Theme III: Lexical Problems of Translation

Lecture 5-7

Outline

1.Translation of Monosemantic Words

2.Translation of Polysemantic Words

3.Translation of Internationalisms and Pseudo-Internationalisms

4.Translation of Non-Equivalent Lexicon

5.Translation of Idiomatic/Phraseological and Stable Expressions

1. Translation of Monosemantic Words

Analysing the word-meaning we observe that words as a rule are not units of a single meaning. Monosemantic words, i.e. words having only one meaning are comparatively few in number and fall into four groups:

1. antroponyms,

2. geographical names,

3. names of institutions, companies, organizations, periodicals, etc.,

4. scientific terms

1.1. Rendering of antroponyms is important as they help to identify a person. They are usually rendered by either transcription or transliteration,

e.g. Jack – Джек,

Mary – Мері (transcr.)

Some names of well-known historic figures are rendered according to the existing tradition,

e.g. Kings George, Charles, Jacob – Георг, Карл, Яків,

Иван Грозный – Ivan the Terrible,

King Richard the Lionheart -

King Edward the Confessor –

Prince William of Orange –

Ярослав Мудрий – Tsar Yaroslav the Wise

Василь Темний – Tsar Basil the Blind

G.B.Shaw – Дж. Б. Шоу

Some “tell-tale” names in fiction are translated,

e.g. Humpty – Dumpty – Шалтай-Болтай

Indian Chiefs’ nicknames: the Arrowhead/Dew of June – Гостряк Стріли (Червнева Роса),

from J.F.Cooper: Chingachgook the Big Serpent – Чингачгук Великий Змій,

The Deerslayer/the Pathfinder – Звіробій (Знайдислід, Слідопит),

The Leather Stocking/Hawk’s Eye – Шкіряна Панчоха (Соколине Око)

Modern: Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, Struck-by-the-Rea, etc.

1.2. Rendering of Geographical Names.

In rendering geographical names the tendency of transcribing and transliterating is as well observable as in case of names of people,

e.g. Belfast – Белфаст,

Dublin – Дублін,

San-Francisco - Сан-Франсіско (Сан-Франсиско).

Many E place names are partly transcribed and partly transliterated,

e.g. Liverpool – Лівер - пуль

translit. transcr.

Bradford – Бред – форд

transcr. translit.

Brighton – Брай - тон

transcr. translit.

Some geographical names have traditional rendering,

e.g. Ulster – Ольстер,

Texas – Техас,

Mexico- Мехіко, Мексика,

Arkansas – Арканзас,

Illinois - Іллінойс,

Michigan, etc

Names of seas, oceans, straits, channels, administrative territories and compound names of countries are mostly (at least partially) translated verbally,

e.g. the Pacific Ocean – Тихий океан,

the Black Sea – Чорне море,

New South Wales – Новий Південний Уельс,

the Gulf of Mexico – Мексіканська затока.

South Carolina – Південна Кароліна

The same principle is employed when rendering U/R geographical names into E,

e.g. Керченська протока - the Strait of Kerch

In some geographical names there are words/word groups requiring the use of identifying elements in the TL,

e.g. Idaho Falls – водоспад Айдахо, водоспад Айдахо Фоллз

Верховина – Verkhovyna, highlands in the Carpathian Mountains (Carpathian Highlands)

Foreign geographical names are to be conveyed from U/R into E not in their native spelling but in the established spelling in E,

e.g. Варшава – (Warszawa) – Warsaw,

Венеція – (Venezia) – Venice,

Гаага – (Den Haag) – the Hague,

Італія – (Italia) – Italy.

As to U geographical names they have recently acquired new variants of rendering into E: Kyiv, Lviv, Chernihiv, Uzhhorod.