TRANSLATION TECHNIQUES AND CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS

English and Italian are two syntactically different languages and some adjustments are needed to
make the target text sound more natural. For example, the source text requires that the subject is
always explicitly expressed whereas in most cases the subject is implied in Italian, and in many cases I
omitted the subject. Translation is an important activity and it is also very important to give the right
meaning, so the translator’s job consists of maintaining the nearest sense of the source text into the
target text. In his book Dire quasi la stessa cosa, Umberto Eco tried to explain what translation is,
focusing on the deep meaning of a text, which shall be transferred to the target text. If the translator
transfers the wrong meaning, it may be dangerous for the readers, so it is important to find ways
which may lead to a better translation. One of these ways is the application of the translation
strategies. In the 1950s, two French scholars named Paul Vinay and Jean Dalbernet explored the
linguistic aspects of translation. At that time, the field of translation studies didn’t really exist.

According to Vinay and Dalbernet, there are seven main procedures during any given translation.
The seven procedures can be divided into direct translation techniques (non corrispondono a vere e
proprie operazioni traduttive) and oblique translation techniques (presentano una variazione
lessicale o morfosintattica).

Direct translation techniques:

Borrowing. It's when a word is borrowed from another language without translating it. It is a
procedure that involves using the same word in the ST and TT. It means to take a word from the
source language and to maintain it in the target language. It is a procedure that involves using the
same word in the source text and the target text. It is considered the simplest of procedures and it is
normally used when a term does not exist in the target language. Example: mafia, pizza, jeans,
single...
Calque. It's when the translator uses a neologism in the target language by adopting the structure
of the source language. It is when an expression from the source text is transferred literally into the
target text. It could be considered a special type of borrowing. The translator uses a neologism in the
target language by adopting the structure of the source language. Calque are often used in everyday
language. (Creazione di neologismi seguendo la strutura della lingua di origine: grattacielo da
skyscraper)
Literal translation. It is a word to word translation. Achieving a correct text which is correct
idiomatically. It is a degree zero of translation

Oblique translation techniques:

Transposition. This technique involves moving from one grammatical category to another, without
altering the meaning of the text. This technique introduces a change in grammatical structure:
changing the grammatical category of a word without changing its meaning. Translator often change
the word type, such as from nouns to verbs. Grammatical transpositions are frequent in order to
obtain a translation that sounds as if it had been originally written in the target language. Example:
No smoking = Vietato fumare, Before he comes = Prima del suo arrivo (e non prima che egli arrivi)
Modulation. It is a technique that involves changing the text by using different words with the
same meaning. It refers to rendering the target text from a different point of view to that of the
source text. It is necessary when the results of the former procedures would produce an awkward-
sounding translation, despite it being grammatically, syntactically, and lexically correct. Modulation
may take place between an abstract and a concrete term; a part and a whole; cause and effect;
active and passive; affirmation and negation of the contrary; time and space. This method requires
high linguistic competences. (Produrre una frase che suona meglio rispetto alla frase tradotta in
modo letterale: no vacancies = tutto esaurito, it’s not too warm = fa freschetto, Von Kopf bis Fuss =
da cima a fondo)
Equivalence. Also known as reformulation, it's a way of translating in which the translation
expresses the same situation using an expression which is totally different with completely different
stylistic and structural methods. Usually relates to idiomatic expressions, sayings and proverbs. Vinay
and Darbelnet explain equivalence as something almost inherently cultural. Example: It’s raining cats
and dogs = piove a catinelle, break a leg = in bocca al lupo
Adaptation. It is the so called “cultural substitution” or “cultural equivalent”. It is a cultural
element which replaces the original text with one that suits better the cultural context of the target
language. It is a kind of substitution supposed to take place when the situation referred to by the SL
message does not function in the TL culture. In such cases the translator should recreate a situation
that can be regarded as more or less equivalent. Adaptation is used in those cases in which the type
of situation being referred to by the source language text is unknown in the target culture and
translators create a new situation. From this outlook, adaptation is a specific kind of situational
equivalence. Example: Tour de France = giro d'Italia, Before you could say Jack Robinson = In un
battito di ciglia

