Relationship Between Text Type and Translation Strategy： with Reference to the Reader and Translator

LIU+An-qi

【Abstract】Texts can be classified into different types according to their distinctive functions. In order to convey the information of the source texts in a most appropriate way， different translation strategies should be adopted due to different text types. However， not only text types decide the selection of the translation strategies， but readers and translator themselves also account. Therefore， by analyzing the relationship between text type and translation strategy with the reference to the reader and translator， the suitable strategies can be chosen during the translation procedures for improving the accuracy and efficiency of the target text.

【Key words】Text Type； Translation Strategy； Reader； Translator

1. The classification of text types

Traditionally， texts are divided into two types：literary & non-literary. According to Reiss， text types can be classified by functions：content-focused text， form-focused text and appeal-focused text. Peter Newarks classification is based on the same theories with Reiss as a whole. On the basis of text functions， the three main text types are expressive text， informative text and vocative text.

2. The relationship between text type and translation strategy

2.1 Relationship on the theoretical level

The classification of the text types has a direct relationship with meaning， form and translation strategy. For most of the translation pieces， we cannot have both form and meaning at the same time. The informative text aims to convey the contents or concepts of the source text directly and completely. The core of this kind of text is “truth”， the facts of a topic， reality outside language. In this case， meaning is more important than form. Although the source text may have its own style， the priority for target text is to be consistent with the contents of the source one in order to convey the meaning effectively and accurately. Therefore， a meaning-oriented translation strategy， that is， communicative translation should be chosen. If a text embodies esthetic or culture， and its purpose is to present these art forms to the readers， it is regarded as an expressive text. The core of this text is the writer or the originator of the utterance. The feelings or the artistic forms are expressed， irrespective of any response. On this occasion， in order to present the art or culture in the source text to the reader， the target text should be inclined to form rather than meaning. In this way， the art form will be preserved in the target text. Therefore， semantic translation strategy should be adopted in order to lay greater emphasis on form. Sometimes， the intention of a text is to ask for some reactions from the reader， or to call upon them to think and feel. It is called vocative text. The core of this is the readership， the addressee. It is the relationship between the writer and the readership that matters. So when this kind of text is translated， greater attention should be paid on the styles and manners of the target text in order to make it immediately comprehensible to the readership. As the vocative type emphasizes on “effect”， the communicative translation strategy would be suitable in order to achieve the intended goal.endprint

2.2 Relationship on the practical level

On the practical level， however， few texts are purely informative， expressive or vocative. For most of the time， texts are compound with two or three functions. But there must be a dominant one. So the first thing is to determine the dominant type of the text according to its major function， then analyze the importance of meaning and form. If meaning takes the priority， communicative translation strategy can be used；if form comes first， semantic translation strategy can be adopted. Put simply， this can be explained as follow：

Dominant functiondecidestext typedecides meaning & formdecidestranslation strategy

Therefore， we can draw a conclusion that text type determines translation strategy.

2.3 Relationship with reference to the reader and the translator

There are always disagreements on whether the function of the target text should be completely consistent with the source text. Due to various occasions and uncertainties， the functions can be change from time to time. So the function of target text has an impact on strategy to a large extent. Lets take the translation of a piece of literary work as an example. The target text which aims to convey a certain kind of culture or thought should adopt a different translation strategy from the one which intends to be edited in a book for learning a language. That means it is the translator who analyzes the function of the target text， and then chooses a proper translation strategy which is available to achieve the desired effect. Hence， the translator determines strategy.

When translating， the translator should always pay close attention to readership， either the source text reader or the target text reader. The shared knowledge between sender and receiver will always be taken into consideration. Many different factors affect the selection of strategies， such as levels of education， age， gender of the readers， etc. If one is going to translate Shakespeare for children， the strategy chosen must be different from the one adopted in translating for literary experts. It is target reader-oriented， which means the target text should be appropriate for readers. So the reader also determines the translation strategy.

3. The significance of analyzing the relationship

The analysis of relationship between type and strategy is quite useful in translation practice. It will help to assess whether the translation strategies are applied properly.endprint

Take a translation piece of Shakespeares Sonnet 16 as an example. According to Peter Newmark， poem can be classified under the expressive text type category. The poet intends to express his own feelings， thoughts or attitudes， which reflect specific culture， art style， history， etc. The theme of Shakespeares sonnet is time and love. Sonnet 16 expresses the destructive power of time， and also call on people to stand up against it in order to achieve the everlasting. The sonnet reflects the instinctive ambition of the British to defeat time in Renaissance period. Its a good demonstration for love， beauty， values and humanism in the 16th century. Therefore， the function of the text is to express feelings and reflect culture.

According to the analysis mentioned above， this function illustrates the text type should be expressive. Thats also consistent with Newmarks theory. An expressive text always regards form as the priority. As text type decides translation strategy， here the semantic translation strategy is recommended， for the target text would correspond with the cultural conventions and language norms of the source text.

Another good example is the translation of a travel brochure. This kind of brochure text always has more than one function. On the one hand， it makes a brief introduction on the certain destination， such as the history， scenery and services there. So this text has an informative function. On the other hand， as a travel brochure， it is definitely for the sake of attracting more visitors. In order to achieve this effect， the language of the text is often passionate and provocative. Therefore， it also reflects a vocative function. Both informative type and vocative type lay more emphasis on meanings rather than forms. That decides the translation strategy should be the communicative one.

The translation piece of this kind of travel brochure should always make some adaptation to the conventions of the target culture， language and readers. The translator should decide which information is useful and which is unimportant. Thinking on the readers side， when reading this kind of text， one should be more interested in the description of landscape or services offered than， for instance， certain unfamiliar foreign names of different places. In order to raise readers interests in a comparatively short text， the unnecessary information can be omitted， so that it would help achieve the expected effect on readers. Therefore， appropriate strategies for translating such kind of text should aim to achieve the expected effect to infect the readers， at the same time providing useful information of certain travelling spot.

4. Conclusion

To sum up， the selection of different translation strategies largely depends on three factors：text type， readership and the translator. As most of the texts involve more than one function， several strategies can be applied in one text. In addition， the translator should evaluate the actual situation， readership and other various factors so that the proper strategies can be chosen for delivering the text better.

References：

[1]Peter Newmark.Paragraphs on Translation.[M].United Kingdom：Multilingual Matters Ltd，1993.

[2]Peter Newmark.More Paragraphs on Translation.[M].United Kingdom：Multilingual Matters Ltd，1998.

[3]Reiss，Katharina.Text Types，Translation Types and Translation Assessment[A].Finland：Oy Finn Lectura Ab，1989.

[4]朱志瑜.紐馬克的翻譯類型學[J].外國語.2006（06）.

[5]朱志瑜.類型與策略：功能主義的翻譯類型學[J].中國翻譯. 2004（03）.endprint