(toc) #title= (Table of Content)
Steps of Translation
For a proper and suitable translation, which would be accepted by co-translators as a translation text, there must be a total translation object and instruments, which must be involved in producing a good translation. And these steps in translation will be a guideline that would pave the way for a successful translation.
There are seven steps in translation:
A. Establishing the project
B. Exegesis
C. Transfer and initial draft
D. Evaluation
E. Revised draft
F. Consultation
G. Final draft
A. Establishing the Project
In establishing the project, which is the first stage for any translator, there are some things which must be clearly understood by any translator that wants to be involved, and these can be summarized under four T’s i.e. the text, the target, the team, and the tools.
i. The text: This has to do with the source language document which is to be
translated to another receptor language. The motives of choosing a particular text must be expressed and determined by the translator. Many people translate some texts for various reasons; most often, it is to communicate certain information to people speaking another language, or it may be to share the enjoyment of the source text.
ii. The target: It has to do with the audience for whom the translation is being prepared. Based on this, there are a lot of things needed to be considered about the status of the audience and the level of the people for which the translation is being prepared. More so, a series of questions will be raised on the form of the translation, on their dialect, age level, bilingualism, educational level, cultural contexts, and people’s attitudes towards their language as used in religious, business, and educational sectors.
iii. The team: This refers to the people who are involved in the project. Most translation projects require a team, a number of people who are going to contribute and partake in the translation at some stages in the project. The team may include the translator(s), a consultant, testers and reviewers, and technical people to do typing and proofreading. The publisher and distributor are also part of the team; the working together of these people needs to be established before the project gets underway. At times, a single person can be a competent speaker of both the source language and the receptor language, which means the project can be done completely by one person, but there is still a need for evaluation and consultation of outer places.
iv. The tools: This refers to the written equipment which will be used by the translators. Among the equipment or materials for any successful translation, which the translator must have before dealing with it are: dictionaries, lexicons, grammars, and cultural descriptions, etc. of both the source language and receptor language, which are available. All of these tools should be brought to the translation site in preparation for the project.
B. The Exegesis
This is the preparation, analyzing, and discovering stage. The purpose of exegesis is determining the meaning of the source language, which is to be communicated into the receptor language text. The text must be understood completely before working on it. This is a process of reading the source text extensively and digesting it with other assisting materials that may help in understanding the culture of the language of the source text. The translator(s) will analyze the source text by resolving ambiguity, studying key words, identifying implicit information, and interpreting figurative sense when grammatical structures are being used in a secondary function. There are four things necessary for translator(s). These are:
1. Author’s purpose
2. Theme of the text
3. Larger groupings or sections
4. Outline the text.
C. Transfer and Initial Draft
After a proper analysis of the source text, the translator brings his translation by drafting it piece-by-piece, section-by-section, chapter-by-chapter, and paragraph-by-paragraph. In line with this, the translator is transferring from the source language into the receptor language by keeping his target in mind.
There are two ways of approaching the transfer and initial draft.
1. Quick Rough Translation
2. Preparation for a Proposition
Quick Rough Translation: This is a process of going back and tightening up the detail information and correct translation to ensure that there is no wrong information, omissions, or any additions before an extensive drafting. This will make the receptor language text more apt to be in the natural style of the receptor language.
Preparation for a Proposition: This has to do with the semantic draft. In this, the translators must ensure that all the information is accounted for, and then reword it for naturalness, that is, reword it in the idiomatic form of the receptor language.
However, the rewording for initial draft can be done several times before total satisfaction, and the team must ensure that all adjustments have been made and no information is wrong or omitted and the text communicates clearly in the receptor language.
D. Evaluation
Evaluation is to assess the work, and a proper and standard evaluation circumvents three folds (1) accuracy (2) clearness (3) naturalness; and the questions to be considered are:
1. Does the translation communicate the same meaning as the source language?
2. Does the audience for whom the translation is intended understand it
clearly?
3. Is the form of the translation easy to read and natural to the receptor language, grammar, and style?
So, the translator needs to assess, examine, and compare the translation with the source text at several points during the translation process to be sure that no additions, deletions, or change of information have crept in. And he needs to make the speaker of the receptor language read the text and then inform them back what the text communicated to them and anytime there is an indication of a problem in reading, it should be noted for further checking and a series of questions need to be carefully formed so that they bring out the theme, the author’s purpose, and relevant facts of the text. And any wrong information or understanding should be noted and then checked with others as well.
E. Revised Draft
After a proper evaluation has been carefully done, there will need to be a revised draft made on the basis of the feedback received. Those with whom the translator has checked may have suggested many rewordings or may have expressed some misunderstandings.
The translation team now works through this material, honestly accepting the evaluation and rewording accordingly. If any keywords are changed, the text will need to be checked carefully for consistency in the change made.
F. Consultation
In any translation project, there is a need for advisors or consultants who are willing to help the translator. The translator(s) will expect that the consultant is interested in three matters.
I. Accuracy of content
II. Naturalness of style
III. Effect on the receptor language audience
In this kind of translation, the consultant will work with the translator to check the translation work so as to ease their final drafting; this will help the translator(s) to have an insight which will not only help his drafting on the materials being worked on but will help him to transfer. And the consultant will want to know how the exegesis and initial draft were done and what tools were used. The purpose of the consultant in translation is to evaluate the quality of the translation as to meaning, naturalness, and its potential acceptance by the receptor language audience.
G. Final Draft
In this, the translators will incorporate into the translated text the suggestions made by the consultant, check them again with mother tongue speakers to be sure they are warranted, and make any other minor changes which have come to his attention. However, before he prepares the final draft, decisions about format need to be discussed with the whole translation team, the consultant, the potential publisher, and those who will promote distribution.
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