Vocabulary

Work in pairs. Find the words in the text according to their definitions below, then give Russian equivalents. The numbers of paragraphs and the parts of speech are given in brackets:

1. (adj.) charming and attractive (Par. 1)

2. (v) take in or contain (something) as part of a whole; include (Par. 1)

3. (v.) bring into effective action; utilize or use (Par. 2)

4. (n.) a scoreboard showing the names and current scores of the leading competitors (Par. 2)

5. (n.) process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function (Par. 2)

6. (n.) a particular way of speaking or using words, esp. a way common to those with a particular job or interest (Par. 3)

7. (n.) the tendency of some consumers to continue buying the same brand of goods rather than competing brands (Par. 3)

8. (adv.) without assistance from outside an organization; internally (Par. 4)

9. (n.) an arrangement between people to make a regular journey in a single vehicle, typically with each person taking turns to drive the others (Par. 5)

10. (adj.) achieving maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort or expense (Par. 6)

11. (v.) continue to have (something); keep possession of, keep in one's memory (Par. 7)

12. (n.) a hidden or unsuspected danger or difficulty (Par. 8)

13. (ph. v.) distribute small shares of something, give out scanty portions of smth. (Par. 8)

14. (n.) strong hostility (Par. 9)

15. (ph. v.) serve or act to compensate for something lost, missed, or deficient (Par. 10)

Unit 6 Useful translation techniques and methods to be applied

Starting up

The Summary of techniques which we apply when translating/ interpreting

Due to the fact that no languages in the world are absolutely similar, there are some changes needed to be done when translating the meaning from one language (SL) into another (TL). These changes mostly occur in three main ways:

• addition (when we add some words or even sentence parts/clauses when there is a need due to lexical or grammar peculiarities)

• omission (the opposite to the first method, when we leave out or exclude some words or even sentences parts).

• substitution (when we lave the word or part of a sentence or even the whole sentence and make some alterations, either in the level of grammar or lexis). Thus the following way – substitutions – may be of two main types – grammatical and lexical substitutions. Let's look at these two in more details.

Lexical substitutions	Grammatical substitutions
Generalization	Parts of speech substitution
Specification	Substitution of grammar categories ( Passive-Active, plural-singular etc.)
Translation by antonyms	Word order (plus Topic-Comment)
Logical development of meaning	Sentence unification
Compensation (lexical or grammatical)	Sentence fragmentation (internal)
	Sentence fragmentation (external)

Translation

Now read the example English sentences below and their suggested Russian translation. Identify the type of grammar translation and substitution methods applied:

1. The four atoms are in a plane. «Все четыре атома расположены в одной плоскости».

2. Denis said that to a man they hated their exploiters. «Денис сказал, что они все как один ненавидят эксплуататоров».

3. A new method for transmission and reception of teleprinter code may well be used for this purpose. «Возможно, что для этой цели бу­дет использован новый метод передачи и приема клавиатурного телеграфного кода».

4. X was affected by Y. На X повлияло Y.

5. The results were affected by the presence of impurities. Ha результаты повлияло наличие примесей.

6. The rates and molecular weights are affected by lowering the temperature. На скорости и молекулярные веса влияет понижение температур.

7. All these observations were made in solution, but a number of compounds were also examined in the solid state. Все эти наблю­дения были сделаны для растворов, но, кроме того, ряд со­единений был исследован и в твердом состоянии.

8. No final decision between all these various alternatives is pos­sible at present. В настоящее время невозможно окончательно остановиться на одном из этих вариантов.

9. Therefore a number of alternatives have been proposed. По­этому был предложен ряд вариантов.

10. The statistical approach is more powerful than the kinetic approach because it gives numerical values for constants which cannot be evaluated by the kinetic method. Статистический метод более действенный, чем кинетический. Он дает цифровые значения для констант, которые не могут быть вычислены кинетическим методом.

11. The attempted investigation proved to be a success. Предпринятое исследование оказалось удачным.

12. This causes the components to be separated. Это заставляет разделяться компоненты.

13. One of the atoms of the ring is distinguished from the remain­ing five by having a greater attraction for electrons. Один из атомов кольца отличается от остальных тем, что имеет большее притяжение к электронам.

14. Balancing is done by adjusting the position of rods. Равнове­сие устанавливают путем регулирования положения стерж­ней.

15. These substances differ only in being mirror images. Эти ве­щества отличаются только тем, что являются зеркальными изображениями друг друга.

16. The letter is written with a pen. Письмо пи­шут пером.

17. Never before has he seen it. Он этого никогда раньше не видел.

18. Working under hard conditions were all the early students of this new field of chemistry. Все первые исследователи этой новой области химии работали в тяжелых условиях

19. “She was ill and lying in bed the whole day”. “Она была больна и весь день пролежала в постели”.

20. The work having been done, everybody felt a great relief. Когда дело было сделано, все почувствовали огромное облегчение. Или: Выполнив работу, все почувствовали огромное облегчение.

Reading 1

You are going to read a summary of such a method of translation as sentence restructuring by Topic-Comment inversion. Scan the text quickly and try to answer the questions below:

In linguistics, the topic (or theme) is informally what is being talked about, and the comment (rheme or focus) is what is being said about the topic. Although this nature of topic–comment dichotomy is generally accepted, anything beyond that is a matter of great controversy.

