Theory of Translation

МИНИСТЕРСТВО

ВЫСШЕГО И СРЕДНЕГО СПЕЦИАЛЬНОГО

ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ СССР

 

 

 

 

МОСКОВСКИЙ ОРДЕНА ДРУЖБЫ НАРОДОВ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННЫЙ ПЕДАГОГИЧЕСКИЙ ИНСТИТУТ ИНОСТРАННЫХ ЯЗЫКОВ имени МОРИСА ТОРЕЗА

 

 

 

 

 

ПОСОБИЕ ПО ТЕОРИИ ПЕРЕВОДА

 

для студентов старших курсов переводческого факультета МГПИИЯ им. М. Тореза

 

(на английском языке)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Москва – 1985

 

 

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

CHAPTER ONE

Some fundamentals of theory of translation……………………………….

Types of equivalence……………………………………………………….

First Type of Equivalence…………………………………………………..

Second Type of Equivalence……………………………………………….

Stylistic Aspect of Equivalence.............…………………………….

Pragmatic Aspect of Equivalence……………………………………

Third Type of Equivalence…………………………………………………

Levels of Equivalence………………………………………………………

Types of Translation……………………………………………………….

CHAPTER TWO

Grammatical Problems……………………………………………………..

Grammatical Features Typical of Modern English…………………………

Non-equivalents….........................................................................................

Partial Equivalents………………………………………………………….

The Infinitive……………………………………………………………….

The Participle as Part of an Absolute Construction…………………………

Free and Bound Use of Grammatical Forms……………………………….

Types of Grammatical Transformations……………………………………

Transpositions……………………………………………………………….

Replacements………………………………………………………………

Additions……………………………………………………………………

Omissions……………………………………………………………………

CHAPTER THREE

Lexical Problems…………………………………………………………...

Three Types of Lexical meaning……………………………………………

Referential meaning and its Rendering in Translation……………………...

Divergences in the Semantic Structure of words…………………………...

Different Valency…………………………………………………………...

Different Usage……………………………………………………………...

Translation of Monosemantic Words……………………..............................

Rendering of Proper Names in Translation………………………………….

Geographical Names…………………………………………………

Names of Months, Seasons and Days of the Week………………….

Numerals……………………………………………………………..

Names of Street……………………………………………………....

Names of Hotels……...………………………………………….…...

Names of Sports and Games…………………………………………

Names of Periodicals………………………………………………...

Names of Institutions and Organizations…………………………….

Translation of Polysemantic Words…………………………………….…..

Contextual Meaning of Polysemantic Words………………………….…...

Words of Wide Meaning………………………………………………..…..

Translation of Pseudo-International Words………………………………..

Non-equivalents……………………………………………………………

Translation of Words of Emotive meaning……………………….………..

Rendering of Stylistic Meaning in Translation………………………….….

Translation of Phraseological Units………………………………………..

Concretization……………………………………………………………...

Generalization……………………………………………………………...

Antonymic Translation…………………………………………………….

Metonymic Translation…………………………………………………….

Paraphrasing………………………………………………………………..

CHAPTER FOUR

Stylistic Problems…………………………………………………………..

Official style…………………………………………………………….….

Scientific Prose Style……………………………………………………..…

Newspaper and Publicistic Styles……………………………………….….

Rendering of Form in Translating Emotive Prose…………………….……

National Character of Stylistic Systems…………………………….……...

Rendering of Trite and Original Devices……………………………..…….

Original Metaphors and Their Translation…………………………….…...

Transferred Epithet and its Translation………………………………..……

Violation of Phraseological Units and its Rendering……………………….

Foregrounding and Translation……………………………………………..

Foregrounding of Articles……………………………………………….….

Degrees of Comparison…………………………………………………..…

The Plural Form…………………………………………………………….

Word Building...………………………………………………………….....

Suffixes……………………………………………………………………..

Conversation and Foregrounding…………………………………………..

Emphatic Constructions…………………………………………………..…

Inversion as a Means of Emphasis……………………………………….…

Emphatic Use of the “As…as” Model………………………………….…..

