P. Newmark: Tips on Translation

Peter Newmark
Tips on translation


This is didactic review of translation procedures and techniques reviewed by Peter Newmark in his 80`s work Approaches to Translation. Notes have been added for examples and related subjects.

Previous, general analysis of a text for translation:

a. Intention of the text
b. Intention of the translator
c. Reader and setting of the text
d. Quality of the writing and authority of the text


Emphasis: The translator having to handle grammar and emphasis often notes a tension between natural (unmarked) and an emphatic (marked) construction, often evidence by a different world order.
Ex: Meinen Freund hat er begrüsst
He actually greeted my friend

Note: Emphasis is often marked in English by italics, as above. Repetition of adverbs is also a way to mark emphasis:
She was very, very happy
Emphasis is often marked by word order in Spanish, as in the distinction A ella la vio primero. Primero la vio a ella.


Tips on translation
1. Equivalent frequency of usage.
This is an additional method of verifying a translation. General usage, formality and afectivity need to be respected. Although semantic equivalence is a basic principle of translation, it can only exists if there is the maximum equivalence of form and frequency in usage.
Example: No tengo ni idea cannot be translated as I have no premonition in English, because it violates these levels of usage in the TL.

2. Words outside their normal contexts
These words should be assumed to have been used in their primary or most common sense. As in the translation of

3. Back-translation test
Also a translation verification. The translated text is rendered back to SL, to check for semantics and frequency.
Example:

4. National characteristics
Newmark recommends to leave untranslated conceptual terms which notoriously belong to certain languages, like: fairness, humour, sympatique, Gemütlichkeit, mañana, esprit,etc.

5. When and when not to repeat a word
A lexical item repeated in the same or following sentence of the source langauage text must be correspondingly repeated in the target language text, unless the original is poorly or loosely written.

6. Referential synonyms:
These are stylistic references to people (The Iron Lady), places (La perla del norte), epochs or temporal references (Blitzkrieg). The translator is entitled to replace them by proper names or other, if the information is superflous and the writing has no stylistic value. We can add also that these references much of the time come from a sense of synonymy which can be unintelligible to foreign readers, as in El chino de Vitacura.


7.Cultural allusions in non-expressive text
As above, a translator should not reproduce allusions, in particular if they are peculiar to the source language culture, which translation text readers are unlikely to understand. If they are not central to the text, it is better to avoid them.


8. Alternative terms:
When a source language text has alternative terms for an object, and the target language only one term, the translator normally uses the one term only. If, however, one of the two source terms has a special interest, being technical, archaic and particularly “transparent” in its descriptiveness, the translator should take some account of it, usually by reproducing it, in brackets in the text, or in the notes with an explanation.
Examples: Group, rather than band, party, coallition or club.

9. Titles
A title is best left unstranslated until the rest of the assigment is completed. Informative or figurative titles can then be checked against the sum of the content. English titles tend to be shorter than others.
Example: Bats , a title in English, was translated into Spanish as Murciélagos: una especie interesante, in a general text which described this animal in a very positive way.

10. Almost empty words
Most languages have some lexical and grammatical features of low semantic content which may have no equivalent in the target language, there is often no need for the translator to take account of them. As in Spanish ya, resulta, o sea, and in English, verbs such as put, go, get, come keep, let, make, take, be, etc.

11. Quotations
When a quotation fro another source (speech, book, etc.) is included in the source language text, itshould normally be rendered more literally than the rest of the text. The translator is not responsible for its “functional equivalence”, since it is not addressed to the reader of the target language text. It is own “authority”, and the translator must take no liberties with its formal elements.
Note: For quotations from identifiable source, the translator should look for a recognized, well know translation. For example, in the case of quotations from well-known literary works, such as Shakespeare’s lines, the translator may choose an already translated version of the works in the relevant language. Here, research is a must.

12. The text and the notes
If one is translating important information which is likely to puzzle the proposed reader, it is better to write the background into the text to make it meaningful rather than as a note. The information should be inserted unobstrusively.
An example of this are references to facts who might be unknown to readers of different historical time, such as a translation of Perestroika, a political action in the former Soviet Union just before its reorganization. One should insert as short reference to its meaning or historical situation if one judges that this item may be difficult to understand by contemporary readers.

