Types of Translation

Definitions
Oral Translation: is a translation of
sounding spoken language on a real time
basis.
It allows carrying out of productive
communication between representatives of
various language cultures.
The structure conveys the content of oral
speech through the vocabulary, grammar and
peculiarities of intonation structures.
As a rule, two main varieties of oral
translation exist: simultaneous; consecutive
Written Translation

This is the rendering of a written text

in one language in a comparable
written text in another
language.Written translation is
accurate transmission of information,
style and peculiarities of the language.
Analyzing the meaning and structure of
the original text, referring to the
etymology and deep meaning of the
words are the stages of the translation
working process.
 Definitions
Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT), also
called "computer-aided translation," "Machine-
Aided Human Translation (MAHT)" and
"interactive translation," is a form of translation
wherein a human translator creates a target text
with the assistance of acomputer program.
It is the use of software to assist a human translator
in the translation process. The translation is created
by a human, and certain aspects of the process are
facilitated by software.
Machine translation (MT) is a procedure
whereby a computer program analyzes a
source text and produces a target text
without further human intervention.In reality,
however, machine translation typically does
involve human intervention, in the form of
pre-editing and post-editing.

Machine translation (MT) is an

automatic translation from one
language to another. The benefit of
machine translation is that it is possible
to translate large swathes of text in a
very short time.
Back Translation
A back translation is a procedure
whereby a translator (or team of
translators) interpret or re-translate a
document that was previously translated
into another language, back to the
original language.
It helps a translation consultant determine if the
original meaning has been preserved in the target
language.
6. Essentially literal translation
The translators promote it as: an “essentially literal”
translation that seeks as far as possible to capture
the precise wording of the original text and the
personal style of each writer.

Its emphasis is on “word-for-word” correspondence,

differences of grammar, syntax, and idiom between
current literary English and the original languages.

It seeks to be transparent to the original text, letting

the reader see as directly as possible the structure
and meaning of the original.
7. Free Translation
A free translation is one which preserves the meaning of the
original but uses natural forms of the target language, including
normal word order and syntax, so that the translation can be
naturally understood.

It contains two types:

1. Bound Free Translation:
This type of free translation is derived from the context in a direct way,
though it may go out of it in some way or another, in the form of
exaggeration, expressivity, effective, rhetorical, and very formal language.
For example :
1. Proverbs:
He got nothing at the end. )‫رجع بخفي حنين ( خالي الوفاض‬/‫(عاد‬

2. Collocations:
She was sad deep down ) ً‫ اصبح فؤادها فارغا‬/‫(تفطر قلبها من الحزن‬
You look quiet. ) ‫(تبدو رابط الجأش‬
My friend got to the top vey soon. ) ‫(امتطى صديقي صهوة المجد اسرع من البرق‬
3. The Prophet’s Tradition:
Swearing is a bad habit. ) ‫(سباب المسلم فسوق‬
4. Poetry:
East or west, home is best.
) ‫و حنينه أبداً ألول منزل‬ ‫( كم منزل في األرض يألفه الفتى‬
Love me, love my dog . ) ‫( أحبها و تحبني و يحب ناقتها بعيري‬
5. Pompous , exaggerated expressions :
Come down to earth. ) ‫ أقلع عن اوهامك‬/ ً‫( كفاك تيها‬
6. Popular religious expressions:
She had a new baby. )ً‫( رزقها هللا مولوداً جديدا‬
7. Expressions from the Holy Quran:
Are you lying to me ? ) ً‫( أتفتي على هللا كذبا‬

The common point among these translations is their

expressive, effective, and very formal Arabic. They derive that
from the points used above.
All these free translations are derived in one way or another from
the original. Although they may have gone far from the context,
they have not gone to far from it, or outside. This means that his
type of free translation is not loose, or without limitations, but is
still bound to the linguistics context in some way. For these
reasons, this method of free translation is sometimes acceptable.
However, when translation is quite strange to the context, it is
unacceptable. Still direct, literal translation of meaning is a better
version for these statements, as suggested below :

ً‫ منًأحبنيًأحبًًأوالدي‬. 6 .ً‫ لمًيحصلًعلىًشيءًفيًالنهاية‬. 1

.ً‫ تواضع‬/ً‫ كنًواقعيا‬. 7 .ً‫ جدا‬/‫ كانتًحزينةًمنًاألعماق‬. 2
.ً‫ وصلًصديقيًإلىًالقمةًبسرعةًفائقة‬. 8 ً‫ تبدوًهادئا‬. 3
.ً‫ وضعتًمولوداًجديدا‬. 9 .ً‫ مذمومة‬/ً‫ السبًعادةًسيئة‬. 4
‫ أتكذبًعليً؟‬. 10 .‫ الًشيءًمثلًالوطن‬. 5
2. Loose free translation
Some free translations do not relate directly to the original. They are
concluded from it by the translator for different personal reasons. Here are
some examples:

1. Thank you, Mr. Wilson. Next please. )‫ عندنا غيرك‬،‫(تفضل باالنصراف يا سيد ويسلون‬
2. Its half past nine. )ً‫تأخرنا كثيرا‬/‫حان الوقت‬/‫علينا المغادرة‬/‫انتهت الحصة‬/‫(انتهى الوقت‬
3. Thank you, thank you ladies and gentlemen. )‫(هدوء أيها السادة و السيدات‬
4. I am frightened. )‫(أبقًمعنا‬
5. Why are you making mouths? ) ‫(انت وقح‬
6. No bacon with my breakfast, please. ) ‫(أنا مسلم‬
7. Honesty is the best policy. )‫(أنت خنت األمانة‬
8. Books are very expensive today. )‫(لقد عزف الناس عن القراءة اليوم‬
9.You should buy a lock for your car.
)‫األمانًمعدوم‬/‫(سرقةًالسياراتًمنتشرةًكثيراًهذهًاأليام‬
10. Have you classic records. ) ‫ فن هذه األيام منحط‬/ ‫(سحقاً للموسيقى الحديثة‬

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All these translations are conclusions reached at from the original. They
are indirect, pragmatic translations, rendering the meaning intended by the
speakers behind what they say. That is :

Example (1):
The speaker says “thank you” to a guest or a customer at the end of their
meeting, as a sign of telling him/her to leave. So, instead of asking him/her
directly to leave, he says “thank you”, which is understood as “will you
leave, the interview is over” translated as ) ‫ انتهت المقابلة‬، ‫ (تفضل باالنصراف‬.

