Aspects Of A Good Translation English Language Essay

Aspects Of A Good Translation English Language Essay Culture and its meaning in translations. Culture may be defined in many ways. When the study of translation is taken into account, it must be defined with an understanding of the correlation involving language, culture and religion. In view of the fact that culture is a useful device while dealing with problems of translation, numerous translation theorists make efforts to identify the expression Culture. A good illustration of this is the work Primitive Culture and Religion in Primitive Culture by Sir Edward Burnett Tylor. Tylors work is divided into two volumes. In his first work, Primitive Culture (1871) forms well-known definition concerning the basis of modern understanding of the term culture in which he states that:Cultureà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ taken in its widest ethnographic sense, is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.  In second volume, Religion in Primitive Culture, Taylor deals largely with his analysis of animism. Animism isà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦( I tried to think of something and connect it but Ill have to leave it for now, maybe later on Ill use it) Others researchers who perceive translation through culture are Kroeber and Kluckhohn (1952:167) for whom culture is a product; is historical; includes ideas, patterns, and values; is selective; is learned; is based upon symbols; and is an abstraction from behaviour and objects of behavior; Lee McKay (2002:86) adds that culture is said to be embedded in the semantics of a language; while Danial Bates and Fred Plog (1990:7) consider culture to be a system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviours, and artefacts that the members of society use to cope with their world and with one another, and that are transmitted from generation to generationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Danial Bates and Fred Plog as a stepping-stone to language acquisition consider artifacts of culture such as cinema and television programming, these two types are viewed as the windows into the target culture along with target language. It is tempting to suggest that the means of communication that passes on any culture is inevitably language. In the view of Karamanian (IS3), three different aspects of human activity are expressed by the term culture and these are: the personal, the collective, and the expressive. First aspect implies that individuals think and function as such; the collective describe the social context in which people function, the expressive in which society expresses itself. We need to bear in mind that the process of translating cultural factor is a very demanding task as it covers concepts like history, religion, tradition, social life or everyday customs. It is widely acknowledged that these aspects are the main components of the translators work which leads to the flawless translation. A good translator need to have an excellent comprehension of the real nature of the original message being brought over to the target language receptors. A good understanding of a hidden message in a given text is crucial in the process of translation and depends on the background knowledge of the translator whose main aim is to convert it into target language. Conveying the original message meaning in the given source culture is the true aim of the good translator. Cultural differences between languages and the ways of dealing with them. Traditional translation theories focus on verbal comparison between the source texts and their translations. As Mary Snell-Hornby puts it: The text cannot be considered as a static specimen of language (an idea still dominant in practical translation classes), but essentially as the verbalized expression of an authors intention as understood by the translator as reader, who then recreates this whole for another readership in another culture. (Mary Snell-Hornby 1988: 1-2) Cultural Gaps. It is widely acknowledged that specific cultural references and elements can cause problems a for the translators. When two cultures differ immensely, there is high probability that numerous concepts and words which may occur in one culture and in the language may not be found in the other. This will lead to the cultural gaps between the source and the target texts, which can only be solved to a certain point. Dagut (1978: 49) says that cultural gaps are caused by community-specific referents in one community and their absence in the other culture. Cultural objects, beliefs, customs and institutions are determined by the cultural history and traditions of the specific language community. A language community creates designators to symbolise referents which do not occur in the other language community. The resulting gaps are then (a) more, (b) more language specific, and (c) more translation-resistant than the environmental type (Dagut 1981: 52). Type of the translation Another aspect of a good translation is the type of translation. In regard to the formal boundaries of poetry, there is lesser focus on form than in mangas, however that does not denote the role of the content as an more important aspect. In fact, conveying