Issue
1: A PUZZLING INEQUALITY
Talking
about language diversity refers to discussing the plurality of languages in the
world .Languages vary in their origin ,hence in their nature. They also vary in
their syntax that is, the grammar rules proper to each of them. Languages
differ phonetically from others as well for some sounds that are common in some
languages do not completely exist in others .Plus some words that are present
in many languages may be differently pronounced depending on the cultural
background of the speaker.
The
current discussion is going to put an interest in the impact languages '
diversity has on the translation work.. Therefore in order to raise an interest
for further essays on this topic and for purpose of efficiency , emphasis is
going to be put on two European languages notably, English and French .
In
these languages some words such as demonstration pronouns do not convey similar
message all the times.. An
instance is the french sentence that reads : "Les concernés devront
apposer leurs signatures sur ce document et l'envoyer au directeur après
coup."
This
sentence harbours the demonstration pronoun " ce" that is the English
counterpart of "this "or "that".. However a word by word English
translation of this sentence will be confusing .The English reader for he or
she might wonder where then is that document since in English "this "
always indicate the position of something or somebody
In
this case therefore the right translation of that demonstration pronoun will
rather be a phrase . As the French demonstration pronoun of the
above mentioned example pertains to the file that the reader holds in his or
her hands , then the right English translation will be :" The assigns
should lay their signatures on the current file and they should send it tho the
manager thereafter."
Another
illustration that portrays the importance of
first assessing what lays in the speaker's mind is the following
sentence :"the topic herein discussed is two-folded."
Given
this sentence should be translated in French. The qualified translator should
remember that demonstration pronouns in English are not always translated by
their French counterparts otherwise the meaning of the sentence will be
blurred.
Plus
some nouns are used as verbs in English while in French the rule is quite different.
Hence the following appropriate french translation :"Ce sujet de
discussion comporte trois volets ."
From
the foregone translating from one language to another requires a perfect
knowledge of both languages that is , their history and their evolution through
ages.
Happy upcoming Translation Day to all !
