A Workshop on Translation for Amateurs A case Study

Syed Nurulakla Syed Abdullah (Universiti utra !alaysia" !ohd #aki Abd$ %ahman (Universiti !alaya" Nor A&u'an (aakob (Universiti utra !alaysia"

)ntroduction It has been said that translation is the most economical method of explaining one cultures way to another (Katan, 2004) !nd that a good translation should fulfil the same function in the target language as the original did in the source language "ne must always bear in mind that translation is the #transfer of meaning from one language to another$ and it is definitely not the #transfer of words from language to language %owe&er, if one has a good grasp of both languages and follow a few simple rules, one can become an accomplished translator as one aspires to be

In this paper, the !uthor would li'e to highlight and share his in&aluable experience as a trainer in a wor'shop on #(ranslation for !mateurs held recently from )eptember *+ , 2*, 20*2 at Kuala -umpur (hrough the class hands,on and interacti&e exercises between himself and the whole wor'shop participants, he was able to collect some data for deliberation )ome samples of the data would be discussed in the following section

In this particular wor'shop, he was concentrating on three ma.or issues in translation / semantics (meanings), grammar and syntax (sentence structure) of the target language (he participants were led through the paces in recogni0ing that the meaning of any sentence comprises two parts / the meanings of the words it contains, and the structure or grammar carried by the sentence itself

1i&en the !uthor &ast experience as a translator (22 years) and a translation trainer (*2 years), he was able to impart his 'nowledge and expertise to the participants through the class interacti&e exercises %is obser&ation re&eals that, based on the cumulati&e years of being a translation trainer, ma.ority of his students3trainees lac' the expertise in semantics, grammar and syntax in both source and target languages

*iterature +ack,round

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4uch has been said and written about #(ranslation )uffice it to say that a translator worth his salt must show these two attributes / a &ery good 'nowledge of the language, written and spo'en, from which he is translating (the source language), and an excellent command of the language into which he is translating (the target language)

!nd that he3she must excel in four areas of 'nowledge and s'ills / grammatical competence, sociolinguistic competence, discourse competence and strategic competence as emphasi0ed by 5ell (*66*)7 a b c d 1rammatical competence7 'nowledge of the rules of the code, including &ocabulary and word,formation, pronunciation3spelling and sentence structure$ )ociolinguistic competence7 'nowledge of and ability to produce and understand utterances appropriately in context$ 8iscourse competence7 the ability to combine form and meaning to achie&e unified spo'en or written texts in different genres$ and )trategic competence7 the mastery of communication strategies which may be used to impro&e communication

(his paper is made all the more interesting as a research wor' due to the fact that the !uthor is analysing a set of textual data for his study (hese textual data ha&e their own ad&antages as espoused by )il&erman (20*0)$ a b c 9ichness7 close analysis of written texts re&eals presentational subtleties and s'ills$ 9ele&ance and effect7 texts influence how we see the world and the people in it, and how we act / thin' of ad&ertisements and :;s$ and <aturally occurring7 texts document are what participants are actually doing in the world / without being dependent on being as'ed by researchers

%owe&er, indubitably the crux of the matter is still focussed on the semantics (meanings), grammar and syntax (sentence structure) of the target language

"&er the years, there is an increasing academic pursuit in translation 4ore and more graduate programmes are being set up around the world, international conferences on training issues are organised regularly, and now almost e&ery country has its own professional association(s) (%atim, 200*)

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!ethods In this paper, the !uthor would li'e to share his experience in translation as well as conducting translation wor'shop by illustrating the methods he employed in one of his numerous wor'shops In this particular wor'shop on =(ranslation for !mateurs> held on )eptember *+,2*, 20*2 at Kuala -umpur, the !uthor played a 'ey role as a (rainer to a group of 20 participants (hough a number of the participants in that particular wor'shop had some experience in doing &arious translation .obs in their official respecti&e capacity, ne&ertheless they found the wor'shop was &ery inspiring and illuminating

