The translation activity as a component of communicative motivation

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Rivne State University of the Humanities

The translation activity as a component of communicative motivation

Ivashkevych Ernest Ph.D. in Psychology, Translator

Rivne (Ukraine)

Abstract

The purpose of our research is to show the translation activity as a component of communicative motivation.

Methods of the research. The following theoretical methods of the research were used to solve the tasks formulated in the article: a categorical method, structural and functional methods, the methods of the analysis, systematization, modeling and generalization. The ascertaining research is used as an empirical method.

The results of the research. We proved, that translation activity is characterized by planning. Since the translation can be carried out in quite a variety of conditions (conditions of perception of the message text, such as auditory/visual, single/multiple; memorization conditions - significant-minor memory load; conditions of distribution in time of the main translation operations - synchronicity/ sequence; terms of translation - oral/written, one-time/multiple translations; the conditions of switching the personality from one language to another - limited-unlimited translation time), then the translator, based on this, determines the actions by which, in his/her opinion, the intermediate and final goals of the translation activity will be optimally achieved more quickly.

Conclusions. Translation is characterized by purposefulness, since all the actions of the translator and participants in communication have the aim at achieving a certain defined goal, and, finally, it is different by its structure, because the translation activity exists in actions and operations (perception of the source text, memorization, transition from one language to another, design translation, synchronization of translation operations, etc.). Translation activity is characterized by a certain heuristic nature, because the translation cannot be memorized, algorithmized, it can be carried out depending on the situation, motives and goals of the statement, etc. Thus, in the translation activity, such a component is communicative motivation. It is motivation that is the mechanism of oral translation activity that leads to the state of the activity of other mechanisms that directly implement the translation activity itself.

Key words: translation activity, communicative motivation, planning, purposefulness, perception of the source text, memorization, transition from one language to another, design translation, synchronization of translation operations.

Перекладацька діяльність як складова комунікативної мотивації

Івашкевич Ернест кандидат психологічних наук, перекладач

Рівненський державний гуманітарний університет, м. Рівне (Україна)

Мета дослідження - дослідити, що перекладацька діяльність є базовою складовою комунікативної мотивації.

Методи дослідження. Для розв'язання поставлених завдань використовувалися такі теоретичні методи дослідження: категоріальний, структурно-функціональний, аналіз, систематизація, моделювання й узагальнення. Метод констатувального дослідження був використаний у якості емпіричного методу.

Результати дослідження. Доведено, що перекладацька діяльність характеризується плануванням. Оскільки переклад може здійснюватися у досить різноманітних умовах (умови сприйняття тексту повідомлення - слухове/зорове, одноразове/багаторазове; умови запам'ятовування - значне-незначне навантаження на пам'ять; умови розподілу в часі основних перекладацьких операцій - синхронність/послідовність; умови оформлення перекладу - усний/письмовий, одноразовий/багаторазовий переклади; умови переключення особистості з однієї мови на іншу - обмежене-необмежене перекладацьким часом), то перекладач, виходячи з цього, визначає дії, за допомогою яких, на його думку, оптимально швидко будуть досягнуті проміжні та кінцеві цілі перекладацької діяльності.

Висновки. Переклад характеризується цілеспрямованістю, оскільки всі дії перекладача та учасників комунікації спрямовані на досягнення певної визначеної мети, і, нарешті, структурністю, тому що перекладацька діяльність існує в діях і операціях (сприйняття вихідного тексту, запам'ятовування, перехід від однієї мови до іншої, оформлення перекладу, синхронізація перекладацьких операцій і так далі).

Ключові слова: перекладацька діяльність, комунікативна мотивація, плановість, цілеспрямованість, сприйняття вихідного тексту, запам'ятовування, перехід з однієї мови на іншу, оформлення перекладу, синхронізація перекладацьких операцій.

