The Power of Words
The Power of Words
UNIT 1
The Power of Words in a Translators Hands
1. Suggested readings:
Crystal, D. (1992) The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of the
English Language, Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press
Crystal, D. (2007) Words, Words, Words, Oxford: Oxford
University Press
McArthur, Th. (1996) The Oxford Companion to the English
Language, Oxford: Oxford University Press
2. Suggested web pages:
www.thefreedictionary.com
www.hallo.ro
www.etymologyonline.com
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3. Recommended dictionaries
1. *2003. Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs, Oxford: Oxford
University Press
2. *Oxford Dictionary of Synonyms, Oxford: Oxford
University Press
3. *Oxford Collocations Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University
Press
Text. 1.
WORDS, WORDS, WORDS
What, we may profitably ask, is the simplest measure of
culture in the modern world? Can we estimate it from a
close study of art or literature, or law? Or, does it depend in
the first place upon the general standard of literacy and
education?
Doubtless, it depends to some extent upon all of these
things but it reflects most clearly the degree of liberality
and tolerance exercised by men in their ordinary intercourse
day by day, and the extent of their willingness to allow
freedom of opinion and choice to others.
If we look around us and find that forbearance and
latitude are everywhere apparent in the community in which
we happen to find ourselves, we may fairly conclude that
the standard of culture in that particular society is high. If,
on the other hand, we observe that these same qualities are
on the decline and that regimentation and intolerance are
increasing, no impressive manifestations of art and
architecture, no efficient organization of education and
government, can compensate us for the loss of culture
itself.
The unmistakable hallmarks of culture are liberality and
tolerance.
All languages have the same purpose to
communicate thoughts and yet, they achieve this single
aim in a multiplicity of ways. It appears that there is no
feature of grammar or syntax that is indispensable or
universal. The ways of dealing with matters of number,
tense, case, gender, and the like are wondrously various
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Text 2.
AUTHOR'S PREFACE TO THE FIRST TRANSLATION
Having read the proofs of the present translation of my
work, Die Mechanik in ihrer Entwickelung, I can testify that
the publishers have supplied an excellent, accurate, and
faithful rendering of it, as their previous translations of
essays of mine gave me every reason to expect. My thanks
are due to all concerned, and especially to Mr. McCormack,
whose intelligent care in the conduct of the translation has
led to the discovery of many errors, heretofore overlooked. I
may, thus, confidently hope, that the rise and growth of the
ideas of the great inquirers, which it was my task to portray,
will appear to my new public in distinct and sharp outlines.
E. Mach.
Prague, April 8th, 1893.
Text 3.
THE TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE TO THE SECOND
ENGLISH EDITION.
Since the appearance of the first edition of the present
translation of Machs Mechanics* the views which Professor
Mach has advanced on the philosophy of science have
found wide and steadily increasing acceptance. Many
fruitful and elucidative controversies have sprung from his
discussions of the historical, logical, and psychological
foundations of physical science and in consideration of the
great ideal success which his works have latterly met with
in Continental Europe, the time seems ripe for a still wider
dissemination of his views in English-speaking countries.
The study of the history and theory of science is finding
fuller and fuller recognition in our universities, and it is to be
hoped that the present exemplary treatment of the simplest
and most typical branch of physics will stimulate further
progress in this direction.
The text of the present edition, which contains the
extensive additions made by the author to the latest
German editions, has been thoroughly revised by the
translator. All errors, either of substance or typography, so
far as they have come to the translator's notice, have been
removed, and in many cases the phraseology has been
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Text 4.
(a) Translators must negotiate with the ghost of a distant
author, with the disturbing presence of foreign text,
with the phantom of the reader they are translating
for. Translation is a negotiation to such an extent that
translators must also negotiate with publishers,
because a translation may be more or less
domesticated or foreignised according to the context
in which the book is published, or the age of its
expected readers. (Eco 2003: 173)
(b)Semiotics, philosophy and cultural anthropology can
discuss such discrepancies for years but a translator
has continually to face them, here and now and every
day. In doing so translators avoid ontological problems
(unless they are translating a philosophical text): they
simply compare languages and negotiate solutions
that do not offend common sense (and if there are
subtle connections between common sense and
ontology, this is a subject for further philosophical
debate). Translators simply behave like polyglots,
because in some way they already know that in the
target language a given thing is expressed so and so.
