Page 14 - Translation Journal July 2015
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t, without distortion or betrayal of the message and style of the source language text. The notion of fidelity in translation was the major
theme of an international conference on translation organized in 1959 by the International Federation of Translators, in which George
Mounin (1968: 53) considered absolute fidelity to the entire source language text to be the primary quality of translation. This is how he
put it, “In our translations, like women, we must be perfect in both faithfulness and beauty” (quoted in Albir 1990:14).
At the other end of the table existed another school of thought, which postulated the theory of untranslatability in translation.
According to Wikipaedia, free encyclopaedia, untranslatability is a property of a text, or of any utterance, in one language for which no
equivalent text or utterance can be found in another language when translated. For them, translating is betraying.
However, Jacques Flamand (1983: 50) disagrees with the above views, stating that translation is possible, but that it is unrealistic
to aim at absolute fidelity, especially in literary translation. Also, Nida (1976:47) has this to say on the subject of absolute fidelity in
translation:
If we must insist on a translation without any loss of information, therefore, not only translation, but all communication will be
effectively impossible, because no communication whatsoever … may take place without some loss of information. The
loss of information is an integral part of the process of communication.
3.0 THEORY OF FIDELITY EROSION IN TRANSLATION
Erosion is “the gradual wearing away of rock or soil by physical breakdown, chemical solution, and transportation of material, as
caused, e.g. by water, wind, or ice” (Microsoft Encarta E-Dictionary). One can apply this situation to translation by saying that erosion
takes place if the level of fidelity is reduced during a translation process by such factors as the translator’s shallow knowledge of one or
both languages, their shallow knowledge of the subject-matter being translated, faulty translation tools being used, lack of professional
training and exposure, as well as other intellectual, cultural and linguistic factors. Meanwhile, the theory of fidelity erosion in translation
can be demonstrated using the following simple experiment.
3.1 Experiment
The same source language text was given to three different final year undergraduate students of translation to render into a
specified target language as part of their final degree examination. The three of them were subjected to the same conditions in terms of
the time allowed for the translation and the translation tools (e.g. dictionaries, etc.) used. After the examination, the same benchmark was
used as marking guide for evaluating, judging or determining the level of fidelity attained in each of the three translations. This experiment
was repeated severally, using different types of texts taken from novels, poems, plays, constitutions, court proceedings, science reports,
newspapers reports, statements of account, manifestos, research findings, journal articles, etc. in different language pairs and different
categories of translators (student translators, academic translators, professional translators, etc.) in multiples of three at a time.
3.2 Observations
Going through the submitted translations, the following observations were recorded:
1. None of the versions submitted by any of the translators was perfect. There were corrections to be made on each translation.
2. The three translations, in each instance, were not identical. Each of them differed in some ways from the other.
Now, let us try to explain further the theory of fidelity erosion by using hypothetical concentric circles.
3.3 Concentric circles showing fidelity erosion in translation
Premises:
i. Each figure above is made up of two concentric circles, that is, an external circle and an internal circle, both of which have
the same centre.
ii. The external circles in figs. 1, 2 and 3 are identical or exactly the same. In other words, they are equal in circumference and
area.
iii. The three external circles represent the same source language text to be translated.
14 | Translation Journal - July 2015
theme of an international conference on translation organized in 1959 by the International Federation of Translators, in which George
Mounin (1968: 53) considered absolute fidelity to the entire source language text to be the primary quality of translation. This is how he
put it, “In our translations, like women, we must be perfect in both faithfulness and beauty” (quoted in Albir 1990:14).
At the other end of the table existed another school of thought, which postulated the theory of untranslatability in translation.
According to Wikipaedia, free encyclopaedia, untranslatability is a property of a text, or of any utterance, in one language for which no
equivalent text or utterance can be found in another language when translated. For them, translating is betraying.
However, Jacques Flamand (1983: 50) disagrees with the above views, stating that translation is possible, but that it is unrealistic
to aim at absolute fidelity, especially in literary translation. Also, Nida (1976:47) has this to say on the subject of absolute fidelity in
translation:
If we must insist on a translation without any loss of information, therefore, not only translation, but all communication will be
effectively impossible, because no communication whatsoever … may take place without some loss of information. The
loss of information is an integral part of the process of communication.
3.0 THEORY OF FIDELITY EROSION IN TRANSLATION
Erosion is “the gradual wearing away of rock or soil by physical breakdown, chemical solution, and transportation of material, as
caused, e.g. by water, wind, or ice” (Microsoft Encarta E-Dictionary). One can apply this situation to translation by saying that erosion
takes place if the level of fidelity is reduced during a translation process by such factors as the translator’s shallow knowledge of one or
both languages, their shallow knowledge of the subject-matter being translated, faulty translation tools being used, lack of professional
training and exposure, as well as other intellectual, cultural and linguistic factors. Meanwhile, the theory of fidelity erosion in translation
can be demonstrated using the following simple experiment.
3.1 Experiment
The same source language text was given to three different final year undergraduate students of translation to render into a
specified target language as part of their final degree examination. The three of them were subjected to the same conditions in terms of
the time allowed for the translation and the translation tools (e.g. dictionaries, etc.) used. After the examination, the same benchmark was
used as marking guide for evaluating, judging or determining the level of fidelity attained in each of the three translations. This experiment
was repeated severally, using different types of texts taken from novels, poems, plays, constitutions, court proceedings, science reports,
newspapers reports, statements of account, manifestos, research findings, journal articles, etc. in different language pairs and different
categories of translators (student translators, academic translators, professional translators, etc.) in multiples of three at a time.
3.2 Observations
Going through the submitted translations, the following observations were recorded:
1. None of the versions submitted by any of the translators was perfect. There were corrections to be made on each translation.
2. The three translations, in each instance, were not identical. Each of them differed in some ways from the other.
Now, let us try to explain further the theory of fidelity erosion by using hypothetical concentric circles.
3.3 Concentric circles showing fidelity erosion in translation
Premises:
i. Each figure above is made up of two concentric circles, that is, an external circle and an internal circle, both of which have
the same centre.
ii. The external circles in figs. 1, 2 and 3 are identical or exactly the same. In other words, they are equal in circumference and
area.
iii. The three external circles represent the same source language text to be translated.
14 | Translation Journal - July 2015
