Theoretical, methodological and terminological issues regarding indirect translation: An overview

Abstract

The practice of indirect translation (ITr), here understood as a translation of a translation (see Gambier 1994, 413; 2003, 57), has a long-standing history (e.g. the Bible, I Ching, Shakespeare translation or the activity of the so-called Toledo School), widespread use in various areas of today's society (e.g. audiovisual, computer-assisted and literary translation, localization) and, arguably, a promising future (e.g. due to globalization and the increasingly high number of working languages in international organizations, which entails editing documents via the linguae francae). Despite all this, ITr has traditionally attracted only marginal attention from translation scholars and only in recent years has it become a more popular concept in translation studies (TS) research. This growing popularity is evident from the noticeable surge in the number of scientific publications (see Pięta 2017, in this special issue) and academic events (e.g. those held in Barcelona, Germersheim and Lisbon in 2013), as well as the founding in 2016 of an international network of researchers working on ITr (IndirecTrans, www.indirectrans.com). Such developments have made a significant contribution by, for example, challenging the conventional binarism in the study of translation or offering insights into the historiography of intercultural relationships and the complex role of intermediary centres in the cross-cultural transfer between peripheries. However, ITr research remains very fragmented and this concept is thus still largely undertheorized, and its position within TS still marginal. Research has not kept pace with the rapidly evolving practice. In an effort to overcome this fragmentation, launch this area of research from a scientific basis and accelerate the production of (a common core of) knowledge, this special issue will shed light on the state of the art of research on ITr, expand/challenge current understanding of this practice and reflect on future research avenues. Our focus is on conceptual, terminological and methodological issues. Claims, assumptions and motivations Before addressing the main terminological, theoretical and methodological issues, it may be useful to identify claims, assumptions and motivations regarding indirect translation. It is said to be a common practice. Given an apparently still predominant demand for closeness to the source text (ST), ITr tends to be negatively evaluated because it arguably increases the distance to the ultimate ST and, therefore, is often hidden or camouflaged.

Relay Translation of Traditional Javanese Advices From Butir-ButirBudaya Jawa’s Book

“…[32], [33], has opinion that "relay translation is the translation of translated text (either spoken or written) into a third language". Meanwhile, [1] states that "any translation mediated by another translation".From those definitions, we may concluded that a relay translation is a translation of a translation; a double translation which is involved three languages differs.…”

“…Meanwhile, [38] call it as second hand translation. This following experts deals to call it as relay translation [2], [3], [32], [26], [1], and [33]. "mediated translation" [24], "double translation" [5], and "retranslation" [13].…”

From French into Malay via English: The Indirect Translation of Henri Fauconnier’s Malaisie into Malay

“…Indirect translation has only recently been given proper attention by translation scholars, as seen in the number of important publications relating to indirect translation in recent years (see Assis Rosa, Pięta and Maia 2017;Ivaska and Paloposki 2018;Marin-Lacarta 2017;Pięta 2014;Pięta 2017). For the most part, an indirect translation is often seen in a negative light, primarily because it is produced not from the original source text but based on an intermediary text which is a translation of the source text.…”

“…A text which is not translated directly from the source text but is instead translated based on an intermediary text which is itself a translation from the source text is referred to as an indirect translation. An indirect translation, abbreviated to "ITr" by Assis Rosa, Pięta and Maia (2017), can thus be defined as "a translation of a translation" (Assis Rosa, Pięta and Maia 2017, 113) or "translation into Language C based on a translation into Language B of a source text in Language A" (Landers 2001, 34). The fact that indirect translation involves three different texts in three different languages is also underlined by Kittel and Frank (1991, 3), who define indirect translation as "the translation based on a source (or sources) which is itself a translation into a language other than the language of the original, or the target language".…”

Przekłady niebezpośrednie w polsko-włoskich relacjach literackich w dwudziestym wieku. Rekonesans zagadnienia

“…W niniejszym tekście przyjmuję szeroką definicję przekładu niebezpośredniego jako "translacji translacji" (Assis Rosa, Pięta, Bueno Maia 2017: 119-121), która nie wskazuje liczby języków biorących udział w procesie przekładu, a zatem jednym z jego etapów może być przekład wewnątrzjęzykowy (por. klasyfikacja typologiczna przekładu niebezpośredniego w: Assis Rosa, Pięta, Bueno Maia 2017: 121-122 i Washbourne 2013. Takie ujęcie umożliwia włączenie w obszar rozważań zarówno translacji przygotowywanych na podstawie przekładu filologicznego na język docelowy, efektów pracy dwujęzycznych zespołów tłumaczy, która z reguły polega na przygotowaniu wstępnej wersji w języku docelowym przez użytkownika języka źródłowego i negocjowaniu przez obu tłumaczy ostatecznego kształtu tekstu w serii prze-pisań (Zaboklicka 2013), jak również wszelkich translacji kompilacyjnych, łączących na różne sposoby tłumaczenie wewnątrz-i międzyjęzykowe.…”