Introduction

Translation is a result of the fact that people have a need to transmit or to receive any message (verbal or written information), provided that the codes having been used by the sender and receiver do not match themselves (Arbuthnott, & Frank, 2000). In translation activity the need has a certain specificity. In the process of translation the participants of any communicative act are the recipient of information and the translator (Blago- vechtchenski, Gnedykh, Kurmakaeva, Mkrtychian, Kostromi- na, & Shtyrov, 2019). The first one needs to say something to another person either for the purpose of communication as such a process, or for the purpose of requesting certain information, or for the purpose of exerting a regulatory influence on the partner of communication, since a typical speech expression is one that in one way or another regulates the behavior of another person (Batel, 2020).

This subject cannot satisfy the person's need for the whole process of communication due to the presence of communication barriers. The translator does not experience such a problem. In this case, performing the role of a participant in the act of communication, the translator appears as a “translator” of the intention of the author of the message using another, so-called language code (Bates, Maechler, Bolker & Walker, 2014). His/her task is to convey a message (Caramazza, Laudanna, & Romani, 1988). It follows from this context that the translator is to a certain extent regulated by the tactics and strategies of the translation activity, and in the case of two-way translation - by the recipient of the information, who, in turn, sends a message in response (Bredart, 1991). Professional ethics of the translator does not allow changing the meaning of the statement, distorting its content, bringing something new to the message (Максименко, Ткач, Литвинчук, & Онуфрієва, 2019). Based on this, it can be predicted that a need for translation is determined, first of all, by the recipient of the information, while the translation activity itself will be performed by a translator who does not feel a personal need for it. In such a way in the process of translation a person satisfies a need for communication with other people (Mykhalchuk, & Bihunova, 2019). Therefore, a need for translation activity has a specific nature.

Any activity is characterized by the person's needs, which are the basis of the motive of the activity, that is, what prompts it, for which it is carried out (Cilibrasi, Stojanovik, Riddell, & Saddy, 2019). We plan the activity by formulating its ultimate goal, which appears in the form of a certain awareness of the nearest result, the achievement of which is determined by the implementation of the activity, which is capable of satisfying the subject's needs, defined in its motives (Mykhalchuk, & Onu- friieva, 2020).

The activities are implemented using a set of actions and methods of their implementation, which are called operations (Booth, MacWhinney, & Harasaki, 2000). Each activity ends with a certain result. In the case of a positive result the goal of the activity is achieved. In addition, the activity is characterized by planning (the means and conditions of its implementation are determined), purposefulness (since all actions are motivated by its motives, but there are those ones, which have the aim of achieving the goal), structurality (the presence of actions and operations) (Alexandrov, Boricheva, Pulvermuller, & Shtyrov, 2011).

According to the direction of speech expressions, receptive and productive types of oral translation activity are distinguished in scientific literature (Гончарук, & Онуфрієва, 2018). Thanks to receptive types of translation activity (in oral activity we mean listening), a person receives and further develops the processes of a speech message (Chen, 2022). Thanks to productive types of translation activity (in oral activity it is speaking), the presentation of a speech message is carried out. Both listening and speaking involves different forms of speech (Aleksandrov, Memetova, & Stankevich, 2020). There are two such forms of oral translation activity. They are external and internal ones (Beauvillain, 1994).

The next parameter that characterizes the types of translation activity is the nature of external expressiveness. Speaking as a productive activity appears as a process of construction, creation of a certain task for other people. Listening is an externally unexpressed process of the subject's internal activity, which is caused by the need to form and to formulate certain content given from outside (Mykhalchuk, & Ivashkevych Er, 2019).

The types of oral translation activity are also determined by the nature of the feedback that regulates all the processes, which are taking place. Thus, during speech activity, muscle (kinesthetic, proprioceptive) feedback is carried out from the articulatory apparatus to the part of the brain, which is responsible for the organization of human speech activity (Ivashkevych Ed., & Koval, 2020). It is this section that performs the function of internal control. Along with muscle “internal” feedback, speech is also regulated by “external” communication. In the process of listening, feedback is provided through the channels of making meaningful decisions, the mechanisms of which are not clear enough (Онуфрієва, 2020).