Emphatic Negative Constructions……………………………………..……

Semantic Foregrounding……………………………………………….…...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER ONE

SOME FUNDAMENTALS OF THE THEORY OF TRANSLATION

 

Translation is a peculiar type of communication – interlingual communication.

The goal of translation is to transform a text in the Source Language into a text in the Target Language. This means that the message produced by the translator should call forth a reaction from the TL receptor similar to that called forth by the original message from the SL receptor. The content, that is, the referential meaning of the message with all its implications and the form of the message with all its emotive and stylistic connotations must be reproduced as fully as possible in the translation as they are to evoke a similar response. While the content remains relatively intact, the form, that is, the linguistic signs of the original, may be substituted or replaced by other signs of the TL because of structural differences at all levels. Such substitutions are justified; they are functional and aim at achieving equivalence.

Equivalent texts in the two languages are not necessarily made up of semantically identical signs and grammatical structures and equivalence should not be confused with identity.

Equivalence is the reproduction of a SL text by TL means. Equivalence is not a constant but a variable quantity and the range of variability is considerable. The degree of equivalence depends on the linguistic means used in the SL texts and on the functional style to which the text belongs. E.g.:

Early December brought a brief respite when temperatures fell and the ground hardened, but a quick thaw followed.

В начале декабря наступила краткая передышка, температура понизилась, земля замерзла, но потом быстро началась оттепель.

The messages conveyed by the original and the translaton are equivalent as every semantic element has been retained although some changes have been made in strict conformity with the standards and usage of the Russian language.

 

TYPES OF EQUIVALENCE

 

Equivalence implies variability and consequently several types of equivalence can be distinguished.

First Type – Formal Equivalence.

 

Children go to school every morning.

Дети ходят в школу  каждое утро.

 

The content, the structure of the sentence and the semantic components (language units) are similar. Each element of the SL text has a corresponding one in the TL text. But such cases of complete similarity are rather rare.

 

Second Type – Partial Correspondence Equivalence.

 

Non-corresponding elements may be lexical, grammatical or stylistical. Equivalence of the second type is usually achieved by means of various transformations: substitution or replacements (both lexical and grammatical), additions and omissions, paraphrasing and compensation.

 

All through the long foreign summer the American tourist abroad has been depressed by the rubber quality of his dollar.

Во время продолжительного летнего пребывания за границей американских туристов угнетало непрерывное сокращение покупательной способности доллара.

 

Although a considerable degree of equivalence has been achieved a number of transformations, certain losses have been incurred, namely, compactness and vividness. They are accounted for by existing discrepancies in collocability (valency).

Attention should be paid to the Stylistic aspect of equivalence because of its importance in achieving the second type of equivalence. The stylistic aspect of equivalence implies the rendering in translation of stylistic and emotive connotations. Stylistic connotations presuppose the use of words belonging to the same layer of the vocabulary (literary, neutral and colloquial). Emotive connotations presuppose the use of words evoking similar connotations. The following example illustrates the rendering of stylistic connotations:

 

Delegates to the conference in San Francisco, April, 1945, from European countries have been traveling three weeks. The German U-boats which were hanging around were most effectively scared off by depth-charges from accompanying destroyers.

Делегаты из европейских  стран на Конференцию в Сан-Франциско, открывшуюся в апреле 1945 г., находились в пути почти три недели. Глубинные  бомбы сопровождавших эсминцев успешно  отгоняли германские подводные лодки, которые все еще шныряли в океане.

 

The coll                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              er).

Ночью прохожие видели нестерпимо-яркий мертвенный свет не прикрытого щитом уличного фонаря.

 

Attention should also be drawn to the Pragmatic aspect of equivalence.

Pragmatic equivalence can be achieved only by means of interpreting extra-linguistic factors.

 

Mr. Healey by his decision presented a Christmas package so small that it is hardly even a Christmas stocking-filler.

