Definition of Translation THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK

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CHAPTER II THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK

A. Definition of Translation

Translation theory is not a solution for all problems that appear in the process of translation. It is general orientation for the translators in taking a decision while they are translating. Actually, the understanding about general concept of translation theory is very important and useful for the translators. So, it is impossible for the translators to get a good translation without understand what the meaning or definition of translation is. There are some definitions of translation taken from many sources that all give the theorist, one of them is Peter Newmark. According to him, Translation is a craft consisting in the attempt to replace a written message andor statement in one language by the same message andor statement in another language.” 6 To state a simplistic definition of translation, we can say that it is re- telling, as exactly as possible, the meaning of the original message in a way that is natural in the language into which the translation is being made. The term „translation‟ can be generally defined as the action of interpretation of the meaning of a text, and production of an equivalent text that communicates the same message in another language. Based on Meetham and Hudson definition in Bell, translation is the process or result of converting information from one language into another 6 Peter Newmark, Approaches to Translation, Oxford: Permagon Press, 1981, p.7 8 language. The aim is to reproduce as accurately as possible all grammatical and lexical features of the Source Language SL original by finding equivalency in the Target Language TL. At the same time, all factual information in the original text must be retained in the translation 7 . The term “Translation” can be generally defined as the action of converting the information of the meaning of a source text, and production of the equivalence target text that communicates the same information or message in another language. Translation theory‟s main concern is to determine appropriate translation methods for the widest possible range of text categories. Further, it provides a framework of principles, restricted rules, and hints for translating texts and criticizing translations, a background for problem solving. Thus, an institutional term or a metaphor or synonym in collocation or metalingual terms may each be translated in many ways, if it is out of context; in these areas the theory demonstrates the possible translation procedures and the various arguments for and against the use of one translation rather than another in a particular context. Note that the translation theory is concerned with choice and decision, not with the mechanics of either the SL or the TL. The linguistic approach to translation theory focusing on the key issues of meaning, equivalence and shift began to emerge around 50 years ago. This branch of linguistics, known as structural linguistics, features the work of Roman Jakobson, Eugene Nida, Newmark, Koller, Vinay, Dalbernet, Catford, and Leuven-Zwart. 7 Roger Bell. T., Translation and Translating, Singapore: Longman, 1991, p.13 9 The emphasis of the structural approach to translation changes towards the end of 1950s with the work of Vinay and Dalbernet. Vinay and Dalbernet in Venuti identify two procedures of translating, the first is direct or literal translation, and the second procedure is oblique translation. Literal translation occurs when there is an exact structural, lexical, and even morphological equivalence between two languages. According to Vinay and Dalbernet, this is only possible when the two languages are very close two each other. The literal translation direct procedures are borrowing, calque, and literal translation. While oblique translation occurs when word for word translation is impossible. The oblique procedures are transposition, modulation, equivalence, and adaptation.

B. Procedures of Translation