Grammatical Analysis - Theory and Practice of Translation

Nida, Eugene A. and Taber, Charles R. (1982:33-34) in their book entitled The Theory and Practice of Translation states that basically, there are two different systems for translating. The first consists in setting up a series of rules which are intended to be applied strictly in order and are designed to specify exactly what should be done with each item or combination of items in the source language so as to select the appropriate corresponding form in the receptor language. Some theoreticians have contended that this automatic selection process is best accomplished by working through an intermediate, neutral, universal linguistic structure. This go-between language into which the source is translated and from which the finished translation is derived may be either another natural language or a completely artificial language. But whether or not such an intermediate stage is used, this approach is based on the application of rules to what linguists call the “surface structure” of language, that is, the level of structure which is overtly spoken and heard, or written and read.

The second system of translation consists of a more elaborate procedure comprising three stages: (1) analysis, in which the surface structure (i.e., the message as given in language A) is analyzed in terms of (a) the grammatical relationships and (b) the meanings of the words and combination of words, (2) transfer, in which the analyzed material is transferred in the mind of the translator from language A to language B, and (3) restructuring, in which the transferred material is restructured in order to make the final message fully acceptable in the receptor language.

The system seems much more complicated and cumbersome than the other. But the more linguists learn of the structure of languages and of messages expressed in linguistic forms, the more they realize that a single-stage procedure is inadequate. The seemingly roundabout route actually reflects much better the real nature of linguistic structures, and therefore reflects much more accurately what happens in good translation and represents a much more efficient method for the mastery of translation technique than the first system. 

A useful analogy is that of crossing a broad, deep, swift river. If one does not know how to swim, and does not have a boat, it is necessary to go up or down the bank of the river until a place is found which is shallow enough to serve as a ford. The time and effort spent walking along one side of the river is not only not wasted; it is absolutely essential to the crossing.

As indicated above, there are three major steps in analysis: (1) determining the meaningful relationships between the words and combination of words, (2) the referential meaning of the words and special combination of words (the idioms), and (3) the connotative meaning i.e., how the users of the language react, whether positively or negatively, to the words and combination of them. In this chapter we shall be dealing only with the analysis of the meaningful relationship between words on a grammatical level.