In the late 1980s, Joseph L. Malone, in his book The Science of Linguistics in the Art of Translation,
using examples from several languages, introduced nine translation strategies which are very useful
to translators:

Matching includes:
EQUATION. A sort of ‘automatic’ one-to-one equivalence. This might include: borrowing (baseball,
lasagna, software), calque (dribblare, crossare), traps (similar words). It is when a word in the source
text is equal to another word in the target text and includes loans and calques. Where it is not
possible, it is replaced by substitution.
SUBSTITUTION. If there is no ‘automatic’ equation, substitution is necessary. It happens if there is
not one equivalence for the word in the target text, and this word should be replaced by the nearest
word with the nearest grammatical category of meaning. It encompasses V&D’s ‘transposition’,
‘equivalence’, ‘adaptation’. An item is replaced with another item. Example: the Italian ‘di’ replaces
the English Saxon Genitive (grammar level), the Italian subjunctive can be replaced by an English
infinitive (Farò in modo che si interessi = I’ll try to get her to), With proverbs: The straw that broke
the camel’s back = La goccia che fece traboccare il vaso. Cultural relocation: Slytherin = Serpeverde;
Hufflepuff = Tassorosso.

Zigzagging includes:
CONVERGENCE. One word is used to translate a group of words. The relation is many-to-one. For
example, the Italian pronouns tu/Lei/voi/Loro converging into you. A range of words or even a
sentence in the source language may have one equivalence in the target language. Example:
commercialista, ragioniere, contabile = accountant.
DIVERGENCE. One word is translated with a group of words. The relation is one-to-many. It is the
opposite of convergence. Divergence means choosing a suitable replacement from a range of
alternatives. Example: girare = to turn, to switch, to pass on, to twist, to go round, to travel, to spin,
to wind

Recrescence includes:
AMPLIFICATION. Words are added to explain the meaning. It means that some elements are
added by the translator in order to produce more comprehensibility or to explain the meaning of
something. The most obvious form of Amplification is the translator’s note, be it in endnote, a
footnote, or a bracketed addition following the item itself. Example: Salame = Salted (pork) meat,
interesse = vested interest
REDUCTION. Words are cancelled because not necessary. It is when some elements are omitted or
taken away for better understanding or because they are not necessary. It consists in omitting an
element in the TT because it is regarded as redundant, unnecessary, or even misleading. Example:
carta geografica = map, globo terrestre = globe, esporre in modo visibile =display.
-Repackaging includes:
DIFFUSION. It is a strategy used if the source text is expanded but no extra information is added.
Example: Magari! = If I only could!, Doveva arrivare alle tre = He was supposed to arrive at three
o’clock.
CONDENSATION. It means that the source text is contracted but no information is omitted.
Condensation is frequent with phrasal verbs. Ex: A buon mercato = cheap; Far vedere = show / With
phrasal verbs: To make up for = compensare; To make up = inventare / In univariate strings (esp. in
scientific language): Criteri di qualità dell’aria = air quality criteria

REORDERING. It means changing the word order. As the grammatical structures in different
languages are different from each other, the elements of sentences might be reordered to have a
translation comprehensible for the reader. It happens postponed to the noun in the target language,
whereas adjectives usually preceed nouns in English. It requires the translator to operate basic
inversion procedures with, for example, adjective-noun sequences or verb-object positioning.
Example: white horse = cavallo bianco. While Italian will typically front a verb phrase, the English
version of such clauses is usually the typical subject-verb structure: è successa una disgrazia =
something terrible has happened. An impersonal ‘si’ construction: i risultati si possono vedere =
results can be seen. An active form using verbs with impersonal agents whose nominal or pronominal
identity never appears: mi hanno detto che = I have been told that

