General theory of translation as the core of translatology. Branches of translatology. Bilingual theory of translation

The core of translatology is the general theory of translation which is concerned with the fundamental aspects of translatioon inherent in the nature of bilingual communication and, therefore, common to all translation events, irrespective of the languages involved, kind of the text being translated and the circumstances of translation. The general theory of translation deals, so to speak, with translation universal and is the basis for all other theoretical studies in this area, since it describes what translation is and what makes it possible. It describes the basic principles which are good for every translation event.

An important part of the theory of translation is the theory of equivalence aimed at studying semantic relations between the ST and the TT. There is a presumption of semantic identity between the translation and its ST. At the same time it is easy to demonstrate that, in fact, there is no such identity for even a cursory examination of any translation reveals inevitable losses, increments or changes of the information transmitted. For instance, “verbal systems may differ in that one puts great emphasis on temporality, whereas another has an overt marking of aspect, a category that does not have the deictic character of temporality. Even if the first language is able to express aspect and the second language temporality, these categories do not have a prominent position, so that thereis no real equivalence between the two languages as to temporality and aspect” [Schogt, 1992: 194].

Each type of translation has its own combination of factors influencing translating process.

In simultaneous interpreting the translator is expected to keep pace with the fastest speakers, to understand all kinds of foreign accents and defective pronunciation, to guess what the speaker meant to say but failed to express because of his inadequate proficiency in the language he speaks. In consecutive interpreting he is expected to listen to long speeches, taking the necessary notes, and then produce his translation in a complete or compressed form, giving all the details or only the main ideas. Thus, the general theory of translation should be supplemented by a number of special translation theories identifying major types of translation activities and describing predominant features of each type.

Of particular interest is the branch of translatology concerned with translating process itself. This direction of translation theory is of considerable practical value for it makes possible the description of particular methods of translation that can be used by the translator to ensure equivalence between the ST and the TT.

One more branch of the theory of translation deals with the pragmatic aspect of translation. The communicants involved in interlingual communication not only speak different languages but they also belong to different cultures, have different general knowledge, different social and historical background. This fact has a considerable impact on the translator’s strategy since the most truthful rendering of ST contents may sometimes be partially or fully misunderstood by receptors of the translation or fail to produce a similar effect upon them. The translator has to assess the possible communicative effect of the TT and take pains to ensure an adequate understanding of the message by the TR.. This may necessitate expanding or modifying the original message to make it more meaningful to the members of a different language community.

The bilingual theory of translation studies separate sets of equivalents within the two languages considered. All bilingual theories of translation proceed from the identical basic assumptions as to classification of equivalents and their role in translation process.

A1 branches of the theory of translation are concerned with important aspects of the translator’s work and constitute a body of theoretical thought of indisputable practical value.