Меры, на которые  решился министр финансов Хили перед самым рождеством, были такими куцыми, что их едва ли можно назвать рождественским подарком.

 

The literal translation of “a Christmas stocking-filler” – “что они едва ли могли наполнить рождественский чулок” would hardly convey any sense to the Russian receptor unfamiliar with the custom. In this case the pragmatic aspect motivated the translation “a Christmas stocking-filler” by “рождественский подарок”. The addition of the words “министр финансов” is also necessitated by pragmatic considerations.

Here is another example of interesting substitution.

 

The Elgin marbles seem an indisputable argument in favor of the preservation of works of art by rape.

Статуи  и фриз, снятые лордом Элгином с Парфенона и увезенные в Англию, по-видимому, являются неопровержимым доводом в пользу сохранения произведений искусства путем хищения.

 

The substitution of the subject and the addition of the participle construction convey the necessary pragmatic information. If a detail denoting some national feature is not important enough it may safely be omitted, e.g.

 

He could take nothing for dinner but a partridge with an imperial pint of champagne (J. Galsworthy).

За обедом он съел только куропатку и запил ее бутылкой шампанского.

 

The word “imperial” does not convey any significant information and may therefore be omitted in the Russian translation without impairing equivalence.

The pragmatic aspect of the content is sometimes closely interwoven with the linguistic aspect and their interaction also requires explanatory additions, e.g.

 

I was sent to a boarding school when I was very little – about five – because my mother and father … couldn’t afford anything so starchy as an English nurse or a French governess (Ilka Chase).

Меня отправили в  пансион, когда я была очень маленькой, мне было лет пять, потому что мои родители не могли позволить себе ни настоящей английской няньки в накрахмаленном чепце и переднике, ни чопорной французской гувернантки.

 

The difficulty there lies not only in the pragmatic aspect of the adjective “starchy” but also in its use in two meanings, direct and indirect, simultaneously (1. накрахмаленный; 2. чопорный).

 

Third Type – Situational or Factual Equivalence.

 

The content or sense of the utterance is conveyed by different grammatical and lexical units.

Situational equivalence is observed when the same phenomenon is described in a different way because it is seen from a different angle, e.g.

 

The police cleared the streets.

Полиция разогнала демонстрацию.

 

Unemployed teenagers are often left without means of gaining food and shelter.

Безработные подростки  часто оказываются без средств  к существованию.

 

Hold the line.

Не кладите трубку.

 

The Commonwealth countries handle a quarter of the world’s trade.

На страны британского содружества приходится четвертая часть мировой торговли.

 

This type of equivalence also comprises the translation of clichés, orders, warnings and notices, phraseological units and set expressions, formulae of politeness, etc.

 

There were no survivors.

Все погибли.

 

Fragile – осторожно, стекло;

Keep off, wet paint – не садиться, окрашено;

Many happy returns of the day – поздравляю  с днем рождения.

 

In this way, the third type of equivalence conveys the sense, the meaning of the utterance without preserving its formal elements.

(For a detailed analysis of the levels of equivalence problems and the structural level patterns the reader is referred to the studies of Soviet linguists В.Н.Комиссаров «слово о переводе» and В.Н.Крупнов «сборник научных трудов», вып. 203, с. 183-199).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LEVELS OF EQUIVALENCE

 

Equivalence may occur at different linguistic levels: phonetic, word building, morphological, at word level, at phrase level, at sentence level and finally at text level.

 

Phonetic level of Equivalence

 

The sound form of corresponding English and Russian words seldom coincide, consequently this level of equivalence is not common and is of primary importance only in poetic translation.

 

Word-building Level of Equivalence

 

e.g.: irresponsible – безответственный; unpredictable – непредсказуемый; counterbalance – противовес, еtс.

 

Morphological Level of Equivalence

 

e.g.: The report’s proposals were handed to a political committee.

Предложения доклада были переданы политическому комитету.

 

Equivalence at Word Level

 

e.g.: She clasped her hands round her handbag. (Agatha Christie).

Она крепко сжала в руках свою сумочку.