PROCEDURES OF TRANSLATION ACCORDING TO NEWMARK

PROCEDURES OF TRANSLATION ACCORDING TO NEWMARK

1.      LITERAL

Newmark distinguishes the literal from the word-for-word and one-to-one translation. Word-for-word translation transfers SL grammar and word-order, as well as the primary meanings of all the SL words into the translation, and is normally effective only for brief simple neutral sentences. In one-to-one translation which is a broader form of translation, each SL word has a corresponding TL word, but their primary meaning may differ. Since one-to-one translation normally respects collocational meanings, which exert the most powerful contextual influence on translation, it is commoner than word-for-word translation. Literal translation goes beyond one-to-one translation, particularly applicable to languages that do not have definite and /or indefinite articles.

Example: A literal English translation of the German word "Kindergarten" would be "children garden," but in English the expression refers to the school year between pre-school and first grade. Literal translations in which individual components within words or compounds are translated to create new lexical items in the target language (a process also known as “loan translation”) are called calques, e.g., “beer garden” from German “Biergarten.”

2.      NATURALIZATION

This procedure succeeds transference and adapts the SL word first to the normal pronunciation of the TL, then to its normal morphology.

Example: performance (English) performant (Germany), estate (English) estat (Indonesia), and police (English) polis (Malaysian)

3.      MODULATION

It’s divided into 2 parts, bound modulation and free modulation (Newmark in Machali, 2000:691).
1) Bound modulation; if a word or phrase is shown.

Example: The active form in the source’s language changes into the passive one in the receptor’s language and it is also the passive form in the source’s language change into active on in the receptor’s language.

2) Free Modulation: It is done because of non-linguistic aspect.

Example: to make the meaning clear, to make the relation meaning in the receptor’s language, to find out the natural aspect in the receptor’s language, etc.

4.      CONTEXTUAL CONDITIONING

Contextual conditioning is placing an information contextual in order to make a clear meaning. For the receptors, for example: to translate an English expression into indonesia.

Example: Good morning (english) – Selamat pagi (indonesia)

5.      FOOTNOTE CONDITIONING

It is a procedure that used in word translation or an expression lexically into the receptor’s language.

Example: The source’s written: Doodgerido is a traditional instrument used by Aborigines.
The receptor’s written: Doodgerido adalah alat musik traditional yang digunakan orang Aborigin.
Footnote: Doodgerido is a kind of traditional music, it shape’s like clarinet that the end of part is curve, and the sound like a ship siren which it will be departured (Machali, 2000: 75).

6.      TRANSPOSITION

This is the mechanical process whereby parts of speech "play musical chairs" (Fawcett's analogy) when they are translated. Grammatical structures are not often identical in different languages. "She likes swimming" translates as "Le gusta nadar" (not "nadando") - or in German, "Sie schwimmt gern", because gerunds and infinitives work in different ways in English and Spanish, and German is German (bringing in an adverb to complicate matters). Transposition is often used between English and Spanish because of the preferred position of the verb in the sentence: English wants the verb up near the front; Spanish can have it closer to the end.

Example: He always drinks > (Telugu) atanu tragubotu (He is a drunkard)

7.      CULTURAL EQUIVALENCE

This is an approximate translation where an SL cultural word is translated by a TL cultural word. These are approximate cultural equivalents. Their translation uses are limited; since they are not accurate, but this procedure can be used in general texts, publicity and propaganda, as well as for brief explanation to TL readers who are ignorant of the relevant SL culture. This procedure can give greater pragmatic impact than culturally neutral words.

Example: e.g.: Tamil. Niccayatarttam > English. Betrothal.

8.      FUNCTIONAL EQUIVALENCE

This is also a common procedure, applied to cultural word of the SL required when the TL required a cultural free word or a new specific term in TL. So, it neutralizes or generalizes the SL word. When a culturally equivalent term in TL is not possible to find a cultural word of SL, this procedure is the most accurate way of translating. We can also extent the procedure to translate the technical term which has no equivalent in TL. This procedure may be occasionally used if the term is of little importance in drama as they can create an immediate effect. This procedure occupies the middle area between the language and culture of SL and the language and culture of TL. If the functional equivalent is practiced one to one then, it becomes undertranslation. If practiced one to two, it may be an over translation.

Example: e.g. Doordarshan > Indian Television

9.      DESCRIBTIVE EQUIVALENCE

In translation, description has to be weighed sometimes against function. Description and function are essential elements in explanation and, therefore, in Translation.

Example: for the word 'aram' in Tamil, the description is an instrument made of iron, with teeth on one side, the function is 'cutting'.

10.  SYNONYM

It is near-TL equivalent to an SL word in a context, where a precise equivalence may or may not exist. A translator cannot do without synonymy; he is to do with it as a compromise, in order to translate more important segment of a text, segments of the meaning more accurately. But it is considered that the unnecessary use of synonym as a symbol of a poor translation. This procedure is used for SL words where,

(1)   There is no clear one-to-one equivalent in the TL

(2)   The word is not important in the text

Example: kind person > (Telugu) Dharmatmud

11.  ADAPTATION

This procedure is used when the others do not suffice. It involves modifying the concept, or using a situation analogous to the SL situation though not identical to it.

Example: kambaramayan$ am.

12.  REDUCTION OR EXPANSION

These are rather imprecise translation procedures, which the translators practise intuitively in some cases, in adhoc manner in others. However, for each there is at least one shift which the translator may like to bear in mind, particularly in poorly written texts:

(1)  Reduction e.g. :- SL. Adjective of substance + Noun > TL Noun

(2)  Expansion e.g.: - SL. Adjective > TL. Adverb + Past participle of Present participle + Object

13.  PARAPRHASE

This is an application or explanation of the meaning of a segment of a text. It is used in an 'anonymous' text when it is poorly written or when it had important implications and omissions. One should be careful in listing paraphrases as a translation procedure, because this word is often used to describe free translation. The procedure is the minimal recasting of an ambiguous or obscure sentence, in order to clarify it.