In the 4,day wor'shop, the !uthor managed to go through ten translation exercises$ three of which would be briefly analysed in this paper (he passages for the exercises were ta'en from the boo' titled #Idioms and ?hrasal ;erbs (1airns 9 and 9edman ) , 20**) (he passages were chosen based on their appropriate le&els of challenges for the participants as percei&ed by the !uthor @ach passage was approximately *A0,word long

(he !uthor3(rainer di&ided the participants into ten groups comprising three participants each @ach group was then gi&en different passages (of the ten selected for the wor'shop) for translation exercises to be completed within two hours concurrently$ at the end of which each group had to present their translated texts (Initial 8raft) to the !uthor3(rainer and fellow participants in front of the class !t this .uncture, the (rainer would scrutinise the translated text of each group and Bueried members of each group on their Initial 8raft (he (rainer would as' each group on the rational of the #meaning, grammar and sentence structure of their translated texts !t the end of this discussion, each group would be able to produce a #corrected &ersion of their translated texts / labelled as 8raft *

!t the next stage, the (rainer would scrutinise further into 8raft *$ still wor'ing indi&idually and interacti&ely with each group in front of the class It was at this stage that the (rainer would impart his 'nowledge and expertise on the intricacies of translation exercises %e would spend time with each group teaching and guiding them towards creating better translated texts %e would del&e deeper into the nuance of the grammar and sentence structures of the target language / 4alay !nd he would also remind the participants to appreciate the beauty of the 4alay language while doing the exercises (he participants are supposed to apply these new insights after the wor'shop

!t the end of this exercise, each group would be as'ed to read, understand and internalise the second corrected &ersion of their translated text / labelled as 8raft 2

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!t the following stage, each group would again present their 8raft 2 to the (rainer for further fine,tuning through more extensi&e, rigorous and detailed discussions !t the end of this exercise, the outcome would be an impro&ed texts in terms of #meaning, grammar and sentence structure (his outcome would be labelled as 8raft 2

In some groups, 8raft 2 was sufficient to be labelled as Cinal 8raft In other cases, further discussions and corrections were needed on 8raft 2 before it would be labelled as 8raft 4 <ormally, a final discussion on 8raft 4 would lead to Cinal 8raft

!s always, the outcome of the Cinal 8raft brought much .oy to e&ery participant in each group (he participants had by then undergone the .ourney of translation together with the !uthor3(rainer from 8raft * right up to the Cinal 8raft It was a hands,on experience for e&ery participant (hey were encouraged to participate in the li&ely discussions until they arri&ed at the Cinal 8raft (he !uthors own experience in translation as translator (22 years) and as trainer (*2 years) stand in good stead in teaching the amateur participants the fine art of translation Dpon reaching Cinal 8raft, the participants would be able to appreciate the delicacy of translation / minding the basic rules of translation that co&er the range from #meaning, grammar and sentence structure

Cinally, the !uthor3(rainer on his part would e,mail all the drafts (Initial 8raft, 8raft *, 8raft 2, 8raft 2, 8raft 4 (if any), and Cinal 8raft) of each group to members of other groups !t the end of the wor'shop, e&ery participant would ha&e undergone ten passages each as class exercises

-indin,s (he !uthor would li'e to reiterate that in this paper based on a particular wor'shop, he would concentrate on the translation process along the lines of #meaning, grammar and sentence structure of the translated texts

(he findings re&eal that without proper guidance, the amateur translators would continue ma'ing basic flaws in the translation process where the meaning of the translated text is not what the source text is meant to be, especially when the source text contains a number of idioms (he grammar of the translated text is often ungrammatical and the sentence structure is freBuently loose to say the least

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(he following textual data comprise three samples of the source texts and their corresponding translation process from Initial 8raft (completed by the members of the groups on their own) towards the Cinal 8raft including the intermediate stages (completed by the group together with the !uthor) in between (he !uthor would li'e to illustrate the flaws committed in each sample and proceed to correct them through #trac' changes facility (he Initial 8raft is used as a basis of reference while the Cinal 8raft represents the finished product of the translation process

