Chapter6

Amber

Chapter six of Jeremy Munday's Introducing Translation Studies marks a significant expansion in the field's analytical focus. The chapter moves beyond the examination of isolated words, phrases, or grammar, which characterized earlier linguistic approaches, and shifts attention to the level of the entire text. It introduces and explains how discourse analysis and register analysis provide powerful tools for understanding translation. The core argument is that translation is not merely about replacing words from one language with words from another, but about re-creating a meaningful text that functions appropriately within a new social, cultural, and communicative situation. To translate effectively, one must understand how language is used to perform actions, construct meaning, and maintain coherence across sentences and paragraphs.

The chapter begins by setting up the theoretical foundation for this shift. It explains that discourse analysis studies language in use, focusing on how texts are structured and how they function in real communication. Closely linked to this is the concept of register, a framework developed from the work of linguist Michael Halliday. Register analysis examines how the context of a situation influences the language choices in a text. This context is broken down into three key variables:

1. Field: What is being talked about (the subject matter and social activity).
2. Tenor: Who is communicating and their relationship (the roles and status of the speaker/writer and audience).
3. Mode: How the language is being transmitted (e.g., written vs. spoken, formal report vs. casual email).

Understanding these three elements is crucial for a translator because they determine the appropriate style, tone, and structure of both the original and the translated text.

The chapter then systematically presents the work of three major scholars who have applied discourse and register analysis to translation. The first is Juliane House, whose model for Translation Quality Assessment is discussed in detail. House’s model is built directly upon Halliday’s register theory. She proposes a method where the translator first analyzes the source text according to its Field, Tenor, and Mode. They then prepare a similar analysis for the target text. By comparing these two analyses, the translator can identify any mismatches or "covertly erroneous errors" where the function of the text has been unintentionally altered. Based on this comparison, House categorizes translations into two main types: overt translation and covert translation. An overt translation is one where the source text is firmly rooted in its original culture (e.g., a political speech, a classic novel), and the translation makes this foreignness visible. A covert translation, on the other hand, aims to read like an original in the target culture (e.g., a technical manual, a commercial advertisement), often requiring significant adaptation of cultural references and social norms, which House calls a cultural filter.

Next, the chapter turns to the influential work of Mona Baker. While House provides a systematic model for assessment, Baker provides a practical toolkit for translators. In her book In Other Words, she explores the longstanding problem of equivalence but approaches it from a discourse perspective. Instead of looking for one perfect equivalent, she examines how equivalence can be tackled at different, interconnected levels of the text. She starts with lower-level challenges, like finding equivalence at the word level and the grammatical level (e.g., dealing with tense, number, or gender). She then moves to higher, more complex textual levels. This includes achieving equivalence in thematic structure (how information is ordered in a sentence as theme and rheme) and cohesion (the linguistic "glue" that holds a text together through devices like conjunctions, reference, and lexical repetition). Most importantly, she stresses the need for pragmatic equivalence, ensuring that the translated text has the same intended effect on its new readers as the original had on its own audience.

Finally, the chapter examines the more comprehensive model developed by Basil Hatim and Ian Mason. They expand the register analysis of House by integrating insights from pragmatics (the study of meaning in context) and semiotics (the study of signs and symbols). Their approach is not just descriptive but also critically aware of ideology. They argue that every text carries an ideological position, and translators need to be conscious of how their choices can reinforce or subtly alter that position. Hatim and Mason propose analyzing texts across three dimensions: the communicative dimension (similar to register), the pragmatic dimension (focusing on speech acts and implied meanings), and the semiotic dimension (examining the interaction of different cultural codes and signs within the text). This three-tiered model allows for a very rich analysis of how power, ideology, and culture are embedded in and communicated through discourse.

In conclusion, Chapter six demonstrates that discourse and register analysis fundamentally enrich the study and practice of translation. These approaches compel us to see the text as a unified, purposeful, and contextual whole. They equip translators with the analytical frameworks to make informed decisions that go far beyond the sentence, ensuring that the final translation is not only linguistically accurate but also functionally appropriate, pragmatically effective, and culturally sensitive in its new environment. This shift represents a move from a prescriptive, rules-based view of translation to a descriptive, function-based understanding of translation as a form of intercultural communication.