Слайд 1Handling translator’s false friends
International words are words in the
source and target languages which are more or less similar
in form.
The formal similarity is usually the result of the two words having the common origin, mainly derived from either Greek or Latin eg. Parliament, theorem, diameter, etc.
Слайд 2Handling translator’s false friends
Give your examples of international words
Слайд 3Handling translator’s false friends
Words that are similar in form but
different in meaning are called pseudointernational
or translator’s false friends
Слайд 4Pseudointernational words
Are classified into 2 main groups:
Words which are similar
in form but completely different in meaning, eg.
It lasted the
whole decade.
She has a very fine complexion.
Well, he must be a lunatic.
Слайд 5Handling translator’s false friends
2) There are many pseudointernational words which
are not fully interchangeable though there are some common elements
in their semantics.
Слайд 6Handling translator’s false friends
The translator should bear in mind that
a number of factors can preclude the possibility of using
the formally similar word as an equivalent:
Слайд 71) Semantic factor
The semantic factor resulting from the different subsequent
development of the words borrowed by the two languages from
the same source, eg.
Idiom – 1. идиом,
2. диалект (наречие),
3. стиль.
Слайд 8South Vietnam was a vast laboratory for the testing of
weapons for counter-guerrilla warfare.
Слайд 92) The stylistic factor resulting from the difference in the
emotive or stylistic connotation of the correlated words, eg.
“career”
Davy took
on Faraday as his assistant and thereby opened a scientific career for him.
Слайд 103) The co-occurrence factor reflecting the difference in the lexical
combinability rules in the two languages. The choice of an
equivalent is often influenced by the usage preferring a standard combination of words to the formally similar substitute.
Слайд 11So, a “defect” has a formal counterpart counterpart as «дефект»
but “theoretical and organizational defects” will be rather “подсчеты/есептеулер“.
A “gesture”
may be rendered in another way: The reason for including only minor gestures of reforms in the program…
(жалкое подобие реформ)
Слайд 124) The pragmatic factor reflecting the difference in the background
knowledge of the members of the two language communities which
makes the translator reject the formal equivalent in favor of the more explicit or familiar variant.
Слайд 13The American Revolution was a close parallel to the wars
of national liberation in the colonial and semi-colonial countries.
The counter-revolutionary
organization was set up to suppress the Negro-poor white alliance that sought to bring democracy in the South in the Reconstruction period.
Слайд 14The senator knew Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation by heart.
Слайд 15COLLOCATIONAL ASPECTS OF TRANSLATION
ATTRIBUTIVE GROUPS
there is a considerable dissimilarity
in the semantic structure of attributive groups in English and
in Russian. This dissimilarity gives rise to a number of translation problems.
Слайд 16The first group of problems stems from the broader semantic
relationships between the attribute and the noun.
the attribute may
refer not only to some property of the object but also to its location, purpose, cause, etc.
Слайд 17As a result, the translator has to make a thorough
analysis of the context to find out what the meaning
of the group is in each particular case.
He must be also aware of the relative freedom of bringing together such semantic elements within the attributive group in English that are distanced from each other by a number of intermediate ideas.
Слайд 18Thus a resolution submitted by an executive body of an
organization may be described as "the Executive resolution" and the
majority of votes received by such a resolution will be «the Executive majority».
Слайд 19If a word-for-word translation of the name of the executive
body (e.g. the «Executive Committee» — исполнительный комитет) may satisfy
the translator, the other two attributive groups will have to be explicated in the Russian translation as (try to guess)
Слайд 20«резолюция, предложенная исполкомом» and
«большинство голосов, поданных за резолюцию, которая
была предложена исполкомом»
Слайд 21The second group of problems results from the difficulties in
handling multi-member attributive structures. The English-speaking people make wide use
of "multi-storied" structures with complicated internal semantic relationships.
Слайд 22The tax paid for the right to take part in
the election is described as "the poll tax".
The states
where this tax is collected are "the poll tax states"
and the governors of these states are "the poll tax states governors".
Now these governors may hold a conference which will be referred to as 'the poll tax states governors conference" and so on.
Слайд 23The semantic relationships within a multi-member group need not be
linear. Consider the following sentence:
“It was the period of the
broad western hemisphere and world pre-war united people's front struggle against fascism” (analyze the structure of the attr group)
Слайд 24Это был период широкой предвоенной борьбы против фашизма за единый
народный фронт в Западном полушарии и во всем мире.
Слайд 25The same goes for attributive groups with latent predication where
a
whole sentence is used to qualify a noun as
its attribute "He was being the boss again, using the its-my-money-now-do-as-you're-told voice".
Слайд 26Here correspondences can also be described in an indirect way
only by stating that the attribute is usually translated into
Russian|Kazakh as a separate sentence and that this sentence should be joined to the noun by a short introductory element. Cf.:
Слайд 27The Judge's face wore his own I-knew-they-were-guilty-all-along expression.
