Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 2002. Vol. 3. Eger Journal of English Studies.(Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 29)
Albert Péter Vernes: Translation as Interpretation
TRANSLATION AS INTERPRETATION 139 no serious damage occurs —unless, of course, (4) will later be needed as part of the context. 5 Conditions and Corollaries of Direct Translation The notion of direct translation, however, sheds light on some important points. First of all, complete interpretive resemblance can only be aimed at if the translator herself is capable of performing a thorough interpretation of the original. If this condition is not fulfilled, then the translation cannot even purport to be direct, in the true sense of the term. What this entails is the requirement for the translator to be thoroughly familiar with not only the two languages but also with the two cultures (cultural contexts) in question. Second, direct translation may serve as a useful means of familiarising the target audience with the source culture by communicating to him the original informative intention. On the other hand, the originally intended interpretation, as we have seen, is only communicable in the original context, which entails that the target audience needs to have, or seek, access to all of this contextual background information. This means that the translator has to look for ways to provide such information and it also points to the fact that direct translation in many cases requires some extra effort on the part of the audience as well, in the hope of gaining a full understanding of the original message. One might see some contradiction in that direct translation presupposes the availability of the original context and that, at the same time, the target reader may be expected to make an effort in accessing this context. I do not, however, see this as a problem. Direct translation presupposes the original context in the sense that complete interpretive resemblance cannot be achieved in a different context and thus the translator, aiming at direct translation, is bound to suppose that the target text will be processed by the reader in the original context. It is a different question whether the target reader is in fact able to access this context (that is, whether it is part of his cognitive environment) and if not, whether he is willing to exert some effort to that effect. For this to happen, the reader needs to be aware of the necessity of this effort, that is, he needs to know that what he is reading is a translation, and a translation which was produced with the aim of reproducing the original informative intention (message) in full.
