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HAIPHONG UNIVERSITY
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

A STUDY ON ADAPTATION IN LITERATURE

STUDENT: Nguyen Thi Tra Mi
SUPERVISOR: Mr. Nguyen Van Phi, M.A
GROUP: English major B K13

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First of all, I would like to express my sincere thanks to Mr. Nguyen Van Phi, M.A.
He has given me much of his time and has supervised me in all phases of study. I have
taken advantage of his superior standards of scholarship and count myself privileged to
have been able to work under his crucial guidance. This study could not have been
possible without his encouragement and recommendation to his colleagues.
I would also like to express my gratitude to my teachers and friends, who have
directly or indirectly helped me with their encouragement and comments.
Of those who have helped me over the time in preparing this research, my especial
gratitude is due to Mrs. Tuyen–A journalism for her practical help; Mr. Duong for having
provided me with a comfortable computer and the center library’s references.
In particular, I would like to record my thanks to Nguyen Huynh Nhat Bao, whose
kindness helped to carry me through difficult times and for his valued friendship.

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Finally, my thanks go to my families for their support during the time I carried out this
study.

A LIST OF ABBREVIATION
SL: Source language
TL: Target languge
TT: Translation Theorize/ Translation Theories

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PART I: INTRODUCTION
1. Rational

Even with the most uo-to-date and sophisticated communication system. We can never
know how many languages man uses today in the world. And thus there is a need for
professional translator in careers.
Not only academia, the mass reader also needs to learn to access and deeper penetration
as culture and science in the world, while the works of local authors, from scientific
research to literary and artistic creation, not reached the amount (not to talk about quality)
correspond to the needs of the market to find out.
Two reasons account for the rendering on that overwhelming number of publishing
markets. Speed publications soared in the past few decades has been that even people in
the industry is difficult to master, or keep up with these developments. This situation
inevitably raises issues about the quality of the translated work, in which there are very
serious problems.
In the debate about the recent translation in Vietnam, it seems too focused rules on
"ethical translation" of translators through translation error investigation which lack the
academic perspective, the taking online school debate, methods?
We are not sure is entirely absent, but the absence as so, the hope slowly we will proceed

to argue that way, and assuming there really lacking, perhaps because we do not have
many books faculty and documents in Vietnamese translation. Way translation training in
college and just concentrate processing taught sentences - word, so that the correct
translation is ... happy then. It is not taught the method attention beyond language
translation, teaching students not only language considered as a tool to convey.
2.

Purpose of the study
When it comes to translating that we almost considered just translate (that) to term (that)
the other is finished. Translation, as we shall see, is not simply to find the equivalence
4


between two languages, because rarely have two completely similar language in terms of
both structure and content. Someone consider translation as to look under the lens of
ethics, for example whether to translate a work of moral decadence. Transliteration is no
longer a problem solving word anymore, but beyond that respect, become an art, an
outlook through the scientific method.
So I do this with the desired topic each learner will have a wider vision of translation,
from which to explore and refer to themselves as well as the way of thinking appropriate
translation method when translating literature or other works. In this case the method of
free applications in different fields – eexpecially the field of art and typical creativity.
3. Scope of the study

The scope of this study only focus on find out what is Adaptation on base and clarify the
use of Adaptation in literary works.
4.
-

Research question

What is transaltion ?/ What is traduction?
What is the main feature of Adaptation ?
How to deal with Adaptation?

5. Method of the study

To carry out this study, I consult the research work of many accademia such as ‘Dich
Thuat va Tu Do’, Translation theories books… to make out the clearance of Adaptation
6.
-

and the use of it in literary translation.
Design of the study
The study is organized into three parts: Introduction, development, conclusion.
The introduction includes the rationale, the aims of the study, the research questions,
scope of the study, methods of the study as well as design of the study.
The development comprises three chapters:
Chapter 1: Definition
Chapter 2: Adaptation
Chapter 3: Conclusion and some suggestions
The conclusion gives a summary of what has been done and provides recommendations
for futher research.
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PẢRT 2: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: DEFINITION
1.1.
•

