Introducing Translation Studies -- Chapter 1
1. Which of the following is an example of intralingual translation?
(A) Translation of a document from Japanese to English
(B) Rewording of a phrase in the same language
(C) A film version of a book
Correct answer:
(B) Rewording of a phrase in the same language
2. Which of the following is an example of interlingual translation?
(A) Translation of a document from Japanese to English
(B) Rewording of a phrase in the same language
(C) A film version of a book
Correct answer:
(A) Translation of a document from Japanese to English
3. Which of the following is an example of intersemiotic translation?
(A) Translation of a document from Japanese to English
(B) Rewording of a phrase in the same language
(C) A film version of a book
Correct answer:
(C) A film version of a book
4. Who proposed the map of the field of translation studies?
(A) Eugene Nida
(B) Gideon Toury
(C) James S. Holmes and Gideon Toury
Correct answer:
(C) James S. Holmes and Gideon Toury
5. What are the two elements of ‘pure’ translation studies?
(A) Theoretical and applied
(B) Theoretical and descriptive
(C) General and partial
Correct answer:
(B) Theoretical and descriptive
6. What are the three elements of ‘applied’ translation studies?
(A) Translator training, translation aids and translation criticism
(B) Theoretical, descriptive and applied
(C) Teaching methods, testing techniques and curriculum design
Correct answer:
(A) Translator training, translation aids and translation criticism
7. Van Doorslaer’s map is divided into ‘translation’ and ‘translation studies’. Which of the following is classified under ‘translation studies’?
(A) Mode
(B) Theories
(C) Media
Correct answer:
(B) Theories
Introducing Translation Studies - Chapter 2
1. In Western translation theory, what was the contribution of Cicero?
(A) He consolidated the word-for-word translation method popular in Ancient Rome
(B) He translated the speeches of Greek orators in a word-for-word fashion
(C) He translated the speeches of Greek orators through creative imitation
Correct answer:
(C) He translated the speeches of Greek orators through creative imitation
2. In Western translation theory, what translation method did St Jerome say he was using?
(A) He preferred word-for-word over sense-for-sense translation
(B) He preferred sense-for-sense over word-for-word translation
(C) He preferred sense-for-sense over word-for-word translation except in the translation of the Bible
Correct answer:
(C) He preferred sense-for-sense over word-for-word translation except in the translation of the Bible
3. In Dao’an’s writing about the translation of the Buddhist sutras into Chinese, which of the following does he note as difficulties?
(A) Directing the message to a new audience
(B) Changing the purpose of the text
(C) The special status of the source text
Correct answer:
(A) Directing the message to a new audience
(C) The special status of the source text
4. What was a key difficulty for the Arab translators of Greek scientific texts in the Abbāsid period?
(A) To ascertain the truth of the source texts
(B) Whether to translate, borrow or explain technical terms
(C) To ensure stylistic consistency across translations
Correct answer:
(B) Whether to translate, borrow or explain technical terms
5. What was the importance of the translation method of Martin Luther?
(A) He interspersed German with Latin and thereby raised the profile of German
(B) He translated into everyday German and thereby helped to strengthen the German language.
(C) He translated into a highly formal German and thereby helped to strengthen the German language
Correct answer:
(B) He translated into everyday German and thereby helped to strengthen the German language.
6. Dryden proposed three methods of translation. Which corresponds to literal or word-for-word translation?
(A) Metaphrase
(B) Paraphrase
(C) Imitation
Correct answer:
(A) Metaphrase
7. Which of the following is the most important of Tytler’s ‘laws’ of translation?
(A) Accuracy to the source text content
(B) Preservation of the author’s way of writing
(C) Naturalness of target language expression
Correct answer:
(A) Accuracy to the source text content
8. Which of the three translation principles of Yan Fu refers to elegance/gracefulness?
(A) dá
(B) xìn
(C) yă
Correct answer:
(C) yă
9. What is Schleiermacher’s preferred translation strategy?
(A) To move the reader towards the writer
(B) To move the writer towards the reader
(C) To find a balance between writer and reader
Correct answer:
(A) To move the reader towards the writer
Introducing Translation Studies - Chapter 3
1. What are the meanings of Saussure’s terms langue and parole?
(A) Parole is the system of language and langue is the individual utterances
(B) Langue is the system of language and parole is the individual utterances
(C) Langue is written language and parole is spoken language
Correct answer:
(B) Langue is the system of language and parole is the individual utterances
2. What is Jakobson’s stance towards equivalence of meaning between languages?
(A) The problem of cross-cultural difference often makes translation impossible
(B) Linguistic relativity makes translation impossible
(C) All things are translatable except perhaps poetry
Correct answer:
