Literal Translation, Free Translation, and Back Translation

Abstract

The activity of translation has a long-standing tradition and has been widely practiced throughout history, so in our rapidly changing world its role has steadily increased. In the new millennium, as cultural exchanges have been widening, knowledge has been increasingly expanding and international communication has been intensifying, the function of translation has become more and more important. Fields as diverse as the scientific, medical, technological, commercial, legal, cultural, literary and daily human communication depend heavily on translation. But among translation methods from the early times to the present, advocates of the literal translation (LT) and of the free translation (FT) have debated continually. The author examines the unified tendency of the LT and FT from the Chinese and Western translation history, and author explains that they are complementary and unified from the translation practice. In order to coordinate the LT and FT, the author introduces several kinds of common and practical translation skills which improve the translation perfectly. At the same time the author assumes that in translation, theory, practice and assessment are inseparable, suggesting that translators and readers should use the back translation method to check the quality of translation. There are two methods applied in this study. The first is conceptual analysis, and the other is comparative analysis of samples. According to Nida's summary of translation theory, we can understand the nature of translation. Through the sample sentences translated in the form of LT and FT, one can see the advantages, disadvantages, and the utility range of the LT and FT. From translation history, we find the necessity and inevitability of combining the LT and FT when we translate. This thesis focuses on the Back translation's (BT) checking function, by providing formulas and listing samples to show how it works. The result of the thesis: in translation the three links are indivisible： correct understanding of the substance of Translation, flexibly using translation means and techniques, and carefully testing the translation work are closely related processes.