the most subtle shades of meaning such as form and content in translation is a extremely difficult task. Generally, there is a tendency while translating mangas, to sacrifice the form for the sake of the content. According to Gutt there is a problem of how far can translators progress with the interpretation of the source text and how vivid the description should be. Gutt states that translation should be à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾clear and natural in expression in the sense that it should not be unnecessarily difficult to understand (Gutt 1991: 188) Newmark (1988) compiles some guiding principles how to cope with different types of translation, which apply to the principle of relevance concerning audience with particular kinds of interests. These are: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾A technical translator has no right to create neologisms whilst an advertiser or propaganda writer can use any linguistic resources he requires. Conventional metaphors and sayings should always be conventionally translated but unusual metaphors and comparisons should be reduced to their sense if the text has a mainly informative function The appropriate equivalents for keywords should be scrupulously repeated throughout a text in a philosophical text In a non-literary text, there is a case for transcribing as well as translating any key-word of linguistic significance (Newmark 1988: 15) Chapter 2 Principles of translation. 2.1. Linguistic versus Cultural aspects in translation. According to Savory different guidelines sometimes may deny each other in terms of rules and exceptions. This leaded Savory to create his own pair-wise contradictory principles of translation: A translation must give the words of the original. A translation must give the ideas of the original. A translation should read like an original work. A translation should read like a translation. A translation should reflect the style of the original. A translation should possess the style of the translator. A translation should read as contemporary of te original. A translation should read as a contemporary of the translator. A translation may add to or omit from the original. A translation may never add to or omit from the original. A translation of verse should be in prose. A translation of verse should be in verse. (Savory 1968: 54) Savoy claims that these paradoxes can be resolved through à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾reader-analysis, Different things are considered to be relevant for different readers. On the other hand Victor Khairullin (1992: 155) implies that linguistic aspects are not the only one that are involved in the process of translation but also is culture. Victor Khairullin (1992: 155) states that: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾The process of translation is a creative kind of activity, based on both linguistic and culturological rules. Every language is unique. The language pattern of the world is accounted for by culturological peculiarities, i.e. peculiarities of ethnic, [and] social, norms and economic achievements of a nation in a certain stage of development. Culturology in a language pattern is essential, so some specialists tend to believe that in effect one does not translate language, one translates cultures. (Khairullin 1992: 155) Stylistic preferences. The next aspect on the list is the time in which given work has been created. This statement leads to the assumption that the constant changes that languages undergo call for continuous modifications in stylistic preferences. No two languages are identical, either in the meanings given to corresponding symbols or in the ways in which such symbols are arrangedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Nida 1964: 156). Hence, a translation from one epoch can be rather objectionable at a present time. The matter of how accurate a translation should be to the original was and always will be arguable. Ernst-August Gutt (1991) tries to give an answer to that problem by using the concept of optimal resemblance in interpretive translation. In his theory of relevance, he maintains his opinion that translation ought to express the significance of the source language in a manner that is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾clear and natural in expression to the target culture, but avoids à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾unnecessary processing effort (Gutt 1991: 188). Therefore, the interpretation of the original text should give resemblance to guarantee sufficiently appropriate context to the audience. The way it is presented should not involve any further processing effort from the recipients. When we think of translation in terms of making it as accurate to the source text as possible, we have to ask ourselves is it possible to preserve all the features of the original if not what qualities are consequential. Levy (1969:103) states that if this kind of situation occurs à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾the translator has to decide which qualities of the original are the most important and which ones one could miss out.. As far as poetry is concerned, preservation of both the form and the content may be very