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Peter Newmark: Essence/gist Way Problems Method

The chapter discusses analyzing a text from a translator's perspective with the purposes of understanding the subject and concepts, and identifying the intention and function. It involves a general reading to grasp the essence and a close reading to understand contextualized and decontextualized words, figures, names, assumed knowledge, and the writer's attitude, point of view, and intended tone through grammatical structures and word choices. The intention of a text represents the original writer's opinion and perspective, which the translator must be aware of to convey the proper tone.

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76 views3 pages

Peter Newmark: Essence/gist Way Problems Method

The chapter discusses analyzing a text from a translator's perspective with the purposes of understanding the subject and concepts, and identifying the intention and function. It involves a general reading to grasp the essence and a close reading to understand contextualized and decontextualized words, figures, names, assumed knowledge, and the writer's attitude, point of view, and intended tone through grammatical structures and word choices. The intention of a text represents the original writer's opinion and perspective, which the translator must be aware of to convey the proper tone.

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Palmy Paradise
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Textbook of Translation

Peter Newmark

Chapter 2. The Analysis of a Text

Reading a text Purposes:

Understand what it is about Analyze it from a ”translator’s” point of view

a. General reading Intention/function


- essence/gist subject & concepts - The way it is written
(encyclopedias, textbooks, - Particular & recurrent problems
specialist papers, and so forth) - Suitable translation method

b. Close reading
- Contextualized & decontextualized words (in & out context)
to find SENSE:

- Words/phrases metaphorically, musically, technically, colloquially used


- Acronyms1
- Neologisms2
1
A word made up from the first letters of the name of something such as an organization. For example,
NATO is an acronym for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

2
a new word or expression, or a word used with a new meaning. Syn. Coinage:

a. a word or phrase that has been recently invented : The phrase ‘glass ceiling’ is a fairly recent
coinage.

b. the invention of new words or phrases

1
- Figures & measures
- Names of people & places
- World knowledge
- Presupposed3 & assumed knowledge

Words like ‘always’, ‘never’, ‘all’ and ‘must’ have no place in talk about translation –there are
‘always’ exceptions (Newmark 1988: 11-12).

INTENTION OF A TEXT
What is meant by X?

Represents the SL writer’s:


- attitude to/opinion of the subject matter
- point of view/ tone
- modal4 component to the proposition

‘unfortunately, ‘nevertheless’, ‘Hopefully’


Irony
Implicitly/obscurely-openly/explicitly expressed/conveyed

- Type of language (register, genre)


- Grammatical structures
passive voice
impersonal verbs
nominalizations
verb types
word order (emphasis)

3
presuppose
- to depend on something that is believed to exist or to be true. Syn. assume:
The idea of heaven presupposes the existence of God.
Your argument presupposes that Dickens was a social reformer.
- to have to happen if something is true :
Without struggle there can be no progress, and struggle presupposes winners and losers. [LDOCE]
4
Modal meanings are concerned with the attitude of the speaker to the hearer or to what is being said.

2
Same event different lexical and grammatical structuring different attitude

Intention/always a point of view subjective writing


About newspaper: a condemnation of the press
About nuclear weapon: advertisement

Translator has to be aware of the tone of the writing.

Newmark, P. (1988). A Textbook of Translation. Prentice Hall International.

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