13. Third language proper nouns or words.
When the SL text mentions a non-SL surname, or a word in a third language, the translator should always chek it for spelling in its original language.

14. Deletion
Theoretically, the translator has to render every portion and aspect of cognitive and pragmatic sense in the SL text. In fact, the translator is justified in eliminating redundancy in poorly written informational texts, in particular jargon, provided it is not used for emphasis, (or stylistic effect). For example, sometimes it is necessary to delete connecting words used to mark continuation or slight contrast at the beginning of a sentence, such as in Spanish entonces, luego, ahora bien. This connecting items belong to the fatic function of language.

15. Text writer’s idiolect
In mainly informational texts, it is legitimate to ignore the writer’s repeated idiolectal pecularities.

One of 500 words in any text is likely to be used in a faulty or idiosyncratic sense. Unless the text is an important document or is written by an important writer, the translator should normalize the error or idiosyncrasy.

Nota: Idiolect is defined as “a person's own personal language, the words they choose and any other features that characterise their speech and writing. Some people have distinctive features in their language; these would be part of their idiolect, their individual linguistic choices and idiosyncrasies”, in Using English.com

16.Terms of art variants
Terms of art are usually the invariant elements in translation, but within a language they may have several variants. Illnesses, for instance, occasionally have three: the layman’s, the doctor’s, and the specialist’s classical term (e.g. ringworm, tinea, tinea circinata, or tiña, in Spanish). Terms should be matched according to text purpose, but in English, long, complex names are usually avoided: halitosis might be less understood than foul breath.




17. Similes and images
Any simile, image or comparison should usually be as familiar to the TL as to the SL reader. Sometimes this requires adjustment.
Note : “A simile is a comparison between two different things, designed to create an unusual, interesting, emotional or other effect often using word such as 'like' or 'as ... as'.
Common comparisons are with the qualities associated with animals (as sly as a fox, as brave as a lion, etc.).
Figure of Speech is where a word or words are used to create an effect, but where they do not have their original or literal meaning.
If someone says that they are 'starving', they do not mean that they are in fact dying of hunger, but that they are very hungry. This is a simple example of a figure of speech, where the word is used to heighten or increase the state that they are describing. A metaphor or a simile are two of the most common forms used”. (From UsingEnglish.com )

18. Tone
The tone of a passage is the key to its communicative effect, and has to be determined by the translator. Tentativeness, urgency, menace, flattery, persuasiveness all have certain markers which are more apparent in the syntax than in the lexis, and may be reflected in the tense, mood and voice of a few significant verbs. “¿Diga?” may say a Spanish speaking shopkeeper, meaning “How can I serve you?”. Other markers may be emotive words, or absurdly unreal references: e.g. “If you don’t get this right, I’ll push your head into the radiator!”.
Also the use of modals may set the tone of a passage, such uses of will, should, must.
Example: El propietario deberá limpiar su vereda, should be translated using a modal such as will or must,depending on the nature of the notice.

19. Referring
One assumes that a translator looks up any word about whose meaning, in the context, he may have the slightest doubt; that any reference to a bilingual dictionary is only preliminary to a check in two or three monolingual dictionaries, which indicate:
a) modern usage
b) appropiate register
c) a range of collocations
d) degree of frequency, formality, emotiveness, generality, intensity and approval.

The translator is to be careful with any type of cognate, false or true, which has not been met before, particularly if its apparent meaning makes good sense in the context—it may even havethe same meaning as its TL “equivalent”, but a different rate of frequency (e.g. adecuado, fenómeno, realidad).
The translator should also consider a range of technical or academic terms for the same phenomenon (as in the case of names for illnesses), according to standard register in the equivalent TL context. If no equivalent can be found, he may have to use an academic term, which is likely to be an internationalism. Thus, if a “painted lady” (a butterfly) does not exist in the TL, he has to use the learned term Vanessa cardui (which is the Webster’s Dictionnary)
Further, in investigating proper nouns and terms of arte (technically specific), he will look particularly at the type of reference book (or other, such as web material), which defines concept and procedures, and which pays as much attention to the connotation as the denotation of all proper nouns.


