Translation Techniques

1. TRANSLATION TECHNIQUES
Collaborative Activity 1. Group Contribution
by
Oscar Herney Escobar Gómez
German Andres Sanchez
Felix Antonio Monsalve
Herbert Yepes
Luis Felipe Palacios
Group: 9
Camilo Arturo Cendales
Tutor
UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL ABIERTA Y A DISTANCIA – UNAD –
ESCUELA DE CIENCIAS DE LA EDUCACIÓN – ECEDU –
TEACHING ENGLISH AS A FOREING LANGUAGE
July 18, 2017

2. By Oscar Escobar
PARAGRAPH 1
America's Amish communities live a lifestyle that has changed little since the 18th century; but in other respects, they are
showing other Americans the way forward into the twenty-first....
The road sign is, to say the least, unexpected; driving through a prosperous rural part of North America, the last thing you
expect to see beside the highway is a yellow diamond road sign with a horse and buggy in the middle! Watch out for
horses and buggies on the road? What is this? Do they exercise racehorses here, or what?
You keep an eye open for horses; for two miles, you see nothing, then all of a sudden, look! Coming towards you on the
other side of the road, two black horse-drawn buggies! As they go by, your surprise turns to disbelief; what's going on? Are
they making a movie about eighteenth century America? The men and the women in the buggy look like they jumped out
of a novel by Fennimore Cooper. Then, another mile and things get even stranger; beside a neat-looking farm-house, there
is a whole line of buggies. In the door of the house, half a dozen men in black coats, and with long beards, are talking while
some women dressed in a curiously ancient fashion are sitting on a bench. Is this 2015 or 1715?

3. PARAGRAFO 1
Las comunidades Amish americanas viven un estilo de vida que ha cambiado poco desde el siglo 18th; pero con respecto a otros,
ellos están mostrando a los Americanos una manera de hacer frente al siglo veintiuno…
La señal de transito es, por decir lo menos, inesperada; ¡conduciendo a través de una parte rural prospera de Norte América, la
última cosa que usted espera ver al lado de la autopista es una señal de transito hexagonal amarilla con un caballo y carruaje en
el medio! ¿Cuidado con los caballos y los carruajes en la carretera? ¿Qué es esto? ¿Ellos realizan carreras a caballo aquí, o qué?
Te mantienes atento a los caballos; por dos millas, no ve nada, luego, de repente, ¡mira! Viniendo hacia ti sobre el otro lado de la
carretera, ¡dos carruajes negros tirados por caballos! Cuando estos pasan, tu sorpresa se convierte en incredulidad; ¿Qué está
pasando? ¿Están realizando una película sobre el siglo dieciocho en América? Los hombres y las mujeres en el carruaje lucen
como si salieran de una novela de Fennimore Cooper. Luego, una milla más y las cosas se volvieron aún más extrañas; al lado de
una casa de finca que luce limpia, hay una fila completa de carruajes. A la entrada de la casa, media docena de hombres con
abrigos negros, y con barbas largas, están ablando mientras algunas mujeres vestidas curiosamente a la antigua están sentadas
sobre una banca. ¿Es esto 2015 o 1715?

4. REFLECTION
In the first line of the paragraph “America's Amish communities live a lifestyle that has changed little since the 18th century;” I used an
oblique technique in “Las comunidades Amish Americanas” this is a transposition technique, having into account I changed the word
order of the in the source sentence. Then I used a literal translation technique in the phrase “viven un estilo de vida que ha cambiado
poco desde el siglo 18th” even though, in the phrase “estilo de vida” which is the translation of “lifestyle” can be evidenced a
transposition technique (a change of word order) and a modulation at the same time, that’s because in “lifestyle” is just one word,
while “estilo de vida” is a phrase of three words, giving this way more sense to the sentence. As you can see, I used a reformulation
technique in the phase “de repente” which was a translation of “all of a sudden” having into account that this an idiomatic expression
without an exact literal translation into the Spanish language. I mainly used these three types of translation techniques in this
paragraph.
I found a little difficult to translate the phrase “Coming towards you on the other side of the road, two black horse-drawn buggies”
which I translate as “Viniendo hacia ti sobre el otro lado de la carretera, ¡dos carruajes negros tirados por caballos! Here, I had to use
a modulation technique, in order to let clear that these two horse-drawn buggies were moving with the help of horse strength, and not
alone, having in mind that a “horse-drawn buggy” only can be moved, as usual, by horse power. So, the translation “Viniendo hacia ti
sobre el otro lado de la carretera, ¡dos carruajes negros!” Might be interpreted as if the two black horse-drawn buggies were moving
by themselves.

