Theory of Translation

 

In some cases the use of the Russian Passive form is precluded by the fact that the Russian verb is used with a prepositional object.

 

The Iran earthquake was followed by tremors lasting a long time.

За землетрясением в  Иране последовали толчки, продолжавшиеся довольно долго.

 

Verbs formed by conversion present great difficulties in translation especially when used in the Passive.

 

The roads were sentinelled by oaks. (Clemance Dane).

По краям дороги, словно часовые, стояли дубы.

 

Its picturesqueness is rendered by a simile which makes the translation semantically and stylistically equivalent.

The desire for giving prominence to some element of the utterance, often accounts for the use of the passive form in English. As the word order is Subject-Predicate-Object and as stylistic inversion is relatively infrequent because of its expressive value, the Passive is naturally used. The tendency is particularly marked in newspaper style.

 

Fears are expressed that the North Sea could be fished out of herring.

Высказываются опасения, что из Северного моря могут выловить всю сельдь.

 

Verbals – the Infinitive and the Participles.

 

Though these categories also exist in Russian there are considerable difficulties in their forms and their use: the English Infinitive has Perfect and Continuous forms which are absent in the Russian language, whereas these verbals in the Russian language have perfective and imperfective aspects, non-existent in English. There are infinitive and participle complexes in Englishwhich have no counterparts in Russian.

 

The Infinitive. Nominative with the infinitive (the infinitive as a secondary predicate).

Oil consumption has increased by 4 per cent and the increase is expected to go up to 5 per cent.

Потребление нефти возросло на 4 процента и ожидается, что оно достигнет 5 процентов.

The infinitive complex is rendered by two clauses.

 

The Infinitive complex with the preposition “for”.

 

That was an odd thing for him to do.           (G.Grene).

Странно, что он так поступил.

 

The infinitive complex is translated by a subordinate clause.

 

The Infinitive used as attribute.

 

Supporters of outright independence for Puerto Rico fared poorly in the election – but remained a force to contend with.

Сторонники немедленного предоставления независимости Пуэрто-Рико собрали незначительное число голосов на выборах, но они все же предоставляют собой силу, с которой придется считаться.

 

Here too, the infinitive is translated by a subordinate attributive clause comprising the infinitive itself.

 

The Infinitive of subsequent action.

 

Throughout 1937 term after team after team attacked the Eiger, only to be driven back.     (Trevanian).

На протяжении всего 1937 года одна группа альпинистов  за другой пыталась совершить восхождение на вершину Эйгер и каждый раз все они были вынуждены отступать.

 

The Infinitive is rendered in this case by a coordinate clause.

 

The Participle as Part of an Absolute Construction

 

There were widespread R.A.F. strikes throughout India, Ceylon and the Middle East with the Airforce rank and file demanding speedier demobilization.

В Индии, на Цейлоне и  Среднем Востоке прокатилась  волна забастовок рядовых служащих Королевских военно-воздушных сил, которые требовали ускорить демобилизацию.

 

Partial Equivalents caused by different usage

 

Partial equivalents are also caused by different syntactical usage. The priority of Syntax due to the analytical character of the English language is reflected in a number of features firmly established in it by usage. Chief among them are: the use of homogeneous members which are logically incompatible, a peculiar use of parentheses, the morphological expression of the subject in the principal and the subordinate clauses, etc.

 

Without pomp and circumstance, N.A.T.O. closed its Paris head-quarters on Friday evening. The building which has housed the Secretariat and the 15 delegations for some 10 years has been rapidly emptying of furniture and staff.

В пятницу вечером без  всякой пышности и церемоний закрылась  штаб-квартира НАТО в Париже. Здание, в котором в течение 10 лет размещались секретариат и делегации 15 государств, быстро опустело – из него вывезли мебель и выехали все сотрудники.

 

The meaning of the verb “has been emptying of” is rendered in Russian by three verbs in conformity with the norm and usage of Russian language valency:

… здание опустело, мебель вывезли, сотрудники выехали.

A parenthetical phrase or clause sometimes breaks up the logical flow of the sentence which is common English as the relations between the members of the sentence are clear due to the priority of syntax. But such use necessitates a recasting of the Russian sentence, the parenthetical clause must be placed where it logically belongs to, sometimes even forming a separate sentence.

 

The Justice Party in Turkey has taken part in a coalition, and on another occasion its leader has been asked – but failed – to form a government.

Партия Справедливости в Турции один раз участвовала  в коалиционном правительстве, а  в другой раз лидеру партии было предложено сформировать правительство, но это ему не удалось.

 

As to the morphological expression of the subject in the principal and the subordinate clause it should be noted that syntactical hierarchy requires the use of a noun in the former and of a pronoun in the latter, regardless of their respective order.

The dark Algerian were ripe and as they crawled, the men picked the grapes and ate them.                (J. Steinbeck).

Черный алжирский  виноград уже поспел, и продвигавшиеся ползком солдаты срывали гроздья и ели их.