Sample A )nternational footballers teach on the field and in the classroom !t a time when many pupils have had enou,h of languages, one class of students is full of enthusiasm EhyF (he answer may be somethin, to do 'ith their teacher / Crench International footballer 5acary )agna (he !rsenal right,bac' is takin, part in a pro.ect to liven up language teaching To be,in 'ith. pupils spend 4A minutes with )agna in the classroom learning Crench and in return they ha&e 4A minutes trying to ,et the better of him on the football field !nd after six wee's, the pupils play on !rsenals ground in a game refereed in Crench (he idea is catchin, on fast$ G4 schools ha&e now si,ned up to the scheme, and teachers belie&e its makin, a big difference ( a,e /0/. )dioms and hrasal 1erbs 2 )ntermediate"

)nitial 3raft (by one of the ,roups" Pemain Bola Sepak Antarabangsa mengajar di padang sekolah dan di dalam kelas Pada suatu masa dahulu apabila semua orang telah memiliki ilmu bahasa yang cukup, seluruh pelajar di dalam kelas penuh dengan semangat. Kenapa? Jawapannya berkemungkinan ada kaitan dengan guru mereka iaiu Pemain Bola Sepak Antarabangsa Perancis, Bacary Sagna. Pemain pertahanan kanan Arsenal ini mengambil bahagian dalam projek pengajaran bahasa untuk menjadikan ianya lebih menarik. Pelajar akan bermula dengan menghabiskan masa ! minit dengan "ncik Sagna di dalam kelas untuk mempelajari bahasa Perancis dan sebagai balasannya mereka akan mendapat masa ! minit untuk mengalahkan Sagna di padang bola. Selepas enam minggu pelajar dapat bermain dibawah pengadilan Perancis. #engan idea ini menjadikan mereka terkenal dengan lebih cepat. $ buah sekolah sekarang telah bersetuju menyertai skim tersebut dan cikgu%cikgu percaya ia akan membawa perubahan yang besar. -inal 3raft (of 3raft 4 in the Appendi5" Pemain Bola Sepak Antarabangsa mengajar di padang sekolah dan di dalam kelas Pada ketika kebanyakan pelajar berasa muak terhadap bahasa, terdapat murid%murid di dalam sebuah kelas memperlihatkan keterujaan yang tinggi. &engapa? Jawapannya berkemungkinan ada kaitan dengan guru mereka, iaitu pemain bola sepak antarabangsa Perancis, Bacary

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Sagna. Pemain pertahanan kanan Arsenal ini mengambil bahagian dalam projek pengajaran bahasa untuk menjadikannya sesuatu yang lebih menarik. Sebagai permulaan, pelajar menghabiskan masa selama ! minit dengan Sagna di dalam kelas untuk mempelajari bahasa Perancis, dan sebagai ganjarannya mereka diberi masa selama ! minit untuk cuba menewaskan Sagna di padang bola. Selepas enam minggu, pelajar akan dapat bermain di padang Arsenal dengan pengadilan dikendalikan dalam bahasa Perancis. 'dea ini menjadi popular dengan pantas( kini terdapat $ buah sekolah bersetuju untuk menyertai skim tersebut dan para guru percaya skim ini akan memberikan impak yang besar.

A 6uick ,limpse72 8ri,inal te5t7 !t a time when many pupils have had enou,h of languages, one class of students is full of enthusiasm EhyF )nitial 3raft7 Pada suatu masa dahulu apabila semua orang telah memiliki ilmu bahasa yang cukup, seluruh pelajar di dalam kelas penuh dengan semangat. Kenapa? -inal 3raft7 Pada ketika kebanyakan pelajar berasa muak terhadap bahasa, terdapat murid% murid di dalam sebuah kelas memperlihatkan keterujaan yang tinggi. &engapa?

