TRANSFERENCE

Transference (emprunt, loan word, transcription) is the process of transferring a SL word to a TL text as a
translation procedure. It is the same as Catford's transference, and includes transliteration, which
relates to the conversion of different alphabets: e.g. Russian (Cyrillic), Greek, Arabic, Chinese, etc- into
English, The word then becomes a 'loan word'. Some authorities deny that this is a translation
procedure, but no other termis appropriate if a translator decides to use an SL word for his text, say for
English and the relevant language, decor, ambiance, Schadenfreude; the French diplomatic words: coup
d'etat, detente, coup, attentat, demarche; dachshund, samovar, dacha, or for German Image, Job, *last
but not least*. However, when the translator has to decide whether or not to transfer a word unfamiliar
in the target language, which in principle should be a SL cultural word whose referent is peculiar to the
SL culture (see Chapter 9), then he usually complements it with a second translation procedure - the two
procedures in harness are referred to as a 'couplet. Generally, only cultural'objects or concepts related
to a small group or cult should be transferred; the vogue for transferring so called "national
characteristics' {Gemiittichkeit, machismo, dotce vita) should be abandoned. Needless to say, in
principle, the names of SL objects, inventions, devices, processes to be imported into the TL community
should be creatively, preferably 'authoritatively', translated, if they are neologisms, although brand
names have to be transferred. It is nor the translator's job to assist any SL advertiser's financial, national
or personal prestige interests. At the same time, one cannot be rigid or dogmatic. The media, the
experts, will be transferring words whether the translators like it or not. Perhaps when the translator's
professional status is raised, they will not be transferring so many. The following are normally
transferred: names of all living (except the Pope and one or two royals) and most dead people;
geographical and topographical names including newly independent countries such as (le) Zaire, Malawi,
unless they already have recognised translations (see Naturalisation below); names of periodicals and
newspapers; titles of as yet untranslated literary works, plays, films; names of private companies and
institutions; names of public or nationalised institutions, unless they have recognised translations; street
names, addresses, etc. (rue Thaibaut\ l in the Rue Thaibaut'). In all the above cases, a similar type of
readership is assumed andt where appropriate, a culturally-neutral TL third term, i.e. a functional
equivalent, should be added, In regional novels and essays (and advertisements, e.g., gites), cultural
words are often transferred to give local colour, to attract the reader, to give a sense of intimacy
between the text and the reader - sometimes the sound or the evoked image appears attractive. These
same words have to be finally translated in non-literary texts (e.g. on agriculture, housing) if they are
likely to remain in the TL culture and/or the target language. There are often problems with the
translation of "semi-cultural words, that is abstract mental words which are associated with a particular
period, country or individual e.g., lmaximalism\ 'Enlightenment', Sartre's 'nothing-ness (neam) or
Heidegger's Dasein. In principle, such words should first be translated, with, if necessary, the transferred
word and the functional equivalent added in brackets, until you are confident that your readership
recognises and understands the word-Unfortunately such terms are often transferred for snob reasons;
'foreign' is posh, the word is untranslatable. But the translator's role is to make people understand ideas
(objects are not so important), not to mystify by using vogue-words. Freud's formidable key-terms may
have been mistranslated, but at least they were translated. The argument in favour of transference is
that it shows respect for the SL country's culture- The argument against it is that it is the translator's job
to translate, to explain
NATURALISATION
This procedure succeeds transference and adapts the SL word first to the normal pronunciation, then to
the normal morphology (word-forms) of the TL, e.g. Edimbourgh, humeur, redingote, thatcherisme.
Note, for German, Performanz, aitrakiiv, Exhalation.

CULTURAL EQUIVALENT
This is an approximate translation where a SL cultural word is translated by a TL cultural word; thus
baccalauriai is translated as '(the French) "A" level', or Abitur (MatUTa) as '(the German/Austrian) "A'
level ; Palais Bourbon as '(the French) Westminster ; Montecitorio as '(the Italian) Westminster';
charcuterie - 'delicatessen' (now English 'deli ); notaire - Solicitor'. The above are approximate cultural
equivalents- Their translation uses are limited, since they are not accurate, but they can be used in
general texts, publicity and propaganda, as well as for brief explanation to readers who are ignorant of
the relevant SL culture. They have a greater pragmatic impact than culturally neutral terms.
