TRANSLATORS AS AN EDITOR,
WRITER AND SPEAKER.
Jala ALIYEVA
Qafqaz University Translation Department IV
Supervisor: Narmina Aliyeva
The translators and interpreters are not only mediators between two parties,
helping them reach an agreement, but also an editor, writer and speaker.
As an editor, translator plays a crucial role in editing written documents in the
source language before translating them into the TL.
In order to write comprehensibly in the target language the first translator self
must be able to read and comprehend the SL and then choose the equivalent expression
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in the target language that both fully conveys and best matches the meaning inten-
ded in the SL. But sometimes the written materials are so badly written that they
even can not be understood in the SL. For instance imagine that you are required
written renditions of the letters written by complainant villagers. Probably every-
body knows how a villager can write a letter by means of educational level. The text
written by those with lesser writing skills make a translator spend much time to
determine the intended meaning in the SL before reconstructing the same meaning
using appropriate grammatical structure and the cultural context of the TL. In fact
this is a time consuming work because a translator has to reword, omit, add, and
rearrange a particular document which is full of redundant words, incoherent
paragraphs, ambiguous statements and other linguistic and non-linguistic aspects.
The translator also plays a crucial role as a writer when s\he starts reconstruc-
ting similar meaning from the SL using the appropriate lexicon, cultural context,
figurative speech, grammatical structure, style and other linguistic and non-linguistic
elements of the TL and combining them in a good piece of writing. A translator as
a successful writer conveys the explicit and implicit meaning of the SL as fully and
accurately as possible. But translator must make sure that the language s\he is using
is comprehensible by the readers from all the levels. While translating a novel, story
or poems etc. translator keep the emotion of the original in the SL as it is in the
target language. Author use many figurative words and expressions and the translator
by giving their equivalent in the TL plays role as a writer and can bring the appro-
priate message to the intended audience and this meaningful writing can be read by
the readerships. So the interpreter devotes all the skills and the knowledge as a writer
to produce a piece of writing that brings the message to the readers.
The interpreter is also a skilled speaker. Apart from linguistic skills an interpreter
acquires, public speaking skills are also important in doing interpretation in front of
a big gathering. I think these skills are very paramount for the interpreter. Because
an interpreter with limited these skills first can not keep his\her own self-confidence
which is one of the effective aspects of the public speaking skills. When speaking to
the big gathering an interpreter must keep ones emotions and mind stable before
and while doing an interpretation work. But a beginner interpreter usually loses
self-confidence when doing an interpretation in front of the audience.
Another effective aspect is voice. If there is no loudspeaker available the inter-
preter must always be sure that his or her voice are heard clearly by people even by
a person sitting at the back row.
Eye contact is also important to assure the audience that the interpreter is telling
them exactly what the speaker said.
Imagine that you are working as a translator and interpreter for a foreign com-
pany. There is a problem between workers and manager. Workers required to better
working conditions and to raise wages. However workers were on strike and nego-
tiations have been continuing for three months they failure to reach a mutual agree-
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ment. Remind you workers are very angry. An emotional worker stands up and uses
harsh and offensive language. The meeting room is too noisy. Imagine how difficult
situation you faced. There emerges a question. What should do an interpreter under
these circumstances?
In such a situation the interpreter must use some strategies. a) s/he should
explain to the manager what the workers say but avoiding offensive words, utterances.
This will keep the emotional stability of the manager before providing response to
the complaints. This also can be applied to the worker’s response when the manager
uses offensive words. Here the tone of the voice is very important either. In both
cases-talking to the manager or talking to worker s\he should always use a normal
tone of voice to prevent high emotions.
One of the main strategies is pausing interpretation process. This pause is a very
critical period for reducing emotional tension of both the manager and the workers.
For preventing or reducing emotional tension interpreter shouldn’t interpret sentence
by sentence as s\he always do but summarize what the worker or manager said after a
minute or so.
TRANSLATION OF HOLY BOOKS
Leman ELIZADE
Qafqaz University Translation Department IV
Supervisor: Nabat ….
