Lesson 4 Reading and Understanding Important Notes

Lesson 4 Reading and Understanding

Introduction

Reading is a process which one acquires as soon as one tries to get literate, but reading is not an easy task as with reading there is a process of understanding which carries on at the same time. What you are reading is written by you or someone and therefore a communication is taking place in your act of reading. This communication can be successful and effective only when one reads properly and understands what the writer of the piece you are reading has tried to mean or hint at.

Reading

Listening, speaking, reading and writing are the four main skills to master a language. Those good at reading, become good listeners, speakers and writers. Nonetheless, the fact remains that no one skill is learned alone, most of the times it is a combination and integration of skills. Why do you read and how to read - these are the two significant parts to be discussed in detail for attaining a good proficiency in reading.

Reading is for Pleasure, examination, general information, specific knowledge, problem solving, draw logic, etc.

 

Reading Techniques and Skills

In the age of Internet and information overload, what to read and what not to read is a big question and some clarity about it is extremely crucial. Reading techniques help in dealing with such situations.

There are four main reading techniques which are used for specific situations:

1. Scanning is reading with a specific purpose in mind for specific information. When one reads an entire text/document quickly while looking for specific information, it is called scanning. For example: Going through an entire newspaper and looking for specific news related to India-Pakistan cricket match.

2. Skimming is speed reading for cursory overview for general information. Going through an entire newspaper quickly through the headlines is an example of skimming. Going through a data-table quickly to elicit an overall idea of the topic on which data is presented is an example of skimming technique of reading. Do not expect a deep comprehension of the written text after skimming.

3. Intensive reading is of a specific written piece for a specific purpose. It is going into the minutest details of a particular word/phrase/line/para, etc. Intensive reading is very crucial for language learners as they pick up vocabulary, focus on structure and syntax while doing intensive reading.

4. Extensive reading is a kind of general reading for general information. Generally this technique is used for pleasure reading, like reading a novel for pleasure. One does not mind certain difficult terms or expressions and goes on without stopping for their clarification until they become a hindrance in overall understanding.

 

Process of Reading

Effective reading involves proper planning of reading so that the objectives of reading are successfully met. First of all, a reader must know her/his purpose of reading, specific or general, and then accordingly choose the appropriate strategy for the same.

A. Pre-reading Activities: Pre-reading activities work better at the initial stages of learning a language, but nevertheless, they are fruitful otherwise at later stages of reading too. For example, before reading a story/essay, talking about the title, sub title, sections, sub[1]sections and guessing the main idea and sub-ideas of it; warming up readers by asking them questions related to the theme, writer, writing technique, genre and past knowledge of the topic, etc. prepare a reader well for the main reading. Vocabulary and basic questions related to the topic also work effectually.

B. While-reading: Multiple readings and in between stopping by a reader to check whether the purpose of reading is being fulfilled: if it is for pleasure, is s/he getting the story line properly; if for a specific purpose like getting the main idea of the content, has s/he got it; is s/he able to comprehend what was expected after a reading, etc.

C. Post-reading Activities: After reading, a reader may ask oneself certain questions or some questions may be posed by a teacher in case of guided reading so that the reader is able to form an opinion about the content and can rewrite or present it.

An Approach to Deal with Comprehension Passages

One of the main objectives of learning English is to understand the language. What we call ‘comprehension’ exercises are, in fact, a test of this understanding. A comprehension exercise consists of a passage on which questions are set to test a pupil’s ability to understand the content of a given text and to infer information and meanings from it.

Here are a few points to be kept in mind while attempting a comprehension exercise:

 

1. Read the passage quickly once to get a general idea of the theme. When you do this do not be preoccupied with answering particular questions.

2. Read the passage again slowly and carefully, so to know the details. If you come across a word you don’t know, try to work out its meaning through the context.

3. After reading the questions read the passage again. Look at the questions and work out mentally the location in the passage where the information required for each answer lies. Do not start writing immediately. The most useful work is done while you make yourself familiar with the passage and the questions.

4. Make sure that you understand the questions. Re-phrase the questions in simple terms. Very often the students just glance through the questions without trying to understand their full implication. Consequently, they fail to give complete answers to the questions.

5. Make sure what you write is relevant. Answer to the point and then stop. Refer back to the question to make sure that your answer contains the information that is asked for and nothing more.

