a late response

Eugene A. Nida and Meaning-full Translations


The prevailing tendency among the theories of translation developed in the 1960s was linguistic-based and the socio-cultural aspect of translation was dismissed to a certain extent. Yet, amongst these scholars who were in favour of a linguistic-based approach to the study and practice of translation, Eugene A. Nida, mostly celebrated with his Holy Bible translations, was actually one of the forerunners of the cultural turn-to-come to study the translation practices. Nida, by melting the cultural elements and the linguistic aspects inherent in his approach in the same pot, acquires a specific place in the midst of the other translation scholars who maintained a linguistic-based approach to translation.

This dual notion of Nida’s approach, in fact, surfaces in the terms that the scholar coins. Nida’s remarkable article entitled, “Principles of Correspondence”, written in 1964, offers the gist of the scholar’s approach to a certain degree. While “formal equivalence” seeks to render the message of the ST by means of word for word, concept to concept translation, “dynamic equivalence” aspires to reflect the entire naturalness of the ST in the TT (cf. Nida: 2000 134). A detailed reading of this article, moreover, would offer the chance to understand how the scholar’s approach to translation in the 2000s is more or less relies on the theories he developed in the 1960s. An interview made by Eugene A. Nida himself in 2002, and published online in the website of “Christianity Today”, for example, suggests itself as a representative example of such an argument. In addition to re-reading Nida’s arguments with respect to translation from a contemporary perspective, the interview also comprises the stages that the scholar employs in a given translation process.

Throughout the interview, Nida puts momentous emphasis on the meaning of the TT rather than the words of the text. According to Nida, the “word-worship” helps people to have self-confidence, but on the other hand, impedes them from understanding the text. In some obscure cases, Nida advocates the usage of footnotes to get rid of the vagueness and carry the meaning for the TT reader. In the translation process –by giving tangible examples from the practical field– Nida indicates how he favours the group work and shapes the translation product in accordance with the receptions of the TT readers.

When Nida’s ideas of translation –both in this particular interview and in his theoretical writings– are taken into consideration in line with the “Vatican Norms for Translation of Biblical Texts” set out in the spring of 1997, one can see how Nida’s opinions differ from these rules to a certain degree. Whereas the Vatican Norms stress out the significance of fidelity to the words of the (sacred) text, for Nida it is the context and the meaning needs to be rendered. Seen from this perspective, Nida’s ideas of translation acquire a different position in terms of translating the sacred texts.

On the whole, Nida’s arguments regarding translation and the translation process are quite remarkable. Still, the fact that the scholar derives his ideas from the perspective of religion, that is to say, from the perspective of how to spread Christianity throughout the world, limits Nida’s ideas to some extent. When one thinks of literary translation, for instance, the search for a dynamic equivalence might distort the socio-cultural components of the TT to some degree. Literary translation process, in which there is a ST composed of socio-cultural elements of a given culture can as well as be regarded as a bridge between cultures. However, when the translator seeks to find a dynamic equivalence, s/he is in the position of taking the TT norms as the ultimate criteria and makes the socio-cultural elements of the ST compatible with the ones of the TT. Yet Nida, by adding the cultural elements of his linguistic-based approach, and by connoting some of basic ideas (i.e. the action) of the Skopostheorie of Hans J. Vermeer, acquires a specific place within the other scholars who developed a linguistic-based approach to the study and practice of translation.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

Eugene Nida, “The Principles of Correspondence” in Lawrence Venuti (ed.), The Translation Studies Reader, London-New York: Routledge, 2000, pp. 126-140

Meaning-full Translations, Christianity Today
<http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/october7/2.46.html>.
(accessed 25 November 2007).

The 1997 Vatican Norms for Translation of Biblical Texts
<http://www.bible-researcher.com/vatican-norms.html>. (accessed 25 November 2007).

week 7

To which extent is Lawrence Venuti’s Foreignizing Approach to Translation is Estranging?

