GRAMMATICALLY AND STYLISTICALLY PREARRANGED TRANSFORMATIONS
Apart from the semantically conditioned outer transformations, a bulk of sense units of the source language can be faithfully translated into the target language only through their structurally transformed semantic equivalents. Such kind of transformations usually become necessary because of the difference in the means of expression in the target language. They are mainly employed in the following cases: 1) when translating antonymically; 2) when rendering the meaning of most passive constructions, and 3) when translating sentences with an inverted order of words.
366
367
Antonymic translation, as was already mentioned, requires a) an obligatory substitution of an affirmative in sense and structure source language unit for a semantically corresponding negative in structure sense unit of the target language:
«For the thousandth time I've «Тисячний раз тобі кажу,
told you, to keep your nose out of не втручайся ти в цю справу»
the business». (J.London) /Будь подалі від цієї справи.
Fair words fat few. (Proverb) Гарні слова не нагодують.
This proverb may also have some other antonymic versions, which faithfully convey its meaning via an explicit form in Ukrainian: Від гарних слів їсти не перехочеться /гарними словами голод не проженеш (не вгамуєш).
b) A reverse transformation of negative in structure sense units of the source language into semantically equivalent affirmative in structure sense units in the target language is no less frequent in both languages either:
In reality, of course, the doc- Насправді ж лікар має
tor hasn't the least idea about тільки туманне уявлення про
what is wrong. (Cronin) цю хворобу (шахтарів).
«Can't I have a little peace ?» «Ви можете дати мені
(Ibid.) спокій?»
When stylistically required, the transformation may sometimes be avoided, as in the first sentence above: Насправді ж лікар немає навіть найменшого уявлення про хворобу.
The choice of the form of expression/transformation usually rests with the translator only, who takes into account the contextual environment of each sense unit which is to be translated. As a result, there may sometimes be different explicit forms of realization of sense units in the target language, as can be seen from the given sentences in the exercise below.
Exercise I. Analyse the underlined English sense units and offer ways of their explicit transformation in Ukrainian translation of the sentences.
1. He was not slow, however, in perceiving that he had now his excuse for going home. 2. «Here you are then, Soames,» she said, «I am not so bad now.» 3. «I don't dislike you, Mr. Mont, but Fleur is everything to me.» (Galsworthy) 4. «No, I don't believe I don't remember the name.» (K.Mansfield) 5. «Did this nigger boy set fire to Mr. Feakens's old yellow house?» «No more than you did.» (Saroyan) 6. It was not unknown for small boys to enter a monastery. (Ken Follet)
7. It was no uncommon sight to see Gadge drooping across the waiting room with a prescription in his hand. 8. «Doctor», she said in her brisk way, «my husband is not well». 9. «Well, I did take it. And it was not an unconsidered act.» 10. «I think we are not doing too badly.» 11. It was not unnatural to take it (illness) back into his own hands. (Cronin)
-
«I didn't care a hang whether the soap was in or whether it wasn't.»
-
«Girls, also, don't look half bad in a boat, if prettily dressed.»
-
The first thing that they thought was the boat was not clean. (J.K. Jerome) 15. Miss Bingley was by no means unwilling to preside at his table. (I. Austen) 16. He could not be unaware that every one regarded him as a bit a hero. (Cusack) 17. In this case widowhood (of Mary Stewart) was not unwelcome, as she was a girl of eighteen, and her husband a prematurely aged sick man of fifty-three. 18. He (Prince of Wales) was not infrequently the companion of his father on some of his journeys into the country. (Jerrold) 19. «You don't mind my being frank, do you?». 20. They were not handsome creatures. (London) 21. It was not till the dawn crept into the room, ghostlike and silent, that he fell asleep. (Maugham) 22. «I didn't have much lunch. Doctor.»
-
«You aren't going to have anything to do with that feller, Doctor?»
