3.4 What Is Good Translation?
The success of a translation is measured by how close it
comes to certain ideals. These are sometimes called The
ABC's of Translation. The ideal translation should
be ...
Accurate,
reproducing as exactly as possible the meaning of the
source text.
Beautiful,
using natural forms of the receptor language, in a way
that is appropriate to the kind of text being translated.
Communicative,
expressing all aspects of the meaning in a way that is
readily understandable to the intended audience.
Larson (1984:6) states that the “best translation is the
one which a) uses the normal language forms of the
receptor language, b) communicates, as much as
possible, to the receptor language speakers the same
meaning that was understood by the speakers of the
source language, and c) maintains the dynamics of the
original source language text.” Maintaining the ‘dynamics’ of the original ST means that the translation
is presented in such a way that it will evoke the same
response as the source text attempted to evoke. Nida and
Taber introduce “formal correspondence”, which
focuses attention on the message itself, in both form and
content, and “dynamic equivalence”, which is based on
the principle of equivalent effect (1964:159). For
example: Lamb of God Seal of God
Shall I compare thee with a summer day?
(Shakespeare)