To a certain degree, the so-called fluency in any kind of translated work is the criteria which makes it acceptable to the eyes of the readers, critics, reviewers, professionals, publishing house owners, and so forth in a given target society. Still, it is surprising to see how a fluent translation, in other words, a translucent translation appropriated –or even naturalized– according to the taste of domestic values, is perceived as a repercussion of the foreign author’s own poetics and intentions, and moreover, allows the reader of a target culture to enjoy the taste of the original work. However, fluency in a translated text not only impedes the translator from reflecting his/her style, aesthetics and world view on the translated work, but also peels away the peculiarities of the source text hence the socio-cultural elements which can enrich the target culture to some degree. The prevailing opinion regarding the fluency in a translated work has been one of the most fundamental aspects of the American translation scholar Lawrence Venuti’s approach to translation: “The more fluent the translation, the more invisible the translator, and, presumably, the more visible the writer or meaning of the foreign text” (1994: 16). Venuti’s statement also reflects how the scholar himself puts emphasis on the significance of the foreign text; thereby he, in the words of Susan Bassnett, “calls for translator-centred translation, insisting that the translator should inscribe him/herself visibly into the text.” (1998: 25).

Venuti’s call for a translator-centred translation is indicative of scholar’s advocacy of the choices of the translator in a given translation project. In this sense, one may think of Venuti’s approach similar to the translation scholars (i.e. Katharina Reiss) who regard translation as a decision making process. What distinguishes Venuti’s approach from the ones of the other translation theorists is Venuti’s (re)evaluation of the notions of domestication and foreignization which have their very roots in the theories of the German scholar Friedrich Schleirmacher in the sense of “reader-to-author” and “author-to-reader” approaches (cf. Robinson: 2002 228). Venuti advocates foregnizing, resisting, and estranging translation against domestication in order to raise “an opposition to the global hegemony of English”, and regards good translation as minoritizing one which “releases the remainder by cultivating a heterogeneous discourse, opening up the standard dialect and literary canons to what is foreign themselves, to the substandard and marginal” (1998: 10-11). From this point of view, one can see the dual features inherent in Venuti’s approach to the study and practice of translation: favouring the source text for the sake of the target text, or to put it more clearly; Venuti, while being source-oriented in theory, in practice, actually develops a target-oriented approach.

In order to support his arguments regarding the notion of minorizing translation along with resisting translation, Venuti gives a coherent example, namely, his own translation of the nineteenth-century Italian writer Tarchetti’s novel Fosca. Venuti’s foreignizing strategy includes using archaic words and mixing Britishisms with the contemporary American language. In addition to that, by employing paratextual materials (i.e. an introduction), Venuti aimed at showing right from the start what his intention was to the reader/s. In this respect, Venuti’s approach –precisely speaking, the way he develops his arguments with respect to the study and practice of translation– evokes the early translation theoreticians, such as Etienne Dolet and John Dryden who used their own experiences during the course of building their ideas (cf. Robinson:2002 95-97, 171-175).

Even though Venuti’s main points of arguments stem from the notions of fluency and foreignization versus domestication, the extension and the impacts of his ideas on the research done on the study and practice of translation was enormous. Yet, how Venuti regards “fluency” merits further attention. Venuti, as Douglas Robinson argues, “doesn’t seem to be interested in exploring where the ethos of fluency come from, what social needs might have motivated its formation and given it ideological pride of place” (1997: 99). Within this context, one may think how Venuti takes fluency for granted, and in a way, merely uses this fact –indeed it is a fact– as a point of commencement in order to develop his arguments. Similarly Venuti, while putting forward his criteria regarding the (marginal) literary works to be translated, looks as if he is neglecting the works pertaining to contemporary literature which to a certain degree might comprise peripheral features when compared to the ones that Venuti regards as marginal.