-
The sound, not unlike the rat-a-tat-tat of parade drums, heralded Hickock's arrival. (Capote) 25. «And that's your final word?» «It could not be more final.» 26. «The public are not slow in the matter of sifting evidence and arriving at a verdict.» 26. «Don't you think you might be able to use me when you get back?» 27. «I dislike these bastards». (Hemingway) 28. Frank Cowperwood cared nothing for books. (Dreiser)
STYLISTICALLY/SUBJECTIVELY PREDETERMINED TRANSFORMATIONS
In many a case transformations of sense units are performed for the sake of achieving a fuller expressiveness. Thus, in the sentence «Just remember you are working for Doctor Page.» (Cronin) the underlined part may have two semantically equivalent variants: 1. «Jo. ж пам'ятайте», що ви працюєте на лікаря Пейджа» or «He забувайте, що ви працюєте на лікаря Пейджа». The second variant, however, is somewhat stronger since it implies threat. To achieve more expressiveness, the translator may change the outer and inner form of the sense unit in the target language, as in the sentence «We have stacked piles of brickbats under the corners of the piano box to keep the floor of it dry.» (Caldwell) 1. Щоб утримувати підлогу сухою, ми попідкладали битої цегли під кути ящика з-під піаніно; The latter
368
369
variant is certainly more concrete here.
Stylistically/subjectively predetermined is always the choice of the inner (content) form of a sense unit in the target language. Cf.: I feel well. (Hemingway) Я почуваюся непогано (добре). A shell fell close. (Ibid.) Неподалік/поруч вибухнув снаряд. In reality, however, any transformation is aimed at a more exact (and more faithful) rendering of the source language units into the target language.
Exercise II. Suggest for the underlined parts of the sentences subjectively/stylistically or semantically predetermined outer/inner transformations and translate the sentences into Ukrainian.
1. «For she scarcely took her eyes from the ground and she was timid and afraid.» 2. «Priest wants us never to attack.» 3. «I dislike these bastards.» 4. «He was rude, to say the least of it.» (Christie) 5. Four men in their shirt-sleeves stood grouped together on the garden path. (Mansfield) 6.1 told her to keep away this morning. (Greene) 7. They spoke little and much of what they said was in the Welsh tongue. 8. Indeed she was so eager to make much of him she could barely frame a word. (Cronin) 9. His voice was final and Erik could see that he was exerting his authority. 10. «What difference does it make ?» «It makes all the difference in the word». 11. Haviland had overlooked the presentation of his name. 12. He met Erik's silent question without coloring but he smiled. 13. «Was that all he said?». 14. «The lab is still open, isn't it?». (M.Wilson) 15. «Wait till you see.» 16. «But if nobody spoke unless he had something to say, Roman race would soon lose the use of speech." (Dreiser)
-
«Eat till you can just stagger across the room with it.» (S.Leacock)
-
«You can stay there until you're old enough to go away.» (Saroyan)
-
« I wish I had known it was your friend.» (Wilde) 20. «I fed well.» (Hemingway) 21. «You better stop pushing.» (Maugham) 22. «You came out of Court with clean hands.» (Galsworthy) 23. «Keep your head.» Blound insisted soothingly. 24. «He hated her and could not get along with her.» 25. The little shop girl was getting into deep water. (Dreiser) 26. It was the first time he had given wav to anger with her. (Galsworthy)
WAYS OF CONVEYING THE PASSIVE VOICE CONSTRUCTIONS
It is common knowledge that the quantitative representation of the passive voice constructions in English by far exceeds that in
Ukrainian. This is not reflected, naturally, in translation since English passive constructions are far from always transplanted to Ukrainian sentences. The much larger quantity of passive constructions in English is explained 1). by the ability of not only the direct but also of the indirect and prepositional objects to perform the function of the subject to the predicate in the passive voice; 2). by the ability of several intransitive verbs to become transitive and take a direct object, and consequently form the passive voice (cf. Her dog is often walked by her brother. The office is run by Mr.Brown). No transpositions of such type are possible in Ukrainian where only the direct object can be transformed into the subject of the sentence in the passive voice. Nevertheless, the meaning of the passive voice may sometimes be maintained, though expressed then not with the help of the analytical means. This can be seen from the following English sentence:
He was offered a betterjob of Йому кимсь пропонувалась
some sort of somebody or other, нібито якась навіть краща
(Saroyan) робота.
Parallel to this Ukrainian version and less common or less faithful is one more version and way via the active form of the verbal predicate: йому буцімто хтось пропонував кращу роботу or: йому нібито десь пропонували кращу роботу. A similar expression is also possible in English: some sort of somebody offered him a better job, which the author (Saroyan) ignored in his sentence above.
Some ways of expressing the passive voice in both languages may coincide in form and structure, as can be seen in the first sentence below; others should be transformed (as in the second sentence), in order to achieve faithfulness in translation:
She was faintly disturbed by Вона була дещо
what mother had said. (Maugham) стурбована тим, що сказала
If the U.N. peace plan is. їїмати.
implemented, frozen Serb assets Якщо план мирного
in the USA would be released, врегулювання ООН буде
(USA Today) здійснений.заморожені рахунки
Сербііу США... будуть відпущені.
The passive constructions in the above sentences, however, may not necessarily be rendered into Ukrainian through passive equivalents only. Other contextual variants may also be suggested by the translator, for example: вона була трохи стурбована - її трохи
370
371
турбувало, рахунки будуть відпущені - рахунки розморозять/ відпустять.
Nevertheless, English passive forms referring to present tense have mostly no structural equivalents in Ukrainian where the auxiliary verb to be (є) is usually omitted and the past participle acquires other morphological (e.g., finite form) and semantic expression. Cf.:
Rescue efforts are being ham- Рятувальним роботам
pered by dozens of aftershocks, перешкоджають повторні
below-freezing temperatures, поштовхи і температура, що
(Ibid.) падає нижче нуля.
One more faithful Ukrainian transformation of this passive sentence construction may be achieved by way of conveying it through the so-called middle voice form or -ся/-сь verb: Рятувальні роботи утруднюються повторними підземними поштовхами і температурою, що падає нижче нуля.
Depending on the form of the passive construction and still more on the lexical verbal meaning, this voice form may have in Ukrainian some still other transformations, which express the same meaning of the passive construction; they may acquire the following outer forms of expression in Ukrainian:
a) that of an indefinite personal sentence/clause:
«I am told that pork-packing Кажуть, що в Америці
is the most lucrative profession пакування свинини- найбільш
after politics in America.» прибуткова праця після
(O.Wilde) політики.
b) that of a single predicative word/simple nominal predicate:
«They're prepared to sacrifice «Вони ладні пожертвувати
everything to satisfy their yearn- всім, аби задовольнити/
ing.» (Maugham) здійснити своє прагнення.»
c) a finite form of the verb/simple verbal predicate:
He has never been answered. Його ще ніхто і ніколи не
(B.Aidiss) спростував.
d) an indefinite personal past participle ending in -ho/ -to:
It is a sound instinct of the Це здоровий глузд простого
common people which persuades люду переконує його, таким
that this all, that needs to be said, чином, що все те, що треба
is said. (Maugham) сказати. - сказано.
The room had certainly been У кімнаті безперечно
transformed. (I.Murdoch) зроблено перестановку.
e) any other contextual and structural substitution of the English passive voice predicate verb:
«I must be left to myself for а «Мені треба якийсь час
while.» (Hemingway) побути самому/самим із со-
бою.»
«If Isabel had come in then, I «Якби Ізабель була зайшла
suppose I'd be married to Larry тоді, мабуть зараз я була б
now.» (Maugham) замужем за Пері.»
The passive structure sense units of both the English sentences, as can be seen, are practically translated into Ukrainian in a descriptive way, i.e., avoiding their source language outer structure. Nevertheless grammatically correct, though literal and stylistically not quite appropriate or justified, would also be passive variant constructions in Ukrainian: 1). Я мусив бути залишений самим; 2). Я була б замужем/ була б одружена з Пері.
Not infrequently the Ukrainian past participle in its predicative function may be one, if not the only possible passive form equivalent of the English passive construction in Ukrainian, as in the following sentence:
«Their children slept, their «їхні діти спали, і (їхня)
gate was shut for the night.» брама була зачинена на ніч.»
(Fitzgerald) (І браму за чинили на ніч ?)
The common English passive voice constructions with the prepositional object as their subject have generally no equivalent passive constructions in Ukrainian. These are rendered then with the help of the indefinite personal forms of the verb (sometimes through reflexive verbs):
« Why do you not answer when « Чому ви не відповідаєте,
you are spoken to?» (Galsworthy) коли до вас звертаються?»
І may say that he is rightly Я можу сказати, що у
looked upon by all the publishing видавничих колах його business as one of the mainstays справедливо вважають однією of literature in America. (Leacock) з головних постатей в
американській літературі.
Consequently, some English passive voice constructions often change their outer and inner form and become active voice forms in
гіг
373
Ukrainian. The main concern of the translator, in this case then, must be not so much the structural form of a source language sense unit, than its contextual meaning and, respectively, its form of realization/ presentation in the target language.
Exercise I. Offer possible Ukrainian non-passive transforms/outer forms for the English passive voice constructions and translate the sentences into Ukrainian.
1. He was haunted by a fear. 2. Also he was rendered self-conscious by the company. (London) 3. It (furniture) was given to us as a wedding present by Mr. Bradley's father. 4. They entertained lavishly and were lavishly entertained. 5. Gregory Brabazov was in Chicago at the time the purchase was made and the decoration (of the house) was entrusted to him. 6. I had recently brought out a successful novel - and I had no sooner arrived than I was interviewed. 7. There are men who are possessed by an urge so strong to do some particular thing that they can't help themselves. 8. He was so incommunicable that I was forced to the conclusion that he had asked me to lunch with him merely to enjoy my company. 9. But here she encountered in her husband an obstinacy, which she had not for years been accustomed to. 10. She was puzzled by Isabel. 11. «I'm told she's rather good.» (Maugham) 12. She might have been asked to go too. 13. What luck that the boy had not been caught by that ghastly war. He might so easily have been killed, like poor Jolly twenty years ago out in the Transvaal. (Galsworthy) 14. «I'm afraid a lot of your private papers were burned.» (Leacock) 15. And when the Indian veteran came there, he was told the blunt truth. (D.Carter) 16. «I suppose in about a fortnight we shall be told that he has been seen in San Francisco.» (Wilde) 17. Immediately after their marriage Couperwood and Aileen journeyed to Chicago direct and they were given there the best room that Frencout provided for the time being. 18. Caroline, or Sister Carry - was possessed of a mind rudimentary in its power of observation and analysis. 19. In certain emergencies he was called to assist his father, and was paid for it. (Dreiser) 20. - only after a minute did she realize that she had been awakened by a knock at their saloon door. (Fitzgerald) 21. People have been asking those questions for thousands of years and they could be answered, surely they'd have been answered, by now. (Maugham) 22. «We've been sort of pals and it's not my business to talk unless I'm spoken to.» (J.K. Jerome) 23. Clovis was sent for in haste, and the development
374
of the situation was put before him."(H.Munro) 24. We were questioned, all of us. (Defoe) 25. The door was opened by a tall and stout Negro butler with white hair and we were ushered into the drawing-room. 26. Most of the actors wanted to think Logan was crying because he was being arrested. (L.Hughes) 27. «I am urgently needed at Apia,» said Dr. Macphail. 28. «Young Bossiney has been run over in the fog and killed.» 29. «Water was given her.» (Galsworthy) 30. He was beaten. 31.1 was surprised that I had been asked to this party. 32. The two persons, who were hustled away, did not take it well. 33. They were made for the third Duke of Dorset and they're almost priceless. 34. She was a trifle taken aback that it had all gone so easily. 35 . «I presume that in a day or two we shall be fixed up for the rest of the season.» (Maugham) 36. «I was desired by that gentleman to identify the wearer of a very uncommon coat - a bright blue dress coat, with a gilt button, displaying a bust, and the letters «P.C.» (Dickens) 37. «Was Coleman being told here and now, as a newcomer, not to rock the boat?»1 (Hailey) 38. «Mr. Afghan North was robbed and he made a complaint.» 39. «The car had been built on a special chassis in America.» (Fitzgerald) 40. She was received only by Ting-a-Ling, who had his back to the fire, and took no notice beyond a stare. (Galsworthy) 41.1 was wired for. (C.Doyle) 42. Some things had been lost sight of. (Galsworthy) 43. The bed had not even been lain on. (Dickens) 44. She was told that a message could be left for him. (M.Wilson) 45. Do not pass judgement, that you may not be judged. 46. You either make both tree and fruit to be rotten; for the tree is known by its fruit. (Bible). 47. She hastened around to the side entrance and was taken up by the elevator to the fourth floor. (Dreiser) 48. «Not a word of it, in my interpretation, is actually spoken.» (S. Leacock) 49. «They're not the sort of people I've been brought up with.» 50. Isabel appeared to be delighted and Mrs. Bradley was reassured. 51. She was rather pretty and I was rather taken with her. 52. Face and neck were deeply burnt by the sun. (Maugham). 53. «Sophia, I'm not going to be talked to like this.» (Bennett) 54. One leg was gone and the other was held by tendons and part of the trousers and the stump twitched and jerked as though it were not connected. (Hemingway) 55. His coming had not been looked for. (Greene) 56. He was given up to his dream. (K.Mansfield) 57.1 was wanted in the dining-room. (Bronte)
1 to rock the boat (coll.) підривати авторитет установи.
