
- •Table of Contents
- •Preface
- •Translation theory Chapter 1. Historical overview of translation
- •1.1. The notion of translation theory
- •1.2. Trends in the development of translation theory
- •1.3. Branches in translation studies
- •The map of translation
- •1.4. The object of investigation, aims and tasks of linguistic translation theory. Methods of analysis
- •Chapter 2. Contrastive linguistics and translation studies
- •2.1. Interconnection of contrastive linguistics and translation studies
- •2.2. Major points of difference between contrastive linguistics and translation studies
- •2.3. Levels of comparative translation studies
- •Chapter 3. Theoretical models of translation
- •3.1. Models based on componential analysis
- •3.2. Sense-text model of translation
- •3.3. Situational models of translation
- •3.4. Pragmatic models of translation
- •3.5. Cultural-semiotic and cognitive models of translation
- •Chapter 4. Basic notions and categories of linguistic translation theory
- •4.1. The notion of translation
- •4.2. Typology of translation
- •4.3. The problem of the unit of translation
- •Chapter 5. Equivalence and adequacy of translation
- •5.1. Equivalence and adequacy of translation: points of difference
- •5.2. The problem of translatability
- •5.3. Adequate translation and the role of context
- •Chapter 6. Transformations in Translation
- •6.1. Translation transformations: definition, causes, classification
- •6.2. Levels of translation transformations, operations and techniques of translation
- •6.3. Classification of translation transformations according to techniques of translation
- •Chapter 7. Translation theory and lexis
- •7.1. Main types of semantic correlation of English and Russian words
- •7.2. The notion of lexical correspondences. The theory of regular correspondences by Ya.I.Retsker
- •7.2.1. Equivalent correspondences: definition, classification, types of equivalents
- •7.2.2. Variant correspondences: definition and the difference between variant correspondences and partial equivalents
- •7.2.3. Contextual correspondences: definition and types of contextual correspondences
- •7.3. Analogues as a special type of lexical correspondences. Drawbacks of translation analogues
- •Chapter 8. Translation studies and lexis (cont.)
- •8.1. Lexical problems of translation at word level
- •8.2. Translation of words having no equivalents in tl
- •8.3. Problems of translating neologisms
- •Chapter 9. Translation studies and lexis (cont.)
- •9.1. Ways of rendering proper names
- •9.2. International and pseudo-international words in translation
- •9.3. Translation of terms
- •Chapter 10. Translation studies and lexis (cont.)
- •10.1. Lexical problems of translation at word-group level
- •10.2. Problems of translating phraseological units
- •10.3. Modality in translation
- •Chapter 11. Translation studies and grammar
- •11.1. Two levels of grammatical problems of translation
- •11.2. Grammatical divergences of English and Russian
- •11.3. Translation problems at textual level
- •Chapter 12. Translation studies and grammar (cont.)
- •12.1. Passive voice forms in translation
- •12.2. Problems of rendering word order in translation
- •12.3. Ways of rendering tense-aspect forms
- •Chapter 13. Translation studies and grammar (cont.)
- •13.1. Ways of rendering the English article(s) in Russian translation
- •13.2. Problems of translating English absolute nominative constructions into Russian
- •13.3. Rendering Russian verbal adverb phrases in English
- •Chapter 14. Translation studies and style
- •14.1. Rendering newspaper headlines
- •14.2. Grammatical peculiarities of translating newspaper articles
- •Who?- (did) what? (how?) where? when?-why?
- •14.3. Lexico-phraseological and stylistic peculiarities of translating newspaper articles
- •Part II. Workshop in translation Unit # 1. Basic notions of translation studies Points for discussion
- •1. Read and compare the following Russian and English texts: analyse the units of translation chosen on different levels
- •Unit # 2. Translation correspondences Points for discussion
- •1. Translate the following text into Russian. Find and write out units of translation which have been translated by different types of lexical correspondences.
- •3. Translate the following sentences into English using appropriate correspondences
- •Unit # 3. Transformations in translation Points for discussion
- •I. Compare the following slt and tlt, state the types of all transformations made in translation
- •II.Translate into Russian making the necessary changes
- •III. Translate into English making use of appropriate transformations
- •Unit # 4. Lexical problems of translation Points for discussion
- •I. Suggest, where possible, different ways of translating the following proper names into Russian
- •II. Translate the following sentences into English. Explain the ways of translating words and word-groups having no correspondences in tl.
