FGT_translation_theory_and_practice

Historically, practice has always been related to theory and that’s a fact. This principle plays an important role in translation. “Good theory is based on information gained from practice. Good practice is based on carefully worked-out theory. The two are interdependent. Along with the interdependence there is tension. In order for a violin to make beautiful music, the string must be taut; that is, there must be the right tension. Similarly in order for a translation to be ‘beautiful’ the proper tension between theory and practice must be achieved.” (Larson 1991, p. 1). The existing relationship between theory and practice is a pivotal part in translation as well as how is translation theory reflected on translation practice in order to consolidate an ideal translation.

As Mildred Larson states in her Translation: Theory and Practice, Tension and Interdependence of 1991 the existing relationship between theory and practice is interdependent. They are closely related and depends on each other since to achieve a great practice in whatever we do, is important to have previous knowledge about the issue we are treating as well as knowing the contextual aspects of the matter and we know translation is composed by a wide background and history. Thus, this study provides a personal opinion on what translation theory and practice represent.

To outline some points on translation theory and practice we must refer to the overall structure of the study of translation. This discipline is set in a wide frame that includes a number of other disciplines: classical philology, that is the study of written texts and takes an important role when is needed to know where the texts come from and how the place it was written influence the final work, i.e. the knowledge about idioms and terminology; comparative literature, that is a discipline focused on the difference and the relationship between the kinds of literature genre; formal rhetoric, an art that aims to improve the capability of writers or speakers that attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations; lexical statistics and ethnography; the sociology of class speech; poetics and study of grammar as well, those aspects or disciplines related to traductology (study of translation) and translation have been historically combined in an attempt to clarify the act of translation and the process of ‘life between languages’.

Moreover, while practicing there is considerably variation in the types of translation made by translators as they all possess a different approach and procedure of translation. It depends much more on the approach than the procedure in my opinion because the approach suggests us the type of texts to be translated differing from the procedure which only tells us the process of translation. However the different kinds of procedures are also very important since we might find a variety of projects focused on various issues. There may be several procedures to translate texts but according to J. P. Vinay & J. Darbelnet (1995) there are seven main methods to translate: borrowing, calque, literal translation, transposition, modulation, equivalence and adaptation, each one used in different cases.

This work arose from my interest in the matter of translation. In my very slight experience on what translation takes to be suitable I have studied and found that the existing relationship between theory and practice is quite useful when it’s time to be in charge of a project because translators might experience difficult scenarios and some other easier but it will be the precise tools we use which will pay considerably dividends between an improvised and a professional translator.

All in all I find easy to reach a conclusion in which we can say translation theory has always been and will always be related to practice. The translator is an essential partner in the creative process and should always share in the success of a work, whether a bestseller, a book or a classic novel that will sell steadily in all over the world, this will only be possible if the translator makes use of his theoretical framework to apply it the process of translation, something commonly known as practice.

References:

Vinay, Jean Paul & Darbelnet, Jean. (1995) Comparative Stylistics of French and English: A methodology for translation. (Original title: Stylistique comparée du français et de l’anglais. Edition Didier, Paris: 1958.)

Larson, Mildred Lucille. (1991) Translation: Theory and Practice, Tension and Interdependence. John Benjamins Publishing. Klaprozenweg 75 G, NL-1033 NN Amsterdam, Netherlands.