The Change of Meaning in (Highly) Specialized Texts After Back-Translation

Abstract

Translation researchers are quality conscious, motivated to establish fidelity in the translated meaning to the source text (ST), and view back translation as a credible assurance mechanism of quality. Thus, the present paper looks into the reliability of back-translation as a quality control mechanism between source text (ST) and target text (TT). This is an effective and efficient application in the process of back-translation as a checking tool for several years. Still, it has its own limitations. Firstly, back-translation works best for very closely related languages and cultures. The different number of words between the two languages in one language combination shows that words on one side may lack a one-to-one equivalent on the other side. Finally, the quality of the back-translation relies heavily on the accuracy of the translated text because if there is any mistake done by the translator, it will definitely reflect in the work of the back translator because he just follows the translated text". This research deals with the problem of back-translation in specialized texts and the change of meaning that occurs in both Arabic and English language.