Theory of Translation 1 Introduction

Phonetic/ Phonological information
: For every word we know, there is a 
particular way of articulating it. Part of knowing the word ‘tree’ is, knowing 
certain 
sounds—more 
precisely, 
certain 
sequence 
of 
sounds. 
Phonetics/phonology study the structure and systematic patterning of sounds. 
(b)
Lexical structure information
: We intuitively know something about the 
internal structure of a word. For instance, our intuitions tell us that the word 
‘tree’ cannot be broken down into any meaningful parts. In contrast, the word 
‘trees’ seems to be made up of two parts: the root word ‘tree’ plus an 
additional suffix ‘-s’, known as the plural ending. 

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(c)
Syntactic information
: We learn how the words fit into the overall structure 
of sentences in which it can be used. For example, the word ‘reads’ can be 
used in a sentence like ‘Mark reads a book’ and the word ‘readable’ (related to 
the word read) can be used in a sentence like “The book is readable”. Syntax 
studies the internal structure of sentence and the relationship among the 
internal parts. 
(d)
Semantic Information
: For virtually every word we know, we have a 
meaning or several meanings. For example, to know the word ‘brother’ is to 
know that it has a certain meaning (the equivalent of ‘male sibling’) In 
addition, we may or may not know certain extended meanings of the word, as 
in “John is so friendly and helpful; he’s a regular brother to me”. Semantics 
studies the nature of the meaning of individual words and the meaning of 
words grouped into phrases and sentences. 
(e)
Pragmatic information
: When we know words, we know not only its 
meaning or meanings but also its use in the context of discourse or 
conversation. For instance, the word ‘brother’ can be used not only to refer to 
a male sibling but also as a conversational exclamation as in “Oh brother! 
What a mess!” In some cases, words seem to have a use but no meaning as 
such. For example, the word ‘hello’ is used to greet, but it seems to have no 
meaning beyond that particular use. Pragmatics studies the use of words, 
phrases and sentences in the actual context of discourse (p. 12-3). 
The vocabulary of a language is always in a state of linguistic flux. New words are 
added into it and the meaning of the already existing words gets changed. In addition, 
new words enter a language through word formation rules. New words are added 
through the processes like coined words (like geek), acronyms become independent 
words (e.g. radar derives from radio detecting and ranging), alphabetic abbreviations. 
(e.g., C.D. - compact disc), clipping (fax for facsimile), blending (motel from motor 
and hotel), generified words (zerox is a name of the corporation that produces the 
photocopying machine), proper nouns (guillotine-an instrument, of execution named 
after its inventor. In addition, vocabulary of a language expands through borrowings 
from other languages. Words borrowed from other languages are called ‘loanwords’. 

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