs when there are differences in fitness among members of a population.

Romanian: Selecția naturală: are loc atunci când există diferențe de adaptare printre membrii unei populații.

The strategy used in both examples is transposition?

Text-specific problems – these problems arise from the author’s style and the degree of his compliance with the generic conventions; in short, it refers to the comprehensibility of the source text.

The problems encountered here consisted in the correct translation of the technical terms.

Example 18:

English: All vertebrate embryos, for example, have gill slits and tails, as shown in Figure 5.12

Romanian: De exemplu, toți embrionii vertebratelor prezintă fante branhiale și cozi, după cum se poate vedea în Figura 5.12.

Example 19:

English: The genetic makeup of an individual is the individual’s genotype.

Romanian: Compoziția genetică a unui individ reprezintă genotipul individului.

These problems were solved by means of equivalence strategy.

Example 20:

English: In water, detritivores include “bottom feeders” such as sea cucumbers and catfish.

Romanian: În apă, se întâlnesc “animale bentonice”, cum ar fi castraveții de mare și somnul.

I solved this problem by using a more general equivalent.

Translation difficulties

1. Text-specific difficulties: they refer to several aspects which are related to the comprehensibility of the source text, including its length and complexity, its degree of coherence and cohesion, complexity of syntax and lexis, the number of non-verbal elements and also to misspellings, printing errors or similar defects.

The most challenging difficulty was the faithfulness to text organization. The text to be translated consists of a vast array of non-verbal elements, but in the end I managed to preserve the layout of all pages and to translate all the schemata, charts, cladograms and figures.

2. Translator-dependent difficulties: derive from the translator’s level of competence vis-á-vis the translation task, according to Superceanu (2009:100). This refers to the fact that even the most professional and competent translator may encounter difficulties because he cannot posses expert knowledge in every domain he must deal with, not even in his native language.

This kind of difficulties may appear when we are translating texts from specific domains, especially technical. Thus, it was difficult for me to decide the correct terminology of several technical terms, since I do not posses enough knowledge on this subject. The problem sprang out when one term in the SL had several forms in the TL in terms of terminology.

Example 1: The technical term “genetic drift” may be translated as: “drift genetic”, “deviație genetică”, “fluctuație genetică”, but the appropriate translation for this term after finding it in several specialized studies is the following:

English: Genetic drift: is a random change in allele frequencies that occurs in a small population.

Romanian: Deriva genetică: este o schimbare aleatorie în frecvențele alelelor, care apare în cadrul unei populații mici.

Example 2: Another similar example was the translation of the adjective “chemosynthetic”. The options were: “chimiosintetice”, „chemosintetice”, but the correct translation of this term is:

English: Some chemosynthetic bacteria live around deep-ocean vents known as ‘‘black smokers.”

Romanian: Unele bacterii chemosintetizante trăiesc în jurul gurilor de aerisire de pe fundul oceanului, cunoscute sub numele de ,,fumătorii negri."

3. Pragmatic difficulties: they arrive from the translation task, if the ST must undergo radical changes in terms of structure, genre, target audience, etc.

The only obstacle/obstacles that posed me problems were discussed in the previous chapter, under “problems”, as they are an inherent part of the text and pose a challenge to any translator.

4. Technical difficulties: they are related to the availability of documentation resources in a certain translation situation, for example: glossaries, dictionaries, parallel text, CAT tools, etc.

The lack of specialized dictionaries and glossaries in Romanian made me to concentrate my attention to the online research. I was able to find parallel texts which helped me, but all in all, these difficulties are, in one way, the easiest to alter as they are of a more material nature.

1. English: He wrote an essay titled On Population. In the essay, Malthus argued that human populations grow faster than the resources they depend on.

Romanian: El a scris o lucrare, intitulată: Eseu asupra principiului populației. În aceasta, Malthus susține că populațiile umane se dezvoltă mai repede decât resursele de care depind.

-Malthus, R. 1992. Eseu asupra principiului populației. București. Editura Științifică. (linguistic problem, strategy: expansion)

Conclusion

Translation has been used ever since humans communicated one with another. It occupies a central and prominent position in the conceptualization of a universal and enlightened civilization.

There is no doubt translation is inherently a difficult activity and to become a professional translator, there are needed so many skills, including a full understanding of the subject matter involved, a gift for writing, an insatiable thirst for knowledge, stamina, thoroughness. I personally believe that there isn’t an exact list of rules that would allow to arrive at a perfect translation, but as seen above, there are some procedures and methods, knowledge of which may facilitate the process of translation. In order to have an idea about translation itself and to be able to produce texts in various languages, one should get familiar with the process and theory of translation. The awareness of these notions may provide necessary advice and clues and it may be also beneficial for the translators’ competence: increasing the quality of their work; enabling them to deliver the translation according to the rules, style, and grammar of the TL; allowing for quick, accurate, clear and naturally sounding translation. Every translator adapts their own approach towards the process of translation, nevertheless it always involves working in subsequent steps.