Слайд 28На лице судьи появилось обычное выражение, говорившее: «Я все время
знал, что они виновны».
Слайд 29There was a man with a don't-say-anything-to-me-or-I'll-contradict-you face. (Ch. Dickens)
Слайд 30Там был человек, на лице которого было написано: что бы
вы мне ни говорили, я все равно буду вам противоречить.
Слайд 313) An attributive group may be transformed into a similar
group with the help of a suffix which is formally
attached to the noun but is semantically related to the whole group. Thus "a sound sleeper" may be derived from "sound sleep" or the man belonging to the "Fifth column" may be described as "the Fifth columnist".
Слайд 32As a rule, in the Russian translation the meanings of
the original group and of the suffix would be rendered
separately, e.g.: человек, обладающий здоровым (крепким) сном (крепко спящий человек), and человек, принадлежащий к пятой колонне (член пятой колонны).
Слайд 334) As often as not, translating the meaning of an
English attributive group into Russian may involve a complete restructuring
of the sentence, e.g.:
To watch it happen, all within two and a half hours, was a thrilling sight.
Нельзя было не восхищаться, наблюдая, как все это происходило на протяжении каких-нибудь двух с половиной часов.
Слайд 34Translate the following attributive groups
1. hearty eater;
2. practical joker;
3. conscientious objector;
4. sleeping partner;
5. stumbling block;
6.
smoking concert;
Слайд 35Translate the following attributive groups
Слайд 36HANDLING PHRASEOLOGICAL UNITS
Phraseological units are figurative set expressions often
described as "idioms".
Слайд 37Five aspects of idioms’ meaning that will influence the translator's
choice of an equivalent in the target language
1. the
idiom's figurative meaning,
2. its literal sense,
3. its emotive character,
4. stylistic register,
5. national colouring.
Слайд 38The figurative meaning is the basic element of the idiom's
semantics:
"red tape" means bureaucracy,
"to kick the bucket" -
to die,
"to wash dirty linen in public" - to disclose one's family troubles to outsiders.
Слайд 39The figurative meaning is inferred from the literal sense.
"Red
tape", "to kick the bucket", and "to wash dirty linen
in public" also refer, respectively, to a coloured tape, an upset pail and a kind of
laundering, though in most cases this aspect is subordinate and serves as a basis for the metaphorical use.
Слайд 41idioms
Positive
"to kill two birds with
one stone"
Neutral
"Rome was not
built
in a day"
Negative
“to find a mare's nest"
Слайд 42Phraseological units
Bookish
(to show one's
true colours)
Colloquial
(to be
a pain in
the neck)
Слайд 43Besides, an idiom can be nationally coloured, that is include
some words which mark it as the product of a
certain nation.
For instance, "to set the Thames on fire" and
"to carry coals to Newcastle"
are unmistakably British.
Слайд 45 Factors which complicate the task of adequate identification,
understanding and translation of idioms:
- First, an idiom can be
mistaken for a free word combination, especially if its literal sense is not "exotic" (to have butterflies in one's stomach) but rather trivial (to measure one's length, to let one's hair down)
Слайд 46Second, a SL idiom may be identical in form to
a TL idiom but have a different figurative meaning. Thus,
the English "to lead smb. by the nose" implies a total domination of one person by the other (cf. the Russian «водить за нос») and"to stretch one's legs" means to take a stroll (cf. the Russian «протянуть ноги»)
Слайд 47Third, a SL idiom can be wrongly interpreted due to
its association with a similar, if not identical TL unit.
For instance, "to pull the devil by the tail", that is to be in trouble, may be misunderstood by the translator under the influence of the Russian idioms «держать бога за бороду» or «поймать за хвост жар-птицу»
Слайд 48Fourth, a wrong interpretation of a SL idiom may be
caused by another SL idiom similar in form and different
in meaning. Cf. "to make good time" and "to have a good time"
Слайд 49Fifth, a SL idiom may have a broader range of
application than its TL counterpart apparently identical in form and
meaning.
For instance, the English "to get out of hand" is equivalent to the Russian«Oтбиться от рук» and the latter is often used to translate it:
Слайд 50The children got out of hand while their parents were
away. В отсутствии родителей дети совсем отбились от рук.
But the
English idiom can be used whenever somebody or something gets out of control while the Russian idiom has a more restricted usage:
What caused the meeting to get out of hand? Почему собрание прошло так неорганизованно?
Слайд 51There are four typical methods to handle a SL idiom
in the translating:
First, the translator can make use of
a TL idiom which is identical to the SL idiom in all five aspects of its semantics, e.g. "to pull chestnuts out of the fire for smb." — таскать каштаны из огня для кого-либо.