Definition of translation
What is translation ?
Translation is rendering a written text into another language in the way that the
author intended the text
The English nominalisation "translation" is derived from translatus, past participle
of the Latin verb transferre, "to carry over or across". It is from no more than the past
participle - by definition coming after the event itself - that we have the nomen
actionis "translating" (translation) and the nomen agentis "translator". English would
seem to have lost the association these words once had with the less specific and more
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material sense of transferre. Our common terms are really only articulating translation as
"the translated", as the completed result of translational work.
In this light, translation can be seen as a special kind of response to things that have
been transferred or are meant to be transferred. (Translation and text transfer-Anthony
Pym, 1992)
There are plenty theories about Adaptation was invented by translation definition
researcher through its improved history.
Translation, as defined by the dictionary, involves changing from one state or one form
to another form to be itself or another language (Merriam-Webster Dictionary 1994)
[Larson, 10.3]
Hartman & Stock (1972) were defined that translation is to replace a text of source
language into a similar text in another. According to Nida & Taber (1974), the translation
is to recreate the language in receptor language the natural equivalent and make it close
to the message of the source language, first is meaning and then the style. According to
Larson (1998), translation is studying vocabulary, learning the structure and
circumstances of communication and cultural context of the source language text,
analyze text to determine meaning, and use the vocabulary and structures the appropriate
structure of the language reception to re-establish the same meaning. However, Newmark

(1981) back to that translation is transforming a text into a different text in the same way
as the authors express written documents.
While the above definitions are a bit different, but we have the same thing in
common which is the equivalent in translation. This means finding the equivalent or
nearest equivalent while maintaining the meaning and the style.
Dr. Ho Dac Tuc in ‘Dich thuat va Tu do’- (Translation and freedom) page 20, was defined
as follow:
‘Translation is a general term that translated spoken and written translation. Today
compiler to translate only writing, translating to only service said. From experience
translation says, progresses through writing service when mankind has written,

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summarizing predecessors experience to a gradual development of the concept, making
the models, the translation methodology.’
Meetham & Hudson (1969) gave more details about the same level, ‘the text in different
languages may be equivalent in different degrees’ (equivalent in absolute or equal part),
presentation of different aspects (the equivalent of context, semantics, the study,
vocabulary, functions, number, etc ...) and at different levels (the word, speech,
sentences).
However, Whorf (1956) is confirmed: None of two languages can recognize a reality in
the same way. In addition, the fact of the matter is the real world is to a large extent
unconsciously formed from the language habits of the group. Two languages never again
fully identical to the reproduction is considered a social fact.
Nida (1984) also have the same point of view and asserted, could not get the absolute
equivalence in translation.

1.2.

Definition of Adaptation
Adaptation is the ‘freest’ form of translation. It is used mainly for plays and poetry; the
themes, characters, plots are usually preserved, the SL culture converted to the TL
culture and the text rewritten.
(A textbook of translation by Peter Newmark, Anne Mendoza Titong)
In Oxford Dictionary, page 1003 (published 2003): ‘Adaptation is the manner in which
the translator translates escape binding of the original form and original language,
translation language used to interpret the meaning of the original. Therefore translations
tend to be longer than the original.’

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CHAPTER 2: ADAPTATION
2.1. Translation views from the 16th -17th century

Under the reign of the theory in the Bible translation, the development of printing
industry in Europe in the 15th century and the conquest of new territory of the European
has led to no longer suffocated within religion and literatute propaganda. Translation has
become an essential activity in the 16th century, the Renaissance and has many
translation theories born.
According to Bassnett- McGuire (1991), one of the first theorizing scholars was a French
translator called Etienne Dolet (1509-1546). He supposed that the translator should have
the following five conditions (Steiner 1998):
(1) Must clearly understand the intent of the original author.
(2) Must be fluent in both the TL and SL
(3) Avoid literal translation

