CHAPTER Q Service (TS)

Q.1 INTRODUCTION Although organization and dissemination of information to the users are the main tasks of an information worker, he may also have to think of some other means to help his readers. Provision of translation service (TS) is one of those additional jobs to be undertaken by an information worker.

Q.2 MEANING OF TRANSLATION Translation, according to literal meaning, is expression of the ideas or the sense of a sentence or passage into a language other than the original. In this process, the original idea contained in a document remain unchanged; only the language of expression is changed. Translation is different from , which means representation of the words of one language in the alphabets of another. In transliteration, pronunciation of the origi- nal words are kept intact; only they are rendered using a different species of alphabets. Micro-documents are usually translated for researchers, while transliteration is employed for preparing entries in a multilingual catalogue or a bibliography.

Q.3 NEED OF TS Since World War II, the literature on science and technology has grown at enormous speed and at present there is virtually literature explosion in these fields. But all these materials are not published in one language. English has been the most used language in scientific literature, but today sizable amount of such literature is published in Russian, German, French, and even in Chinese. Evidently, it is not possible for a research worker to learn all these languages. Neither can he/she ignore them. The only other solution is, therefore, provision of translated versions of his/her required documents. Thus translation is required for (1) crossing over the and (2) saving the time of the researchers. It may be pointed out

Elements of Information Organization and Dissemination © 2017 Amitabha Chatterjee. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-102025-8.00017-X Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 257 258 Elements of Information Organization and Dissemination that the need for translation arises when either the users belong to differ- ent language groups, or when resources of a library are in different lan- guages, or when both the conditions prevail.

Q.4 DEMAND FOR TS Translation work may be undertaken either on actual demand or on the basis of anticipated demand. When frequency of demand is less and there is no urgency in supplying the material, translation may be done or acquired on getting the actual demand. But when demand is received very frequently and they are to be met without loss of time, translation should be prepared or acquired in anticipation of the demand. For antici- pating the demand, it is necessary to know about the nature of proj- ects undertaken by researchers to be served. If necessary, a brief outline of each project may be obtained and studied and the researchers may be interviewed.

Q.5 KINDS OF TRANSLATION Same passage or document may be translated by different persons in dif- ferent ways. The quality of translation depends on the capacity of the translator to grasp the meaning of the original writing, his power of expression and vocabulary. Five kinds of translation are mainly noticed: ● : This type of translation corresponds exactly to the original. Here words or terms are taken in their usual and obvious senses. The translator cannot employ any discretion or use any allegory or metaphor from his own side. ● Free translation: Here words or terms used in the original are not given any importance to. The general meaning or the ideas contained in a document are expressed in a suitable language by the translator. The translator has freedom of expression. ● Adapted or tailored translation: Here the translator keeps in mind the purpose for which the translation is required and molds the transla- tion accordingly. Unnecessary elaboration of passages may be omitted by him and where necessary he may elaborate some points for the sake of clarity. ● : In this type of translation technical jargon of the subject concerned are used instead of ordinary equivalents of words. Subject specialists prefer this type of translation. Translation Service (TS) 259

● Translation into/from code language: Sometimes a passage or document is converted into a code language (e.g., shorthand) or a passage in code language is translated into a speaking or writing language. ● Mechanical translation: This type of translation is done by a machine and is often “approximate” rather than the exact version of the original.

Q.6 WHO’S JOB? The translation work may be undertaken by various types of persons and agencies, such as (1) the reader of researcher himself, (2) the librarian him- self, (3) a professional staff translator, (4) a professional freelance transla- tor, (5) a translating agency, and (6) a translating machine. Neither the reader himself nor the librarian should be expected to take up the job and unnecessarily waste their time which can otherwise be better utilized in their respective spheres of work. Besides, they may also lack the com- petence of a professional translator. Therefore, the choice should be made from among the other alternatives.

Q.6.1 Professional Translator A professional translator is one who has the requisite qualifications and competence to translate written material from one language to another and who has taken translation work as a profession either on full-time or on part-time basis. Such translators are often favored by many libraries. If the volume of translation work in a library is considerable and the flow of demand for is continuous, professional staff translators may be appointed. Otherwise, a list or panel of professional freelance transla- tors may be maintained and they may be contacted whenever necessary. However, even where staff translators are appointed, the services of part- time translators may be requisitioned when the quantity or language of translation required is beyond the capacity of the former.

