Von Wilpert’s Translation Theory: A Comprehensive Analysis
Von Wilpert’s Translation Theory
Von Wilpert defines translation as the transfer of written work between languages, both living and dead (e.g., Punic or Latin). While Latin remains a living language, Punic is not. Translating from a dead language to another is possible, but its benefits may be limited. The purpose of translation is to benefit those who do not speak the original language, encompassing translations from dead or living languages, dialects, and variants (e.g., Shakespearean English to modern English).
Translation involves recognition and recodification, a synchronic process occurring simultaneously with a diachronic one, even within the same language across different periods (e.g., Dante’s Italian to modern Italian, or medieval Spanish to modern Spanish). Translation can also occur within the same language but across different text types (e.g., medical language to everyday language).
Mancy and Symbolic Decodification
Symbols require decodification. Mancy refers to mantic decodification, such as reading hand lines. For believers, these lines contain messages requiring interpretation. To those who don’t understand, it’s gibberish. If a text is unknown in the target language, the translation creates a new text that didn’t exist before. A key benefit of translation is its social impact, potentially sparking new literary movements in the target culture.
Summary
Translation involves linguistically organizing and recodifying a text from one language to another, whether living or dead. This is both a synchronic and diachronic process, such as translating 15th-century Spanish to modern Spanish.
Mancy in Detail
Mancy also involves recodifying symbols and icons, which hold meaning for specific cultures. For example, some cultures believe that hand lines hold meaning or reveal the future. The term Mantic refers to obtaining new information from something understood by others, aided by someone who understands that culture. This is a core value of interpretation, closely related to exegesis (interpreting sacred texts), giving voice to feelings, hidden codes, hand lines, runes, etc.
During translation, something new is created. This process can be diagrammed as follows:
- Meta (idea)
- Creation
- Metanomazó (process of creating a new noun)
- Synchronic interlinguistic recording
- Diachronic interlinguistic recording
- Synchronic intralinguistic recording
- Diachronic intralinguistic recording
- Symbolic recording (transliteration and transcription)
- Manric recording
- Metabasis
- Physical movement
- Development
- Comprehension and Incorporation
- Metabolé
- Exchange: A translated text can inspire new ideas in the target culture that were not present in the original culture.
- Metallagé
- Substitution
- Simulation
- Metastasis
- Repetition
- Metousia
- Collaboration: Translators of scientific and literary texts may consult the original author to clarify ambiguities.
- Composition
- Usage