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REVIEWS
Sándor Albert a
a
University of Szeged, Hungary

Online Publication Date: 13 October 2005

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 154

REVIEWS
The reviews are ordered alphabetically according to the names of authors or
editors.
Chan, Leo Tak-hung. 2004. Twentieth-Century Chinese Translation Theory. Modes, Issues
and Debates. (Benjamins Translation Library 51). Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John
Benjamins. xvi + 275 pp. ISBN 90 272 1657 6 (Eur) / 1 58811 511 9 (US). Price (hb): € 120;
$144.

Translation theories have a long history in China. The oldest ones date back 1,700
years. Translations and their metatexts (theories and critiques) help us to be�er
understand the history of ideas and debates about translation. However, underlying the
theoretical debates there are o�en political and ideological agendas that have nothing
to do with the actual practice of translation. Thus, the behind-the-scenes events o�en
are more interesting than the theories themselves. The issues under debate are familiar
to the Western world, but in China they appear in a different light. For instance, the
question first raised in the 1930s, and heatedly debated since then, whether translations
qualify as artistic creations of the same value as originals has not yet been se�led. But in
China, this issue is more than a ma�er of esthetics. It is a manifestation of the translators’
struggle for recognition. We can generally conclude that theories of translation in China
rarely emerge independently of external factors.
The first part of the book Twentieth-Century Chinese Translation Theory. Modes, Issues
and Debates consists of four chapters, and introduces 20th century Chinese translation
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theories: the traditional approach (termed “impressionistic theories” by the editor),

the “modern theories” of the 1920s and 1930s, the post-colonial theories, and the post-
structuralist theories of the end of the 20th century. These first 60 pages provide the
background for the second part of the book, which is organized in 8 sections. The authors
of the articles are all well-known in China, but not in the West. Their writings have been
translated into English by former students and colleagues.
A short review cannot introduce all the authors and their writings. However, the
general impression one gets in reading through these pages is that the Chinese authors
are discussing the same fundamental issues in Translation Studies as are scholars in
Europe and America, the only difference being that the style is more metaphorical and
poetic, more Chinese. The essays on the translation of poetry raise many questions. Is
it at all possible to translate poetry from one language to another? What purpose does
it serve to translate poetry from a foreign language? Does translated foreign poetry
influence our national poetry? Should the translation of poetry be literal or paraphrased?
These are age-old questions. But the answers reflect the influence of Eastern ways of
thinking, of Chinese esthetics and philosophy - and this is an eye-opener to the Western
reader. Shelley’s translator, Guo Moruo, for example, says: “To translate Shelly’s poems
is to turn me into Shelley and Shelley into me” (p. 209). The Chinese translator of Balzac’s
La Cousine Be�e discusses at length why short sentences are harder to render than long
ones, and why a sentence as simple as “Elle est charmante” (She is charming) poses a
problem, not to mention individual words like virtue, spiritual, moral, sentiment, noble,
saint, humble. It is not their core meanings that are problematic, but their associated ones:
their connotations.
From the debates, discussions, interactions, questions, and replies of the author-
translators emerges a world, unknown to Westerners, in which familiar questions appear
in a different linguistic, historical, and cultural perspective. This beautifully produced
volume is extremely insightful and thought-provoking. One need not read it from cover
to cover; readers will surely enjoy browsing through it, and feel free to start reading with
any article. The reader’s intellectual satisfaction is guaranteed. The volume successfully
combines old and new answers, traditional and modern approaches, blending Eastern,
metaphorical language with Western terminology. This volume has to be read slowly,
and given the kind of a�ention that a wine-taster pays to a sip of good wine. Running
through the pages fast is like driving on an eight-lane highway at full speed in the
middle of a scenic, ancient landscape - we might get to our destination quickly, but we
are sure to have missed the essence of the trip.