So, having outlined the specific features of oral translation activity according to the main parameters, we will consider its main characteristics. Oral translation activity is determined by a number of characteristics: a) structural organization; b) subject content; c) psychological mechanisms; d) the unity of the internal and external sides and e) the unity of a form and a content. Let us explain these five main characteristics of oral translation activity in more detail.

The motivations for translation activities have a slightly different specificity. Their specificity lies in the fact that they consist of the motives of the recipient of information and the motives of the translator, which also do not coincide. On the one hand, translation activity has a social motivation, which reflects society's need for translation to ensure communication between multilingual communicators. The activity of the translator can be implemented in a view of the following motives:

- the need for the translator to fulfill his/her official duties;

- receiving a material reward. These are motives-stimuli.

On the other hand, the speech activity of the author of the statement, such as the original text created by him/her, motivates the activity of the translator, adding a personal meaning to it, which gives a rise to another motive of translation activity, which we call “a meaning-making motive”. During translation activities, the translator's attention is focused on “mastering” the original statement, on its analysis with the aim of adequately conveying the author's idea with the help of another language code, as a result of which the motive shifts to the goal, which leads to the emergence of a new category, absolutely new definition, such as so-called a motive-goal.

Thus, the motives of translation represent a combination of the motive of the author's speech message, on the one hand, and the motives of the translator, which form, according to our mind, a kind of hierarchy, at the top of which it is the meaning-making motive, on the other hand. This fact also indicates the specificity of translation as a type of translator's speech activity.

The purpose of the translation is the transmission of the message provided by the activity of the translator. The purpose of the translator is to convey information that is adequate to the author's intention. At the same time, it should be remembered that the higher the professional competence of the translator, the more accurately the information will be transmitted and, accordingly, the higher the results in achieving the goal of the author of the statement will be. Thus, the author's goal is achieved only thanks to the successful achievement of the translator's own goal.

If we assume that the author's goal is to achieve mutual understanding in the process of communication, then both the recipient and the translator, regardless of their specific goals, will strive to achieve a common goal. Moreover, the successful implementation of translation activities will contribute to the achievement of their main goal. Such interdependence of the purpose of translation activity and the goals of participants in the communicative process also determine the specificity of translation as a type of the activity.

Analyzing the translation in a view of the components that characterize any kind of the activity, we will consider the subject of the translation. In such a way we'd like to note that the subject of the activity is its valid motive. It is the latter that in a certain way we'll outline the direction of the activity. At the same time, in the case of two-way translation, the speaker and the listener periodically change their places, performing different functions. The translator carries out various types of the activities. In particular, in the case of simultaneous or oral translation, we will be talking about the simultaneous performance of both types of the activities.

According to our mind, the subject of the speaker's activity is the expression of the meaning of the listener, such as disclosure of semantic connections, comprehension of the message that is perceived by ear.

In a case of one-way oral translation, the example of which can be a speaker's speech at a conference, a symposium, a forum, the translator's activity is to understand the meaning of the message, to formulate the statement by the use of the another language. At the same time, these judgments (source and translated ones) mutually penetrate one another and exist in the translator's mind almost simultaneously, which is a peculiarity of the subject of translation.

The result of the translation is the understanding or mutual misunderstanding of each other by the communication of participants, which is expressed in their adequate actions in response and in the achievement of the previously formulated goal by the participants of the process of communication.

So, the purpose of our research is to show the translation activity as a component of communicative motivation.

Methods of the research

experimental groups:

E1 - 143 students of the first year of studying of the faculty of RSHU;

E2 - 153 students of the second year of studying of the faculty of foreign philology of MEGU;

control groups:

C1 - 151 students of the first year of studying of the faculty of RSHU;

C2 - 193 students of the second year of studying of the faculty of foreign philology of MEGU.

This stage of the experimental research has the aim at testing a group of students in order to identify the level of their communicative and speaking activity in accordance with the development of students' communicative motivation.