Translation has played a role throughout history any time there has been an
intersection of two cultures and languages. And each time one culture has produced a
written text, translators have served as the bridge that allowed literate members of
one culture to be exposed to the written material the other has produced.
A history of world culture from the perspective of translation reveals a constant
movement of ideas and forms, of cultures constantly absorbing new influences
because of the work of translators. It dispels the assumption that everything starts
in the West and undermines the idea of rigid boundaries between East and West.
India, China, Iraq and Spain have in different ways shaped European culture. India
created ties with Mediterranean in the sixth century BC and medical theories found
in Greek thinkers like Plato and Galen originated from India. In ninth and tenth
century the scientific and philosophical works of Ancient Greek were translated into
Arabic and it spread to Europe via Spain which was a virtually a Muslim country
from the early eighth century for four hundred years.
The transmission reached it peak through the School of Toledo where transla-
tions were made from Arabic to Latin and later to Spanish and helped the scientific
and technological development for the European Renaissance. A history of transla-
tion charts these intersection. Finanly, the history of translation is the history of the
crucial but often invisible intersections in world culture.
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Quran is a holy book of Muslims and a magnificent document for its matchless-
ness. Generally, the translation of Quran is permitted to everyone, Muslims or non-
Muslims to understand the sacred document itself. The vast majority of Muslims in
the world do not speak Arabic, so the Qur’an in its original language is not acces-
sible to them. Nevertheless, Muslims have traditionally objected to its translation
on the grounds that it is the word of God. Islamic doctrine teaches that the Qur’an is
the miracle of Muhammad and neither its composition nor its contents can be
imitated. However, those Islamic scholars who advocate translation argue that the
Qur’anic message is universal. According to the Qur’an, God never sent a messen-
ger who did not speak the language of the people. For these believers this verse implies
an obligation to translate and transmit its message to non-Arabs. Translations of the
Qur’an into other languages, may have existed as early as the 9th century ad.
In the translation of Quran is also needed a good chapbook on prayers and these
chapbooks should be published in a dignified way. The Quran possesses a definite
language and style which becomes clearer as one works along with it. One English
word if possible should be chosen in all of its range of meaning for each Arabic
content, using roots that can be turned into adjectives, verbs, nouns or other gram-
matical forms based on it.
There also are grammatical problems in translation. For example, verbs cause
some difficulty because they can vary in their usage. The English verbs “to be” and
“to have” are generally expressed in Arabic only by means of the syntax governing
pronouns and prepositions. "Act" and "mean" are not always placed between brac-
kets since, similar to "to be" and "to have", they are implied as active, mental verbs.
Tense and conditional moods must be expressed with care, especially with the
absent verb "to be"; La ikrah fi aldin should be “(Let there be) no compulsion in
religion”. Collective nouns are generally considered as abstract feminines in Arabic,
exactly what we find in the English words "cattle", "opera", "people". Man (kind)"
and "people" are defective expressions in English. "Adam" is a symbol for original
man, mentioned in the Quran, but only referred to as the common ancestor of
humanity: Banu Adam. The name is derived from “red earth” in Arabic referring to
the clay God used in fashioning him.
The history of the Bible is the history of the formation of the English language
from a mixture of French, Anglo-Norman, and Anglo-Saxon. Even though Chris-
tianity reached England in the 3rd century, the Bible remained in Latin and almost
exclusively in the hands of the clergy for a thousand years. Between the 7th and 14th
centuries, parts of the Bible were translated into English. Interest in translation
from Latin to English grew rapidly in the 14th century, and in 1382 the first com-
plete English Bible appeared in manuscript. It was the work of the English reformer
John Wycliffe, whose goal was to give the Bible to the people. In 1525 the
English reformer William Tyndale translated the New Testament from the Greek
text, which copies were printed in Germany and smuggled into England. Tyndale’s
translation of the Old Testament from the Hebrew text was only partly completed.