Слайд 52Second, the SL idiom can be translated by a TL
idiom which has the same figurative meaning, preserves the same
emotive and stylistic characteristics but is based on a different image, that is, has a different literal meaning, e.g. "make hay while the sun shines"
Слайд 53Third, the SL idiom can be translated by reproducing its
form word-for-word in TL, e.g.
"People who live in glass
houses should not throw stones." - Люди, живущие в стеклянных домах, не должны бросать камни.
Слайд 54Fourth, instead of translating the SL idiom, the translator may
try to explicate its figurative meaning, so as to preserve
at least the main element of its semantics
Слайд 55GRAMMATICAL ASPECTS OF TRANSLATION
HANDLING EQUIVALENT FORMS AND STRUCTURES
Grammaticality is
an important feature of speech units. Grammatical forms and structures,
however, do not only provide for the correct arrangement of words in the text, they also convey some information which is part of its total contents.
Слайд 56They reveal the semantic relationships between the words, clauses and
sentences in the text,
they can make prominent some .part
of the contents that is of particular significance for the communicants.
Слайд 57The syntactic structuring of the text is an important characteristics
identifying either the genre of the text or its author's
style.
Слайд 58In many cases, however, equivalence in translation can be best
achieved if the translator does not try to mirror the
grammatical forms in the source text.
There are no permanent grammatical equivalents and the translator can choose between the parallel forms and various grammatical transformations. He may opt for the latter for there is never an absolute identity between the meaning and usage of the parallel forms in SL and TL.
Слайд 59For instance, both English and Russian verbs have their infinitive
forms. The analogy, however, does not preclude a number of
formal and functional differences.
Слайд 60
We may recall that the English infinitive has perfect forms,
both active and passive, indefinite and continuous, which are absent
in the respective grammatical category in Russian.
Слайд 61The idea of priority or non-performed action expressed by the
Perfect Infinitive is not present in the meaning of the
Russian Infinitive and has to be rendered in translation by some other means.
Слайд 62 Cf. 'The train seems to arrive at 5." -
Поезд, видимо, приходит в 5. and 'The train seems to
have arrived at 5." - Поезд, видимо, пришел в 5.
Слайд 63A dissimilarity of the English and Russian Infinitives can be
also found in the functions they perform in the sentence.
Note should be taken, for example, of the Continuative Infinitive which in English denotes an action following that indicated by the Predicate:
Слайд 64Parliament was dissolved, not to meet again for eleven years.
Слайд 65Не came home to find his wife gone.
Слайд 66Парламент был распущен и не созывался в течение 11 лет.
Он вернулся домой и обнаружил, что жена ушла.
Слайд 67A similar difference can be observed if one compares the
finite forms of the verb in English and in Russian.
The English and the Russian verbs both have active and passive forms, but in English the passive forms are more numerous and are more often used. As a result, the meaning of the passive verb in the source text is often rendered by an active verb in the translation:
Слайд 68This port can be entered by big ships only during
the tide.
Слайд 69A most common example of dissimilarity between the parallel syntactic
devices in the two languages is the role of the
word order in English and in Russian. Both languages use a "direct" and an "inverted" word order. But the English word order obeys, in most cases, the established rule of sequence: the predicate is preceded by the subject and followed by the object.
Слайд 70This order of words is often changed in the Russian
translation since in Russian the word order is used to
show the communicative load of different parts of the sentence, the elements conveying new information (the rheme) leaning towards the end of non-emphatic sentences.
Слайд 71Thus if the English sentence "My son entered the room"
is intended to inform us who entered the room, its
Russian equivalent will be «В комнату вошел мой сын» but in case its purpose is to tell us what my son did, the word order will be preserved: «Мой сын вошел в комнату».
Слайд 72The predominantly fixed word order in the English sentence means
that each case of its inversion (placing the object before
the subject-predicate sequence) makes the object carry a great communicative load. This emphasis cannot be reproduced in translation by such a common device as the inverted word order in the Russian sentence and the translator has to use some additional words to express the same idea:
Money he had none.
Денег у него не было ни гроша.
Слайд 73I. Translate the following sentences with the special attention to
the choice of Russian equivalents to render the meaning of
the English infinitives.
1. The people of Roumania lived in a poverty difficult to imagine. 2. The Security Council is given the power to decide when a threat to peace exists without waiting for the war to break out. 3. The general was a good man to keep away from. 4. This is a nice place to live in. 5. He stopped the car for me to buy some cigarettes. 6. Jack London was the best short-story writer in his country to arise after Edgar Рое.
Слайд 74П. Note the way the meaning of the English passive
forms is rendered in your translation of the following sentences.
1.
