27.2090, Review: Translation: Farghal, Almanna (2015)
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LINGUIST List: Vol-27-2090. Fri May 06 2016. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.
Subject: 27.2090, Review: Translation: Farghal, Almanna (2015)
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Date: Fri, 06 May 2016 11:18:20
From: Vivian Lee [Vivian_Lee at soas.ac.uk]
Subject: Contextualizing Translation Theories
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Book announced at http://linguistlist.org/issues/26/26-3109.html
EDITOR: Mohammed Farghal
EDITOR: Ali Almanna
TITLE: Contextualizing Translation Theories
SUBTITLE: Aspects of Arabic–English Interlingual Communication
PUBLISHER: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
YEAR: 2015
REVIEWER: Vivian Lee, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
Reviews Editor: Helen Aristar-Dry
SUMMARY
Contextualizing Translation Theories: Aspects of Arabic-English Interlingual
Communication is aimed at readers who are researchers and scholars in
translation studies, particularly those interested in Arabic into English
translation. The book can also be of practical use to students of translation
studies (TS). Each of the nine chapters deals with a particular theme in TS,
starting with the history of TS to the communicative dimension in translation.
The book starts off by providing an overview of the history of translation
studies, which spans from Cicero and Horace, the first theorists to make a
distinction between word-for-word translation and sense-for-sense translation
in the first century BCE (p. 2), to contemporary translation studies. The
authors conclude the chapter by pointing out the fact that such differing
theoretical orientations in TS means that the translation product is never in
one pure form.
Chapter Two then addresses the macro-parameters and constraints at the
pre-translation stage, constraints, such as macro cultural considerations,
master discourse of translation, genre, discourse, skopos, readership,
text-typology, norms, ideology and illusion. The chapter emphasizes the fact
there is a tug of war between several polar options at the macro level, and
discusses how these parameters and constraints influence the translator. It is
pointed out that translation is not an “innocent, transparent activity” (p.16)
and such macro constraints impose various pressures on the translator at the
pre-translation stage.
Chapter Three then moves on to discuss the linguistic considerations of
translation, namely the phonological, morphological, syntactic and semantic
(word level and phraseological) features of texts. As translation is
“fundamentally a linguistic exercise” (p. 78), such linguistic aspects of text
are important and need to be considered.
Chapter Four looks at the textual aspects of translation, with focus on
optional textual shifts which occur as a result of different stylistic
preferences among languages. Languages, with their own characteristics, are
organized in a way which requires the translator to balance the textual
constraints they may come across in the act of translation.
Chapter Five focuses on cultural considerations and translation, such as
‘emic’ (‘insider’) and ‘etic’ (‘outsider’) perspectives. Examples of
Arabic-English translations show the translator’s struggle with culture-bound
or culture-specific content, which slows down the process of translation in
the search for a suitable strategy to deal with such items.
Chapter Six then looks at the pragmatic dimension of translation, such as
presuppositions, speech acts, conversational implicatures and politeness,
highlighting the importance of pragmatic meaning in human communication; the
ability to catch and understand indirectness in discourse is important since
the translator must be able to deal with what is meant rather than simply what
is said in translation.
Chapter Seven discusses semiotic dimension and translation, a comparison of
two semiotic models which originated in the nineteenth century, the structural
semiotics and interpretive semiotics models. A difference in the signifying
systems of languages means that translators need to use their “utmost effort
to reconcile” culture clashes or encounters through the transferring of
semiotic properties of the ST (p. 137).
Chapter Eight then moves on to discuss stylistic considerations and
translation. Despite studies in the TS field on style, the authors note that
the definition of style still remains ambiguous (p. 139). Like culture-bound
content discussed in Chapter Five, examples from Arabic-English translation
demonstrate the fact that the translator’s appreciation of stylistic features
results inevitably in a slowing down in their progress while they search for
an appropriate strategy. The chapter suggests a style-based approach for
translators, who are also special text readers. The four stylistic approaches
suggested by the authors are linguistic stylistics, literary stylistics,
affective stylistics and cognitive stylistics. The authors suggest that for
translators to deliver accurate renderings of literary translations, they need
to 1. Analyse and describe varieties of language; 2. Identify and discern
important aesthetical aspects of text and thus interpret and appreciate texts;
3. Activate processes and experiences of reading along with their intuitive
responses to the text at hand; and 4. Activate all aspects of knowledge stored
in their minds on language, text-typological demands, generic conventions, and
sociological roles of participants in the real world and in text, cultural
environment and such (p. 153).
Chapter Nine discusses the communicative dimension of translation. Drawing on
the Halliday, McIntosh and Strevens (1964) study on language variation, the
authors look at two classifications of language variation, dialects and
registers. As language has many functions and can take on different shapes
according to context, it is important for the translator to be aware of
communicative features of texts.
EVALUATION
The book reads easily and can be a useful accompaniment to a main course guide
for a TS course. The nine chapters each deal with one aspect of translation
which translators need to consider, and are written in a clear, summary-like
form. Examples are given for Arabic-English translations, and these seem to
assume that the reader is a proficient reader of Arabic; thus the book will be
particularly useful for those working with this language pair. Although the
authors mention that a motivation for the writing of the book is a booming
renewal of interest in translation in the Arab World, drawing from examples
of additional language pairs would enable the book to reach out to a wider
readership.
In their concluding remarks, the authors write that the goal was to make
available a book which “establishes a solid link between translating
theorizing/theories and the actual decision making in translation activity”
(p. 171). The authors themselves point out that the goal is not to offer
solutions; nevertheless, one cannot help wondering whether a suggestion of
possible solutions would enable improved application of the book for
practitioners, translator trainers and students alike. While the book does
indeed draw translation practitioners, trainers and trainees to the aspects
one needs to be aware of, the reader is left wondering about possible
solutions for these important problems intranslation.
Despite these possible drawbacks, the book will no doubt be useful to those
relatively new to TS, as it offers overview-like chapters which deal with
aspects which are all important in TS. In addition, it will no doubt be useful
for students, and as such could be considered as supplementary reading for TS
courses, particularly for Arabic and English translation.
REFERENCES
Farghal, M. and Almanna, A. 2015. Contextualizing Translation Theories:
Aspects of Arabic-English Interlingual Communication. Newcastle-Upon-Tyne:
Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
ABOUT THE REVIEWER
Vivian Lee has taught undergraduate and postgraduate English for Academic and
Specific Purposes and Korean into English translating and interpreting classes
in Seoul, South Korea at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. Her
research interests include intercultural communication through translation,
translator training and discourse analysis.
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