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In the first half of the 20th century many modern translations appeared. Among
these are the following: the Jerusalem Bible (1966), an English translation of the
work of French Dominicans (1956); Today’s English Version (1966-76) in idiomatic
English by the American Bible Society; the New English Bible, commissioned in
1946 by the Church of Scotland and designed to be neither stilted nor colloquial; the
New International Bible (1973-79), a revision by conservative American Protestants
based largely on the King James Version and similar to the New American Stan-
dard Version; and the Living Bible (1962-71), not a translation but a paraphrase into
the modern American idiom. Jewish translations of the Hebrew Bible into English
have been appearing for two centuries. A new translation, sponsored by the Jewish
Publication Society of America, was published in three segments in 1962, 1974, and
1983. It is called the New Jewish Version.
Finally, I want to give my view on the translation of these books. In my opinion,
these books can be translated in different languages but should be documents one
can read them. We should respect the sacred texts and translate them accurately and
respectfully. But of course, it will be better to learn them in their native language.
HOW TO TRANSLATE CULTURE –SPECIFIC NOTIONS
Faiq MAHMUDOV
Baku Slavic University Translation faculty
Supervisor: .....
Translating culture-specific notions is one of greatest problem in translating
literature. I mean that, It is fact that certain literature works from the past centuries,
as novels, stories, poems refer to specific events that took place in the time and the
country in which they were written.
And the readers in target language, which the literature work is supposed to be
translated, may be completely unfamiliar with the events or things the particular
work tales about. I want to give some examples to substantiate my point, and there
are many similar examples. In the importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde two
types of wine are mentioned, one of them is very expensive and rare, where as the
other one cheap and consumed mostly by poor people. There are several humorous
situations in the play based exactly on this difference. Both types of wine are gene-
rally unfamiliar to audience outside Britain. That is why the question arises – whether
to retain the original labels of the wines mentioned in the comedy or, when translating,
to use other brand names that are recognizable to the readers in the target language.
The translator is faced with the same problem when coming across a poem by
Byron in which he makes fun of a ruler from the English history who is hardly known
to audience in the target language. In such a case, should the translator follow
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closely the origin a resort to the use of a historical person from his /her own culture
with characteristics that may be parallel to those of the English one.
The former has been the predominant choice of translators of literature works
for many centuries. I can make this claim that, at least for the translations of novels,
poems, and drams in my mother tongue. It certainly is a question that entails great
responsibility on the side of the translators.
On the one hand, who has the right to change the original work, especially since
a good translation is excepted to reflect the same issues, concerns and contempla-
tions, that the original deals with. World masterpieces can be enjoyed by people in
different cultures, speaking different languages, precisely because translators have
managed to incarnate the spirit of the original in their translations.
Besides, a lot can be learned about the culture and society of the people speaking
the source language in which the work was firstly written about their “types of wine”
and their “rulers” in the above mentioned examples. This would not possible if the
translator adjusts the original names and brands, thus trying to bring the original
closer to the readers of the target language.
On the other hand, there are some advantages in deciding for the second option.
By moving away from the original and choosing notions from his /her own country,
the translator maybe moving closer to the original.
For example:
Achieves a very comic effect with the interplay of the brand names of the two
wines. By sticking to the names he uses, this comic effect would be completely last
for the readers of the target language because with the second example, that is, the
comic effect Byron achieved can be adequately attained in the translation only if a
more familiar figure from the history of the culture that speaks the target language
is selected.
In regard to this dilemma I don’t think there is a formula that can be invariably
applied to all translations of literary works.
Retaining the original designations is a way to be closer to the original and to
familiarize your readers with another culture. It is also easier, because you do not
have to search for adequate designations in the target language which may or may
not correspond to those in the source language. However, by selecting names and
labels from the target language culture, the translator can achieve much more suc-
cessfully the effect (whether comic, as in the above examples) intended in the ori-
ginal which should be the purpose of any good translations.
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WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF IDIOMS, INITIALS
AND THE ACRONYMS IN THE TRANSLATION?
Nilufer YAQUBLU
Qafqaz University Translation Department III
Supervisor: Sheyda Souleymanova
Translation is a wide theory. I would say it the most difficult profession.