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(4) Using the commonly expression commonly and easy to understand
(5) Ordering the words, sentences and paragraphs easy to convince
Particularly, Dolet emphasized the first principles: Prerequisites for translation is entirely
encompassed the intention and inspiration of the original author (Bassnett 2002). The
translator just fluent in two languages that do not fully understand the original should not
translate it. Clearly, a jim-dandy translator is not only the letter but also have a broad
understanding, sensitive and deep knowledge of all aspects related to the original. For
example, St. Jerome travelled through Bethlehem to learn this area language and the
customs of the Jews. Tang Xuanzang (Đường Huyền Trang) from China to India not only
because of language but also to observe feng shui (phong thủy) then translated Buddhist
scriptures. Dedication for this academic really respected and should emulate.
George Chapman (1559-1634) also said that people should avoid literal translation
but not add or remove an arbitrary process what is not in the original. He emphasized the
importance of the Transmigration (Chuyển thần) from SL to TL. How people want to
give themselves the responsibilities and duties of the original author. Thereby, the reader
will feel the origin spirit. The idea was developed and applied to the translation theorize
of Nida in the 20th century.
In 16th century, after the death of Violet on the pyre because 'misinterpreted' the Plato
shows the theoretical debate not just an academic dissension but political and social
argument.
2.2.

The use of Adaptation of literary works (poems and plays)
2.2.1. The use of Adaptation in plays
Literary translation is a creative art. The tone of language is to express artistic creativity.
Content and title of a literary work (as stories, plays, poetry) is closely related, is a
manifestation of creativity. Literary works just everyday language capacity to deliver,
otherwise no one understands anything. At least translators have to understand the subject
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and how to describe the subject of the original. Translators need to comprehen and
understand the original. The attitude of respect for the reader is indispensable.
Translators must understand translation units (the clue) of the SL. What was the
authorwrote for? How the atmosphere was (peace/ war/stress…)? How the characters
were? (They are scoundrels or ethics…). Only understand the translation unit (context
story) when translated each sentence which translators can rely on to select the word and
appropriate structures.
For example:
Famous novel 'The Godfather' by Mario Puzo can absolutely illustrate this point. The
world in 'The Godfather' is not only death, but also romantic with guns and merciful. It
was stony hearted inspiration because there were short, sharp but very picturesque in the
story. If the translator was not sensing the ‘culture’ of the Mafia world, you will see the
translation loses caitiff and charming cad in the original.
Please focus on the following scene of two judges whom were treating the accused on
charges of raped Bonasera's daughter:
‘The judge paused, his eyes beneath impressively thick brows flickered slyly toward the
sallow-faced amerigo Bonasera, then lowered to a stack of probation reports before him.
He frowned and shrugged as if convinced against his own natural desire. He spoke
again.
‘But because of your youth, your dream records, because of your fine families, and
because the law in its majesty does not seek vengeance, I hereby sentence you to three
years’confinement to the penitentiary. Sentence to be suspended.’
Only forty years of professional mourning kept the overwhelming frustration and hatred
from showing on Amerigo Bonasera’s face.
(Mario Puzo. The Godfather)
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Observing the two Vietnamese versions as follows:
(1)

Dưới cặp lông mày chổi xể, đôi mắt sáng lóng lánh của ngài Chánh án khẽ liếc
nhìn khuôn mặt bí xị của Bonasera rồi dừng lại trên chồng đơn xin khoan hồng trước
mặt. Ngài cau mặt, rồi nhún vai như sắp phải có một quyết định ngược với chính lòng

-

mình.
Xét vì tụi bây còn nhỏ, chưa có tiền án và con nhà đàng hoàng… Vả lại xét vì luật pháp
đặt ra chẳng phải để trả thù nên tòa tuyên phạt mỗi đứa 3 năm tù, cho hưởng án treo!
Bốn mươi năm hành nghề chủ xe đòn, chon người chết đã quen nên Bonasera giận sôi
sung sục vẫn ngậm miệng làm thinh.
(Ngọc Thứ Lang)

(2)

Ngài dừng lại một lúc, cặp mắt cáo bên dưới đôi lông mày rậm rì nhíu lại dữ tợn
đảo nhanh qua bộ mặt tái ngắt của Boonaxera. Rồi càng sa sầm mặt với vẻ dữ tợn hơn,