The Prime-Minister was forced to admit in the House of Commons that Britain had rejected the Argentine offer to negotiate the Folklands' crisis. 2. The amendment was rejected by the majority of the Security Council. 3. He rose to speak and was warmly greeted by the audience. 4. The treaty is reported to have been ratified by all participants.
Слайд 75HANDLING EQUIVALENT-LACKING FORMS AND STRUCTURES
A lack of equivalence in
the English and Russian systems of parts of speech can
be exemplified by the article which is part of the English grammar and is absent in Russian||Kazakh.
Слайд 76As a rule, English articles are not translated into Russian
for their meaning is expressed by various contextual elements and
needn't be reproduced separately.
But in some cases there is a need to translate the meaning of the English article.
Слайд 77Consider the following linguistic statement: 'To put it in terms
of linguistics: a sentence is a concrete fact, the result
of an actual act of speech. The sentence is an abstraction. So a sentence is always a unit of speech; the sentence of a definite language is an element of that language."
Слайд 78It is obvious that an entity cannot be both a
concrete fact and an abstraction. The difference between "a sentence"
(любое отдельное предложение) and 'the sentence" (предложение как понятие, тип предложения) should be definitely revealed in the Russian translation as well.
Слайд 79Even if some grammatical category is present both in SL
and in TL, its subcategories may not be the same
and, hence, equivalent-lacking.
Both the English and the Russian verb have their aspect forms but there are no equivalent relationships between them. Generally speaking, the Continuous forms correspond to the Russian imperfective aspect, while the Perfect forms are often equivalent to the perfective aspect.
Слайд 80However, there are many dissimilarities. Much depends on the verb
semantics. The Present Perfect forms of non-terminative verbs, for instance,
usually correspond to the Russian imperfeclive verbs in the present tense:
Слайд 81I have lived in Moscow since 1940. 102
Я живу в
Москве с 1940 г.
Слайд 82The Past Indefinite forms may correspond either to the perfective
or to the imperfective Russian forms and the choice is
largely prompted by the context. Cf.:
Слайд 83After supper he usually smoked in the garden.
После ужина он
обычно курил в саду.
Слайд 84After supper he smoked a cigarette in the garden and
went to bed.
После ужина он выкурил в саду сигарету и
пошел спать.
Слайд 85The Past Pefect forms may also be indifferent to these
aspective nuances, referring to an action prior to some other
action or a past moment. Cf.:
Слайд 86I hoped he had read that book.
(а) Я надеялся, что
он читал эту книгу,
(б) Я надеялся, что он (уже)
прочитал эту книгу.
Слайд 87A special study should be made of the translation problems
involved in handling the Absolute Participle constructions. To begin with,
an Absolute construction must be correctly identified by the translator.
The identification problem is particularly complicated in the case of the "with"-structures which may coincide in form with the simple prepositional groups.
Слайд 88The phrase "How can you play with your brother lying
sick in bed" can be understood in two different ways:
as an Absolute construction and then its Russian equivalent will be «Как тебе не стыдно играть, когда твой брат лежит больной (в постели)» or as a prepositional group which should be translated as «Как тебе не стыдно играть с твоим больным братом».
Слайд 89Specific translation problems emerge when the translator has to handle
a syntactical complex with a causative meaning introduced by the
verb 'to have" or "to get", such as: "I shall have him do it" or "I shall have him punished". First, the translator has to decide what Russian causative verb should be used as a substitute for the English "have" or "get".
Слайд 90Depending on the respective status of the persons involved, the
phrase "I shall have him do it" may be rendered
into Russian as «Я заставлю его (прикажу ему, велю ему, попрошу его и т.п.) сделать это» or even «Я добьюсь (позабочусь о том, устрою так и т.п.), чтобы он это сделал».
Слайд 91Second, the translator must be aware that such complexes are
polysemantic and may be either causative or non-causative. The phrase
'The general had his horse killed" may refer to two different situations.
Слайд 92Either the horse was killed by the general's order (Генерал
приказал убить свою лошадь) or he was killed in combat
and the general was not the initiator of the act but the sufferer (Под ним убили лошадь). An error in the translator's judgement will result in a distorted translation variant.
Слайд 93Many equivalent-lacking structures result from a non-causative verb used in
the typical causative complex. Preserving its basic meaning the verb
acquires an additional causative sense. Cf.:
They laughed merrily.
Они весело смеялись.
They laughed him out of the room.
Они так смеялись над ним, что он убежал из комнаты.
Слайд 94In such cases the translator has to choose among different
ways of expressing causative relationships in TL. Cf.:
The US Administration
wanted to frighten the people into accepting the militarization of the country.
.
Слайд 95Администрация США стремилась запугать народ, чтобы заставить его согласиться на
милитаризацию страны. Не talked me into joining him. Он уговорил
меня присоединиться к нему.
It should be noted that such English structures are usually formed with the prepositions "into" and "out of as in the above examples