A Competent Translator And Effective Knowledge

Transfer
by Dr. Kulwindr Kaur d/o Gurdial Singh
Lecturer, Department of English Language
Faculty of Languages and Linguistics
University of Malaya

Abstract

Based on my study of five experienced part-time translators of

scientific texts from English to Malay and on the feedback obtained
from fifty part-time translators in the field of science and technology
using the think-aloud protocol (TAP) and questionnaire techniques, I
have found the characteristics a competent translator must possess to
ensure the effective knowledge transfer from one language to another.
This paper discusses the characteristics of an effective translator in the
transfer of knowledge. The researcher agrees with the definition of the
translation process proposed by Bell (1991), Sager (1994) and
Darwish (2003). The researcher is also of the opinion that the writing
and translating processes share similar approaches and features, and a
competent translator must be aware of this. Another finding from this
study is that a competent translator must use Oxford's (1990) direct
and indirect language-learning strategies while translating. Finally, the
researcher will discuss her own model of translation which she feels a
competent translator must adhere to.

Introduction

n this world of science and technology there is knowledge explosion

every day. This knowledge which is generally written in the English
language needs to be transmitted in various languages so that people who
do not know how to speak and write the original langauge can get the
knowledge necessary for industrial development and technological
innovation to keep up with the rest of the world. To transmit this knowledge
effectively, there is a need for competent translators in various languages.

Participants
The participants of this study were fifty-five experienced Malaysian part-time
translators of scientific texts from English to Malay.

Methodology

Five of the participants who were from the University of Malaya participated
in the think-aloud protocols followed by interviews. Another fifty participants
came from universities, translation institutions, and colleges who completed
the questionnaire.

Discussion of Findings

a. The Characteristics of an Effective Translator (one who practices

translation)

From the questionnaire and interviews, the researcher reached to conclusion

that for a translation to be accurate, clear, natural and effective, a translator
must have the following characteristics:

