1、HELPS FOR TRANSLATORSPREPARED UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE UNITED BIBLE SOCIETIESVOLUME VIIITHE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF TRANSLATIONIOtTHE THEORY AND 9PRACTICE OF TRANSLATIONBYisriTffG ur:vr.r “A. JEUGENE A. NIDA I .“ i 11 AND CHARLES R. TABERSECOND PHOTOMECHANICAL REPRINTPUBLISHED FOR THE UNITED BIBLE S
2、OCIETIES BY E. J. BRILL, LEIDEN1982PUBLISHED FOR THE UNITED BIBLE SOCIETIES BY E. J. BRILL, LEIDEN1982Helps for Translators prepared under the auspices of the United Bible SocietiesVolume I OLD TESTAMENT TRANSLATION PROBLEMSVolume II A TRANSLATORS HANDBOOK ON MARKVolume III OLD TESTAMENT QUOTATIONS
3、IN THE NEW TESTAMENTVolume IV SECTION HEADING AND REFERENCE SYSTEMVolume V NEW TESTAMENT INDEXVolume VI ORTHOGRAPHY STUDIESVolume VII BIBLE TRANSLATIONS FOR POPULAR USEVolume VIII THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF TRANSLATIONThis volume was first published in 1969 First reprint 1974ISBN 90 04 06550 4Copyri
4、ght 1969 by E.J. Brill, Leiden, The NetherlandsAll rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or translated in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm, microfiche or any other means without written permission from the publisherPRINTED IN THE NETHERLANDSTABLE OF CONTENTSPreface. vui. A
5、 New Concept of Translating i2. The Nature of Translating 122. Grammatical Analysis 332. Referential Meaning 562. Connotative Meaning. 912. Transfer 992. Restructuring i202. Testing the Translation 163Appendix: Organization of Translation Projects . i?4Bibliography: . . . 187Glossary i9fjGeneral Ind
6、ex . 209Biblical Index . . . 216PREFACEThis volume on The Theory and Practice of Translation is the logical outgrowth of the previous book Toward a Science of Translating (1964), which explored some of the basic factors constituting a scientific approach to translation. This second volume presents c
7、ertain of these same theories in a pedagogically oriented order, designed to assist the translator to master the theoretical elements as well as to gain certain practical sldlls in learning how to carry out the procedures. Though this present book treats the problems of translating primarily in term
8、s of a scientific orientation to linguistic structures, semantic analysis, and information theory, it does not lose sight of the fact that translating is far more than a science. It is also a skill, and in the ultimate analysis fully satisfactory translation is always an art.In this volume the illus
9、trative data are drawn primarily from the field of Bible translating. This reflects both the immediate concerns of those for whom the book has been specifically prepared and the background experience of the authors. There are, however, certain ways in which this may be a distinct advantage to the re
10、ader interested in the broadest possible aspects of translating, for Bible translating has a longer tradition (it began in the third century B.C.), involves far more languages (1393 languages by the end of 1968), is concerned with a greater variety of cultures (Bible translators have worked in all a
11、reas of the world), and includes a wider range of literary types (from lyric poetrj- to theological discourse) than any comparable kind of translating. iVccordingly, even though the illustrative data may seem somewhat restricted, the total range of background experience is unusually wide, and hence
12、the basis for observations on the essential problems of semantic analysis, discourse structures, and cultural transfers is particularly valid.The first two chapters are essentially introductory, for they deal with certain of the broader issues and attempt to orient the reader with respect to the tot
13、al task. The following chapters take up in a systematic order the fundamental procedures of translating: analysis, transfer, restructuring, and testing. Purely practical considerations of committee organization and procedures for carrying out the work of translating are treated in the Appendix. A gl
14、ossary of technical terms is also added, as a kind of index, in which difficult w?ords are briefly defined. The reader is then referred to that particular place in the text where the subject is discussed in greatest detail and thoroughness.This volume is the result of three different drafts, prepare
15、d over a period of approximately four years, and used in varying form in a number of translators institutes and seminars held in various places throughout the w-orld. It has also benefited from the advice and counsel of a numbervnVIII PREFACEof Translations Consultants working under the auspices of
16、the United Bible Societies.The Theory and Practice of Translation is not, however, to be considered exhaustive in the sense that it explores fully all the important areas and problems of the translator. In two respects especially there is need for further amplification: i. the presentation of struct
17、ural semantics, including componential analysis, and 2. discourse analysis. As regards the first kind of problems, another volume is now in preparation, tentatively titled Introduction to Structural Semantics, which will deal much more fully with the theoretical and structural aspects of semantics.
