Volume 12 - Issue 67
/ July 2023
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2023.67.07.17
How to Cite:
Cherchata, L., Korol, L., Rubchak, O., Orda, O., & Novytska, D. (2023). Effectiveness of translation transformations in different
styles of the english language for teaching written translation. Amazonia Investiga, 12(67), 185-197.
https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2023.67.07.17
Effectiveness of translation transformations in different styles of the english
language for teaching written translation
Ефективність перекладацьких трансформацій у різних стилях англійської мови для
навчання письмового перекладу
Received: June 12, 2023 Accepted: July 20 2023
Written by:
Lidiia Cherchata1
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4335-3282
Larysa Korol2
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7356-6556
Olha Rubchak3
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0624-3439
Oleksandra Orda4
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0661-5394
Dariia Novytska5
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3145-3961
Abstract
The issue of translation transformations for
teaching written translation has been studied rarely.
This study has the general purpose of urging the
importance of the issue, especially in view of global
digitalization, when machine translation poses a
threat to flatten out the role of a human translator.
A translator who does not have translation
transformations skills is not in demand on the
labour market. The aim of the article is to determine
the effectiveness of using the method of translation
transformations as a special educational
technology. The method of translation
transformations is tested through its application for
training future foreign philologists in the written
translation techniques of English texts of different
styles. The final evaluation showed that on average,
the respondents of the experimental group achieved
the level of “Very good” (827.4 points, qualitative
level – 82.8%), and the respondents of the control
group – the level of “Good” (754.6 points,
qualitative level – 75.5%). The data indicate the
effectiveness of the method of translational
transformations. However, they evidence the
1
Associate Professor, Department of English and German Philology, Faculty of Philology and Journalism, Poltava V. G. Korolenko
National Pedagogical University, Poltava, Ukraine.
2
Associate Professor, Department of English and German Philology, Faculty of Philology and Journalism, Poltava V. G. Korolenko
National Pedagogical University, Poltava, Ukraine.
3
Associate Professor, Department of Foreign Philology and Translation, Faculty of Economics and Law, National Transport
University, Kyiv, Ukraine. Researcher ID: HCG-9151-202
4
Senior Lecturer, National Technical University “Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute”, Kharkiv, Ukraine. Researcher ID: E-8831-2018
5
Lecturer, National Technical University “Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute”, Kharkiv, Ukraine. Researcher ID: F-9058-2019
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difficulty of achieving more significant results
within the scope of a time-limited experiment.
Keywords: adaptation of the translated text,
foreign philologists, translation accuracy,
translation reliability, translation transformations.
Introduction
The expansion of globalization processes makes
the role of translators debatable in many respects,
especially with the development of automated
translation systems such as Google Translate. At
the same time, the method of translation with the
help of computer programmes indicates the value
of a high-quality written translation, which is not
a literal translation of a word in its most used
semantic variant. Automated translation does not
ensure correspondence to the contextual meaning
of tokens, does not guarantee the integrity of the
translated text, and does not take into account the
stylistic features of the text during translation
operations, and the stylistically determined
meanings of words accordingly. So, there is still
the need for high-quality professional written
translation of texts of different styles and purpose
even despite the fact that a large volume of
translation work for the average user and
everyday use can be performed with the help of
special software, which is also constantly being
improved.
As for written translations, it is supposed that the
translator is provided with a text document in the
original language. The task is to convey it in
another language (Lertola, 2019; Raw, 2012).
The accuracy of translation depends on the field
of application, while the latter necessarily means
consistency with the stylistic features of the
translation, which implies a proficient command
of the language and high translation skill
(Ducasse & Maher, 2020; Robinson, 2019). It is
important to differentiate types of translation,
such as translation of technical, special, artistic
and other types of texts. Research projects are
translated most accurately, in detail, literally. So,
if computerized programmes greatly simplified
the work of professional translators, they
definitely did not flatten out their social function.
Even if special software is used for written
translation, the translator will still automatically
edit the translated text accordingly to avoid
translation fails, inaccuracies, and stylistic errors.