(C) All things are translatable except perhaps poetry
3. What are the three phases of Nida’s system of translation?
(A) Analysis, translation and back transformation
(B) Analysis, transfer and restructuring
(C) Analysis, transfer and exegesis
Correct answer:
(B) Analysis, transfer and restructuring
4. What are the types of meaning that Nida analyses?
(A) Linguistic, referential and connotative meaning
(B) Structural, semantic and pragmatic meaning
(C) Dictionary and emotive meaning
Correct answer:
(A) Linguistic, referential and connotative meaning
5. What are the two ‘basic orientations’ of translation described by Nida?
(A) Formal equivalence (later called ‘formal correspondence’) and dynamic equivalence (later called ‘functional equivalence’)
(B) Formal equivalence and equivalent effect
(C) Formal correspondence and dynamic translation
Correct answer:
(A)
Formal equivalence (later called ‘formal correspondence’) and dynamic equivalence (later called ‘functional
equivalence’)
6. Which of Newmark’s types of translation corresponds to Nida’s ‘dynamic equivalence’?
(A) Semantic translation
(B) Communicative translation
(C) Literal translation
Correct answer:
(B) Communicative translation
7. Which of Koller’s types of equivalence corresponds to Nida’s ‘dynamic equivalence’?
(A) Connotative equivalence
(B) Text-normative equivalence
(C) Pragmatic equivalence
Correct answer:
(C) Pragmatic equivalence
8. What is a tertium comparationis?
(A) Formal equivalence
(B) A comparison against which departure from meaning in an ST and TT may be gauged
(C) A translation that is used to create a dynamic equivalent
Correct answer:
(B) A comparison against which departure from meaning in an ST and TT may be gauged
Introducing Translation Studies -- Chapter 4
1. Which of the following best explains the difference between a translation strategy and procedure?
(A) A strategy is a higher-level approach to a text, while a procedure is a technique used at a specific point in the text
(B) A strategy is the choice of text to translate, while a procedure is the selection of a specific wording
(C) A strategy is a decision taken in advance of translation, while a procedure is part of the decision-making process
Correct answer:
(A) A strategy is a higher-level approach to a text, while a procedure is a technique used at a specific point in the text
2. What are the two general types of translation described by Vinay and Darbelnet?
(A) Direct and indirect translation
(B) Direct and oblique translation
(C) Literal and oblique translation
Correct answer:
(B) Direct and oblique translation
3. Which of the following is correct?
(A) In English, pizza is a borrowing while feng shui is a calque
(B) In English, pizza is a calque while feng shui is a borrowing
(C) In English, both pizza and feng shui are borrowings
Correct answer:
(C) In English, both pizza and feng shui are borrowings
4. What does the term ‘translation shift’ mean?
(A) A textual equivalent which is different from the formal correspondent of the source language item
(B) A non-obligatory lexical or grammatical change that occurs in the move from source to target text
(C) Both a and b
Correct answer:
(C) Both a and b
5. What does the term ‘markedness’ mean?
(A) A target text segment that is highlighted by the translator
(B) A choice or pattern of choices that stands out in a text
(C) A very formal word in a text
Correct answer:
(B) A choice or pattern of choices that stands out in a text
6. What does Lederer’s term ‘deverbalization’ mean?
(A) Semantic transfer
(B) Communicative transfer
(C) An intermediate phase between reading/understanding of the source text and expression in the target text
Correct answer:
(C) An intermediate phase between reading/understanding of the source text and expression in the target text
7. What is the basis of a relevance theory model of translation?
(A) The translator uses explicitation wherever possible to facilitate comprehension
(B) The translator makes it possible for the reader to grasp the writer’s intention without unnecessary effort
(C) The translator adds footnotes to the target text to show its relevance to the reader
Correct answer:
(B) The translator makes it possible for the reader to grasp the writer’s intention without unnecessary effort
8. In translation process research, what normally happens in a retrospective think-aloud protocol?
(A) A translator describes the translation decisions during the translation process
(B) A translator answers questions about the translation decisions after the translation process
(C) A translator keeps a reflective diary of their translation decisions
Correct answer:
(B) A translator answers questions about the translation decisions after the translation process
Introducing Translation Studies - Chapter 5
1. What does the term ‘skopos’ mean?
(A) Function
(B) Purpose
(C) Scope
Correct answer:
(B) Purpose
2. What are Katharina Reiss’s three main text types?
(A) Referential, poetic and operational
(B) Informative, expressive and operative
(C) Informative, poetic and operative
Correct answer:
(B) Informative, expressive and operative
3. In translatorial action and skopos theory, how is the success of translation to be judged?
(A) By functional adequacy
(B) By equivalence
(C) By communicative efficiency
Correct answer:
