Development of Translation Studies and Approaches

Development of edition Studies and Approaches mental hospitalThe gibe monograph is an attempt to demonstrate the position that Translation Studies is non a mere branch of linguistics provided an extensive discipline with m some(prenominal) a(prenominal) branches and very world-shaking results. In the succeeding(prenominal) pages, there leave al angiotensin-converting enzyme be four significant divisions the number 1 disunite go away cogitate on the employ of shift studies from lit periodry progress tos on variation to adaptation studies as an academic discipline. The countenance part forget deal mainly with the Moslem nicety and its tenets, and provide quiz to give an answer to the question Is the Moslem gardening translatable? The third part will be an introduction to the contrastive types of enculturation and will show their dipoesy levels of untranslatability. The same part will in any case point on the interpretive programs skills introduci ng them as major concomitantors leading to a better come out schoolbook. As a final step, the fourth and finishing part will link displacement reaction to the Moslem refinement, in an attempt to high ignitor the untranslatability of the Islamic enculturation in the record bookic discourse, curiously the material face of it, and also to accede the comments of Muslim scholars on the renditions of the holy rule book.Translation is a process found on the scheme that it is possible to abstract the gist of a text from its cast of characterss and reproduce that core with the very several(predicate) melodys of a irregular linguistic process.Translation, whence, consists of canvass the lexicon, grammatic structure, communication situation, and ethnic context of the source actors line text, analyzing it in order to de shapeine its meaning, and then reconstructing this same meaning using the lexicon and grammatical structure which argon appropriate in the receptor lan guage and its ethnical context. (Larson l998, p. 3)In practice, there is considerable variation in the types of interlingual renditions produced by translators. many translators work simply in devil languages and atomic number 18 competent in both, while virtually others work from their initiative language to their second language, and still others from their second language to their first language. Depending on these matters of language proficiency, the procedures used will line up out from project to project.On the development of translation studiesI see translation as an attempt to produce a text so vaporous that it does non look to be translated. A salutary translation is want a pane of glass, you only notice that its there when there ar little imperfections- scratches, bubbles. Ideally, there shouldnt be any. It should never call attention to itself.IntroductionFirst, it has to be cl early on asserted that there exist many traditions concerning the first litera ture on translation, and as it is impossible to mention all of them, the focus will be around europium and the Arab terra firma. This chapter deals with the emergence of the earliest writings on translation and also the birth of the new discipline translation studies in the last few decades.Writings on Translation EuropeAmong the first writings on translation were Ciceros1 Libellus de optimo genere oratorun, Horaces2 Ars poetica of circa and the translation of the Bible as a practical side. For this reason, Europeans believe that translation started with the Romans and the Greeks, but it is very key to bear in mind that translation might get under unitys skin started so long before. And there argon proofs for that in many parts of the world. Hung and clip (1998366) claim that there were government officials with responsibility for translation in mainland China 9th century BC. but Cicero and Horace gave much importance to the problems of translation, produced contrastive th eories and highly influenced the beside generation of translators. It is they who initiated the distinction between news show to record book and good sense for sense translation, which retains its significance till at present3. It is a fact today that India, china, Iraq and Spain name in many ways shaped the European horti last. In the ninth and iodin-tenth century in Baghdad the scientific and philosophical works of antediluvian patriarch Greece were translated into Arabic, with the emergence of the k presentlyn library called beitu al hikma established by the Abbasside khalifa Al Mamoon. Those translated into Arabic books which transmit the Greek Culture, including religions, mythology and philosophy, spread to Europe through Spain which was at that fourth dimension to a lower place Muslim governance. Later on, with the school of Toledo, translations were made from Arabic to Latin and helped in the European Renaissance.Another grand tradition that was influential in Europe is Bible translation. It is believed that with the translation of Bible started the first thoughts nearly translation theory. It was very important, for Bible translators, at that time, to respect the sacred scripts, and at the same time to guarantee that the prey text would be graspable after translation. The first translator to complete the translation of the Bible into side of meat is John Wycliffite who believed that everyone in the world should get under ones skin access to the word of theology in ones language. After that came the translation made by forty-s thus far scholars and translators, eighter years after the accession of King James to the side of meat throne4, which is the principle version adopted in many Christian countries.The ripe full point of Bible translation started by the revisions of the Bible, and new translations have been made. Nida (199827-28) hypothesises that Bible translators (in the modern utter well-nigh) often work in teams of th ree to five full time translators. single notices that Bible translators in the modern period made long efforts to make the target text as overtake and understandable as possible, without neglecting the hyperkinetic syndromeition of the necessary background information using the footnote transcription and other techniques in order to respect the original text.The Arab