Sándor Albert,
University of Szeged,
Hungary.
 Reviews. 155
**********

Fang Huawen. 2005. 20世纪中国翻译史 [The Translation History of China in the 20th Cen-
tury]. Xi’an: Northwest University Press (229 Taibaibeilu, Xi’an 710069). V + 651 pp. ISBN
7-5604-1998-4. Price: RMB 35.00

History reflects the past, understands the present, and looks into the future. A his-
torical survey therefore allows us to survey social developments and provides us with
guidance about how to overcome difficulties in the future. In 1984, Ma Zuyi’s A Concise
History of Chinese Translation was published by China Translation & Publishing Corpora-
tion. This book is of great value to Translation Studies, because it is the first systematic
study of Chinese translation activities. However, it only deals with translation activities
in China from the ancient times up to the year 1919. Trying to fill the gap, The Transla-
tion History of China in the 20th Century examines Chinese translation activities in the 20th
century.
The book concentrates on political ideologies and presents translations chronologi-
cally. Part I discusses translation activities in the late Qing dynasty and in the early era of
the Republic of China (around 1900), Part II describes activities of the Republic of China
(1912-1949), and Part III presents activities during the People’s Republic of China (1949-
). As opposed to A Concise History of Chinese Translation, this book focuses on translation
activities between China and other nations, and it discusses not only the translations
into Chinese but also from Chinese. It traces the 100-year history of Chinese translation
activities and theories, and illustrates the contribution by translators to the cause.
The book deals extensively with outstanding translators, their products, their ideas
on translation, and their influence on Chinese society, thus outlining the development of
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Chinese Translation Studies. These translators are Chinese as well as foreigners. They in-
clude Yan Fu (1853-1921), Lin Shu (1852-1924), Mao Dun (1896-1981), Fu Lei (1908-1966),
and many others from China; Arthur Waley (1888-1966), Evangeline Dora Edwards
(1880-1957), and Lionel Giles (1875-1958) from Great Britain; and Wilhelm Grude (1855-
1908) from Germany. By quoting their ideas, the book provides a sound scholarly basis
for those interested in Chinese Translation Studies. The book also offers examples of
translations (sometimes Chinese target texts, sometimes both English and Chinese ver-
sions) in order to assess the translators’ styles. This makes for vivid reading and leaves
room for the reader’s appreciation and judgment.
The author argues that translation theories outside China, especially Western ones,
may serve to inspire Chinese Translation Studies, but that it has its own characteristics.
He therefore argues that Chinese scholars must construct a Chinese system of Transla-
tion Studies by combining Western theories with traditional Chinese theories.
This book is excellent, although with a minor cavil regarding an inconsistency; Parts
I and II include translations into and from Chinese, but Part III only illustrates transla-
tions into Chinese.

Cao Lijuan,
Shaanxi University of Science & Technology,
Xianyang, Shaanxi 712081,
China.

**********

Godijns, Rita & Michaël Hinderdael (eds.). 2005. Directionality in Interpreting: the ‘Retour’
or the Native? Ghent: Communication and Cognition (Blandijnberg 2, B-9000 Ghent,
Belgium). 197 pp. ISBN 90-70963-876. No price cited.

