Lexical problems of translation

Lecture 6. LEXICAL PROBLEMS OF TRANSLATION

1.1. HANDLING CONTEXT-FREE WORDS

Introductory Notes

As a rule, the object of translation is not a list of separate lexical units but a coherent text in which the SL words make up an integral whole. Though each word in the language has its own meaning, the actual information it conveys in a text depends, to a great extent, on its contextual environment. Generally speaking, the meaning of any word in the text cannot be understood and translated without due regard to the specific context in which it is actualized. Some words, however, are less sensitive to the contextual influence than others. There are words with definite meanings which are retained in most contexts and are relatively context-free. Context-free words are mainly found among proper and geographical names, titles of magazines and newspapers, names of various firms, organizations, ships, aircraft and the like, as well as among technical terms used by experts in all fields of human endeavour.

Context-free words have an important role to play in the translating process. They usually have permanent equivalents in TL which, in most cases, can be used in TT. The translator is thus provided with reference points helping him to choose the appropriate translation variants. The permanent equivalents of context-free words are often formed by transcription (with possible elements of transliteration) or loan translations.

Proper and geographical names are transcribed with TL letters, e.g.: Smith - Смит, Brown - Браун, John Fitzgerald Kennedy - Джон Фитцжеральд Кеннеди; Cleveland - Кливленд, Rhode Island — Род-Айленд, Ontario — Онтарио; Downing Street — Даунинг-стрит, Foley Square — Фоли-сквер.

The same is true about the titles of periodicals and the names of firms and corporations, e.g.: Life-«Лайф», US News and World Report — «ЮС ньюс энд уорлд рипорт», General Motors Corporation - «Дженерал моторс корпорейшн», Harriman and Brothers — «Гарриман энд бразерс», Anaconda Mining Company — «Анаконда майнинг компани».

Transcription is also used to reproduce in TL the names of ships, aircraft,missiles and pieces of military equipment: Queen Elisabeth — «Kyин Элизабет», Spitfire — «Спитфайр», Hawk — «Хок», Trident - «Трайдент», Honest John - «Онест Джон».

The rules of transcription have two minor exceptions. First, it is sometimes supplemented by elements of transliteration when SL letters arе reproduced in TT instead of sounds. This technique is used with mute and double consonants between vowels or at the end of the word and with neutral vowels (Dorset —Дорсет, Bonners Ferry —Боннерс Ферри) as well as to preserve some elements of SL spelling so as to make the TL equivalent resemble some familiar pattern (the Hercules missile — ракета «Геркулес», Columbia - Колумбия). Second, there are some traditional exceptions in rendering the names of historical personalities and geographical names, e.g.: Charles I —Карл I, James II —Яков П, Edinborough — Эдинбург.

Some geographical names are made up of common nouns and are translated word-for-word: the United States of America - Соединенные Штаты Америки, the United Kingdom — Соединенное Королевство, the Rocky Mountains — Скалистые горы.

If the name includes both a proper name and a common name, the former is transcribed while the latter is either translated or transcribed or both: the Atlantic Ocean - Атлантический океан, Kansas City— Канзас-сити, New Hampshire - Нью-Хемпшир, Firth of Clyde — залив Ферт-оф-Клайд,

Names of political parties, trade unions and similar bodies are usually translated word-for-word (with or without a change in the word-order): the Republican Party — республиканская партия, the United Automobile Workers Union — Объединенный npoфсоюз рабочих автомобильной промышленности, the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Федеральное бюро расследований.

Terminological words are also relatively context-free though the context often helps to identify the specific field to which the term belongs. In the sentence 'These rifles are provided with a new type of foresight", the context clearly shows that the meaning of "foresight" is that of a military term and therefore all other meanings of the word can be disregarded. The context may also help to understand the meaning of the term in the text when it can denote more than one specific concept. For instance, in the US political terminology the term "state" can refer either to a national state or to one of the states within a federal entity. The following context will enable the translator to make the correct choice: "Both the state and Federal authorities were accused of establishing a police state." In the first case the term "state" is contrasted with "Federal" and will be translated as «штат», while in the second case it obviously means «государство».

As a rule, English technical terms (as well as political terms and terms in any other specific field) have their permanent equivalents in the respective Russian terminological systems: magnitude — величина, oxygen - кислород, surplus value - прибавочная стоимость, Embassy — посольство, legislation — законодательство.

Many Russian equivalents have been formed from the English terms by transcription or loan translations: computer — компьютер, electron -электрон, Congressman — конгрессмен, impeachment — импичмент, shadow cabinet — «теневой кабинет», nuclear deterrent — ядерное устрашение. Quite a few among them are international terms: theorem — теорема, television — телевидение, president — президент, declaration — декларация, diplomacy — дипломатия. In some cases there are parallel forms in Russian: one formed by transcription and the other, so to speak, native, e.g.: резистор and сопротивление, бустер and ускоритель, индустрия and промышленность, тред-юнион and профсоюз, лидер and руководитель.

The translator makes his choice considering whether ST is highly technical or not, for a borrowed term is usually more familiar to specialists than to laymen. He has also to take into account the possible differences between the two forms in the way they are used in TL. For example, the Russian «индустрия» is restricted in usage and somewhat old-fashioned, «тред-юнион» always refers to British trade-unions and «лидер» gives the text a slightly foreign flavour.

