Terminology and translation theory : A functional-pragmatic approach (original) (raw)

Shaping Translation: A View from Terminology Research

Cet article aborde la terminologie dans l'optique de la traduction (profession, pratique, théorie) durant les cinquante dernières années -période correspondant à la vie de META. Après avoir esquissé ce que le profil contemporain du traducteur doit à la terminologie, l'article examine à tour de rôle: (a) les étapes dans la constitution de cette science des termes, (b) comment cette science a acquis droit de cité dans les programmes de formation des traducteurs, (c) le cadre explicatif contemporain qu'elle propose pour rendre compte des textes techniques et de leur traduction, (d) les retombées de ce cadre pour les secteurs des industries de la langue qui se justifient largement par rapport à la traduction.

Terminological analysis for translation

Perspectives, 2003

Satisfying the communicative expectations of specialized audiences implies, among other things, the use of acceptable terminological units. Information about such discursive peculiarities are therefore of great value to translators. This article discusses a theoretical and practical approach to the study of polylexical terminological units within specialized discourse. The analysis of data from comparable corpora in English and Spanish allows us to identify the most typical terminological phrasemes within a given domain. It is possible to identify semantic and syntactic regularities through information obtained through the ontological notion of phraseme templates . This implies that differences and similarities between patterns from different language pairs -in this case English and Spanish -can be taken into account for establishing equivalent lexical terms for use in translation and even translation strategies in specific communicational settings.

Communicative situation: the frontier between words and constituents of terminological variants

ABSTRACT: The article describes the importance of the analysis of language in use. In this respect, it has been appreciated that many of the sweeping differences between lexicography and terminology are seen as conflicting ideas in contrast with the descriptive theories of terminology. In this study, it is believed that the limits between these disciplines become blurred when we take into account pragmatic and discursive criteria. On the basis of a corpus composed of popularized scientific articles, attention will be paid to the identification, with more or less difficulty, of terminological variants in a certain communicative situation. The purpose of our study is to support the status of terms whenever they are used in a specialized communicative situation, considering that the participants can have different degrees of knowledge. In addition, it will be shown that the terminology of a particular subject field is never completely fixed due to the range of discourses where it can appear; as a consequence, it is proposed to use genre restrictions when including variants of an original term in a dictionary. Key words: terminology, lexicography, communicative situation, corpus linguistics, denominative variants Author: Paula de Santiago More info: In Vatvedt Fjeld, R. and Torjusen, J. (eds). Proceedings of the 15th EURALEX International Congress. 7–11 August 2012. 595-599. Publisher: University of Oslo. ISBN: 978-82-303-2228-4

The Interaction between Terminology and Translation. Or Where Terminology and Translation Meet

In this article Terminology and Translation are compared to one another on a number of points of comparison. On the basis of the results, the cooperation/interaction between Terminology and Translation are discussed. The contribution of Terminology to Translation is obvious, but that of Translation to Terminology is less evident, yet it does exist. This article is based on a paper that I gave at the 2013 EST congress. 1

Term-formation, Translation, Interpreting, Lexicography

2023

The paper dwells on Latvian terminology of the 21 st century. It is coined mostly on the basis of English counterparts. There are many sources of this new terminology: Latvian branch and domain experts, professional EU institutions' Brussels and Luxembourg based translators and terminologists, professional Latvia based translators and terminologists. But numerous terms are coined by random translators, journalists, media representatives, tradespeople, e. g. small shop owners, car dealers, etc. Finally, numerous new nonce terms are coined on the spur of the moment by interpreters, some of which are picked up by their audience and thus gain currency. This leads to a very chaotic terminology scene: often one English term has many established Latvian counterparts (available in official databases), while some terms have none and the English term is used in a grammatically changed or even unchanged form. Still other terms have 'established' Latvian counterparts in the shape of overextended definitions. These terms often breach basic principles of term-formation and contribute to terminological chaos, ambiguity and legal uncertainty. It also makes the work of lexicographers most complicated: dictionaries and databases could standardize terminology, but the descriptive approach to lexicography presumes reflecting lexis that is being used. A ray of hope can be seen in a gradual acceptance of metaphorical terminology.

[1990] Terminological Knowledge for Translation Purposes

1990

The practical need for terminological analysis is obvious. Technical translators spend a considerable amount of their working hours on terminological problems, looking up the meanings of terms they encounter in the source text, checking on translation equivalents, searching for target text related information on syntactic forms, specific conditions of use and appropriate collocations.

The Communicative Situation as Frontier Between Words and Constituents of Terminological Variants

2012

The article describes the importance of the analysis of language in use. In this respect, it has been appreciated that many of the sweeping differences between lexicography and terminology are seen as conflicting ideas in contrast with the descriptive theories of terminology. In this study, it is believed that the limits between these disciplines become blurred when we take into account pragmatic and discursive criteria. On the basis of a corpus composed of popularized scientific articles, attention will be paid to the identification, with more or less difficulty, of terminological variants in a certain communicative situation. The purpose of our study is to support the status of terms whenever they are used in a specialized communicative situation, considering that the participants can have different degrees of knowledge. In addition, it will be shown that the terminology of a particular subject field is never completely fixed due to the range of discourses where it can appear; as ...

What Translators Do to Terminology: Prescriptions vs. Performance

Humanities and social sciences, 2014

The article brings into focus variability of designation in bilingual terminology transfer. Onomasiological view of terminology equivalence presumes decontextualized coordination of concepts and linguistic labels and thus infers "one-to-one" inter-language terminology relation. This guiding principle is rarely applied in actual LSP translation process resulting in term forms variation. The gap between prescriptions and performance is traditionally accounted for as the arbitrary treatment of terminology by translators. Patterns of term variation in the reality of LSP translation depend on systemic, semantic and formal characteristics of terminology and, as a result, bear on terminology translation as a problematic concept.

Lexical Pragmatics and Hermeneutical Issues in the Translation of Key Terms

Journal of Translation

Translation involves, among other things, the attempt to communicate the words of one language in another language. An important part of Bible translation is dealing with the translation of key biblical terms. But is it words that we are really translating, or rather the concepts that are associated with those words? Is it reasonable to expect that in translation we will find a word in one language that will communicate “the same meaning” as another word in another language, or borrow a word if necessary? What is the relationship between words and meanings? How are different senses or different meanings bundled together in a single word? Should we be talking in terms of key biblical concepts, rather than key biblical terms, as the goal of what we aim to communicate in translation? This paper draws on insights from the field of lexical pragmatics in order to discuss realities and strategies in translating, based on the principles of representation, underdeterminacy, dynamic context, ...