By Rafael Ferrer Méndez

and Juan Daniel Pérez Vallejo

Translation teachers, University of Cd. Del Carmen, Campeche, Mexico

Writing plays a very important role in any translation. Since a translation happens in a context and implies the transposition of a source text into a target text, this must fulfill the same constraints of an original text written in the target language. (Aksoy 2001)

In translation, a deep knowledge on the source and target language writing system would provide a clear way to decode and properly encode a message. In fact, writing is important for translating, just as important as reading is. Since the former one helps the translator to express the ideas of the source language and the latter one to comprehend the whole message.

Writing should not be understood as a series of words in a page, even when a simple word can work as a complete sentence. It should not be understood as a series of sentences or a series of ideas, but it should be understood as the organization of ideas by means of interjections, words or sentences fixed in a writing system.

If a superficial analysis on the Spanish and English writing system is done, the punctuation aspect would be the first which presents specific as well as notorious differences. For instance, Spanish requires an initial question mark as well as an exclamation mark. In a dialogue, the change of character, in Spanish, is normally introduced by a long hyphen while in English it is introduced by inverted commas or quotations.

On the other hand, there is a sign which is inexistent in the Spanish system and that is the very used one in English, i.e. the apostrophe. Both languages have their own way to call for attention. In Spanish, strange words can be highlighted by quotations, parenthesis or script writing; in English we normally use inverted commas. ( Newmark 1988:171)

In dressing the ideas in sentences, each language organises the words in different form and length. English texts normally have short sentences structured in a passive form and with a compulsory subject/pronoun. Further more, in a very rigid structure. Spanish, on the other hand, uses large sentences, explanatory clauses joined by connectors, using indistinctly active structure or the reflexive passive and a complete omission of pronoun unless for emphasis.

These differences go further, in paragraphing Spanish requires larger paragraphs than English. While a paragraph is quite laconic in English, it is more explicative in Spanish. A paragraph in Spanish normally starts with a verb, a reflexive pronoun or any other element, while in English it almost always starts with a subject, an object, a personal pronoun or a gerund. Stylistically, a paragraph in Spanish is always justified while in English it is not a rule.

However, not everything is difference in both languages, and there are, at least three common elements: agreement, coherence, and cohesion. For a text to be understood it must not lack any of these three elements or it would be weird to the reader, and it would represent a great challenge for a translator to translate the message from the source text into the target text.

As a sum, to properly translate, it is necessary to know both writing systems (English / Spanish), be familiar with similar and different use and usage of punctuation marks, translate ideas instead of words, sentences or structures, but fixed in the appropriate writing constraint, write the whole translation in accordance to the target language system, and 「[e]very translation should sound as if it never existed in a foreign language.」 (Brockbank 2001)

References

Aksoy, Berrin. (2001). 『Translation as a rewriting: the concept and its implications on the emergence of a national literature』. Translation Journal. Vol. 5, No. 3 [On line]. Available at: http://accurapid.com/journal/16prof.htm [Accessed on: April 8,2005]

Brockbank, Eileen. (2001). 『The translator is a writer』. Translation Journal. Vol. 5, No. 2 [On line]. Available at: http://accurapid.com/journal/16prof.htm [Accessed on: April 8,2005]

Newmark, Peter. (1988) Approaches to translation. Cambridge: University Press

寫作與翻譯

寫作在翻譯中扮演著非常重要的角色。由於翻譯即意味著將文章作譯出及譯入的語言轉換，因此翻譯必須符合以譯入語原文寫作的同樣限制。

在翻譯時，對於譯出語及譯入語寫作系統的深厚知識，能夠幫助譯者清楚且適當地將訊息解碼及編碼。在翻譯時，寫作和閱讀一樣重要，寫作幫助譯者傳達原文的想法，閱讀則可幫助譯者理解其旨意。

即使一個字也能組成一個完整句，因此我們不應將寫作視為頁面中的連串文字。寫作也不僅是成串的句子或概念，應將其視為在固定模式下，藉由感嘆語、文字或句子等來組織作者的想法。

如果我們粗略地分析西班牙文和英文的寫作系統，標點符號首先就呈現出顯而易見的區別。例如，西文在句首和句尾都需要問號和驚嘆號。在西文的對話中，角色的改變通常以長的連字號來介紹，而在英文中則是以引號或引文來說明。

另一方面，英文常用一個在西文系統裡不存在的記號，那就是撇號(單引號)。這兩個語言各有其凸顯重點的方式：在西文中，特殊的字彙可以用引號、括號或書寫體強調，而在英文裡我們通常使用單引號。

不同的語言在使用句子闡述想法時，其組織文字的形式和長度都不相同。英文中通常使用被動語氣並且附有強制性主詞或人稱代名詞的短句結構，這種句型結構都很嚴謹。西班牙文則使用長句以及由連接詞串連的解釋子句，只有在強調的時候才會用簡單的主動句型或是反身代名詞的被動語態，並省略代名詞。

在文章的分段上，兩者的差異性更大。西班牙文需要用比英文還要大的段落。英文的段落極簡潔，而西班牙文的卻是比較冗長；西班牙文的段落通常始於動詞、反身代名詞或是其他詞性的字，英文則大多始於主詞、受詞、人稱代名詞或是動名詞。就文體上而言，西班牙文的段落有跡可循；英文則無法可循。

然而，這兩種語言並不是什麼都不相同，至少他們有三個相同的組成元素: (數字、性別、人稱的)一致性、連貫性以及凝聚性。文章要讓人能夠讀懂就必須具備這三個要素，否則對讀者來說是難以瞭解的，而對翻譯者來說，翻譯這樣的文章也是極具挑戰性的。 

總結以上，要能夠恰當地翻譯就必須遵守以下原則：徹底瞭解兩種語言(英語/西班牙語)的寫作系統；熟悉相似的或不同的標點符號用法；在不破壞寫作原則之下翻譯出概念而不僅是單字、句子或是句型；根據譯入語系統來翻譯並且要讓「所有翻譯作品讀來原汁原味」。

(許佩容、陳怡君)

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