Book Review:
Science in Translation
By Beverly Adab, Ph.D.
Aston University,
Birmingham,
United Kingdom
www.les.aston.ac.uk/staff/bja.html
b.j.adab@aston.ac.uk
Get the List of 5,400+ Translation Agencies Now!
No Recurring Membership Fees!
Scott L Montgomery, ( ), Science in
Translation. Movements of Knowledge through Cultures and Time. Chicago and London:
University of Chicago Press
ISBN 0-226-53480-4
The author set himself two major targets
in writing this volume. First, to present the role of translation in the dissemination,
throughout history, of scientific knowledge; and second, to underpin this claim for a
vital role for translation by means of case studies which illustrate its contribution to
the development of Western science. The reader thus expects from the outset a major work
involving breadth and depth of reading across not just centuries, but millennia, with
examples from all eras. The author does not disappoint the reader, demanding though these
expectations may be. There is clear evidence of a sense of mission, of personal
commitment, of a long-term wide-ranging devotion to the project, which guarantees the
meeting of expectations and the fulfillment of these promises. It is not possible, within
the constraints of this review, to do more than hint at the wealth and complexity of the
discussions offered for the enlightenment of the reader.
Translated texts are
sometimes the only evidence of previous texts, which have been replaced through
plagiarism.
|
The author introduces his labour of love
through a discussion of how knowledge of astronomy has been disseminated, from different
cultures including ancient Greece, Syria, Persia and India, through Arab civilisations and
the Roman Empire, into medieval times. According to the author, the translation of
astronomy—as the oldest of sciences—constitutes a significant weight of
documentary evidence of interlingual transfer, of translational norms which differ
according to the receiving culture and the era. Equally importantly, translated texts are
sometimes the only evidence of previous texts, which have been replaced through
plagiarism; this approach to the dissemination of knowledge often resulted in the
disappearance of the original text, although through reconstruction from different
(translated) versions a hypothetical model of the original can be constructed. We learn
how the translation of technical manuals in the Hellenistic era gave way to the study of
rhetoric and the tools of persuasion as the means to humanitas and to social action
through oratory, with a concomitant loss of materials conveying scientific knowledge. In
the Roman empire, translation through rewriting (inventio) and as contamination
(compilation of segments from different works) were two approaches adopted to the transfer
of Greek literature and learning, with the aim of replacing these by Roman texts. In their
narrow selection of scientific texts for translation, the Romans effectively excluded much
of Greek thought—shades of Venuti and translation hegemony! Astronomy represented
moral philosophy, descriptions of the universe and astrology, all of which were essential
to the maintenance of a strong and far-flung empire. The benefits of enrichment to Latin
through translation are not ignored,
The transfer of Greek thought into Syriac
(form of Aramaic) was the precursor to its transfer into Arabic via the Syriac versions.
This mediating role has been neglected as has the whole question of science in Syriac,
which for the author, enjoyed a significant influence and sophistication, contributing to
the linguistic diversity of the Near East. For the author, this raises issues of the
cultural prestige of a language, with a shift in focus from the translated, Syriac text,
back to the Greek source text as the source of 'truth,' particularly in relation to the
Bible. It was in reaction to translations of astronomical discourse in Syriac that key
translators began to debate the merits of different approaches to translating Greek works
into Arabic, as well as, through Severus, consideration of the "local nature of
knowledge" (75), with language as the medium for the substance of science.
Texts from Persia and India also
contributed to Islamic astronomy, bringing together elements of Greek science, through
translation into Arabic from various languages of knowledge already translated from Greek
into these languages. Translation facilitated a continual exchange of knowledge. The
author discusses the 'Hellenisation of Muslim intellectuals' (89) and the way in which
this knowledge was adapted to the needs of Islam. Again, the choice of texts for
translation was a privilege of the ruling classes, with astrology enabling prediction,
alchemy promising creation and control of wealth and medicine alleviation of suffering;
all of these had utilitarian purposes. This focus on 'useful' texts gave way to greater
freedom for translators to select the best examples of abstract knowledge (around the 9th
century). The author discusses how techniques of translation shifted as the aim and focus
similarly shifted, with linguistic changes occurring in Arabic through translation. By the
11th century the major body of knowledge was, for the author, conveyed through
the Arabic language.
