Translation as a decision-making process: an application of the model proposed by Jiří Levý to translation into a non-mother tongue

Abstract

In his much-quoted article titled, Translation as Decision Process, written in 1967, Jiří Levý describes the process of translation as a sequence of decisions by which the translator chooses from the available alternatives, guided by definitional instructions that define the paradigm and selective instructions that narrow the number of choices. The criteria applied in the process at each individual stage are semantic, rhythmical, stylistic amongst others. Although Levý presents this theory using lexical examples from literary texts, our paper will attempt to apply the model to non-literary texts, also covering higher levels of text construction. In a case study comparing a set of translations both to and from English carried out by professional translators and students whose mother tongue is Czech, we will attempt to propose a typology of instructions that have led to the final results, and find out whether there are any differences in the criteria intervening in the decision-making process depending on the direction of the translation and the level of expertise.