WorldThe early translations in the Arab world date back to the period of Syrians. They translated into Arabic a large heritage. Syrians were highly influenced by the Greek translations. Syrians translations were more than than literal and cheeseparing to the original claims Ayad (1993168, qtd by Addidaoui, 2000)5. According to Addidaoui, Jarjas was one of the best Syrian translators his famous Syrian translation of Aristotles book In The World was very sheep pen and close to the original.In addition to that, the coming of Islam was very significant to the development of translation in the Arab world Prophet Moha mmed peace be upon him act to spread Islam through polar federal agency. maven of those delegacy was communication he communicated with Jews, Romans and others, and that is what pushed him to encourage the learning of others languages and to look for translators to help in communication. At that period of time, Prophet Mohammed exchanged letters with kings of Persia, Syria, Jews and Rome, and Zaid Ibn Tabet was the Prophets translator.The history of translation in the Arab world highlighted also the name of Al Jahid one of the important theorists in translation. The theories of Al Jahid are still used today by many skipper Arab translators. Al Jahid (196975) says the translator should know the structure of the speech, habits of the batch and their ways of instinct each other.6 In addition to the structure and the habits, Al Jahid talked also about the significance of re-translating and put a wide range of theories in his two books Al-Hayawan (1969) and Al-Bayan WA Attabyyin (1968).In short, the history of translation in the Arab world knew many changes, and became very rich in theories. New theorists appeared in each era with new perceptions and new ways of analyzing. Translation in the Arab world, today, started to develop, and new handle of research in translation appear each year, especially with the efforts of the Arabic Academia in Translation studies.Translation Studies An academic DisciplineTranslation studies is an academic discipline which concerns itself with the study of translation7 the term today is unsounded to link to the study of the academic discipline at large, including non literary translation, interpretation, pedagogy and other issues.As an academic discipline, translation studies is just a few decades old. beginning from 1950, scholars and experts were interested in forming coherent theories and conducting research on translation, but it is also genuine that not so much had been done within the mannequin of this new discipl ine, and there are still issues to be analyzed and discussed. That is because scholars went deep in relating translation studies to other disciplines much(prenominal) as psychology, anthropology and, very recently, ethnical studies.One has now to acknowledge the fact that translation studies as a discipline found its place among other academic disciplines and has become independent. give thanks to the Dutch scholar James S. Holmes, translation studies is defined as a discipline organism concerned with the complex problems clustered round the phenomenon of translating and translations (Holmes 1988b/2000 173)Mona baker, in 1997, stated that the new discipline is very rich and it kick ins together scholars from a variety of more traditional disciplines.8The Islamic agricultureIf everybody is looking for it, then nobody is finding it. If we were cultured, we would not be conscious of lacking culture. We would indirect request it as something natural and would not make so much dogf ight about it. And if we knew the real value of this word we would be cultured adequacy not to give it so much importance.IntroductionIn the present chapter, several points are to be accentuated. First, the notion of culture what is meant by the word culture from different points of view. Second, I will try to relate culture to Islam I will define the Islamic culture and discuss its levels and I will mention some principles of the Islamic culture and hopefully enlighten them. The last point to be dealt with is the translatability of the Islamic culture to what extent is the Islamic culture translatable?The notion of cultureCulture is the customs, ideas, civilization, etc. of a particular society or a group of hatful9. It is a set of ideas, beliefs and ways of behaving of an organization or a group of people10.The notion of culture is quite very concentrated to define. The two meanings stated above are the most widespread they define culture as a heavyset of pitying gaining in its interaction with its visible and social environment and spiritual sources11.It is extremely necessary to keep in mind that there are some dominant cultures, whitethorn be for the reason that they are powerful, and as a result influential.Translation, involving the transposition of thoughts expressed in one language by one social group into the appropriate prospect of other group, entails a process of cultural de-coding, re-coding and en-coding. As cultures are increasingly brought into spaciouser contact with one another(prenominal), multicultural considerations are brought to bear to an ever-increasing degree. One is not just dealing with de hold waterry written in a accredited time, space and sociopolitical situation most importantly it is the cultural aspect of the text that should be taken into account. The process of transfer, i.e., re-coding across cultures, should consequently allocate interchangeable attributes vis--vis the target culture to ensure credibility i n the eyes of the target referee.Indeed, correct translation is not word for word substitution from one language into another, but it requires some understanding of the way people abide and think. The meaning of a word in a language is derived from its culture and represents the main connection between language and culture.Religion and cultureIt is universally acknowledged that religion represents the very first element in a group of peoples culture which noticeably influences their way of living. For this reason, peoples cultures differ as the religions differ.It is a fact that most of the expressions used, by a group of people, in the language of everyday life is generally based on religious vocabulary. One may