Handbook for translators of Spanish historical ... - University Library

PROCEDURE IN TRANSLATION
party has requested; or Your Lordship [may order j whatever
else may be deemed advisable."
In this translation, the long sentence in Spanish has
been broken up into four sentences of medium length in
English. As shown by number 2, we did not open the first
sentence with the same word or construction found in the
original. Instead, we changed the position of the subject
una persona and made an independent out of a dependent
clause. The first sentence could be further divided into
two separate sentences by substituting a period for the conjunction.
When changing the construction, it is often necessary
to leave out the conjimction as shown by numbers 4
and 6. Not always is it essential to change the construction
of a dependent clause, as shown by number 5. If, in
number 7, the preposition para were translated and the
construction were retained, the translation would be extremely
awkward. Consequently, for the sake of smoothness,
the preposition was dropped and a sentence initiated. Conjunctions
may be dropped or added in changing the construction.
Any connective word or phrase which is added to
clarify the meaning of the original, such as the inclusion
of an ellipsis in the translation, however, should be
enclosed in brackets.
In the third operation the translator meets the problems
of meaning, choice of words, figures of speech, idioms, and
untranslatable words. A true understanding of the exact
meaning of the word as used in the document is essential at
this stage of the translation. Not always are words used
with their current meaning. It would be sheer folly to insist
on translating every word with only the meaning given
it in the dictionary without taking into account the special
significance attributed to it by the writer of the original.
For instance, in the sentence: Los habitantes siembran ta-
baco, maiz , ^
algod6n . El cultivo de estos ramos se aumen-
tar^ si el rey comura la semilla. The word ramos should
certainly be translated "branches," according to the dictionary.
Yet, according to the meaning attributed to the
word in this sentence, one should certainly translate it as
"crops." It is, therefore, clear that one must not only be
thoroughly familiar with the meaning of the word but also
with the meaning given it by the writer.
In the choice and order of words to be used in the
translation, one must exercise painstaking care. The
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