Strategies of University Training Bachelors of Translation in the Ukrainian Danubian Region

Tetiana Soroka¹

Abstract: The purpose of the article is to identify the practical and theoretical components in the preparation of training programs and courses on the theory and practice of translation, the practice of foreign languages, linguo- cultural studies and disciplines of specialization. When creating practical courses, one should focus on the making the so-called “through programs”, built not only on step-by-step training in language skills, but also on mastering the language culture and traditions. These should be multi-purpose courses focused on achieving the following goals: awareness of the existence of linguistic “pictures” of the world, in particular, of English-speaking countries; understanding of the socio-cultural aspect of learning English, which helps to develop a loyal attitude to the English-speaking culture; understanding the hidden content of the English language as a way of international communication; ability to see differences between native and other cultures (traditions, behavior, etc.) and to perceive them positively; mastering a basic knowledge of socio-cultural values and stereotypes; using socio-cultural knowledge in the process of communication, possession of a sufficient amount of vocabulary on the proposed topic; listening to audio and video materials in order to identify basic information and factual details; preparation for the role of a professional cultural mediator between one’s own culture and the culture of the country of the language being studied, as well as effective solutions to problems of intercultural misunderstanding and conflicts.

Keywords: translation studies; language personality; the language picture of the world; background knowledge; bachelors of translation; competence

1. Problem Statement

The problem of assessing the quality of translation has been the subject of research since the first steps of translation practice as a form of communication between languages and cultures. Statements concerning the requirements for translation and the assessment of its quality can be found in ancient thinkers and in the major writers – philosophers who addressed the problems of translation activity. The problem of assessing the quality of translation is at the same time one of the sides of the problem of assessing the quality and effectiveness of human activity as such, which determines the relevance of the development of methods and technologies for training bachelors of translation.

2. Critical Overview

Translation problems are at the intersection of interdisciplinary researches in cognitive and social linguistics, cultural studies, translation studies, axiology, and other sciences.

Translation studies is the branch of the humanities dealing with the systematic, interdisciplinary study of the theory, the description and the application of translation, interpreting or both these activities. Translation studies can be normative (prescribing rules for the application of these activities) or descriptive.

According to A.D. Belova, the placement of a person in the center of scientific research – the so-called antprofactor – has aroused an increased interest in a number of linguistic problems previously known as the human factor in language, namely, the language personality, the addresser-addressee configuration of the communicative situation, and the language picture of the world (the LPW) (Белова, 2002, p. 18).

The language personality of the translator is a multi-faceted research object, which should be considered taking into account many factors that determine the translation process. When describing the language personality of the translator, the following points should be taken into account: the specificity of the translator’s language personality is determined by the peculiarities of communication between people belonging to different linguo-cultural communities; a characteristic feature of the translator’s language personality is the peculiarity of its cultural identity, which is manifested in the harmonious multiculturality of the translator’s language consciousness; the translator’s linguistic personality is formed as a result of a combination of collective (typical) and individual (idiolect) language personality; the specifics of the discourse that is in demand in a particular translation situation largely determine the characteristics of the translator’s language personality: in accordance with the type of discourse, either creative or logical-conceptual resources of the language consciousness are activated; the language personality of the translator is a carrier of an elite speech culture, which provides for the ability to create an oral or written text of any functional style; the language personality of the translator is characterized by “multi-role”, which is manifested in the ability to act as a carrier of different “floors” of speech culture adequately to the goals and objectives of a given translation situation; the language personality of the translator is sociocentric, since it is formed as a result of performing the social function of the translator of information in intercultural communication. Currently, in the theory of intercultural communication, there is a fairly strong tendency to consider the language personality in terms of the cognitive paradigm, which is reflected in research on translation problems. In recent years, the cognitive model of translation has been intensively developed in translation studies, in which a significant place is given to the study of the cognitive sphere of the translator’s linguistic personality. The language personality of the translator should be characterized by a wide range of individual cultural and cognitive space, an important characteristic of which is dynamism, manifested in the incessant desire to accumulate new information from various areas of human activity and the ability to derive new (often implicit) information based on the cognitive processing of linguistic and extralinguistic material functioning in the translation process. Along with the possession of a rich communicative and speech arsenal, the translator must have a general erudition, a depth of subject and general cultural knowledge, a flexible cognitive mechanism capable of perceiving and assimilating information of any kind. Therefore, one of the most important tasks of training translators should be the formation of an individual cultural and cognitive space that will reflect the main characteristics of the national mentality of the linguistic cultures that contact in the educational process.

