6.3 ASPECTS TO CONSIDER BEFORE TRANSLATING
A good translator should define some essential
starting-points to estimate a text to be translated, such as
the author of the text, the aim of the text, the readership,
and the standard to be used, for which it is important to
identify and categorize the author, the message, the kind
of discourse, the translator and the readership. These
information are very important before embarking on a
translation project. These information will also
determine the style and tone the translated texts. For
example, before translating Harry Potter, the translator
must consider who the author is, whether the novel aims
to entertain or to inform, who will read the novel, etc. If
the translator does not know these information, chances
are he or she will translate using inappropriate registers
and style.
In reality, translators move freely along the
continuum from one extreme to another. In translating
culturally-loaded source-language expressions,
translators may sometimes adopt domestication, at other
times foreignisation or the combination of both.
Consciously or unconsciously, translators follow certain
translation strategies and principles in dealing with ST.
They may be faithful to the original message as
intended by the author, while some other translators are
more concerned with the target reader’s response. Some
translators may want to introduce the SL culture as
much as possible by retaining the foreign words and
giving amplification with TL expressions. In some
cases, they use both approaches so as to match their
purpose. There are external and internal factors influencing a translator’s choice of strategies when
translating cultural words. Newmark (2006:119) argues
that choosing the correct strategies will depend on (1)
the text-type and the purpose of the text; (2) the
motivation and cultural, technical and linguistic level of
readership; (3) the importance of the cultural word in
the text; (4) the existence of recognised translation; (5)
the recency of the cultural word; and (6) the future of
the cultural word. These factors determine whether a
cultural word needs to be transliterated, adapted,
glossed, or retained in the TT.