On the Translation Process in Special and General Sense

: The term "process" in translation refers to the dynamic meaning of translation, which can be divided into special translation and general translation. Special translation process refers to the process of the translator's conversion of the specific text, which is, the process of the translator's conversion from the original text to the final target text. The translator's understanding and re-expression are the two basic steps in this process. Special translation process is not only a simple process of languages conversion, but also involves the process of text selection, text research, text understanding and interpretation, text generation and text acceptance.


The Difference between Process" and "Procedure"
To study the process of translation, it is necessary for us to explain the two words "process" and "procedure". In the foreign language materials, such as the relevant research results in French, we generally use "processus" to refer to "process", etc. Related to it is the word "procdé", which specifically means "procedure" and "method". In general, the former word "processus" refers to the whole process of abstract meaning, while the latter word "procdé" refers to a more specific step or a method or means. In the relevant materials in Chinese, we can often see the two usages of "process" and "procedure", which can sometimes be substituted for each other. Dong Shiliang， a famous translator in Chinese, said in the entry of "translation process" in the Chinese Translation Dictionary that "translation process refers to the process of translation activities". In other words, the main difference between the two words is that "process" is a general term, while "procedure" generally refers to specific steps.
It should be said that the term "process" refers to the dynamic meaning of translation, which can be divided into general and special senses. The process in a special sense refers to the process of the translator's conversion of specific texts. Specifically, it is the process of transforming the text from the starting language to the target language after the translator selects a text to be translated. In the general sense, the process includes not only the language conversion activities in the special sense, but also the process of text selection, text generation and text progress.