This is why it is necessary to train future
translators in the subtleties of translation
transformations in order to perform this work,
which currently cannot be performed even by
artificial intelligence programmes. Translation
transformations enable to correctly convey the
content and the underlying meaning of the
original text using the means of another
language. In the given context, we must,
however, mention the recent tests of the deep-
learning system CUBBITT, which, although it
surpasses the most modern translation
programmes in many experimentally evaluated
parameters, still cannot replace human
translation in all quality criteria (Popel et al.,
2020). At least for now.
A number of peculiarities of translation activity
determined the imperative that translation must
now be recognized as a distinct and autonomous
profession. Therefore, being a future English
teacher, for example, does not mean being a
qualified translator at the same time, and vice
versa. The range of mastering a foreign language,
depending on specific professional duties, differs
significantly in terms of competence. The
specifics of oral or written, technical or artistic
translation determine the expansion or narrowing
of translation competences in a certain direction.
Recognition of translation as a distinct and
autonomous profession in the current
Translator’s Charter is an overarching thesis
(IFT, 1963).
The considerations expressed in this section
emphasize the relevance of the topic of the
article – teaching translation transformation
techniques when making written translations of
different styles. In the modern digital age, it is
axiomatic that a translator who does not have
sufficient knowledge of translation
transformation techniques cannot be considered
a qualified specialist. A translator who does not
have the competences of translation
transformations may well be equal in quality of
work to much cheaper and faster to use artificial
intelligence programmes that provide the
technical part of translation requests. Therefore,
the failure to be proficient in translation
transformations means professional failures and
Cherchata, L., Korol, L., Rubchak, O., Orda, O., Novytska, D. / Volume 12 - Issue 67: 185-197 / July, 2023
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the inability to build a career as a translator. On
the contrary, being competent in translation
transformations techniques means prospects of a
successful career even despite computerization,
which has largely changed the perception and
procedural implementation of the translation
profession in society.
Therefore, the aim of this article is to determine
the effectiveness of using the method of
translation transformations as a special
educational technology. In particular, it is
planned to test the method of translation
transformations through its application to the
translation of texts of different styles of the
English language when teaching students written
translation techniques. The aim involved the
fulfilment of the following research objectives:
1) create and implement an algorithm for
teaching written translation with the help of
intensive use of the method of translation
transformations, taking into account the
aspects that were identified in the literature
review;
2) develop diagnostic criteria for translation
quality for texts of scientific, technical,
artistic, and journalistic styles, focusing on
the need to use translation transformations;
3) determine the features (for texts of different
styles) and the effectiveness of using the
method of translation transformations for
building written translation skills.
Literature Review
In the previously mentioned Translator’s
Charter, translation is interpreted as an
intellectual activity, the object of which is the
transfer of literary, scientific and technical texts
from one language into another. Next, the task of
the translator is clearly stated: render exactly the
idea and form of the original. But a fundamental
clarification is made, which directly determines
the focus of this study: an accurate translation
should not be confused with a literal translation,
as the accuracy of the translation does not
exclude the adaptation of the translated text in
such a way that speakers of the target language
feel the form, atmosphere and deeper meaning of
the work (IFT, 1963). This important remark
legitimizes the need for translational
transformations as a necessary condition for
achieving high-quality faithful translation. It also
says that the translator must have broad general
knowledge (be a person with a broad outlook,
intellectually rich) and know the subject of
translation well enough. At the same time,
translation ethics require the translator to refrain
from performing translation in a field beyond his
or her competence. This opinion can be
interpreted by the authors of this article in such a
way that although future translators can get an
idea of translation transformations and acquire
the appropriate competencies in higher education
institutions (HEIs), this does not yet make
graduates of higher education institutions
absolutely professional translators who can
competently perform translations of various
texts, in particular texts of different topics and
different styles (Varela-Salinas, 2019). This is
achieved through a narrow specification resulting
from years of experience (practice) of working
with texts of a specific field and a specific style.
This is the only way to avoid profanity.
So, the importance of teaching written translation
in HEIs through the method of translation
transformations is not undervalued even despite
of what has been said about the significance of
translation experience. On the contrary, it is the
first important step in practicing translation
skills. It is significant that this step is carried out
under the professional supervision of teachers
and with the possibility of involving practicing
translators to work with students (many foreign
language teachers also work as freelance
translators outside of working hours).