Occasionally, they may be purely functionally, hardly descriptively, equivalents, e,g., le cyclisme,
'cricket , 'baseball'; 'tea break , cafe-pause; carte a"'identity, 'car licence'. Functional cultural equivalents
are even more restricted in translation, but they may occasionally be usedif the term is of little
importance in a popular article or popular fiction. They are important in drama, as they can create an
immediate effect. 'He met her in the pub * -III' a retrouvee dans le cafe. Or again, vingt mitres derriire lui
- 'twenty yards behind him*. However, the main purpose of the procedure is to support or supplement
another translation procedure in a couplet,

FUNCTIONAL EQUIVALENT
This common procedure, applied to cultural words, requires the use of a culture-free word, sometimes
with a new specific term; it therefore neutralises or generalises the SL word; and sometimes adds a
particular thus: baccalauriat - Trench secondary school leaving exam'; Sejm - 'Polish parliament ; 'Roget'
- dictionnaire ideologique anglais. This procedure, which is a cultural componential analysis, is the most
accurate way of translating i.e. deculturalising a cultural word. A similar procedure is used when a SL
technical word has no TL equivalent, Thus the English term 'cot death' translates as mart subite d'un
nourrissoni although the components 'unexpected* and 'without known reason are here omitted from
the French. This procedure occupies the middle, sometimes the universal, area between the SL language
or culture and the TL language or culture. If practised one to one, it is an under-translation (e.g.
d^gringoler as 'tumble'). If practised one to two, it may be an over-translation. For cultural terms, it is
often combined with transference: tattle> as 'a tax on the common people before the French
Revolution, or taille\ I refer to the combination of two translation procedures for one unit as a 'couplet'

DESCRIPTIVE EQUIVALENT
In translation, description sometimes has to be weighed against function. Thus for machete, the
description is a 'Latin American broad, heavy instrument , the function is 'cutting or aggression ;
description and function are combined in 'knife. Samurai is described as 'the Japanese aristocracy from
the eleventh to the nineteenth century*; its function was *to provide officers and administrators',
Description and function arc essential elements in explanation and therefore in translation. In
translation discussion, function used to be neglected; now it tends to be overplayed
SYNONYMY
I use the word 'synonym in the sense of a near TL equivalent to an SL word in a context, where a precise
equivalent may or may not exist. This procedure is used for a SL word where there is no clear one-to-one
equivalent, and the word is not important in the text, in particular for adjectives or adverbs of quality
(which in principle are 'outside' the grammar and less important than other components of a sentence):
thus personne gentille, 'kind' person; conte piquant, 'racy story'; 'awkward' or 'fussy', difficile; 'puny
effort, effort faible. A synonym is only appropriate where literal translation is not possible and because
the word is not important enough for componential analysis. Here economy precedes accuracy. A
translator cannot do without synonymy; he has to make do with it as a compromise, in order to
translate more important segments of the text, segments of the meaning, more accurately. But
unnecessary use of synonyms is a mark of many poor translations.

THROUGH-TRANSLATION
The literal translation of common collocations, names of organisations, the components of compounds
(e.g. 'superman , Ubermmsch) and perhaps phrases (compliments de fa saison^ 'compliments of the
season'), is known as caique or loan translation. I prefer the more transparent term 'through-
translation'. In theory, a translator should not 'initiate' a through-translation. In fact, through-
translations in contiguous cultures sometimes fill in useful gaps, and perhaps it is time that 'Good
appetite , 'through-compose , 'leading motive , 'relaxation (for detente), 'no longer the youngest',
'birthday child*, should finally enter familiar English, The most obvious examples of through-translations
are the names of international organisations which often consist of 'universal* words which may be
transparent for English and Romance languages, and semantkally motivated for Germanic and Slavonic:
e.g., EEC, Communaute'Economique Europeenne, Europdische Wirtschaftsgemeirtschaft (EWG, now
EG)\ European Cultural Convention, Convention culturelle europeenne; groupe d'gtudes, 'study group'
but Arbeitsgruppe; 'working party', commission d'enquexe, Arbeitsausschuss. International
organisations are often known by their acronyms, which may remain English and internationalisms
(UNESCO, UNRRA, FAO) or French FIT (International Federation of Translators), but more often switch in
various Ian-gii^gesaLO^BITi^JAOiGy^UO.OMSiF^WGOiG^NATO.OTANiF), NATO(G)). Translated
brochures, guide-books and tourist material are apt to pullulate with incorrect through-translations:
'highest flourishing', 'programme building', etc., which are evidence of translationese. Normally,
