Translation

Translation is an activity comprising the interpretation of the meaning of a text in one language — the source text — and the production of a new, equivalent text in another language — called the target text, or the translation.

Translation process

The translation process, whether it be for translation or interpreting, can be described simply as:

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• Decoding the meaning of the source text, and
• Re-encoding this meaning in the target language.

To decode the meaning of a text the translator must first identify its component "translation units", that is to say the segments of the text to be treated as a cognitive unit. A translation unit may be a word, a phrase or even one or more sentences.

Related Topics:
Translation units - Word - Phrase - Sentence

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Behind this seemingly simple procedure lies a complex cognitive operation. To decode the complete meaning of the source text, the translator must consciously and methodically interpret and analyse all its features. This process requires thorough knowledge of the grammar, semantics, syntax, idioms and the like of the source language, as well as the culture of its speakers.

Related Topics:
Semantics - Syntax - Idiom - Culture

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The translator needs the same in-depth knowledge to re-encode the meaning in the target language. In fact, often translators' knowledge of the target language is more important, and needs to be deeper, than their knowledge of the source language. For this reason, most translators translate into a language of which they are native speakers.

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In addition, knowledge of the subject matter being discussed is essential.

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In recent years studies in cognitive linguistics have been able to provide valuable insights into the cognitive process of translation.

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