Most people studying a language in an educational establishment will most likely at some point have to do some form of translation. It is of course much easier to translate into your mother tongue, though the methods for translating to and from ones mother tongue are exactly the same. In this article I aim to outline the key points that one must keep in mind when undertaking to translate any text/article.
The most important step in translating any text is to read and understand it beforehand. It’s all too tempting to read and translate a text line by line but this will only lead to trouble and ultimately, a poor translation. In order to translate anything, one must first understand exactly what the text means – trying to translate a text without having a prior understanding of it is a big no-no. If the text is fairly simple you may just have to read it once or twice to develop a proper understanding. Though even the most hardy of translators may have to read a difficulty text 3 or more times before undertaking to translate it.
A common word that one may hear among translators and educators is register:
Register
(Linguistics) a variety of a language determined by degree of formality and choice of vocabulary, pronunciation, and syntax.– Oxford English Dictionary
Register is important because it determines exactly who the article or text is written for. So if for instance you’re translating a legal text from English to Spanish, you’re more likely to be using a very formal register of language. If you’re given a translation aimed at teenagers, the register will more than likely be imformal and colloquial. Another reason to read the text first is to develop a feel for the register of the it. It is very important not to change the register when translating in order to remain faithful to the original. Understanding the register also allows us to make the correct choice of vocabulary. Ofter you will find that one word has several completely unrelated meanings. The Spanish word aula means both classroom and lecture room/theatre, one can only make the right choice after having read and understood both the meaning and register of the text.
After having read the text several times, one should be able to paraphrase the text. Paraphrasing is an important step in the translation process as it allows us to put the text into our own words before adapting this to the register that the text requires.
When it comes to actually translating the text, it’s important to take it one sentence at a time. You should read and re-read the sentence to make sure you fully understand it before undertaking to translate it. Paraphrase the sentence in your head to demonstrate that you understand it, often you will find yourself paraphrasing several times before you start to approach what you would consider the most accurate translation and meaning. Some key points to note from each sentence are:
- Who is the subject of each verb ?
- Who or what is the object ?
- Which nouns do the adjectives refer to ?
- Does the sentence make sense ?
- Is it in keeping with the register of the original text ?
- Does it sound like a translation or an original work written in the target language ?
- Word order (when the construction isn’t natural in the target language).
- Tense of the verb (to make the construction sound more natural but NOT change the meaning).
- Cut a long sentence into two.
- The meaning of the text.
- Details: facts and figures.
- Names: of people and places.