1. For a translator to translate scientific texts from English to Malay or

between any other pair of languages, he or she must first of all be a
subject specialist so that the content of the original text is
communicated accurately, clearly and naturally. If the translator is a
chemistry expert, then he or she should translate mainly chemistry
texts rather than texts in other sciences, because this will ensure both
quality and the speed of the translation.
2. A translator must be very proficient in both the source and target
languages. Mastery of the source language ensures that the meaning
conveyed by the source text author is very clearly and accurately
understood by the translator. Every aspect of it must be clearly
interpreted by the translator. Mastery of the target language is even
more important. A translated text is deemed weak if it is delivered in
the target language poorly because the translator is not familiar with
the grammar and nuances of the language. Thus, it is best if the target
language is the translator's dominant or native language, because only
such highly proficient language users will have the intuitiveness for the
language and will thus be able to deliver a better translation.
3. A translator must be familiar with the basic principles of translation
theory and practice. A translator's job is not only to find equivalent
terms in the target language with the help of terminology lists and
dictionaries, but he or she must be able to deliver the translation
according to the rules, style, and grammar of the target language so
 that the translation does not sound awkward and unnatural. The
translated version must be delivered in a manner that sounds natural
and smooth-flowing and is meaningful to the target reader. According
to Ainon Muhammad (1979:12), an author on translation, a good
translator must be a subject specialist, be good in the source
language, even better at the target language, and must have received
training in translation theory and practice. The researcher would like to
add that if a translator wishes to translate scientific texts, then he or
she must also receive science training. About 84% of the translators in
this study were Malays, and they confirmed the fact that it is an
advantage for them to be able to translate into their own mother
tongue, because they know how the language ought to be written and
how it should sound.
4. A good translator must have empathy for his or her target readers. He
or she must ensure that the translated product is appropriate to the
intelligence and proficiency levels of the target reader. A text
translated for primary school students must cater to their intelligence
and language proficiency level, and a text translated for university
students must be suited to their level of comprehension. Once the
translated text fulfils these criteria, the target readers will find it easy
to follow the concepts, processes and other ideas expressed in the
translated text and these reader-friendly translated texts help achieve
the commercial or other purpose of the translation. In other words,
translators must know the skopos or purpose of their translation task.
5. A translator must be committed and disciplined. The translation task
commissioned to him or her must be completed by the deadline given
so that the information that is translated does not become outdated
and the user of the translation is properly served.
6. A good translator must be aware of the culture of both the source and
target language readers. In this way, he or she will be able to translate
to the target language based on the culture of the target readers and
thus facilitate the reading and understanding of the translated text by
the target readers.
7. An effective translator must learn to divide the workload among his
colleagues who are subject specialists when translating voluminous
academic books or long documents in the field of science and
technology so that the process of translation can be speeded up and
thus the readers are updated with the latest in these fields.
8. An effective translator should have all the necessary translation tools
such as monolingual, bilingual and subject dictionaries, thesauri,
terminology lists, a computer, a printer etc. available while translating
so that no time is wasted searching for them while translating.
9. A translator must be aware of the whole translation process so that he
 or she will be able to translate quickly, accurately, clearly and
naturally to the target language. Robinson (1997:49) has proposed
that the translator is a learner and he suggests that "translation is an
intelligent activity involving complex processes of conscious and
unconscious learning." The researcher agrees with his proposal and
also with the statement that translation is basically a problem-solving
task. Robinson (1997:51) suggests that "translation is an intelligent
activity, requiring creative problem-solving in novel, textual, social,
and cultural conditions." A translator should know that translation is a
learning activity and it involves the use of the main direct (memory,
cognitive and compensation) and indirect (metacognitive, affective and
social) language-learning strategies proposed by Oxford (1990). A
translator who uses these strategies will be able to perform a good
translation.
10. An effective translator must be aware that writing and
translating involve similar features. The writing stages involve
determining the message content (what?) and general purpose of the
message (why?), defining the recipients (who?) and function
(expected reaction of the recipients), planning the amount and order
of content (What is assumed) and the realisation (what is expressed
linguistically and what by some other means). The preparatory phase
for writing involves the choice of text type (letter, novel, literary, non-
literary, expository, informative, argumentative etc.). Here the writer
must consider the format, publication, circulation, presentation
involving the questions—where?, when? how? and the writer also must
consider the alternative modes of communication. In addition to
considering the above, the writer, according to Sager (1994:186), also
must determine the structure, division of the written material into
chapters, headings and paragraphs. This will lead to the message
production. Sager (1994:186) suggests that the writer must evaluate,
revise, modify and finally present his written work for publication. Like
writing, translating too involves these stages—identification of the SL
document, identification of intention, interpretation of specification and
cursory reading and choice of TL text type and the other preparatory
activities as in writing and original work. The researcher agrees with
Sager's (1994) suggestion that writing and translation share similar
features. In fact, the researcher is of the opinion that of the four skills
in language learning, writing seems to come closest to translation. The
researcher also agrees with Smith-Worthington and Jefferson
(2005:80) in that the process of writing involves planning (prewriting,
shaping, researching), drafting, revising and copy-editing
(proofreading and publishing). She also agrees with Smith-
Worthington and Jefferson's (2005:84) suggestion that the three
 features of writing are as follows:
a. Writing is recursive or circular in nature—it is a backward and
forward process. The recursive nature means that the thinking
process sometimes circles back to earlier stages.
b. Writing takes time—time is needed for ideas to emerge and
develop. Different stages have their own activities. It takes
sufficient time to complete a document.
c. Writing is different for everyone—it varies from one person to
the next. This is because people are different, their thinking
processes and learning styles vary. A person writes to fit his or
her personality and thinking style.
11. A good translator must be aware of the importance of cognitive
information processing of texts so that they can be accurately
understood, processed and transformed by their cognitive system.
12. Based on the researcher's experience as a translator, on her
discussions with other translators, and on this research, the researcher
strongly feels that the above writing processes and the three features
of writing put forward by Smith-Worthington and Jefferson (2005) can
be extended to the process of translation. Here too we see a close
parallelism between writing and translating because they share similar
features and approaches.

b. The Process of Translation

A competent translator must be aware of the process of translation to make

effective knowledge transfer from one language to another possible. From
the feedback obtained from the five participants who took part in the think-
aloud protocols and interviews, the researcher discovered that the main
direct and indirect strategies proposed by Oxford (1990) were used by them
while translating. These strategies are shown in Table 1 on the next page.
From the TAPs analysis using the inductive method, the researcher matched
her analysis of the TAPs transcriptions to Oxford's (1990) Strategy Inventory
for Language Learning (SILL) and found three additional strategies used by
the participants which were not present in Oxford's SILL. The new findings
comprise one metacognitive and two cognitive strategies. The three new
strategies comprise the following:

1. Stating one's own beliefs on how to translate and giving the

reasons supporting them (metacognitive strategy).