When Venuti’s theoretical writing is read with his foreignizing approach in mind, one can infer how the notion of fluency which the scholar draws heavily upon becomes one of the most problematic aspects of his approach. Venuti’s theoretical writings are written in a fluent manner; so fluent that one might even become suspicious how the scholar himself advocates a foreignizing translation strategy. When looked from the vantage point of view of how the thoughts in human brain are reflected (by means of being subject to many changes) to the act of writing, one can regard how the act of writing itself becomes a sort of translation. And in this sense, Venuti’s theoretical writings become the translations within the academic system. Indeed, when Venuti’s writing style is taken into account, one can see how it reads fluently and lacks of the estranging, alienating, foreignizing, and resisting style which the scholar himself puts momentous emphasis on. From this perspective, one can infer how Venuti adheres to the academic discourse and refrains from developing a peculiar style (one thinks of Toury here) which can go hand in hand with his theoretical assumptions.

On the whole, Lawrence Venuti’s illuminative approach to the study and practice of translation is indeed a fruitful one –and if can be put into practice– can enhance the target culture to a certain degree. Furthermore, when one thinks of the idea/s of Venuti regarding the importance of marginal literary works –although his definition of marginal and peripheral should either be extended or clarified– can be a useful tool in terms of introducing literary components in a target culture. Moreover, the empirical data which will these translation products will provide, might be the subject of descriptive studies that can be undertaken within the realm of Translation Studies.



BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bassnett, Susan, “When is a Translation not a Translation?” in, Bassnett Susan and Lefevere, André (eds.), Constructing Cultures, Multilungual Matters, Clevedon, 1998, 25-40

Robinson, Douglas (ed.) Western Translation Theory: from Herodotus to Nietzsche, St. Jerome, UK, 2002

Robinson, Douglas, What is Translation? Centrifugal Theories, Critical Interventions, The Kent State University Press, USA, 1997

Venuti, Lawrence, “The Translator’s Invisibility: The Evidence of Reviews”, In Other Words: Journal of the Translator’s Association, No: 4, 1994, pp. 16-22

Venuti, Lawrence, The Scandals of Translation: Towards an Ethics of Difference, London-New York: Routledge, 1998

week 6

THE (C/OVERT) ROLE OF TRANSLATOR IN TOURY’S DESCRIPTIVE APPROACH TO THE STUDY AND PRACTICE OF TRANSLATION

In 1980, Israeli translation scholar Gideon Toury wrote a book entitled In Search of a Theory of Translation, which apparently launched new debates within the realm of the newly emerging discipline of Translation Studies. The beginning of the eighties, the publication year of Toury’s book, coincides with a period when Translation Studies started to be regarded as an autonomous discipline as well. The beginning of the 1980s was also a time when not only the necessities of founding a particular discipline, but also the presence/s of disciplines were seriously being questioned thanks to the rise of the so-called theories and arguments of post-modernism. The ultimate need for a scientific ground and a scientific approach to build a given discipline was tantamount to found a relevant theory of the study and practice of translation. Toury’s main concern was to establish a theory of translation which could fulfil this need of a newly emerging discipline. In this respect, the title of Toury’s book makes sense and justifies most of the controversies (i.e. tertium comparationis) of his study to a certain degree. Furthermore, Toury was indeed in search of a theory of translation and regarded his study as an initial step taken towards the establishment of this goal. Nevertheless, as far as the circumstances of his time regarding the existence of a particular discipline are taken into consideration, Toury’s endeavour becomes questionable to some extent. Yet, by his approach Toury manages to ignite the debates which would strip the act of translation from the everlasting questions of “equivalence”, “fidelity”, “good vs. bad translation”, “faithfulness”, hence paved the way for interdisciplinary studies of translation and by this prominent quality, in a way Toury overcomes the questionable aspect of his attempt. In this sense, Toury’s initial step can also be regarded as a significant move which indicates the scholar’s awareness of the circumstances of the period in which he has undertaken his study.