20. Proper names connotation
Where proper names are treated purely connotatively, e.g. “He is a Croessus”, “She’s a Niobe”, the proper name is normally translated by its connotation, unless it also has the same sense in the TL. The proper name should be analysed in its semantic traits, as it may be used in variants of its connotative meaning: e.g. Midas may mean wealthy, increasing his wealth, or unable to enjoy his wealth. A case in point in Chilean Spanish in Chile is the popular Juan Perez.
Proper name are translated if they are recognizable in the Christian world: John, Juan, Paul, Pablo. In the case of name of famous artists, philosophers, etc., naturalization is possible: Michelangelo, Titian, Machiavelli, Ovid, Sappho, Phillip, Homer. Modern names are translated if very famous (art and History figures) Anne Boleyn, Coeur de Lyon, Baggins. Names of characters in plays are translated usually if they are not key to the meaning of the play, as in Hamlet. Also translate names in fairy stories (but, again, beware names with identity tones, such as Mowgly, Rapunzel): Cinderella, Snow-white. The names of streets and plazas, etc., are not generally translated, depending on their relevance to text and culture: Picadilly Circus, 10 Downing Street, Wall Street, but Quinta Avenida, for 5th Ave., in New York City. Translate forms of address, such as Don Pedro, etc. Remember married names of women follow husband’s family name. Beware Royalty terms of address. Professional names such as Doctor Gonzalez, are usually translated by Mr in English.
Geographical names may be naturalized: Cornualles, Londres. Sometimes a place may carry more than one name: Lake Constance, same as Bodensee in Greman. Mainz: Maguncia; Firenze: Florencia, Florence. If remote or unknown, names should be kept: Djibouti, Fiume. Always check for spelling in the original languages. Connotation of names should checked, when possible: Pisagua, Tiananmen. The translator should account for them for a reader who might not know them: Treblinka, Ruanda, Villa Grimaldi.
Firms, private institutions, schools, universities, hospitas are not translated when transparent: Ministerio de Salud, Ministry of Finance, Central Office, Westminster bank. Multinational companies may have various names, if the reader needs specific information.
Newspapers, journals and periodicals are transcribed ( not translated): Der Spiegel, The Sun, The Times, El País. Obsolete or old names are kept: Caja de Empleados Públicos, Ancien Régime, camara oscura. For these old terms, a glossary may prove necessary: Casa de Niños Expósitos, La Gota de Leche.
International Institutions have official, translated names: OTAN, OMS., or use acronyms: UNICEF, UNCTAD.
Names of religious institutions or titles, positions, etc. Holy See, Vicar, Cura Párroco. Also names of political organizations: conjunto, convención, interventor, regimen, dieta (parl), plataforma, las bases, sectorial, socio comercial, libre comercio, Fondo, etc. Translate into authorized, known translation. Sometimes the original name might err in the style and scope of concept: mesa de diálogo, oficina de reparación, government agency
Council.

21. Lengthy titles
These can be sometimes nicely translated by making them into double titles and reversing the order of words, e.g. for Contribución anatómico-quirúrgica sobre la posibilidad y los limites de la vagotomía supradiafragmática en la terapia de la úlcera duodenal put “Advantages and limitations of supradiaphragmatic vagotomy in the treatment of duodenal ulcers; an anatomical and surgical appoach”.
Headings and titles should be translated last. A non-literary text or book should normally be factually and accurately described by its title. A literary text may have its title changed to an appropiate connotation. Usually, the translator has control obver the title of any text.
Note. Titles can be translated by informative, referential means or by figurative use of language, according to the text style and readership.