Dealing with context-free words the translator must be aware of two common causes of translation errors. First, English and Russian terms can be similar in form but different in meaning. A "decade" is not «декада», an "instrument" is not «инструмент», and a "department" in the United Slates is not «департамент». Such words belong to the so-called false friends of the translator (see below). Second, the translator should not rely on the "inner form" of the English term to understand its meaning or to find a proper Russian equivalent for it is often misleading. A "packing industry is not «упаковочная» but «консервная промышленность», "conventional armaments" are not «условные» but «обычные вооружения» and a "public school" in Britain is not «публичная» or «общедоступная» but «частная школа».

Translation of technical terms puts a premium on the translator's knowledge of the subject-matter of ST. He must take great pains to get familiar with the system of terms in the appropriate field and make good use of technical dictionaries and other books of reference.

Exercises

I. Suggest the Russian substitutes for the following names and titles.

1. Washington Irving, Edgar Allan Рое, Dorothy Parker, James Thurber, James I, Langston Hughes, Charles Evans Hughes, Charles III, Victor Hugo, DuPont, Watt Hugh McCollum, Mike Quin, Art Buchwald, Nataniel Hawthorne, Ambrose Bierce, William Parker, William IV, Mitchell Wilson, Woodrow Wilson

2. Albany, New South Wales, Santa Anna (Calif), Firth of Tay, Ivory Coast, New Orleans, New Hampshire, Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico, Blenheim, Webster Springs, Wells River, Red Lake, East Greenwich, Munich, West Rocky River, West Delaware River, Cornwall, Zurich, Cape Verde Islands

3. Downing Street, Whitehall, Wigmore Hall, Windsor Castle, Festival Gardens, Fifth Avenue, Trafalgar Square, Charing Cross, Haymarket Theatre, Harley Street, Mansion House, Lombard Street

4. National Bank; Associated British Foods; Aluminium Company of Canada, Ltd; Standard Oil of New Jersey, Imperial Group; London, Midland and Scottish Railway; London Broadcasting Company; Warner Brothers; Butterworth and Dickenson, textile engineers; Independent Television News; Associated Press

5. Financial Times, Labour Weekly, New York Herald Tribune, Wall Street Journal, Political Affairs, Morning Star, Paris Soir

II. Translate the following sentences with particular attention to the way the proper and geographical names should be rendered into Russian.

1. A tourist's heart may leap at first sight of the Thames as it cuts through the heart of London because of the spectacle of massed totems such as Parliament, Whitehall, St. Paul's Cathedral and the Tower of London that rise majestically near it, and the 15 bridges bearing storybook names and images: Westminster, Waterloo, Blackbriars, London Bridge and Tower Bridge. But nearly everything worth the price of a snapshot sits on the northern bank.

2. After the death of Charles I in 1649 puritanical attitudes to the visual arts did not favour the development of architecture and the destruction, begun under Henry VIII, was renewed during and after Civil War (1642-1646). Whatever the merits of government under Cromwell it was a sad period for architecture.

3. Another change which affected architecture was the growth of an educated middle class. From Chaucer to Shakespeare, to Ben Jonson and Inigo Jones, to Wren and Newton, to Hume, Gibbon and Robert Adam and on to Soane, Carlyle, Ruskin and Morris, the "middling sort of people" were taking over and amplifying the secular role which had been played by clergy in earlier times when clerics were almost the only people who could read and write.

 

 

III. Translate the following words and collocations. Explain your choice of the type of equivalents.

1. administrative efficiency; 2. arbitration; 3. affidavit; 4. Attorney-General; 5. balance of payments; 6. adverse trade balance; 7. to stuff the ballot; 8. casting vote; 9. close vote; 10. back-bencher; 11. to bail out; 12. election returns; 13. brinkmanship; 14. job bias; 15. political bias; 16. brain drain; 17. State of the Union message; 18. income tax; 19. frame-up; 20. career diplomat; 21. red-baiting campaign; 22. breakthrough; 23. bread-line; 24. circumstantial evidence; 25. gerrymandering; 26. craft union; 27. open shop system; 28. brain washing; 29. non-contiguous States; 30. company checkers; 31. contempt of court; 32. crippling taxes; 33. polling date; 34. defendant; 35. color-blind; 36. conglomerate; 37. social work; 38. the Chief Executive; 39. hardware; 40. software

IV. Analyze the terminological units in the following sentences and suggest the way they should be translated into Russian.

1. We, the human race have braved the violent electromagnetic Aura around Jupiter and photographed its puzzling moons.

2. Once established, aspen seedlings tend to reproduce themselves vegetatively by root suckering.

3. General Motors, Ford and Chrysler combine autos and computers in novel ways. They offer such features as self-adjusted suspensions, sensors, that alter fuel mixture for efficient combustion and systems that diagnose a car's mechanical troubles.

4. Organ transplants will become more successful in the future because of an experimental agent that prevents rejection, say doctors from 12 medical centers. Reporting in the New England Journal of Medicine, the researchers found that a specially engineered monoclonal antibody halted rejection episodes in 58 of 63 patients who had received new kidneys. By comparison, drug treatment halted rejection episodes in only 45 of 60 patients.

5. Viruses may cause multiple sclerosis, according to two studies in the British medical journal Lancet.