- •III. Translate the following sentences from English into Russian, analyse the ways of translating neologisms.
- •IV. Translate different kinds of shortened names:
- •V. Translate the following groups of “cultural words” and phrases:
- •Unit # 5. Lexical problems of translation (cont.) Points for discussion
- •I. Think of the ways of translating into English nationally specific Russian phraseological units:
- •II. Offer variants of translating the following terms:
- •III. Translate the text from English into Russian; qualify the underlined terms as international words proper and pseudointernational words:
- •IV. Translate into Russian the English headlines paying attention to premodified noun phrases:
- •V. Discuss different ways of rendering in Russian the imagery component of the following English phraseological units:
- •VI. Think of the ways of translating nationally specific Russian phraseological unis:
- •Unit # 6. Grammatical problems of translation (cont.)
- •1. Compare the following slt and tlt, find cases of different grammatical divergences and analyse the ways of their rendering
- •II. Compare the Russian slTs and English tlTs. Discuss levels of eguivalence achieved in various cases:
- •III. State the type and genre of the following texts, translate them into Russian/English, discuss translation problems at textual level
- •Please have your boarding pass ready
- •In return we offer varied interesting work which includes dealing with
- •33 Cambridge Gardens Hastings East Sussex
- •Unit # 7. Grammatical problems of translation (cont.) Points for discussion
- •I. Translate the following sentences into Russian paying attention to Absolute Nominative constructions
- •II. Translate the following sentences into English, identify the means of compensating for Russian verbal adverb phrases
- •III. Translate the sentences into Russian using various means available in tl to make up for the English articles
- •IV. Translate specific English structures into Russian
- •Unit # 8. Grammatical problems of translation (cont.) Points for discussion
- •1. Translate the following texts into Russian paying attention to Passive voice structures:
- •II. Translate the following sentences into English /Russian, explain the ways of rendering tense-aspect forms:
- •III. Translate the following into English/Russian, state the ways of dealing with modality:
- •Unit # 9. Problems of style in translation
- •I. Suggest ways of translating English headlines:
- •IV. Compare the variants and choose the better of the two:
- •V.Translate into Russian the following abbreviations, state the types of tl correspondences
- •Unit # 10. Stylistic devices and expressive means in translation Points for discussion
- •I. Identify expressive means and stylistic devices in slTs and render them in English/Russian
- •II. Render the text in English, discuss transformations made to compensate for its stylistic features
- •III. Translate into English rendering properly imagery components of Russian lexical units:
- •IV. Compare the ways of rendering connotational properties of the English zoonames in Russian. Which of them do you find the most appropriate? Give your reasons.
- •V. Translate into English retaining the emotional effect of the means of creating emphasis in slTs
- •Part III sample tests test # 1: Lexical problems of translation
- •I. Translate into English. Explain the ways of translating phraseological units:
- •III. Translate the text into Russian. Find 3 examples of international words and 3 examples of pseudointernational words. Illustrate the differences in the latter case.
- •Test # 2: Lexical problems of translation
- •III. Translate the text into Russian. Find 3 examples of international words and 3 examples of pseudointernational words. Illustrate the differences in the latter case:
- •IV. Translate the following sentences into English/Russain. State the ways of translating terms:
- •V. Translate into Russian using and stating the types of transformations:
- •VII. Translate the text into Russian, write out examples of different types of tl correspondences:
- •Test # 3: Grammatical problems of translation
- •I. Translate the following text into Russian, state the types of grammatical transformations used and explain their causes
- •II. Render the following sentences in English paying attention to compensatory means to make up for grammatical divergences:
- •III. Translate the sentences into Russian choosing means available in tl instead of the English article(s).
- •IV. Translate the text into Russian focusing on English attributive groups.