Europe of the 13th century
began to acquire scientific knowledge in part through Arabic texts, with the increase of
trade with Islam and the centres of Muslim life in Toledo, Granada and Cordova, with their
activities in Translation. The import of paper and writing instruments triggered a major
change in reading trends and a further source for translation flourished, in the form of
letters, diaries, poems etc. Linguistic and cultural enrichment ensued, although
translation in Europe was more a case of individual choices, and less of royal patronage,
and translators from Latin reflected more consciously on their techniques than did Arabic
translators. Consistency of choices was not the norm, techniques and methods varied
according to individual competences Medieval traditions and their origins, from Boethius
and St Jerome, and methods ranged from literalism to interpretation. The Almagest (Arabic
title of Ptolemy's Syntaxis Mathematica) is taken as a significant case study of
translation from Greek into Arabic and then into Latin. Bacon (1269) reacted against the
trend of translation of Greek knowledge from Arabic, preferring the original sources and
querying the possibility of full transfer of knowledge into any target language. Arabic
translations came to be seen as derivative and Greek sources regained an authoritative
status.
The section on Science in the non-Western
world takes into consideration the origins of science in modern Japan and how translators
contributed to the introduction of Western knowledge, a transfer which took place under
foreign influences during the 19th century in particular, by a process of
adaptation and adoption, with split allegiances to different sources (e.g. both German and
English for chemistry). The author situates this development in a discussion of the
evolution of the Japanese language, and the influence of China in this, followed by
exposure to Western languages which resulted in changes in punctuation, range of ideograms
and direction of writing, what the author describes as an 'overlap of graphic-historical
deposits' (198). The main interest of Japanese scientific discourse, for the author, is
its accessibility to the average college-educated person, due to the nature of ideographs
which highlight the etymology of the term through its components. Style and graphic
richness of scientific discourse are discussed, together with cultural context and the
status of European literature being translated into Japanese, mainly of scientific texts,
with a concomitant attempt to 'nativise' this knowledge. The author touches on the
influence of the Jesuits in the choice of texts for translation. By the early 1900s
Japanese scholars were beginning to rely on knowledge of other languages for the pursuit
of knowledge and by 1920 English was becoming the lingua franca for this purpose.
A chapter on Japanese Science in the
making looks at different Western influences on the body of knowledge in Japanese,
including Dutch, which the Japanese, through trade contacts, saw as a source language, but
which was in fact a repository of translated texts from English, Latin and other
languages. The need to render new concepts drove the creation of new character
combinations—neologisms—based on semantic equivalents. Chemistry, botany and
anatomy all inspired new translation strategies. The author concludes this chapter with a
reminder of the political, literary, philosophical and scientific issues that drove
linguistic change through translation.
The third section looks at the
Contemporary Context, seeking to address the question of translation as "a continuing
formative influence in the making of scientific knowledge" (253). The presumed
universalism of scientific discourse may be an obstacle to the development of translation
techniques; conversely, to consider the cultural and philosophical aspects, and the
determining role of linguistic frameworks, is to accord translation of scientific texts
its true weight of influence. The question of 'world Englishes' as a lingua franca for
science, with the differing norms related to different forms of English, is illustrated by
reference to scientific English in India, to Internet science and to geology (the latter
being compared across English and French to see different stylistic features). Comparison
of citation behaviour in English and Chinese highlights differences in approach, from
respect of authority (greater borrowing, seen as plagiarism in the West) to textual
structure and use of critical evaluation.
Finally, the author concludes with a
discussion of the extent of the contribution of translation to the existing body of
scientific knowledge. The history of language is seen as integral to the history of
science, and the transfer of scientific knowledge across borders has generated language
evolution and adaptation.
So what is gained in translation? For the
author, 'no area of knowledge is entirely separable from its forms' (272). Thus linguistic
change, driven by the need to transfer knowledge through translation, is a major 'gain.'
Technical discourse is a language for a specific purpose, and one might expect the
translator not to have to deal with issues of culture and psychology. However, as the
author has demonstrated, translation of scientific knowledge over the ages has been
dependent on far more than simple recreation of LSP and has given rise to shifts in
styles, techniques, strategies and perceptions of the role of translation. The power of
translation lies in its role as a force for innovation and adaptation, with the
possibility of many texts, multiple versions and the question of the role of the
'original,' as of the role of translated text as a new 'original.' Translation has
'multiplied' science by increasing the scope and diversity of texts and discourses.
The author ends this erudite, complex and
far-ranging history with a series of questions which relate to concepts of reception and
interpretation, of effects and contributing factors to the process of translation, all of
which continue to be central to the discipline of contemporary Translation Studies.
This article was originally
published at Translation Journal (http://accurapid.com/journal).
Read
more articles - Free!
E-mail
this article to your colleague!
Need
more translation jobs? Click here!
Translation
agencies are welcome to register here - Free!
Freelance
translators are welcome to register here - Free!
Subscribe
to TranslationDirectory.com newsletter - Free!
Take
part in TranslationDirectory.com poll - your voice counts!
|