EXAMPLE OF CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS

'I dug into the present. Several months passed, and little by little it began to seem possible that I
would survive. This was life in a foxhole, but Sophie and Ben were down there with me, and that was
all I really wanted. As long as I remembered not to look up, the danger could not touch us. We
moved to an apartment on Riverside Drive in February. Settling in carried us through to mid-spring,
and I had little chance to dwell on Fanshawe. If the letter did not vanish from my thoughts
altogether, it no longer posed the same threat. I was secure with Sophie now, and I felt that nothing
could break us apart—not even Fanshawe, not even Fanshawe in the flesh. Or so it appeared to me
then, whenever I happened to think of it. I understand now how badly I was deceiving myself, but I
did not find that out until much later. By definition, a thought is something you are aware of. The fact
that I did not once stop thinking about Fanshawe, that he was inside me day and night for all those
months, was unknown to me at that time.' (From The Locked Room, P. Auster)

Mi immersi nel presente. Passarono diversi mesi e poco a poco la sopravvivenza cominciò a
sembrarmi possibile. Questa era una vita da rintanati*, ma Sophie e Ben erano lì con me, ed era tutto
ciò che desideravo davvero. Fino a quando badavo a non espormi, non avremmo corso nessun
pericolo. Ci siamo trasferiti in un appartamento di Riverside Drive a febbraio. Nel sistemarci
arrivammo a metà primavera, e fino ad allora non avevo molto tempo per pensare a Fanshawe.
Anche se la lettera non svaniva del tutto dai miei pensieri, oramai non rappresentava più una
minaccia come prima. Adesso ero al sicuro con Sophie, e sentivo che nulla poteva separarci:
nemmeno Fanshawe, nemmeno Fanshawe in carne ed ossa. O almeno così mi sembrava ogni volta
che mi capitava di pensarci. Ora capisco quanto mi stavo ingannando, ma lo scoprii molto tempo
dopo. Per definizione, un pensiero è qualcosa di cui sei consapevole. Il fatto che io non smetessi di
pensare a Fanshawe, che mi abitava giorno e notte per tutti quei mesi, mi era ignoto all'epoca.
*Literally: nella buca della volpe
CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS:
English and Italian are certainly not alike and that's mainly because of their different origins: Italian is
a Romance language, while English is a Germanic language. Considering this, the languages offer not
merely two parallel ways of saying the same things, but rather different ways of expressing oneself.
For this reason English and Italian are two syntattically different languages and some adjustments are
needed to make the target text sound more natural. First of all, the source text requires that the
subject is always explicity expressed, whereas usually the subject in implied in italian, so in many
cases I omitted the personal pronoun. Furthermore, in many cases verb tenses do not correspond in
the two languages: in fact italian have fewer tenses and they are used in different way. Lastly, the
punctuation was also adjusted: the use of a dash to indicate an incidental phrase is not common in
italian, so I replace it with a colon.

TRANSLATION TECHNIQUES:
Modulation (Vinay and Dalbernet): it is a technique that involves changing the target text by using
different words with the same meaning of the source text. It is necessary when the results of the
former procedures would produce an awkward-sounding translation, despite in being grammatically,
syntattically and lexically correct. I had little chance to dwell on Fanshawe / non avevo molto tempo
per pensare a Fanshawe the danger could not touch us / non avremmo corso nessun pericolo

Borrowing (Vinay and Dalbernet): It means to take a word from the source text and maintain it in
the target text without translating it. It is usually used with name of cities and streets, or when a
term doesn't exist in the target language. Riverside Drive / Riverside Drive

Literal translation (Vinay and Dalbernet): it is a word to word translation. It is a degree zero of
translation. By definition, a thought is something / Per definizione, un pensiero è qualcosa

Equivalence (Vinay and Dalbernet): also known as reformulation, it's a way of translating in which
the translation expresses the same sistuation using an expression which is totally different. Usually
relates to idiomatic expressions, sayings and proverbs. Vinay and Dalbernet explain equivalence as
something almost inherently cultural.
in the flesh / in carne ed ossa

Condensation (Malone): The source text is contracted but no information is omitted. Is it frequent
with phrasal verbs. moved to / trasferiti aware of / consapevole break us apart / separarci

Reordering (Malone): As the grammatical structures in various languages are different from each
other, the elements of sentences might need to be reordered to have a comprehensible translation.
it began to seem possible that I would survive / la sopravvivenza cominciò a sembrarmi possible

Amplification (Malone): Some elements are added by the translator in order to explain the meaning
of something, for example
with translator's note. * Literally: nella buca della volpe