The psalms, poetic worksof the Roman poets Ovid, Martail and of the French Renaissance poet Scaliger were often translated at the Academy as well.
A considerable intensification was witnessed in Ukrainian translation during the 17th century, which could have been influenced by the activities in the Kyiv Mohyla Academy(1632). In the first half of the 17th century there appeared the translations from the Greek (by Slilskyi and Nalyvaiko), from the Latin (by Sakovych).These translations were of high quality and were mostly free adaptations.
35. Criteria for Translation Classification Though the basic characteristics of translation can be observed in all translation events we should single out different types of translation depending on the predominant communicative function of the ST or the form of speech involved in the translation process – communicative classification of translation. In consistence with the communicative classification of translations we may distinguish between literary and informative translation on the one hand, and between written and oral translation (or interpretation), on the other hand. Literary translation deals with literary texts, i.e. works of fiction or poetry; their main function is to produce an emotional or aesthetic impression upon the reader. Their communicative value depends, first and foremost, on their artistic quality and the translator’s primary task is to reproduce this quality in the translation. Informative translation deals with rendering into the TL nonliterary texts, the main purpose of which is to convey a certain amount of ideas, to inform the reader. We should bear in mind that sometimes this classifications is very approximate since a literary text may in fact include some parts of purely informative character and informative translation may comprise some elements aimed at achieving an aesthetic effect.
36. Communicative Classification of Translation Though the basic characteristics of translation can be observed in all translation events we should single out different types of translation depending on the predominant communicative function of the ST or the form of speech involved in the translation process – communicative classification of translation. In consistence with the communicative classification of translations we may distinguish between literary and informative translation on the one hand, and between written and oral translation (or interpretation), on the other hand. Literary translation deals with literary texts, i.e. works of fiction or poetry; their main function is to produce an emotional or aesthetic impression upon the reader. Their communicative value depends, first and foremost, on their artistic quality and the translator’s primary task is to reproduce this quality in the translation. Informative translation deals with rendering into the TL nonliterary texts, the main purpose of which is to convey a certain amount of ideas, to inform the reader. We should bear in mind that sometimes this classifications is very approximate since a literary text may in fact include some parts of purely informative character and informative translation may comprise some elements aimed at achieving an aesthetic effect.
37. Genre Classification of Translation Literary works are known to fall into a number of genres thus another type of classification of translations will be genre classification. Translators of prose, poetry, plays have their own problems. Each of these forms of literary activities comprises a number of subgenres and the translator may specialize in one or some of them in accordance with his talents and experience. The translator of a belles-lettres text is expected to make a careful study of the literary trend the ST belongs to, the other works of the same author, the peculiarities of his style, manner, etc. A number of subdivisions can be also suggested for informative translations, though the principles of classification here are somewhat different. Here we may single out translation of scientific and technical texts, of newspaper materials, official papers and some other types of texts such as public speeches, advertisements, etc. In technical translation the main goal is to identify the situation described in the original. There is a great challenge to the translator who must have a very good command of the technical terms and a sufficient understanding of the subject matter to be able give an adequate description of the situation even if it is not highly achieved in the original. The technical translator should also observe the stylistic requirements of scientific and technical materials to make the text acceptable to the specialist. English newspaper reports differ greatly due to the frequent use of the colloquial, slang and vulgar elements, various paraphrases, eye-catching headlines, etc. Apart from technical and newspaper materials it may be necessary to single out translation of official diplomatic papers as a separate type of informative translation. These are very important documents every word of which must be carefully chosen as a matter of principle. That makes the translator very particular about every little meaningful element of the ST which he scrupulously reproduces in translation. Journalistic (or publisistic texts dealing with social or political matters are sometimes singled out among other informative materials because they may feature elements more commonly used in literary texts (stylistic devices) which cannot but influence the translator’s strategy. There are also some minor groups of texts that can be considered separately because of the specific problems their translation poses to the translator. They are commercial advertisementcomic scripts, film scripts, and the like. In dealing with commercial advertisements he must bear in mind that their sole purpose is to win over the prospective customers. Translating the captions in a comic strip, the translator will have to consider the numerous allusions to the facts well-known to the regular readers of comics but less familiar to the Ukrainian readers. In dubbing a film the translator is limited in his choice of variants by the necessity to fit the pronunciation of the translated words to the movements of the actor’s lips.
38. Psycholinguistic Classification of Translation The third type of classification is psycholinguistic classification according to which translations are subdivided into written or oral. The interpreter rendering his translation by word of mouth may have the text of the original in front of him and translate it “at sight”. A written translation can be made of the original recorded on the tape that can be replayed as many types as necessary for the translator to grasp the original meaning.
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