Peter Newmark translation theory

PETER NEWMARK’S TRANSLATION PROCESS EXPLANATION
Made By:
Zainab Albasyouni

Newmark defines translation as ‘’a craft consisting in the attempt to replace a
written message and/or a statement in one language by the same message and or
statement in another language”.
The noun craft doesn’t just imply the act of crafting, as a matter of fact, it has a
connotative meaning, it indicates that-as Newmark mentioned in his book A
Textbook of Translation- a translator ‘’works on four levels: translation is first a
science, which entails the knowledge, can be identified; secondly, it is a skill,
which calls for appropriate language and acceptable usage; thirdly, an art, which
distinguishes good from undistinguished writing and is the creative, the intuitive,
sometimes the inspired, level of the translation; lastly, a matter of taste.
 Zainab Albasyouni
 z.albasyouni@gmail.com

Newmark’s Translation Process Diagram
Formulation
(recreation)
Comprehension
SL Text TL Text
 Zainab Albasyouni
 z.albasyouni@gmail.com

The previous interlinear translation process diagram shows that there are
two different milestones a translator must overtake in order to reach the
final product.
These two milestones include several different steps in order to thoroughly
render the SLT, which are:
 1. Reading the text
 3. The intention of the translator
 5. The readership
 7. Connotations & Denotations
 2. The intention of the text
 4. Text types
 6. Setting
 8. The last reading

1.Reading the text
‘’You begin the job by reading the original for two purposes: first, to understand what it is
about; second, to analyze it from a 'translator’s point of view, which is not the same as a
linguist's or a literary critic's. You have to determine its intention and the way it is written for
the purpose of selecting a suitable translation method and identifying particular and
recurrent problems.’’
‘’Understanding the text requires both general and close reading.
General reading to get the gist ‘’ the core meaning’’; here you may have to read
encyclopedias, textbooks, or specialist papers to understand the subject and the concepts,
always bearing in mind that for the translator the function precedes the description’’
‘’Close reading is required, in any challenging text, of the words both out of and in context. In
principle’’, for example; finding TL equivalents for acronyms used in the SLT’’ and making sure
what the SL author means by them.

2.The intention of the text
‘’In reading, you search for the intention of the text, for example; two texts may describe
a battle or a riot or a debate, stating the same facts and figures, but the type of language
used and even the grammatical structures (passive voice, impersonal verbs often used
to disclaim responsibility) in each case may be evidence of different points of view. The
intention of the text represents the SL writer's attitude to the subject matter.’’
To summarize this nature, when you render a text you must pay careful attention to
each and every word used by the SL author, to the grammatical structure in order to
determine the aspect from which the SL author sees the matter and deliver the same
message and arouse same feelings “reaction” in the TL readership.

3.The intention of the translator
‘’Usually, the translator's intention is identical with that of the author of the SI - text.
But he may be translating an advertisement, a notice, or a set of instructions to show
his client how such matters are formulated and written in the source language,
Rather than how to adapt them in order to persuade or instruct a new TL reader-ship.
And again, he may be translating a manual of instructions for a less educated
readership, so that the explanation in his translation may be much larger than the
'reproduction'.

4. Text types
Following Nida, Newmark distinguishes four types of (literary or non-
literary) text:
‘’ (1) Narrative: a dynamic sequence of events, where the emphasis is on the
verbs.
(2) Description, which is static, with emphasis on linking verbs, adjectives,
adjectival nouns.
(3) Discussion, a treatment of ideas, with emphasis on abstract nouns
(concepts), verbs of thought, mental activity.
(4) Dialogue, with emphasis on colloquialisms and phaticisms.’’

5. The readership
A translator has to ‘’characterize the readership of the original and then of the
translation, and to decide how much attention he has to pay to the TL readers,
(In the case of a poem or any work written primarily as self-expression the
amount is very little,). A translator may try to assess the level of education, the
class, age and sex of the readership’’
In summary, translators have to know who the target receivers are, they may
have to conduct some research on them and inquire about them.

6. Setting
‘’You have to decide on the likely setting: Where would the text be published in the TL? What
is the TL equivalent of the SL periodical, newspaper, textbook, journal, etc., or who is the client
you are translating for and what are his requirements? You may have to take account of briefer
titles, absence of sub-titles and sub-headings, shorter paragraphs and other features of the TL
house-style, you have to make several assumptions about the SL readership. From the setting
of the SL text, as well as the text itself, you should assess whether the readership is likely to be
motivated (keen to read the text), familiar with the topic and the culture, and 'at home' in the
variety of language used. The three typical reader types are perhaps the expert, the educated
layman, and the uninformed. You then have to consider whether you are translating for the
same or a different type of TL readership, perhaps with less knowledge of the topic or the
culture, or a lower standard of linguistic education. Finally, if you are translating a poem or an
important authoritative statement, should you consider the TL reader at all, apart from
concessions or cultural scraps to help him out’’

7.Connotations & denotations
‘’Bear in mind that whilst all texts have connotations, an aura of ideas and feelings
suggested by lexical words (crudely, 'run' may suggest 'haste', 'sofa’ may suggest
'comfort'), in a non-literary text the denotations of a word normally come before its
connotations. But in a literary text, you have to give precedence to its connotations,
since, if it is any good, it is an allegory, a comment on society, at the time and now, as
well as on its strict setting.’’