through-translations should be used only when they are already recognised terms,

SHIFTS OR TRANSPOSITIONS
A 'shift* (Catford's term) or 'transposition (Vinay and Darbelnet) is a translation procedure involving a
change in the grammar from SL to TL. One type, the change from singular to plural, e.g. 'furniture'; des
meublest 'applause', des applaudis-sements; 'advice', des consetis; or in the position of the adjective: la
maison blanche, 'the white house' is automatic and offers the translator no choice. A second type of
shift is required when an SL grammatical structure does not exist in the TL. Here there are always
options. Thus for the neutral adjective as subject, I'interessant, e'estque; das Inieressanteist, dafi, V
inieressanteeche . , ., there is a choice of at least: 'What is interesting is that. . .', 'The interesting thing is
that . . .', 'It's interesting that . . ,', The interest of the matter is that. . ,\ (But for French and Italian, it
may be 'valuable' or 'useful' depending on the various contextual factors.) Again the English gerund
('Working with you is a pleasure*) offers many choices. The gerund can be translated by verb-noun (le
travail, die i4rfceir),orasubordinateclause('when,if,etc. I work with you'), with a recast main clause, or, in
some languages, a noun-infinitive (e.g. das Arbeiten, which is formal style), or an infinitive. I think the
gerund is the most neglected of all translator's transpositions, e.g., Wenn Humboldt den Auftrag . , .
erhielt, so warm das mehreren Faktoren zu danken - 'Several factors were responsible for Humboldt's
receiving the commission'. Note also the English 'do' auxiliary, 'do come*: komm dock (or mal)\ viens
done. French has 'venirde* plus the infinitive: il vient de le faire is usually translated by 'recently' or
'just'. Again, Italian's reflexive infinitives (per il precisarsi degli effetti negaiivi, 'by stating the negative
effects', 'when the negative effects are stated'; il suo espandersi, 'its expansion , 'the process of its
expansion'; I'esserci imbattuta in un caso, 'since we have come upon a case', 'the fact that we have
come upon a case') offer several choices. German has active or passive participial constructions which
are normally translated by adjectival clause or non-finite participial clauses. Thus Beijeder sick bietenden
Gelegenheit may be: 'At every opportunity that occurs' or 'At every available opportunity' or 'Whenever
the opportunity occurs or 'At every opportunity' (taking sick bieten as an empty verb). Again, Im Sinn
dervon der Regierung verfolgien Ziele (Wilss, 1982) may be 'In accordance with the aims pursued by the
government', 'In accordance with the aims which che government are pursuing' or 'in accordance with
the government's aims' - ihe three translations indicate a different degree of emphasis.
The third type of shift is the one where literal translation is grammatically possible but may not accord
with natural usage in the TL. Here Vinay and Darbelnet's pioneering book and a host of successors give
their preferred translations, but often fail to list alternatives, which may be more suitable in other
contexts or may merely be a matter of taste. (Grammar, being more flexible and general than lexis, can
normally be more freely handled.) Thus, for SL verb, TL adverb: Notre commerce avec Vetranger n'a
cesse de s'ameliorer, lOur foreign trade has improved steadily (continuously)', 'Our foreign trade has
shown continuous improvement ; II ne tardera pas a rentrer, *He will come back soon', 'He'll be back
(return) in a moment (shortly)'; La situation reste critique, 'The situation is still critical', l The situation
remains critical'. In other cases Vinay and Darbelnet, sometimes rather arbitrarily, offer one out of many
possible translations; there is nothing wrong with this, but they should have stated the fact. The
translator is always concerned with questions of currency and probability, and mere is a great difference
between Des son lever, L as soon as he gets up', where lever shows up an English lexical gap and
therefore the translation has a high degree of probability, and Des qu'on essaie d'etre arbitraire, on est
tout de suite aux prises avec des contradictions, 'Any attempt to be arbitrary at once involves one in
inconsistencies', where ten translators might produce ten different versions, and the semi-literal
translation: 4As soon as one tries to be arbitrary, one is immediately faced with contradictions ought, at
first sight, to be the most probable. But Vinay and Darbelnet's prejudice against literal translation
(admirably discussed in Wilss, 1982) has become notorious and has had a baneful influence on
translation teaching if not translation. Incidentally, the last example contains several transpositions in
Vinay and Darbelnet's version:
(1) SL verb, TL noun (essaie, 'attempt')
(2) SL conjunction, TL indefinite adjective (des que, u any')
(3) SL clause, TL noun group (dis qu'on essaie, 'any attempt')
(4) SL verb group, TL verb {est aux prises, 'involves')
(5) SL noun group, TL noun (des contradictions, 'inconsistencies')
(6) SL complex sentence, TL simple sentence (etc!)
