From my point of view, the best definition of translation was given by the famous Russian translator, linguist and
lexicographer Yakob Retsker: "Translation is the precise reconstruction of the source text by means of the another
language, preserving the unity of the content and style". This is the main difference between translation and narration, in
which is possible to describe the main content, missing the minor details and without the reconstruction of the style.
The process of translation includes at least two stages: understanding the content of the source text and choosing the
method of its translating. It stays connected to the target text from the source text, and this results the translation. The
translator’s understanding of the source text is a special understanding, which differs from an understanding of the same
text by their readers. The understanding focused on translation has two special features: mandatory final conclusion
about the content of the translated piece is and conditioning it within the language structure of translated language. A
reader can be content with approximate understanding of separate elements at times. A translator, however, must
exactly define what kind of meaning must be displayed in the target text. Usually a general understanding is insufficient,
as it is necessary to translate not the general meaning of the certain word, but its exact meaning in the text.
The content of all units of the language reflect certain subjects, phenomena, demonstrations of the objective reality. The
union of the World around, the biological structure and its industrial and vital processes are the same for all people,
independently their language. Essentially every reasonable thought and conceivable situation can be successfully
described by the means of any developed language. Considering that the basic content of any message involves the
reflection of some extra linguistic situation , I regard the translation process as being the description by the means of
Russian or Ukrainian language of the same situation, which was described in the language of the original text. Perceiving
the content of the source text, I identify the units making the source text and equate them with the familiar units of the
language I translate to. Thus the process of translation transits from source text to the real surrounding and back to the
target text.
In some cases this process is shorter, when the interpretation of the text or any of its parts has been led in advance, and I
know that certain units specify identical subjects, events or phenomena of reality. On this basis it is possible to replace
the units of the original text with appropriate units of translation, and the reference to reality is made out of the given
translation.
The process of translation is a complex thought process. Concrete strategy and the techniques being applied during
translation depends mainly on the character of a translation task to solve. As the basis of any translation process certain
principles are grounded. First of all, the understanding of the source text must always precede its translation, not merely
two consecutive stages. This is the mandatory condition of realization of the translation process. The second principle,
which defines my strategy, is "to translate sense, instead of the letter of the original". It means the inadmissibility of blind
copying of the original form. This formulation isn’t quite precise as a translation is a substantial operation. In fact, it means
the necessity to interpret properly the value of language units determined contextually. The third principle of my
translation strategy is a distinction of the more and less important elements of the text. Striving to display the full content
of the original text where possible, I make "direct translation", using similar syntactic structures and the closest
conformity to lexical units of the original.