The translation transformations can also be
interpreted through the concept of being a
“secondary” author (Bezerra, 2012; IFT, 1963).
This is a special kind of interlanguage
paraphrasing, the main goal of which is to
achieve translation adequacy. In other words, the
need for translational transformations is
motivated by the requirement to achieve that the
translated text conveys the entire range of
explicit and implicit information contained in the
original text as accurately as possible, which
shall not be equated with literal translation.
However, this should be achieved in compliance
with the relevant norms of the target language.
The process of transformation of the idea as a
result of the transition from units of the source
language to units of the target language is
necessarily related to the use of translation
transformations as a special type of interlingual
paraphrasing. There is an interesting point that
the absence of errors and inaccuracies in the
translation does not mean the high quality of the
translation, just as their presence does not mean
that the translation is of poor quality and does not
meet the current requirements. It is said that the
translator should primarily focus on the power of
influence inherent in the translation, on whether
the original ideological and artistic value is fully
preserved (Nazrullayeva, 2022). The range of
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translation transformations used in this case is
quite wide: from formal or structural (based on
the modification of lexical and grammatical
components of the source text) to semantic
(semantic components of the source text).
Translational transformations are limited by the
reliability of the information to be conveyed.
This means that the translation transformation
will be considered a translation error in case of
the failure to comply with the faithfulness
principle. Translational transformations are
based on the logical thinking techniques, which
help to reveal the semantics of a foreign language
token in the context, and not detached from the
discourse. Researchers also note the importance
of considering the functional impact of the
message contained in the text subject to
translation (Su & Liao, 2020). In other words, it
is important to preserve the pragmatic message
of the text material, adhering to the
communicative goal of the speaker. As the
translation cannot be absolutely identical to the
original, the translator is tasked to create a text as
close as possible to the original in terms of
semantics, structure and potential impact on the
recipient of this translation. The main problem
here is that it is not always possible to find
appropriate linguistic parallels between the
source and target languages at the semantic or
structural levels (it is about finding the same
models of sentences and phrases (free and stable,
phraseological), a complete coincidence of the
semantic meaning of the words used in the
original and translation of tokens, etc.
Translation transformations are used in such
situations as the only possible solution to the
problem.
The main accents in the translator’s work, where
the use of translation transformations is
inevitable, are as follows:
1) do not start the written translation of the text
until the students have made a preliminary
translation, that is, before reading the entire
text.
2) students should make sure that they
recognize possible allusions, intertextual
components contained in the original text;
3) students should make sure that they can
generally cope with the informative side of
the text;
4) it can be helpful to translate segments that
seem to be the most important parts of the
entire text;
5) make a plan for the implementation of the
emotional aspect of the text, its implicit
elements, which must be decoded by the
translator, and then re-encoded using the
semiotic means of the target language (this
part of the work is especially relevant for
artistic, journalistic, epistolary texts, texts of
conversational or confessional styles, etc.;
this applies the least to texts of scientific and
official styles).
Textual hints – allusions – are one of the main
problems that every translator faces. The title is
another element of any text that requires
significant attention from the translator. The title
is a very significant element of the text, since its
main purpose is to attract attention and inform
the reader about the problem raised in the text.
This is why it is recommended to first translate
the text, and then think over the title, bearing in
mind that all possible nuances of meaning,
content, and emotional load must be taken into
account in the new title in the target language.
While it is important to adhere to both the
original meaning and the original style, it is
equally important to avoid (unless absolutely
necessary) literal translation or blind
reproduction of the original syntactic structure of
the title.
The most common mistake is students’ inability
to choose the correct equivalent of a foreign word
or phrase, syntactic structure during the
translation of a text. Being focused on the
meaning conveyed by foreign words,
grammatical forms and syntactic structures,
students sometimes ignore the fact that these
meanings must be properly verbalized in the
target language (Guerberof Arenas & Moorkens,
2019; Sherzodovich & Kizi, 2020). Therefore, it
is extremely important for translators to have a
high level of proficiency in both the foreign
language and their native language (as a rule) or
another language they translate. Therefore, the
quality of translation transformations will be
ambivalent. The ability to predict possible errors
and minimize the probability of their occurrence
is the main priority of the teacher. It is important
to sometimes allow the student to make a mistake
first, and then allow him or her to correct it
himself or herself. Therefore, correction of
mistakes (self-correction) will be an essential
stage in learning translation transformations.
