To Be or not To Be; This is the Problem for Translation Critics

Abstract

Translation is a way of transferring information and messages from one language to another. In order to investigate whether this purpose is attained, a translation critic must come to the scene and examine both the positive and negative aspects of the translation. A critic should see whether the translator is successful in choosing proper equivalents or not. If a translator knows his renderings will be criticized, he will try his best to translate more accurately and it is in this case that translation will receive greater improvements. The thing which matters in translation criticism is that the critic should consider both the negative and positive aspects of the translated text. He should give comments on the deficiencies of a translation but he should also appreciate those problematic parts which are solved by the translator. It is the right of a translator to be appreciated if he has done a very natural and  clear rendering in which both the content and the form is transferred from the source language to the target language. The present study tried to define the characteristics of a critic and the reaction he should have while confronting different text types. In the end, the paper provided the readers with the procedures that exist in the process of criticizing a translated text.