! brief analysis of Sample A is in the !ppendix

Sample + !arisas 'eddin, 8ST93 +( Shania on !ay /:th Ehen my sisters boyfriend, 1lyn, finally popped the ;uestion / and she said #yes / the family decided that 4arisas bi, day would be one she would ne&er forget 8ad said, the skys the limit / youre to ha&e nothin, but the best 4arisa .ust wanted to get a wedding dress off the pe,, but 4um 'ouldnt hear of it, and she ended up in a handmade gown which nearly broke the bank

(he ceremony was beautiful and 'ent off 'ithout a hitch (hen, at the reception, it was 8ads big moment / he got up to propose a toast to 4arisa and 1lyn, and you could see he 'as speakin, from the heart Dnfortunately, though, hes emotions ,ot the better of him and we couldnt shut him up %e 'ent on and on about his beautiful little girl, then tal'ed about 1lyn in ,lo'in, terms, and ended up by saying how ha&ing grandchildren would be the icin, on the cakeH ?oor 4arisa had her head in her hands at this point %e finally had to stop when 4um broke do'n in tears, which was luc'y because it was getting rather embarrassingH 5ut actually, i thin' that speech really made 4arisas day

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( a,e <4. )dioms and hrasal 1erb Advanced"

)nitial 3raft (by one of the ,roups" Perkahwinan Marisa oleh Shania pada 18 Mei Apabila teman lelaki adik saya, )lyn melamarnya dan dia berkata *+a,, ahli keluarga telah sepakat bahawa hari perkahwinan &arisa akan menjadi satu hari yang tidak akan di lupakannya. Ayah berkata, - &arisa boleh meminta apa sahaja yang terbaik untuk majlisnya.. &arisa hanya mahukan baju perkahwinan yang sudah tersedia di kedai dan bukan ditempah, tetapi emak tidak bersetuju dengan pendapat &arisa dan dia akhirnya menempah khas gaun buatan tangan yang harganya sangat mahal.

&ajlis berlangsung dengan indah dan sempurna. #i majlis resepsi, adalah detik paling bermakna buat ayah, dia bangun dan meminta tetamu minum bersama untuk meraikan &arisa dan )lyn, jelas terpancar keikhlasan dari wajah ayah. &alangnya, ayah sungguh teruja hingga tidak dapat mengawal emosi dan kami gagal menahan ayah daripada meneruskan ucapan beliau. Ayah asyik bercerita perkara yang membosankan tentang anak perempuannya yang cantik dan memuji%muji menantunya )lyn, kemudian ayah berkata bahawa kehadiran cucu akan membuatkan keadaan menjadi lebih baik/ &arisa menepuk dahi. Kasihan &arisa/ Akhirnya ayah terpaksa berhenti berucap apabila emak mula menitiskan airmata. 0asib baik kerana keadaan sudah agak memalukan tetapi sebenarnya saya 1ikir ucapan itu benar%benar bermakna buat &arisa.

-inal 3raft (of 3raft = in the Appendi5" Perkahwinan Marisa, nukilan Shania, 18 Mei Apabila )lyn, teman lelaki adik perempuan saya, iaitu &arisa melamar &arisa dan &arisa berkata *+a,, ahli keluarga telah sepakat bahawa hari perkahwinan &arisa akan menjadi suatu hari yang sungguh bermakna dan tidak akan dapat dilupakan. Ayah berkata, -&arisa/ mintalah apa sahaja yang kamu mahu, kamu hanya layak untuk mendapatkan yang terbaik.. &arisa hanya mahukan baju perkahwinan yang sudah tersedia di kedai dan bukan ditempah, tetapi emak tidak bersetuju dengan pendapat &arisa dan dia akhirnya menempah khas gaun buatan tangan yang sangat mahal harganya.