The involvement of computers, the Internet and
information technologies is a mandatory
component when teaching translation in view of
digitalization. Proficiency in translation
technologies has become a prerequisite for
anyone wishing to join the translation profession
(Kenny, 2019; Varela-Salinas, 2019).
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The review of the literature identified the current
problems of teaching translation in the
digitalized educational and everyday paradigm of
the 21st century. Despite the pervasiveness of the
problem of achieving the adequacy of a written
translation, little attention is paid to the method
of translation transformations as an educational
tool, not as an indispensable tool for a finished
translation.
Material and Methods
Research Design
The research was conducted in several stages. In
particular, at the first stage (September 2020-
December 2020), the authors of the article
developed an algorithm for the intensive use of
the method of translation transformations for
teaching written translation. All materials were
included in the educational and methodical
documentation, which is planned to be patented
and published as a separate manual. First of all,
the work began with a selection of texts of
various styles, which have already been
translated from English into Ukrainian by
professional translators. These texts were
analysed during the classes in Written
Translation Techniques for the purpose of
identifying translation transformations of
different language levels and for the purpose of
assessing their appropriateness. Next, texts of
scientific, technical, artistic and journalistic
styles were selected to train the students’
translation skills. In other words, these were
training texts varying in volumes and
complexity, which students had to translate on
their own with due regard to the peculiarities of
style and the scale of possible applied translation
transformations (from scientific and technical
texts, where the level of transformation is
minimal, but where a clear correspondence of
terminology is required, to artistic style, where
the range of transformations is much broader,
however, it should also be subordinated not to the
task of arbitrary interpretation, but to the
translational need). Software for using machine
translation techniques with subsequent editing
was also selected. It should be emphasized that
the translation was two-way: English-Ukrainian,
Ukrainian-English.
The second stage (January 2021-January 2022)
involved sampling of students, as well as
determining the chronological framework of the
experiment and the expected results. The
algorithm for using the method of translation
transformations has been implemented. Constant
monitoring of the algorithm implementation was
carried out using Google spreadsheets and
Google Docs. A diagnostic model of written
translation skills common to both groups of
participants was developed.
The third stage (February 2022) provided for the
final diagnosis of the competences acquired by
students for the implementation of written
translation of texts of various styles from English
into Ukrainian and vice versa.
Sample
A total of 118 students of Poltava V.G.
Korolenko National Pedagogical University
(students of the Faculty of Philology and
Journalism, 2nd, 3rd, 4th years of study) were
invited to participate in the experiment. Students
of the participating HEI were divided into
academic groups. Two academic groups were
taken from each of the years of study. One
randomly became experimental, and the other –
control. So, the control group consisted of 52
students, and the experimental group included 66
students.
Data Collection
The data were collected according to the
diagnostic model presented below (Table 1).
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Table 1.
Diagnostic model for evaluating translation skills in different language styles
Criterion No.
Criterion name
Points
Notes
І. GENERAL (BASIC) COMPETENCIES
1.
General level of foreign
language proficiency
max 100 points
Test methods of external independent
assessment of the English language presented
on the website of the Ukrainian Centre for
Educational Quality Assessment
(https://testportal.gov.ua/testy-mynulyh-
rokiv/) were used to determine the level of
foreign and Ukrainian language proficiency.
The assignments for 2021 were used.
2.
General level of native
language proficiency
max 100 points
3.
Foreign Language
Communicative
Competence Test
max 100 points
A group of 4 experts who are English native
speakers was created to determine
communicative competence. Speaking and
writing skills were assessed. Students were
united in groups of 5-8 people and
communicated with experts in a foreign
language on a randomly chosen topic to
determine their oral communication skills.
4.