You may disagree with me, and ask me “why? Every profession has its own
difficulties”. I don’t agree with this idea. Because a good translator must be really
professional. For example a good economist is sufficient by knowing only about
this sector. Or it is enough that a good lawyer know only about legal systems. But a
good translator must be good at every subjects, that subjects which they translate
the text. They must be good at political, legal, economical and etc. At the same time
they must know both languages they translate from and to. It means that they must
know the source and the target language very well. They must know the culture
behind the languages. The must know not only the words by dictionary meanings.
They must know the idioms, sayings, slangs, acronyms and initials in both langua-
ges. If a translator doesn’t know these kinds of expressions their work (translation)
will be ridiculous.
For example: It rains cats and dogs.
For the unpracticed translator it is very difficult to translate this. They may
translate it as “Göydən pişiklər və itlər yagir”. But the idiomatic meaning of it is
“şıdırğı yağış yağır”.
Idiomatic expressions are a very important element of learning a foreign lan-
guage. No matter how well you can speak or how much vocabulary you know,
idiomatic expressions can never be translated literally; that’s why it is too difficult to
find out what people are saying if you don’t already know the meaning of these
commonly used phrases.
Even if you know the meaning of every word you see or hear, you may not
understand the idiom because you don't understand the culture behind it. Idiomatic
expressions don’t apply to every English speaking country: England, Canada and
Australia have their own idiomatic expressions that don’t necessarily apply in the
United States.
Idioms share cultural and historical information and broadens people’s under-
standing and manipulation of a language. Among the various definitions of idioms
are: (1) the language peculiar to a people, country, class, community or, more rarely,
an individual; (2) a construction or expression having a meaning different from the
literal one or not according to the usual patterns of the language (New Webster’s
Dictionary, 1993). It is the second definition that best suits the focus of this paper.
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Idioms include all the expressions we use that are unique to English, including
cliches and slang. Prepositional usage is also a common part of idiomatic expres-
sons (Princeton Review, 1998), but this paper addresses idioms as used in figura-
tive language.
The following sentence contains two idioms: Carol’s father was going to see
red is she failed tomorrow’s exam. She was burning the midnight oil because she
hadn’t been taking her school work seriously.
I want to ask you. How you can translate this sentence?
These idioms can be explained as:
• to see red – to become very angry;
• burning the midnight oil – staying up late at night studying or working.
Another problem impedes translation is not knowing initials and acronyms.
A small yet difficult subject, especialwly for “rookies”: what to do when you
come across an abbreviation, initials or acronym while translating.
In a written work, an initial is a letter at the beginning of a work, a chapter or a
paragraph that is larger than the rest of the text. The word comes from the Latin
initialis, which means standing at the beginning.
But nowadays initials are used in everywhere. In the names of international
organizations (NATO), in the economic (VAT), medicine (ECG), the names of states
(USA), even in the daily life (when we write an e-mail, sms) (ASAP,FYI) we can
often meet such kinds expressions, acronyms and initials.
It is very important to know the initials. Let’s look through some initials.
For example, someone wrote you very important information and at the end of
the paper they wrote PTO.
What would you think when you see it? What would you do in this case?
Of course you will begin to look up all dictionaries but you cannot find the
meaning. And so you will not read the rest of the information.
At the translation you meet such a sentence.” The GNP of the country that I
visited last year has been decreasing for several years.”
If you don’t know what is GNP you can never translate it.
Some initial expressions are international, are same in all languages, are not
translated ECG, ESL, TOEFL, PC, DJ and etc., some of them are translated by the
initials in the target language. For example we translate UN as BMT, CIS as MBD,
OSCE as ATƏT, and some of them we translate word by word SOFA Hərbi qüvvə-
lərin statusu, WHO as Ümumdünya səhiyyə təşkilatı and etc.,
And at the end I want to say by knowing only dictionary meanings of the words,
the translation will not be done. Even if you will know all of the word in target lan-
guage it doesn’t mean that you know the language very well unless you know the
culture behind it. A good translator or linguistic must know the culture of the language,
the idiomatic meanings of sayings, the acronyms, slangs, and the abbreviations.
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