Theory of Translation 1 Introduction

2.13.1.5 Syntax: Sentence Structure 
The term ‘syntax’ refers to the arrangement of words and phrases to create sentences. 
It deals with the structure of language. As mentioned earlier, Saussure first clearly 
said that language is a structure. The written and spoken versions of a language are 
isomorphic (having the same structure). The thing common between them is structure 
only. Language has two levels of structure: The level of sounds (phonemes) and the 
level of meaningful units. The advantage of duality is that innumerable units can be 
created out of a very small numbers of sounds. Spoken sentences are not just 
combinations of phonological elements. In creating sentences, syntactic units get 
combined. Explaining the dual structure of language, John Lyons says, these two 
levels are independent “in the sense that the phonological structure of a language is 
not determined by its syntactic structure and its syntactic structure is not determined 
by its phonological structure” (Lyons, 61). 
2.13.2 Semantic Base of Literary Translation 
 
Semantics is a scientific study of meaning expressed in language. It is central to the 
study of translation. Although a translator is anxious about structural and stylistic 
equivalence, he cannot achieve them at the cost of semantic equivalence. Therefore, 
semantic base of literary translation is of vital significance in literary translations.
 
2.13.2.1 Meaning: Definition 
In our cognitive thought process, meaning occupies a significant place because it is 
related with the way in which we classify and convey our experiences. C. K. Ogden 
and I. A. Richards have enumerated different definitions of meaning (p. 186-7). The 
most relevant of them are as indicated below:
(1)
Intrinsic property 
(2)
The other words annexed to a word in the dictionary 
(3)
The connotation of a word 
(4)
The place of anything in a system 
(5)
The practical consequences of a thing in our future experience 
(6)
That to which the user of a symbol 
(a)
actually refers 
(b)
ought to be referring 
(c)
believes himself to be referring; and

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(7)
That to which the interpreter of a symbol
(a)
refers 
(b)
believes himself to be referring 
(c)
believes the user to be referring 
In a literary piece, the translator finds a mass of indeterminate meaning. It is a 
semantic structure with several complex processes. The translator can recognize and 
control the hurdles in communication when he understands the cognitive and 
communicative structure of language. In the model of C. K. Ogden and I. A. Richards 
as discussed above, the definitions of meaning at 1, 2, 3, 6, and 7 are more important 
for the translator.