The speed of work on
the translation, the
timely delivery of
completed assignments
and their completeness
max 50 points
This criterion was assessed with the
involvement of teachers from the Department
of English and German Philology of Poltava
V.G. Korolenko National Pedagogical
University.
5.
Text editing after
machine translation
max 50 points
The text was given to the respondent
randomly from the created bank of texts (60
texts in total) and belonged to one of the
styles (technical, scientific, journalistic or
artistic).
ІІ. TECHNICAL TEXTS
1.
Terminological
correspondence
max 50 points
Manuals for the use of household appliances,
as well as labels for cosmetic products and
household chemicals were selected for
translation.
2.
Conformity to DBN
(State Building
Regulations), DSTU
(State Standards of
Ukraine), GOST
(International Technical
Standards), SNiP
(Building Code),
ASTM, ASME, DIN,
ISO
max 50 points
3.
General consistency of
style, selection of
appropriate emotionally
neutral tokens, and
clarity of syntax
max 50 points
ІІІ. SCIENTIFIC TEXTS
1.
Terminological
correspondence
(consistency of the
glossary, relevance of
terms).
max 50 points
Texts from the field of philological science
were used.
2.
Literacy of scientific
translation.
max 50 points
3.
General consistency of
style, selection of
appropriate emotionally
neutral tokens, and
clarity of syntax
max 50 points
ІV. JOURNALISTIC TEXTS
1.
Correspondence of the
denotative part
max 50 points
The texts from BBC, Times, Washington
Post were taken.
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2.
Correspondence of the
expressive part
max 50 points
3.
General conformity of
style, accuracy of
translation of titles,
lexemes and syntax,
expressive and stylistic
adaptation
max 50 points
V. ARTISTIC TEXTS
1.
Preservation of the
form, structure, content,
mood of the original
text
max 50 points
Prose texts of modern Ukrainian and Anglo-
American authors were taken for translation
(Lina Kostenko, Oksana Zabuzhko, Halyna
Tarasiuk, Ken Kesey, Daniel Keyes, Ray
Bradbury, Rachel Abbott).
2.
Ability to convey
artistic means: idioms,
wordplay, metaphors,
expressive figures, etc.
max 50 points
3.
Adherence to the
author’s style and
conveying the cultural
features of the era
through verbal means.
max 50 points
Total: maximum 1,000 points.
Source: created by the authors
Data Analysis
The data about each respondent of the study was
entered in Google Sheets. A data bank was
created for each respondent. A general table of
results of participants in the control and
experimental groups was created on its basis. The
interpretation was carried out both according to
each separate group of indicators (general
competences and specific skills of translating
texts according to language styles), and in
general within the maximum 1,000 points. The
table of interpretation within 1000 points is
presented below (Table 2).
Table 2.
Data interpretation table
Item No.
Range of points
Relevant quality level
1.
1-340
Critically low level
2.
350-590
Unsatisfactory
3.
600-630
Sufficient
4.
640-740
Satisfactory
5.
750-810
Good
6.
820-890
Very good
7.
900-100
Excellent
Source: created by the authors
The authors referred to the ECTS scale in a
proportional ratio during the distribution of
points by level.
Tools
Empirical research was conducted using general
scientific and special methods. As for the latter,
the method of independent expert evaluations,
computer assisted testing (using tests with open-
ended and closed questions, writing creative
works), interviews, and mathematical and
statistical methods of processing the results were
applied.
Such tool as computer testing at Formative –
https://goformative.com/ were involved (to
determine the level of Ukrainian and English
proficiency - tests from the Ukrainian Centre for
Educational Quality Assessment were integrated
into the software) was used to conduct the
research. Machine translation of texts was carried
out using the optional available in Google
Translate. The students worked with their texts in
Google Docs in the research participants’
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accounts. Google Forms and Google Sheets were
used to collect and record data. The statistics was
processed using Microsoft Office package.
Ethical Criteria
All participants of the experiment were informed
about the essence, structure and content of the
study. The participants of the experimental group
agreed to use their classroom time and partially
work outside the classroom time using the
method of translation transformations.