However, the fact that it is not possible to strictly standardise transpositions in the way that Vinay and
Darbelnet do- since so many overlap and convert to lexis (what Catford calls "Level-shifts' e.g.,
apressamorr, 'after she had died'), in noway detracts from their usefulness, and you should become
sensitised to their possibilities. Further, there are a number of standard transpositions from Romance
languages to English which are worth noting even though they all have alternative translations:
(1) SL adjective plus adjectival noun. TI. adverb plus adjective; d'une importance exceptionnelle, *
exceptionally large
(2) SL prepositional phrase, TL preposition: au lerme det 'after' (cf. dans le cadre de, au niveau dey a
['exception de, au depart de)
(3) SL adverbial phrase, TL adverb: d'une maniere bourrue, 'gruffly
(4) SL noun plus adjective of substance, TL noun plus noun: la cellule nerveuse, I nerve cell'
(5) SL verb of motion, with en and present participle of description, TL verb of description plus
preposition (Vinay and Darbelnet's 'criss-cross' transposition): II gagna la/entire en rampant^He crawled
to the window*
(6) SL verb, TL empty verb plus verb-noun: Jtrit, l he gave a laugh'
(7) SL noun plus (empty) past participle or adjectival clause (etc.) plus noun, TL noun plus preposition
plus noun (the 'house on the hill' construction): Le ctfrnp/of^mrdiconrrejui,'the plot against him ; to ^
'the tower on the hill'
(8) SL participial clause (active and passive), TL adverbial clause or (occasionally) group, as in the
following scheme:
The fourth type of transposition is the replacement of a virtual lexical gap by a grammatical structure,
e.g, aprissa sortie^ 'after he'd gone out'; il le cloua au piloriy 'he pilloried him'; ilatteint le total, 'it totals';
'he pioneered this drug*, il a iU Vun des pionniers de ce medicament.
Certain transpositions appear to go beyond linguistic differences and can be regarded as general options
available for stylistic consideration. Thus a complex sentence can normally be converted to a coordinate
sentence, or to two simple sentences: Si lui est aimable, safemme est arrogante - 'He is (may be) very
pleasant, but his wife is arrogant - 'He is pleasant; his wife, however, is arrogant'. This also works the
other way round, although some would say that English, influenced by the King James Bible (Hebrew),
prefers simple or co-ordinate to complex sentences. Again many languages appear to be capricious in
converting active verbs to animate nouns, thus: 'He is a heavy drinker - // boit sec\ La tdche d'un
exdeuteur fidele a"instructions recues - 'The task of someone (one) who faithfully carries out the
instructions they (he) have (has) received (note the attempt to de-sex language); Une
equipedepreleveurs-*A staff icam to take (blood) samples . A group of typical transpositions centre on a
Romance-language subject:
(1) M. Tesniere, grammarien, m'a aide 'M, Tesniere (who was) a grammarian, helped me*
(2) Une fois parti, M* Tesniere . . . 'once (when) he had left, M. Tesniere . . /
(3) Ce livre, intiressant, m'esi venu a t'esprit - 'The hook, which was (as it was, though it was) interesting,
came to my mind'
(4) L'homme,quifaisait. . . - The man doing . . . The last point I want to mention ahout transpositions is
that they illustrate a frequent tension between grammar and stress. To take an example, should you
translate Seine Aussage ist schtechthin unzutreffend by 'His statement is (a) completely false (one)' or
There is absolutely no truth in his statement? My only comment is that too often the word order is
changed unnecessarily, and it is sometimes more appropriate to translate with a lexical synonym, retain
the word order and forgo the transposition in order to preserve the stress. Transposition is the only
translation procedure concerned with grammar, and most translators make transpositions intuitively.
However, it is likely that comparative linguistics research, and analysis of text corpuses and their trans-
lations, will uncover a further number of serviceable transpositions for us.