6. Comments to partners contributions
Greetings, dear German;
I understand the difficulties you had at translating this paragraph, as you pointed out “time-warp” is not easy to translate as accurately as possible into the Spanish language. The
time - warp is a scientific term that refers to the warp technology and can be considered a sort of science fiction. That’s why I’d considerer to translate this paragraph as ¿Has
entrado en una máquina del tiempo, y sin darte cuenta, retrocedido 300 años, o es la gente que has visto que está atrapada en ese tiempo? This is how it can be used a
modulation technique, in order to give a little more sense for the readers in the target language. However, your translation is very valid, if you want to stick to a more literal
translation, which, in this case, is called foreignization, having into account that this term was originally created in the U.S.A. in the other hand, the translation I suggested is called
domestication, because of the adaptation of this term to a more understandable word or phrase for Spanish speaker readers.
In the sentence “It is virtually unheard of for anyone to become an Amish, who was not born an Amish” other translation may be “virtualmente no se ha escuchado de nadie que
se haya conviertido en Amish” anyway, the word “inaudito” offers a better option for the word “unheard” in this case.
I also want to bring these translations up:
“you are in Amish country” “Estas en el país de los Amish”. Having into account that this is a more unformal text, the word “estas” sounds better in this context, and I should
translate it this way my paragraph either.
“How Amish people do without the essentials of modern-day life such as electricity and cars” which can be better translated, as “cómo los Amish se las arreglan sin lo esencial de
la vida diaria moderna, tales como la electricidad y los autos”.
“This is about all that most Americans know about Amish people, unless, that is, they actually live near them and come across them in daily life” can be better translated as “Se
trata de todo lo que la mayoría de los Americanos saben acerca del pueblo Amish, a menos que realmente vivan cerca de ellos y se los encuentren en la vida cotidiana”.
These are some alternative translations, having in mind the oblique translation techniques. I hope you find useful some of my suggestions.
Greetings, dear Felix;
I consider that translating Amish into the Spanish Menonitas is not appropriated. The Amish communities and Mennonites are different, so if you translate Amish as "menonitas"
in Spanish, you are referring to a different group, which is less traditional or orthodox than the other.

7. By German Andres Sanchez
Paragraph 2
You drive on, wondering what has happened to this part of the United States of America? Have you driven into a time-warp,
and without realizing it, gone back 300 years, or is it the people you've just seen who're stuck in a time warp?
A quick enquiry at the nearest gas station gives you the answer; you are in Amish country, and the men and women you have
just seen are Amish, part of a strange religious group that settled in America in the 18th century, and much of whose lifestyle
has changed little since then. If you had seen the movie "Witness", you would have already known something about the
Amish, how their community is strictly religious and self-contained, how Amish people do without the essentials of modern-
day life such as electricity and cars, and how they do not mix with people outside of their own community. It is virtually
unheard of for anyone to become an Amish, who was not born an Amish.
This is about all that most Americans know about Amish people, unless, that is, they actually live near them and come across
them in daily life. So who are they?

8. Párrafo 2
Usted conduce, preguntándose ¿Qué ha sucedido a esta parte de los Estados Unidos de América? ¿Has entrado en una deformación
de tiempo, y sin darte cuenta, retrocedido 300 años, o es la gente que has visto que está atrapada en una deformación del tiempo?
Una investigación rápida en la estación de gasolina más cercana te da la respuesta; Usted está en el país de los Amish, y los hombres y
las mujeres que usted acaba de ver son Amish, parte de un grupo religioso extraño que se estableció en América en el siglo XVIII, y
mucho de cuyo estilo de vida ha cambiado poco desde entonces. Si usted hubiera visto la película "Testigo", ya habría sabido algo
sobre los Amish, cómo su comunidad es estrictamente religiosa y autónoma, cómo la gente Amish hace sin los elementos esenciales
de la vida moderna como la electricidad y los coches, y Cómo no se mezclan con personas ajenas a su propia comunidad. Es casi
inaudito que alguien se convierta en un Amish, quien no nació como un Amish.
Esto es todo lo que la mayoría de los estadounidenses saben acerca de la gente Amish, a menos que, es decir, que realmente viven
cerca de ellos y venir a través de ellos en la vida cotidiana. Entonces, ¿quiénes son?

