A Study of the Key Elements in the Jerome Model， the Horace Model and the Schleiermacher Model

都潇潇

【Abstract】There are Two very popular and important translation models， namely the Jerome Model， the Horace Model ， which can be thought to be the forerunner of the translation theory nowadays. They share one common concept—faithfulness. the Two models are discussed one by one to aim at pointing out the main differences and similarities， from which we can learn more and do better translation in our studies and works. Finally， the paper draws a conclusion that no single translation model is really better than another because the criteria of translation are dynamic rather than static.

【Key words】the Two translation models； faithfulness； equivalence； domestication； foreignization

Introduction

Translation is the process of converting one language （source language） to another （target language） so that the target language could convey the intended messages in the source language.Linguistically， translation is a branch of applied linguistics， for in the process of translation the translator consistently makes any attempts to compare and contrast different aspects of two languages to find the equivalents. There are three types of conventional translation practice： the Jerome Model， the Horace Model and the Schleiermacher Model， which can be thought to be the forerunner of the translation theory nowadays.

The three models

1. The Jerome Model

The concept of equivalence lies at the heart of what may be called the Jerome Model of translation， which had an immense influence on the translation process in the western hemisphere. Saint Jeromeis a distinguished historian， theologian and translator. Jerome grasped three languages namely the Hebrew， Greek， and Latin. He spent his whole life on the study of the Bible and the Christian literature.According to different types， different translation methods will be applied. When translating the Bible， because of the scared nature of the text， Jerome translates it word by word. When translating other types of texts， Jerome tends to translate it sense for sense.

2. The Horace Model

We are in the process of moving beyond the Jerome Model， towards a model that is associated with the name of the Roman poet Horace and which historically predates the Jerome Model， but has been overshadowed by it for about fourteen centuries. Horace expresses his ideas in his book Epistula ad Pisones . In this book， Horace spoke out his famous words “Do not worry about rendering word for word， faithful translator， but render sense for sense”. In Horaces opinion， faithful translator is thought to meet the satisfaction of both parties. If he is a translator， the translator should balance between the patron and two languages.

3. The Schleiermacher Model

The third type is the Schleiermacher Model which emphasizes the importance of foreignzing translation. Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher is a distinguished philosopher， theologian and translator.He puts forward two types of translator. One is the “Dolmestcher”， who translates commercial texts； the other is “Ubersetzer”， The functional school and the hermeneutic school of translation have their origin from Schleiermacher. The Schleiermacher Model proposes to remain the linguistic and cultural difference of the original text. For Schleiermacher， good translator should bring the author and the reader together. A translation should therefore sound “foreign” enough to its reader for that reader to discern the workings of the original language.

Conclusion

The Jerome Model， the Horace Modelplay their important and necessary roles in the development if translation theories.They have interacted and supplementary， and served as the power of translation field for more or less years in their eras. They have some features in common； also distinguish some characters in difference.Thus， when translating， a good translator should be required to consider the two models together. Of course， with the development of our society， economy， history and globalization， the research of translation still has a harder journey to explore.

References：

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