Semantic Models and Translating

2016

Abstract: In his much-quoted article titled, Translation as Decision Process , written in 1967, Jiři Levý describes the process of translation as a sequence of decisions by which the translator chooses from the available alternatives, guided by definitional instructions that define the paradigm and selective instructions that narrow the number of choices. The criteria applied in the process at each individual stage are semantic, rhythmical, stylistic amongst others. Although Levý presents this theory using lexical examples from literary texts, our paper will attempt to apply the model to non-literary texts, also covering higher levels of text construction. In a case study comparing a set of translations both to and from English carried out by professional translators and students whose mother tongue is Czech, we will attempt to propose a typology of instructions that have led to the final results, and find out whether there are any differences in the criteria intervening in the deci...

2021

The problems of translating foreign texts and vocabulary in any sector of the life is experiencing rapid development, as is the growing interest of users and developers in different terms itself. The primary and most pressing problem in working with a foreign text in this area is the choice of a suitable equivalent to a newly emerging concept. The key and most informative words that carry the main semantic load in the text of this topic are terms. Keywords: dealing with different terms, competent translation, translators ,the peculiarity of the translation of terms, literal translation, semantic problems; Translation is an activity that includes the interpretation of the meaning of a text in a language; and semantics refers to aspects of the meaning or interpretation of linguistic signs such as symbols, words, expressions or formal representations. Good translators should be able to adapt the message expressed in a text to a target language impregnated with the features of a totally different culture. As a result of this process, the recipient should not notice that he/she is faced with a translation. For this reason, the real success any translator can be proud of consists of being invisible to the eyes of a reader who regards the final text as a new construction and not as a product that has been under a transformation process, all this procedure can get a little harder for students and even professional in some cases. So In the present subject, the main problem is presented by students and their issues while doing text translations owing to lexical and semantic problems. There may be several drawbacks when carrying out a translation in English. In a general level, students who are in the process of learning a foreign language have to deal with semantic problems that differ

The Theory of Translation and Linguistics, 2013

In the thesis The Theory of Translation and Linguistics we discuss some of the aspects of general linguistics, applied linguistics, text linguistics and psycholinguistics for the theory of translation. The thesis begins with a chapter on the results of a survey we concluded, followed by the historic relationship between translation studies and linguistics. The thesis first examines theories and models and the possible requirements of a theory of translation, followed by the specification of different aspects of general linguistics, also focusing on the relationship between linguistics and translation studies. The chapter on applied linguistics is a reaction to the survey results and we tried to show why translation studies cannot be a branch of applied linguistics. The following chapters on text linguistics and psycholinguistics deal once again with different aspects of these two, which might be relevant for a theory of translation. The overall goal of the thesis is to outline at least some of the ideas created within these linguistic disciplines which could be important for a theory of translation.

ArTA Journal of Translation and Languages , 2022

Translation is the language of people and the portal of their civilization. To understand the history of civilization or people, we need to read literature to learn more about them. Therefore, the text has great importance for communicating and understanding civilizations through the process of translating hundreds of languages and dialects. Therefore, the text and meaning share some features. Furthermore, translation and semantics have the same commonality. Is translation simply a matter of translating words from one language to the next? In this regard, the translation renders the source language sense into the target language (Ghazala, 2008). Translation is a key tool for information exchange around the world. Translating serves as the bridge between cultures. This makes it possible for humans to open the doors of an unknown cultural and linguistic world. Translation is an important part of people's lives. That gives them the ability to communicate with people who speak different languages. Indeed, it is certain that the people of different countries speak different languages. Translation will become increasingly important. In other respects, semantics is central to the translation process. One of the fundamental factors for making a reliable translation for a better comprehension of semantic elements. We need reasonable comprehension and simple language, therefore, we had to rely on translation to facilitate and close these meanings. The purpose of the translator is crucial to bring out the real connection and communicate the meaning in the source text (Larson, 1998). This paper aims to shed light on the relation between translation and semantics from the point of view of practice and theory. To achieve the goal of this article, some examples and verses of the Qur'an have been cited with reference to some literature reviews. This document follows the descriptive and comparative methodology based on the narrative example and quotations. The findings show that there is a strong relationship between translation and semantics in both practical and theoretical terms. The Translation could not take place on its own without interpreting the meaning and analysis beyond the text. The paper called for more research and studies in the field of

Books are an important factor of cultural transmission, but often need to be translated to achieve this goal. English is sometimes accused of dominating in terms of translations. We develop a theoretical model, which is estimated using UNESCO translation data. We show that if account is taken of factors such as production in the source and the destination languages, as well as distances between cultures, then translations from English are surpassed in relative terms by translations from other idioms, including Scandinavian languages and French; their position as destination of literary translations is however fairly weak. #