6. Use your own words as far as possible. However, it may not be always possible to use completely different words when technical terms are involved or words used in the passage are simple enough. But, as far as possible, use your own words and structures. The purpose of setting a comprehension exercise is to find out whether a student understands the passage or not.

7. Keep to the facts given in the passage. You may have a lot of information from various sources on the theme of the passage set for comprehension. Your answer must be based on the facts given in the passage, unless you are directed to give information which is not given in the passage, like giving your opinion, arguments, etc.

8. Answer in complete sentences unless you are told not to do so. Sometimes, you could present the information in a single word; but you are required to express yourself clearly in good English, that is in a complete sentence.

9. Answer in the same tense as that of the question; e.g., What does he see ? = He sees ....... What did he see ? = He saw .......

10. When you have written your answer you should always refer back to the question and check whether your answer is relevant and complete in all respects.

 

Translation

Gone are the days when ‘translation’ was used to be thought of as an unknown, unappreciated and dubious activity practiced by a select few individuals primarily as a hobby or professional necessity. Today translation has gained wide currency throughout the world and the discipline of Translation Studies is considered an immeasurably fertile and prolific area of work as well as research.

The concept of ‘translation’ itself has come across its parent discipline of linguistics and has more or less become a part of the general psyche of people. Take for instance the ease with which one translates currency while shopping at a grocery shop– “thirty rupees” to ‘tees rupaye’ i.e. from English to Hindi and vice versa. Translation is primarily a process of communication in which an idea is conveyed from the language it is originally expressed in, which is called the source language (SL), into a language comprehensible to the intended/target audience, which is called the target language (TL). The significance of translation lies in the different languages being used by the two parties, the sender and the receiver.

Hence there can be no fully exact translations”. According to another definition provided by noted linguist and critic J. C. Catford, Translation is “the replacement of textual material in one language (SL) by equivalent textual material in another language (TL).”

Source Language and Target Language/ Source Text and Target Text

As had already been stated, Translation is an activity in which at least two languages are involved as a translator usually translates from one language to another. The language in which the text exists in the original is talked as the Source Language (SL) and the language to which the text to translated is called the Target language (TL). Similarly the text from which the translation is done is known as the Source text (ST) and it is translated to as the Target text (TT).

 

Defining the process of translation

Equivalence:

According to Roman Jakobson, interlingual translation involves ‘substitut(ing) messages in one language not for separate code-units but for entire messages in some other language.” The role of a translator, therefore, is to read the original carefully, recodify accurately and transmit the message meaningfully in the target language. Hence it can be said that translation involves two equivalent messages in two different codes.

The reason is that our language is based on the socio-cultural practices. Roman Jakobson takes up the example of “cheese” in English, which is not identical to the Russian ‘syr’ because the Russian word ‘syr’ does not include the concept of cottage cheese. Thus if one is trying to translate the term “cheese” in Russian language one finds that it is very difficult to directly find an expression equivalent to the English word.

Thus if the translation has to be accurate or equivalent to the source message then it is not necessary that the code units that one translates into will be always similar and accurate. One cannot always translate word to word (we have discussed ‘word to word translation’ in Chapter 2). What assumes more significance is to translate the sense of the source message in the translated message.

Now if the translator merely compares the beloved with summer then the meaning of the ‘pleasant presence’ would be lost in translation. Therefore Jakobson significantly says that ‘Languages differ essentially in what they must convey and not in what they may convey’. So if one has to translate the phrase “a summer’s day” then instead of a literal translation of summer, one needs to translate the sense.

In the translation activity that you just did, what you probably figured out is that you have been trying to find equivalence in your mother tongue for the words and sense that is expressed in these two lines of a famous poem by John Keats (Ode to a Nightingale). According to American scholar Eugene Nida and many other translation scholars of the twentieth century, the cardinal problem of translation studies is the question of equivalence. Nida tried to solve the problem by making translation scientific.

Analysis

Translation is a three stage process as the first role of a translator is to be a good reader. The deeper the translator can critically understand the text in the source language, the better will be his or her rendering of it in the target language. So the first step is crucial to translation as translation is not always done word for word.

Let us look at these briefly. Analysis of Grammatical meaning would be entirely linguistic in nature. This would involve carefully looking at the different sub parts constituting say, a sentence, that is to be translated. For instance: While a sentence like “Meena played the game.” Can easily be translated into Hindi as “Meena ne khel khela”, its passive form i.e. “The game was played by Meena” leads to a translation “Khel Meena dwara khela gaya.” Where the highlighted word is capable of further giving a twist to the story as it may mean “Meena was able to play the game.” This is an example of grammatic ambiguity which needs to be clarified by the context.