-

so vai như để kìm cơn giận tự nhiên, ngài kết thúc:
Nhưng xét các người còn trẻ, trước đây chưa có tiền án, vả lại đều là con nhà tử tế, mặt
khác luật pháp là cực kì sáng suốt, đặt ra không phải để trả thù, nên ta tuyên phạt mỗi
tên ba năm tù. Cho phép các người được hưởng án treo.
Chỉ nhờ thói quen bốn chục năm nghề nghiệp mới giúp ông chủ xe đòn Bonaxera đủ sức
ghìm cơn giận không để lộ ra ngoài mặt.
(Trịnh Huy Ninh & Đoàn Tử Huyến)

The tone of Ngoc Thu Lang was calmly, concisely. The translator has expressed
innocence and exuding judge's cad. ‘Xét vì tụi bây còn nhỏ, chưa có tiền án’ was
condescending manner so well suited. It was apparent better than ‘Nhưng xét các người
còn trẻ, trước đây chưa có tiền án’ in version (2) was unnatural. ‘Tụi bây’ was the correct
style of the Mafia rather than ‘các người.’
Using verdict ‘Because’ was not only the cause but also reiteration (emphasized
sound and meaning). Version (1) keep the rhythm of the original sound (xét vì), while
version (2) used these three different words (‘xét', 'vả lại', 'mặt khác') to translate
'Because'. It was not unacceptable, but damaging the effect of rhetoric in original.
Best of the original though only two words 'proffesional mourning' to describe the
plaintiff but Ngoc Thu Lang added 'Chôn người chết đã quen' to create the atmosphere of
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death and successfully portrayed the victim's background (He also is a formidable guy).
The ideology in the SL was transferred into TL whether to add some words does not exist
in SL (Bassnett 2002: 120). Over 200 years ago, Tytler had defined that the translator can
emphasize the original ideology by add some words (Tyler 1907: 22). However, when
using the Adaptation still cautious when add or omit words. Do not go too far.
.
From the first page, Ngoc Thu Lang has designated a Right- Mafia-style which was
sharp, indifferent and no excess words. He chose the right Pragmatic Equivalent and
created equivalent effect.
We can see the sacrifices he made in translating semantics. Version (2) last sentence
translated as 'Không để lộ ra ngoài mặt', while Ngoc Thu Lang went a bit further: 'Ngậm
miệng làm thinh'. Might 'Mặt tỉnh bơ' more closely to the original. However, stonehearted
tone and sharp above forced him can stop from selecting the tone (As translation unit)
rather than the sentence. So 'Ngậm miệng làm thinh' creating the feeling irritated,
speeding over an uncutted letter and the inspiration in the original story.
It has said before that translation is the process of composing.At the beginning of the

innovative process the writers absolutely mastered the language. However, the language
often replaced the writer in writing because the writer's prose forced to use the word
instead of using another word. The writers have to chosen these sentences in stead of
those.
Before writing, the writer's was a witch who controls warriors of hell
While writing, sometimes the hell warriors became witches.
It is the mastery of language makes a work with a specific and complet tone, but was not
the writer. Literary translation process as well. How to choose the starting tone usually
affects the entire tone then.
Professor Harry Aveling, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia, wrote in his essay
"Mistakes" in Translation: A functionalist Approach: "The translator has always been
criticized for the large and small error is enormous. All those who does this job knows
that. We toil for years, with all the sophisticated capabilities and caution, just to get the
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sort of question on comment: ‘You took away a comma on page 45’, ‘this bird belongs
columbidae but first must belong to evil is’or ‘be assumed to be one of the features in the
style of the author, but you was not transferred to the translation.’
For example:
When discuss about translating that we almost considered just translate (this mean) to
(that mean) the other is finished. Translation, as we shall see, is not simply to find the
equivalence between two languages, because rarely have two completely similar
language in terms of both structure and content. Suppose there is a word equivalent in
meaning between two languages go again, the context (time and space) use is not finally
the same, the purpose is not necessarily the same, using the same can not be certain . The
conventions of the language did not explain all the phenomena of language. So we should
consider the other perspective.
Some translators have looked entirely linguistic opinion. There are people that are
translating to manipulate public information two cultures. Have you looked at the

