Abstract:
Does translated information give a reader the same sense as it is in original matter? What is the importance of translation and why should we translate? The article deals with the Telugu-English translation difficulties that result from differences in word order between the syntax of the two languages. It shows that translating sentences from one language to another language is a failure foolproof because a reader does not catch real sense and feel in translated matter. Sentences from Telugu language most of the times present the subject in the beginning whereas in English it may be started with a subject or adjunct or adverb or sometimes with a conjunction. For reasons of length and simplicity, this article deals only with declarative clauses. It focuses on problems of translation and gives some suggestions for good translation from one language to another language.
The article focuses on the Telugu-English translation difficulties that result from differences in word order between the syntax of the two languages. It shows that translating sentences from one language into another language is a failure foolproof because the sense and feel that we get in original may not be available in the translated matter. Sentences from Telugu language present the subject in the beginning whereas in English it may be started with a subject or adjunct or sometimes with a conjunction.
Translation provides the people to read in their language. If a person does not know what is in the original book, he may not compare the two languages but when he knows two languages, the comparison comes on the scene. For reasons of length and simplicity, this article deals only with declarative clauses. Translation will develop many qualities. Allan Duff says that “translation develops three qualifies essential to all language learning: accuracy, clarity and flexibility. It trains the learner to search (flexibility) for the most appropriate words (accuracy) to convey what is meant (clarity)” (Allan Duff, 1989: 7)
The art of translation is as old as written language. A common and old question is that translation is an easy job. Though many people have various notions about this, the answer of target is same. The translator has to face many problems while he or she translates. He has to provide the same feel to the reader which is in the original. But many critics and voracious readers accepted that a reader cannot get the same sense which is original in translated matter.
Both English and Telugu prefer to place given information before new information, but this is not always possible due to the restrictions imposed by the subject-verb-object word order. When such restrictions apply, the grammars of both languages provide resources to overcome them and to indicate where the new information is and the other question is about the oral point. Translating oral communication is a very difficult job. As Rustom Barucha says that what is conveyed through voice is not always translatable in the written word (Rustom Barucha, 2003: 13). Whenever a translator is ready to translate, he or she has to keep the perfect terms for the dialogues.
Word Order:
The word order of Telugu is completely unrestricted. Any element can be moved to the front or to the end of a clause to convey different types of emphasis, and this resource is used by Telugu speakers and writers copiously. For example, the following four clauses are all possible in Telugu:
1. Athanu Delhi ki veluchunadu
[He-Delhi to-is going.]
2. Athanu veluchunadu Delhi ki
[He-is going-Delhi to.]
3. Delhi ki Athanu veluchunadu
[Delhi to-he-is going. ]
All three clauses sound natural to a native speaker and would be perfectly unmarked in the correct textual context. But they mean slightly different things in English, and the difference is explained:
- The sentence begins with the subject in both languages that is “he” and the second word in Telugu Delhi ki is a noun and a preposition and in the case of English also, it is like “Delhi to” but it should be ‘is going’ the correct verb. The word order in English should be ‘subject + verb +object’ but in Telugu it is Subject + object+ verb.
- The second statement has subejct and verb in Telugu and English but it is not the suitable meaning in Telugu whereas in English it is the proper statement.
- The third statement begins with a noun ‘Delhi’ (name of a place) in both cases but in Telugu it gives good meaning and in case of English we can not say ‘Delhi to he is going’ it is grammatically wrong statement.
In any language, we have subject, verb and object but the word order is not on the same path in all the languages. Changing the word order often produces a change to the experiential meaning, as it does in the following famous pair of clauses:
Dog bites man.
Man bites dog.
It is not good to see word to word while translating. The meaning is an important thing in any language. Sometimes the translator may focus on words only but he should have a good sense of the translating. The first problem is with the translation of the typically long statements. In English most of the words have synonyms but in Telugu we have very less terminology. Whenever we translate very long statements, the observable thing is that the clauses. For example:
Athadu pedha vadu ainappadikini goppa manasu kalavadu.
The meaning in English is “Though he is poor, he has a great heart”
“Though he is poor” is one clause and the other is “he has a great heart.” The statement has begun with a conjunction like ‘though’ and we can not translate as it is in Telugu, if we do, it does not give a proper meaning. For example the second statement:
The Telugu version reads as follows:
Sabhaku namaskaramulu. Mana priyamina mukya athidhi ki namaskaramulu teliyagesukuntu ee sabha nu prarabhastinnanu.
