Translation strategies:
Translating texts from language A to language B sounds easy at first, but there’s a whole science behind translating from one language to another, or rather from one culture to another. Here are some translation strategies that are used to make a translation as ‘readable’ as possible for the target audience, while maintaining the meaning and mood of the source text.
Helpful terms:
source language = language of the text you want to translate
target language = language that you want to translate a text to
......................................................
Literal translation:
This is probably the most obvious translation strategy, but also often the most difficult one. There are a lot of things that influence your translation, such as grammar, sentence structure, idioms, cultural terms, etc. which can make literal translations difficult.
Examples:
German: Er beschreibt es wie folgt -> English: He describes it as follows
Reformulation/Equivalent term:
This strategy uses the closest equivalent term in the target language or a complete reformulation to translate a concept. It’s not a literal translation and you don’t just use the term of the source language. Which term you use depends on the target audience (their knowledge of the souce language, their target country, etc.).
Examples:
German: ADAC -> English: German Motoring Club / German AA
German: Abitur -> English: A-Levels / highschool diploma / university entrance qualification
Additions & subtractions:
These strategies add or leave out information from the source text depending on how familiar their target audience is with the text material.
Examples:
Subtraction: If you translate the German text “der englische Kronprinz Charles” about Prince Charles for an English target audience, you don’t necessarily have to specify who he is or what role he plays, since most English people know that already.
Addition: This works the other way around as well. If you have a German text talking about “Merkel”, you might want to add “the German chancellor Angela Merkel” if your translation is aimed at an English audience, so that they know who you’re talking about
No translation:
This strategy just leaves a term in the source language as it is. This applies especially to cultural terms, proper names, atmosphere, etc.
Example:
You would probably leave the German terms “Oktoberfest” and “Lederhosen” as they are, instead of describing them as a “Munich Beer Festival” and “leather trousers”.
Omission:
This strategy completely omits a cultural term of the source text in the translation. This strategy is used carefully and with consideration and is usually only used when the term is not important for the meaning of the text.
Example:
When the author of the German target text writes that his favourite subject when he went to the “Gymnasium” was Latin, you don’t necessarily have to explain what a German Gymnasium is. It’s usually enough to say that his favourite subject at school was Latin.
Modulation:
When using modulation, there is always a slight change in the sentence. This is used to achieve the most understandable translation of the source text for the target audience without changing the meaning. There are 5 types of modulation.
1. Shift of Imagery:
This strategy uses a shift of imagery (especially if certain imageries or metaphors don’t work in the target language).
Example:
German: “auf die Socken machen” -> English: “to hit the road”
2. Positive/Negative:
Example:
German: nicht schlecht (literally: not bad) -> English: good
3. Cause/Effect:
Here, the chronology of cause and effect in a sentence are reversed (without changing the meaning!) to make a sentence more “readable”.
Example:
German: Der Schirm war nass, weil es regnete -> English: Since it rained, the umbrella was wet
4. 1st person/2nd person:
Example:
German: Ich lass von mir hören -> English: You’ll hear from me
5. Abstract/Concrete:
English: It’s raining cats and dogs -> German: Es regnete stark
Transposition:
Here, the grammatical characteristics of certain terms are changed to improve the translation. There are 5 types of transpositions:
1. Class-shifts:
Here, a word changes its class from language A to language B, e.g. from a verb to a noun.
Example:
German: die Beachtung der Regeln -> English: to consider the rules
2. Singular/Plural:
Example:
German: Informationen -> English: information
3. Active/Passive:
Example:
German: die Männchen lassen sich huckepack von den Weibchen tragen -> English: the females give the males a piggy back ride
4. Present tense/past tense:
Example:
German: Was sagst du da? -> English: What did you say?
5. Zero Article/Definite Article
Example:
German: Das Abendessen ist fertig -> English: Dinner is ready
Sources:
Smith & Klein-Braley, “In Other Words... Arbeitsbuch Übersetzung”. Hueber: Ismaning. 1989.
+ my study notes