MODULATION
Vinay and Darbelnet coined the term 'modulation' to define l a variation through a change of viewpoint,
of perspective {eclairage) and very often of category of thought'. Standard modulations such as chateau
d'vau? 'water-tower', are recorded in bilingual dictionaries. Free modulations are-used by translators
'when the TL rejects literal translation', which, by Vinay and Darbemet's criteria, means virtually always.
Further, modulations are divided into eleven rather random categories, whilst the - in my opinion - only
important one, the 'negated contrary' (sic), is not discussed. As I see it, the general concept, since it is a
super-ordinate term covering almost everything beyond literal translation, is not useful as it stands.
However, the 'negated contrary', which I prefer to call ^positive for double negative' (or ^double
negative for positive') is a concrete translation procedure which can be applied in principle to any action
(verb) or quality (adjective or adverb):
11 n'a pas hesite - He acted at once'
// n'est pas lache - He is extremely brave'
You will note that the translations are free, and in theory the double negative is not as forceful as the
positive; in fact the force of the double negative depends on the tone of voice, and therefore the
appropriateness of this modulation must depend on its formulation and the context.
In the few cases where there is a lexical gap in an opposition (e.g. 'shallow'; peu profond), this
modulation is virtually mandatory. In all other sentences the procedure is potentially available, but you
should only use it when the translation is not natural unless you do so. Thus 'minor' collocated with, say,
'detail' seems to call for a translation such as sans importance? unbedeutend, although petit* klein, etc.,
remain as alternatives. Again, L it will not seem unlikely that is perhaps best translated as il est fori
probable que ... In other cases, the procedure is merely a 'candidate* for use, e,g. 'He made it plain to
him' - it ne te tui cacha pas., it le luifit comprendre; 'Men will not always die quietly' (J. M. Keynes) - Les
kommes ne mourront pas toujours sans se piaindre; "no mean city - cite qui n'est pas sans importance; L
no mean performer on the violin' - iljoue superieurement du vioion. Vinay and Darbelnet's second
modulation procedure, 'part for the whole', is rather misleadingly described; it consists of what I can
familiar alternatives, viz, te 14 juillet (fete nationale); Vkomme du 18 juin (De Gaulle); iafille atn4e de
i'Eglise (France); 'Athens of the North' (Edinburgh), The other modulation procedures are:
(a) abstract for concrete ('sleep in the open', dormir a la belle etotle);
(b) cause for effect ('You're quite a stranger', On ne vous voit plus);
(c) one part for another ('from cover to cover', de ia premiere a la derniere page)\
(d) reversal of terms (lebensgefahrlick> danger demort\ n'appelezpasdu has de rescalier, 'don't call up
the stairs'; assurance-maladie, 'health insurance*);
(e) active for passive; (0 space for time ('as this in itself (space) presented a difficulty', l cela presemant
deja (time) une difficulte)\
(g) intervals and limits;
(h) change of symbols.
Of these procedures, 'active for passive' (and vice versa) is a common transposition, mandatory when no
passive exists, advisable where, say, a reflexive is normally preferred to a passive, as in the Romance
languages. Reversal of terms (Nida's 'conversive' terms) is also a distinct procedure, usually optional for
making language sound natural; *buy/selF, 'lend/borrow', hauteur d'eauj depth of water'; for English
'loan' there are alternatives in other languages and cHance translates 'claim* as 'credit* or 'debt'
depending on the point of view.
You will note that though I think Vinay's and Darbelnet's categorisation of modulation unconvincing,
their abundant translation examples are always stimulating.

RECOGNISED TRANSLATION
You should normally use the official or the generally accepted translation of any institutional term. If
appropriate, you can gloss it and, in doing so, indirectly show your disagreement with this official
version. Thus Mitbestimmung (in management) has to be translated first as 'co-determination';
Rechtsstaat as 'constitutional state'. Personally I think 'co-determination' is a poor translation of
Mitbestimmung though it has the virtue of distinctiveness and brevity. (Compare the plainer but
clumsier 'employers' and workers' joint management .) But it is now too late to change the term to
'workers' participation', and if you did so in any official or serious informative text, you would cause
confusion. Similarly, when translating Gay-Lussac's Volumengesetz der Case it is no good giving it your
own title or even a brief explanation; nothing but the accepted term ('law of combining volumes ) will
do.