Copyright © 1999-2006 Ali Darwish.  All Rights Reserved

Towards a Theory of Constraints in Translation

Ali Darwish

ABSTRACT

Translation is a process that is foiled by many constraints at different levels and various stages. These constraints affect the perceived and desired quality of translation and dictate the choices and decisions the translator makes.

The act of translating itself takes place within the framework of a Translation System. This system, which is real, dynamic and temporary, brings together or couples two separate language systems in a temporary consensual domain of interactions (The Translation Domain). To understand how the translation system works and how constraints affect translation decisions, it is important to understand the differences and the relationship between constraints and norms. Norms are not the same as constraints. Norms justify a specific rendition of a source text. They license, authorize, empower, and lend credence to certain translation decisions and basically remove constraints. In contrast, constraints are inhibitive — they restrict the choices and block the alternatives and on a higher plane cause confliction between that which is desired and that which is achievable.

The primary objective of the translation process is not to achieve absolute equivalence, but to achieve optimal approximation between the source and target versions of text in terms of utility and appeal. Norms help the translator achieve this within the constraints imposed by the translation process and the degree of transparency and opacity that exists between the source and target languages and cultures (i.e. translatability).

The ultimate goal of any translation strategy is to manage and remove these constraints. Understanding how these constraints work and how they can be managed and ideally removed within a model or a framework of constraint management certainly benefits both the translator and the translation assessor. A basic model of translation constraints management is presented.

This paper is based on the doctoral thesis Translation as a Decision Making Process under Constraints.

For the full text of this paper, click here.

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