Example (2):
The speaker her means to say that the time of a class, a meeting , etc.,
has expired, or the time of leaving, or doing something is due.

Example (3):
The speaker wanted to be so polite and respectful to people, so he uses
“thank you” instead of “quiet” or “ silence, please” to tell them to stop
talking and listen.

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Example (4):
The speaker means to say that she/he cannot stay on his/her own
because he/she is afraid of something. Therefore, he/she asks the
listener to stay with him/her, however indirectly.

Example (5):
The speaker implies that making mouths is an expression of bad
behavior. Therefore, the translation )‫ (انت وقح‬expresses this
implication.

Example (6):
It indicates that the speaker is a Muslim because pig’s meat (pork) is
forbidden in Islam, but not in Christianity. That is why Arabic
translation jumps to religion.

Example (7):
It is taken in an indirect comment on a dishonest act by the hearer.
Hence the translation ) ‫ (انت خنت األمانة‬.

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Example (8):
It is a general comment on the expensiveness of books, but
understood as an attempt to give one reason for the people’s lack of
interest in reading.
Example (9):
It is understood as a conclusion about the widespread car theft and
vandalism these days.
Example (10):
It indicates the speaker’s interest in classical music, which is an
expression of his contempt of modern music.
These are loose translations that have deserted their direct, home
contexts completely. This free method of translation allows such
looseness for the translator to translate the way he likes to
understand, rather than the way he should understand according to
certain contextual factors.
It does not matter whether these translations are convincing and
justified or not; what matters is that they do not translate the language
and context we have on the page, but the personal conclusions of the
translator. Therefor, they seem completely different from the original
to the extent that they can be seen as unrelated to.
These translations are indirect, sometimes far interpretations of the
original. This is not the job of the translator. His job is to transmit the text
on the page directly and contextually into an equivalent TL text, which is
closely, clearly and directly related to it. The interpretations and
implications beyond it are left to the readers to conclude, exactly as they
are left to them in English. It is not the responsibility of the translator to
reveal and interpret what the source texts hides, or says indirectly.
Therefore, the possible advisable Arabic versions for those English
sentences can be as follows:
.ً‫ شكراًياًسيدًويسلون( األخً) الذيًيليهًلوًسمحت‬. 1
.ً‫ إنهاًالساعةًالتاسعةًوًالنصف‬. 2
.ً‫ أيهاًالسادةًوًالسيدات‬.....ً‫ شكرا‬. 3
.ً‫ خائفةًجدا‬/ً‫ إنيًخائفة‬. 4
‫ لماذاًتقلبًشدقيكً؟‬. 5
.ً‫ الًأريدًشرائحًالخنزيرًمعًفطوريًلوًسمحت‬. 6
.ً‫ الصدقًمنجاة‬/ً‫ األمانةًخيرًضمانة‬. 7
.ً‫ الكتبًباهظةًالثمنًاليوم‬. 8
.ً‫ ينبغيًعليكًأنًتشتريًقفالًلسيارتك‬. 9
.ً‫ تسجيالتًقديمة‬/ً‫ هلًعندكًأشرطةًتسجيل‬. 10
For all previous reasons, students are advised not to use this type of
free translation.
8. Metaphorical Translation
It involves the translation of SL metaphors into TL metaphors. Metaphors
are not always creative, they are frequently used as decorative metaphors
that are basically intended to decorate the text by injecting it with flowery
language that is full with figures of speech. A quick look at advertisements
and various forms of media, among their things, reveals how metaphorical
the language used for general purposes has become. For example :
a wilds goose chase , raise the roof , flog a dead horse , as dry
as a bone , etc.
By way of illustration, note the metaphorical English sentence below and its
possible Arabic translations ( the first two renditions exemplify metaphorical
translation, while the third exemplifies non-metaphorical translation):

- Ahmed will be flogging a dead horse if he never tries to do a Ph.D. in

linguistics.

-.ً‫ستذهبًجهودًاحمدًادراجًالرياحً اذاًماًحاولًانًيحصلًعلىًشهادةًالدكتوراهًفيًاللغويات‬
-.ً‫سيعودًاحمدًبخفيًحنينً اذاًماًحاولًانًيحصلًشهادةًالدكتوراهًفيًاللغويات‬
-.ً‫سيفشل احمدًاذاًماًحاولًانًيحصلًعلىًشهادةًالدكتوراهًفيًاللغويات‬
 9. Word-for-word translation

A form of literal translation which seeks to match the individual

words of the original as closely as possible to individual words of the
target language.

The translator seeks to translate an original word by the same target

word as much as possible (this is technically called concordance). In
addition, the order of words of
the original language will be followed as closely as possible.

No English translation, except for some interlinear translations, is a

true word-for-word translation, but those who prefer this form of
translation typically promote formally literal versions.
10. Precis Translation
It is a translation method where the
translator gives TL summary
translations of the SL text he is dealing
with. Such Tl summary translations
usually provide the reader with only the
main points of the SL text, thus ignoring
many fine details that are contextually
unimportant or, even, irrelevant. This
translation practice is often common in
different forms of media like