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Analyze the main differences between Semantic and Communicative
methods of Translation. Illustrate your points with examples. (500 words)
Translation plays a key role in conveying the message from one Source
Language to Target Language. Among the existing translation methods,
two methods are intensively being compared and debated over: semantic
and communicative translation.
Firstly, semantic translation is more source text focused, while
communicative translation focuses on the target text. Semantic translation
obeys the culture of the original language and author, and translates the
semantics of the original text. On the other hand, communicative
translation pays attention to reader’s reaction to the target text, so that the
original language does not leave any doubts and obscurities for readers.
Therefore, the translator can revise the original text, but this does not mean
that the translator can disrespect the original text, after all, the original text
is the only source of translation. For instance, KFC’s slogan “Finger lickin’
good” is translated into Vietnamese as “eat your fingers” or “It’s so
yummy” in semantic and communicative translation respectively. It can be
seen that the latter translation conveys precisely the brand’ message.
Secondly, semantic translation is more complex and more detailed than
communicative translation. It focuses on reproducing the original author's
thinking process rather than his intention and tends to over-translate, that is,
the selected words are more specific than the original ones. To express the
nuances of meaning, words in the semantic translation often add meanings
that the original text does not have. Meanwhile, the communicative
translation is likely to be smoother, simpler, and more in line with the
habits of the target language. It adopts the same register as the original text
and tends to under-translate, that is, to use more generic terms in difficult
passages. For example, the statement “nhà có chó dữ” is translated as
“there is a fierce dog in the house” and “beware of the dog” in semantic
and communicative translation respectively. It is obvious that the latter has
similar intention to the original.

Finally, semantic translation emphasizes content, while communicative
translation emphasizes the force rather than the content of the message. In
other words, semantic translation attempts to render, as faithfully as the
semantic and syntactic structures of the second language allow. However,
communicative translation attempts to produce on its readers an effect that
is as close as possible to that obtained from the readers of the original. For
example, the German statement “Bissiger Hund!” is translated as “Dog that


bites!” (the dog that bites people) in semantic translation, the content is the
same as the original text, but the effect is not as good as the original.
Meanwhile, it is translated into the British idiom “Be aware of the dog!” in
the communicative translation, the language is very authentic, and the
purpose of reminding people are achieved.
In conclusion, although the two approaches function differently, the
combination of them is required when translating texts that both the form
and content are equally important. Therefore, it is necessary for the
translator to distinguish and competently apply semantic and
communicative translation for better translation.
(496 words)