- •V. Render the sentences in Russian paying attention to English adverbial verbs
- •VI. Translate the following sentences into Russian using various compensatory means for Passive voice structures
- •Test # 4: Final Revision Test
- •I. Translate the text into Russian, analyse ways of translating terms
- •II. Translate into Russian the newspaper article, state different types of transformations used in translation
- •III. Render the following sentences in English, discuss the ways of rendering cultural words
- •IV. Translate the text into Russian, analyse the ways of rendering grammatical lacoonae
- •Test # 5: Final Revision Test
- •I. Render the following Russian/English headlines in English/ Russian, discuss transformations made in translation
- •II. Translate “cultural” terms into Russian, analyse the ways of their compensation
- •III. Translate into English paying attention to new Russsian coinages
- •IV. Translate the text into Russian, write out examples of different kinds of lexical correspondences
- •VI. Translate the follwing sentences into English/Russian, state the ways of translating terms
- •VII. Translate into English. Explain the ways of translating phraseological units
- •Appendix I
- •I. Study the scheme of translation analysis of a tlt, discuss the main requirements set for evaluating the quality of a translation text: scheme of translation analysis of a tlt
- •II. Compare the following English/Russian texts and their translations, make the translation analysis of the tlTs applying the scheme given above
- •1. Balance sheet layout
- •III. Translate the following texts from Russian /English into English/Russian. Make the translation analysis of the tlTs according to the points of the scheme relevant for the texts.
- •Compare the following definitions of translation offered by Russian and foreign scholars. Choose the one(s) that you like best giving your reasons
- •Requisites for Professional Translators
- •Competence in translation: a complex skill, how to study and how to teach it
- •Conclusion
- •References
- •Lexicographic sources
- •List of fiction
14.3. Lexico-phraseological and stylistic peculiarities of translating newspaper articles
Russian and foreign investigators of the language of newspapers point out a number of lexical features that have to be taken into account in translation. Prof. V.G.Kostomarov stresses two opposite trends that are active in newspapers, on the one hand – the expressiveness and on the other hand – repetitiveness of language means used. Hence, a translator is confronted with a number of difficulties that arise out of these trends.
the core of newspaper lexis is constituted by standard well-established clichés. The investigators of newspaper lexis find such formulas among political and diplomatic vocabulary, sport lexis, science and technology, economic terms, etc. Some of them are international words, but the bulk of standard newspaper lexis are nationally specific, cf. решительная борьба с местничеством – resolute drive against parochial interests производство на душу населения – per capita production развитая производственная база – well-developed production facilities мыслить по-современному – to think along modern lines - история подтверждает – history bears out.
Prof. A.D. Shveitser points out two important features of newspaper clichés:
a) they may be nationally and culturally specific so a translator should look for adequate means of compensation in order to prevent any misunderstanding and “cultural shock”, cf.
Проблема отцов о детей является неразрешимой и чрезвычайно острой в нашем обществе. – The generation gap is an insoluble and most dramatic problem in our community [Швейцер 1973].
b) they may have peculiar connotations in SL that offer difficulties for TL readers, cf. the expression silent majority was created by R. Nixon and carried a negative connotation with reference to people who do not take an active part in political life. In this meaning it penetrated into Russian newspaper lexis – молчаливое большинство, though its true connotations are rather ambivalent: silent majority may refer to people who either have no political opinions, or who do not express their political opinions, or show passive consent with things.
One of the key notions of British mentality is connected with privacy – (the desirable state) of being away from other people so that they cannot see or hear what one is doing, interest themselves in others’ affairs [LDLC]. This word is difficult to translate because the Russian correspondences alter or destort the real sense of the English word, cf. уединение, уединенность; личное (частное) дело, секретность [NERD].
a wide use of stylistically marked vocabulary which are determined by different reasons in the two languages: in English they are used as a means of emphasis which in translation are often replaced by neutral units as there are no correspondences with a similar colouring in Russian. E.g. The Prime Minister axed 25 bills in the big rush. – Премьер-министр в большой спешке отклонил 25 законопроектов.
A similar substitution is often made in translating English slang, e.g. Why accuse the Sarge for the coup? – Стоит ли обвинять сержанта в совершённом перевороте?
Russian newspapers freely admitted non-literary words and phrases with the advent of perestroika which in translation were translated by English analogues or replaced by neutral correspondences, cf.