translation under psychological perspective, as what happens in the mind of the translator
during translation process. Another looked under the lens of ethics, for example whether
to translate a work of moral decadence. Transliteration is no longer a problem solving
word anymore, but beyond that respect, become an art, an outlook through the scientific
method.
Literary translation is an oldest phenomenon and to reach literary translation method
through different concept gives us a way of service and product evaluation services
wisely and in moderation. Not merely a matter of changing this word into another word,
each specific sector there are different translations.
As already said, shifting from one language into another language is not a simply issue
because it not only requires the translator must have knowledge of the language but also
cultural knowledge, social psychology. Inter-language translators will have difficulty
translating fishing knives, proverbs, idioms characteristics of the people of Vietnam into
English and idioms and vice versa.
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2.2.2.

The use of Adaptationtranslation method in poems
In the 16th century, after the death of Dolet on the pyre because ' misinterpreted'
the Plato shows the theoretical debate on the extremely tense political and social, not just
an academic perspective. One supported the Church and one supported Transmigration.
Not only stress in perspective when translating the Bible and philosophy but also in
poetry translation. Those who focus on translation libre have been criticized as
'simulation poetry'. Even they were being unnoticed because they have no authority,
trnaslation libre trends (particularly for the object to read the translation) - despite still
being fired on the pyre- gradually prevailed. George Steiner (1998) has commented it
was a boom for new idea in academic innovation. The translators in this era also ware the
revolutionaries and they strong impacted on the intellectual life of Europe.

British poet to be knighted, Sir John Denham (1615-1669) who owns many works have
been translated from the Greek, French and Latin into English, said his opinion poetry
translated as follows:
‘(F)or it is not his bisiness alone to translate language into language, but Poesie into
Poesie; and Poesie is of so subtitle a spirit, that in pouring out of one language into
another, it will all evaporate; and if a new spirit be not added in the transfusion, there
will remain nothing but a Caput Mortuum.’
(Steiner, T.R. 1975. English Translation Theory, 1650-1800. Assen and Amsterdam Van
Gorcum).
Not only note the shortcomings of literal translation, the translator of poetry- Denhamwanted to be a poet in the process of translation to get a rendering as well as a poem.
Utill the era, the concept was leaning towards translation libre trend. One other famous
poets in the English literary world was Abraham Cowley (1618- 1667) has gone so far as

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to talk about how to translate his poetry. He arbitrarily kept the origin, omitted or added
that he felt the need.
The 17th century promoted the Adaptationlibre trend. John Dryden (1631-1700) was the
strongest advocated for this point of view. He was given threes translating poetry
(Bassnett 2002. p66):
(1) Metaphrase: a literal, word-for-word translation, as opposed to a paraphrase.
(2) Paraphrase : express the meaning of (the writer or speaker or something written or

spoken) using different words, especially to achieve greater clarity.
(3) Imitation : facsimile from the origin.
No (1) is too literal, word-for-word translation so it is not in the original anymore. No (3)
is too dissolute. Dryden prioritized No. (2), but he added that the simultaneous
translation of poetry must be a poet, good at both two languages. He or she must
understand the characteristic and spirit of the poet at the same time as well as to

understand that era aestheticism. Dryen similed poetry translators same with portrait
artist. This artist must be responsible for drawing realistically but still not the truth
(Bassnett 2002).
Theoretically, according to Jakobson (1959-2000), there is no equivalent
comprehensive semantics between two languages. So, he determined that poetry can not
be translated. Based on these two premises, he concludes that want to translate poetry had
to followed creative translation. Creativity in this case is an interpretation of the poem
(SL) because there was no semantic equivalence between the two different languages.
In 1975, Andre` Lefevere, a literature professor in University of Texas, Austin
has published his research on the translation of poetry called 'Translating Poetry: Seven
Strategies and a Blueprint.'
Firstly, Lefevere has outlined seven ways to translate poetry in which each has strengths
and weaknesses. For instance, if the translators keep the original rhyming, the translations
will be shaky and lose its meaning. Secondly, word by word or literal translation makes
the structure and implication of the original disappear (Susan Bassnett 2002: 87).
Lafevere’s analysis was tranfered from Latin, not English-Vietnamese translation.
Thirdly, translators can still apply a multiple methods as perfect as possible when
translating a poem.
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All people assumed that each word has its connotation from the author. Sometimes, there
are words without implication but to convey images or cry rhythm for the poem. Suppose
that we isolate one word, it would not make sense. Conversely, when these words link
together could help the reader feel the sheer aesthetic beauty of the poem. It was the
specific factors must not forget.
English poetry often focuses on ‘Meter’ (accented or unaccented) which are orded by the
poet's own though. English poetry is not always necessary the rhythm that many do not or
have only rhymes (repeats vowels, consonants at the beginning, middle or end of a
sentence). For instance,