Translators have a wealth of information and tools at their disposal for their difficult task of rendering as precisely as possible in language and culture B (i.e. the target text) a message that is formulated in language and culture A (i.e. the source text). Generally, these resources range from various types of dictionary (both printed and digital editions), term banks, text books, to the internet, machine translation tools, CAT tools, localisation tools, translation memories to personal contacts, and cover domain-specific information, general information as well as linguistic information. The experience and maturity of the translator tends to determine which types of resource are used, in what situations and how often. These resources may be used to confirm or check ideas about/suggestions for translation and terminology solutions, to look for and find such solutions, and to prove the correctness or plausibility of solutions decided on. In this paper, I will discuss a (cognitive-)linguistic system that may be used as a discovery procedure for terminology as well as for translation, viz. the Lexical-System-like Structure as I defined it in the framework of TCM -for Two-Cycle Model of Grammar (see .

1999

Reunimos, aqui no Porto, as pessoas que em Portugal estão nessa "onda", rodeando-a de alguns nomes que são autoridade nessa área. Quis dizer aos Colegas de Psicologia, de Filosofia, de Sociologia, de Ailtropologia (os estereótipos começaram aí), o que estamos a fazer num domínio próximo ao deles. Isto é um começo. '' [ADESSE LOCIOI [ ] n, LOCP1 ] ti & [ADESSE LOCIO1 [ ] n, LOCP 2 ] ti + k& [ADESSE LOCIOI [ ] n, LOCP 3 ] ti +I." in which the representation of an entity E, placed at three different places LOCP1, LOCP2, LOCP3 at three different sequential moments ti, ti + k and ti + 1 is clearly pictured. As far as our corpw analysis is concerned, the only problem resides on the fact that it is too schematic, since it could represent the whole of the above mentioned examples but it could also illustrate any other sentences with different verbs and different prepositions. " Tlze Iberian lang~tuges present aizother type of polysenzy thnt is relutecl eitlzer to the spatial insertion of a s~lrface or to tlze sputinl insertioiz of tlze interior o f mz area or volurne, using the sarne preposition en/em " (our translation). Furthermore, in our opinion, the use of em in sentences is ambiguous since it establishes a space insertion of the trajectos within a bounded landmark, but not necessarily an enclosed one7. 011 focusing on the lexicalization patterns, on the one hand, we are struck by the fact that the lexical item passear is not as specific as wandern because, as widely proven by Almeida (1995), the Portuguese language, differently from the German, must not necessarily lexicalize specific action, adopting frequently a generic perspectivization. On the other I-iand, it stands out that andar de carro is conceived as a complex lexicalization pattem, different fi-om the German that lexicalizes it exclusively at verbal level in fahretz. 9 Cienki (1997:6) " A properly common to almost a11 iinage scheinas is that they can be realized i11 eitlier a static or a dyilamic fashion." projet profite du soutien financier de la Fédération de Recherche Allemande (DFG).

Journal of French Language Studies, 2007

Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics, 2012

Acknowledged as the most difficult of all types of translation the translation of poetry has provided a focal point for attempts to create a theory of translation. Until recently the focus has been on the comparison and evaluation of originals and their translations, leaving the actual process of the translation of poetry largely neglected. The reasons for this are clear: it is extremely difficult to describe objectively a process that has been universally accepted as inherently creative. It is also problematic to obtain reliable information from subjects under test conditions.! How might the science of linguistics solve the dilemma faced by translation theorists and linguists when attempting to construct a model of translation theory which will encompass "poetic" texts? It has proved extremely difficult to construct anything resembling a theory of translation as such, although various "theories" have been proposed. 2 Many linguists have ignored the field of translation studies, which has largely been dominated in recent years by literary specialists, while many translation theorists have neglected to take into account recent advances in modern linguistics. 3 Bell suggests that it is now possible to construct an adequate theory of translation,4 or at least a theoretical approach to the translation process, making use of current advances in cognitive science, artificial intelligence and text linguistics, basing such an approach on a broadly functional theory of language. S The question still remains however, whether it is possible that such a model would also be able to deal with the specific problems posed by poetic texts. Within the framework of Bell's model the translator processes the text according to three areas of operation. Firstly, the text is broken down clause by clause to provide information on its syntactic structure. The text then enters a stage of semantic analysis, where the task of "concept recovery" is undertaken. The next stage consists of a pragmatic analysis in which the communicative function of the text is determined. A "semantic representation" of the text is thus created in the mind of the reader, clause by clause. 6 This representation