In this modern world, foreign language is not a big problem because translation plays a key role in exchanging information between different kind of languages. With translators, it is possible to exchange information even the crucial one without facing an issue called miss-communication. Though sometimes it might happens, it can be avoided by translators through learning some skills which referred as translation strategies. Here are eight translation strategies which Mona Baker (a professor of translation studies and Director of the Centre for Translation and Intercultural Studies at the University of Manchester in England) believed is used by professional translators when they encounter a translation problem while performing a translation task.
1. Translation by a more general word (subordinate)
This is one of the commonest strategies for dealing with many types of non-equivalence, particularly in the area of propositional meaning. Examples:
2. Translation by a more neutral /less expressive word
This is another strategy in the semantic field of structure. Examples:
There is a noticeable difference in the expressive meaning of mumble and its nearest Italian equivalent, mugugnare. The English verb mumble suggests confusion, disorientation, or embarrassment.
The translator could have used a Japanese phrase which means, roughly, ‘behind the times’ and which would have been closer to both the propositional and expressive meanings of archaic . This, however, would have been too direct, too openly disapproving by Japanese standards (Haruko Uryu, personal communication). The expressive meaning of archaic is lost in the translation.
3. Translation by cultural substitution
This strategy involves replacing a culture-specific item or expression with a target language item considering its impact on the target reader. The main advantage of using this strategy is that it gives the reader a concept with which he or she can identify, something familiar and appealing. Examples:
In Britain, cream tea is ‘an afternoon meal consisting of tea to drink and scones with jam and clotted cream to eat. It can also include sandwiches and cakes’. Cream tea has no equivalent in other cultures. The Italian translator replaced it with ‘pastry’, which does not have the same meaning (for one thing, cream tea is a meal in Britain, whereas ‘pastry’ is only a type of food). However, ‘pastry’ is familiar to the Italian reader and therefore provides a good cultural substitute.
Porca is literally the female of swine. A translator’s footnote explains that the Italian word ‘when applied to a woman, . . . indicates unchastity, harlotry’ (Trevelyan 1965 :196). Bitch represents a straightforward cultural substitute. Although the literal meanings of porca and bitch are different, both items are used chiefl y for their expressive value. Their literal meanings are not relevant in this context.
4. Translation using a loan word or loan word plus explanation
This strategy is usually used in dealing with culture-specific items, modern concepts, and buzz words. Using the loan word with an explanation is very useful when a word is repeated several times in the text. At the first time the word is mentioned by the explanation and in the next times the word can be used by its own. Examples:
The translator seems to have decided that the kind of educated German who has access to this type of literature will know of the English cream-tea custom.
Shaman is a technical word used in religious studies to refer to a priest or a priest doctor among the northern tribes of Asia. It has no ready equivalent in Japanese. The equivalent used in the translation is made up of shaman as a loan word, written in katakana script (the script commonly used to transcribe foreign words into Japanese), plus a Japanese suffix which means ‘like’ to replace the -ic ending in English. The Japanese suffix is written in the Kanji script (the Chinese system used to transcribe ordinary Japanese).
5. Translation by paraphrase using a related word
This strategy tends to be used when the concept expressed by the source item is lexicalized in the target language but in a different form and when the frequency with which a certain form is used in the source text is significantly higher than would be natural in the target language. Examples:
The paraphrase in the Arabic text employs comparison, a strategy which can be used to deal with other types of non-equivalence.
6. Translation by paraphrase using unrelated words
If the concept expressed by the source item is not lexicalized at all in the target language, the paraphrase strategy can still be used in some contexts. Instead of a related word, the paraphrase may be based on modifying a superordinate or simply on unpacking the meaning of the source item, particularly if the item in question is semantically complex. Examples:
Alfresco, ‘in the open air’, is a loan word in English. Its meaning is unpacked in the German translation. The two expressions, alfresco and ‘in the open’, have the same ‘propositional’ meaning, but the German expression lacks the ‘evoked’ meaning of alfresco, which is perhaps inevitable in this case. Note that the loan word is placed in inverted commas in the source text.
7. Translation by omission
If the meaning conveyed by a particular item or expression is not vital enough to the development of the text to justify distracting the reader with lengthy explanations, translators can and often do simply omit translating the word or expression in question. Examples:
The source text addresses a European audience, and the use of gave us highlights its intended orientation. The Chinese translation addresses a different audience and therefore suppresses the orientation of the source text by omitting expressions which betray its original point of view.
8. Translation by illustration
This is a useful option if the word which lacks an equivalent in the target language refers to a physical entity that can be illustrated, particularly if there are restrictions on space and if the text has to remain short, concise and to the point. Examples:
Figure 2.2 appeared on a Lipton Yellow Label tea packet prepared for the Arab market. There is no easy way of translating tagged , as in tagged teabags, into Arabic without going into lengthy explanations that would clutter the text. An illustration of a tagged teabag is therefore used instead of a paraphrase.
We can conclude that each theorist offers its own strategies according to its perspective. Therefore, different theorists suggest various definitions of translation strategies according to their different perspectives.
Sources:
1. Baker, M. (1992). In other words: A course book on translation. London: Routledge.
2. Owji, Z. (2013). Translation Strategies: A Review and Comparison of Theories. Translation Journal, 7(1). https://translationjournal.net/journal/63theory.htm.
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