Essence of translation

Translation – it is a new editing of the existing text. It is the editing on language X of the text composed on language Y, on basis of the subject knowledge and adequate linguistic abilities. The work with this new text is composed of three stages: understanding of the source text, editing of the new text, evaluation. Thus, the translation includes at the same time three stages, that correspond to these three phases: process, practice, and product.

If you come deeper into translation process, you will come to conclusion that separate words are not translated, but phrases and texts are translated. But when it comes to translation of the text, the text should not be translated as a whole, as transfer of the whole text will mean its repetition, and repetition it is not a translation. You should translate the sense of the text. So translation it is the transfer of the meaning of one text with the language means in another text.

The sense of the text has holistic and monistic character. Just due to such a character of the text it is possible to have grounds to the global approach to such a notion as translation. It consists of conceptual, emotional and formal aspects. Globally speaking the sense of text composes the author of the text, its context and the end aim of this text.

Language – it is a vector, but not the guidance in translation; here language is of vital importance as air, but it is not a crucial factor. Here we can speak about two notions, that cross, that sometimes come back and that are never connected. There are no efforts more useless and more dangerous in translation theory than the wish to study the translation in new language.

If translation is always possible, it is not always full, because there is no full equalization of ideas and words. As the full translation – phonetic, graphical, grammatical, lexical, and stylistic – means the repetition of the original text and does not mean the new edition.

Thus, the translation may have different levels of: equivalence, correspondence, equality and even authenticity. But actually you can change the name and place of translation and call it interpretation, paraphrase, adaptation, imitation.

In any case, we can identify three stages in translation:

• a) decoding, the correspondence of texts with each other;
• b) translation, the search for one equivalent among multiple ones; and also
• c) interpretation, the so called creation free of all the correspondences and equivalence that were determined in advance.

In any case the main task while translating the text – is to open communicative intentions of the author of the original and to reveal its influence.