9. Task 2
Reflection from the reading
The proposed document addressed an important issue regarding the origins of a religious community in the U.S.A, and also
traditions that some people might find bizarre and uncommon. I found the paragraph very challenging to translate, due to the
fact that it involves complex vocabulary and ideas that were not very simple to translate. Translating refers to the process of
taking words from a context in which we must take into account a a sequence of ideas and find the proper words to carry out an
accurate translation that doesn’t alter its meaning. On the other hand, interpretation deals with the activity that involves cultural
awareness in which interpreters listen to ideas and transforms those ideas as understandable as possible in the language they are
speaking. I think identifying this difference can help me in the process of doing an accurate interpretation and translation when
needed.
I found the following sentences challenging when translating them into Spanish:
•Have you driven into a time-warp, and without realizing it, gone back 300 years, or is it the people you've just seen who're stuck
in a time warp?
•It is virtually unheard of for anyone to become an Amish, who was not born an Amish.

10. Strategy Technique Method
When we talk about strategies,
we usually refer to the process
that requires planning. We
would think of a strategy to win
a competition, race or a game.
It is valid to say, that a strategy
refers to the steps we use as a
plan of action designed to
achieve a specific goal in our
minds. When it comes to
teaching for example, a strategy
could be drawing a mind map
on the board, participating on a
debate and also using a flow
chart to explain the steps of a
process.
Technique is a skill for
completing tasks. We can use it
as a tactic to develop multiple
activities that come along with
our experience. It refers to the
way of carrying out the
execution or performance of an
artistic work or a scientific
procedure.
Method refers to a procedure of
doing something. It involves the
usage of activities that have already
been planned (in a strategy)
particular procedures for
accomplishing or approaching
something, especially a systematic
or established one.

11. By Luis Felipe Palacios
PARAGRAPGH 4
While white America is, on the whole, a population that is stable in numbers, the Amish community is growing faster than virtually
any other community in the USA. In the 40 years from 1950 to 1990, the number of Amish in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, the
original and still the largest Amish community in the USA, grew by exactly 400%, all by natural growth, not through the influx of
immigrants. The Amish do not keep statistics, but it is fairly safe to assume that the total Amish population of the United States in the
year 1900 was no more than a couple of thousand; today the Old Order Amish, those who have kept up the strictest traditions of their
religion and society, number over 100,000, spread in communities across the eastern US and Ontario. The total number of Amish
living in the United States in 2011 was estimated at over 260,000.
Amish, who reject modern medicine and all forms of birth control, have some of the biggest families in America, with an average of
over six children per family. Few abandon their community. Amish teenagers tend to be as normally rebellious as any other American
teens, until they are baptized. Until this happens, they are not obliged to conform to the strict Amish codes of dress, hairstyle and
behavior, and many make the most of this liberty; before baptism, Amish teenagers behave much like other American teens; up to
30% of older unbaptized Amish teens own

12. PÁRRAFO 4
Mientras que la América blanca es, en general, una población estable en número, la comunidad Amish está creciendo más
rápido que prácticamente cualquier otra comunidad en los Estados Unidos. En los 40 años de 1950 a 1990, el número de
Amish en el condado de Lancaster, Pensilvania, la comunidad original y aún más grande Amish en los EE.UU., creció en
exactamente el 400%, todo por crecimiento natural, no a través de la afluencia de inmigrantes. Los amish no guardan
estadísticas, pero es bastante seguro asumir que la población Amish total de los Estados Unidos en el año 1900 no era más
que un par de mil; Hoy en día, los antiguos Amish, aquellos que han mantenido las más estrictas tradiciones de su religión y
sociedad, cuentan con más de 100.000 personas, se difunden en comunidades de todo el este de los Estados Unidos y
Ontario. El número total de Amish que viven en los Estados Unidos en 2011 se estimó en más de 260.000.
Amish, que rechazan la medicina moderna y todas las formas de control de la natalidad, tienen algunas de las familias más
grandes en América, con un promedio de más de seis hijos por familia. Pocos abandonaron su comunidad. Los adolescentes
amish tienden a ser tan rebeldes como cualquier otro adolescente estadounidense, hasta que son bautizados. Hasta que esto
sucede, no están obligados a ajustarse a los estrictos códigos amish de vestimenta, peinado y comportamiento, y muchos
aprovechan esta libertad; Antes del bautismo, los adolescentes amish se comportan como otros adolescentes
estadounidenses; Hasta el 30% de los mayores no bautizados Amish adolescentes