In due time, Toury –with the purpose of making his arguments clear, and respond to the criticisms raised against his theory– published his articles which he has written after the publication of In Search of a Theory of Translation in a book entitled Descriptive Translation Studies and Beyond in 1995. The notion of norms (Toury 1995: 53-64), special focus on the idea of pseudo translations (ibid: 40-52), the criteria of “adequacy” and “acceptability” (ibid: 56-57) not to mention the postulate of assumed translations (ibid: 31-39), are some of the basic concepts of the scholar’s approach which can become the most efficient tools in the hands of a researcher interested in studying translations in a descriptive way. Among these concepts, particularly the notion of norms merits further attention due to the way it differs from the previous approaches (i.e. source-oriented, linguistic based, and the like) to the study and practice of translation. Unlike the prior translation scholars, Toury regards translations “as facts of the culture which hosts them” (ibid: 24) and indicates that a given translation is a socio-cultural fact which has to be studied by taking into consideration the constraints of the target culture. Toury regards these (social) constraints as norms, or in other words objects to be studied in his descriptive approach.

It is at this point, where the role of translator comes into play in Toury’s descriptive approach. Toury distinguishes three types of norms during the translation process: Preliminary norms, initial norms, operational norms being further subdivided into matricial norms and textual-linguistic norms (ibid: 58-60). Even though all these characteristics of the concept of norms may support the idea of Toury’s giving priority to the translator in terms of the choices s/he can make during the course of a given translation, there are some fundamental aspects which Toury does not take into account, or may seem to not take into account.

Naturally, one of the important phases of a given translation process with respect to the choices made by the translator to be observed is the black box, the mind of the translator in which the hermeneutical circle, that is to say, the act of interpreting, the act of approaching, and the act of establishing a dialectial relationship with a text suggests itself as the core of a given translation process. A brief glance at Toury’s norms, on the other hand, indicates that this crucial aspect is neglected to a certain extent and warded off by merely mentioning it with phrases like “the basic choices to be selected” and so forth (cf. ibid). However, these basic choices also bring into focus the role of translator’s style in the translation process (cf. Boase-Beier: 2006 5-6). By simply pointing out these choices in his theoretical framework and not dwelling upon them in detail, Toury dismisses the style of translator that can mould –either in a positive or a negative way– a translation to some degree. One may argue though, for Toury the hermeneutical process along with the translator’s style within a given translation process is a fact to be studied in the light of the detailed analysis of (translation) norms; nonetheless, the way Toury develops his claims leaves no room for an analysis of the actual process that takes place in the mind of the translator.

Moreover, a quick look at the picture proposed by Toury from a broader perspective in terms of socio-cultural dynamics of a given “(target!)” society, signifies the lack of the ideological concerns to be taken into consideration during the course of building a theoretical framework deriving from the ideas pertaining to sociology. Just like any member of a society, the translator is also an individual of a social community. S/he can adhere himself to the norms of a particular ideology which in the long run might affect his or her translation and to a certain extent and as well as might make the target text produced to function as an ideological tool in terms of imposing particular set of thoughts to the other members of the society. By being negligent of the ideological concerns of a society, Toury reduces the constraints on the shoulders of translators, thus in a sense disregards the varying strata of the societies.

To sum up, Gideon Toury, being one of the harbingers of the “cultural turn” in Translation Studies, has made a significant contribution to the evolution of the discipline in many respects. Be that as it may, Toury’s approach to the study and practice of translation neglects the human factor during the translation process to some degree as stated above. Yet, by the theoretical framework the scholar proposes, can become an effective tool in the hands of a researcher which might undertake a descriptive study of translation practices. Still, as far as the theoretical aspect of Toury’s approach is concerned, the problematic parts in terms of the notion of hermeneutics along with the ideological concerns can be improved by the interdisciplinary studies.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Boase-Beier, Jean, Stylistic Approaches to Translation, St. Jerome, UK, 2006

Hermans, Theo, Translations in Systems, St. Jerome, UK, 1999

Toury, Gideon, Descriptive Translation Studies – And Beyond. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 1995

week 5

ECHOES OF THE HASKALAH MOVEMENT ON GERMAN DRAMA

It is an indisputable fact that contributions from other disciplines play the major role during the course of an evolution of any given discipline. As far as Translation Studies is concerned, this major role achieves a certain amount of consideration due to the nature of translation which demands for various approaches from other fields of studies, such as sociology, philosophy, theatre studies, cultural studies, and so forth. Even though this aspect of translation was obvious to observe, studies concerned with the said aspect could not be undertaken to a certain extent until the “cultural turn” has taken a heavy toll within the realm of the discipline.