Approaching interpreting largely as an outsider (although I did occasionally

consecutives in my student days – even for money), it has always struck me as odd
that scholars of wri�en translation have steered clear of the easy terms of A, B, and C-
languages as ready and pedagogically understandable way of discussing problems in
translation work. None of the contributors – all interpreters - use them. In my discussion
of the volume, I shall present the views, and then finish with some overall comments.
The editors stress in the introduction that they do not consider the discussion whether
interpreters should work into their B-language closed with this book. This is amply
evidenced by Daniel Gile who takes over and provides an overview of the (striking lack
of) research on interpreting into the B-language. He refers generously to his own theories
so that those unfamiliar with them can easily follow his guided tour. He points out that
 156 2005. Perspectives: Studies in Translatology. Volume 13: 2
there have ‘always’ been two opposed views on whether interpreters should only render
messages into their A-language or whether they should cover the B-language as well.
He cites the AIIC and other French-oriented sources for supporting the former view
and others (less Francophone) for the la�er. He presents his models and then points out
that perhaps it is the cognitive load which is most relevant for a discussion of errors in
output.
Gile then sets up an interesting hypothesis based on arbitrary figures, to elegantly
illustrate how it can be ‘proved’ that (a) it is easier to interpret into the A-language, and
that (b) it is easier to interpret into the B-language. Subsequently he turns to differences
between consecutive and simultaneous modes and convincingly shows that in the
consecutive, it is the speaker who may cause cognitive overload while the self-paced
delivery is easier. Gile then addresses the possibilities of differences according to the
language and the pair involved and points to such factors as richness of vocabulary,
syntactical differences, the conciseness of languages, whether languages are cognates,
etc.
Finally, he turns to the effects of directionality, and the reception, as well as the
interpreters’ subjective feeling in which he cautiously indicates that perhaps the A-
language directionality may be the be�er one with »flowery« speakers.
Sylvia Kalina discusses quality in interpreting, notably simultaneous conference
interpreting. She traces the development from source-text orientation (or ‘correct’
rendition) over the focus on context to an interest in reception concluding that »one
needs to consider the overall situation, specific conditions that affect every single speech
u�erance …« (31). She emphasizes that most so-called ‘external observers’ will have
some agenda and points out that in some way, there are factors about quality that can
agreed upon, both by researchers, e.g. fidelity, clarity, comprehensibility of the target
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text, and by institutions such as the SCIC of the European Union Commission (ethics,
deontology, preparation for meetings, etc.). Describing a project which appears to be
in the planning stage, she describes all the factors that must be taken into account, and
makes highly interesting – if somewhat inconclusive – comments on differences between
various language pairs which appear in some studies.
Presentación Padilla uses Danica Seleskovitch’s »théorie du sens« (the notion that
interpreters comprehend and convey the essential meaning rather than the specific words
of a message) as her starting point. She presents her views which are based on personal
observation. She stresses that any language pair will have specific characteristics and
takes up the case of Spanish-English (in both directions). She describes the programme
at the University of Granada, focuses on simultaneous interpreting, and, a�er having
referred to features that must be taken into account, suggests training strategies that
should be corroborated by empirical studies.
Focusing on German-Greek, Olaf-Immanuel Seel discusses non-verbal discourse
pa�erns in order to substantiate his plea for a changed emphasis in directionality in
simultaneous. He is more explicit about the bias in the literature to discuss interpreting
into the A-language, then proceeds to a discussion of the non-verbal movement
indicating negation in Greek, then to broaden the scope of his argument to include
all the contextual factors that must be taken into account, including such things as the
interpreter’s view of a speaker. He concludes that interpreting non-verbal behaviour into
the B-language may be easier than into the A-language.
Anne Martin opens with an incisive presentation first of the A-language directionality
(the Western model) and the B-language directionality (the Soviet model), then views on
the fluent concept of ‘quality’, and the prominence of English in international relations
which imply that today’s continental interpreters must o�en interpret into their B-
language (English). She then presents a study involving Spanish interpreters’ a�itudes
and views on interpreting into the B-language. Given the small number of participants,
the author is cautious about drawing major conclusions, but she does stress that since the
B-directionality is part of to-day’s scene, it can be discussed openly.
Emilia Iglesias Fernández describes the position of interpreting into the B-language
at the Spanish institutions teaching interpreting – and finds that half of them have no
teaching of interpreting into B, and even so, mostly as part of other subjects. Peter Mead
presents a study of fluency (by way of pauses) among interpreters working into their
A-language (Italian) and into the B-language (English) and finds that there is room
for improvement as far as the B-language is concerned. Clare Donovan discusses the
teaching of interpreting into the B-language drawing on experience with many language
combinations and concludes that there are no fundamental differences between the two
directionalities, but also that not all interpreters should be encouraged to work into their
B-language. Karla Déjean Le Féal examines the mental mechanisms involved in speaking
 Reviews. 157
a foreign language and the mother tongue in order to close the gap between them.
The book is more than welcome: in an interpreting studies context, it is the
counterpart of Meta Grossman et al.’s Translation into non-mother tongues – in professional
practice and training (2000). The rendition into one’s B-language is not a vague hypothesis
but intimately tied up with the life as a professional in a country with a ‘minor’ or even
‘small’ language (no, there is no point in being politically correct). In such nations, every
consecutive interpreter, most translators outside the lo�y halls of literature, and even
simultaneous conference interpreters have to live with the real-life fact that they have to
render messages delivered in their A or C-languages into their B-language. It is telling
that it is the advent on the world stage of many small nations that obliges the scholarly
community to take translation and interpreting into the translators’ or interpreters’ B-
and C-languages seriously. The (largely Francophone) AIIC – which is mentioned in the
book – has ignored this fact; it deserves no thanks for that pointless and pathetic effort.
One hopes this book gets many readers.
As Gile puts it »the jury is still out on this issue« (11), and, as the editors warned us,
the book is not intended to come up with the ‘right’ answer, since there clearly is not
one. The book rather opens up for a discussion. It is a publication that may provoke
views and, more importantly, inspire research. In my view (and experience), there is
such a thing as ‘born’ interpreters, but it is also true that one can learn to become an
interpreter, but even so, it is less than 10% of all the potential candidates that have this
‘gi� of gab’. I also believe that the institutions that insist that interpreters and translators
must be university graduates are right in terms of homing in on the people that are most
likely to have a reasonably large percentage of potential interpreters, but there are also
interpreters who are not academics and who perform excellently.
Having now stated my points, I would then address the questions that seem to merit
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a�ention. Accepting as a precondition that it is hard to get participants for empirical

