Theory of Translation 1 Introduction

2.11.4.2 Types of Shifts 
In his description, Popovic has distinguished several types of shifts: 
(1)
Constitutive shift (in translation) described as an inevitable shift that takes 
place as a result of differences between two languages, two poetics and two 
styles. 
(2)
Generic shift, where the constitutive features of the text as a literary genre may 
change. 
(3)
Individual shift, where the translator’s own style and idiolect may introduce a 
system of individual deviations. 
(4)
Negative shift, where information is incorrectly translated, due to infamiliarity 
with the language or structure of the original. 
(5)
Topical shift, where topical facts of the original are altered in the translation 
(qtd. in Bassnett, Studies, 142). 
The description above explains the several aspects of shifts occurring in the act of 
translation. The first shift i.e. constitutive shift is the most significant and ‘inevitable’ 
kind of shift which occurs due to the ‘systemic’ differences between the concerned 
linguistic and cultural systems. However, Popovic observes that something gets 
‘shifted’ in the translation of the same text by different translators. Similarly, 
something remains constant even after the translation. He terms it as ‘invariant core’. 
2.11.4.3 Invariant Core
It is a term used by Popovic while analyzing shifts in translation. He uses the term for 
content, meaning of the source text, its characteristics etc. which all remain ‘constant’ 
after translation. The ‘shifts’ and ‘invariants’ are related with each other. Invariance is 
viewed as a necessity before the translation process and its relevance after the 
translation activity. The changes in the translation can be judged against the invariant 
core of the translated text. 
By ‘invariant core’, Popovic means that if the same poem is translated by several 
translators, we will have several versions of the poem. However, the common element 
in all these translations is what he calls ‘invariant core’ of the original poem. Susan 
Basenett comments on the concept: 

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This invariant core, he [Popovic] claims is represented by stable, basic and 
constant semantic elements in the text, whose existence can be proved by 
experimental semantic condensation. Transformation or variants are those 
changes which do not modify the core of meaning but influence the expressive 
form. In short, the invariant can be defined as that which exists in common 
between all existing translations of a single work (Studies, 35, emphasis in 
original). 
In his discussion, Popovic uses the expressions like ‘faithfulness’ and ‘for the sake of 
the original’ which are supposed to be obsolete in contemporary translation studies. 
However, in this regard, Venuti comments that the kind of “faithfulness he has in 
mind is functional” (Reader, 122). Today, though the translation studies have marched 
further towards target oriented approaches, it is possible to see Popovic’s theory as 
baseline to understand the recent developments in translation studies.