I would also like to thank my supervisor Camelia Petrescu for all her great help and motivation. Writing my diploma paper was challenging for me and required a lot of time, concentration and patience, but I think these musts are definitely a starting point in understanding the art of translation:

Translating without clear instructions is like swimming without water.

Before piloting a ship, you need some knowledge about tides and shoals and the use of life vests.

The most important tool for prospective translators is their own native language.

In order to understand the specificity of another culture, you have to know your own culture first.

To use a verb in a wrong tense is less risky than to use it in the right tense at the wrong time.

The unique factor in the experience of translators is that we not only are listeners to the text, hearing the author’s voice in the mind’s ear, but speakers of a second text—the translated work—who repeat what we have heard, though in another language, a language with its own literary tradition, its own cultural accretions, its own lexicon and syntax, its own historical experience, all of which must be treated with as much respect, esteem, and appreciation as we bring to the language of the original writer. Our purpose is to re-create as far as possible, within the alien system of a second language, all the characteristics, vagaries, quirks, and stylistic peculiarities of the work we are translating. That is why I believe the statement made by Italo Calvino embraces the power of translator and translation in the true sense of the word:

“Without translation, I would be limited to the borders of my own country. The translator is my most important ally. He introduces me to the world.”

Bibliography

I. Books:

1. Anderman G. M., and M. Rogers. 1999. Word, Text, Translation: Liber Amicorum for Peter Newmark. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

2. Korzeniowska A, and P. Kuhiwczak. 2006. Successful Polish-English Translation: Tricks of the Trade. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN/ Polish Scientific Publishers PWN.

3. Manser, M. 1996. The Wordsworth Dictionary of Eponyms. Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions Ltd.

4. Mildred L. Larson (1984), Meaning-based translation: a guide to cross-language equivalence, University Press of America.

5. Newmark, P. 1988. A Textbook of Translation. Hertfordshire: Prentice Hall.

6. ―――1988. Approaches to Translation. Hertfordshire: Prentice Hall.

7. Nida, E. A. 1964. Toward a Science of Translating: With Special Reference to Principles and Procedures Involved in Bible Translating. Leiden: E.J. Brill.

8. Nida, E. A., and C. R. Taber. 1974. The Theory and Practice of Translation. Leiden: E.J. Brill.

9. Nord, C. 1991. 2005. Text Analysis in Translation: Theory, Methodology, and Didactic Application of a Model for Translation-Oriented Text Analysis. Amsterdam & Atlanta: Rodopi.

10. Reiss, K., and H. J. Vermeer. 1984. 2014 Towards a General Theory of Translational Action: Skopos Theory Explained. New York: Routledge.

11. Sager, J.C.1997, Text Type and Translation, in Trosborg A. (ed.) Text Typology and Translation. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.

12. Steiner, G. 1998. After Babel: Aspects of Language and Translation. Oxford: University Press.

13. Superceanu, R. 2009 Translating Pragmatic Texts. Timișoara: Editura Orizonturi Universitare.

14. Wilss, W. 1982. The science of translation: Problems and methods. Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag.

Electronic resources:

1. Gerzymisch-Arbogast, H. 2005. Challenges of Multidimensional Translation: Conference Proceedings.

2. Pym, A. 1992. Translation Error Analysis and the Interface with Language Teaching. Cay Dollerup & Anne Loddegaard, eds The Teaching of Translation. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. http://usuaris.tinet.cat/apym/on-line/training/1992_error

3. ―――2004. Text and Risk in Translation. Maria Sidiropoulou & Anastasia Papaconstantinou, eds Choice and Difference in Translation. The Specifics of Transfer. Athens: University of Athens. http://docplayer.net/17126332-Text-and-risk-in-translation.html

II. Dictionnaries:

Printed:

1. Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române (DEX), ediția a III-a, revăzută și adăugită. 2009. București: Univers Enciclopedic.

2. DOOM (Dicționar Ortografic, Ortoepic și Morfologic al Limbii). 2009. București

Online

1. Glosbe (Dicționar multilingv online) – www.glosbe.com

2. Word Reference – http://www.wordreference.com/

3. Linguee- http://ro.linguee.com/

III. Software

1. Adobe Digitar Editions

2. Adobe Pdf Reader

3. Microsoft Word 2013

4. Paint

IV. Parallel texts

1. Ce este ecologia? Scurtă introducere: http://scientia.ro/biologie/concepte-fundamentale/2418-introducere-in-stiinta-ecologiei.html

2. Evoluția calului: http://www.desprecai.eu/generalitati/evolutie/

3. Microevolutia si macroevolutia: http://www.ziarulevenimentul.ro/m/stiri/Stiinta%20si%20Tehnica/microevolutia-si-macroevolutia–20513.html

4. Teoria evoluției: https://teoriaevolutiei.wordpress.com/about/

5. Viața lui Charles Darwin (II): Călătoria pe Beagle https://istoriiregasite.wordpress.com/2015/10/16/viata-lui-charles-darwin-ii-calatoria-pe-beagle/