13. By Felix Antonio Monsalve
PARAGRAPH 3
In brief, the Amish are members of an ultra-protestant religious movement that first came to America from the upper
Rhine valley over three hundred years ago, and have kept their traditions and lifestyles. They are very law-abiding
citizens, and their community is one in which crime is almost, though not entirely, inexistent; Amish families live strict
lives, following the same code of morals as their ancestors. In a sense, they are indeed stuck in a time warp.
Yet the most remarkable things to note about the Amish are not their quaint lifestyles and their home-made clothes,
but the expansion of their community, its efficiency, its social cohesion, and their recent adoption of "green"
technology, including wind-power and solar energy. Although they work the land using traditional horse-drawn
machines, and use no chemical fertilizers, their agriculture is - interestingly - among the most productive in North
America !

14. Párrafo 3
En resumen, los menonitas son miembros de un movimiento religioso muy radical que vino a América desde el valle alto del Rin
hace más de 300 años, y han tenido cuidado de sus tradiciones y costumbres. Ellos son ciudadanos respetuosos de la ley,
y ensus comunidades el crimen es, por no decir completamente, inexistente. Las familias menonitas viven una vida muy
estricta, siguiendo el mismo código moral como sus ancestros. En un sentido, ellos ciertamente se encuentran atascados en el
túnel del tiempo.
Ahora de las cosas más notables sobre los menonitas no tiene que ver con sus constumbres ni con sus ropas hechas en casa,
tiene que ver con la expansión de su comunidad, su eficiencia, su cohesión social, y la adopción reciente de tecnologías verdes,
incluyendo el uso de la energía eólica y solar. Aunque ellos trabajan la tierra utilizando máquinas de tracción animal y no usan
fertilizantes químicos, ¡su agricultura es, entre todos, la más productiva de Norteamérica!

15. Reflection
I think this paragraph is not hardly to translate from a source language to a
target language, because this paragraph allows to make a literal translate.
First, I read the paragraph taking care word for word. Next I try to traduce
this. Then I read the Source Text. Then I add some corrections and changes
in the target text. The most difficulty was translating Amish, whose Spanish
name are “menonitas”.
Method Strategy Technique
I understand that
method is a way of
thinking.
A method is related to
whole text according
Newmark (1988).
This is a plan for
solving translation
problems according to
Krings (1986).
A techinique is used
for sentences and the
smaller units of
language according
Newmark (1988).

16. • PARAGRAPGH 5
• The fact that only about 18% of young Amish abandon the austere way of life of their ancestors is not the
only reason why the community is growing so fast. Other factors include increasing life-expectancy, and
higher standards of living.
• As for machines and modernity, Amish families do not live a primitive life; while they reject the use of
mains electricity in the home, they accept the use of kerosene and efficient wood-burning stoves that
provide plenty of light and heat and comfort in their homes; and they are certainly not out of touch with
technology. It was estimated that in 2007, 80% of homes in some Amish communities were using wind or
solar power ! In this respect, far from being stuck in the past, they can be considered as one of the most
advanced communities in the world !
• As for leisure, it is not one of their major preoccupations! While they do not have televisions or radios,
they have other social activities; yet Amish leaders actually fear that the development of a cultof leisure
could rapidly destroy their society.
• Contrary to popular belief, the Amish are not cut off from the rest of America; like any farmers, they need
markets for their products and suppliers for their goods; some work for non-Amish employers. Many have
non-Amish neighbors. They know what is going on in the rest of the United States, and like many other
Americans, they are alarmed by many modern developments.
• This too explains why most young Amish opt to carry on with the hard-working and strict way of life of
their community. Though Amish life is hard in many ways, it is free of most of the pressures and problems of
the rest of American society. As long as this lifestyle is not forced into radical change, many of those who
have been brought up in it will continue to see it as an attractive option.