18、The whole matter of grammatical meaning will be treated there, including especially the important notions of “case“ and “role“ as discussed in recent writings of Fillmore and Langendoen. In the second area, research is also being carried out by the technical staff of the Bible Societies, which will
19、lead to publications in the not-too-distant future.EUGENE A. NIDA and CHARLES R. TABERNew York, 1969CHAPTER ONEA NEW CONCEPT OF TRANSLATINGNever before in the history of the world have there been so many persons engaged in the translating of both secular and religious materials. It is estimated that
20、 at least 100,000 persons dedicate most or all of their time to such work, and of these at least 3,000 are engaged primarily in the translation of the Bible into some Soo languages, representing about So percent of the worlds population.Unfortunately, the underlying theory of translating has not cau
21、ght up with the development of skills; and in religious translating, despite consecrated talent and painstaking efforts, a comprehension of the basic principles of translation and communication has lagged behind translating in the secular fields. One specialist in translating and interpreting for th
22、e aviation industry commented that in his work he did not dare to employ the principles often followed by translators of the Bible: “With us,“ he said, “complete intelligibility is a matter of life and death.“ Unfortunately, translators of religious materials have sometimes not been prompted by the
23、same feeling of urgency to make sense.THE OLD FOCUS AND THE NEW FOCUSThe older focus in translating was the form of the message, and translators took particular delight in being able to reproduce stylistic specialties, e.g., rhythms, rhymes, plays on words, chiasmus, parallelism, and unusual grammat
24、ical structures. The new focus, however, has shifted from the form of the message to the response of the receptor. Therefore, what one must determine is the response of the receptor to the translated message. This response must then be compared with the way in which the original receptors presumably
25、 reacted to the message when it was given in its original setting.Even the old question: Is this a correct translation ? must be answered in terms of another question, namely: For whom? Correctness must be determined by the extent to which the average reader for which a translation is intended will
26、be likely to understand it correctly. Moreover, we are not concerned merely with the possibility of his understanding correctly, but with the overwhelming likelihood of it. In other words, we are not content merely to translate so that the average receptor is likely to understand the message; rather
27、 we aim to make certain that such a person is very unlikely to misunderstand it.Posing the question of correctness in this manner naturally implies that there will be different translations which can be called “correct.“ In fact, for the scholar who is himself well acquainted with the original, even
28、 the most labored, literal translation will be “correct,“ for he will not misunderstand it. On the other hand, in most large linguistic com-2 A NEW CONCEPT OF TRANSLATINGmunities, especially when they employ so-called international languages spoken by millions of people, there are a number of socioe
29、ducational levels of speech and comprehension. This means that several different levels of translation, in terms of vocabulary and grammatical structures, are required, if all people are to have essentially equal opportunities to understand the message.This test of comprehensibility is concerned pri
30、marily with discovering and eliminating two different types of expressions: (i) those which are likely to be misunderstood and (2) those so difficult and “heavy“ (whether in vocabulary or grammar) as to discourage the reader from attempting to comprehend the content of the message. Such idioms as “c
31、hildren of the bridechamber“ (Mark 2:19) and “heap coals of fire on his head“ (Rom. 12:20) are typical of the first category. The average person unacquainted with Semitic idioms is simply not going to understand that the “children of the bridechamber“ are the friends of the bridegroom, or wedding gu
32、ests, and that “heap coals of fire on his head“ means to make a person ashamed of his behavior, and is not a way of torturing people to death.When a high percentage of people misunderstand a rendering, it cannot be regarded as a legitimate translation. For example, in Romans 1:17 most traditional tr
33、anslations have “the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith,“ and most readers naturally assume that this is a reference to Gods own personal righteousness. Most scholars are agreed, however, that this is not Gods own righteousness, but the process by which God puts men right with hims