It has been translated into English as follows:
“Good morning everybody, I am going to start the seminar by wishing our beloved chief guest of the seminar.”
There is no problem at all with grammar in the translation; the difficulties result from faulty word choice. The common desire, in a public notice, to use a kind of more formal language has resulted in English that sounds ridiculously old-fashioned. Telugu is a richly inflected language and this is the reason why word order changes almost never result in a change to transitivity. In English, whether an item is the subject or the object of a verb is encoded by it stands in the clause. In Telugu, the noun is inflected to indicate whether it is a subject or an object, and the inflection then travels with it to wherever in the clause the noun ends up.
Pointing about the grammar, it, in Telugu, affords numerous possibilities to express minute nuances in emphasis. Its absence in English, on the other hand, imposes restrictions on the translator. When translating from Telugu language into English, those nuances of emphasis which can so effortlessly be expressed in Telugu must often be left unexpressed in English in order to avoid sounding overly verbose. On the opposite side, when translating from English into Telugu language, the translator must often make an effort to “read between the lines” and to reconstruct where the emphasis should be in order to avoid producing Telugu text where awkward word order results in bad cohesion.
Syntactical Devices:
In addition to intonation and word order, both languages provide syntactical structures which can be availed of to communicate emphasis on a particular element in the clause. A typical example is the passive. The passive is available in both English and Telugu, although it is observably more common and less marked in English.
The result was declared.
In principle, it is possible to translate this into Telugu as:
Palithalu vidudhala kabadinavi.
Tips for fast and accurate translations:
Here some prominent tips for translation are mentioned.
- Experienced, native-speaking Telugu translators
- Experienced, native-speaking English translators
- Telugu software and Website localization
- Online Telugu translation quoting and order service available worldwide –
- Wide range of Telugu specialty and industry translators
- Translation memory to save one’s time and money in the future
Problems in Translation:
- A translator can face the Cultural differences in translating because a translator can not put the native culture in his paragraphs. Original author knows about the local culture and tradition but a foreign translator can not elucidate how the real things are. It might be explained and translated from word to word. It does not give the real sense to the reader. If the translator is also a local person, he may face the language problems; of course no body is sure whether the translator is good at the target language.
- Written language takes the translation but the oral language does not have the choice. Oral literature or oral language easily can not be translated.
- Problems that originate from structural and lexical differences between language and multi word units like idioms and collocations. Giving the same meaning is very easy than giving same word.
- Indeed, writing stories or something is easy because what the author thinks he can ponder it on the paper but the translator has to hit the correct point what is in the main document that is why it is a very difficult job.
- Since translation studies give guidance to new translators, many people think that it is enough to learn about translation studies but the great thing is lack of practice in translation.
Though we have many problems in translation, it is better to read the famous translation books. There are many famous books that describe translation and translation studies. H. Lakshmi’s Problems of Translation, Vinoda’s essay on translating for media, J. Venkateswara Sastry’s Role of Translation in Lexicography give us in signs into the process of translating from Telugu to English.
Conclusion:
Both Telugu and English prefer to place given information at the beginning of a clause and new information at the end. But in English, this is not always possible due to restrictions imposed by the comparably rigid word order and by the end-weight principle. Telugu, on the other hand, has extremely flexible word order rules and does not observe the end-weight principle, therefore the information flow from given to new is almost always possible. This results in difficulties for translators who are not aware of these differences.
Notes:
Allan Duff, Translation London: OUP, 1989.
H. Lakshmi, Problems of Translation: A Study of Literary and Technical Texts Hyderabad: Booklinks Corporation, 1993.
J. Venkateswara Sastry, “ Role of Translation in Lexicography” Translation from Periphey to Centrestage. Ed. Tutaun Mukherjee. New Delhi: Prestige (1998): 206-11.
Rustom Barucha, Rajastan: An Oral History New Delhi: Penguin Books India, 2003.
Sujith Mukherjee, Translation as Discovery and Other Essays Allied Publishers, 1981.
Susan Bassnett, Translation Studies London: Routledge, 1991.
T. Vinoda, “Sense and Sensibility in Translation” Studies in Translation: Theory and Practice ed. Vinoda and V. Gopal Reddy. New Delhi: Prestige (2000): 44-56.
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