8. The last reading
‘’Finally, you should note the cultural aspect of the SL text; you should underline all neologisms,
metaphors, cultural words and institutional terms peculiar to the SI. Or third language, proper
names, technical terms and Untranslatable words. Untranslatable words are the ones that have
no ready one-to-one equivalent in the TL; they are likely to be qualities or actions - descriptive
verbs, or mental words -words relating to the mind, that have no cognates in the TL.’’
‘’bear in mind that it is often helpful to study such an item first in context, then in isolation, as
though it were a dictionary or an encyclopedia entry only, and finally in context again.’’

Conclusion
The analysis of the SLT involving all the previous norms is just the first milestone of
a translation process that is “Comprehension” which means to decode and fully
understand the text before moving to the following step, which is; Formulation or
Recreation.

Formulation (recreation or reproduction)
In this phase you literally start applying the translation theory on your piece by choosing
a translation method or more, bearing in mind all of the things you highlighted in the
comprehension stage.

1. SL writer
2. SL norm
4. SL setting and
tradition
3. SL culture
TEXT
9. The truth (the facts of the matter)
5. TL readership
6. TL norms
7. TL culture
8. TL setting and
tradition
10. Translator  Zainab Albasyouni

The previous figure (Dynamics of Translation) shows how many opposing forces
pull the translation activity in many opposite directions and how a translator is a
go- between different matters.

Methods of Translation
 SL emphasis (Biased)
1. Word-for-word translation
2. Literal translation
3. Faithful translation
4. Semantic translation
 TL emphasis (Biased)
5. Adaptation
6. Free translation
7. Idiomatic translation
8. Communicative translation

1. Word-for-word translation
‘’This is often demonstrated as interlinear translation, with The TL immediately below
the SL words. The SL word-order is preserved and the words translated singly by their
most common meanings, out of context. Cultural words are translated literally. The main
use of word-for-word translation is either to understand the mechanics of the source
language or as a pre-translation process.’’
2. Literal translation
‘’The SL grammatical constructions are converted to their nearest TL equivalents but
the lexical words are again translated singly, out of context. As a pre-translation process,
this indicates the problems to be solved.’’

3. Faithful translation
‘’A faithful Translation attempts to reproduce the precise contextual meaning of the original within
the constraints of the TL grammatical structures. It 'transfers' cultural words and preserves the
degree of grammatical and lexical 'abnormality' (deviation from SL norms) in the translation. It
attempts to be completely faithful to the intentions and the text-realization of the SL writer.’’
4. Semantic translation
‘’Semantic translation differs from 'faithful translation' only in as far as it must take more account of
the aesthetic value (that is, the beautiful and natural sounds of the SL text, compromising on
'meaning' where appropriate so that no assonance, word-play or repetition jars in the finished
version. Further, it may translate less important cultural words by culturally neutral third or
functional terms but not by cultural equivalents. The distinction between 'faithful' and ^semantic'
translation is that the first is uncompromising and dogmatic, while the second is more flexible,
admits the creative exception to 100% fidelity and allows for the translator's intuitive empathy with
the original.’’  Zainab Albasyouni

5. Adaptation
‘’This is the 'freest' form of translation. It is used mainly for plays (comedies and poetry;
the themes, characters, plots are usually preserved, the SL culture converted to the TL
culture and the text rewritten. The deplorable practice of having a play or poem literally
translated and then rewritten by an established dramatist or poet has produced many poor
adaptations, but other adaptations have 'rescued period plays.’’
6. Free translation
‘’Free translation reproduces the matter without the manner, or the content without the
form of the original. Usually it is a paraphrase much longer than the original, a
So-called 'intralingual translation*, often prolix and pretentious, and not translation at all.’’

7. Idiomatic translation
‘’Idiomatic translation reproduces the 'message' of the original but tends to distort nuances
of meaning by preferring colloquialisms and idioms where these do not exist in the
original.’’
8. Communicative translation
‘’Communicative translation attempts to render the exact contextual meaning of the
original in such a way that both content and language are readily acceptable and
comprehensible to the readership.’’

Difference between semantic and communicative translation
In order to learn the difference between the two methods
You first need to know that according to Buhler, language has three main functions:
It’s either Expressive, Informative or Vocative

According to function:
*Expressive is to do with the mind of the speaker, writer, the originator of the
utterance which he used to express his feelings irrespective of any response.
Expressive text types are imaginative literature authoritative statements,
autobiographies, essay and personal correspondence.
*Informative is to do with the external situation, the facts of a topic including reported
ideas or theories. They’re considered with any topic of knowledge and often have
standard formats such as: textbooks, technical reports, scientific papers or agenda of
meeting. Informative texts convey information.
*Vocative is to do with the readership, the addressee. The readership is called upon to
act, think or to react in the way intended by the text. Typical types of vocative texts are:
notices, publicity, propaganda, persuasive writing and advertisements.

A comparsion between Semantic & Communicative Translation
Semantic Translation Communicative Translation
SL oriented or biased TL oriented or biased
Written at the author’s linguistic level Written at the readership level
interprets explains
More economical Usually less economical unless a text
was poorly written
Faithful- more literal Faithful-freer
informative effective
Detailed, more complex but briefer Clearer, simpler, smoother but longer.
Over-translated: more specific than the
original.
Under-translated
Maintains meaning Maintains message
Usually a work of one translator The product of a translation team
Usually used for expressive texts Usually used for informative and
vocative texts

This explanation is an individual work based on what Peter Newmark
talks about in his book “A Textbook of Translation”, and based on the gist
I grasped from the book and college.
Made By:
Zainab Albasyouni

Peter Newmark translation theory

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