Sunday, May 19, 2013

Joung Hwan Park / Being a Translator / Tue 9am

Translating from one language to another may seem like a very simple process. People might think that it's a simple process of just changing the original text into the target language. However, there is more to the process of translating that often get unnoticed by people.

Know the language. This is the first and foremost ability that is required of translators because, without knowing the language, a person won't be able to understand the given text; hence, attempt to even begin translating. In saying this, knowing the language requires a person to be quite strong in both the source and target language because translating is a process of deriving meaning from the source text and then expressing one's interpretation in the target language. If there is a language barrier, then a wrong interpretation of the text will lead to a wrong end result in the translation process.

Know the theory. Translation also has a lot of theory such as methods and different approaches that need to be taken into consideration. There is a choice between being faithful to the text and placing priority on the overall flow of the text. Of course there are pros and cons for both approaches because choosing faithfulness will mean text is translated with the exact meaning and feel of the source text, whereas focusing on the flow will mean that the target readers and their convenience are taken into consideration.

Know the culture. Having a good understanding of the target language and its culture is crucial when it comes to translating. Although a translator could complete the job without having much knowledge about the target language's culture, but that would only make the translation a dry and boring end product. Knowing the culture will definitely help the translator in understanding the source text better, and using appropriate terms and expressions for the target readers. 

Translating isn't just about knowing a language and being able to express one's thoughts with it. It's actually a more complicated process of deriving meaning and culture from the source text to the target text. Therefore, know the language, know the theory and know the culture. That's the key to becoming a good translator. 

3 comments:

  1. To Jounghwan from Minah Lee

    1. Does the introduction include backgrund information about the topic?
    -> Yes.

    2. Does the thesis statement have a unifying principle?
    -> It could be better if you add one more sentence that summarize the principles.

    3. Does each body paragraph include a distinct category?
    -> Yes, clearly.

    4. Are the supporting details for each paragraph sufficient?
    -> Yes.

    5. Does the conclusion restate the three categories?
    -> Yes, in a simple sentence.

    6. Is there advice, a prediction, or a general statement in the conclusion?
    -> There's a general statement that explains the whole story.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your essay is well organized and the introduction includes background information about the topic. And the thesis statement has a unifying principle. I understand clearly your topic. You want to be a translater in the future. And for that you should know the language, the theory, the culture. And your body paragraphs also include a distinct category. And the supporting details for each paragraph sufficient. I want to mention one thing that makes your essay more be improved. If you change imperative sentences(Know the language, Know the theory, Know the culture) into advice sentence, it will be better.(ex.you should know the language.) Furthermore, if your information in each paragraph is ordered logically, for example in order of importance or in chronological order, it will be much better.

    ReplyDelete
  3. <2nd draft>

    Translating from one language to another may seem like a very simple process. People might think that it’s a process of simply changing the original text into the target language. However, there is more to the process of translating that often get unnoticed by people.

    Know the language. This is the first and foremost ability that is required of translators because, without knowing the language, a person won’t be able to understand the given text; hence, attempt to even begin translating. In saying this, knowing the language requires a person to be quite strong in both the source and target language because translating is a process of deriving meaning from the source text and then expressing one’s interpretation in the target language. If there is a language barrier, then a wrong interpretation of the text will lead to a wrong end result in the translation process.

    Know the theory. Translation also has a lot of theory such as methods and different approaches that need to be taken into consideration. There is a choice between being faithful to the text and placing priority on the overall flow of the text. Of course there are pros and cons for both approaches because choosing faithfulness will mean text is translated with the exact meaning and feel of the source text, whereas focusing on the flow will mean that the target readers and their convenience are taken into consideration.

    Know the culture. Having a good understanding of the target language and its culture is crucial when it comes to translating. Although a translator could complete the job without having much knowledge about the target language’s culture, that would only make the translation a dry and boring end product. Knowing the culture will definitely help the translator in understanding the source text better, and using appropriate terms and expressions for the target readers.

    Translating isn’t just about knowing a language and being able to express one’s thoughts with it. It’s actually a more complicated process of deriving meaning and culture from the source text to the target text. Therefore, know the language, know the theory and know the culture. That’s the key to becoming a good translator.

    ReplyDelete