The LPW in modern linguistics is often compared to a mirror in which the real world is reflected. However, further development of this problem by scientists shows that the LPW is not more like a mirror, but a self-portrait that the painter creates by looking in the mirror. Thus, the active role of the person in the creation of the LPW is emphasized. Sometimes the LPW is compared to a grid superimposed on our perception, assessment of situations and events (Кубрякова, 1997, p. 49).

We can say that the LPW is the basis of the conceptual picture of the world. The basic concepts, the so-called cultural constants, are normalized in the language and remain immutable. In other concepts that are not universal, such as the concepts of existence, faith, mythology, national specifics are traced; they are marked with a national picture of life. It is the task of cognitive linguistics to show how the same ideas materialize in different languages.

The globalization of world processes, the technologization of the communication space can lead to a change in the LPW and even to their leveling. But, as you know, any language is a form of culture.

In the process of translation, the translator must adapt the author’s communicative attitude to the audience’s communicative attitude from the point of view of cultural diversity. Translation theorists, such as I. Levy (Левый, 1974), believe that the original and the translation perform the same functions in their cultural contexts. The practical problem arises in the different perception of the same phenomena. Pragmatic adaptation, the replacement of associative realities, images, softens the transition from one culture to another. In order to make such an adaptation, the translator needs a certain stock of country-specific background knowledge.

The question of background knowledge is discussed in detail in the book “Language and Culture” by E. M. Vereshchagin and V. G. Kostomarov (Верещагин & Костомаров, 1973). Regional knowledge is “the information available to all members of a particular ethnic or linguistic community” (Верещагин & Костомаров, 1973, p. 126). Such knowledge is part of the national culture, the result of “the historical development of a given ethnic or state community in equal measure” (Верещагин & Костомаров, 1973, p. 135). They “form part of what sociologists call mass culture, that is, they represent information that is certainly known to all members of the national community ...”.

Among the country-specific background knowledge, there is also a part of it that has the property of universal prevalence for a given ethnic group or nationality and is called weighted background knowledge.

It is the weighted background knowledge that is of particular importance in the process of teaching foreign languages, as it is a source of selection and the necessary minimization of the country-specific material for teaching purposes. The authors also distinguish between the macrophon, as a set of regional background knowledge of a given language community, and the mini-background – “the volume of background knowledge that the teacher models in the classroom for the perception of a particular work of fiction” (Верещагин & Костомаров, 1973, p. 165).

Taking into account the theoretical basis of the question, the article aims to consider translation as a multi-valued concept, namely: a tool in learning a foreign language; the process and result of transferring information from one language to another; set of professional knowledge necessary for the bachelors of translation preparing.

3. Purpose of Investigation

The purpose of the proposed article is to identify the practical and theoretical components in the preparation of training programs and courses on the theory and practice of translation, the practice of foreign languages. The materials of the study are some practical problems and recommendations for solving problems that arose empirically in the learning process.

4. Research Course

Translation is a multi-valued concept, since it involves the process and result of transferring information from one language to another, in this article it is planned to consider translation as an area of professional knowledge necessary for preparing the bachelors of translation.

Translation as a means of teaching foreign languages hasn’t an independent position, since it is impossible to teach all aspects of the language in a complex with the help of translation alone. Nevertheless, translation in teaching and learning a foreign language is in many cases the most effective means of achieving the necessary goal both at the initial, intermediate, and advanced stages of mastering language skills.

In traditional training, translation was used in the following cases: when studying abstract lexemes or concepts that are difficult to describe or depict; to avoid distracting students’ attention with long explanations while reading and listening to unfamiliar texts; when checking the correct understanding of the lexical material; when explaining new grammatical and phonetic phenomena that do not exist in the native language; when repeating the lexical material passed in the previous lessons; when studying synonyms/antonyms and demonstrating different shades of meaning; when introducing idiomatic expressions that cannot be explained or learned without the use of translation; before learning the texts by heart; when comparing the expressive means of language; when assessing students’ knowledge in written/oral texts on lexical/grammatical material.

The notion “translation” is part of the broader notion of bilingual communication. The main place in it is occupied by language mediation. If we consider the translation process as a professional task of a bachelor translator, then, as already noted, there is a need to adapt the communicative goal of the author of the original text / message in connection with the diversity of culture.

The uniqueness of the current communicative leap lies in the global bilingualism, most often the native language + English (Кабакчи, 1998, p. 14). The current status of the English language can be described as supralect code corresponding to the culture of the united community. In this regard, the translator is called upon to act as a cultural intermediary.