 

The subordinate clause is translated by an attributive participle group to avoid the use of a second subject.

 

Free and Bound Use of Grammar Forms

 

Grammatical forms are generally used freely according to their own meaning and their use is determined by purely linguistic factors, such as rules of agreement, syntactic construction, etc. in such cases their use is not free but bound. For example, in English the singular or the plural form of a noun preceded by a numeral depends upon the number of things counted: one table, twenty one tables; in Russian the agreement depends on the last numeral: один стол, двадцать пять столов.

The rule of sequence of Tenses is another case in point: the use of the tense in the English subordinate clause is bound. If the past Tense is used in the principal clause, the Past or the Future-in-the-Past must be used in the subordinate clause instead of the Present or of the Future, e.g. He says that he speaks English – он говорит, что знает английский; he said that he spoke English – он сказал, что он говорит по-английски.

This purely formal rule of the sequence of tenses does not find its reflection in translation as no such rule exists in Russian and the use of the tense form in the dependent clause is free and is determined by the situation.

It should be borne in mind that in reported speech – in newspaper articles, in minutes, in reports and records – this rule of the sequence of tenses is observed through the text: the sequences are governed by the Past Tense of the initial sentence – he said, it was reported, they declared, he stressed, etc.

To conclude, only free forms are rendered in translation and bound forms require special attention.

 

Types of Grammatical Transformations

 

As has been said, divergences in the structures of the two languages are so considerable that in the process of translation various grammatical and lexical transformations indispensable to achieve equivalence. These transformations may be classed into four types: 1. transpositions; 2. replacements; 3. additions; 4. omissions. This classification, however, should be applied with reservation. In most cases they are combined with one another, moreover, grammatical and lexical elements in a sentence are so closely interwoven that one change involves another, e.g.

As they leave Washington, the four foreign ministers will be traveling together by plane.

Все четыре министра иностранных  дел полетят из Вашингтона вместе.

 

The following types of transformations have been resorted to in the translation of this complex sentence:

1. The complex sentence is translated by a simple one (replacement of sentence type);

2. The word order is changed (transposition);

3. The subordinate clause of time is rendered by an adverbial modifier of place (replacement of member of the sentence);

4. The meaning of the predicate and of the adverbial modifier is rendered by the predicate (both lexical and grammatical transformations – replacement and omission);

5. The meaning of the definite article is rendered lexically (addition).

The above analysis shows that all the four types of transformations are used simultaneously and are accompanied by lexical transformations as well.

 

Transpositions

 

Transposition may be defined as a change in the order of linguistic elements: words, phrases, clauses and sentences. Their order in the TL text may not correspond to that in the SL text.

This change of order is necessary to preserve fully the content of the utterance while observing the norms of the TL.

In considering the universal categories of definiteness and indefiniteness mention has been made of the two main parts of the sentence from the point of view of communication, viz. the known (theme) and new (rheme) elements of the utterance and their respective place in English and in Russian sentences. It should also be noted that the traditional word order in English is Subject – Predicate – Object – Adverbial modifiers while the common tendency in Russian is to place adverbial modifiers at the beginning of the sentence to be followed by the predicate and the subject at the end, e.g.

 

Strikes broke out in many British industries.

В ряде отраслей промышленности Великобритании вспыхнули забастовки.

 

Transposition can also be effected within a complex sentence. The arrangement of clauses in English is often governed by syntactical hierarchy, whereas in Russian precedence is taken by logical considerations, e.g.

 

He started back and fell against the railings, trembling as he looked up.

(W.M.Thackeray).

Взглянув  наверх, он вздрогнул, отпрянул и, весь дрожа, прислонился к ограде.

Replacements

 

The substitution of parts of speech is a common and most important type of replacements. Every word functions in the language as a member of a certain grammatical clause, that is, as a distinct part of speech: noun, verb, adjective or adverb. But the S and T languages do not necessarily have correlated words belonging to the same grammatical class. In such cases replacements or replacements + additions are necessary, e.g.

an early bedder – человек, который рано ложится спать;

to cutvote somebody – получить больше голосов на выборах, чем …

The Times wrote editorially…- В передовой статье газета Таймс писала…

The adverb is translated by a noun modified by an adjective.

A frequent use of nominal and phrase predicates with the key notion expressed by a noun or an adjective often results in the replacement of a noun by a verb.

A professor of Essex University was critical of the Government social security policy.

Профессор Эссекского университета критиковал правительственную политику социального обеспечения.

 

Semantically link verbs are highly diversified. Sometimes it is hard to draw a clear demarcation line between a nominal predicate and a case of secondary predication.

The door at the end of the corridor sighed open and sighed shut again.

(G.H.Cox).

Дверь в конце  коридора еле слышно открылась и снова также еле слышно закрылась.

 

He took the bell-rope in his hand and gave it a brisk tug. (Conan Doyle).

Он схватил шнурок от звонка и резко его дернул.

A phrase predicate is replaced by a verbal predicate.