They follow their instinct, as does every fluent
bilingual person. (Eco 2003: 182)
A B
a. Intralingual 1. an interpretation of verbal
translation/ signs by means of other signs of
rewording non-verbal sign systems
b. Interlingual 2. an interpretation of verbal
translation/ signs by means of other signs of
translation proper the same language
c. Intersemiotic 3. an interpretation of verbal
translation/ signs by means of some
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transmutation language
i) we rephrase an expression or
text in the same language to
explain or clarify something we
might have said or written
ii) when a written text is
translated into music, film or
painting
iii) when a text in an alpha
language is a turned into a text in
a beta language
Text 5.
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ADDITIONAL EXERCISES
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Text 6.
Portretul traductorului romn
Prestatorul de servicii de traducere (PST) romn este, de
obicei, traductor independent, autorizat de Ministerul de
Justiie (63% dintre rspunsuri). Aceast stare de fapt (73%
dintre respondeni sunt traductori independeni) coincide
cu statisticile internaionale care indic o preponderen a
traductorilor independeni (75% din numrul total de PST
activi la nivel mondial). PST-ul romn se dedic acestei
profesii cu norm ntreag sau cu jumtate de norm, dup
orele de serviciu (angajat pe post de traductor sau pe un
post fr legtur cu traducerile). Traductorul romn ofer
o gam relativ diversificat de servicii, dar aproape toi
efectueaz traduceri scrise n limba romn sau ntr-o limb
strin, precum i traduceri notariale sau revizia
traducerilor efectuate de teri. Interpreii romni sunt
nevoii, din cauza condiiilor pieei, s ofere i alte servicii,
cum ar fi traduceri scrise. PST-ul romn se ocup n mic
msur cu servicii cu un grad nalt de specializare i
tehnologizare, cum ar fi localizarea, subtitrarea sau
technical writing-ul. Nici n privina alegerii clientelei, PST-ul
romn nu pare s se adreseze unei anumite categorii de
clieni, cei mai muli avnd categorii de clieni foarte
diverse.
Text 7.
Totui, o proporie mai semnificativ a clienilor sunt firme
de traduceri, n timp ce printre clienii direci se remarc
persoane fizice, juridice, notariate, cabinete de avocatur i,
mai rar, instituii publice sau edituri. PST-ul romn i caut
clienii mai ales pe piaa intern, numai o mic parte
activnd pe piaa global. Cu toate acestea, numrul mare
de juctori de pe piaa intern, precum i condiiile de pia,
l determin pe PST-ul romn s ncerce din ce n ce mai
mult s ptrund pe piaa global pentru a-i lrgi baza de
clieni i pentru a obine tarife mai bune. PST-ul romn se
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Textul 8.
Astfel PST-ul romn a constatat o cretere uoar a
numrului de clieni, care s-a oglindit ntr-o cretere uoar
a cifrei de afaceri n 2007 fa de aceeai perioad a anului
2006. Se observ c prestatorii care au decis s ptrund
pe piaa global au obinut rezultate pozitive i un numr
mai mic de respondeni au constat scderi ale numrului de
clieni pe piaa extern fa de cea intern. De asemenea,
prestatorii de servicii care se dedic profesiei de traductor
cu norm ntreag au obinut rezultate net superioare celor
care nu pot acorda dect un timp redus acestei activiti.
Aceste rezultate pozitive i ndeamn pe prestatorii de
servicii de traduceri romni s concluzioneze c, n 2007, s-
a nregistrat o cretere uoar a pieei de traduceri interne
i externe fa de aceeai perioad a anului 2006.
Traductorul romn este ncreztor n evoluia viitoare a
pieei de traduceri, considernd c tendina actual de
cretere uoar se va schimba n bine sau se va menine.
Aceste concluzii coincid cu statisticile internaionale care
arat c, la nivel global, piaa de servicii de traducere a
crescut anual cu 5-7%, unele ri raportnd creteri de 7-
10%, i se ateapt ca, n viitor, aceast cretere uoar la
nivel global s se menin n jurul valorii de 7,5%, cel puin
pn n anul 2011. Sectorul de traduceri din rile europene
din zona non-euro a prezentat n ultimii ani o dezvoltare
peste medie, favorizat de fora de munc ieftin, de
costurile sczute, precum i de dezvoltarea economic a
regiunii. Considerm c sectorul de traduceri din Romnia
va urma aceeai traiectorie, existnd un potenial de
dezvoltare considerabil.
(Cobli, C., Tendine de evoluie ale pieei de traduceri din
Romnia, 2008: 20)
Text 9.
Traducerea lucrrii s-a fcut pe baza terminologiei
oficializate n Romnia prin standardele de specialitate; s-a
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Text 10.