Additional weekly consultations were also held
as part of the experiment, to which students
agreed to come on a voluntary basis. There were
also regular meetings with professional
translators. Since all this required additional time
and effort, the students signed a voluntary
consent to participate in the research. Students of
the control group mastered translation techniques
according to the usual programme of the Written
Translation Techniques course.
Results
The following data were obtained in the
experimental group as a result of the final
diagnostics according to the model developed by
the authors (Table 3).
Table 3.
Averaged results of the final diagnostics of written translation skills in different language styles in the
experimental group
Criterion No.
Criterion name
Average number of points for
the group
І. GENERAL (BASIC) COMPETENCIES
1.
General level of foreign language proficiency
79.8
2.
General level of native language proficiency
88.5
3.
Foreign Language Communicative Competence Test
81.9
4.
The speed of work on the translation, the timely delivery of
completed assignments and their completeness
42.7
5.
Text editing after machine translation
44.4
Total: 337.3
ІІ. TECHNICAL TEXTS
1.
Terminological correspondence
39.0
2.
Conformity to DBN (State Building Regulations), DSTU
(State Standards of Ukraine), GOST (International
Technical Standards), SNiP (Building Code), ASTM,
ASME, DIN, ISO
37.2
3.
General consistency of style, selection of appropriate
emotionally neutral tokens, and clarity of syntax
37.9
Total: 114.1
ІІІ. SCIENTIFIC TEXTS
1.
Terminological correspondence (consistency of the
glossary, relevance of terms).
41.3
2.
Literacy of scientific translation.
43.4
3.
General consistency of style, selection of appropriate
emotionally neutral tokens, and clarity of syntax
44.8
Total: 129.5
ІV. JOURNALISTIC TEXTS
1.
Correspondence of the denotative part
42.3
2.
Correspondence of the expressive part
39.4
3.
General conformity of style, accuracy of translation of titles,
lexemes and syntax, expressive and stylistic adaptation
43.8
Total: 125.5
V. ARTISTIC TEXTS
1.
Preservation of the form, structure, content, mood of the
original text
40.1
2.
Ability to convey artistic means: idioms, wordplay,
metaphors, expressive figures, etc.
38.3
3.
Adherence to the author’s style and conveying the cultural
features of the era through verbal means.
42.6
Total: 121.0
TOTAL: 827.4 – Quality level “Very good”
Source: created by the authors
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Qualitative percentage interpretation of data by
general competencies and language styles gave the following averaged results for the
experimental group (Table 4).
Table 4.
Qualitative percentage interpretation of data by language styles (experimental group)
Criterion
Maximum possible number of
points
Actual number of
points %
% of success
І. General (basic)
competencies
400.0
337.3
84.3%
ІІ. Technical texts
150.0
114.1
76.1%
ІІІ. Scientific texts
150.0
129.5
86.3%
ІV. Journalistic texts
150.0
125.5
83.6%
V. Artistic texts
150.0
121.0
80.6%
Total:
1000.0
827.4
82.7%
Source: created by the authors
We can draw a conclusion from the chart
presented below about the difficulty of teaching
written translation by the method of translation
transformations according to language styles
(Figure 1).
The high performance in the application of
translation transformations for learning the
written translation of scientific texts can be
explained by the fact that the students were given
the texts of the philological field for translation
in which they are most competent. A key
objective of this study is to compare the results
of the experimental and control groups. This will
be the ground for further conclusions about the
effectiveness of the application of translation
transformations in different styles of the English
language for teaching written translation. Table 5
presents the results of the final diagnostics of the
written translation skills of respondents of the
control group.
Figure 1. Performance in work on written translations in the experimental group (by language styles).
Source: created by the authors
76,10%
80,60%
83,60%
86,30%
70,00%
72,00%
74,00%
76,00%
78,00%
80,00%
82,00%
84,00%
86,00%
88,00%
Technical texts Artistic texts Journalistic texts Scientific texts
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Table 5.
Averaged results of the final diagnostics of written translation skills in different language styles in the
control group
Criterion
No.
Criterion name
Average number of points for
the group
І. GENERAL (BASIC) COMPETENCIES
1.
General level of foreign language proficiency
73.1
2.
General level of native language proficiency
89.7
3.
Foreign Language Communicative Competence Test
76.9
4.
