Kriterien der Evaluierung von Übersetzungen
Criteria for evaluating translations

Summary/Abstract: For to define something as a “translation error” and, if necessary, to sanction it, a reference point is needed. Here the three dimensions of signs in use according to the Organon model of language (BÜHLER 1934) can be usefully applied: referent – symbol – symptom. This means that when analyzing a translation, violations of the idiomatic target linguistic system may first be identified: orthography, syntax, semantics, stylistics, coherence. These five areas can be critically analyzed even without comparing them with the original, and it becomes already clear at this stage whether the text has been fully understood. Once the translation has been assessed on the basis of the five internal linguistic aspects of the text, certain so-called “manipulations” in the target text may be observed as changes to the text in comparison with the original, which can be traced back to a deliberate or unconscious decision by the translator from a text-external perspective. Certain passages might be considered inappropriate for the target recipients. This can hardly be labelled an “error”, as there is no reference point for what would be “correct”. Such areas of translational deviation from literalness include functional purpose, a particular political ideology, a time-bound interpretation, formal associations of words, or artistic adaptation.

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