мент – cop, ranger
новояз – new speech
показуха – show-off, window-dressing
newspaper lexis is highly sensitive to changes in all spheres of life that’s why when translating newspapers it is necessary to deal with neologisms following the recommendations and rules that apply to new coinages, cf. замена натуральных льгот денежными компенсациями – replacement of in-kind social benefits (welfare benefits) by cash payments; получать тринадцатую зарплату – to get a 13th pay packet; фракция силовиков – siloviki faction.
newspaper lexis abounds in shortenings, abbreviations, clippings which are treated differently in translation depending on their character:
1. universal shortenings which are well-known outside a particular country are translated by their well-established TL correspondences, e.g. GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) – ГАТТ (transliteration), IMF (International Monetary Fund) – МВФ (loan translation), VAT (Value Added Tax) - НДС (loan translation).
2. nationally specific shortenings which are restricted in use may be translated by loans with comment or by ready analogues combined with explanation, cf. ГКО (государственные краткосрочные облигации) – short-term Government bonds (treasury bills, government securities with a fixed interest rate); ГИБДД – State Road Traffic Safety Inspectorate (see more examples in [Чанышева, Дьяконова 2007: Чанышева 2000]).
3. highly frequent shortenings may not be translated at all and used in their SL form, e.g. SWIFT (Society for World-wide Interbank Financial Telecommunications), CD-ROM (compact disc with read-only memory).
English newspaper lexis is noted for the use of diminutive and fanciful forms of reference to politicians including high-profile politicians and public figures in order to create an atmosphere of familiarity and arouse the readers’ trust. This is not common practice in Russian newspapers though they admit of abbreviated personal forms but for different reasons, e.g. ВВП (Владимир Владимирович Путин), БАБ (Борис Абрамович Березовский). That’s why English diminutive forms and various others including shortened are usually replaced by their neutral counterparts, cf. Maggy Thatcher – Маргарет Тэтчер, President Ike – Президент Эйзенхауэр, Barry Gold H2O – Барри Голдуотер, JFK Airport – Аэропорт им. Кеннеди, Gorbi – Горбачев.
newspaper lexis both in English and Russian is rich in stylistic devices and expressive means. A translator is required to resort to stylistic compensation, both local and non-local, in order to retain a stylistic effect, the similarity in form is not so important as the desirable impression may be created by another stylistic device in TL, e.g. He is soaring into his world of fantasy, because in the real world his policies are getting such a lashing from the working people. – Но он предпочитает летать в облаках, потому что на земле его политика встречает резкий отпор со стороны трудящихся (the difference in the images created in the two utterances, the replacement of the members creating antithesis in SLT and TLT).
When translating from Russian into English great problems arise when rendering the meanings of linga-cultural concepts. According to prof. S.G.Vorkachev a lingua-cultural concept is defined as a unit of collective consciousness which has a verbal expression and is marked by ethnocultural specificity [Воркачев 2004: 51]. Such concepts possess a number of semantic parameters including notional, imagery, evaluativel, etymological and cultural components, that means that they denote phenomena which are relevant in this particular community. The investigation of these features shows that they are deeply rooted in the life experience of the people, reflecting peculiar features of world view and mentality of the people. The English dictionaries of the new generation include special sections in dictionary entries which deal with cultural information [LDELC 1992; MED 2007].
We can best of all exemplify the ethnocultural roots of such phenomena in new coinages revealed in translation practice. The analysis of Russian neologisms testifies to three main sources of their appearance:
1) neologisms formed after productive patterns of Russian (чернобылец, лимитчик, яблочник, челночить),
2) neologisms borrowed from other languages, таймшер (time-share), оффшор (off-shore), опцион (option), фьючерсы (futures)),
3) neologisms described as inner borrowings as they result from penetration into official language of stylistically low units like jargonisms, colloquialisms, slang, etc (развлекуха, отмазывать, откат).
Translation solutions which have been made when translating Russian neologisms are based on the following methods of translation:
1) borrowed translation: transcription /transliteration, loan-translation: самиздат – samisdat, префект – prefect (head of a district in Moscow), губернаторские выборы – gubernatorial elections; груз-200 – cargo/freight 200; личное подсобное хозяйство – individual subsidiary holding;
2) equivalent correspondences: утечка мозгов – brain-drain, оперативная группа – task force, номенклатурный капитализм – crony capitalism; представительские расходы – hospitality expences;
3) analogues (approximate translation correspondences): общепит – public catering facilities, невозвращенец – defector; круглый отличник – straight-A student;
4) variant correspondences: отмывание денег – legalization of dirty money, money laundering, hot money recycling; государственные краткосрочные облигации – government short-term bonds, cf. state treasury bills;
5) explanatory (periphrastic) translation: десоветизация – liquidation of the system of Soviet power, дерьмократ – shitty democrat;
6) combined translation: (a) borrowed translation + explanatory translation: черный нал – black cash: funds that do not appear on either clients’ or contractors’ sheets, ОМОН – OMON: special purpose police units commissioned to carry out tasks of particular significance calling for utmost courage and discipline; (b) borrowed translation + explanatory translation + analogues: ОМОН – OMON: special purpose police units commissioned to carry out tasks of particular significance calling for utmost courage and discipline; cf. paramilitary police, special function police detachments.
