Translation Studies Exam Review

Comprehensive practice flashcards covering translation methods, procedures, strategies, semantic types, and text analysis concepts from the lecture notes.

What does translation using loan words without explanation mean?

Keeping the word as it is in the source-language (SL) text.

Which translation method is most appropriate for a news article from Vietnamnet intended for a broad readership?

Communicative translation.

Which translation method is illustrated by the example: “Lâu ngày không gặp, nó vẫn nhớ đến tôi” → “He is not out of sight, out of mind”?

Idiomatic translation.

Which translation method is generally used when translating literary works or poetry?

Semantic translation.

What is the translation procedure called when “logo” is rendered into Vietnamese as “lo-go”?

Naturalization.

Which translation method gives the translator the most freedom in expressing meaning?

Free translation.

In the sentence “He did a mistake in the report,” what rule is violated?

Collocational restriction.

What procedure involves using an established target-language term for an institution or organization?

Recognized translation.

What non-equivalence problem occurs when translating “Lễ dạm ngõ”?

Lack of superordinate.

What is the translation method called when an English text is translated into Vietnamese without changing the original word order?

Word-for-word translation.

What type of meaning is most often lost in translation?

Context-bound meaning (or expressive meaning).

What is the most appropriate way for a translator to render the culture-specific term “Bánh chưng” into English?

Keep the Vietnamese name as a loan word and explain it (Loan word plus explanation).

Under what circumstance must a translator edit the source-language text during text analysis?

When the source text is badly-written or poorly written.

Which features of a text can provide evidence of an author's intention?

Word choice and tone.

Which translation method is used in: “Keep off the grass” → “Vui lòng không dẫm lên cỏ”?

Communicative translation.

What does the translation procedure “Paraphrase” mean?

Explaining the meaning in different words.

What is contextual meaning (nghĩa ngữ cảnh)?

A word's meaning that depends strongly on the situation and surrounding text.

What is naturalization in translation?

Transcribing a source-language word and adjusting its spelling or pronunciation to target-language conventions (e.g., “chocolate” → “sô-cô-la”).

Which translation procedure involves translating the elements of a compound phrase literally to form a target-language expression?

Through-translation (calque).

What should a translator identify first during text analysis to guide subsequent decisions?

The author's intention, text type, and communicative purpose.

What are the two kinds of reading carried out during the text-analysis stage?

General reading (to grasp the gist) and close reading (to understand detailed contextual meaning).

What is the translation procedure of keeping a source-language word in the target text unchanged called?

Transference (e.g., keeping “áo dài”, “sushi”, or “phở”).

Which strategy is used when a translator replaces a culture-bound expression with a familiar target-culture expression?

Cultural substitution (e.g., “I am up to my ears in work” → “bận ngập đầu ngập cổ”).

Rendering “automobile” or “scooter” as “vehicle” is an example of which strategy?

Translation by a more general word (superordinate).

Which type of meaning concerns the basic truth-conditional content of an expression and decides whether a translation is correct?

Propositional meaning.

What procedure is illustrated by changing a noun in the source text into a verb in the target text (e.g., “After his arrival” → “Sau khi anh ấy đến”)?

Transposition (Shift).

Translating Shakespeare’s play into a modern Vietnamese setting is an example of which method?

Adaptation.

What is Mona Baker's strategy of omission?

Leaving out or deleting information that is not essential to the meaning or impact of a text.

In Mona Baker's categorization of non-equivalence, what type of word is “Facility”?

A superordinate.

How many translation methods are distinguished by Peter Newmark?

8

Which procedure is most suitable when a source-culture item has no direct equivalent and its function needs to be described?

Descriptive equivalent.

Translating “World Health Organization” as “Tổ chức Y tế Thế giới” is an example of which procedure?

Through-translation (Calque).

Why may a literal, word-for-word translation of an idiom fail?

Because its meaning cannot be recovered or worked out from the individual words.

Which translation procedure involves changing the viewpoint or conceptual angle of the message in the target text?

Modulation.

Interpreters mainly work with which form of language?

Spoken language.

Which type of meaning conveys the speaker’s feelings or attitude?

Expressive meaning.

Translating “Dọn giường” as “make the bed” rather than “clean the bed” illustrates which linguistic concept?

Collocational restrictions.

What is the primary purpose of revising a completed translation?

To check accuracy, clarity, consistency, and naturalness.

Which elements are commonly omitted from English newspaper headlines?

Articles (a, an, the) and the verb “to be”.

How is a future event commonly indicated in English headlines?

By using “to + infinitive”.

Turn the headline “Queen to visit Finland next month” into a complete sentence.

The Queen will visit Finland next month.

Turn the headline “New Hospital to Be Built Next Year” into a complete sentence.

A new hospital will be built next year.

What is the main difference between word-for-word translation and literal translation?

Word-for-word translation keeps the source-language word order and translates each word singly, whereas literal translation converts the grammar into target-language structures.

What does it mean when a source-language concept is not lexicalized in the target language?

The target language does not have a single word for it.

What is the purpose of compensation in translation?

To make up for meaning or effect lost elsewhere in the text.

What is meant by equivalence in translation?

The target-language text conveys the same meaning and effect as the source-language text.

How does a recognized translation differ from a newly created translation?

A recognized translation uses an official, already accepted target-language equivalent, whereas a newly created translation is made by the translator.

What should a translator do if they encounter an unfamiliar topic before translating?

Research the topic to build background knowledge.