translation-oriented text analysis christiane nord text analysis in translation (1988/91)...

Translation-oriented text analysis

Christiane Nord

Text Analysis in Translation (1988/91)Translating as a Purposeful Activity (1997)

FLUP - Elena Zagar GalvãoFLUP - Elena Zagar Galvão

Two basic types of translation product

DOCUMENTARY TRANSLATION

It ‘serves as a document of a source culture communication between the author and the source text (ST) recipient’

e.g., literary translation, word-for-word or literal translations (business contracts, certificates) ‘foreignizing’ or ‘exoticizing’ translations, etc.


INSTRUMENTAL TRANSLATION

It ‘serves as an independent message-transmitting instrument in a new communicative action in the target culture, and is intended to fulfil its communicative purpose without the recipient being conscious of reading or hearing a text which, in a different form, was used before in a different communicative situation.’

e.g., ‘function-preserving translations’ (software manual) or ‘function-changing translations’ (translation of Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels for children


Nord highlights 3 important aspects:

1. the importance of the translation commission (or ‘translation brief’) (cf. Holz-Mänttäri, Vermeer)

2. the importance of text analysis3. the functional hierarchy or translation

problems


1. The translation commission

The translator (T) must always keep in mind the client’s request/guidelines etc. T must compare the ST and TT profiles as defined in the commission and see where they may be different.


The translation commission should specify (for both ST and TT) (these factors are external in relation to the text)

• Intended text functions• Sender• Recipient• Time and place of text reception• Medium (oral / written)• Motive (why the ST was written and why it

is being translated)


2. TEXT ANALYSIS

Nord’s list of intratextual factors is a possible model for analysing the ST.

• Subject matter (tema)• Content (conteúdo)• Presuppositions (pressupostos): real-world factors of the

communicative situation presumed to be known to the participants

• Composition (estrutura)• Non-verbal elements (illustrations, italics) (aspectos não-

verbais)• Lexic (incl. register, specific terminology) (léxico)• Sentence structure (sintaxe)


3. The functional hierarchy of translation problems

When undertaking a translation, it is important to establish a functional hierarchy.

1. Decide intended function of translation (documentary or instrumental)

2. Determine elements that will need to be adapted to the TT addressee’s situation (after analysis of trans.commission)

3. Decide translation style (SC or TC oriented) based on translation type

4. Deal with problems presented by text at lower linguistic level (as in ST analysis)


translation-oriented text analysis christiane nord text analysis in translation (1988/91)...

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