Introduction Into Translation Examination Questions

1. The concept of translation; types of translation.
Translation is rendering the meaning of a text into another language in the way that author intended the text. It is complicated since by using another language you are pretending to be someone you are not. We must take into account that the translation cannot simply reproduce, or be, the original.
Translation is used to transmit knowledge and to create understanding between groups and nations, and to transmit cultures as well.
Translation theory (1) identifies and defines a translation problem (no problem – no translation theory!), (2) indicates all the factors that have to be taken into account in solving the problem, (3) lists all the possible translation procedures, and, finally, (4) recommends the most suitable translation procedure, plus the appropriate translation.
2. The notions of correctability and verifiability in translation process.
A satisfactory translation is always possible, but a good translator is never satisfied with it. It can usually be improved. There is no such thing as a perfect or “correct” translation. A translator is always trying to extend their knowledge and improve their means of expression. A translator works on four levels: translation is first a science, which entails (ir saistīta ar) the knowledge and verification of the facts and the language that describes them – here, what is wrong, mistakes of truth, can be identified; secondly, it is a skill, which calls for appropriate language and acceptable usage, thirdly, an art, which distinguishes good from undistinguished (neievērojams, necils) writing and is the creative level of the translation, where argument ceases and preferences are expressed.
3. Translation as decision making.
A translator should decide on when should the individual style or idiolect of the source language author be preserved, and when – normalised, and what is the conventional and lexical usage for this type of text. Content items referring specifically to the source language culture should be taken into consideration as well. A translator must bear in mind the estimated knowledge of the topic of the readership and the style of language thy use, but he or she by no means should translate down (or up) to the readership. A translator must be aware of their personal views and prejudices to not reflect them in a translation. He or she must make a distinction between his or her assumptions and objective reality. A translator has many devices at his or her disposal that could be applied in the process of translation, like word order (for greater or lesser emphasis), the use of grammar (naturalness), etc…