ITI Translation Theory 4 â Questions and Answers
Question 1: Andre Lefevere's concept of 'patronage' in translation refers to:
- Financial grants awarded to literary translators by governments
- The powersâpersons, institutions, or ideologiesâthat commission, publish, and control translations (Correct answer)
- The formal acknowledgment of translators on book covers
- The linguistic authority of the source-text author over the translator
Correct answer: The powersâpersons, institutions, or ideologiesâthat commission, publish, and control translations
Lefevere used 'patronage' to describe the ideological and economic forces external to the literary system that influence which texts get translated and how.
Question 2: The concept of 'loss and gain' in translation theory acknowledges that:
- Translators are paid less than authors and must compensate financially
- What cannot be transferred from source to target is inevitably offset by new meanings or effects created in the target text (Correct answer)
- Machine translation consistently loses meaning that human translators can gain back
- A longer target text always gains more information than a shorter one loses
Correct answer: What cannot be transferred from source to target is inevitably offset by new meanings or effects created in the target text
Translation scholars accept that some source-text features are untranslatable, but compensatory strategies can introduce equivalent or new effects in the target text.
Question 3: How does Chesterman's concept of 'translation norms' differ from Toury's?
- Chesterman focuses exclusively on written literary translation while Toury covers all text types
- Chesterman proposes norms as professional ethical expectations (expectancy and professional norms) whereas Toury treats them as empirically observed regularities (Correct answer)
- Chesterman argues norms are universal while Toury sees them as culture-specific
- Chesterman's norms apply only to Bible translation
Correct answer: Chesterman proposes norms as professional ethical expectations (expectancy and professional norms) whereas Toury treats them as empirically observed regularities
Chesterman distinguishes expectancy norms (set by target-culture expectations) from professional norms (accountability, communication, relation) as prescriptive standards for the profession.
Question 4: What is the significance of the 'unit of translation' in translation theory?
- It determines the page rate paid to freelance translators
- It refers to the minimal stretch of source text for which a translator seeks a target-language equivalent (Correct answer)
- It specifies the maximum word count for a single translation project
- It defines the number of revision passes required for legal texts
Correct answer: It refers to the minimal stretch of source text for which a translator seeks a target-language equivalent
The unit of translation can range from a morpheme to a whole text, and debate about its appropriate size reflects deeper disagreements about meaning, context, and equivalence.
Question 5: In translation, 'compensation in kind' means the translator:
- Omits a difficult passage and makes up for it by adding material elsewhere
- Replaces a source-language effect that cannot be reproduced with a different but functionally equivalent effect in the target language (Correct answer)
- Provides a literal translation supplemented by a footnote
- Charges a higher rate for culturally complex passages
Correct answer: Replaces a source-language effect that cannot be reproduced with a different but functionally equivalent effect in the target language
Compensation in kind involves substituting one type of stylistic or rhetorical device for another to achieve an equivalent overall effect when a direct transfer is impossible.
Question 6: Susan Bassnett's assertion that 'the text is embedded in its culture' implies for translation practice that:
- Translators need only master grammar and vocabulary of the source language
- Understanding cultural context is as essential as linguistic competence for producing an adequate translation (Correct answer)
- Texts should always be translated word-for-word to preserve cultural authenticity
- Culture is irrelevant once the literal meaning has been transferred
Correct answer: Understanding cultural context is as essential as linguistic competence for producing an adequate translation
Bassnett argues that linguistic structures cannot be separated from their cultural matrix; translators who ignore cultural context risk producing inaccurate or misleading translations.
Question 7: The 'translator's invisibility,' a concept developed by Lawrence Venuti, refers to:
- The practice of omitting the translator's name from the title page
- The illusion of transparency produced by fluent, domesticating translations that erase traces of the translator's mediation (Correct answer)
- The legal anonymity granted to translators of classified government documents
- The inability of readers to assess translation quality without knowing the source language
Correct answer: The illusion of transparency produced by fluent, domesticating translations that erase traces of the translator's mediation
Venuti argues that dominant Anglo-American publishing norms reward fluent translations that make the translator 'invisible,' concealing the labour and cultural difference involved in translation.
ITI Translation Theory 4
Andre Lefevere's concept of 'patronage' in translation refers to: