28.3082, Review: Applied Linguistics; Translation: Stolze (2016)

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LINGUIST List: Vol-28-3082. Mon Jul 17 2017. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 28.3082, Review: Applied Linguistics; Translation: Stolze (2016)

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Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2017 11:10:06
From: Elena Gheorghita [for.elena at gmail.com]
Subject: Übersetzungstheorien

 
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Book announced at http://linguistlist.org/issues/27/27-3792.html

AUTHOR: Radegundis  Stolze
TITLE: Übersetzungstheorien
SERIES TITLE: narr STARTER
PUBLISHER: Narr Francke Attempto Verlag GmbH + Co. KG
YEAR: 2016

REVIEWER: Elena Gheorghita, State University of Moldova

Reviews Editor: Helen Aristar-Dry

SUMMARY

The book ‘Übersetzungstheorien‘ (Translation theories), authored by Dr.
Radegundis Stolze, a  practicing translator and translation researcher is part
of the series ‘7 wichtige Punkte für einen erfolgreichen Start ins Thema’ (7
important points for a successful start in the topic…). It is indeed composed
of seven chapters-steps, preceded by a brief introduction.  

Chapter 1 is dealing with the topic of translation and the system of language.
The author begins by briefly discussing the unity between language and
thought, then describes the key points of universalist translation theory and
presents translation process as interlingual transfer. The chapter also
briefly discusses translation studies related to specific language pairs and
the problem of equivalence.

Chapter 2 talks of text linguistics and the pragmatic dimension. The author
first discusses the ways texts are born, then turns to translation oriented
text typology, key points of speech act theory and text coordinates.

Chapter 3 is dedicated to literary translation. It opens up with facts on
literary quality, then talks of the manipulation school and literature as
polysystem.

Chapter 4 is a quick overview of the discipline. It talks of translation
research as field theory and introduces the reader to descriptive translation
studies, corpus analysis, translation studies as interdisciplinary field of
research, psycholinguistic studies and translation process research.

Chapter 5 discusses functional translation theory, in particular the new
general translation theory, the Skopos theory, which states that the
translated text must accomplish the purpose of the source text, then turns to
translation as intercultural transfer and expert relations, as well as
didactical aspects of translation.

Chapter 6 is about translation and power relations. It brings up the
postmodern and cultural turn, talks of translation as political ethics and of
the translator’s visibility.

Chapter 7 gives the reader a taste of translation hermeneutics by presenting
key points concerning hermeneutical translation competence and harmony as the
goal of translation.

After the seven chapters an example of a text comes, followed by its three
different translations: beginner’s translation accompanied by error analysis,
functional and hermeneutical translation, each also followed by a brief
comment. The book also contains a summary section, glossary of main terms,
several tasks, references and subject index.

EVALUATION

The practitioners are often too busy to write books and if they do, they often
come up with collections of empirically based practical advice  for fellow
translators and translation trainees, leaving the theory aside.  The book
under review, on the contrary, provides a condensed portion of knowledge about
translation theory and translation studies, which can easily be expanded,
should the reader feel the need to do so. It is printed in pocket book format,
which makes it very handy to carry and read once you have a few spare minutes
over a cup of tea or coffee, during the break in the booth or on your way to
university. 

The title suggests that this is going to be a guidebook in translation
theories. However, the book is rather an overview of what translation is and
how it is or may be studied, rather than a mere review of theories, as it may
appear at first sight. The title, of course, may sound a bit misleading
initially, but in the long run you do get answers to ‘the ultimate questions
of life, the universe and translation’ (if we were to rephrase the famous
quote from Douglas Adams): what is translation, what does a translator do and
what are translation studies dealing with? Having read the introduction to the
book, one does understand why it is entitled ‘Translation theories’, since the
author defines the theory as thoughts about practice (p. 9).

The publisher claims that this beginner’s guide is ideal for those who do not
have any previous knowledge in the field of translation studies. Indeed, it is
quite fit for this purpose and may very well serve as a crash course in
translation and translation studies theory to a practicing translator who
wishes to update his or her knowledge of modern trends in translation studies.
 This is where the section with the tasks will come in handy. Answering the
questions will help the reader gain a better understanding of the material
presented in the book. The questions are grouped by chapters and the correct
answers, for self-check, may be downloaded from the publishing house’s 
web-page (p.), which is going to be quite handy should the book be used for
self study. 

The publisher also recommends the book to students, who could use it for
preparation for seminars in their first semester. The students may actually
find the book useful not so much as a good theoretical source, but rather as a
reliable resource book. The text of the chapters quite conveniently highlights
important terms for each piece of information brought up. The interested
reader will easily find a way to get additional information.    

Both students and practitioners will certainly find useful the section where
there is a sample text, followed by three different translations: beginner’s,
functional and hermeneutic. The beginner’s translation is accompanied by
specific error analysis. The functional and hermeneutical translations are
followed by brief comments describing their peculiarities. These example
translations will certainly contribute to a better understanding of the
content of Chapters 5 and 7.

The glossary will be a useful point of reference for both practitioners and
students, as it provides concise definitions of key terminology in the area,
also mentioned in this pocket book. It is a welcome thing for any translation
studies student and even teacher or researcher. The bibliography section may
very well serve as a list of further reading.

The guidebook coheres quite well. It certainly was not meant to open up or
suggest, either empirically or theoretically, potential future research, as it
only scratches the surface of the universe of translation studies. Its meaning
is rather to give a taste of what translation is and how it is or may be
studied.  In this respect it aids both beginners and practitioners wishing to
embark on a journey in theoretical studies  by providing a good starting point
in its seven chapters, or steps, giving a practical example of differences
between translations of the same text, warning beginners against particular
“don’ts”. In my pocket it will have its rightful place whenever I am going to
teach a class in translation studies, or to discuss potential future research
in translation studies with total beginners.


ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Elena Gheorghita is a practicing conference interpreter and assistant
professor at Department of Germanic Linguistics and Intercultural
Communication of State University of Moldova. Her research interests lie in
the area of translation studies and translator training, in particular
translation process as strategic game, decision-making in translation,
cognitive approach to translation, translation as means of inclusion.





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