 

Adjectives derived from geographical names are usually replaced by nouns as such Russian adjectives evidently tend to express some permanent characteristic trait but not a temporary one, e.g.

Chilean copper – чилийская медная руда but Chilean atrocities – зверства в Чили.

Degrees of comparison also sometimes cause replacements. Such adjectives in the comparative degree as more, less, higher, lower, shorter, etc. are often translated by other parts of speech.

More letter bombs have been rendered harmless.

Было обезврежено еще несколько писем с бомбами.

 

His audience last night may also have been less than enthusiastic about the Prime Minister’s attitude towards Government spending.

Слушали, возможно, безо всякого восторга отнеслись к вчерашнему выступлению премьер-министра, в котором он высказал свое отношение к правительственным расходам.

 

Another linguistic phenomenon which frequently causes replacements in translation is the use of nouns denoting inanimate things, abstract notions, natural phenomena and parts of the body as subjects – agents of the action.

 

Election year opens on in America which is more divided and bitter than at any time in recent history.

В этом году будут происходить  выборы в Америке, которая еще никогда не была такой разъединенной и озлобленной.

 

As a matter of fact the subject in such constructions is purely formal. Actually it expresses adverbial relations of time, place, cause, etc.

Parts of the sentence often change their syntactical function in translation thus causing a complete or partial reconstruction of the sentence by means of replacements.

 

The White House correspondents have largely been beaten into submission by the President.

Президент грубым нажимом заставил подчиниться большинство корреспондентов при Белом Доме.

 

Replacements of sentence types

 

The usual types of replacements are the substitution of a simple sentence by a complex one and vice versa; of the principal clause by a subordinate one and vice versa; the replacement of subordination by coordination and vice versa; the replacement of asyndeton by polysyndeton and vice versa. These kinds of replacements are often caused by the existence of various complexes and structures in the English language, e.g.

 

I saw him cross the street and buy a newspaper.

Я видел, как перешел улицу и купил газету.

 

A simple sentence is replaced by a complex one.

 

Marsel Daussault, the airplane manufacturer who is said to be the richest man in France had defrauded the government of $ 300 million in taxes.

Марсель Дассо, владелец авиастроительной компании, который, как говорят, является самым богатым человеком во Франции, обокрал правительство, не выплатив 300 миллионов долларов налогов.

 

Simple sentences containing infinitive complexes are usually translated by complex sentences.

A simple sentence with an absolute participle or a nominative absolute construction is usually rendered by a subordinate or coordinate complex sentence.

 

With the fog rolling away and the sun shining out of a sky of icy blue the trevellers started on the leg of their climb.  (Trevanian)

Когда туман  поднялся и солнце засияло на холодном голубом небе, альпинисты начали последний этап своего восхождения.

 

It should also be noted that the type of the subordinate clause may be changed on the strength of usage.

 

She glanced at Brendon, where he sat on a chair across her. (W.Deeping).

Она посмотрела на Брендона, который сидел на стуле против нее.

 

The adverb “where” probably does not function here as an adverb of place but rather as a word qualifying the sitter.

Apart from replacing a simple sentence by a subordinated or coordinated complex sentence it can also be replaced by two, or more simple sentences. It is especially practiced in the translation of the so-called “leads”. A lead is the first sentence of news-in-brief which contains the main point of the information. It usually coincides with the first paragraph and is usually divided into two or more sentences in translation.

Thousands of Algerians tonight fled from the “dead city” of Orleanswille after a twelve-second earthquake had ripped through central Algeria, killing an estimated 1,100 people.

1. Тысячи жителей бежали сегодня ночью из «мертвого города» Орлеанвиля, спасаясь от землетрясения, длившегося двенадцать секунд.

2. Землетрясение произошло в центральных районах Алжира.

3. По предварительным данным погибло 1.100 человек.

 

On the other hand a complex sentence may by replaced by a simple one.

 

It was at the 5^th Congress that the Great Russian writer Maxim Gorky met Lenin for the first time.

Великий русский писатель Максим Горький впервые встретился с Лениным на 5 съезде партии.

 

He could not say anything unless he was prompted.  (Taylor Caldwell).

Без подсказки он не мог и слова сказать.

 

Additions

 

The tendency towards compression both in the grammatical and the lexical systems of the English language often makes additions necessary and indispensable. Much has already been said about additions that accompany transpositions and replacements. This is particularly true in the translation of infinitive, participle and gerundial complexes. There are other cases when additions are caused by compressed structures such as the absolute possessive, attributes formed by juxtaposition N₁ + N₂ structures and by attributive groups.

The model N₁ + N₂ often requires additions in translation: riot police – специальные отряды полиции для подавления уличных беспорядков; death vehicle – автомашина, убившая прохожего, bare beaches – пляжи, где можно купаться без костюмов.

Sometimes additions are required by pragmatic considerations: pay claim – требование повышения заработной платы, welfare cuts – урезывание бюджетных ассигнований на социальные нужды; herring ban – запрещение ловить сельдь в Северном море.