Language Translation

Translation is a slow and demanding process that requires skill and training. Translators need to be competent at working with written language, both their own language and the alternative language. They need to have a good understanding of the material they are translating. This means that at times they need to undertake additional research into the subject area of the text; for example when material is from specialist fields such as law or medicine. The other important consideration is that a translator needs to have a good understanding of the two cultural perspectives represented by the two languages and how they will be reflected in the text.

Translators have a serious responsibility to accurately reproduce the meaning of the original text without personal bias, ensuring that no information is omitted or altered. While doing this they need to produce written language that sounds natural and clear and is easily understood. This is not simply a matter of substituting words in one language with direct equivalents from another language. Often direct equivalents for terms and expressions can not be found. This is especially so when the cultural backgrounds of the people who speak the languages are very different. A single word in one language may even require two or three (or more) sentences to express the same meaning in another language.

When translating material into indigenous Australian languages, the practice has often been to find someone who appears to be using English confidently (but has no training in translation), hand them a piece of text and ask them to “Just translate this.” The expectation that they will be able to do this effectively overlooks the important steps in the translation process that need to be understood. This practice is likely to lead to inaccuracies and possibly considerable anxiety on the part of the untrained person.

What follows is an outline of the major steps that should be considered when translating a piece of text.

Steps in the translation process.

1. Front Translation
The purpose of the front translation is to adapt the written source language so that it resembles more closely the grammatical structure of the recipient language. It is also necessary to:

identify terms that have no direct equivalent in the recipient language and then expand the text to convey their meaning.
identify assumed prior knowledge contained within the text, especially that which is culturally specific, and then clearly state it in the text.

2. Getting to know the material.
Identify the purpose of the text, key concepts, timelines, and main characters by reading through the complete text several times. Any terms or concepts that are unclear or unfamiliar are then researched and discussed. The whole text could then be recounted from memory on to a tape or written down and compared with the text. This can benefit the style of language used for the translation and also be referred to for expression in natural everyday speech.

3. Translation first draft
During this stage the text is translated sentence by sentence working predominantly from the prepared front translation.

4. Review of total work
The work is reviewed as a whole document and assessed according to criteria such as:
*Naturalness: Does the translation sound natural? or
Does it sound like a foreigner speaking?
*Clarity: Is the information conveyed clearly? or
Are areas confusing, ambiguous or out of focus from the central theme of the document?
*Accuracy: Has the meaning changed in any way?
*Order: Is the sequence accurate?
Are main parts joined together properly?
Are time lines clear?
*Interest: Is the text lively or boring?
*Format and punctuation: Are sentences and paragraphs the right
length?
Are spelling and punctuation correct?
*Appropriateness of language: Is the language the right level?
Is the genre appropriate for the audience?

Corrections and revisions are made and then the whole text read through again.

5. Back Translation
This is taking the newly translated text, for example Djambarrpuy\u, and translating it back into the source language, for example English. Ideally a back translation is done by someone who was not involved in the translation process. This person only uses the translated text and must not rely on anything else they know about the subject. Any unclear areas are identified and where a meaning is ambiguous both meanings are recorded and checked further.

6. Back Translation Check
Someone who is knowledgeable or expert in the subject of the text then compares the back translation to the front translation. Depending on the results of this check, there may need to be some reworking of the text.

7. Uninitiated Native Speaker (UNS) checks
The draft text is given to a range of people both (a) oral speakers and (b) competent vernacular readers.
(a) The translation should be read aloud to at least two different people or groups of people. Their opinions should be sought on how natural the text sounds, if it makes sense, if it is interesting etc.
(b) Where readers are competent in the vernacular they are asked to read the text aloud without studying it. The translator needs to take note of any areas where the reader has difficulty, hesitates or changes the text. He/she should then go back over the text and ask the reader about those areas of difficulty.

Finally, the people performing the UNS checks are asked to repeat the information contained in the text in their own words. Any major points omitted or recounted incorrectly need to be noted for further improvements to the text. The translator should also listen to the expression of the people performing the UNS checks in order to identify more natural ways of translating the information. A question and answer type interview may also be useful in assessing what information was actually conveyed.

8. Polishing of draft
The final modifications resulting from the UNS checks are made and final individual checking by the translators of their own work.

9. Publishing
The draft is published and circulated for use. Further revisions may be needed based on feedback from those people using the first published edition.

References:
Kilham C. 1996. Translation time. An introductory course in translation. Summer Institute of Linguistics:Darwin.

Stages in the translation Process. Unpublished document supplied by Djambarrpuy\u Bible Translation Team, ARDS Darwin

Prepared for ARDS Inc. web site by Gillian Campbell and Margaret Miller, August 2000.

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