The speed of work on the translation, the timely delivery of
completed assignments and their completeness
37.2
5.
Text editing after machine translation
39.3
Total: 316.2
ІІ. TECHNICAL TEXTS
1.
Terminological correspondence
36.2
2.
Conformity to DBN (State Building Regulations), DSTU
(State Standards of Ukraine), GOST (International Technical
Standards), SNiP (Building Code), ASTM, ASME, DIN, ISO
32.1
3.
General consistency of style, selection of appropriate
emotionally neutral tokens, and clarity of syntax
35.8
Total: 104.1
ІІІ. SCIENTIFIC TEXTS
1.
Terminological correspondence (consistency of the glossary.
relevance of terms)
37.5
2.
Literacy of scientific translation
38.0
3.
General consistency of style. selection of appropriate
emotionally neutral tokens. and clarity of syntax
40.1
Total: 115.6
ІV. JOURNALISTIC TEXTS
1.
Correspondence of the denotative part
35.1
2.
Correspondence of the expressive part
36.3
3.
General consistency of style. the accuracy of the title
translation. lexemes and syntax. expressive and stylistic
adaptation
39.9
Total: 111.3
V. ARTISTIC TEXTS
1.
Preservation of the form, structure, content, mood of the
original text
35.5
2.
Ability to convey artistic means: idioms, wordplay,
metaphors, expressive figures, etc.
34.7
3.
Adherence to the author’s style and conveying the cultural
features of the era through verbal means
37.2
Total: 107.4
TOTAL: 754.6 – Quality level “Good”
Source: created by the authors
The comparison of the results of Tables 3 and 5
revealed that the difference between the control
and experimental groups is not so significant at
the level of general translation competences. It is
only 21.1 points, which is equivalent to 2.1% in
quality indicators. So, this testifies to the
effectiveness of the method of intensive study of
the translation transformation techniques to
improve the quality of translations of texts of the
relevant styles.
The chart below shows the percentage
differences between the final indicators of
students of the control and experimental groups
(Figure 2).
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Figure 2. Comparison chart of the results of the final diagnostics. Source: created by the authors
So, the final diagnostics showed that the
intensive application of the method of translation
transformations during the classes and out of
classes with the students of the experimental
group helped to achieve a level of
professionalism in the written translation of texts
of different styles, which corresponds to the
quality level of “Very good”. However, it should
be noted that the overall result of 827.4 points is
almost the very beginning of the “Very good”
range (820-890 points) according to the data
interpretation scale that we developed. At the
same time, written translation in the control
group was taught traditionally, not excluding the
method of translation transformations, but not
emphasizing it either. The result in the control
group is 754.6 points, which corresponds to the
quality level of “Good”. It should also be noted
that this is the lower bar of the range (750-810
points) according to the gradation presented in
Table 2.
Discussion
The basis of the research idea is the thesis that all
the quality criteria of the translation defined in
the diagnostic model in all four language styles
involved directly depend on the ability to use
translation transformations. The results of the
final diagnostics mostly confirm this thesis.
However, the qualitative difference between the
overall results of proficiency in written
translation between the control and experimental
groups was 7.3% in favour of the experimental
group. Although this difference is not too
significant, it clearly indicates the potential of
effectiveness in the further application of the
method of translation transformations in different
language styles when building students’ written
translation skills.
It is also necessary to take into account
qualitative percentage differences when
evaluating proficiency in the written translation
of texts of different styles. As for general (basic)
competencies, the difference is 5.2%, in technical
texts – 6.7%, scientific texts – 9.6%, journalistic
texts – 9.4%, artistic texts – 9.0%, everywhere in
favour of experimental group students.
Therefore, the method of translation
transformations worked most effectively for
building translation competences in scientific
texts. Attention should also be paid to the
effectiveness of text editing techniques after
machine translation (Carrasco Flores, 2021; Jia
et al., 2019). The difference between the groups
in this aspect was 10.2% in favour of the
experimental group.