The analysis of various correspondences reveals differences in those cases when translation is made by means of ready correspondences, cf. невозвращенец – defector. The dictionary definition of the English word shows that it is much broader in its meaning compared to the Russian unis: defector – a person who deserts a political party, group or country, especially in order to join an opposing one [MED].For example, There were several defections from the Labour Party.
Translation practice shows that a translator may be confronted with three tasks when dealing with Russian neologisms:
a) to be aware of the differences between existing correspondences,
b) to look for adequate means of compensation in case he deals with lacoonae lexis,
c) to take into account cultural information.
The differences are numerous and they refer to various aspects:
1) denotatinal – such differences have always attracted translators’ attention since they reveal divergences between the languages that may be very important in intercultural communication, cf. справка – certificate, referent; соцномер – a social security number // a tax-payer’s identification number. According to the dictionary definitions the English phrase social security number means number of the special form 000-00-0000 which the US government gives to all working people in order to bring them into the welfare system which allows to pay money to people in special need (poor, unemployed, in need of medical treatment, etc). Its Russian counterpart just implies ИНН (индивидуальный номер налогоплательщика).
Such examples can be multiplied as they are very frequent. Cf. refusenik (English informal) – hist. a Jew refused permission to emigrate to Israel from the former Soviet Union. Now it has broadened its meaning to a person who refuses to cooperate. But compare with its Russian counterpart:
отказник – refusenik: 1) a person deprived of the right to go abroad, 2) a young man who refuses to serve in the Army, 3) a child forsaken by parents and handed over to state orphanage.
2) differences in evaluation, cf. спекулянт (a person who buys things cheap and resells them at a profit in conditions of shortage of consumer goods) – speculator (a person who buys or deals in goods, shares, etc whose future price is still uncertain, in the hope of a large profit): the Russian word is obviously marked with a negative connotation, while its English counterpart tends to be rather positive);
3) the differences in combinability: торговая палатка – trade retail outlet, convenience stores; образ врага – the idea of the foe;
4) differences in the extralinguistic aspect which relate to objects of reality denoted by respective words, e.g. прописка – passport registration, residence permit. The English word passport refers to an object which is not the same as the one designated by the Russian counterpart, cf. passport – a small official book which is given to a citizen leaving their country and entering a foreign country; паспорт – официальный документ, удостоверяющий личность владельца; прописка – оформление официальной записью проживания кого-либо по определенному адресу. The English word permit is wider in its sense as it means an official written statement giving one the right to do smth, cf. travel permit, work permit.
In order to cope with these problems it is useful to resort to a number of additional supplementary means to convey the content of SL units properly. To such devices we can refer:
1) comments on the usage:
поступить в вуз через собеседование – to enter a college after an interview: Usage: about medal-holders, Olympiad winners, etc.
2) comments on etymology: прихватизация – illegal privatization. Origin: blending of «прихватить» (seize up) and «приватизация» (privatization); Процесс пошел! – The process has started! Origin: one of M. Gorbachev’s historical phrases about perestroika, now used mostly ironically.
3) comment on the linguacultural situation and its elements that gave birth to a certain phenomenon designated by a respective Russian word, совок – sovok. Cultural note: of any bearer of Soviet tastes and mentality; an ordinary Soviet citizen; the Soviet type, Homo Sovieticus.
When rendering lacoona lexis, that is units that do not have ready correspondences in English a translator has to think not only about the content, but also about the form. This is particularly important when translating proverbial expressions, e.g. Хотели как лучше, получилось как всегда – We wanted the best, you know the rest (rhythmical structure and rhyming); ломать – не строить – the “breaking is not making” principle.