STC Translation Techniques 3 â Questions and Answers
Question 1: When translating legal texts from Spanish to English, a translator encounters 'buena fe.' The best approach is usually to:
- Borrow the term unchanged as 'buena fe'
- Use the established legal equivalent 'good faith' (Correct answer)
- Omit it as untranslatable
- Explain it with a lengthy footnote
Correct answer: Use the established legal equivalent 'good faith'
Established target-language legal terminology ('good faith') should be used when it precisely matches the source concept.
Question 2: The term 'back-translation' is most commonly used to:
- Translate from a target language back into the source language to verify accuracy (Correct answer)
- Translate historical documents into modern Spanish
- Convert machine translation into human-quality text
- Translate a text twice for redundancy
Correct answer: Translate from a target language back into the source language to verify accuracy
Back-translation retranslates a translated text into the original language to check for shifts in meaning.
Question 3: Which technique best handles culture-specific humor that has no equivalent in the target language?
- Literal translation
- Omission
- Adaptation or substitution with a comparable target-culture joke (Correct answer)
- Borrowing the original joke intact
Correct answer: Adaptation or substitution with a comparable target-culture joke
Adaptation replaces the source-culture joke with a functionally equivalent target-culture humorous element to preserve the comedic effect.
Question 4: In the STC exam context, 'sight translation' refers to:
- Translating a written document orally on the spot (Correct answer)
- Reviewing a translation for typographical errors
- Translating using only visual cues without reading
- Producing a written translation from an audio source
Correct answer: Translating a written document orally on the spot
Sight translation is the immediate oral rendition of a written source text, common in legal and medical settings.
Question 5: The concept of 'dynamic equivalence,' developed by Eugene Nida, prioritizes:
- Word-for-word correspondence
- Equivalent effect on the target reader as the original had on source readers (Correct answer)
- Preserving grammatical structures of the source
- Using only formal register in translation
Correct answer: Equivalent effect on the target reader as the original had on source readers
Dynamic equivalence aims to produce in the target reader the same response that the original text produced in its audience.
Question 6: Which technique involves splitting one source-language word into multiple target-language words to convey its meaning?
- Condensation
- Expansion (Correct answer)
- Modulation
- Calque
Correct answer: Expansion
Expansion (or amplification) unpacks a single source word into a phrase or multiple words in the target language.
Question 7: A translator must render a passive construction common in Spanish legal text into natural English. The most appropriate technique is:
- Transpositionâshifting passive to active voice (Correct answer)
- Calqueâcopying the Spanish passive structure
- Borrowingâkeeping the Spanish verb form
- Omissionâremoving the passive clause
Correct answer: Transpositionâshifting passive to active voice
Transposition changes the grammatical category; here converting a passive voice to an active construction for naturalness in English.
STC Translation Techniques 3
When translating legal texts from Spanish to English, a translator encounters 'buena fe.' The best approach is usually to: