Categorisation and Prototypes in Translation and Language
Translation and Language
Translation services are one of the very important aspects of globalisation as it assists in connection of people from different languages and cultures. Today it is considered as one of the pillar of the modern world and given its due respect in the field of language study. However, this was not always the case. There was a time when linguistics looked down upon translation as inferior task. According to them it was a mere task of transferring words of one language to other. With time it is cleared that translation form a very crucial part of language. In fact it existed from the very beginning of language itself. Since ancient times, translation has been practised for teaching, spreading various messages and more importantly for establishing connections with people. The main idea behind translation is to convey the message of one language into another as per its sensibilities.
Variety of Translation Services
In modern times translation has become a very important tool for growing business, strengthening political ties among various nations, making new progress in scientific studies accessible for more people and moreover making this world a global village. The translators are divided into various categories based on their industry knowledge. Medical translation, scientific translation, technical translation, legal term translation, business translation all requires industry specific translator professionals. However, our today’s topic of discussion is more related to linguistic aspects of translation rather than industry related.
Concept of Categorisation and Prototype
While translating a text translator often come across words that cannot be directly translated into the target language. It happens because every language is unique and it works on its distinct grammar rules, syntaxes and cultural connotations. To understand all these nuances it is important to study the linguistic aspect of the language. One of the crucial idea cognitive linguists have introduced is the theory of categorisation and prototype in languages and they have given several examples to establish them.
Categorisation is dividing things into groups as per some similarities and common features. For example, when we think of furniture the first thing that comes to our mind is often chair or table. Now this chair or table is one of the most common pieces of furniture but there are many more items. So the furniture is a category and the chair is a prototype. Now, this example is also culture specific as if it was asked to Japanese, his/her answer could have been different as chair or table is not that much part of their culture. So prototypes are related to culture and produce different examples in different languages. Categorisation in various languages is often done on the basis of these prototypes.
Category is further divided into three types, subordinate, basic level and superordinate. In the cited example the furniture falls in the superordinate category whereas the chair or table forms the basic level. Here, if we say a study chair then it would be subordinate category. This is a very simple example of categorisation based on classic principle. Now, the boundary of a category is not always fixed and clear. For example, a peacock or robin is a bird and share most of the common features of a bird. But penguin which is also considered a bird yet differs quite a lot from peacock or robin or most other birds for that matter. Eleanor Rosch, a scholar first established this theory with her research. According to her the boundary of a category is often fuzzy and cannot be clearly defined. This has left an impact on the linguists and gave them the idea that prototypes change as per the culture and place. The translators too have learned from this theory and while translating texts they substitute a prototype in a language with a suitable one in the target language that conveys the same meaning.
Conclusion
Translation is no mean task and involves lot of understanding of the technicalities different languages, linguistics, grammars as well as the history the people. Knowing the uniqueness and distinct features of every language makes the translation more effective and impactful. Categorisation and prototype further complicates the matter but also adds a new dimension to the language. This is an important part to consider while attempting translation and hence, all translators should have a thorough knowledge of this matter.
Translation services are one of the very important aspects of globalisation as it assists in connection of people from different languages and cultures. Today it is considered as one of the pillar of the modern world and given its due respect in the field of language study. However, this was not always the case. There was a time when linguistics looked down upon translation as inferior task. According to them it was a mere task of transferring words of one language to other. With time it is cleared that translation form a very crucial part of language. In fact it existed from the very beginning of language itself. Since ancient times, translation has been practised for teaching, spreading various messages and more importantly for establishing connections with people. The main idea behind translation is to convey the message of one language into another as per its sensibilities.
Variety of Translation Services
In modern times translation has become a very important tool for growing business, strengthening political ties among various nations, making new progress in scientific studies accessible for more people and moreover making this world a global village. The translators are divided into various categories based on their industry knowledge. Medical translation, scientific translation, technical translation, legal term translation, business translation all requires industry specific translator professionals. However, our today’s topic of discussion is more related to linguistic aspects of translation rather than industry related.
Concept of Categorisation and Prototype
While translating a text translator often come across words that cannot be directly translated into the target language. It happens because every language is unique and it works on its distinct grammar rules, syntaxes and cultural connotations. To understand all these nuances it is important to study the linguistic aspect of the language. One of the crucial idea cognitive linguists have introduced is the theory of categorisation and prototype in languages and they have given several examples to establish them.
Categorisation is dividing things into groups as per some similarities and common features. For example, when we think of furniture the first thing that comes to our mind is often chair or table. Now this chair or table is one of the most common pieces of furniture but there are many more items. So the furniture is a category and the chair is a prototype. Now, this example is also culture specific as if it was asked to Japanese, his/her answer could have been different as chair or table is not that much part of their culture. So prototypes are related to culture and produce different examples in different languages. Categorisation in various languages is often done on the basis of these prototypes.
Category is further divided into three types, subordinate, basic level and superordinate. In the cited example the furniture falls in the superordinate category whereas the chair or table forms the basic level. Here, if we say a study chair then it would be subordinate category. This is a very simple example of categorisation based on classic principle. Now, the boundary of a category is not always fixed and clear. For example, a peacock or robin is a bird and share most of the common features of a bird. But penguin which is also considered a bird yet differs quite a lot from peacock or robin or most other birds for that matter. Eleanor Rosch, a scholar first established this theory with her research. According to her the boundary of a category is often fuzzy and cannot be clearly defined. This has left an impact on the linguists and gave them the idea that prototypes change as per the culture and place. The translators too have learned from this theory and while translating texts they substitute a prototype in a language with a suitable one in the target language that conveys the same meaning.
Conclusion
Translation is no mean task and involves lot of understanding of the technicalities different languages, linguistics, grammars as well as the history the people. Knowing the uniqueness and distinct features of every language makes the translation more effective and impactful. Categorisation and prototype further complicates the matter but also adds a new dimension to the language. This is an important part to consider while attempting translation and hence, all translators should have a thorough knowledge of this matter.
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