17. Translation by: Herbert Yepes
PARRAFO 5
El hecho de que sólo acerca del 18% de los jóvenes de Amish abandonan el estilo de vida austero de sus
antepasados, ​​no es la única razón para que la comunidad crezca tan rápido. Son Otros los factores que
inciden, tales como: el aumento de la esperanza de vida y un mayor nivel de vida.
En relación con las máquinas y la modernidad, las familias amish no tienen una vida primitiva; a pesar
de que rechazan el uso de la electricidad de la red en el hogar, aceptan el uso de Kerosene y estufas eficientes
de leña las cuales proporcionan mucha luz, calor y comodidad en sus hogares; sin embargo, no están fuera del
alcance de la tecnología. Se estimó que en 2007, el 80% de los hogares en algunas comunidades Amish estaban
utilizando la energía eólica o solar! En este sentido, lejos de estar atrapados en el pasado, ¡pueden ser
considerados como una de las comunidades más avanzadas del mundo!
En relación con el ocio, este no es una de sus principales preocupaciones! Aunque no tienen televisores o
radios, tienen otras actividades sociales; Pero los líderes amish temen que el desarrollo de un culto de ocio
pueda destruir rápidamente su comunidad.
Contrariamente a lo que piensan y dicen los demás, los Amish no son cortados del resto de América; Como
cualquier granjero, necesitan mercados para sus productos y proveedores para sus bienes; Algunos trabajos
para los empleados no Amish. Muchos cuentan con vecinos no Amish. Ellos saben lo que está sucediendo en el
resto de los Estados Unidos, y como muchos otros estadounidenses, están alarmados por el desarrollo
moderno.
Esto también explica por qué la mayoría de los jóvenes Amish deciden continuar con el duro y exigente
modo de vida de su comunidad. Aunque la vida amish es dura de muchos aspectos, está libre de la mayoría de
las presiones y problemas del resto de la sociedad americana. Mientras que este estilo de vida no obliga a
cambios radicales, muchos de los que han sido formados en ella la seguirán viendo como una alternativa
atractiva.

18. TASK 2. REFLECTION by: Herbert Yepes
Write a text about the problems you faced regarding words or
expressions that were hard to translate and an explanation on the
techniques used to get the results.
One of the first difficulties that we have when it comes to translating, I
consider that it is the few skills that we have to handle our mother
tongue perfectly. We have flaws in our communicative competence;
That is, we have few skills in linguistic competence: such as semantics
(relation between words and their meaning), lexical (meaning of words
in different contexts) and grammatical (grammar is the set of principles
governing the structure of Sentences with meaning and grammatical
competence is the ability to understand and express those meanings by
recognizing well-formed sentences).

19. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN METHOD, STRATEGY AND TECHNIQUE.
METHOD STRATEGY TECHNIQUE
It Refers to the translation of full texts (Newmark 1988b)
This author also refers to that the translation procedures are used for the sentences
and the smaller units of the language.
According to Newmark, these are some translation methods:
Word by word (the same SL mode is preserved in TL),
Literal translation (grammatical constructions in SL are preserved in their equivalents
in TL), faithful translation (precise contextual meaning, semantic translation (the
aesthetic value of the original text is taken into account), adaptation (used mainly in
works), translation Free (TL text is produced without the form and style of the orignal),
idiomatic translation (distorts nuances, prefers idioms), communicative translation
(contextual meaning of the original are acceptable and easily understood by readers)
It is the set of steps that promote the
acquisition, storage and / or use of
information.
Strategies are heuristic and flexible.
Jaaskelainen (1999: 71)
Jaaskelainen divides strategies into
two categories: those that occur with
texts and what happens with the
process.
It also states that there are strategies
related to the product which refers to
choosing an original text and using a
method to translate it.
The strategy related to the process
refers to applying rules and principles
when translating
Jaaskelainen divides strategies into
global and local. The global
General principles and local modes of
action and
Specific activities related to problem
solving and
Of the translator's decisions
It is the process through which the
structural and conceptual elements of
the source language are transposed
into the target language. Direct
translation techniques include:
Loan, calque, literal translation;
Oblique translation techniques
include: Transposition
Modulation
Reformulation or Equivalence
Adaptation
Compensation
"Translation is not just a movement
between two languages, but also
between two cultures"
Louise M. Haywood of Cambridge
University
By: Herbert Yepes

20. References
Ordudari, M. (july 2007). Translation procedures, strategies, and methods. Translation Journal, 11(3).
Retrieved March 22, 2017, from http://www3.uji.es/~aferna/EA0921/6c-Translating-culture-
procedures.pdf