discover the culture of the others only through their speeches, especially those people who keep on being faithful to the religious language. Muslims, for instance represent the most noticeable case for there are many recordic expressions in Muslims daily life in Morocca n Arabic it is common to say . This expression is derived from the volume they said pray to your original for us, that He may make clear to us what kind it should be. They said pray to your Lord for us, that He may make clear to us what its color should be.12 This expression is used in the Moroccan Arabic to express how difficult it is to do or possess something.The principles of Islamic cultureOne of the dominant cultures today in the whole world is the Islamic culture. This culture has two main aspects the first is stable (Sacred Sources) and the second is changing (the interaction with environment).13The Islamic culture, as all other cultures, has principles most of which are shared with other military personnel communitiesRespect of the other.Co-operation with others.Reliance on science and knowledge.Mutual help and support. comment of wrong deeds.These are considered the most important principles of the Islamic culture.The Islamic culture Translatable?The question that can be raised, in this part, is to what extent is the Islamic Culture Translatable?It is a fact that the Islamic culture shares a lot in common with other cultures with different religions. E.g. the word exists in some other languages, the speakers of which also believe that there is one perfection. As a result, the word Allah is translatable. But there are terminology and senses which are specific to the Islamic culture, and which will be dealt with in the last part of this paper.This highlights the fact that the term dealing with the religious aspects of a culture are the most difficult, both in understanding the SLT and providing the best comparing in the TLT, Larson (1984180). The second point which is important as tumesce is that sameness cannot exist between two languages, Bassnett (199130), for the reason that the TL reader is not aware of the different aspects of meaning involved.ethnical untranslatability A translation is no translation, he said, unless it will give you the music of a poem along with the words of it. IntroductionModern linguistic studies showed that language is not a mere physiological, but also a cultural phenomenon, and translation is by nature a very important aspect in cross-cultural communication. The exercise of translation, therefore, is to introduce one culture to another by heart and soul of translating. But very often cultural factors become the barrier in translation and result in untranslatability.Types of cultural untranslatabilityAccording to some translation scholars, such as Nida, there exist five distinct types of culture historic culture, geographical and psychological culture, material culture, customs and traditions as well as religious culture.Historical CultureIt refers to the culture settled and create during a nations development. The historical culture differs from one society to another because the historical development differs as well. This kind of unlikeness impedes intercultural communication. To best illustrate this impediment, Adams apple, which refers to the collocate on the front of a mans throat, can never be translated into Chinese except by its literal meaning because this term is originated from a biblical story.Geographical and psychological cultureDifferent nations geographical and psychological culture is also a main barrier in translation. Because of the different geographical environments and different nations mentalities, the same word will have totally different meanings in two different cultures. East airlift in lacquer and English is a vivid employment. Japanese people favor the eastmost wind, for it is perpetually a symbol of spring and warmness while people in Britain dislike the east wind, because the east wind is from the northern part of the European continent, so it always symbolizes coldness and sadness. In Britain the favorite wind is the west wind. That is the reason wherefore word for word translation never works.Also meanings of some colo rs are different. In English, green is always connected with envy and blue with moon, so there are such expressions green with envy and once in a blue moon. Those expressions cannot be translated into Arabic using the words green and blue. Thus, they are translated as - instead. actual cultureOne should pay much more attention when translating words which reflect the material culture. For example, the word cricket is an important word in the English language, for it is a popular outdoor game in Britain, and plays an important role in peoples daily life. The following saying It is as significant as a game of cricket. best illustrates this point. If we want to translate this sentence, we should add some background information for the TL reader considering that playing cricket is not widely spread in other countries.Another example is the term meat technologist. Moroccan readers may feel confused if the term is translated as . While agree to its cultural background, this term simp ly means the butcher, because meat technologist is a euphemism for the butcher in horse opera countries. By using this term, butchers may think highly of their profession.Food is for many the most sensitive and important expression of national culture food terms are subject to the widest variety of translation procedures (Newmark, 198897). The terms coming under this category are further complicated due to the foreign elements present. One such case is the reference to the b mightilyly colored ptisseries tunisiennes. Translating according to the french idea of ptisseries would imply using the English cakes or pastries yet in the context of Tunisian culture this hardly seems appropriate, flush in mind the difference in form of the TL reference. This illustrates the theory developed by Mounin (1963) who underlines the importance of the signification of a lexical change surfacet claiming that only if this notion is considered will the translated item fulfill its function correctly . In this case the translation as sweets seems to correspond to the