Lexicological aspects of translation. Units of nationally biased lexicon and ways of their translating

1. The notion of untranslatable lexical units.

2. The concept of the nationally biased lexicon.

3. The penetration of a nation’s specific lexicon into other national languages.

4. Classification of the units of specifically national lexicon.

5. Ways of rendering the meaning of the nationally biased units of lexicon:

1. the factors which predetermine the choice of the ways of translation;

2. the ways of translation:

• descriptive explaining (descriptive paraphrase) only;

• transcription (transliteration) exclusively;

• transcription or transliteration and explication;

• word-for-word or loan translation;

• translation of componental parts and additional explication;

• semantic analogy;

• hyperonymic recreation;

• interlingual transposition on the connotative level;

• contextual explication of the units of specifically national lexicon;

• situational substitutes.

REFERENCES

1. Korunets’ I.V. Theory and Practice of Translation. – Vinnytsia: New Book, 2000. – pp. 151-169.

2. Зорівчак Р.П. Реалія і переклад. – Львів: Вид-во при Львівському держ. унів-ті, 1989.

3. Федоров А.В. Основы теории перевода. – М.:

4. Крупнов В.Н. Курс перевода. – М.: Изд-во “Международные отношения”, 1979. – С. 27-31.

5. Крупнов В.Н. В творческой лаборатории переводчика. – М., 1976. – С. 146-153.

6. Читалина Н.А. Учитесь переводить. – М.: Изд-во “Международные отношения”, 1975. – С. 16-20.

I. The notion of untranslatable lexical units.

If we compare lexical systems of two languages – the SL and TL – we will notice the existence of the units that have no exact equivalents. It the result of the separate historical and psychological biographies of the two languages: i.e. difference in the historical and psychological development of the linguistic communities and corresponding languages.

These words and word combinations having no exact equivalents in another language are mostly “untranslatable”.

To these belong:

1. Realia – concepts pertaining to customs, national foods, articles of clothing, territorial divisions, weights and measures, forms of address and the like.

2. Exclamations, that may be articulated, emanating from the nations word stock (e.g.: By Jove! Боже праведний!), or onomatopoeic, stemming from the phonetic structures of the particular language (e.g.: Gee! Ба! Овва!);

4. Diminutive usages that may have a variety of implications – belittling only or forms of endearment at the same time – as for example, in Russian, Ukrainian, German – or may be practically non-existent, as in English.

5. Derogatory (augmentative) usages, often expressing specific associations with animals or other imagery peculiar to the language (вовчище, кулачище, п’янюга).

7. Geographic names.

8. Proper names.

For untranslatable words and word combinations a translator should seek equivalents not in one but in a variety of linguistic and stylistic resources.