Testing a Discourse and Communication Translation Model: A Pilot Translation Experiment

The article focuses on a pilot translation experiment aimed at showing the correlation between a translation strategy and a discourse and communication translation model comparing model-based and non-model based translations. The source text used for the experiment is a review describing a new smartphone. Participating in the experiment are second-year master students of the Faculty of Linguistics and Translation, Chelyabinsk State University. At the first stage of the experiment, the participants were given the text to translate from English into Russian (version TR1). At the second stage, they were given the same text to translate applying the discourse and communication translation model (version TR2) and were asked to write down a discursive profile and the final translation strategy with the model applied. The participants were allowed to use any resources they needed when analyzing and translating. The author compares the source text segments and their respective model-based (TR1) and non-model based (TR2) translations, discursive profiles and translation strategies developed by the participants of this particular experimental group. Translation versions TR1 and TR2 and the two main groups of translators' solutions are compared: solutions implemented with regard to the specified experimental markers; solutions that translators explicitly emphasize when describing their translation strategies. In terms of the model application, two potentially combinable trends have emerged. First, the discourse and communication translation model serves as a translator's analytical tool: translators noted that the model streamlined the process of translation. Second, there is a natural tendency among translators to make changes to the target text upon second reading for it to sound better, to meet the lexical norms established in similar texts posted on the official website of the manufacturer, to make the target text more accurate or to eliminate lexical errors and stylistic flaws. The discourse and communication translation model provides a more accurate evaluation and more profound analysis of the source text, as well as a more informed approach to the target text structure, style and pragmatics. However, in some cases the detailed model-based analysis of the source text does not transform into appropriate translation strategies (translation solutions). The model is by no means a substitute for the overall professional competence of a translator as translators are expected to demonstrate mother tongue proficiency and logic, check spelling and punctuation, possess a variety of translation skills and use parallel texts and reference sources.

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