The term "topic" can be defined in a number of different ways:

a.) the phrase in a clause that the rest of the clause is understood to be about,

b.) the phrase in a discourse that the rest of the discourse is understood to be about,

c.) a special position in a clause (often at the right or left-edge of the clause) where topics typically appear.

In an ordinary English sentence, the subject is normally the same as the topic. For example, the topic is emphasized in italics in the following sentences:

(1) The dog kicked the little girl.

(2) The little girl was kicked by the dog.

Although these sentences mean the same thing, they have different topics. The first sentence is about the dog, while the second is about the little girl.

In English it is also possible to use other sentence structures to show the topic of the sentence, as in the following:

(3) As for the little girl, the dog kicked her.

A distinction must be made between the clause-level topic and the discourse-level topic. Suppose we are talking about Mike's house:

(4) Mike's house was so comfortable and warm! He really didn't want to leave, but he couldn't afford the rent, you know. And it had such a nice garden in the back!

In the example, the discourse-level topic is established in the first sentence: it is Mike's house. In the following sentence, a new "local" topic is established on the sentence level: he (Mike). But the discourse-level topic is still Mike's house, which is why the last comment does not seem out of place.

Reading and comprehension

Answer the following questions:

1. What's the difference between Topic and Comment?

2. What types of Topic can there be?

3. What place do the Topic and Comment usually take in a typical English sentence?

4. What place does the Comment usually take in a typical Russian sentence?

5. What ways to put the emphasis in a Russian and an English sentence do you know?

6. Where is Topic and Comment in: It’s raining, or Trains arrived?

Translation 1

Translate the following sentences paying attention to emphasized parts and comment-topic division:

1) Благодаря этой кампании в борьбу за мир были вовлечены все прогрессивные писатели Австралии. (The campaign...)

2) Вследствие уменьшения поступления пресных вод в Аральское море там понизится уровень воды.(The reduced/ reduction)

3) В этом доме никто уже давно не живет. (This house...)

4) Ему предложили новую должность.

5) Посетителей просят оставлять пальто в гардеробе.

6) В газете «Трибюн» было опубликовано более трехсот статей, написанных Марксом на самые разнообразные темы. ("The Tribune "….)

7) Как раз в отделе кадров я и повстречал г-на Бэлфреда, управляющего дочерней компанией Мичленд Корпорэйшн.

Translation 2

Topic-comment structuring and the cross-language differences

Work in pairs. Translate the sentences below paying attention to Topic and comment restructuring.

1. An informal meeting by the EU’s culture ministers discussed the subject yesterday and they are expected to take it up again in Luxemburg in June.

2. While in 1992, 1,549 citizens from ex-Soviet republics were detained in connection with drug-related offences, in 1996, the number practically doubled, reaching 3,188 people.

3. A diploma is needed to apply to university or get a white-collar public-sector job.

4. Overseas students flock to UK universities to do research, but many are unhappy with the treatment they get.

5. On Monday, several hundred elderly demonstrators gathered on the outskirts of Moscow and briefly blocked the main highway to St. Petersburg; 12 were arrested.

6. A big push to accelerate European integration on law enforcement and immigration was mounted by EU interior and justice ministers yesterday. (the Financial Times, Feb.7, 2007)

7. Japan can claim a long interest in robots. Clockwork dolls were developed in the 18th century to ferry cups between guests during tea ceremonies.

8. Iraq has been surveyed from space [by US spy satellites]. Its missile sites, its radar and signal intelligence facilities, its communication links, its chemical weapons and nuclear weapons facilities, its navy bases at Basra and Umm Qasr, its seven major military airfields, its two captured Kuwait airfields and Baghdad and Kuwait international airports have been measured and assessed.

9. Agents from Iran have been caught trying to obtain materials and technology in Britain to build nuclear weapons abroad, it emerged yesterday.

10. A spy camera set up to deter thieves and shoplifters has been stolen from Whitney Market Place.

11. A network of anti-corruption squads is being planned by chief constables as part of a national campaign against crooked officers.

12. Britain’s first kerbside monitoring system to identify polluting vehicles instantly was set up yesterday on one of the busiest routs into London.

13. Violent youth gangs were a much-publicized problem in New-York City at the end of 1950s. A Youth Board was created by the city to try to stop their fights.

14. Traditionally, only the beginning of a sale or the end of a war could get the British population out on the streets en masse.

15. It was primarily because of these concessions to the Negro and white labor that the big capital came to hate Roosevelt so ruthlessly.

16. It was curiosity that first drove Jacques-Yves Cousteau underwater. It was his obsessive and intense delight with what he found that kept the rest of the world enraptured for more than 40 years until he died in 1997 in Paris at the age of 87.

17. There [at the World Cup games in Japan] has been no sign of the hooliganism which scarred France 98. Thirteen English visitors have been arrested for ticket touting and passing counterfeit currency – but none for committing acts of violence. The competition’s overwhelmingly joyous, celebratory atmosphere, rather than the large number of Japanese police who are ever present, seems to explain why England’s often belligerent followers have behaved so well.

18. Six months after he spent six hours talking to Saddam Hussein in Baghdad and gained the release of 250 American hostages, Jesse Jackson has still not been interviewed by any major US television network.

Reading 2