I personally advocate of a different school of thought, there’s more into translation than changing words from a language to another.
Dear Parviz,
I find myself questing the need to be a polyglot in order to be a successful translator. I say this because it seems to me there is much more to translating words into a new language. To be successful translator one needs to know the history of the language, the history of its peoples, cultures, beliefs, and traditions. One needs to be able to analyze not just the text but understand the historical epoch in which the piece was written to determine its meaning. I mean to say the translator needs to be skilled in either critical discourse analysis (CDA) or discourse analysis (DA). Needs to understand why this piece was written in this manor or why another piece was written in a completely different style but said the same thing.
Parviz, I am in agreement that a "different school" can possibly produce better/deeper meaning of the text , but I cannot criticize those who are currently employed as translators. I have no experience doing such work. However, I do believe a translator who has the skills mentioned above is in far greater position the become successful translator than the one who does not.
I hope this helps
Douglas
Dear Parviz,
While endorsing the ideas cited by Douglas and Ella, I believe that Multilingualism sharpens the acuity of the mind, which is very much needed in translation . However, by using a simple correlational research taking being a polyglot and the quality of translation as target variables,we can measure the validity of our prediction. I also believe that there is need for the reappraisal of the traditional translation curricula since the objectives for which they have been designed are not met.
Best regards,
R. Biria
Dear Parviz,
@ Reza, Yes, I agree that being multilingual does sharpen the mind. I also would agree that having that skill set is important and does make a difference in the translation from one to another. I just feel to get a better sense as to the "why did the author choose style C over both styles A and B" is a mistake.
In order to gain a better understanding of the text historical context should be a must. For example, if the Huckleberry Finn by Twain was written in 2010 the meaning of the book would be very different than how it is viewed in 2015.
Douglas
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