studies and o�en tactless to check too much on professional backgrounds, it would still
be interesting to have groups that were set up by ‘native speakers’ of the B-language
according to their proficiency, and then to compare performances into the A- and B-
language of ‘near-identical’ tasks. Similarly, it would be highly informative to have
some parallel studies of performances in different language pairs, e.g. one between
Indo-European languages and another between an IE language and a non-IE, and to cap
this with one between two non-IE and unrelated, languages. For general information and
pointers, research along these lines would not demand many participants even though
the results might not be ‘statistically significant’.

Cay Dollerup,
University of Copenhagen,
Denmark.

**********

Qvale, Per. 2003. From St. Jerome to Hypertext. Translation in Theory and Practice.
Manchester: St. Jerome. 293 pp. ISBN 1-900650-69-X. Price (pb): €25; $ 44.

This monograph was originally published in Norwegian in 1998 and was subsequently
translated into English by Norman R. Spencer. The author, Per Qvale, obtained his PhD
at the University of Oslo and currently works as a literary translator. He has translated
more than a hundred books from English, German, and Swedish into Norwegian,
including a wide range of works such as novels by John Irving and John Fowles, plays by
Strindberg, and Shakespeare’s sonnets. In 2002, he received the Norwegian Book Club’s
Prize for his translation of Thomas Mann’s Magic Mountain into Norwegian. The current
monograph thus is best seen as a synthesis of his experience. Although it is true that one
need not have lived in the Middle Ages in order to write about that era, it can usually
be observed that professional translators have a different perspective on the issues of
translation than do ‘outsider’ theoreticians, e.g., linguists, literary theorists, semioticians,
estheticians, or critics.
In the introduction, the author informs us that the working title of the book was
Translation Issues from A to Z, indicating that his original intention was to provide a
dictionary-like list of entries relating to the key issues and terms in translation. This
original plan le� its imprint on the final version, which reviews all the key issues and
perennial linguistic, semiotic, philosophical, and other problems of translation. These
include the impossibility of defining the basic notions of translation, untranslatability,
the translation of puns, cultural barriers, geographical or temporal distance, the
 158 2005. Perspectives: Studies in Translatology. Volume 13: 2
difficulties raised by the different genres, and so forth. The seven chapters of the book
are logically arranged. The author takes the more concrete, be�er-defined notions
as his starting point, and gradually gets to the more delicate issues where scholars
have to walk on eggshells raising questions and formulating hypotheses rather than
seeking answers. Accordingly, the first chapter, entitled “The Science of Translation
and Translation Studies”, sets the main framework (a not uncommon practice); the
second chapter goes on to discuss the relationship between author and translator; the
third chapter analyses problems encountered when translating puns and language
games; the fourth chapter investigates the syntactic aspects of translation; and the fi�h
chapter addresses cultural factors. The really exciting questions are le� to the sixth and
seventh chapters, where the author looks into some of the mysteries of understanding,
interpretation, the hermeneutic circle and spiral, and how these relate to translation. This
beautifully designed book contains a 10-page bibliography that can serve as a reference
to the most important works in translation theory wri�en in English and German. The
usefulness of the monograph is further enhanced by a name index and a subject index.
Chapters are introduced by a quotation. It is regre�able that some of the most prominent
French authors (such as Jean-René Ladmiral or Henri Meschonnic) are not discussed in
the book, Georges Mounin is quoted only very shortly, and Valéry Larbaud’s name is
systematically misspelled as Lartaud.
The book provides thorough coverage of the history of translation (as indicated by
the mention of Saint Jerome, the patron saint of translators, in the title) up to the present,
including problems of translating the hypertext of modern multi- and hypermedia.
The monograph offers a good introduction for a wide range of readers, including
university students, translators, theoreticians, and university instructors (linguists,
literary scholars etc.), who are interested in the basic issues, terminological practices
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and focal debates of the discipline. The Norwegian examples greatly contribute to the
empirical richness of the book and provide good illustrations, even for non-Norwegian
readers, of the problems raised by puns, untranslatable elements, etc. in a language of
small diffusion.

Sándor Albert,
University of Szeged,
Hungary.