Q.6.1.1 Qualifications Mere knowledge of a language is not sufficient to make a person a good translator. Translation work, specially of technical material, “is a highly spe- cialized task which requires the combination of at least two skills: firstly, knowledge of the language in which it is to be translated (often called tar- get language),” and secondly, “an adequate and competent knowledge of the subject” [1]. It is always preferable if a person translates only into his mother tongue or in a language in which he is as proficient as in his mother 260 Elements of Information Organization and Dissemination tongue. It must be stressed that the “knowledge of subject” does not mean only a general idea of a subject, but a thorough knowledge in the special field that the document to be translated deals with. The translator is also expected to know the technical jargon of the concerned subject area. The freelance professional translators should also possess the same qualifications.

Q.6.1.2 Translators’ Register Persons with a combination of language proficiency and subject knowl- edge are not found always. As such, it is necessary to maintain a register of persons with such combinations for reference at need. Such registers/ directories have been brought out in various countries. Even such regis- ters are being maintained by some private organizations. In the digital age, many translation registers are being maintained online. Some examples of translators’ registers are: ● Aslib Register of Specialist Translators. ● The Institute of Translation & Interpreting (ITI) Directory of Qualified Professional Translators and Interpreters (Great Britain). ● Professional Services Directory of the American Translators Association. 1976. Croton-on-Hudson, New York. ● Congrat-Butlar, Stefan. Translation and Translators: An International Directory & Guide. 1979. R R Bowker, New York. ● Indian Scientific Translators Association and NISSAT. Directory of for- eign language scientific and technical translators in India. 1989. ● National Translation Mission (India). National Register of Translators (http://www.ntm.org.in/languages/english/nrtdb.aspx). ● Directory of Freelance Translators of TranslationDirectory.Com (http://www.translationdirectory.com/translator_directory.htm). ● Directory of Translators and Interpreters (http://www.proz.com/ translator-directory/). ● American Translators Association. Online Directories of Translators and Interpreters (https://www.atanet.org/onlinedirectories/individu- als_tabs.php). ● Directory of Qualified Professional Translators (http://www.directo- ryoftranslators.com/).

Q.6.2 Translation Agency Translation agencies are in existence at different levels—local, national, and international. They employ translators and/or utilize the services of freelance translators and supply translations against payment like a business Translation Service (TS) 261 house. Some of these agencies maintain translation service primarily for their own groups of users and supply copies of translations available with them to others against payment. Since the work is done in a well-coordi- nated manner, the translations supplied by these agencies are revised and checked before dispatch and therefore these are generally of good stan- dard. The following are some of the agencies which supply translations: National Translation Centre (Chicago), International Translation Centre (Delf, Holland), International Federation of Translators (Paris), NISCAIR (New Delhi), Malaysian National Institute of Translation, etc. It is interest- ing to note that in recent years many private players have also come up with translation services on commercial basis. Besides, there are also many websites through which translations can be obtained.

Q.7 Research in machine translation i.e., translation with the help of computer has been going on since 1950s and many approaches have been developed for such work. The progress of machine translation has been described in Chapter Y.

Q.8 TRANSLATION POOL The translation work is a costly and time-consuming job. If the translated version of a document is destroyed after meeting the specific demand, fur- ther money, and time may have to be spent if and when translation of the same document is demanded at a later date. As such, translations obtained by any information center may be filed for future use. Thus translation banks or translation pools are created. Such translation pools—maintained both at national and international levels—make available their holdings to each other through mutual cooperation.

Q.8.1 Important Pools The following are some important translation pools operating at various levels: ● National Translation Centre (NTC)—Formerly known as SLA Translation Centre, NTC is located at the John Crerar Library, Chicago, USA. It maintains English translations of materials published throughout the world on natural sciences, physical sciences, medical sciences, and social sciences. Its present stock is around 20 million items. 262 Elements of Information Organization and Dissemination

● International Translations Centre (formerly European Translation Centre)—ITC is located at the Technological University of Delf, Netherlands. It is practically an international pool run by the support of 17 governments including those of Britain, , and Canada. India, United States, Australia, and other governments and private organizations also cooperate with ETC. ● British Library’s Lending Division (BLL)—Formerly known as National Lending Library, BLL at Boston Spa houses the largest translation pool in Britain. Its main collection consists of translations of Russian papers. Its present translation collection is around half-a-million items. ● Transatom—It is a pool on atomic energy cre- ated jointly by European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) and the United States Atomic Energy Authority (USAEA). Transatom information office is located at Brussels.

