The Shortcomings of Comparative Stylistics in Spite of its Importance in Learning Translation

Abstract

No doubt, learners of translation find difficulties to transfer texts from one language to another, especially specialized ones, such as economic, legal, medical and literary texts… This is why they need to use translation theories, strategies and basic techniques to better understand the source text and find the most appropriate methods for translating it correctly into the target language. Learners generally choose linguistic theories by first opting for Vinay and Darbelnet’s Comparative Stylistics , as these two Canadian theorists established, in their teaching manual published in 1958, the basic translation techniques that make it easier for learners to assimilate the act of translation. But is Comparative Stylistics really enough to overcome the different problems of translation, particularly in the transferring of various meanings linked to the sociolinguistic and cultural contexts that differ from one language to another? This is the question we are going to develop in this paper in order to highlight the importance of linguistic theory and identify its real shortcomings in the translation of specialized texts in particular. At the end, the study will reveal the other theories that learners should consider to help them find solutions to the various translation difficulties