Translation: what it is and how it works.

Find out what underlies translation

In the early 20th century, Ferdinand de Saussure, the famous Swiss philologist and thinker, studied the linguistic sign. In his posthumous work Cours de linguistique général (1916), he claimed that every sign consists of two elements: the signifier and the signified. The signifier is a mental representation of the sequence of phonemes (or sound pattern) that constitutes the sign. On the other hand, the signified (more popularly referred to as meaning) is the mental representation of a concept based on the interpretation of reality.

The linguistic sign, as proposed by Saussure, is composed by mentally associating both facets:

• A sequence of phonemes, also known as an accoustic image. 🔊

• A concept. 💡

Every group of people understands, conceives and organises their immediate environment through their language, based on what their culture deems most relevant. Then each language constructs each side of the sign in a unique manner. For instance: regarding the signifier, every language randomly divides the vowel continuum into several segments by creating distinct vowels. Consequently, Italian, Valencian and the Galician language have seven vowels; however, Greek, Castilian Spanish, Basque and, interestingly enough, Japanese have five. English and Portuguese, on the other hand, feature a full set of twelve vowels, while Arabic has only three.

Regarding the signified or meaning, languages exhibit similar patterns. In English, certain verbs have direct Spanish counterparts, such as "to go" (ir), "to head" (dirigirse, ir) or "to walk" (andar, caminar), which can be translated literally. However, there's also the verb "to cycle", which doesn't have a direct one-word translation. Instead, Spanish uses the phrase ir en bicicleta (to go by bicycle). In English, we have the verb "to eat"; nevertheless, the German language distinguishes between essen (to eat), which applies to humans, and fressen (to eat), which pertains to animals.

Signifier/signified: three ways of matching up 

Scholars that specialise in Semiotics (or Semiology), the discipline that studies signs, often argue that the connection between the two sides of the sign can be natural, similar or random, with the latter based on cultural associations.

If the signifier and meaning match up naturally, the sign becomes an indication or clue.

If the signifier and meaning match up similarly, the sign yields an icon.

Eventually, if the signifier and meaning align in an arbitrary manner, the sign is created through cultural association; thus, it becomes a symbol.

Image by u_o53ie9it from Pixabay.

Where there's smoke, there's fire: the relationship between the signifier and meaning is natural.

Image by Michael from Pixabay.

Fire icon: a basic sketch evokes the natural concept of fire. The relationship between the signifier and meaning is similar.

Image by quillau from Pixabay.

The Chinese character (hanzi) or symbol for fire does not have a direct correlation between its signifier and meaning. The association is rooted in cultural and writing traditions. 

Hence, the sign we use in human languages is considered a symbol. 😉👍

What should the translation be: free or literal?

For those unfamiliar with the subject, translation is often perceived as a linguistic transfer: the assumption is that we can simply transfer the content of a piece of writing into a different container. The challenge arises when we view it this way because the second container does not have the same shape; languages are distinct, or more precisely, no pair of languages is identical in terms of the signifier.

In addition, it cannot be taken for granted that the content of the first container can actually be transferred, since the content related to meaning also varies in every pair of languages.

Image by Asa K from Pixabay.

In other words, languages cannot be translated exactly or literally because they are not equivalent. Language scholars consider every linguistic system anisomorphic, meaning they differ in the language elements items of language that refer to the real environment.

Moreover, concerning the meaning or signified, it is paramount to evaluate both the denotative meaning and, above all, the connotative meaning of every concept or word. The latter, more commonly known as connotations, is defined based on the sociocultural framework of each community of speakers and, therefore, is equally unique in every human language.

Translation observes that social and cultural coding overlaps language data. As a result, contrary to common believe, a translation exercise does not simply involve linguistic operations. The meaning contained in a text is constructed from linguistic material as well as various other aspects that are unrelated to language, such as ideology, culture, prejudice, bias, society, background and idiosyncrasies.

As a consequence, in order to carry out a translation coorectly, it is paramount to have a very strong cultural background of the source language culture. This includes not only knowledge of food and festivals but also major historical events, famous authors and their works. Words are often loaded with connotations that the translator should be capable of appreciating.

No uneducated technician should conduct a translation. 

And yet it moves

Nothing could be further from the truth. The fact that no pair of languages is identical allows translation to happen successfully. If two languages were identical, there would be no need for translation; instead, there would be substitution. If human languages were isomorphic, translation would simply involve swapping equivalent language items.

Carrying out a translation is possible if we accept that it is not languages that are translated, but rather texts - the written expression of human communication and culture. Translation is a mental operation in which the linguist engages with the extralinguistic reality through a different language system.

To summarise, translating is essentially rewriting a piece of text in another language while taking into account the cultural and social nuances that enhance its meaning. The goal is to stay as faithful to the original as possible, foregoing a word-for-word translation and acknowledging that numerous subtle cultural details may inevitably be lost in the final published target text.

Image by Oli Lynch from Pixabay.