(A) By functional adequacy
4. What is the goal of an operative text?
(A) To show how a machine or system operates
(B) To achieve functional equivalence
(C) To persuade the reader to respond in a certain way
Correct answer:
(C) To persuade the reader to respond in a certain way
5. Who is the first player in Holz-Mänttäri’s ‘translatorial action model’?
(A) The source text producer
(B) The initiator
(C) The commissioner
Correct answer:
(B) The initiator
6. What are the three types of translation classified in Snell-Hornby’s ‘integrated’ model?
(A) Literary, general and special language translation
(B) Literary, administrative and technical translation
(C) Creative, standard and technical translation
Correct answer:
(A) Literary, general and special language translation
7. Which of the following is the clearest example of Nord’s ‘documentary translation’?
(A) An exoticizing literary translation that seeks to preserve local colour
(B) A translation of a witness statement that preserves as many features of the ST as possible
(C) An adaptation of an advert for a new locale
Correct answer:
(B) A translation of a witness statement that preserves as many features of the ST as possible
8. Which of the following is/are an example of Nord’s ‘instrumental translation’?
(A) A translation of a witness statement that preserves as many features of the ST as possible
(B) An adaptation of an advert for a new locale
(C) An exoticizing literary translation that seeks to preserve local colour
Correct answer:
(B) An adaptation of an advert for a new locale
Introducing Translation Studies - Chapter 6
1. What does the technical term ‘Register’ mean?
(A) Formal or informal
(B) A configuration of the situational variables of Field, Tenor and Mode
(C) A configuration of the situational variables of Subject, Position and Cohesion
Correct answer:
(B) A configuration of the situational variables of Field, Tenor and Mode
2. What does the term ‘lexicogrammar’ mean?
(A) Words that are used grammatically
(B) Lexis and grammatical constructions
(C) Denotation
Correct answer:
(B) Lexis and grammatical constructions
3. Which of the following is likely to be an example of ‘covert’ translation, using House’s term?
(A) An exoticizing literary translation that seeks to preserve local colour
(B) A literal translation of a witness statement that preserves as many features of the ST as possible
(C) An adaptation of an advert for a new locale
Correct answer:
(C) An adaptation of an advert for a new locale
4. Which of the following is likely to be an example of ‘overt’ translation, using House’s term?
(A) An exoticizing literary translation that seeks to preserve local colour
(B) A literal translation of a witness statement that preserves as many features of the ST as possible
(C) An adaptation of an advert for a new locale
Correct answer:
(A) An exoticizing literary translation that seeks to preserve local colour
(B) A literal translation of a witness statement that preserves as many features of the ST as possible
5. What is the term used by House to describe the process of modification of an ST to conform to TL expectations?
(A) Comparator
(B) Cultural version
(C) Cultural filter
Correct answer:
(C) Cultural filter
6. Which of the following is not a type of cohesion?
(A) Transitivity
(B) Collocation
(C) Conjunction
Correct answer:
(A) Transitivity
7. Which of the following are Grice’s ‘maxims’?
(A) Quantity
(B) Quality
(C) Politeness
Correct answer:
(A) Quantity
(B) Quality
8. Evaluation is a part of which function of language...?
(A) Ideational
(B) Interpersonal
(C) Textual
Correct answer:
(B) Interpersonal
Introducing Translation Studies - Chapter 7
1. What does ‘polysystem’ mean?
(A) A system of intersecting and partially overlapping systems that function as a structured whole
(B) A variety of different systems that function in parallel
(C) A hierarchical order of systems that do not interact
Correct answer:
(A) A system of intersecting and partially overlapping systems that function as a structured whole
2. What does Even-Zohar say is the ‘normal’ position of translated literature?
(A) Primary
(B) Secondary
(C) Young
Correct answer:
(B) Secondary
3. Which of the following is/are an advantage of descriptive translation studies?
(A) It is systematic and allows different studies to be compared
(B) It provides a replicable framework for research
(C) It helps to evaluate the quality of a TT
Correct answer:
(A) It is systematic and allows different studies to be compared
(B) It provides a replicable framework for research
4. Which is the best definition of norms in Toury’s model?
(A) Legislation which requires a certain form of action
(B) Linguistic conventions specific to a culture, society and time
(C) Sociocultural constraints that are acquired through education and socialization
Correct answer:
(C) Sociocultural constraints that are acquired through education and socialization
5. What is an ‘adequate translation’ in Toury’s model?
(A) A TT that conforms to TL norms
(B) A TT that conforms more to SL norms
(C) A TT that has few errors
Correct answer:
(B) A TT that conforms more to SL norms
6. What are Toury’s two laws of translation?
(A) The law of growing standardization and the law of interference
(B) The law of explicitation and the law of interference
(C) The law of growing standardization and the law of explicitation
Correct answer:
(A) The law of growing standardization and the law of interference
7. Which of the following is correct?
(A) S-universals are features of all translations
(B) S-universals are typical shifts between STs and TTs
(C) S-universals are typical features of TTs compared to non-translated writing
Correct answer:
(B) S-universals are typical shifts between STs and TTs
8. Of the norms proposed by Chesterman, which has the most ethical slant?
(A) Expectancy norm
(B) Communication norm
(C) Accountability norm
Correct answer:
(C) Accountability norm
Introducing Translation Studies - Chapter 8
1. What does the label ‘cultural turn’ refer to?
(A) The application to translation of theoretical concepts from cultural studies
(B) The rejection of purely linguistic translation studies
(C) Both of the above
Correct answer:
(C) Both of the above
2. According to Lefevere, what are the two motivations for ‘rewriting’ literature?
(A) Institutional and manipulative
(B) Ideological and stylistic
(C) Ideological and poetological
Correct answer:
(C) Ideological and poetological
3. According to Lefevere, what are the three elements of patronage outside the literary system?
(A) Ideological, economic and status
(B) Ideological, sponsorship and community
(C) Ideological, censorship and institution
Correct answer:
(A) Ideological, economic and status
4. For Lefevere, which is the dominant factor?
(A) The poetological
(B) The ideological
(C) The financial
Correct answer:
(B) The ideological
5. Which of the following is/are correct about the Canadian feminist translation project?
(A) Fidelity was directed to the project rather than to the author or source text
(B) Translation practice was a political activity
(C) The historical role of women translators was stressed
Correct answer:
(A) Fidelity was directed to the project rather than to the author or source text
(B) Translation practice was a political activity
(C) The historical role of women translators was stressed
6. Spivak (1993/2004: 371-2) condemns ‘translatese’. What is ‘translatese’?
(A) The translation of postcolonial texts
(B) The use of a bland, standardized form of the target language
(C) Translation that verges on adaptation
Correct answer:
(B) The use of a bland, standardized form of the target language
7. In Niranjana’s work, what is the central intersection of translation studies and postcolonial studies?
(A) Power relations expressed through the projection of an image of the colonial subject
(B) The hybrid use of language of the colonizer and colonized
(C) The concept of in-betweenness
Correct answer:
(A) Power relations expressed through the projection of an image of the colonial subject
8. Which of the following ideological perspectives are mentioned in this chapter?
(A) Self-censorship by translators
(B) Committed positions adopted by translation theorists themselves
(C) Power differences between languages
Correct answer:
(B) Committed positions adopted by translation theorists themselves
(C) Power differences between languages
Introducing Translation Studies - Chapter 9
1. Which of the following is a phenomenon of the translator’s invisibility, according to Venuti (2008)?
(A) Translators translate fluently creating the illusion of transparency
(B) Copyright goes to the translator in all types of translation but is only concealed in literary translation
(C) A translated text is read as a piece of ‘original writing’, not as a translation
Correct answer:
(A) Translators translate fluently creating the illusion of transparency
(C) A translated text is read as a piece of ‘original writing’, not as a translation
2. Which nineteenth century theorist does Venuti draw on for his concepts of domestication and foreignization?
(A) Matthew Arnold
(B) Friedrich Schleiermacher
(C) Iginio Tarchetti
Correct answer:
(B) Friedrich Schleiermacher
3. What are the two levels of domestication and foreignization?
(A) Ethical and discursive
(B) Textual and discursive
(C) Ethical and textual
Correct answer:
(A) Ethical and discursive
4. For Antoine Berman, what is the main problem of translating a novel?
(A) To understand the dialect in which it was written
(B) To respect the ideas of the source text
(C) To avoid standardizing the varieties of language in the source text
Correct answer:
(C) To avoid standardizing the varieties of language in the source text
5. Which of the following are ‘deforming tendencies’ of Berman’s ‘negative analytic’?
(A) Clarification
(B) The destruction of the networks of meaning of the source text
(C) Literal translation
Correct answer:
(A) Clarification
(B) The destruction of the networks of meaning of the source text
6. What is the term borrowed from Bourdieu to describe the different agents in the production of cultural artefacts?
(A) Decision-makers
(B) Controllers
(C) Gate-keepers
Correct answer:
(C) Gate-keepers
7. What is the general term for material (preface, cover, review, critique…) that accompanies or comments on a text?
(A) Peritext
(B) Paratext
(C) Epitext
Correct answer:
(B) Paratext
8. What is the term Simeoni uses, following Bourdieu, to refer to the disposition and make-up of the translator?
(A) Translator’s capital
(B) Translatorial habitus
(C) Translatorial illusio
Correct answer:
(B) Translatorial habitus