‘And through the drifts the snowy clifts’
(Coleridge, the Ancient Mariner)
For example:
Tong Huu Nhan (China-Vietnamese) was a poem composed by Li Bai (Ly Bach) which
including 8 sentences, each sentence gathered 5 words:
TỐNG HỮU NHÂN
Thanh sơn hoành bắc quách,
Bạch thủy nhiễu đông thành,
Thử địa nhất vi biệt,
Cô bồng vạn lý chinh,
Phù vân du tử ý,
Lạc nhật cố nhân tình,
Hủy thủ tự tư khứ,
Tiêu tiêu ban mã minh.
(1) Tan Da ( Tản Đà):

TIỄN BẠN
Chạy dài cõi bắc non xanh,
Thành đông nước chảy quanh thành trắng phau.
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Nước non này chỗ đưa nhau,
Một xa, muôn dặm biết đâu cánh bồng.
Chia phôi khác cả mối lòng.
Người đi mây nổi kẻ trông bóng tà!
Vẫy tay thôi đã rời xa,
Nhớ nhau tiếng ngựa nghe mà buồn teo.
Tan Da was the famous poet who owned Tang Alexandrine translated poetry close to
Vietnam. However, this version was unccessful because of rambling and redundant. The

second have two same word 'Thành'.
'Thử địa' means 'đất này', but he has transformed into 'nước non' so it sounds artificial;
'Cô bồng' exuding the desolation and loneliness which being translated into ‘Cánh bồng'
sounds so far-fetched. Then he tried to translate in the form of ‘Alexandrine’ (Tho Luc
Bat) and the poem ends with 'Buồn teo'. This word does not describe a liberal space is
evoked from the neigh.
Now, please observe two comparison images (side by side) of the SL:
Phù vân/ du tử ý
Lạc nhật/cố nhân tình
‘Phù vân’: traveling aimlessly from place to place; itinerant.
‘Du tử ý’: the dream of pilgrims
‘Lạc nhật’: sunset
‘Cố nhân tình’: affection of old friends
In this poem the author wanted to compare the adventure dream of person who went
away. It was like floating clouds and affection of the pilgrim to his best friend was like
the sadness as dusk.
In English, they usually have a 'Preposition' or 'Adverb' between two compared objects,
for instance;
(2) Ezra Pound, American poet:
18


FAREWELL TO A FRIEND
Blue mountains to the north of the walls,
White river winding about them;
Here we must make separation
And go out through a thousand miles of dead grass.

Mind like a floating wide cloud,
Sunset like the parting of old acquaintances

Who bow over their clasped hands at a distance.
Our horses neigh to each others
as we are departing.
In the fifth and sixth, The Tang characteristic was unchanged by close together two
images with the preposition 'like'.
However, he disordered as follow:
In the original: natural+human feeling (phù vân+ du tử ý)
Look at version (2):
(5): human feeling+natural (mind+ floating wide cloud) => This was out of order
(6): natural+human feeling (sunset+old acquaintances) => This was the same to origin
Though, this was not equivalent, the Pound has shown the spirit of classical Chinese
poetry (Tang) and makes the reader was unfamiliar with their own language.
The poet Ezra Pound, who initiated the ‘Imagism’ He advocated the beauty of the poetic
language was sharp, clearly, picturesque and omitted unnessesary letters. He brought the
novelty of China into English poetry. However, this view has been accepted or rejected
depends on readers.
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Besides the difficulties due to language differences and aesthetic concepts, translating
poetry must also be able to choose how to reconstruct a dead spirit. They even had to use
the suitable language and tone because of contemporaries.
'Greatest difficulties (poetry translation) is to translate a dead poem, because not only
the poet and his era is gone, the meaning of the poem in the context at that time also
dead. Sometimes, such as a rhyme, in which people can experience a new kind of poetry
and nobody knows for a very long time. So, how can loyalty to a dead form. In this case,
the solution was creating a new poetic spirit or reforming to rescue the original.’
(Bassnett 2002:88-89)
In honest, we all agreed that language is the medium of literature. However, the language
was not only conveyed meaning but also the feelings of the writer. Therefore, literature

was a different type. The translator forced to express the author's feelings, and better
reflect the style of the original expression.
However, these many methods still imperfection. Each translator has their own though to
separate the prose and poetry translation. This may be a convention limiting the freedom
of the translator. The limit does not prevent creation to reach the qualities of the
masterpiece

CHAPTER 3: ETHICAL TRANSLATION AND SOME SUGGESTIONS OF USING
TRANSLATION METHODS
3.1. Ethical translation
Moral in translation is a phenomenon being considered from the beginning of 21 century.
Moral is not only divided between the right thing to do and the wrong thing to avoid or
between true and false but also a conception in translate. Each transalting methods all

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concluded perspective in. Whenever we chose this and exclude another, we expressed a
worldview as well as a conception of moral.
Ethics is a professional concern. Ethical questions concern translation on two levels. On
the one hand, tired repetitions of traduttore traditore presuppose some kind of ideal
loyalty to a source text, author or sender, often pitted against similar loyalty to a receiving
language, culture or receiver. On the other, codes of ethics are written for the control of
translation as a profession, regulating the translator's relations with other translators, with
clients and with questions like official secrets. These are two very different levels. In the
first case, the ideal translator remains an invisible linguistic figure, corresponding to no Ihere-now. In terms of the profession, however, the ideal translator is a juridical and fiscal
entity who, according to most contemporary ethical codes, should have paratextual and
extra-textual presence as the partly responsible source of translated texts. The implicit
anonymity of the first level would seem to be overridden by a call to explicit professional
presence on the second.

But can it simply be assumed that all individual translators have become equally
professional? Have they really gained sufficient authority to develop their own ethics?
And if so, where did this authority come from, and in whose interests should it be used?
Approaches to translational ethics mostly fail to address such questions because
they are almost exclusively focused on the practice of the abstract individual translator.
Experts thus set about writing rules on the model of "when in situation A, take action B",
hoping that inexpert individuals will conform to an ethically unquestioned and ostensibly
unquestionable norm. But if no isolated individual has ever gained enough authority to
formulate and apply this kind of rule - truly isolated individuals tend to be called traitors , how can a realistic code of behaviour possibly be formulated in such terms? The starting
point for translational ethics must be the professional group, not the lone hand.
This means that, since the historical development of the profession concerns a
collectivity - translators as a social group - , it is misleading to formulate translation rules
as simple precepts for individuals who might be morally right or corrigibly wrong. The
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essential problem of translational ethics is not how to translate in any given situation,
but who may decide how to translate.
Partial answers to this question can be gleaned from the long march from slavery
to professionalism. Translators became professional, but they did not do so spontaneously
or individually. They passed through several intermediary stages, recountable in terms of
political models and arabesque arguments concerning inspiration, individualism, divided
loyalty and the apparently neutral use of natural languages.
3.2. Translators' first loyalty should not fall one side or the other
Since the question of improvement can be formulated as a classical problem of
multiply divided loyalties, it may be conceptualised in terms of the figures to which the
translator might turn when in search of authorisation. There are at least five such figures:
An ethics of commercial service, most effectively based on the translator's
responsibility to the client's purpose, would simply place mercenary behaviour beyond
the reach of ethical critique, suggesting that the most improved translation is the one

which gets paid the most and that none of the other possible sources of authority count
for anything at all. In the absence of any translational guiding hand (such as Luther's
insistence on faith), an ethics of commercial service would appear to be more like a nonethics, although the rather more interesting but associated criterion of "professional
detachment" will be commented upon below.
An ethics based on symmetrical respect for hypothetical cultural equality would
seem inadequate to the fundamentally asymmetric principles of translation itself: authors
and translators are by definition not equal; text flows between senders and receivers are
rarely balanced or reciprocal; the right to information is not automatically a universal
blessing. An ethics of improvement must recognise that translation is a profoundly
asymmetrical phenomenon.
An ethics based on asymmetrical cultural specificity would in fact fare no better
than its symmetrical counterpart. If one says that each culture has and should have its
own way of translating - and thus its own way of improving texts according to its own
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criteria - , there is no way of recognising and assessing translation as an actively
communicational phenomenon necessarily relating at least two cultures. An ethics of
cultural specificity would be like suggesting that improvement in a marriage can only
result from having husband and wife pursue their separate criteria, which in fact amounts
to saying that the best marriage is divorce. Is the best intercultural relation then culturespecific? Is the best translation really non-translation in disguise?
There can be no doubt that certain phenomena are culture-specific. But translation,
precisely because it is an intercultural phenomenon, should not be one of them. To
pretend otherwise would be to push relativism to the paranoic extremes translation should
ideally overcome; it would be to draw up rules based on unchanging cultural distances
and then apply them to a phenomenon which has as its function precisely the
transformation of those distances; it would be to forget that the kings, princes and priests
taking their sovereignty from cultural specificity can never totally trust translators
anyway. Because, despite whatever cultural specificity they might be attributed,
translators have always been intercultural.

Questions of divided loyalty cannot be decided in terms of looking in one direction
rather than another. Criteria of equivalence, explicitness, purpose-adequacy, hypothetical
cultural equality and cultural specificity fail to provide any convincing orientation as to
the general nature of translational improvement. This is because they are not in
themselves translational criteria; they are not derived from any careful contemplation of
what translation is and does. In order properly to decide how and when to improve
through translation, one must first position oneself in an appropriately intercultural space,
and only then consider the fortunes of individual senders, receivers, clients or cultures.
The ensuing discussions can usefully be directed in terms of questions like "Why
translate this text?", "For whom might this text be translated?" and ultimately, "Why
translate?", in the noble hope of transforming the copiers of rules into a profession of
decision-makers, forcing theorisation to show itself as a part of translational practice.

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For each future generation or world situation, the answering of such questions, the
practical process of collective theorisation, might ideally constitute the consensual basis
of a peculiarly translational regime.
3.3. Some suggestions
A somewhat brutal summary of the code of ethics of the Association des traducteurs
littéraires de France (ATLF), 1988:
Let it suffice to say that translators:
1. Must have adequate linguistic competence.
2. Must have knowledge of the pertinent subject matter.
3. Must refuse to translate from a TT unless with the consent of the author.
4. May only alter a text with the author's consent.
5. Have the right to accept or refuse a translation.
6. May demand the documents necessary for the translation.
7. Must respect professional secrets.

8. Must translate personally and ensure that their name appears on TT.
9. In the case of co-translation, the names of all the translators must appear on TT.
10. Must demand the same conditions if co-translating.
11. Must refuse work detrimental to a fellow translator.
12. Must not accept work conditions inferior to those established by the profession
In conclusion, theorisation is the basis of translation criticism. Criticism has to be very
careful when invoking apparently immutable rules. There are many ways of translating,
many things that can be said through translation, and bad explicit theorisation is apt to do
more harm than is mere poverty on the level of practice. If translators are allowed to have
ideas, critics should be prepared not to reject out of hand the signs of consciously applied
strategies like the one probably used by Spears. This is one of the reasons why a careful
distinction should be made between errors and mistakes (cf. Pym 199

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PART III: CONCLUSION
In conclusion, theorisation is the basis of translation criticism. Criticism has to be very
careful when invoking apparently immutable rules. There are many ways of translating,
many things that can be said through translation, and bad explicit theorisation is apt to do
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