Translation Techniques 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: 'Borrowing' as a translation technique means:
- Using the source-language word directly in the target text (Correct answer)
- Translating each morpheme literally
- Changing the sentence structure
- Replacing with a paraphrase
Correct answer: Using the source-language word directly in the target text
Borrowing keeps a source word unchanged, such as using 'café' or 'software' in another language.
Question 2: Which pair correctly describes 'direct' versus 'oblique' translation techniques?
- Direct = borrowing, calque, literal; oblique = transposition, modulation, equivalence, adaptation (Correct answer)
- Direct = adaptation only; oblique = borrowing only
- Direct = paraphrase; oblique = footnotes
- Direct = omission; oblique = amplification
Correct answer: Direct = borrowing, calque, literal; oblique = transposition, modulation, equivalence, adaptation
Vinay and Darbelnet classify borrowing, calque, and literal translation as direct, and the rest as oblique.
Question 3: Literal (word-for-word) translation is acceptable when:
- The two languages share similar structure and the result is grammatical and natural (Correct answer)
- The text contains idioms
- Cultural references dominate
- The languages have very different syntax
Correct answer: The two languages share similar structure and the result is grammatical and natural
Literal translation works well only when the direct rendering remains correct and idiomatic in the target language.
Question 4: Replacing a source-language metric unit with the target audience's customary unit is an example of:
- Adaptation / localization (Correct answer)
- Borrowing
- Calque
- Transposition
Correct answer: Adaptation / localization
Converting kilometers to miles for a US audience adapts content to local conventions.
Question 5: A translator's note explaining an untranslatable cultural term is a form of:
- Compensation through external addition (gloss) (Correct answer)
- Reduction
- Modulation
- Literal translation
Correct answer: Compensation through external addition (gloss)
A gloss or footnote compensates for meaning that cannot be carried within the text itself.
Question 6: 'Compensation' as a technique is used to:
- Recover a nuance lost in one place by adding it elsewhere in the text (Correct answer)
- Delete all idioms
- Translate literally
- Keep source words
Correct answer: Recover a nuance lost in one place by adding it elsewhere in the text
Compensation restores tone, humor, or emphasis at a different point when it cannot be preserved in the original spot.
Question 7: Which technique is best for translating a brand slogan that relies on wordplay?
- Adaptation, recreating the effect rather than the literal words (Correct answer)
- Borrowing the original slogan
- Calque of each word
- Literal translation
Correct answer: Adaptation, recreating the effect rather than the literal words
Slogans with puns require recreating the persuasive effect, often by adapting rather than translating literally.
Translation Techniques 3
'Borrowing' as a translation technique means: