Lecture1. Theoretical and Methodological Aspects of Translation

Lecture1. Theoretical and Methodological Aspects of Translation

Lecture 1

Theoretical and Methodological Aspects of Translation

Problems for discussion:

1. Translation as a Notion, Subject and Object of Linguistic Study

2. Significance of Translation

3. Methods of Translation

4. Kinds of Translation

1. 1. Translation as a Notion and an Object of Linguistic Studies

Translation can be seen from different points of view, as it can be a notion, a subject and an object of a linguistic study. The process of translation always involves two languages – a source language and a target language.

A source language is an original language, the one from which the translation is done. A target language is a resulting language, the one into which the translation is done.

As a notion translation means the process of rendering the content of a source language word, word-group, sentence or passage in the target language. Translation also denotes the result of the process of rendering.

As a subject translation is a linguistic study which considers principles, methods and ways of conveying the meaning of a source language units in the target language.

As an object of a linguistic study translation is functional interaction of two languages which involves extralinguistic situation and background information. Extralinguistic situation implies the conditions under which the communication takes place. Background information is general knowledge of the subject of communication. It is the translator’s common sense, his knowledge of the way the things are in life.

According to its physicalparameters translation is divided into translation and interpretation. The difference between them is thattranslation is written while interpretation is oral. But it should be mentioned that the term ‘translation’ is much broader and it can be used when we speak about both translation and interpretation.

Translation is divided into several types depending on the genre of the text being translated, such as literary, publicistic translation, translation of official documents, etc.

Interpretationis traditionally divided into consecutive and simultaneous interpretation.

Consecutive interpretation is the process of interpreting which follows the source utterance. Simultaneous interpretation is the process of interpreting performed at the same time with the original speech. As a rule, this interpretation requires special equipment, such as ear-phones, microphones and a sound- insulated booth.

Significance of Translation

The importance of translation has long been recognized. It makes possible government and personal contacts at the international level. It is important for the functioning of different international bodies (E.E.C. –European Economic Council; I.M.F. – International Monetary Fund; UN, etc.). Translation is widely used in politics, business and science. Translation is a perfect means of sharing achievements and enriching national languages, literatures and cultures. Due to masterly translations of the world classics it has become part of many national literatures as well as the works of Ukrainian authors have become available for many readers abroad.

Translation also promotes enrichment of lexicon in the target language (E.g. Cossack, steppe, hryvnia, etc.).

A lot of expressions and regular sentence idioms have come to national languages owing to translation (E.g. Olympic calmness, the Ten Commandments, Trojan horse, to take part, time is money, black ingratitude, etc.). All this proves that the translator’s activities greatly influence the enrichment of languages through translation.

1. 2. Methods of Translation

The main task of a translator is to make his translation as faithful as possible preserving the contents as well as the original manner and style of the author.

There are some factors that predetermine the degree of faithfulness of translation which are as follows:

1. the purpose of the translation;

2. the skill of the translator/interpreter;

3. the type of the matter selected for translation.

Depending on these factors there are the following methods of translation:

1. literal;

2. verbal;

3. word-for-word;

4. interlinear;

5. literary.

1. Literal translation is an equivalent rendering of the lexical meaning of each language unit despite the difference in the number of morphemes or syllables in the target language. It is used only at the word level.

E.g. music-музик а, constitu tion -конститу ція, zoolog y -зоолог ія, atom ic -атом ний.

2. Verbal translation is conveying the additional meaning without rendering the orthographic or the sounding form of the source language units. It is the method of translation in which the lexical meanings in the source and the target languages are the same while the forms are different. Lexical meanings and morphological stems are identical in source and target languages.

E.g. mis trust- не довіра, help less - без порадний, in correct- не правильний, super profit- над прибуток, weight lessness - не вагом іст ь.

3. Word-for-word translation is a consecutive verbal translation at the level of word-groups and sentences. This method is appropriate in rare cases as it is sure to lead to grammatical violations especially if the grammatical structures of the source and the target languages are different.

E.g. He went to school.Він пішов до школи.

Who said it? Хто сказав це?

4. Interlinear translation is a strictly faithful rendering of sense expressed by word-groups and sentences at the level of some text, which is normally achieved through many structural transformations. The necessity of these transformations is mostly explained by grammatical and stylistic differences in a source and target languages.

E.g. He fell ill. Він захворів.

Let’s discuss this problem to begin with. Давайте спочатку обговоримо цю проблему.

5. Literary translation is of two types: literary artistic and literary proper translation.

Literary artistic translation is a faithful conveying of content and artistic merits of a fiction work.

Literary proper translation is a faithful conveying of content of a non-fiction work.

Literary translations are always performed with many transformations which help achieve the ease and beauty of the original composition

Literary translation often requires linguistic and historical inquiries to clear up the obscure places.

E.g. „Слово о полку Ігоревім”: word-for-word translation ‘A Word about Ihor’s Regiment’

Literary translation: The Tale of the Host of Ihor

The Tale of the Armament of Igor

Prince Igor’s Raid against the Polovtsi

The Song of Igor’s Campaigne.

Kinds of Translation

Depending on the form of conveying the content the following kinds of translation are distinguished:

1. the written from a written matter translating;

2. the oral from an oral matter interpreting;

3. the oral from a written matter interpreting (at sight).

Translation can also be descriptive and antonymic.

Descriptive translation is conveying the sense of language units with their structural transformations in order to explain their meaning. It is often used in translating the notions of specific national lexicon.

E.g. custard – заварний крем з фруктами

verbal – неособова форма дієслова

It is also rather often used in translating idioms.

E.g. as mad as a hatter – зовсім божевільний

all my eye and Betty Martin - нісенітниці

like twelve o’clock – вмить, прожогом.

Antonymic translation is a way of rendering positive in structure language units through negative in sense but identical in content language units or vice versa.

E.g. Keep the door open. Не зачиняйте двері.

I wish it were summer now.Шкода, що зараз не літо.

I don’t think it will hurt you. Думаю, це вам не зашкодить.

SELF-ASSESSMENT TEST 1

1. Extralinguistic situation implies

a) linguistic peculiarities of speech

b) stylistic characteristics

c) conditions under which communication takes place

2. Hierarchy of methods of translation is crowned with

a) literary translation

b) literal translation

c) word-for-word translation

3.Literal translation is used at

a) speech level

b) word level

c) language level

4. Verbal translation doesn't render

a) lexical meaning

b) orthographic from

c) additional meaning

5. Literal translation always demonstrates coincidence of

a) form and meaning

b) form and connotation

c) denotation and connotation

6. Interlinear translation is achieved through

a) sound form

b) orthographic form

c) transformations

7. Descriptive translation is often used in rendering

a) barbarisms

b) internationalisms

c) nationally biased units

8. In antonymic translation form and structure are

a) the same

b) different

c) partially coincide

9. Consecutive translation takes place

a) at the same time with a source utterance

b) after the source utterance

c) before the source utterance

10. Descriptive translation is conveying

a) the sense of language units

b) the form of language units

c) the structure of language units

SELF-ASSESSMENT TEST 3

1. The article is

a) a structural part of speech

b) a notional part of speech

c) an auxiliary part of speech

2. The article is used with

a) a noun

b) a pronoun

c) an adjective

3.The Indefinite article

a) identifies nouns

b) shows their order

c) classifies nouns

4. When the article is lexicalized, it can be translated by

a) a noun

b) a pronoun

c) an adverb

5. The Indefinite article is derived from

a) a noun

b) an adjective

c) a numeral

6. The definite article is derived from

a) a numeral

b) an adjective

c) a pronoun

7. Which article is never used with geographical names?

a) the Indefinite article

b) the Definite article

c) the Zero article

8. Which article is always implied by the use of the particularizing attribute?

a) the Indefinite article

b) the Definite article

c) the Zero article

9. Which is the main factor that influences the translation of the article?

a) the origin of the article

b) the lexico-grammatical meaning of the article

c) the contextual environment

10. Which article can be translated into Ukrainian 'справжній, солідний'?

a) the Indefinite article

b) the Definite article

c) the Zero article

SELF-ASSESSMENT TEST 4

1. The infinitive never performs a syntactic function of

a) a subject

b) a predicate

c) an object

2. The number of paradigmatic forms of the infinitive of a transitive verb is

a) 6

b) 5

c) 4

3. The active and passive infinitive can be used without any difference in meaning in sentences beginning with

a) It

b) There

c) Have

4. The verb TO CHOOSE in the Objective-with-the-Infinitive Construction is translated into Ukrainian as

а) обирати

b) запитувати

с) хотіти

5. The verb TO MAKE in the Objective-with-the-Infinitive Construction is translated into Ukrainian as

a) робити

b) змушувати

c) виготовляти

6. The verb TO SUFFER in the Objective-with-the-Infinitive Construction is translated into Ukrainian as

a) неохоче дозволяти

b) дуже страждати

c) рішуче заперечувати

7. The verb TO HAVE (in the negative form) in the Objective-with-the-

Infinitive Construction is translated into Ukrainian as

a) не заперечувати

b) не дозволяти

c) не зважати

8. The translation of the Objective-with-the-Infinitive Construction is predetermined by

a) its syntactic function, translator's choice and stylistic aim

b) its structure, lexical meaning and stylistic aim

c) its syntactic function, translator's choice and origin

9. The number of synonyms the Subjective Infinitive Construction can be used with is

a) 2

b) 3

c) 4

10. The Prepositional Infinitive Construction is not used as

a) a complex subject

b) a complex predicative

c) a complex part of a compound verbal aspect predicate

SELF-ASSESSMENT TEST 5

1. The number of paradigmatic forms of the gerund of intransitive verbs is

a) 2

b) 3

c) 4

2. The Indefinite Gerund can express priority of the action after the prepositions

a) on upon, after, at

b) on, with, after, without

c) on,upon, after without

3. The Indefinite gerund can express priority of the action after the verbs

a) to forget, to forgive, to remember, to thank, to excuse

b) to forget, to forgive, to remind, to thank, to excuse

c) to forget, to forgive, to remember, to thank, to regret

4. The Active Gerund expresses a passive meaning after the verbs

a) to want, to need, to deserve, to remember

b) to want, to need, to deserve, to require

c) to want, to dare, to deserve, to require

5. The Active Gerund expresses a passive meaning after the adjective

a) wonderful

b) great

c) worth

6. The gerund performs the function of an attribute when it is preceded by

a) conjunctions

b) prepositions

c) neither prepositions nor conjunctions

7. The gerund is never used in the sentence as

a) predicative

b) parenthesis

c) part of a compound verbal modal predicate

8. The number of gerundial constructions the gerund can form is

a) 3

b) 2

c) 1

9. As an adverbial modifier the gerund is always used with

a) adverbs

b) prepositions

c) conjunctions

10. The prepositions OWING TO, FOR FEAR OF precede the gerund in the function of an adverbial modifier of

a) time

b) cause

c) purpose

SELF-ASSESSMENT TEST 6

1. The number of participial constructions is

a) 6

b) 4

c) 2

2. The verbal which is never used parenthetically is

a) the gerund

b) the infinitive

c) Participle I

3. The verbal which has no tense and voice distinctions is

a) Participle I

b) Participle II

c) the Gerund

4. Priority of the action can be expressed by Participle I Indefinite of verbs denoting

a) compulsion and motion

b) sense perception and motion

c) sense perception and compulsion

5. The second part of constructions without participle can be expressed by

a) an adjective, an adverb or a prepositional phrase

b) a noun, an adverb or a prepositional phrase

c) an adjective, an adverb or a participial l phrase

6. Which of the constructions is monofunctional?

a) the Objective Prepositional Construction

b) the Nominative Absolute Participial Construction

c) the Nominative Absolute Construction

7. Which of the constructions is multifunctional?

a) the Subjective Participial Construction

b) the Prepositional Absolute Participial Construction

c) the Nominative Absolute Construction

8. The participle can be used with

a) conjunctions

b) interjections

c) prepositions

9. The participle combines

a) nominal, adjectival and verbal characteristics

b) adverbial, adjectival and verbal characteristics

c) nominal, adjectival and nominal characteristics

10. The participle is never used as a simple object because it lacks

a) verbal character

b) adjectival character

c) nominal character

Grammatical modality.

Grammatical means of expressing modality are different mood forms of the English verb. While translating English modals into Ukrainian we can use the forms of the Indicative, the Imperative, and the Subjunctive moods.

The Indicative mood in Ukrainian translation is often used while conveying the meaning of the modal verb CAN followed by verbs of sense perception or mental activity. In this case CAN is not translated at all.

E.g. He could feel that something was wrong with her. Він відчував, що з нею щось негаразд

She can speak English quite fluently. Вона вільно розмовляє англійською.

The Indicative mood is also used in rendering the meaning of the modal verb WILL (WOULD) expressing volition, intention and persistence.

E.g. I won’t answer your questions! (lack of volition) Я не відповідатиму на ваші запитання!

She would walk in the park for hours. (persistence) Вона годинами гуляла в парку.

Besides, the Indicative mood is used in translating sentences with SHALL which expresses warning, threat, and promise.

E.g. He shall regret having come here! (warning and threat) Він ще пошкодує, що приїхав сюди!

You shall have whatever you like. (promise) Ти матимеш усе, що захочеш.

The Imperative mood is often used in rendering the meaning of the modal verbs MUST, SHALL and the expression to BE to+Infinitive when they express all kinds of orders, urgent requests, and instructions. The modal verbs themselves are omitted in translation.

E.g. You must stay where you are! (a strict order) Залишайся на місці!

You shall go there right now! (compulsion) Піди туди негайно!

You must tell me the truth! (an urgent request) Скажи ж мені правду!

You are to take this mixture twice a day before meals. (instruction) Приймайте цю мікстуру двічі на день перед їжею.

The Subjunctive mood is usually used in translating sentences with the modal verb MIGHT which expresses reproach.

E.g. You might have helped your mother with the cleaning! Ти міг би й допомогти мамі з прибиранням!

SELF-ASSESSMENT TEST 7

1. Modal verbs are used

a) independently

b) with the infinitive

c) with the gerund

2. Phonological modality implies

a) stress and intonation

b) structure and intonation

c) stress and structure

3. Lexical modality implies

a) modal verbs

b) modal words

c) mood auxiliary

4. Lexico-grammatical modality implies

a) modal words

b) modal verbs

c) modal expression

5. Grammatical modality implies

a) mood forms

b) voice forms

c) aspect forms

6. Phonological modality is used when

a) there are no direct equivalents

b) there are direct equivalents

c) there are approximate equivalents

7. Lexical modality is used when

a) there are no direct equivalents

b) there are direct equivalents

c) there are approximate equivalents

8. Lexico-grammatical modality is used when

a) there are no direct equivalents

b) there are direct equivalents

c) there are approximate equivalents

9. The modal verb CAN is not translated into Ukrainian when it is followed by verbs denoting

a) compulsion and declaring

b) wish and intention

c) sense perception and mental activity

10. Imperative Mood is used in rendering

a) promise

b) order

c) threat

SELF-ASSESSMENT TEST 8

1. The Subjunctive mood presents an action as

a) a non-fact

b) a real fact

c) a command

2. The number of forms of the Subjunctive mood in Modern English is

a) 3

b) 4

c) 5

3. The verbs TO SUGGEST, TO INSIST, TO ORDER, etc are used to introduce

a) a subject clause

b) a predicative clause

c) an object clause

4. The phrases of the type IT'S IMPORTANT (NECESSARY, VITAL, etc) are used

to introduce

a) a subject clause

b) a predicative clause

c) an object clause

5. Link-verbs are usually followed by

a) a subject clause

b) a predicative clause

c) an object clause

6. Object clauses after the predicate TO WISH are usually translated

a) directly

b) descriptively

c) antonymically

7. We use in translation the phrases ЯКЩО РАПТОМ, ЯКЩО ВСЕ- ТАКИ if in the clause of condition we have the Analytical Subjunctive with

a) should

b) would

c) might

8. A hardly probable action is expressed in clauses of condition using the Analytical Subjunctive with

a) should

b) would

c) might

9. Emotional SHOULD is used after

a) neutrally coloured adjectives

b) emotionally coloured adjectives

c) adjectives in the superlative degree

10. SHOULD as a mood auxiliary is used after

a) neutrally coloured adjectives

b) emotionally coloured adjectives

c) adjectives in the superlative degree

Lecture1. Theoretical and Methodological Aspects of Translation

Lecture 1

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