idea of the original signification, even if it is a more abstract translation of the French original, and is therefore more appropriate concerning its function in the TT than a translation of conventional equivalence.Another example of material culture includes an eponym, namely bouteilles de Sidi Brahim. In France this low-quality, Algerian vino is widely known and is the traditional drink with North African dishes, therefore widely sold in supermarkets as well as this type of small shop. This example can be seen as tally to the new ideal reader as described by Coulthard, having different cultural knowledge (Coulthard, 199212) as an English-speaking reader would not ineluctably know the name of this wine and even less its associations. By using strictly formal equivalence, all meaning would be lost. It would however be possible to neutralize the original term Sidi Brahim by translating as wine or else to introd uce a form of componential analysis, translating as cheap, Algerian wine. Sidi Brahim being the area where the wine is produced, it seems appropriate to keep the original term in the TT but it is necessary to add a qualifier, here wine. In this way, although the cultural implications are not as strong as for an initiated French reader, the information is passed on and elucidated by a qualifier. The cultural implications automatically understood by the ST reader, namely the notion of cheap, low-quality wine, are not however conveyed, the stress in this context being on the exotic nature of the crossway as conveyed by Sidi Brahim and not on the low cost.Customs and traditionsThe different customs and traditions in the daily activities around the world reflect the different cultural mentalities. For instance, In China, when people meet each other in the street, they always greet like this where will you go or what will you do. In fact, this kind of greetings is very rude and impolite in western countries, for it is an interference with privacy. Instead, they are translated as hello good morning or how are you.Religious cultureReligious culture means the culture formed by a nations religious beliefs and common sense. This type of culture usually impedes the transfer of meaning to a TL since different peoples have different religions. The phrase ( ) is an Arabic term God willing or If it is Gods will is a good example. It derives from Islamic scripture, Surat Al Kahf (18)24But only If God wills And remember your Lord when you forgetThis phrase is now used excessively in Moroccan Arabic. Unfortunately, it is often used to control events or to avoid giving a definite answer.Levels of Cultural untranslatabilityCatford states that Cultural untranslatability takes place when a relevant situational feature in the SL is absent in the TL. This cultural untranslatability has different levels. The level changes for the reason that some words are completely untranslatable whereas other words are very hard to find equivalence to in the TL. For this specific reason, the translator has to be skillful and experienced. The translator has to be bilingual as well as bicultural in order to have a better TLT.The translators skills an important factorIt is now a common belief that the translators skills play a major role in delivering a good translation. A good translation is one that carries all the ideas of the original as well as its structural and cultural features. Massoud (1988)14 sets criteria for a good translation as followsA good translation is easily understood.A good translation is fluent and smooth.A good translation is idiomatic.A good translation conveys, to some extent, the literary subtleties of the original.A good translation distinguishes between the metaphorical and the literal.A good translation reconstructs the cultural/historical context of the original.A good translation makes clear what is implicit in abbreviations, and in allusions to sayings, songs, and nursery rhymes.A good translation will convey, as much as possible, the meaning of the original text.Enani (19945)15 defines the translator as a writer who formulates ideas in words addressed to readers. The only difference between him and the original writer is that these ideas are the latters. Another difference is that the work of the translator is even more difficult than that of the artist. The artist is supposed to produce directly his/her ideas and emotions in his/her own language however mingled and complicated his/her thoughts are. The translators responsibility is much greater, for s/he has to relive the experiences of a different person, states Antar S. Abdullah16.To conclude, the above analysis shows that translating is an activity which inevitably involves at to the lowest degree two languages and two cultural traditions (Toury, 1978 200)17. As this statement implies, translators are for good faced with the problems of how to treat the cultur al aspects in a source text (ST) and of finding the most appropriate technique to successfully convey these aspects in the target language.Translation and the Islamic cultureIndeed, there has come to you light and a clear book from Allah with it (the record) Allah guide him who seeks His pleasure into the ways of sentry go and brings them out of utter darkness into light by his will and guides them to the right path.(Almaidah V 15-16)IntroductionThe Quran, for the Muslim, comprehends the complete code for all human beings to live a good, chaste, abundant and rewarding life in obedience to the commandments of Allah. It is the chart of life for every human being, and it is the constitution of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. The Quran was an oral text throughout the lifetime of Muhammad. It was also a fluid text. The complete text resided only in the memories of Muhammad and his followers. As he added verses and reorganized the text, his followers would rememorize the text in the li ght of the additions or edits. This means that the Quran was a living text during the lifetime of Muhammad. Certain verses revealed to Muhammad were subsequent repudiated by him as satanic verses revealed not by Gabriel but by Satan. These verses were expunged from the text that so many had memorized.The untranslatability of the QuranBecause the Quran is for every human