Thinking Italian Translation Flashcards

A set of vocabulary flashcards based on the summary of 'Thinking Italian Translation' covering fundamental translation concepts, types, and properties of texts.

SOURCE TEXT (ST)

The text requiring translation.

TARGET TEXT (TT)

The text that is a translation of the ST.

SOURCE LANGUAGE (SL)

The language in which the ST is spoken or written.

TARGET LANGUAGE (TL)

The language into which the ST is to be translated.

STRATEGY

The decisions the translator takes after an initial reading of the ST, but before starting its detailed translation.

STRATEGIC DECISIONS

The first set of reasoned decisions taken by the translator in response to questions about the text, such as message content, linguistic features, genre, and audience.

DECISIONS OF DETAIL

Reasoned decisions concerning specific problems of syntax, vocabulary, etc., made in the light of the strategy.

INTER-SEMIOTIC TRANSLATION

Translation between systems for communication, such as a green light meaning "go".

INTRALINGUAL TRANSLATION

Translation within a single language.

GIST TRANSLATION

Reporting the gist of a message without mentioning any other circumstantial detail.

EXEGETIC TRANSLATION

A translation that explains and elaborates the ST, involving considerations from outside the text via the translator's experiential baggage.

REPHRASING

A halfway point between gist translation and exegetic translation that may use different terms from the ST but adds and omits nothing.

INTERLINEAR TRANSLATION

An extreme of SL bias where the TT does not respect TL grammar, but has grammatical units corresponding as closely as possible to those of the ST.

LITERAL TRANSLATION

A translation where the literal meaning of words is taken straight from the dictionary, but TL grammar is respected.

FREE TRANSLATION

An extreme of TL bias where there is only a global correspondence between the textual units of the ST and those of the TT.

COMMUNICATIVE TRANSLATION

A translation that uses a standard cultural counterpart for a TL idiomatic expression, often used for clichés and proverbs.

IDIOMISING TRANSLATION

A translation that respects the ST message content but uses TL idioms or familiar phonic and rhythmic patterns to provide an easy read.

DESCRIPTIVE EQUIVALENCE

The relationship between ST and TT features seen as directly corresponding to one another, regardless of the quality of the TT.

PRESCRIPTIVE EQUIVALENCE

The relationship between an SL expression and the canonic or generally accepted standard TL rendering of it.

DYNAMIC EQUIVALENCE

A variant of prescriptive equivalence based on the principle that the relationship between the receptor and the message should be the same as that of the original receptors.

TRANSLATION LOSS

The incomplete replication of the ST in the TT, involving the inevitable loss of textually and culturally relevant features.

LOCALISATION

A degree of adaptation of a ST or product to a specific target culture, but not to the extent of full cultural transplantation.

CULTURAL TRANSPOSITION

The main types and degrees of departure from literal translation resorted to in the process of transferring ST contents from one culture into another.

EXOTICISM

A TT that constantly uses grammatical and cultural features imported from the ST with minimal adaptation, marking the source as culturally strange.

CALQUE

An expression consisting of TL words that respects TL syntax but is unidiomatic because it is modelled on the structure of an SL expression.

CULTURAL TRANSPLANTATION

An extreme form of cultural transposition that functions more like an adaptation than a translation.

TRANSCREATION

A term coined to signify the reformulation of a text by adapting it to a specific target-culture setting.

CULTURAL BORROWING

The introduction of a foreign element into the TT without adapting the SL expression into TL forms.

COMPENSATION

Reducing a significant translation loss by introducing a less unacceptable one, rendering important ST effects by means other than those used in the ST.

COMPENSATION IN MODE

A category of compensation involving changes like making the implicit explicit, replacing literal meaning with connotative, or substituting concrete for abstract.

COMPENSATION IN PLACE

A category of compensation where the TT textual effect occurs at a different place in the text relative to its corresponding effect in the ST.

COMPENSATION BY SPLITTING

Translating a single ST word using a higher number of words in the TT to convey exact and complex meaning.

TEXTUAL VARIABLES

Points of detail where a text could have been different, organized into six hierarchical levels of textual properties.

SOUND-SYMBOLISM

The use of phonic echoes and affinities, such as alliteration and assonance, for thematic and expressive purposes.

PROSODY

Elements of speech that are properties of syllables and larger units, including intonation, stress, and rhythm.

LEXIS

The totality of words in a language.

SENTENTIAL LEVEL

The level that looks at the communicative purpose of an utterance as a complete, self-contained vehicle for communication.

COHESION

The discourse feature concerning how sentences are linked to one another by explicit connectives like "then", "so", or "however".

COHERENCE

The discourse feature concerning the thematic or emotional development running through a text, which is not explicitly marked.

INTERTEXTUAL LEVEL

The level of textual variables on which texts are viewed as bearing significant external relations to other texts, such as genre membership or quotations.

SYNONIMY

The strongest form of semantic equivalence where expressions cover exactly the same range of situations.

HYPERONYM

A word or expression with a wider, less specific range of literal meaning than a more specific term.

HYPONYM

A word of more specific meaning than a general or superordinate term applicable to it.

PARTICULARISING TRANSLATION

Translating by a hyponym, resulting in a TT expression with a narrower and more specific literal meaning than the ST.

GENERALISING TRANSLATION

Translating by a hyperonym, resulting in a TT expression with a wider and less specific literal meaning than the ST.

PARTIALLY OVERLAPPING TRANSLATION

A translation that combines particularisation and generalisation by adding some details while omitting others present in the ST.

CONNOTATIVE MEANINGS

Overtones of a word that go beyond its literal meaning, including referential content, emotional coloring, and social associations.

ATTITUDINAL MEANING

Part of an expression's meaning consisting of a widespread attitude toward the referent, such as "la pula" for police.

ASSOCIATIVE MEANING

Expectations associated with a referent or expression, such as the common association of "nurse" with "woman".

ALLUSIVE MEANING

Occurs when an expression evokes an associated saying or quotation as part of its overall meaning.

REFLECTED MEANING

Meaning given to an expression when its form calls to mind the completely different meaning of another expression that sounds or is spelled the same.

COLLOCATIVE MEANING

Meaning derived from the fact that an expression is commonly used in combination with another specific phrase.

AFFECTIVE MEANING

An emotive effect on the addressee created by a choice of expression that hints at the speaker's attitude, such as politeness or rudeness.

TONAL REGISTER

The feature of linguistic expression carrying affective meaning, indicating a tone such as vulgar, polite, or formal.

SOCIAL REGISTER

A style of language from which the listener deduces the speaker's social stereotype, including educational background and professional standing.

SOCIOLECT

A language variety typical of one of the broad groupings that constitute the class structure of a society.

DIALECT

A language variety with features of accent, lexis, and syntax characteristic of a given region.

CODE-SWITCHING

Switching between language varieties or languages to match a situation or for persuasive and storytelling purposes.

GENRE

A category to which a text belongs and within which it shares type and communicative purposes with other texts.