It is worth noting that future translators have
different competencies for oral and written
translations (Kenny, 2019; Kress, 2019). This
confirms the importance of targeted teaching of
written translation (Kiraly & Massey, 2019) with
particular emphasis on the peculiarities of the
translator’s work with texts of different styles
(Baynham & Lee, 2019; Venuti, 2019). The
traditional approach is to gradually teach
students how to translate and interpret. First,
students practice translating texts from a foreign
language into their native language, then from
their native language into a foreign language.
84,30%
76,10%
86,30% 83,60% 80,60%
79,10%
69,40%
76,70% 74,20% 71,60%
0,00%
10,00%
20,00%
30,00%
40,00%
50,00%
60,00%
70,00%
80,00%
90,00%
100,00%
І. General (basic)
competencies ІІ. Technical texts ІІІ. Scientific texts ІV. Journalistic
texts V. Artistic texts
Experimental group Control group
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And at the generalization stage, students are
taught to translate two ways (Anderson et al.,
2020; Desjardins, 2021). This logic was followed
when teaching the Technique of Written
Translation course.
It is also worth noting that most European
universities pay special attention at the first stage
of translator training to general translation
competences with the possibility of
specialization in a certain field at subsequent
stages (Darby, 2019; Zuparova et al., 2020). This
means that students first acquire common
competencies in order to later develop the most
necessary professional skills (Solari et al., 2020;
Wang et al., 2020). But translator training in
Ukraine today differ significantly from the
typical practice of European countries, where
translators are trained immediately with a
particular specialization (technical, engineering,
medical, etc.) in special educational institutions
and according to specifically developed
educational and professional programmes.
Unfortunately, this practice almost does not exist
in Ukraine. HEIs of Ukraine mainly train foreign
philologists with wide employment
opportunities: in the field of education (teacher,
lecturer in HEIs, researcher) or the translation
niche (mostly this is an educational programme
035.041 Germanic Languages and Literature
(translation included). We believe that the
training of translators in Ukraine requires the
integration of world practice. Moreover, the
demand for translation activities in Ukraine will
grow in the future with the expansion of the
country’s European integration ties. Such a
reform will make it possible to pay more
attention to training translation skills, in
particular written translation. This will create a
favourable space for wider application of the
method of translation transformations.
The conducted research has significant
theoretical and practical implications. The
unique potential of written translation skills
through the use of translation transformations
was theoretically substantiated and proved. This
is currently the area of translation activity that
cannot be compensated even by artificial
intelligence programmes at the current stage of
software development. The need for special
practical training of translation transformations
for each language style was proved, because
translation transformations have a narrow
specification. The practical implications of the
study give an idea of the procedure and predicted
consequences of applying a similar research
algorithm with the involvement of a different
group of respondents (among foreign philology
students). The practical implications also involve
the need to improve the developed training model
to improve the translation skills of the students of
the experimental groups.
Conclusions
So, the authors of the article proved the
effectiveness of translation transformations in
different styles of the English language for
teaching written translation in the course of
thorough experimental study. This somewhat
compensated for the lack of articles and
empirical studies in this direction identified
during the literature review on the subject. The
algorithm for the integration of the method of
translation transformations requires a separate
printed manual, so it is briefly presented in the
article. In general, the method of translation
transformations requires close cooperation
between students and teachers, the involvement
of professional translators, high motivation of
students, and high translation and pedagogical
professionalism from the teaching staff.
The presented diagnostic model covers most of
the important aspects when working on
translations of texts of different language styles.
The points of working with texts that require
special attention can be focused on according to
the included criteria. The general conclusion can
be related to the opinion that it is impossible to
become a professional translator qualified in all
translation areas in a short period of study. A
specification is usually required for translators,
followed by the acquisition of practical
experience in a certain direction of translations.
However, the method of translation
transformations when teaching written
translation in different speech styles is valuable
for understanding the translator’s work in the
digitalization environment. A competent
translator can qualitatively correct a machine
translation and be the only subject of translation
activity without alternative, capable of covering
all aspects of working with a text to be translated.
Especially when it comes to such dissimilar
languages as Ukrainian and English, and the need
for cultural, grammatical, lexical, etc. adaptation
of texts.
Further research on the issue may have a
narrower and therefore deeper focus. For
example, to refer to the method of translation
transformations for learning the written
translation of a particular language style.
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