difficult task, depending on the extent of similarities of translated languages. This situation may take place if the target language has ways of expressing the same denotations of words and of rhyming, but may not have words or expressions that carry out both conditions. Therefore, the decision is to be made by the translator, which properties to preserve. These major aspects of a culture are crucial for translators. The good translation depends not only on the knowledge about the target culture but also on the translators understanding of religious background of translated item. Translators should identify the translation throughout culture. They ought to realize that each language contains elements which are originated in its culture. Moreover, every text is anchored in a specific culture, and that it has its own proprieties of production and reception which may vary from culture to culture. Finding appropriate equivalence of a text while translating manga may depend on deep understanding/ knowledge of target culture. Translator who attempts to translate an original text from Japanese into English may not be able to satisfy the target audience. It is tempting to suggest that finding proper word is the key to achieve good translation. However if the translation from Japanese into English is taken into account it must be mentioned that some problems may occur due to cultural ambiguities. Aimai. Aimai Ambiguities in Japanese Culture are of the greatest importance, because they may lead to mistranslation. Further reflections shows that Japanese are generally ambiguous, shockingly vague in their works such as mangas. The word aimai can be translated as: ambiguous, murky, vague, double-edged or foggy. The other meanings are: questionable, doubtful, shady or non-committal. It may look like Japanese may have some problems with expressing their feelings even in comics as it can be seen in many mangas, but on the other hand it can convey more than one idea which will only make it more attractive to the reader. When two similar terms such as ambiguity and vagueness appear we should distinct them according to their usage. Ambiguity is different from vagueness, which arises when the boundaries of meaning are indistinct. Ambiguity is context-dependent: the same linguistic item (be it a word, phrase, or sentence) may be ambiguous in one context and unambiguous in another context. For a word, ambiguity typically refers to an unclear choice between different definitions as may be found in a dictionary. The use of ambiguities happen that one would offer totally different idea. 1.5. Religion and its influence in mangas. Religion is the second aspect leading to mistranslations. The main dilemma in this field is the fact that translators often do not have any certainty of source text producer knowledge or intentions. Therefore, anything to do with biblical translations involve interpretation processes based on receivers assumptions, rather than simple translation. What is more, dealing with religion aspects often involves rendering through old anonymous documents. Moreover, it is important to consider the functions of both the source text and target text or reason for their creation. A useful tool at this point is Reiss and Vermeer Skopos Theory from 1984. Its main focus is aimed at the translation purpose which determines the translation methods and strategies. Because of the cultural aspect of religion, one cannot ignore target culture customs or knowledge connected with translation topics that incorporate religious elements especially due to its delicate character which means that any translation may easily offend the audience by means of incompetence or ignorance. The main advantage of this theory is the possibility of translating one text in different ways, depending on the need (Reiss and Vermeer, 1984). All in all, encountering any religious elements in the aspect of translation involves a deep insight in th culture environment of the subject so as to eliminate the possibility of misunderstanding. Furthermore, it is necessary to state the purpose of translation in order to fulfill requirements of source translation receivers. To conclude what is essential for the translator is not learning the literal meaning of the words, how to put them together but their meaning in the cultural context. Understanding of the cultural and religious norms is needed, that is why native translators are better than foreigner ones. If we take into consideration capabilities and the knowledge of cultural context while translating from Japanese to English Japanese translators are more suitable. A foreign person may learn almost every aspect of a given language but still it will not be the same as in the case of being born as a native. This statement can be easily illustrated by the quotation of Janet Holmes. As Holmes points out in her book titled: An introduction to sociolinguistics: Learning another language usually involves a great deal more than learning the literal meaning of the words, how to put them together, how to pronounce them. We need to know what they mean in the cultural context in which they are normally used. And that involves some understanding of the cultural and social norms of their users (Holmes 2001: 275).