In order to study the degree of the formation of the sense of a language, we used the Eysenck verbal test. The justification for the expediency of our choice lies in the fact that developed verbal thinking is recognized by many researchers as an indicator of the presence of a sense of language. We have to note in this regard that an invariant feature of the sense of the language can be considered the linguistic design of an utterance from the point of view of its grammatical and stylistic correctness. At the same time, the so-called “primary model” of verbal elements appears as a determinant of the mechanism of the functioning of the sense of language, according to which the combination of speech signals and the design of a holistic expression of activity takes a place.

Also, for the purpose of researching the feeling of the language, we used the method “Exclusion of words”, which allows us to assess the ability of the subject to distinguish essential lexical-semantic features. The technique also has limitations in the time it takes to complete the task, like to the Eysenck test, it involves checking the speed of the subject's reverse reaction and the rigidity of the individual's verbal thinking.

Results and their discussion

Low results of students of the experimental and control groups according to the indicator of “communicative and speech activity” are also confirmed by low data having been obtained by the scale of students' attitudes towards learning a foreign language according to our author's test (Михальчук, & Івашкевич Ер., 2023) (Table 1). Also, to increase the reliability of the results we've obtained, we offered students to write the essay “My attitude to learn a foreign language” (the results are also in Table 1).

Table 1 Comparative results of the research of students' attitude to learn a foreign language (in %, confirmatory stage of the research)

• positive attitude as a result of emotional attraction;

• neutral attitude;

• negative attitude.

According to these results, we can conclude that the majority of students of the experimental and control groups have a neutral (undefined) attitude towards learning English. The analysis of the results of the survey of the students of the experimental and control groups according to the Desire to learn English scale showed that 36.54% of the students of the E1 group, 41.05% - of E2, 38.56% - of C1 and 40.83% - of C2 have a desire to learn English. Such percentages reflect students' understanding of the need to know a foreign language in modern conditions and, mainly, the respondents noted that they wanted to obtain a prestigious job. 33.43% of students of group E1, 45.84% - of E2, 42.36% - of C1, 40.84% - of C2 gave an uncertain answer (both yes and no). 30.03% of respondents of group E1, 13.11% - of E2, 19.08% - of C1, 18.33% - of C2 have no persistent desire to learn a foreign language.

The scale of Interest in learning a foreign language made it possible to establish that 53.82% of students of group E1, 54.36% - of E2, 58.30% - of C1, 57.82% - of C2 show a great interest in learning a foreign language. This is confirmed by their full agreement with such statements as: “I would really like to learn several foreign languages” and “It is a pity that I cannot speak another language fluently”. Unfortunately, this scale does not allow different types of interest to be differentiated. However, the Scale of Instrumental Orientation in this test gives information about how interested students are in learning English in a pragmatic aspect. According to the obtained results, it can be established that for more than 50% of the respondents of each group, learning English is important for the purpose of further practical application (“It may be important for me to learn English because one day it will help me find a good job”).

During the survey to assess the communicative and speech activity of the students of the experimental and control groups, we suggested the future translators to write a short story about themselves in order to introduce themselves to the whole group. Our task was formulated in such a way: “Talk about yourself what you consider important and necessary to tell your fellow students. You can use the text given to you as a sample or make up a story according to your own plan. The students' choice was that they could either retell the text they had chosen with some changes, filling it with information about themselves, or independently find adequate ways of expressing their own thoughts. So, the first version of the task involved the respondent performing reproductive activities with elements of searching for additional means, and the second version assumed the solution of the problem, what it is necessary and important to talk about oneself and with the help of which it means.

The choice situation for students is complicated by the fact that they really were not familiar yet and they were given the opportunity to make a certain impression about themselves from the speech of others. The results of this study are presented in Table 2.

Table 2 The distribution of the choice of tasks with orientation of students on the method and on the result of the activity (in %, confirmatory stage of the research)

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