Article drafting Tado by Luisa Pastore-Alinante of Fernández Baca, translator and interpreter with 40 years experience, TPJ, a member of the International Association of Conference Interpreters (AIIC) and former Chairman of the Board of the Association of Professional Translators Peru (PPTA).
I must be honest: I consider such a concept of translation is not only profoundly wrong but also seriously dangerous.
 | Grave because it contradicts an absolutely fundamental aspect of language, by itself, the language is form and nothing else. There is nothing more than an organized set of symbols to convey what is called the "sense", meaning, or whatever you want to call the mental image that allows us to relate to external reality. We've all had the experience of watching or listening to a text in an unknown language and not "see" anything in our minds. Without reference to the meaning, no translation is possible. Every translation is a triangular process: from source language to meaning, from there to the target language. Just think of how to translate the following sentence: He eats shoots and leaves. And then the next sentence: He eats, shoots and leaves. What would be the "literal translation" possible for one and other? |
| Pastore Luisa Fernandez-Baca Alinante |
The meaning depends on the segment of text that is taken into account, we know this all translators. The longer the segment, our perception is fuller and more accurate sense of the translation.
A classic case of this gives us the gerund in English:
| Example | Sense | English Equivalent |
| Within the period specified in the schedule, the winning bidder for the bid sign the contract, must comply with:
| condition or reservation | subject to: |
| can not refuse the request of the Purchaser to transfer all or part of the rights and / or obligations under this Agreement or the assignment of contractual position, while the transfer is made to: i) a related company, not be necessary for that company : | Precision | it Being Understood That |
| They have to notify a preliminary decision to the parties within sixty ( 60) days following their appointment, giving PARTIES twenty (20) days | Accuracy / | and |
| Taking this standard take precedence over the laws of the country , police edicts, misdemeanors codes, fault codes, municipal provincial standards, among others, always ignored the covenants. | It opposes | |
| In the 90's, there were several judgments of the Constitutional Court, which adopts an attitude of tolerance for prostitution, as "an evil that should not be ignored, but neither can be eliminated, considering that his practice does not alter or disturb the peace and security of the inhabitants of the sector and / or impair the rights of minors, in one way or another, might be led to their practice. | logical consequence + condition | and, accordingly |
| AUTOS AND WHEREAS: With the certified copy of the power that accompanies: Please be fulfilled and providing demand and the letter of correction as appropriate | Adverb | Responding to the petition and considering compliance with procedural due |
Translate means to convey the semantic content of the original text either prioritizing aspects of information (the so-called "technical translation) or aesthetic aspects (the translation), of course without ignoring the cultural edges. Transmit everything is impossible, since only the original contains everything by definition. This means that the translator must modulate their translation function, primarily, the consignee and the use that will give a translation.
The so-called "free translation" is a contradiction in terms, for the translation, as a mere medium of transmission, must be completely free to the extent strictly necessary to achieve its mission, and totally enslaved in respecting the meaning the original in every nuance, without adding or removing anything. It is true that all speak of "literal translation" to bring the case in which the translator is forced to play drafting errors in the original document. The classic case is the official translation of poorly written texts, which present us with the dilemma of writing as the author's intention expressed not through the text, but by other means (oral explanation, our knowledge of the subject, etc..) Or according to the intention (or not expressed) through the text. This is a touchy subject. However, the problem has nothing to do with the alleged dilemma literal / free translation.
At the beginning of this article mentioned the danger of this false dilemma.
Before a phrase that does not mean all of us translators, including yours truly, we are tempted to resort to a translation "literal." Let us think, what do we mean by this? Because we understand the following process: first, for example, a phrase such as "crown prince", we first consider the common sense of "prince", which is undoubtedly "prince", then consider the common sense of "crown", which is undoubtedly "crown." Then consider that in English the noun adjective always comes after and that any noun can become an adjective. Et voilà "crown prince." The problem is that not mean "crown prince", which in effect means nothing, as the Castilian semantic equivalent of "crown prince" is "the crown prince." It
therefore clear that, if he instilled the young apprentice translator (or interpreter) the idea that they exist side by side, a possible literal translation and free translation possible of the same text, it creates the idea that sticking to the "form" of the original is kept safe from possible misinterpretation. Nothing is further from reality. The truth is frees us of all the translators (and interpreters) of the need to understand the text so that it can translate. We all know mistakes genre of "crown prince" and "National Bench" by Banco de la Nacion. The fact that it is not known mistakes of translation software, but very human translators, says that the cause lies in the false dilemma, this misconception is absolutely radical.
Incidentally, the translation software algorithms are based on statistics on the frequency of use of terms in certain contexts default. Produce ridiculous results when used with non-stereotypical texts, but can be effective with texts of the genre of textbooks. In fact in these cases are very useful, because they ensure a consistency in the use of terms is impossible to achieve human translators alone without incurring very high (in large construction projects, for example, said that millions of words to translate) . **** NOTE BENE
A specific and very interesting problem is posed by the official translation of texts that are actually turn shoddy translations of texts written in the target language of the official translation. To what extent can / should the translator in charge of this "back translation" to correct errors to prevent the official translation becomes useless for the purpose to which it applies (the classic case is that of the authorities)? This raises questions not only technical but also and above all, ethical.
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