Extra-linguistic Constraints & Parameters in the Translation Process: A Descriptive Study

Abstract

The translation process at its macro level is seen here as an activity regulated by a number of factors. Translators are not working randomly in their own rights, but rather they work for, and are affiliated to, specific companies, publishing houses, organizations, and the like. These bodies have developed over time certain criteria and descriptions for selecting, representing and consuming the translated materials. As such, when deciding their global strategy, translators and all parties involved in the translation process at its macro level encounter a plethora of constraints and parameters. Some of these constraints and parameters are driven by the text per se while others come from outside, i.e. non-verbal constraints, such as the relationship between the interfacing cultures, the master discourse of translation, the power of patronage, the type of audience, the purpose of translation, generic conventions and discourse constraints.The central focus of this study is to explore the main parameters and constraints faced by translators and all those involved in the translation process. The final shape of the target text is seen here as a result of a process in which translators, and other parties, do their best to accommodate the constraints imposed on them and to adopt what they deem to be an appropriate strategy or strategies. It has been shown that the final shape of the translation is determined not only by the text-driven constraints and parameters imposed on the part of the translator, but by both verbal constraints (i.e. text-driven constraints) and non-verbal constraints, i.e. extra-linguistic constraints. The relationship between constraints and strategies is not a one-to-one relationship, but rather the strategy is sometimes a result of more than one constraint.