Continental Philosophy’s Existentialism and Phenomenology Essay

Various identifiable schools of thought such as: existentialism, phenomenology, hermeneutics, deconstruction, and critical theory can be found within Continental philosophy. Existentialism and phenomenology can be traced back to the 19th century and to the pre-Socratics. A few of the main themes from existentialism are:  ·Traditional and academic philosophy is sterile and remote from the concerns of real life.  ·Philosophy must focus on the individual in her or hi confrontation with the world.  ·The world is absurd, in the sense that no ultimate explanation can be given for why it is the way it is.  ·Senselessness, emptiness, triviality, separation, and inability to communicate pervade human existence, giving birth to anxiety, dread, self-doubt, and despair.  ·The individual confronts, as the most important fact of human existence, the necessity to choose how he or she is to live within this absurd and irrational world. Many of these themes were introduced by Arthur Schopenhauer, Soren Kierkegaard, and Friedrich Nietzsche. Kierkegaard emphasized the individual and especially the individual’s will and need to make important choices. Georg Hegel rejected the concept of the â€Å"thing-in-itself† and held that all reality is the expression of thought or reason. Reality, for Hegel, is not a group of independent particulars or states of affairs, but rather like a coherent thought system such as mathematics it is an integrated whole in which each proposition is logically connected with all the rest. Where Hegel was abstract to a degree rarely found outside mathematics, Kierkgaard was concerned with how and what the individual actually chooses in the face of doubt and uncertainty. One contributor to Continental philosophy was Friedrich Nietzche. Nietzche disagreed with all of Hegel’s theories of idealism. He believed the world is driven and determined by the will-to-power. He also believed we have no access to absolute truth and that there are not facts, only interpretations. There were several existentialists in the 19th and 20th centuries. Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, Gabriel Marcel and Simone de Beauvoir in France, Karl Jaspers in Switzerland, Martin Heidegger in Germany, Miguel de Unamuno and Jose Ortega y Gasset in Spain, and Nicola Abbagnano in Italy. Two philosophers I want to discuss are Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre. Camus did not understand why the human race spent their lives in despair and grief but were always optimistic about living. He believed there is no ultimate reason that things are the way they are and that we must make choices and decide how to act in a valueless world and absurd world. This is called â€Å"existential predicament. † Even though Camus asked himself, â€Å"Is there any reason not commit suicide? † he regarded suicide as unacceptable. Rebelling against the absurdity and tragedy of life would possibly give life meaning and value. Sartre was a man that thought God did not exist and that man was â€Å"abandoned. † According to Sartre, the non-existence of God has four philosophical implications. First, there is no maker of man, so there is such thing as human nature. The person must produce his or her own essence, because no God created human beings in accordance with a divine concept. Second, since there is no God, there is no reason why things are the way they are not some other way. A human being has â€Å"being-for-itself†, which means that a human being is a conscious subject that creates its own future. Third, man is â€Å"condemned to be free. † Nothing forces us to do what we do, so therefore, we cannot excuse our actions by saying there were circumstances for what we did. Forth, there is no objective standard for values. Since it is a Godless world, we must come up with our own values. To Sartre, creating our own values is a great responsibility for mankind. To find meaning in our lives, we must create our values by making authentic choices. Edmund Husserl was the first great phenomenologist. Phenomenology comes from structures found within conscious experience. Phenomena are the structures that manifest themselves on the assumptions and presuppositions of science. They are thought of as the way a thing is immediately experienced and the way it â€Å"is. † Phenomenology is a way to explore the conscious experience with out making any metaphysical assumptions. Husserl investigated phenomena without making assumptions about the world. This is called transcendental phenomenology. Martin Heidegger also wanted to see things without presumptions, but he was not convinced by Husserl’s theory of phenomena; he believed the source of seeing things this way was Being itself. Heidegger’s theory was that humans are caught up in their own ideas and Being has been reduced to a world of â€Å"objects† dominated by humans through their own logics. Humans are basically ignorant to the true nature of Being. Emmanuel Levinas is mainly responsible for introducing phenomenology into France. He had an influence on many other philosophers. His theories centered on the sense of being aware of what and how we humans exist in the world. He believed, unlike Heidegger, that philosophy began with the experiences of our otherness, and God exists as an Absolute Otherness that can never be breached. He did not agree with the theory of Being because that would make the Other a mere object for consciousness. References

Should Cell Phones Be Banned in the Classroom?

Should high school students work part-time? Why or Why not? In my opinion high school students should work a part-time job because it gives the student an opportunity to contribute to the community. A part-time job will teach students the value of money and give them the skills that they can use in their future. Firstly, a part-time job for students is a good idea because students are greatly needed to participate in today’s society. Getting a job in the community is a great way to participate and get them involved. A part-time job would give the student a sense of ownership and belonging within their community. Also, when the student gets a pay check he or she has to know that they need to budget their money and also create a savings account for future purchases. Having a job will also teach students the value of the dollar. When a student is about to spend his or her money they can stop and question themselves, do I really need this? Finally a part-time job gives students important skills useful for their future. For example, if a student would get a job at the local department store, he or she would learn how to handle money, how to stock shelves, order supplies that are needed and customer service skills. Having a job builds a student’s character and trust worthy values. As we all know, in society word of mouth about one’s character and how responsible they are excels fast within any community. In conclusion, part- time work for a student is a key element in future success. It allows the student to grow and learn as an individual and create strong work ethic. There is nothing more valuable to an employer than an employee that has these skills. In life there is nothing more desirable to an individual, than to have a strong sense of worth, character and the ability to handle and manage money to its fullest potential.

Formal And Informal Dance At Hip Hop - 1090 Words

In the 1980s and 1990s more clubs used hip hop DJs, especially in the bigger cities, and all types of dancers with different skills would dance their way to the middle of the dance floor. Formal and informal competitions would often happen. Informal competitions would happen when a few true dancers were noticed on the dance floor, the rest of the people would back off and watch the leaders battle it out. The informal dance competitions became common and popular they became part of the night at hip hop clubs. This competitive dancing helped hip hop retain the â€Å"battle’ culture that existed since the beginning of hip hop dancing. When hip hop first started it was very informal, but performative. As moves started to become more creative like popping, breaking, crumping, and locking, more and more dancers began to catch up in the rhythms of the music. 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