Translation Studies: History, Definition, And Scope
Introduction:
Translation studies is an
academic interdiscipline dealing with the systematic study of the
theory, description and application of translation, interpreting,
and localization. As an interdiscipline, translation studies borrow much
from the various fields of study that support translation. These
include comparative literature, computer
science, history, linguistics, philology, philosophy, semiotics,
and terminology.
The term "translation studies" was coined by
the Amsterdam-based American scholar James S. Holmes in his 1972
paper "The name and nature of translation studies", which is
considered a foundational statement for the discipline.(Wikipedia)
History of Translation:
Different theories surround translation throughout
history, which gives insight into how, when, and where translation has been
used. First, the word "translation" was derived from a Latin phrase
that means "to bring or carry across." Second, another explaining
phrase is "metaphrasis," which was derived from Ancient Greek,
meaning "to speak across." Finally, from the word metaphrasis, the
word metaphrase was derived to mean "word for word translation".
It is
said that translation was done in the Mesopotamia era, where Gilgamesh
(Sumerian poem) was translated into the Asian language. Other ancient
translation works include Buddhist monks translating Indian texts into
Chinese. Other ancient translated works include those carried out by
Buddhist monks who translated Indian documents into Chinese. In later periods,
Ancient Greek texts were also translated by Roman poets and were adapted to
create developed literary works for entertainment. It is known that translation
services were utilised in Rome by Cicero and Horace and that these uses were
continued through to the 17th century, where newer practices were developed.
It is argued that the knowledge and findings of Greek
academics was developed and understood so widely thanks to the translation work
of Arabic scholars. When the Greeks were conquered, their works were taken in
by Arabic scholars who translated them and created their own versions of the
scientific, entertainment and philosophical understandings. These Arabic
versions were later translated into Latin, during the Middle Ages, mostly
throughout Spain and the resulting works provided the foundations of
Renaissance academics. Religion played such a
critical role in translation development that the church even names Saint
Jerome as the patron saint of translation. Saint Jerome created a Latin bible
in 4th century AD.
In some cases, working as a translator was
incredibly dangerous and some even lost their lives because of their work. This
included famous translators such as William Tyndale, who was executed in
Holland in 1536 because he worked on translating the bible into English. Other
famous translators include:
Chinese monk Xuanzang who in 645 AD was credited with
having translated 74 volumes on Indian Buddhist scripts into Chinese.(Kwintessential)
Definition of Translation:
Roman Jakobson, a leading linguist and noted expert in the subject of
translation, defined translation as "the interpretation of verbal signs by
means of some other language." Through this process of translation, texts
in one language are transformed into texts in another language with the same
meaning. These materials range from the isolated words in a language to the
complex network of sentences of philosophical texts.
Some scholars define
translation as an art or craft and some others call it a science. It is called
an art as all good translations are expressions of the creative urge of the
translators. Likewise, it is a science because of the technical formalities and
complexities involved in its process.
Oxford University defines translation as
‘The process of translating words or text from one language into another:’ The
Cambridge Dictionary also endorses that. This can mean the word to word
rendering of the text in one language to another or replacing the equivalents of the words or phrases in one text to another. The translated text may have
formal equivalence when the source text and the translated text look alike in
form. It may have functional equivalence when the source text and the target
text or translated text convey the same sense or perform the same function,
though they have formal 4 differences. It is often seen that the idioms and
usage of the source language creep into the target language through
translations which often enrich and shape the target language.
Translation is
the communication of the meaning of a text in a source language (SL) into a
comprehensive version of target language (TL) without causing any loss to the
original message. It is often thought that if one is a bilingual s/he can be a
good translator, which is not the truth. People having good communicative and
writing experiences in both the languages can be good translators, which
includes their being bilinguals. While translating, a translator discovers the
meaning of a text behind the forms in the source language (SL) and reproduces
the same meaning in the target language (TL) with the forms and structures
available in the target language. The form changes but the meaning or sense or
message remains the same.
Nowadays we find translators using computers to
translate one language into another, but human beings still play the major role
in deciding the final output. While translating images/metaphors and emotive
expressions in literary texts, computers cannot replace human beings.
Translating is more than simply looking up a few words in a dictionary. We
cannot confine translation to one or two definitions. It is elastic in nature
and depends upon the person who does the translation. It differs from language
to language, and from culture to culture. Hence it is not as easy as it is
thought to be. While trying to be a different version of the original, it
maintains its own uniqueness, an identity of its own.
Scope of Translation
In
the earlier days, translation was considered to be a sub-branch of linguistics.
Gradually it developed into an inter-disciplinary field of study. In the last
three decades of the 20th century Translation Studies started functioning as an
autonomous branch of study.
Today, in this age of globalization, the scope of
translation is immense. It stretches from our immediate environment to every
sphere of life. The significance and relevance of translation in our daily life
is multidimensional and extensive.
Translation helps us to know about the
developments in the field of creative arts, education, literature, business,
science and politics. It has shifted from the traditional conception of the
fixed, stable and unchangeable nature of the text and its meaning to a text
with wide scope for variations.
In the post-modern word, translation has become
so relevant that people visualize it as a socio-cultural bridge between
communities and countries. People now feel the importance of interacting and
remaining connected with the people of other socio-cultural communities, both
in their respective countries as well as countries across the world. In this
backdrop, translation has acquired an increasing importance and satisfies
individual, societal and national needs. Let’s take the Indian society as an
example. Whatever we see as Indian, be it literature, culture, history,
politics, economics, it is a reality only because translation has made it
possible for people to understand, interpret and compile the literature,
culture, history, politics and economics of the respective states. In other
words, we can say that it has become a unifying factor for the country. K
Satchidandnandan, eminent poet, critic and former Secretary of the Sahitya
Akaedmi, India has rightly said: “Translation has helped knit India together as
a nation throughout her history. Ideas and concepts like 'Indian literature',
'Indian culture', 'Indian philosophy' and 'Indian knowledge systems' would have
been impossible in the absence of translations with their natural
integrationist mission.”
References:
1.Bassnett, Susan. (2002): Translation studies. London: Routledge.
2. Cronin, Michael. (2003). Translation and globalization. London: Routledge.
3. Holmes, James S. (1988): The Name and Nature of Translation Studies. In Holmes, J.S.,
Translated! Papers on Literary Translation and Translation Studies. Amsterdam:
4. Munday, Jeremy (ed.) (2007): Translation as Intervention. London: Continuum.
5. Nida, Eugene A. (1964). Toward a science of translating: With special reference to
principles and procedures involved in Bible translating. Leiden: Brill. (p.11)
6. Rodopi, 67-80. Reprinted e.g. in Venuti, L. (ed.) (2000), The Translation Studies Reader.
London: Routledge, 172-185.
7. Will, Frederic (1993). Translation: Theory and Pracitce-Resembling the Tower. The
Edwin Mellen Press.P. 187.
8. Wolf, Michaela/Fukari, Alexandra (eds.) (2007), Constructing a Sociology of
Translation. Amsterdam: Benjamins.
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translation
10. http://ezinearticles.com/?Translation---Significance-and-Scope &id=753318
11. http://www.translationindia.com/
12. http://itaindia.org/
13. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/Translator-as-a-careeroption/articleshow/12893162.cms
14. http://employmentnews.gov.in/Career_in_Translation.asp
15. http://www.indiaeducation.net/careercenter/professional-courses/translators-interpreters/
