STEPS IN A TRANSLATION PROJECT

STEPS IN A TRANSLATION PROJECT

Establishing the project

     There are several matters which need to be clearly understood in this project:

1.      The text is the source language document which is to be translated based on various reasons.

a.       To communicate information

b.      To share the enjoyment

c.       The text is potential for its use by the receptor audience

2.      The target is audience. For whom is the translation being prepared?

 The form of translation will be affected by :

a.       Questions  of  dialect

b.      Educational level

c.       Age level

d.      Bilingualism

e.       People’s attitude towards their language

3.      The team is the people who will be involved  in the project (translator, a consultant, testers, reviewers, and technical people to do typing and proofreading). The person who competent speaker of  both the source and the receptor language.

The team may consist of :

a.       Co-translator : who one is specialist in the source  language and the other a specialist in the receptor language.

b.      A translator : who capability to handle both source  language and receptor language matter and an advisor or consultant

c.       A commitee working together with specific responsibilities delegated to each one.

4.      Tools refers to the written source materials which will be used by  the translators as helps.

These include: the document to be translated, any dictionaries, lexicons, grammars, cultural description,

Exegis

Exegesis refers to the process of discovering the meaning of the source language text which is to be translated. Includes:

a.  The preparation and analysis which must be done before anything can be written in the receptor language.

b. The text must be understood completely

       The goals of exegesis is to determine the meaning which is to be communicated in the receptor language text.. Analysis of the source text will include:

             1. Resolving ambiguity

             2. Identifying implicit information,

 3. Studying key words, interpreting figurative sense,

             4. Recognizing

a. When the words are being used in a secondary sense

                   b. When the grammatical structures are being used in secondary function.

Transfer and initial draft

       The translator is transfering from the source language into the receptor language. The translator begins drafting piece by piece, section by section. Before any extensive drafting can be done, the key terms must be determined. It needs to be decided upon and  may need to be checked with other speakers of the receptor language.

       There are two ways of approaching the transfer and initial draft

1.      Translator prefer to do a quick rough translation so that the material flows naturally. They go back and tighten up the details to be sure that there is no wrong information, no omissions or additions.

2.      Others prefer to prepare a proposition like semantic draft, being sure that all the information is accounted for, reword it for naturalness, reword it in the idiomatic form of the receptor language.

Evaluation

       The purpose of evaluation is three folds: accuracy, clearness and naturalness.

·  The translator will want to compare the translation with the source text at several points during the translation process to be sure no additions, deletions or change of information.

·    The translator  will want to have receptor language speakers read the text and then tell back what the text communicated to them.

Revised draft

       Revised draft is made on the basic of the feedback received. Those with whom the translator has checked may have suggested many rewording, may have expressed misunderstanding.

Consultation

       The consultant is interested in three matters:

1.      Accuracy of contents

2.      Naturalness of style

3.      Effect on the receptor language audience.

       The goal of the consultant is to evaluate the quality of the translation as to meaning, naturalness and its potential acceptance by the receptor language audience. In addition, he also interested in training and helping the translator improve and learn to make even more adequate translations.

Final draft

       Translator incorporates into the translated text the suggestions made by the consultant, check them again with mother tongue speakers to be sure they are warranted, and makes any other minor changes which have come to his attention.