Now to look at Referential meaning, which pertains to extra-linguistic features, let us consider a specific reference to an event. “The Home Minister wrote to the defense minister about the recent spate in terrorist activities in Mumbai. He stressed on the need for improving patrolling around sensitive areas there.” While translating this statement, the translator will have to keep in mind that the pronoun “He” in the second sentence refers to the Home minister and not the other; also that, ‘there’ refers to a specific location in Mumbai.

Connotative meaning would refer to the abstract value associated with a certain word. For instance, the word “fire” while actually standing for a physical event that burns, might be used to connote the ideas of “intensity” or “ambition”.

 Similarly the color “white” may connote “innocence, purity or peace” depending upon its context. Finally looking at the Socio-cultural meaning, which is basically social and cultural significance attached to a certain word or expression, for instance, the color “white” (discussed above) when used to describe a Hindu woman’s clothing would refer to her state of marital being a widow. This meaning will not be available to, say, a person from western culture where a woman gets married wearing white attire.

Transfer

As the translator is done with the first step the second stage of Transfer comes to being, where the translator needs to find the equivalence between the language of the Source text to that of the target language. In other words, after the analysis of the source text, the translator needs to transfer the meaning in the target language (by finding the right equivalent) and then restructure the whole thing to make it appealing to the readers. If the reading of the translated text is not similarly pleasurable as the source text then the translator has failed in his attempt of translation.

To understand this with the help of an example, culture specific ideas such as striking up a conversation with a total a stranger by means of addressing him honorifically as “mama” in Tamil is not available in English. In Tamil, the same expression can also be used to address an actual relative.

Restructuring

Restructuring is the final step of the process of translation which depends most on finding the most suitable equivalent in the TL. Restructuring is affected by cultural characteristics of the SL and TL, the grammatical structures and vocabulary of the two languages, as well as the varying intent and method of the author versus that of the translator. While restructuring a message into the TL, the translator may either choose to be accurate to the source language: whereby he/she will try to present the expression closest to its true form (for instance, by translating “Bhai” from Hindi as “Bhai” in English with a small note describing it as a form of addressing a gangster in Mumbai); or by choosing to be closer to the target language and naturalizing the cultural connotation in favor of the target reader (for instance, by translating “saala” from Hindi to “rascal” in English without going into the intricacies of it also meaning “brother of one’s wife/brother-in-law”).

(1) Formal Equivalence and

(2) Dynamic Equivalence.

Formal Equivalence: “Formal equivalence focuses attention on the message itself, in both form and content . . . One is concerned that the message in the receptor language should match as closely as possible the different elements in the source language.” (Nida 1964a: 159) While the translator is trying to find formal equivalence, what he or she is doing is to closely follow the form, content and structure of the source text.

Dynamic Equivalence: Dynamic, or functional equivalence is based on what Nida calls ‘the principle of equivalent effect’, where ‘the relationship between receptor and message should be substantially the same as that which existed between the original receptors and the message’ (Nida 1964). In case of Dynamic Equivalence, the translator focuses more on the culture and linguistic expressions of the target language and translates accordingly. In other words, the translator tries to figure out ‘the closest natural equivalent to the source-language message’ (Nida and Taber 1969).

Translators face innumerable problems in their quest for equivalence. For instance, if English is the source language and Hindi is the target language, one may face a problem conveying the multiple meanings denoted by a common English word like Snow. In English, Snow may express the following forms of snow with minor variations: icicle or sleet or floe (Icicle: a hanging, spike-like piece of ice formed by the freezing of dripping water; Sleet: rain in the form of small ice pellets; and, Floe: a sheet of floating ice, chiefly on the surface of the sea.) But in Hindi, the usual term barf will not be able to convey these meanings

Though Nida favored Dynamic Equivalence over Formal Equivalence, but to always translate thus would be ruining the source text completely and would be creating a new text. In Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream, when Bottom turns to an ass head, it is said that: “Bottom, Thou are translated.” The meaning of ‘translation’ here is that of a kind of transformation, a physical one in this case. In Dynamic equivalent translated text, the same would happen as the translation would be very different from the source language text leading to a new text altogether.