From this research, it was apparent that the participants had their own
mindset or schema about how to go about translating. They verbalized
 aloud this preconception or design of the expected completed version
or virtual blueprint of their translated product. While translating they
reminded themselves that they should abide by these beliefs which
were arrived at from past experience and translation training. Some
examples include:

a. "Now that I know the meaning in my head, I shall translate it using my

own words in Malay so that the original meaning is not lost. I do not
believe in and do not practice word-for-word translation. I prefer
understanding first before translating," and
b. "I don't translate word-for-word. Being a Malay, I have language
intuitiveness and upon further reading, I always refine my translated
work."

Table 1

OXFORD'S STRATEGY INVENTORY FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING (SILL)

DIRECT STRATEGIES INDIRECT STRATEGIES

1. Memory Strategies 1. Metacognitive Strategies

a. Creating mental linkages a. Centering your learning

(e.g. grouping,
associating, elaborating)
b. Applying images and
sounds
(e.g. using imagery,
semantic mapping)
c. Reviewing thoroughly
(structured reviewing)
d. Employing action
(e.g. using physical
response or sensation)
2. Cognitive Strategies
a. Practicing (repeating,
formally practicing with
sounds and writing
systems, recognising and
(overviewing and linking
with already known
material, paying attention,
delaying speech
production to focus on
listening)
b. Arranging and planning
(finding out about
language, organising,
setting goals and
objectives, identifying the
purpose of a language
task, planning for a
language task, seeking
practice opportunities)
c. Evaluating (self-
monitoring, self—
 using formulas and
patterns, recombining and
practicing naturalistically.
b. Receiving and sending
messages
(getting the idea quickly,
using resources for
receiving and sending
messages.)
c. Analysing and reasoning
(reasoning deductively,
analysing expressions,
analysing contrastively
(across languages),
translating, transferring)
d. Creating structure for
input and output (taking
notes, summarising,
highlighting)
3. Compensation Strategies
a. Guessing intelligently
(using linguistic clues,
using other clues)
b. Overcoming limitations in
speaking and writing
(switching to the mother
tongue, getting help, using
mime or gesture, avoiding
communication partially or
totally, selecting the topic,
adjusting or approximating
the message, coining
words, using a
circumlocution or
synonym)
Source: Oxford (1990). Language Learning Strategies—What Every Teacher
Should Know.
evaluating)
2. Affective Strategies
a. Lowering your anxiety
(using progressive
relaxation, deep breathing
or meditation, using
music, using laughter)
b. Encouraging yourself
(making positive
statements, taking risks
wisely, rewarding yourself)
c. Taking your emotional
temperature (listening to
your body, using a
checklist, writing a
language learning diary,
discussing your feelings
with someone else)
3. Social Strategies
a. Asking questions (asking
for clarification or
verification, asking for
correction)
b. Cooperating with others
(cooperating with peers,
cooperating with proficient
users of the language)
c. Empathising with others
(developing cultural
understanding, becoming
aware of others' thoughts
and feelings)
New York:Newbury House Publishers

2. Finding one's own solutions to the problems identified and

carrying them out (cognitive strategy)

Problem identification comes under the metacognitive strategy, but

here, the participants moved one step forward. They used cognitive
strategies to solve their problem. All five participants, using the TAP
technique, found that some sentences in the English language
scientific texts were very long and confusing, and found such complex
sentences very difficult to translate into the Malay language, which has
a different pattern of grammar. If they were to maintain the complex
sentences in the Malay translation, the target readers might become
confused. In an effort to overcome this problem, they found a solution.
They decided to divide the complex sentences into two shorter
sentences for easier analysis and comprehension. In this way, the
translation process became more manageable and simpler. The
meaning was communicated much more easily and accurately and the
participants were satisfied with their completed translated version in
the Malay language.

3. Using the discrimination strategy to choose the closest

equivalent term from two or three alternatives identified in the
target language based on the context of the situation
(contextual meaning) and the culture of the target readers
(cognitive strategy).

