The Importance of Text-Typology and Field of Discourse in Teaching Translation

Abstract

This paper focuses on some difficulties that translators encounter in translating English texts into Arabic and vice versa. It attempts to determine the problems that teachers of translation confront while teaching translation workshops. These difficulties arise  from the misunderstanding of text types and field of discourse.    

One of the characteristics of a text is its resemblance or difference from other texts. In this respect, attempts have been made between formal, functional and rhetorical. The formal text draws heavily on the register. It associates text-typology with the prevailing register distinction between text-types such as institutional, technical and literary (cf. Neubert and Shreve 1965). Newmark (1982) and others prop the functional typological model. They divide texts according to Buhler's (1965) three main functions of language which are, expressive, informative and operative. Halliday and Hasan (1976) and Hatim and Mason (1990). On the other hand, go for the rhetorical typology. It can be said that the exploitation of each method depends on the type and field of text being translated. We may also say that the translator is first of all a text-analyst who determines the type of text he is dealing with. He will then need to consciously manipulate and combine the features of the type that are essential in order to make the translated text an instance of the text type in the TL and culture.           

The assessment of translation requires, in the first place, a determination the kind of text the original represents (in terms of text type and text variety). Then one can choose a suitable model of translation for the particular type of text. It is hoped that the finding of this article will be of some help to the teachers and trainees of translators.