The structural features and principles of the language are what largely determines how its speakers perceive the world around them and, ultimately, the essence of the entire culture of the people. Linguistics theorist B. Wharf wrote that “speakers of different languages perceive facts and phenomena differently, since these phenomena are expressed and formulated differently in their languages” (Уорф, 1960).

This article offers one of the definitions of culture, which seems to be the most successful in terms of the problem under consideration and the needs of translation training.

Culture is a set of material and spiritual values accumulated by a certain community of people, and those values of one national community that are completely absent in another one or significantly differ from them, make up the national socio-cultural fund, which in one way or another is reflected in the language. It is this part of the culture and this part of the language that it is advisable to study in translation studies in order to better understand the original and reproduce information about these source values in the target text using the language of another national culture (Виноградов, 2001, p. 36).

When creating practical courses, one should focus on the making the so-called “through programs”, built not only on step-by-step training in language skills, but also on mastering the language culture and traditions. These should be multi-purpose courses focused on achieving the following goals: awareness of the existence of linguistic “pictures” of the world, in particular, of English-speaking countries; understanding of the socio-cultural aspect of learning English, which helps to develop a loyal attitude to the English-speaking culture; understanding the hidden content of the English language as a way of international communication; ability to see differences between native and other cultures (traditions, behavior, etc.) and to perceive them positively; mastering a basic knowledge of socio-cultural values and stereotypes; using socio-cultural knowledge in the process of communication, possession of a sufficient amount of vocabulary on the proposed topic; listening to audio and video materials in order to identify basic information and factual details; preparation for the role of a professional cultural mediator between one’s own culture and the culture of the country of the language being studied, as well as effective solutions to problems of intercultural misunderstanding and conflicts.

In practical terms, to achieve these goals, the existing aspects of teaching a practical English course are being modernized. Old textbooks contain a basic set of traditional knowledge, but do not contain cultural knowledge, and do not appeal to the modern needs of the audience. On the other hand, modern textbooks of English and American publishers, which have appeared in abundance in our book market, are often too entertaining and reviewable, without touching the deep layers of vocabulary and grammatical rules. In addition, they are deprived of such an important aspect in language teaching as translation exercises. This is especially evident in the training of translators. Positive developments include the appearance of sections such as Cultural corner in textbooks containing cultural and background information about the countries of the language being studied.

As a way of solving this problem, it seems appropriate to highlight such new aspects as Creative writing, Listening and Critical thinking, and Intercultural communication. In the aspect of “home reading”, the advantage is given to small genres that are part of a common thematic block with other sections. When developing curricula, the principle of continuity and interaction of theoretical and practical disciplines is proposed, the implementation of which is seen in the combination of the use of practical language skills along with theoretical tools.

5. Concluding Remarks

Working on the translation of any text, oral or written, business or scientific, newspaper or fiction, as well as training a professional translator, always remains a creative process. It requires knowledge of comparable languages, certain skills, and an understanding that language is not only a material form of thinking, not only a means of communication, but also the guardian of all that humanity has learned in the entire history of its existence.

The language has absorbed the culture of the people, and therefore one of the main tasks of the translator is to help one’s compatriots to understand other people who have a different language and culture, thus contributing to the dialogue of cultures.

6. Further Research

The prospect of research is to identify the practical and theoretical components in the preparation of training programs and courses on the linguo- cultural studies and disciplines of specialization in translation aspect.

References

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Кубрякова Е.С. (1997). Части речи с когнитивной точки зрения/Parts of speech from a cognitive point of view. Москва : Ин-т языкознания РАН. 331 с.

Левый, Иржи. (1974). Искусство перевода./ The art of translation. Москва : Прогресс. 397 с.

Верещагин, Е.М. & Костомаров, В. Г. (1973). Язык и культура. Лингвострановедение в преподавании русского языка как иностранного/Language and culture. Linguistic and regional studies in teaching Russian as a foreign language. Москва : Изд-во Моск. ун-та. 233 с.

Кабакчи, В. В. (1998). Основы англоязычной межкультурной коммуникации/Basics of English-speaking intercultural communication. Санкт-Петербург: РГПУ им. А.И. Герцена. 232 с.

Уорф, Б. Л. (1960). Лингвистика и логика. Новое в лингвистике/Linguistics and Logic. New in linguistics. Вып. I. Москва : Прогресс. С. 173 – 198.

Виноградов, В. С. (2001). Введение в переводоведение (общие и лексические вопросы). / Introduction to translation studies (general and lexical issues). Москва: Изд-во ин-та общего среднего образования РАО. 224 с.