Definitions of Translation

Dr. Rudi Hartono, M.Pd.

Definition 1 (Nida, 1969: 12)

• “Translation consists of reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalence of the source language message, first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style.”

Definition 2 (Catford, 1978: 20)

• “Translation is the replacement of textual material in one language (SL) by equivalent textual material in another language (TL).”

• “Translation is transferring the meaning of the source language into the receptor language. This is done by going from the form of the first language to the form of a second language by way of semantic structure. It is meaning which is being transferred and must be held constant.”

Definition 3 (Larson, 1984: 3)

• “Translation is rendering the meaning of a text into another language in the way that the author intended the text.”

Definition 4 (Newmark, 1988: 5)

• “Translation involves the transfer of ‘meaning’ contained in one set of language signs into another set of language through competent use of the dictionary and grammar, the process involves a whole set of extralinguistic criteria also.”

Definition 5 (Hawkes in Basnett-McGuire ,1991:13)

• “Translation is the replacement of a representation of a text in one language by a representation of an equivalent text in a second language.”

Definition 6 (Sperber and Wilson in Bell (1991:6))

Definition 7 (Toury in James, 2000)

• “Translation is a kind of activity which inevitably involves at least two languages and two cultural traditions.”

Definition 8 (Steiner in Choliludin, 2006: 5)

• “Translation can be seen as (co) generation of texts under specific constraints that is relative stability of some situational factors and, therefore, register, and classically, change of language and (context of) culture.”

Thank you