Special Translation Process
Historically, people have never stopped thinking about the process of translation. These thoughts either describe and summarize the main steps of translation activities from the perspective of experience, or explore important theoretical issues related to the translation process based on the description and summary of the translation process under the guidance of a certain theory.
Generally speaking, those who pay special attention to the "translation process" or "procedure" usually have rich translation practice experience, and their understanding is often a summary and generalization of their own experience. For example, the famous American Bible translator Nida. In the process of translating the Bible, Nida gradually formed a unique understanding of the process of translation activities, which he called "translation process". Nida's understanding and elaboration of "translation process" can also be divided into two levels: special sense and general sense. In a special sense, "translation process" is what he calls "basic translation process", including (1) analyze the original text; (2) Convert the source language into the target language; (3) Restructure the translation; (4) Invite representative readers to check the translation text. The basic translation process can be divided into the following eight steps in the actual operation: (1) rapid translation, focusing on the style of the text, (2) the initial draft should be set aside for about a week before making revisions. This allows the translator to gain a fresh perspective and objectively evaluate their own translation, (3) carefully review the content of the translation, with particular emphasis on accuracy and coherence, (4)the revised draft should be set aside for a few more days, (5) check the translation from a stylistic perspective, (6) review spelling, punctuation, and formatting in the translation, (7) submit the translation for review by an editor or publisher, (8) adopt the suggestions put forth by the editor or publisher, although some suggestions may require further examination and discussion. Nida's discussion of these eight steps is specific and practical, providing strong guidance for translators in their practice.
Another example is Siguo's understanding of the translation process. Siguo has rich experience in translation practice and translation teaching. From his own practice, he has summarized many translation principles and techniques praised by his peers in the translation field. In the "General Introduction" of the book "Translation Studies", from the perspective of how to translate, he combined his own experience and put forward a very specific and referential approach to the specific steps of translation, that is, the translation process we care about. He said, "The ideal translation method is as follows: first, understand the original text and translate it according to the original. Then, see if it can be read smoothly. Try removing some unnecessary words and see if it affects the meaning and style. If it does, add them back. Try adding essential words and see if it goes beyond the scope of the original text. After adding or removing, proofread it again in comparison with the original. Check if there are any translation errors, if the tone is appropriately conveyed, and if the implied meaning of the original can be found in the translation. The meaning of the original text needs to be digested, and the wording of the translation needs careful consideration." He also advised translators, "Before translating, make sure to read the entire sentence or passage. Don't start translating before finishing a sentence, a paragraph, or the entire text. Many words and syntax used in the translation are related to the whole text, paragraph, or sentence. Understanding the meaning of a sentence requires reading the entire sentence. This is especially true for long sentences." In this passage, the first two sentences are particularly important: "First, understand the original text and translate it according to the original." Understanding the original text is the foundation, and accurately conveying the "meaning" and "style" of the original is crucial. Understanding focuses on "digesting the original meaning," and to digest the meaning of the original text, one must read the entire text and sentence. Expression, on the other hand, requires careful consideration of the "wording of the translation," and it is important to pay attention to "checking against the original text," to see if it affects the meaning and style, goes beyond the scope of the original, conveys the appropriate tone, and captures the implied meaning of the original text. For a beginner translator, the methods and steps suggested by the author are easy to grasp, especially the four questions he raised, which have significant reference value in evaluating the translation.
Mr. Cao Ying, a Russian literary translator, pointed out that: "I generally need to go through three steps to translate a work: the first step is to be familiar with the original work, that is, read the original work repeatedly, understand the original work, consider how to better express the original meaning, and through several readings, make the character image gradually clear in my mind. The second step is to start translating, that is, faithfully translate the original work into Chinese word by word. The third step is to read the translation carefully, consider if there is any omission or misunderstanding, and correct it one by one. Then I will review the translation text from the Chinese perspective to ensure that the Chinese language is smooth and readable. Sometimes I also ask actors and friends to read the translation text aloud for me and correct the awkward words. After submitting it to the editor for review, carefully consider and make necessary modifications according to the comments made by the editor. " Mr. Jiang Feng, a poetry translator, believes that: "As a process of translation, the first step is certainly to understand the original work, and must strive to understand it. But not every poem can be understood and understood at once. Even when reading Chinese poetry, there is a process of gradual understanding and deepening. Therefore, the translator should first understand the poet, his thoughts, and his aesthetic values as comprehensively as possible. To translate Shelley, we must understand Shelley's thoughts, life, and his era. Shelley is knowledgeable and loves to meditate. It is often necessary to make great efforts to make up lessons outside his poems when translating his poems.
When it comes to the first step in translating what Jiang Feng said, which is understanding the original work, many translators have emphasized the necessity of in-depth research on the original text. Mr. Lü Tongliu, an Italian literary translator, particularly discussed the relationship between translation and research: "In my experience, literary translation cannot be separated from literary research, and research also needs translation. The relationship between the two is mutually influential and complementary. Literary translation is not a simple reproduction of the original, it is not a 'fax.' It is a scientific and creative endeavor. Translating a literary work requires a deep understanding and research of the author and another language and civilization. In this sense, research is a prerequisite for translation, it guides translation and permeates the entire translation process. It can be said that a translator should be a scholar. A scholarly translator is more likely to find points of convergence between two civilizations, bridge the gap between the source language and the target language, and find their own translation style, bringing their translation closer to the highest level of 'transformation.'" Mr. Lü also believes, "In a sense, the process of translation is actually a process of research. In translation, your entire mind and all your emotions merge into the artistic world created by the author, into the inner world of the characters. You experience the most hidden and subtle thoughts and emotions of the protagonists. Through this, you can genuinely and deeply understand things that are difficult to comprehend through general reading, enrich and deepen your understanding and research of the author and the work. For example, in the late 1970s, I wrote some texts about Pier Paolo Pasolini. Later, I translated his plays "Henry IV," "Dressmaker," and "Finding Myself." Based on this, I wrote a paper on his late-stage playwriting, which enriched my previous research results." Mr. Li Mang holds the same view. When talking about translating haiku by Japanese writer Matsuo Basho, he said, "I deeply feel from my practice that before actually engaging in translation, one must conduct comprehensive and in-depth research on the work being translated. For example, various problems exposed in the translation examples of Matsuo Basho's haiku vividly illustrate that the translator has not conducted a deep enough study of Matsuo Basho and haiku, thus not truly understanding the artistic characteristics of Matsuo Basho and haiku, resulting in various errors in translation. However, even with in-depth research, it is difficult to guarantee a flawless understanding of the original work. Therefore, making mistakes in practice is an unavoidable phenomenon. It is only after careful research that such occurrences can be relatively minimized. It is precisely because of this practical situation that it is necessary to periodically examine and reflect on one's translation methods and translated texts and make corrections as soon as any inadequacies are discovered."