A word may have many meanings in different situations, so, the participants
had to decide on choosing the most appropriate equivalent terms in their
translation for the terms given in the English-language scientific source text.
For this, they had to choose from a number of alternatives identified, using
the discrimination strategy. The equivalent term which is finally chosen was
also based on the context of the situation or contextual meaning of the text
and the culture of the target readers, so that the target readers of their
translated versions would not get confused. Some examples taken from the
TAPs analysis of the five cases are as follows:

a. For the word "responsible", the participant had to decide between the
 two terms

tanggungjawab and berperanan; she chose berperanan as

it suited the scientific context, whereas tanggungjawab is
used for people in a social sense.

b. For "emotional response", the participant had to choose between

gerakbalas or tindakbalas; she chose the former as it

suited the context of the situation or the contextual
meaning of the text, whereas the latter is used in the
context of a chemical reaction and was thus not suited to
the text.

c. Translation Strategies Used by the Participants

A competent translator must be able to use translation strategies while

translating from the source language to the target language. To investigate
the translation strategies used by the five participants in this study, the
researcher first analysed the transcripts of the TAPs and then mapped them
on to Oxford's (1990) SILL to find out whether SILL was used by them and
also to find out the other strategies used which were not given in Oxford's
(1990) SILL. The strategies used by the five case studies as mapped on to
Oxford's (1990) SILL model is presented in Table 2. The participants who
had more time translated two texts while those who were pressed for time
only agreed to translate one text aloud. The strategies marked with an
asterisk and highlighted are the additional strategies found by the
researcher in this study. The key to Table 2 is explained in the box below.

KEY to Table 2

The first two columns represent the number and types of strategies
used, that is both the direct and indirect strategies and the
remaining five columns in Table 2represent the cases while the
rows represent the types of strategies used. A tick was put in the
column next to the strategy if the strategy was used by the
participants for this study, while a cross was put if the strategy
was not used by them. The strategies used which are marked with
an asterisk mark and bolded are the additional strategies found
from this study of the process of translating scientific texts from
English to Malay.

TABLE 2

The Strategies Used by the Participants in their TAPs

Strategies Used by Participants In This Case Case Case Case Case

Study 1 2 3
4 5
- One - Two -One
Text Texts Text -Two - One
Texts Text

No. DIRECT STRATEGIES

A Memory Strategies

1. Using imagery / / x / x
2. Reviewing / / / / x
B Cognitive Strategies

1. Reading and comprehension / / / / /

2. Summarising / / / / /

3. Highlighting / x x / x
4. Analysing and Reasoning—translating / / / / /
5. * Choosing equivalent terms based on / / / / /
the contextual meaning in the text
(situation) and the culture of the
target readers by using the
discrimination strategy to choose the
closest equivalent term in the target
language from two or three
alternatives identified.
6. Academic Elaboration / / / / x
7. * Finding their own solutions to the / / / / /
translation problems and carrying
them out.

8. Repetition / / / / /
9. Resourcing x x x / x
C. Compensation Strategies

1 Overcoming limitation in writing: / / / / /

paraphrasing

2. Overcoming limitations in writing: x x x / x

switching to the source language.

II INDIRECT STRATEGIES

A Metacognitive Strategies

1. Planning and organisation—Making / / / / /

decisions

2. Selective attention—attending to one / / / / /

sentence at a time.

3. * Stating one's own beliefs on how to / / / / /

translate—giving reasons supporting
those beliefs and implementing them.

4. Problem Identification / / / / /
5. Comprehension monitoring / / / / /
6. Ability evaluation / / x / x
7. Self-monitoring/Production monitoring / / / / /
8. Performance evaluation / / / / x
B Affective Strategies

1. Encouraging yourself: Marking verbally the x x x / /

end of a paragraph and end of a task.

C. Social Strategies

1. Empathising with others / x x / x

 2. Asking questions / / / / x

d. Researcher's Proposed Translation Model

External processes of translation are situation-specific inasmuch as internal

processes are unique to the individual. Based on the findings obtained from
the internal translation process and the external factors involved in
translation, the researcher has proposed a translation model which is shown
in Figure 1. This translation model is divided into three phases: before,
during and after the translation process and these are discussed below.

1. Before Translation: Here, the authorities at the publishing

house apply and obtain the copyright approval for translating a
chosen English-language science book to the Malay language.
Then the prospective translator, who is a subject specialist is
chosen. A contract is signed between the publishing house and
the translator. A deadline is given to the translator to complete
his or her translation task. If the chosen translator feels that he
or she cannot complete the translation on a part-time basis, he
or she is free to divide the chapters among his or her colleagues
who are also subject specialists, but he or she must supervise
their translation to ensure that there is uniformity and
consistency of the terms used in the translated text. The
translator gets his translation tools such as the bilingual and
monolingual dictionaries, writing tools or computer, thesauruses,
terminology lists etc. ready.