being, it transcends the boundaries of the Arab world and goes beyond it. The Quran is addressed to all peoples without exception. It carries a universal message to all human beings regardless of their race or color.It is true in our days that the translation of the Quran represents one of the most important elements in the Quranic studies, mainly, because it is the first book non-Muslims encounter when attempting to well understand Islam.The Quran exists in its original language, i.e., Arabic. Some Muslim scholars agree that the true Quran is in Arabic, in its original wording as revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (p eace be upon him) therefore, it should only be recited in the Arabic language. The translations however are the work of humans. And since these translations subtly change the meaning, they are often called interpretations. For instance, Pickthall (1930) called his translation The Meaning of the superb Koran rather than simply The Koran.Part of the miracles of the Quran is said to be based on Ijaz , or Inimitability. Even for native Arabic speakers, the Quran is a difficult document. Its archaic language and verse structure are difficult hurdles to cross. People always admitted their inability to produce something similar to the Quran. And the translations of the Quran are considered, by some scholars, to be one form of trying to produce a similar Book.Translators of the Quran, it is important to note, encounter many difficulties in the process of translation. Those difficulties encountered are due to different reasons.First, some verses in the Quran complement each other, for that reason the translator of the Quran has to go back to the associate verses in order to translate one verse this stresses the idea that word for word translation is not to be used, especially in this context. The verse best illustrates this difficulty. This verse has two meanings an internal meaning which is, trading is licit while usury is illicit, and it has also an external meaning the two terms are different they are not the same. This second meaning is not included in the text, but understood when one goes back to the previous verseThe external meaning, it has to be clear, is necessary in order to understand and translate a verse of the Quran. And that is the reason why some of the early translators of the Quran fell in ambiguities.The second problem that impedes the translation of the Quran is that some verses may be general the form used in those verses includes everything, but the meaning of the verse is related to another verse which is specific. The verse is conside red a vivid example in this case. The reader cannot know the religion of the slave to free. But, if the translator goes back to the verse 92 of Surat AnissThe question of whether or not one should attempt to translate the Quran should be seen, mainly, in the context of translatability in general, instead of always relating it to the Arabic language.The Material Culture of the QuranMaterial culture includes all of the physical objects that people create and give meaning to. Clothing, architectural elements, and handmade carpets would be examples. An object only becomes part of culture after meaning has been apt(p) to it. Human beings perceive and understand the material things around them as they have learned to from their culture.In Arabic, there exist many terms that, even if they have their equivalence in other languages, they cannot be easily translated because they have a particular connotative meaning. Larson (1984 132) warns the translator of the problems of the SL connotativ e meaning. In some verses of the Quran, there is reference to the domestic ass and the dog. Those two words have a negative connotation in Arabic, but they are neutral when translated into English for instance.The two words, in English, have a different connotative meaning. For example, the word dog is a symbol of loyalty (the dog is the mans best friend), whereas the donkey is considered, in the Islamic culture, a symbol of utter stupidity.Translation of the Quran and the Muslim scholarsBecause the Quran stresses its Arabic nature, some Muslim scholars believe that any translation cannot be more than an approximate interpretation, intended only as a tool for the study and understanding of the original Arabic text. They fight that the Quranic text cannot be reproduced in another language or form. Furthermore, an Arabic word may have a range of meanings depending on the context, making an accurate translation even more difficult. This factor is made more complex by the fact that the usage of words has changed a great deal between classical and modern Arabic. They argue also that the travail of translation is not an easy one some native Arab-speakers will confirm that some Quranic passings are difficult to understand even in the original Arabic. As a result, even Quranic verses which seem perfectly clear to native speakers accustomed to modern vocabulary and usage may not represent the original meaning of the verse.The original meaning of a Quranic passage will also be dependent on the historical deal of the Prophet Muhammads life and early community in which it originated. For this reason, one finds a detailed historical background in the introduction of any interpretation of the Quran.ConclusionThe four parts discussed in this research project are not to be viewed as complete products, but they need to be polished and enriched further with other examples.The four main parts of this monograph seem to be very distinct, but, at near scrutiny, these parts are s o closely linked because they share the same aim which is to highlight the fact that translation, as a field of knowledge, is very rich, and may be related to many other fields.As an interdisciplinary discipline, translation studies borrows much from the different fields of study that support translation. These include comparative literature, computer science, history, linguistics, philology, philosophy, semiotics, terminology, and so forth.The present monograph, being an attempt to relate translation to other fields, tries to bring together translation and Islam in an attempt to show the untranslatable side of the Islamic culture, starting with a definition an