The Translator as Communicator

On-
sight translating
involves
the immediate oral relay of
the contents of a written
source text.
literal translation:
a rendering which preserves
surface aspects of the
message both semantically
and syntactically, adhering
closely to source text mode
of expression. 
Free
translation,
on the other
hand, modifies surface
expression and keeps intact
only deeper levels of
meaning. The choice of
either method of translation
is determined by text
properties to do with text
type, purpose of translation,
etc. 
locutionary act:
a distinction is made in 
>
speech act theory
between a
locutionary act
(the act of
saying something—e.g. ‘It is
hot in here’), an
illocutionary act
(what is
intended by the locutionary
act—e.g. ‘please open the
window’), and a
perlocutionary act
(what
the ultimate effect could be
said to be—e.g.
‘demonstrating who is the
boss around here’).
lopsided argument:
see 
argumentation
macro-sign:
see 
sign
managing:
see 
monitoring
manner:
see 
the cooperative
principle
GLOSSARY 189

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marked:
see 
unmarked
material process:
see 
transitivity
maxim:
see 
the cooperative
principle
mediation:
the process of incorporating
into the processing of
utterances and texts one’s
own assumptions, beliefs,
etc.
mental process:
see 
transitivity
metafunctions:
these are not to be seen as
functions in the sense of
‘uses of language’, but as
functional components of the
semantic system. They are
modes of meaning that are
present in every use of
language. Thus, the
ideational
function, which
emanates from 
> field of
discourse,
represents the
speaker’s meaning potential
as an observer: language is
about something (e.g. 
Ten
Blacks Shot By Police
and
Police Shoot Ten Blacks
are
two different ideational
structures, one catering for a
white perspective, the other
for a black perspective). The
interpersonal
component,
which emanates from 
>
tenor of discourse,
represents the speaker’s
meaning potential as an
intruder: language as doing
something (e.g. different
uses of 
> modality
relay
different interpersonal
meanings). Finally, the
textual
component, which
emanates from 
> mode of
discourse,
represents the
speaker’s text-forming
190 GLOSSARY

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potential: how language is
made both relevant and
operational (e.g. choices of
what occupies the slot 
>
theme
in the text is an
orchestrating, textual
consideration).
micro-sign:
see 
sign
modality:
expressing distinctions such
as that between ‘possibility’
and ‘actuality’, and, in the
process, indicating an
attitude towards the state or
event involved (e.g. ‘may’,
‘must’).