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Subject-field Understanding
Abstract
This article reports on the results of an interesting experiment comparing two transla- tions produced by a group of translator trainees. One translation was carried out with the use of conventional resources; the other with the aid of a specialised monolingual corpus. The results reveal that the corpus-aided translations were of higher quality in respect to subject field understanding, correct term choice, and idiomatic expression. The author observes that although she did not find any improvement with regard to grammar or register, the use of the corpus was not associated with poorer performance.
INTRODUCTION
It is generally held that three of the most important criteria required to produce a high-quality translation are an understanding of the subject field, an excellent com- mand of the target language, and a good knowledge of the source language. In this paper, we outline a pilot study that was conducted to determine if a specialized mono- lingual native-language corpus can be used as a resource to help student translators improve two of these competencies: subject-field understanding and specialized native- language competence. In part one, we briefly discuss why subject-field understanding and native-language competence are important for translation, and we consider the problems that arise when students do not have these competencies. In part two, we look to the discipline of corpus linguistics to see if it can provide any solutions for improving these competencies. In part three, we describe a pilot study which we conducted with
14 students at the School of Applied Language and Intercultural Studies at Dublin City University in Ireland: translations done using conventional resources were compared with those done using a specialized monolingual native-language corpus. In part four, we discuss the results of the experiment.
Meta, XLIII, 4, 1998
2 Meta, XLIII, 4, 1998
TRANSLATION COMPETENCIES
Good translators are generally viewed as having at least the following three com- petencies: a solid understanding of the subject matter treated in the source text; an excellent command of the target language (usually the translator's native language); and a good knowledge of the source language (usually a foreign language) (Sykes 1989:
35-39). In this study, we will consider only the first two of these skills (i.e. subject-field understanding and native-language competence), with a view to identifying the poten- tial of a specialized monolingual native-language corpus as a resource for helping translators to improve these skills.
Subject-field Understanding
The fact that a translator needs to understand the source text in order to produce an accurate translation is obvious to anyone in the profession. Translators cannot sim- ply translate words; one of the things they need in order to understand the text, and thereby translate it, is knowledge about the subject field. The importance of under- standing the subject field has been acknowledged by many translation researchers (e.g. Folkart 1984: 230; Cormier 1991: 440). Miller (1993: 2) makes the following observa- tions about a translator's need for subject-field understanding:
Translators are knowledge users [...] they need background information about the subject matter of the source text; given that they are not the audience whom the author had in mind when composing the original text, they probably do not have the specialized knowledge that was assumed of the intended readership.