Aproape toat lumea consider azi c un defect
general al discursului public romnesc i mai cu seam al
celui din mass-media e gradul crescut de subiectivitate; se
observ c autorii i stpnesc cu greu propriile porniri,
simpatii i antipatii i nu reuesc dect rareori s gseasc
echilibrul adevratului profesionism, tonul neutru al
informaiei; personalitatea fiecruia este
supradimensionat, vorbitorul este tentat s dea verdicte,
lecii, s cread c opiniile sale sunt de cel mai mare interes
pentru potenialii interlocutori. Comparaia ntre diverse
tipuri de texte publicistice romneti i corespondentele lor
din presa strin e un prilej de a sesiza diferene i de a
ntri opiniile de mai sus.
(Rodica Zafiu, Diversitate stilistic n romna actual, EUB, 2001)
Text 11.
Nevoia de reglementare n domeniu decurge din importana
i necesitatea de a clarifica rolul i locul traductorului i al
interpretului, att n sistemul judiciar, ct i pentru nevoi
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Textul 12.
Profesia de traductor autorizat este menionat n legea
200/2004 i n HG 1921/2004 ca profesie liberal
reglementat. Nici unul din cele dou acte normative nu
menioneaz profesia de traductor/interpret, aa cum a
fost introdus la propunerea notarilor publici. De fapt, cele
dou profesii sunt de sine stttoare, avnd norme proprii
de exercitare. Mai mult, cele dou reglementri vorbesc
despre profesii liberale reglementate, dar legea 178/1997,
privind traductorii, modificat i completat prin Legea
281/2004, se refer numai la autorizarea i plata
traductorilor, nu reglementeaz i activitatea acestora,
fapt care face necesar legea de fa. n present,
autorizarea traductorului se d pe baza studiilor filologice
universitare i pe baza unui examen scris organizat de
Ministerul Culturii, pe baza cruia se obine un certificate de
traductor/interpret, lucru absolute incorect, avnd n
vedere diferenele majore dintre cele dou profesii.
n rile care utilizeaz sistemul de traduceri i
interpretariat pe baz de autorizaie, acesta se refer numai
la personae care sunt folosite, n acest scop, de ctre
instituiile judiciare, notari i organe oficiale. La selecie, se
are n vedere nivelul de pregtire al persoanelor respective,
disponibilitatea i capacitatea de comunicare, s aib studii
superioare, de preferin n filologie, eventual i de drept.
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Text 13.
Pe msur ce lucram mpreun cu Tatiana, la versiunea n
limba romn a crii de fa, am avut revelaia urmtorului
fapt: acesta este manualul de leadership al schimbrii
adaptive a educaiei n Romnia! Acum tim cum se face, ca
la carte. Din acest moment, ca membri responsabili i
competeni ai societii, putem orchestra i nfptui eficient
schimbarea adaptiv a Educaiei pe baza unui model solid
documentat, din care invm s gestionm cu succes o
extraordinar provocare de leadership.
Drept pentru care am decis s comit, asumndu-mi-l, un
gest fr precedent pentru mine, n seria volumelor ngrijite
pn acum: acela de a pune explicit aceast carte n
serviciul celui mai complex dintre proiectele transformrii
Romniei de azi, transformarea colii ca sistem. i voi face
acest lucru propunndu-v drept cheie de lectur a
textului lui Dean Williams tema colii pe bune. coala pe
bune nseamn o coal autentic, adic o coal care
cultiv valori, folosete i place.
Fie c ne place sau nu, fie c suntem de acord sau nu,
patru indicatori importani din surse independente ntre ele
plaseaz Romnia n lume i n Europa aa cum ne arat
tabelul urmtor.
(Dean Williams, Leadership real, traducerea Chera Tatiana, pref. De Sta
Marian, Codex, Bucureti 2005: xii)
Text 14.
Privit ca activitate subsumat, terminologia este
frecvent considerat n acelai timp, o activitate necesar
preliminar precum i un sub-produs al traducerii
specializate.
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REVISION EXERCISES
ADDITIONAL EXERCISES
A B D/F/F.
E.
a) There is many a slip 1.n orice zvon este
between cup and i o smn de
lip. adevr.
b) There is a kernel of 2.Vecinul apropiat
truth in any rumour. este mai bun dect
fratele din alt sat.
c) The cup calls the 3.Un mr pe zi te
kettle black. ferete de doctor.
d) An apple a day 4.Multe se pot ntmpla
keeps the doctor ntr-un interval de timp
foarte scurt.
away.
e) A near friend is 5.Rde hrb/ciob de
better than a far- oal spart.
dwelling kinsman.
Answers:
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