375
OBJECTIVELY REQUIRED AND SUBJECTIVELY
INTRODUCED/CONTEXTUAL TRANSFORMATIONS
OF LANGUAGE UNITS
As has been shown, there may be two types of transformations resorted to in the process of translation: 1. objectively required/ conditioned by the peculiarities of the target language, i.e., inevitable, and 2. subjectively introduced at the translator's own will and therefore not always unavoidable. Either of them requires structural/ outer alterations of the source language units in the target language. Moreover, each type of these transformations may be realized both on the syntactic as well as on the lexical level units. Cf. His holidays had been spent at Robin Hill with boy friends, or with his parents. (Galsworthy) - канікули він проводив у Робін Плі з товаришами чи з батьками. Here the passive voice syntaxeme had been spent must have been changed in Ukrainian into the active voice form. Objectively predetermined are also transformations of the objective with the infinitive or participle constructions/complexes, gerundial and nominative absolute participial constructions, national idioms, etc. In these cases a simple English sentence may turn into a complex sentence. Cf.:
«It (music) seems to be right «Здається, ніби музика в
in them.» (D.Parker) них просто в крові».
« When do you want me to do «Коли ви хочете, щоб я ие
it?» (Maugham) зробив?»
The outer form/structure of the language unit may be deliberately changed in the target language, when it requires a concretiza-tion. As a result, the structure of the sense unit is often extended or shortened in the target language without changing its proper meaning. For example, the personal pronoun it and the auxiliary verb do, when concretized in the Ukrainian translation may be substituted for a noun phrase and an objective word-group:
«Why did you do it?» the/she- «Ти навіщо підпалив
riff said. «I didn't do it,» Johnny будинок?» - запитав шериф. -
said. (Saroyan) «Я не підпалював його.» -
відповів Джонні.
the predicative word-groups підпалив будинок and його не підпалював become necessary in Ukrainian in order to explicate prop-
erly the meaning of the verb do arfd the pronoun it, which can be achieved only in a descriptive way, i.e., through transformation.
Also semantically and stylistically predetermined are all translator's transformations through addition, which are resorted to with the aim of achieving the necessary expressiveness. Additions become necessary in the target language either in order to express more clearly the content of the source language unit, or for the sake of achieving some stylistic effect. Cf.:
When a girl leaves her home Коли дівчина залишає
at eighteen, she does one of two домівку у вісімнадцять років, з
things ~ (Dreiser) нею трапляється одне з двох...
«I'm so glad you've asked me. «Я дуже радий, шо ти мене
darling.» (Maugham) запитала про це. люба.»
The additions made in the first and in the second Ukrainian sentences are both lexical and syntactic, since the first of them completes the sentence through the formation of the attributive word-group (вісімнадцять років), and the second complements the objective verb and forms an objective word-group, which completes the object clause and the sentence as a whole (що ти мене запитала про це).
A semantic or syntactic addition used with the aim of concreti-zation may become necessary in the target language in order to maintain the peculiar way of expression or to complete the structure of the sense unit in the language of translation. For example:
There was just enough room У ящикові було місце лише для
for us two in the crate, and if the нас двох, і якщо бананова
straw was not evenly strewn, it підстилка не була рівномірно
made lumps under our backs, розгорнута, вона збивалася в
(Caldwell) жмутки і муляла нам у боки.
The objective word-group муляла нам у боки is a semantically stable expression in Ukrainian and it can not exist without the verb муляти, which functions as its syntactic head. Similar additions for the sake of concretization become inevitable in the target language when dealing with local place names and specifically national notions of the source language. For example:
Він мешкає у Києві на Подолі, а працює там на Сирці.
Не lives in the Podil district of Kyiv and works there in the Syrets' residential area of the city.
There is no mention in the В офіційній інструкції мініс-
376
377
Home Office list of any such irt терства внутрішніх справ і
dustrial desease. (Cronin) згадки нема про таке професій-
не захворювання (шахтарів).
The Home Office (list) has been concretized by way of an explicatory translation, i.e., by adding the word (noun) міністерство which is contextually required in the Ukrainian translation.
Often occurring among various translators' transformations are also omissions, which may be of two types: a) objectively required, i.e., inevitable and b) casual or subjectively introduced. The former are conditioned by the grammar phenomena which are not available in the target language. Thus, objectively omitted are auxiliary verbs, determining articles or pronouns (cf. he has his. hands in his pockets він тримає руки в кишенях), individual barbarisms, as in the sentence below:
«Oh, I like them. I really do.» «О, вони подобаються мені.