34、elf (cf. Todays English Version). It is the act of “justification“ (to use a technical, and generally misunderstood word) and not the character of righteousness. But a translation which insists on rendering the Greek literally as “the righteousness of God“ is simply violating the meaning for the sak
35、e of preserving a formal grammatical correspondence.In addition to being quite misleading, a translation may also be so stylistically heavy as to make comprehension almost impossible. For example, in the American Standard Version (1901), 2 Corinthians 3:10 reads,“ “For verily that which hath been ma
36、de glorious hath not been made glorious in this respect, by reason of the glory that surpasseth.“ The words are all English, but the sentence structure is essentially Greek. The New English Bible quite rightly restructures this passage to read, “Indeed, the splendour that once was is now no splendou
37、r at all; it is outshone by a splendour greater still.“Problem 1Evaluate the following sets of renderings of Biblical passages in terms of how readily and correctly an ordinary reader or hearer is likely to understand them:1. Matt. 3:15c: “Then he John suffered him Jesus“ (KJV).“So John agreed“ (TEV
38、).A NEW CONCEPT OF TRANSLATING2. John 1:14: “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt amongus, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth“(KJV).“So the word of God became a human being and lived among us. We saw his splendour (the splendour as o
39、f a fathers onlv son), full of grace and truth“ (PhiUips).“The Word became a human being and lived among us. We saw his glory, full of grace and truth. This was the glory which he received as the Fathers only Son“ (TEV).3. Rom. 3:21-22: “But now the righteousness of God without the lawis manifested,
40、 being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe“ (KJV).“But, in these days, Gods way of justification has at last been brought to light; one which was attested by the law and the prophets, but stand
41、s apart from the law; Gods way of justification through faith in Jesus Christ, meant for everybody and sent down upon everybody without distinction, if he has faith“ (Knox).“But now Gods way of putting men right with himself has been revealed, and it has nothing to do with law. The Law and the proph
42、ets gave their witness to it: God puts men right through their faith in Jesus Christ. God does this to all who believe in Christ“ (TEV).NEW ATTITUDES WITH RESPECT TO RECEPTOR LANGUAGESSome of the basic difficulties in Bible translation can be traced to the fact that people often have quite wrong vie
43、ws of the receptor as well as of the source languages. Hence, to produce texts which will approximate the goal of equivalent response, translators often need to change their view of the languages in which they are working. This includes not mere! a shift in some of the attitudes which tend to place
44、the source languages on a theological pedestal and to bow down before them in blind submission, but it often requires quite a radical rethinking of ones attitude toward the receptor language, even when it is ones own mother tongue.Each language has its own genius.In the first place, it is essential
45、to recognize that each language has its own genius. That is to say, each language possesses certain distinctive34 A NEW CONCEPT OF TRANSLATING A NEW CONCEPT OF TRANSLATING 0characteristics which give it a special character, e.g., word-building capacities, unique patterns of phrase order, techniques
46、for linking clauses into sentences, markers of discourse, and special discourse types of. poetry, proverbs, and song. Each language is rich in vocabulary for the areas of cultural focus, the specialities of the people, e.g., cattle (Anuaks in the Sudan), yams (Ponapeans in Micronesia), hunting and f
47、ishing (Piros in Peru), or technology (the western world). Some languages are rich in modal particles. Others seem particularly adept in the development of figurative language, and many have very rich literary resources, both written and oral.To communicate effectively one must respect the genius of
48、 each language.Rather than bemoan the lack of some feature in a language, one must respect the features of the receptor language and exploit the potentialities of the language to the greatest possible extent. Unfortunately, in some instances translators have actually tried to “remake“ a language. Fo
49、r example, one missionary in Latin America insisted on trying to introduce the passive voice of the verb into a language which had no such form. Of course, this was not successful. One must simply accept the fact that there are many languages which do not have a passive voice. They merely choose to report actions only as active.Rather than force the formal structure of one language upon another, the effective translator is quite prepared to make any and all formal changes necessary to reproduce the message in the distinctive st