&ajlis berlangsung dengan indah dan sempurna. &ajlis resepsi merupakan detik paling bermakna buat ayah. Ayah bangun dan meminta tetamu minum bersama untuk meraikan

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&arisa dan )lyn. Keikhlasan jelas terpancar pada wajah ayah. &alangnya, ayah sungguh teruja hingga tidak dapat mengawal emosi dan kami gagal menahan ayah daripada meneruskan ucapannya. Ayah bercerita dan terus bercerita tentang anak perempuannya yang cantik hingga tahap yang membosankan para tetamu selain memuji%muji menantunya )lyn. Ayah seterusnya berkata bahawa kehadiran cucu akan menambahkan kebahagiaan seisi keluarga/ Pada ketika ini, &arisa berasa malu dan meletakkan tangannya ke dahi. Kasihan &arisa/ Akhirnya ayah terpaksa berhenti berucap apabila emak tidak dapat mengawal perasaan dan mula menitiskan air mata. &ujurlah, kerana keadaan sudah agak memalukan/ 0amun, pada pendapat saya, ucapan itu sebenarnya terlalu bermakna buat &arisa.

A ;uick ,limpse72 8ri,inal te5t7 Ehen my sisters boyfriend, 1lyn, finally popped the ;uestion / and she said #yes / the family decided that 4arisas bi, day would be one she would ne&er forget 8ri,inal 3raft7 Apabila teman lelaki adik saya, )lyn melamarnya dan dia berkata *+a,, ahli keluarga telah sepakat bahawa hari perkahwinan &arisa akan menjadi satu hari yang tidak akan di lupakannya. -inal 3raft7 Apabila )lyn, teman lelaki adik perempuan saya, iaitu &arisa melamar &arisa dan &arisa berkata *+a,, ahli keluarga telah sepakat bahawa hari perkahwinan &arisa akan menjadi suatu hari yang sungguh bermakna dan tidak akan dapat dilupakan.

! brief analysis of Sample + is in the !ppendix

Sample > -ate of >harmy Wood han,s in the balance @n&ironmental groups are locked in battle with the council o&er the proposed new bypass through parts of :harmy Eood "pponents of the scheme belie&e the town can ill afford to lose an area of natural beauty, and a bypass will .ust open the flood,ates to further de&elopment (he council remain adamant that there is a cryin, need for the bypass to 'eep traffic out of the town centre, and they say they cannot free up any other land :ouncil leader ;al 4oran belie&es the protesters are out of step with the ma.ority, and says the council 'ill stand firm and press on 'ith the new road It seems that both sides are poles apart, and it is highly unli'ely that the council can meet the protesters half'ay ( a,e :4. )dioms and hrasal 1erbs 2 Advanced"

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)nitial 3raft (by one of the ,roups" Nasib Hutan Charm ang !idak Menentu

Kumpulan pejuang alam sekitar berbalah dengan &ajlis Perbandaran mengenai cadangan untuk memirau 2utan 3harmy. Pihak yang membangkang terhadap skim tersebut percaya bahawa bandar akan terjejas dan akan melenyapkan keindahan alam semula jadi. Akti4iti memirau hanya akan memberi kesan merobohkan benteng jika meneruskan akti4iti pembangunan. &ajlis Perbandaran tetap berkeras hati dan amat memerlukan projek tersebut untuk meneruskan pembinaan dan melancarkan lalu lintas di Pusat Bandar. &ereka juga memberi alasan bahawa tidak ada lagi tanah yang sesuai untuk dijadikan kawasan lalu lintas. Ketua &ajlis Perbandaran, 5al &oran, percaya para pembangkang mempunyai idea yang berbe6a daripada majoriti. 5al &oran tetap bertegas untuk tidak berganjak daripada pendapatnya dan meneruskan projek pembinaan jalan baharu. 0ampaknya kedua%dua pihak mempunyai pendapat yang berlainan. &ustahil bagi &ajlis Perbandaran dapat memenuhi sebahagian persetujuan yang mereka mahu.