General translation process
In terms of breadth and depth, the study of the general translation process in the theoretical circle is not as good as the study of the special translation process, and scholars at all times and in all countries have conducted empirical discussions on the general translation process from the perspective of practice.
One of the most representative views comes from the American translator Nida. Nida has been a devout Christian since childhood and aspired to become a missionary. After obtaining his PhD in linguistics from the University of Michigan in 1943, he began working for the American Bible Society and became the Executive Secretary of the Bible Translation Department in 1946. He has a deep understanding of the Bible, especially through organizing the translation of the Bible, and has accumulated a lot of experience. In his article "The Translation and Publication Process for the Bible," he made clear specifications not only for the narrow sense of "translation process," but also for the broad sense of "translation process". Nida believes that "the translation process is far from just a step-by-step process when translating a specific text. It also includes many factors that need to be considered in advance, such as the nature of the original text, the ability of the translator, the direction of the translation process (such as translation from the acquired language to the mother tongue or from the mother language to the acquired language), the type of readers targeted by the translation, the type of publishers and editors, the distribution of the translation and the translation methods that the translator may use". Taking the translation process of the Bible as an example, there are many procedures to be adopted, but as far as the whole process is concerned, it involves ten basic process, which are the ten different and interrelated parts he has identified: (1) inappropriate translation process; (2) Preparation before translation; (3) The structure of the translation team; (4) Review structure; (5) Auxiliary personnel; (6) Translation process, namely general and special process adopted by various translation teams; (7) Test the translation; (8) Proofreading; (9) Administrative process; (10) Work after the publication of the translated version. Nida pointed out that these ten aspects are not applicable to every translator of the Bible, but they cover all stages of translation. Indeed, the above ten aspects not only cover translation in a special sense, but also cover the broad process of publication and dissemination of translation. The first aspect seems to have nothing to do with the translation process, but in fact, if we carefully understand Nida's point of view in the article, that is, he pointed out that the "naive" translation method, the rigidly planned translation method and the arbitrarily adapted three typical translation methods are "inappropriate translation process", we can easily see its good intentions: to translate, we must first establish a correct translation concept and method. If the first part deals with the concept and method of translation, the tenth part put forward by Nida puts the spread of text and the acceptance of readers into the perspective of the translation process, which is very insightful. In particular, the response of readers and the constant revision of the translation, the new life process of the text and the view that there is no "fixed version" in translation all need our careful consideration.
It is obvious that the process related to the translation of the Bible are not completely applicable to other types of translation work. However, it is undeniable that some of the working process proposed therein, such as the structure of the translation team, the structure of reviewers and auxiliary staff, the proofreading of proofs, and administrative work, have strict definitions of the conditions, responsibilities and working methods of translators, reviewers, auxiliary staff, proofreaders and managers, and it is closely linked with the specific translation process, providing a guarantee for the rigorous implementation of translation work and the improvement of translation quality. The "preparation before translation" puts forward the problems to be considered and the specific problems to be solved by the translator from both theoretical and practical aspects, such as "what the reader needs" and "what the reader can accept". It is an important work related to the life and spread of the translated text to consider and formulate the translation plan from the needs and acceptance of the reader. As for the specific preparation work, Nida believes that the most basic one is "the basic principles that must be followed in the formulation or revision of translation work". From what text to choose, to how to deal with rhetorical questions or how to deal with punctuation and segmentation, we should have a clear idea.
Nida's summary of the work process of Bible translation is not only a practical specification of specific work steps, but also a theoretical reference on how to translate. To a certain extent, it reflects the necessity and rationality of the existence of specific working process for translation. The establishment of strict translation process for specific translation objects, together with a clear division of labor, is the basis for ensuring the quality of translation. Although Nida's thoughts is a process formulated for the translation of religious classics, some of these principles have universal guiding significance.
"A la recherche du temps perdu" is a masterpiece that transcends time and genres, and its unique writing style posed many challenges for translation. Due to these difficulties, this brilliant masterpiece, hailed as the greatest work of the 20th century by the French literary community, had not been translated into Chinese for over half a century. It was not until the mid-1980s that the Yilin Publishing House began to mobilize the forces of domestic French literary translation and collaborate on the translation of the seven-volume "Remembrance of Things Past". To the best of our knowledge, the translation process of this work was complex and rigorous. From a translation perspective, the following stages or steps were involved, starting from the publisher seeking expert opinions and deciding to organize the translation of the entire book: the responsible editor consulted relevant experts based on the actual situation of domestic French literary translation, determined the translators, organized high-level experts to study the entire book, and compiled summaries of each volume, translated names of characters and places, and relevant important annotations; formulated "several requirements for proofreading and translation work," organized multiple exchanges of translators' experiences, circulated and evaluated partial translations; a special discussion on the translation of the book's title and the reproduction of its style was organized at Peking University, attended by renowned scholars in the field of French language and literature and the translators of the entire book; after submission, the editor carefully proofread and invited experts to review the translated texts, with problematic translations being revised. After the publication of the entire book, the "Proust International Academic Research Association" was established, inviting renowned Proust experts and translators from France to discuss the value of Proust's works and summarize the translation experience. During this period, some members who participated in the translation of "Remembrance of Things Past" were also invited to the Alençon International Literary Translation Center in France to exchange experiences with translators of Proust's works from the United States, Germany, Italy, and other countries. From the entire process, from pretranslation preparation to post-translation exchanges, it largely aligns with the translation process proposed by Nida in his translation of the Bible.

Conclusion
From a practical point of view, the translation process can be seen as a series of concrete procedures or steps in the language conversion of a text, and the formulation of these procedures or steps needs to be based on a certain view of translation. It is undeniable that most of the typical translation process outlined above involve collective translation. The translation objects are either religious classics or important literary works. Collective translation requires careful planning and strict translation in coordination, organization and communication. The translation process is particularly important. As far as the independent translation of a single translator is concerned, in fact, the whole process of translation also has to go through important stages such as preparation before translation, study, understanding and interpretation. Although the specific methods may not be the same for each translator, the basic issues to be faced are the same. The discussion of these basic issues, on the one hand, expands the scope of translation theory research, on the other hand, it also has obvious guiding value for translation practice itself.