Thanks to the works of some of the leading figures of Translation Studies, say, Itamar Even-Zohar, Gideon Toury, Theo Hermans, and André Lefevere the very word translation acquired the chance to be studied in a broader context. The polysystem theory of Even-Zohar, Toury’s norms, Lefevere’s notion of “rewriting” along with Theo Hermans’ critical approach to the theories of the just mentioned scholars, has contributed to the evolution of Translation Studies under the umbrella of “Descriptive and Systems-Oriented Approaches.” As a consequence of the studies carried out under this branch, translation had the chance to function as a bridgehead between various disciplines to a certain degree.

Gideon Toury’s article entitled, “Translation as a Means of Planning and the Planning of Translation: A Theoretical Framework and an Exemplary Case”, for example, can be shown as a representative example of this kind of study among many other works of Translation Studies concerned with the socio-cultural aspect of translation. Naturally, in Toury’s article, the main focus is on the notion of (culture) planning and the aim of building a bridge between Translation Studies and Planning Studies (cf. 2002: 150), yet, the scholar’s study leaves a room for tracing the trails of his exemplary case within the realm of theatre history, therefore can function as a link that can connect more than one discipline, such as theatre studies and history, sociology, philosophy, and Translation Studies.

Toury’s statement which reads as, “Cultures resort to translating as one possible way of filling in gaps in them – on a variety of levels. A void in a cultural sector may of course be more or less noticeable to the people-in-the-culture. Translation is not the only way of filling a void which has been noticed, however: a gap can also be filled with an alien, untranslated entity, especially in a multilingual group” (ibid: 153, italics original) can be taken as a point of commencement in order to develop an argument which can track down the signs of the scholar’s exemplary case, namely, the Haskalah movement in theatre history. As Toury argues, during the course of building a communal awareness in a society where more than one language are spoken, other methods like planning come into play. Although Toury’s train of thought is chiefly focused on the crucial role that translation played in the Haskalah movement as an instrument solving the issues of language (cf. ibid: 156-159), glancing at the Haskalah movement –precisely speaking, the reflections of the Haskalah movement– from a broader perspective can offer the chance of approaching Toury’s arguments from a different viewpoint.

The Haskalah movement, or in other words, the Jewish Enlightenment, dates back to the Prussia of the eighteenth century and coincides with the German Enlightenment. One thing that Toury does not include in his study in terms of the main reason/s for the need of the Haskalah movement to arouse is the special condition of the Jews of Prussia. Contrary to the fact that the other Jews around Europe –particularly the ones in France– had already gained their social statuses at the beginning of the eighteenth century, it took some time for the Jews of Prussia to reach to that status in the German society (cf. Arendt 1973: 57). Due to the attempts –either in terms of scholarly works or in terms of aesthetic works like drama– coming from a flux of German intellectuals, however, a certain move towards a better understanding of the Jewish society in Prussia started to take place more or less towards the first half of the eighteenth century. One of the prominent figures of the German Enlightenment, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781), for instance, can be considered as a key literary agent who depicted Jews in his dramatic works, hence played a major role during the course of bringing the Jews of Prussia to the focus of attention. Prior to his groundbreaking play Nathan der Wise (Nathan the Wise), written in 1779, Lessing himself had already discussed the problems of the Jewish community in one of his earlier plays, entitled Die Jüden (The Jews) dating back to 1749, and argued that a Jew could have nobility as a quality inherent in his or her soul. In Nathan der Wise, which, according to Hannah Arendt, is a play of friendship in the fullest sense of the word (cf. 1983: 25), Lessing strives for bringing into focus a world-view in which a Jew, a Muslim, and a Christian can live in a peaceful and a tolerant manner by means of employing the forces of free will, independent thinking which can emancipate a given individual from the limitations deriving from social, ethnic, religious and political differentiations in a given society (cf. Dinçel: 2006 61-64).

