On Translation Equivalence(2)

ⅡWhat Is Translation? 

Before dealing with translation equivalence, we have to address the issue of what is translation and what translation involves, which is still a matter of some controversy since translation can hardly be defined in a few words. At this conjuncture, what flashes into my mind is the interesting analogy between translation and love, drawn by Peter Newmark who claims “…translation is like love; I do not know what it is but I think I know what it is not…”. This analogy sounds sensible and solid in that it provokes our thoughts about what is translation and what is love, or in essence, what is the soul or nature of translation and what is true love.

In my view, translation, just like love, can be considered as an abstract concept, which has its concrete counterpart —— translating. Given this basic distinction between translation and translating, we may discover the philosophical identity of translation after further reflection. From different philosophical perspectives, translation can be considered in various ways, which leads to the dispute over the issue of what is translation. Consequently, it is just a matter of choice to define translation as “a rendering from one language into another” or “a science”, “an art”, “a craft”, “a skill”, “an operation”, “a language activity”, “communicating”, or whatever. According to George Steiner, even “understanding” can be translation.

One point commanding attention here, to my mind, is the driving force that underlies translation, or in another word, the necessity and possibility of translation. Usually, we may say the factor responsible for the inception of some thing is the necessity for this particular thing and the factor decisive to the existence of some thing is the possibility of materializing this thing. Now that translation has already been an important or sometimes even influential part of human civilization, it will be a promising job for us to get at the root of translation. If this writer is allowed to make a statement, the subsequent one is preferred. That is, the need for communication and exchanges between geographically or/and chronologically different human communities has led to the activities of translation, the fact of which is, in itself, a declaration that translation is possible.

Another point that crossed my mind is that accounts of translation had better be made in a descriptive way rather than a prescriptive one since it is almost an impossible task to exhaust all the ways translation can be conducted. Besides, any particular case of translation can be too involved to follow the prescribed directions. As to how complex translation is, the concurrent dilemmas that keep haunting the translator during the process of translating are good examples in point. A recommendable illustration of the conflicting factors contributing to these dilemmas is “the dynamics of translation” demonstrated by Peter Newmark, which is an exposition of ten major parameters creating the tensions in translation, viz. “1 SL1 writer, 2 SL norms, 3 SL culture, 4 SL setting and tradition, 5 TL2 relationship, 6 TL norms, 7 TL culture, 8 TL setting and tradition, 9 The truth (the facts of the matter) and 10 Translator”. (Newmark 2001: 4-5)

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