2. During Translation/Internal Translation Process. In this

stage, the translator plans and organises his or her translation,
that is, makes and implements decisions. First, the translator
decides to read and comprehend the source language scientific
text. Then he or she actually reads the text and summarises it.
Next, he or she analyses the difficult keywords and phrases,
paraphrases them and tries to find the most appropriate
equivalent terms from two or three options identified in the
target language which best suit the context of the situation of
the scientific text and the culture of the target readers. Then he
or she translates the source language scientific text sentence by
sentence into the target language. Monitoring is also done after
completing the translation of each sentence. Revision is done if
deemed necessary. Then the translator evaluates his or her
whole performance of the whole completed translated version
against the original scientific text in the source language. Then
he or she gives his or her colleagues to read the translated
version for reviewing purposes and makes the necessary
changes if necessary.

Figure 1
3. After Translation. Here the proofread translated text is submitted to the
publication house for editing. Once the editors at the publication house have
edited the translated text, it is returned to the translator who reads it again
to ensure that the content has not been distorted or made ambiguous. Once
the translator is satisfied with the translated and edited text, it is returned to
the publication house for publishing. If there are any issues with the editing
performed by the editors at the publishing house, then these are discussed
between the parties. Once both parties have reached a consensus regarding
the revision, the translated text is published and then marketed.

From the translation model depicted by the researcher in Figure 2, it is

apparent that the translator starts the internal translation process by
planning and organising, followed by reading and comprehension, analysing
the source text information, translating, monitoring and evaluating his or her
own performance.

The longer two-headed arrow on the left shows that the translation
strategies, comprising the main direct and indirect language strategies and
the three translation strategies found from this study are used from the start
to the end of the translation process. The six-sided diagram shows that the
translation strategies are flexible and can be used in any combination, for
example metacognitive with social, social with compensation, cognitive with
affective etc.

The shorter two-headed arrow on the right in Figure 2 of the proposed

translation model shows that the internal translation process is iterative,
cumulative and integrative. It also shows that while translating the
translators use all the four approaches: cognitive, linguistic, communicative
and pragmatic to ensure that the final translated version suits the culture,
intelligence, context of situation and language proficiency level of the target
readers of the translated version. In other words, the researcher suggests
that the skopos or purpose of the translation must be emphasised.
Furthermore, the translation process is iterative and cascaded, that is, it
involves forward and backward-looking activities. In addition, translators
often review and revise their work while translating. A final evaluation is
done upon completing the whole translation task.

This proposed translation model by the researcher is derived from the

findings from this study. It is open to further research by future researchers
in the field of translation who can experiment it with other kinds of texts or
text-types and with other pairs of languages in the world.
Conclusion

In brief, in order to be a competent and reliable translator in transferring

knowledge effectively from one language to another, the researcher believes
that a translator should try his or her best to acquire the characteristics of a
competent translator as presented in this paper. Also, a competent
translator should be familiar with the translation process and the translation
strategies that need to be used while translating. Finally, the translation
model proposed by the researcher can be used as a guide to achieve a good
translation.

References

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Bell, R.T. (1991). Translation and Translating. London: Longman.

Danks, Joseph H. et al. 1997. Cognitive Processes in Translation and

Interpreting. Applied Psychology: Volume 3. London: Sage Publications.

Darwish, A. (2003). The Transfer Factor—Selected Essays on Translation and

Cross-Cultural Communication. Melbourne: Writescope Pty Ltd.

Kulwindr Kaur a/p Gurdial Singh. (2003). A Study of the Process of

Translating Scientific Texts from English into Malay. PhD Unpublished Thesis.
University of Malaya.

Newmark, P. (1988). A Textbook of Translation. Hertfordshire: Prentice-Hall.

Oxford, R.L. (1990). Language Learning Strategies—What Every Teacher

Should Know. New York: Newbury House Publishes.

Robinson, D. (1997). Becoming a Translator: An Accelerated Course.

London: Routledge.

Sager, J.C. (1994). Language Engineering and Translation: Consequences of

Automation. Philadelphia: John Benjamins.

Smith-Worthington and Jefferson. (2005). Technical Writing for Success.

USA:Thomson South-Western.
© Copyright Translation Journal and the Author 2005
URL: http://accurapid.com/journal/34edu.htm
Last updated on: 05/19/2014 15:41:35