22. Synonymous adjectives in collocation
These often become clichés which are better translated by adverb plus adjective: thus, fit and proper, especialmente adecuado; neat and tidy, muy ordenados; dreadful and awful, sumamente espantoso. When they do not become clichés, they should be distinguished.
Note: a cliché is a phrase that has been overused and has become meaningless and sometimes irritating.


23. Unfamiliar acronyms
A translator can approach an unfamiliar acronym in two ways: (1), by searching in dictionaries of abbreviations, pharmacopeias (for drugs), (2) by considering context and probability. Further on, Newmark also states that much of the information about these acronyms can be derived from the text itself. A translator normally is not entitled to create TL acronyms, and should convert any ad hoc SL acronyms into TL words. Some examples: TB, TNT, DTs, STD, VD, a.k.a, RIP, AWOL.

24. Not found
If a non-literary translator fails to find a SL word in any literature, he usually (a) translates in line with the context, and (b) states what he has done and in his estimation the degree of likelihood that his translation is correct. But (bI) is not always necessary for an unfamiliarly or newly compounded word. If in a dictionary or encyclopaedia one finds a word where one is refrerred to a second word for its definition, one normally assumes that the second word is more common, and there fore uses it rather than the first word in a translation. Thus “tubercular analysis, tuberculous patient” not “tuberculous analysis, tubercular patient”, although the two words are ocasionally interchangeable. Similarly, “limphocytic leukaemia”, not “limphatic leukaemia”.

24. Extension of expression
Romance language past participles and near-past participles such as incomplet, imparfait sometimes have to carry more meaning than they appear to, and translate as “not yet completed”, “which does not give satisfactory results”, respectively.

25. Key-words in literature
In imaginative writing all key-words acquire symbolical value, and become potential metaphors grounded in the culture. Like key-words in a technology, they are suddenly forced to bear figurative meaning. When such words are translated they may have to be supported with an attribute unless there is strong cultural overlap between source and target language countries.

26. Paraphrase
Paraphrase is the last (but sometimes necessary)resort of the translator

27. Transcription
This concerns loan words, transferred words, adopted words.
Transcription is mandatory in all the following cases, unless thee is already a generally accepted translation likely to be accessible and acceptable to the reader:
(a) proper nouns —particularly names of people (except the Pope) and of geographical features
(b) addresses;
(c) name of private firms;
(d) names of national public and private institutions, unless they are transparent;
(e) terms peculiar to the institution, ecology and general culture of the SL countries, where there are no equivalents in the TL countries; and
(f) titles of newspapers, periodicals, books, plays, films, articles, papers, works of art, musical composition
Note: In the case of world known items which have a well known translation (Noche de Epifanía, Twelfth Night), the translator should use this.

The temptation to translate for the first time names of institutions which are “transparent” in the SL should be resisted, since some such names, e.g. The London Clinic, may or may not be misleading cognates.


28. Repetition
a. Poor style in Spanish
b. Accepted in English
c. Use synonymy

29. Shift of perception scale.
El blanco de los Andes
El gris de Santiago
Snowwhite, dull pavement. Brazilian tapestry might be translated as Aquarela brasileira, in Portuguese, which will be more percetively coherent to the way Brasilians describe their landscape.
30. Typical phenomena:
Pub, bistro, Fuente de Soda, Soda Fountain, Club (England), Football (USA), shelter, -way (toll, free-).
31. Blends: combination of 2 words. Sometime they become internationally known, such meritocracia, ecoclubs. Some are borrowed or adopted: motel, infomercial. Translate if they unrecognizable only: amistocracia, dedocracia, tarúpido.
32. Semantic blends: old words with new meanings are sometimes difficult to translate: gay, credible, viable, sophisticated; region, villa, campamento. Also some abreviation of common words should result in difficult translation: vibes, combo, vegan, sci-tech; la u, la muni, la micro, the tube. In this case, words should be normalized to sense, unless there are recognizable or familiar equivalents, such as bus or metro
33. Newrmark tips on the equilibrium of the translation process, stating the method applied and its frequency:
(a) one-to-one wherever possible (synonymy)
(b) one to two or three
(c) Recast of structure, for fluency (as is the case in clauses introduced by when, while, if)