Q.8.2 Translation Indexes For easy and quick location of translations, the centers operating the trans- lation pools maintain or bring out printed indexes. Union lists of trans- lations are also brought out. Some important such indexes are briefly described below: ● Aslib Index of Unpublished Translations—Being maintained in card since 1951, it covered English translations from all languages of articles mainly in the field of science and technology (now ceased). ● British Reports, Translations and Theses—published since 1981 by the British Library’s Lending Division, it succeeds NLL Transactions Bulletin and BLL Announcement Bulletin and provides a list of translations obtained in BLL. BLL also brings out quarterly BLL Review which covers book translations and cover-to-cover translations. ● Commonwealth Index to Unpublished Scientific and Technical Translations— Maintained by ASLIB on cards in three sections—journals, patents, and standards—since 1951, it covered English translations of articles in all languages and in various subjects, specially science and technology. Information was being collected from over 300 sources in Britain and other Commonwealth countries. In 1973, it provided location infor- mation for about 450,000 translations (now ceased). ● Transatom Bulletin—Published monthly by Transatom Information Centre since 1961, it indexes completed and under preparation trans- lations of articles on nuclear science and also gives a list of journals translated cover-to-cover. Translation Service (TS) 263

● Bibliography of Russian Scientific and Technical Literature—This is a ret- rospective bibliography covering the period 1954–56, published by NTC. ● Consolidated Index to Translations into English—This index was published by NTC in 1969. ● —Published annually by UNESCO since 1932, it covers translations of books only published throughout the world. Since 1979, it is available online. ● Index Translationum Indicarum—Compliled by the National Library, Kolkata, India, and published by UNESCO, it contained cumulated entries for India in Index Translationum. ● World Translation Index—It is a joint publication of International Translation Centre, Centre nationale de la researches scientific, France, and Commission of the European Communities (in cooperation with National Translation Centre at the John Crerar Library, University of Chicago, USA). Being published since 1987, it supersedes World Transindex and Translations Register Index. ● World Index of Scientific Translations and List of Translations Notified to ETC—Brought out monthly by International Translation Centre, it lists acquisition of the center arranged by journal titles in original language. ● National Index of Translations—Published quarterly by INSDOC (now NISCAIR), it provides information on all translations done in India by different organizations. ● Bibliography of Translation—Developed by National Translation Mission (India), this online bibliography lists translated titles belonging both to literary and nonliterary genres (http://www.ntm.org.in/languages/ english/bibliography.aspx). Incidentally, some of these indexes have now ceased publication.

Q.9 COVER-TO-COVER TRANSLATION Cover-to-cover translation is an important development in the field of translation of micro documents. It is translation of whole periodical issue from front cover to back cover. It is “a special form of pre-fabri- cated translation……whose origin can be precisely determined from the date when the first Russian Sputnik was blasted into the sky” [1]. Following the Russian success, a crash program was taken up to translate the key writings in Russian to English, which resulted in the emergence 264 Elements of Information Organization and Dissemination of cover-to-cover translations. Such translation work obviously requires much time. According to an estimate, it takes about 18–24 months to prepare cover-to-cover translation of an issue. In spite of this disadvan- tage, several hundred journals are still translated in this manner [1]. Mainly Russian and Chinese (and some Japanese and Eastern European, other than Russian) primary research journals are translated into English on a cover-to-cover basis [2]. Cover-to-cover translations are covered in a list published along with World Index of Scientific Translations and BLL Review. The Special Libraries Association, USA, has also brought out Guide to Scientific and Technical Journals in Translation, compiled by C.E. Himmelsbach and G.E. Boyd which provides information regarding journals being trans- lated cover-to-cover.

Q.10 LIBRARIAN’S ROLE Should translation be considered as a task of librarians or information workers? is a debatable question. Some people still feel that librarian or information worker should have knowledge of many languages so that he can translate reading materials from one language to another for his users. Not long ago a foreign language was in the library science curriculum of some library schools. But it is now increasingly felt that the actual work of translation is not the function of the librarian or information worker, because, firstly, he/she cannot be expected to know all the languages and all the subjects in the world to be able to translate all types of materials and secondly, he/she has many other important jobs to perform. This is the reason why Ranganathan was of the opinion that translation was not a “documentation work” proper; it was, according to him, in the “fringe of our field of work.” He said that the work of the librarian in this regard would be the liaison work [3]. That is, the librarian or information worker should work as a link between the user and the translator. He will receive demand for translation or anticipate the demand, get the translation done by a suitable translator or procure it form some agency or pool and then serve the translation to the user. In other words, the translation work will be done by the translator and the translation service will be provided by the librarian or information worker. Translation Service (TS) 265

REFERENCES [1] F. Liebesny, Handling of foreign language material and translation, in: W.E. Batten (Ed.), Handbook of Special Librarianship and Information Work, fourth ed., Aslib, London, 1975, pp. 350–356. [2] M.H. Sable, Translation, in: A. Kent et al. (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science, vol. 31, Marcel Dekker, New York, 1981, pp. 123. [3] S.R. Ranganathan, Documentation—Genesis and Development, Vikas, New Delhi, 1973, (Chapter G).