The essential figure on which Lessing has built the protagonist of his dramatic piece was actually one of the most significant names of the Haskalah movement: Moses Mendelssohn (1729-1786). As a consequence of his endeavours regarding the development of the Jewish consciousness, Moses Mendelssohn also acquired the status which allowed him to become accepted as an individual in a non-Jewish society during the despotic regime of Frederick the Great. During the course of Mendelssohn’s expansion of his ideas through society, Lessing became his one of the biggest supporters in terms of publishing their joint works. There was one main conflict though. Whereas Mendelssohn’s point of departure for his arguments chiefly rested on the grounds of spreading the Jewish world view with the purpose of gaining the social statuses of the Jewish communities in the other countries of Europe, Lessing’s starting point for his ideas was based on the crucial role that the notions of independent thinking and free will would/should/could play during the course of building a national German consciousness. In this respect, the langue issue, that is to say, the use of the Hebrew language and how to melt it in the same pot with the German language suggested itself as one of the biggest problems that the Jewish intelligentsia had to overcome in the eighteenth century.

At this point, as argued by Toury, the proponents (i.e. the rabbis) of the Haskalah movement saw translation as the ultimate way of solving this dilemma. The use of Yiddish language, which was/is originally a language of German dialect, consists of words from Hebrew and several modern languages, became the medium of language to be used in the translations. Furthermore, the text type/s to be selected was one of the other problems of the advocates of the movement which were solved by using the source text/s pertaining to the Hebrew language. As mentioned by Toury, among the text types to be selected, priority was given to the children’s fables rather than the dramatic works and epic poetry as an outcome of the socio-cultural circumstances of the time (cf. Hermans: 1999 88 with Toury 2002: 158). Even though, in his article Toury regards these circumstances together with various (contradictory) decisions of the Jewish intellectuals involved with the Haskalah movement as one of the main reasons for drama so slowly to appear (2002: 158), non-Jewish society has already taken a serious step towards the Jews of Prussia as an outcome of the efforts of Lessing and Mendelssohn. Seen from this perspective, one can see how Toury’s article calls for a detailed study of the translation practices of the Jewish community in terms of dramatic works akin to the ones of Lessing. Since in due time, the reflections of the Haskalah movement started to become observed outside the Jewish community (the most notable example being Lessing’s Nathan der Wise) the role of translations regarding the scarce amount of dramatic pieces like the ones of Lessing would surely hasten the revelation of the Yiddish theatre to a certain degree. However, Toury’s article does not dwell upon the reason/s which might lie behind these above mentioned historical facts in detail and moreover, the scholar mentions the notion of the translation/s of dramatic works in a rather superficial manner.

On the whole, with the exemplary case it offers, Toury’s study proposes the chance for one to approach to the case in question from a different perspective; a perspective that can unite various disciplines with the intention of filling the problematic aspect of Toury’s article. Still, when the questions it poses upon the notion of culture planning within a given society, in a given time period are taken into consideration, Toury’s study can be regarded as an illuminating one which can function as a starting point for an interdisciplinary case study on the translation practices of the dramatic works in the Haskalah movement.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Arendt, Hannah, The Origins of Totalitarianism, A Harvest/HBJ Book, New York, 1973

Arendt, Hannah, Men in Dark Times, A Harvest/HBJ Book, New York, 1983

Dinçel, Burç İdem, “Birey, Özgür İrade ve Özgür Düşünce Kavramlarının Lessing’in Oyunlarındaki Yansımaları”, in The Journal of Theatre Criticism and Dramaturgy Department of Istanbul University, 8th issue, Istanbul University Press, Istanbul, 2006, pp. 57-66

Hermans, Theo, Translations in Systems, St. Jerome, UK, 1999

Toury, Gideon, “Translation as a Means of Planning and the Planning of Translation: A Theoretical Framework and an Exemplary Case”, in Paker Saliha (ed.) Translations: (Re)shaping of Literature and Culture, Boğaziçi University Press, Istanbul, 2002, pp. 148-163