-inal 3raft (of 3raft ? in Appendi5" Nasib Hutan Charm !idak Menentu Kumpulan akti4is alam sekitar berbalah dengan &ajlis Perbandaran mengenai cadangan pembinaan jalan pintas melalui sebahagian daripada 2utan 3harmy. Pihak yang membantah rancangan tersebut percaya bahawa &ajlis Perbandaran tidak sepatutnya melakukan sesuatu hingga kehilangan sebuah kawasan yang kaya dengan keindahan alam semula jadi. &alah, jalan pintas hanya akan membawa kepada lebih banyak pembangunan di kawasan tersebut. &ajlis Perbandaran tetap berkeras dan menegaskan bahawa terdapat keperluan yang mendesak terhadap jalan pintas untuk mengelakkan kesesakan lalu lintas di pusat bandar. &ereka juga memberikan alasan bahawa majlis tidak dapat menyediakan tanah lain untuk tujuan tersebut. Ketua &ajlis Perbandaran, 5al &oran percaya bahawa kumpulan penentang tidak sehaluan dengan pendirian majoriti masyarakat. Justeru, beliau tetap tidak akan berganjak daripada keputusan dan akan meneruskan pembinaan jalan pintas itu. 0ampaknya kedua%dua pihak terus ketara berbe6a pendapat dan mustahil bagi &ajlis Perbandaran untuk memenuhi sebahagian daripada permintaan kumpulan penentang tersebut. A ;uick ,limpse72 8ri,inal te5t7 @n&ironmental groups are locked in battle with the council o&er the proposed new bypass through parts of :harmy Eood )nitial 3raft7 Kumpulan pejuang alam sekitar berbalah dengan &ajlis Perbandaran mengenai cadangan untuk memirau 2utan 3harmy. -inal 3raft7 Kumpulan akti4is alam sekitar berbalah dengan &ajlis Perbandaran mengenai cadangan pembinaan jalan pintas melalui sebahagian daripada 2utan 3harmy.

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! brief analysis of Sample > is in the !ppendix >onclusions In the final analysis, the !uthor would li'e to surmise that a number of participants are rather inadeBuate in their translation s'ills in terms of #meaning, grammar and sentence structure (his is not based on this particular wor'shop under study alone$ rather it is based on cumulati&e thirteen years of experience in training amateur translators (he prereBuisite of a competent translator is that he3she must ha&e a good command of the source text as well as the target text (here is no compromise, and this condition is unconditional "therwise the !uthor opines that we are going to come across / again / a case where =(he inter&iew was held in his office> being translated into -7emu duga itu telah ditahan di pejabatnya..

In closing, the !uthor3(rainer ta'es great pleasure from seeing big fast results attained by the participants during the wor'shop (he participants said that they ha&e learnt a great deal from the series of discussions in the wor'shop, minding not to repeat their own mista'es !rmed with gi&en accompanying notes, they are much more confident as a result, and they feel much guided for any future endea&our

(he !uthor belie&es that the translation training should include correcting the errors in situ and hands,on$ not teaching the theory of translation sans practice !nd this should be the way forward

%eferences 5ell, 9oger ( (ranslation and (ranslating7 (heory and ?ractice -ondon and <ew Jor'7 -ongman, *66* 1airns 9 and 9edman ) , Idioms and ?hrasal ;erbs / Intermediate "xford Dni&ersity ?ress7 "xford, 20** 1airns 9 and 9edman ) , Idioms and ?hrasal ;erbs / !d&anced "xford Dni&ersity ?ress7 "xford, 20** %atim, 5asil (eaching and 9esearching (ranslation -ondon7 -ongman, 200* Katan, 8a&id (ranslating :ultures7 !n Introduction for (ranslators, Interpreters and 4ediators 4anchester7 )t Kerome ?ublishing, 2004 <i' )afiah Karim et al$ (atabahasa 8ewan (@disi 'etiga) Kuala -umpur7 8ewan 5ahasa dan ?usta'a, 200+

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"xford Idioms 8ictionary for -earners of @nglish "xford7 "xford Dni&ersity ?ress, 2002 )il&eman 8 , Interpreting Lualitati&e 8ata -ondon7 )age, 20*0

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