(D.Parker) Справді.»
«Goodness, I'm so crazy «Боже мій, я у такій
about music and everything. І нестямі від музики, що мені
don't care what colour he is.» байдуже, якого він (артист)
(Ibid.) кольору.»
Here the sentence "I really do." is reduced to one-word sentence "Справді." The word «everything» in the second sentence is a barbarism of a character in the story, which the translator found obsolete, of no need to transplant it to the Ukrainian translation of this sentence.
Very often, however, a sense unit may be omitted in the language of translation for stylistic reasons, when it is necessary, for example, to avoid a repeated use of the same sense unit in adjacent sentences, as in the following sentence:
She turned aghast towards the Вона з жахом/приголомшена
bed. (Salinger) обернулась.
Since the noun bed was already mentioned in the preceding sentence of the passage, the translator found it necessary to omit it in the Ukrainian version, which could not be made, naturally, if the sentence were singled out (separated) from the text and translated as a separate language unit.
Casual subjective omissions of this kind usually do not change the general content of the sentence/passage, though they may alter
to some extent the author's emphasis made in the sentence of the source language, as can be seen in the following translation:
/ was learning fast, but І Я навчалася швидко, але не
learned not fast enough to real- настільки швидко, щоб
ize then the peril of our position, усвідомити, яка над нами
(London) нависла загроза.
The omitted adverbial modifier then in the Ukrainian translation changes the temporal emphasis of the author in his original version of the sentence where he pointed out the time («then») of «the peril».
A somewhat similar (and also deliberate) omission of the adverbial modifier, though for the sake of achieving faithfulness, can be observed in the Ukrainian sentence below:
Tamales are very good when Тамали (товчена кукурудза
the air grows chilly at night. з м'ясом) - дуже добра річ,
(Ibid) надто (...) коли ночі бувають
холодні.
The translator (O.Senyuk) found the specifying adverbial modifier alnight not explicatory enough for the Ukrainian reader or stylistically aggravating for the structure of the target language sentence. This way of economizing the lexical means on account of the original content could not, naturally, be justified, as the content of the Ukrainian version would be simplified. To avoid it, the translator employed an extension (коли бувають холодні ночі). Hence, the deliberate omission of the part of the sentence (at night) was made for the sake of achieving a more exhaustive faithful rendering of this English sentence. Reduction is often employed for stylistic reasons, especially in translations of belles-letters texts, when there exists an incompatibility between the structural forms of the syntactic units of the source language and their semantic and structural equivalents in the target language. The forms of reduction depend on the peculiarity of the language units under translation, on the means of expression or units to be reduced, and sometimes on the aims persued by the reduction1 . The most often occurring reductions are the following:
1 See about various transformations in the process of translation also Я.И.Рецкер. Теория перевода и переводческая практика. - М.: Международньїе отношения, 1974, p.p. 38-63, 80-113; Л. С. Бархударов. Язьік и перевод. - М.: Международньїе отношения, 1975, р.191-231.
378
379
1) Changing of an extended word-group into a simpler sense
unit (reduction or contraction):
She gave him a little smile and Вона грайливо усміхнулась і
took his hand. (Ma ugham) взяла його за руку.
The objective verbal word-group «gave him a little smile» may also be transformed in Ukrainian into other word-groups: 1) (вона) окинула його грайливою усмішкою 2) (вона) подарувала йому грайливу усмішку. Each of these two variants, naturally, would be quite acceptable, but the translator avoided them as stylistically and semantically less fitting in this particular sentence.
Shortening of syntactic units in the target language is often conditioned by the stylistic aim of individualizing the speech of some literary character as in the sentences below:
«What politics have you?» І «Ви за кого?» - запитав я.
asked, «lam without politics.» he «я ні за кого.» - відповів
said. (Hemingway) старий чоловік.
Instead of the direct translation of the underlined English sentences «Яких політичних поглядів ви дотримуєтесь» and «Я ніяких політичних поглядів не дотримуюсь» the translator used a more natural for the old and seemingly uneducated shepherd, a shortened and an elliptical sentence characteristic of colloquial Ukrainian :»Ви за кого?" and logically natural «Я ні за кого».
2) Transformation of an English complex sentence into a simple
one in the target language because of the structural incompatibility of
the former in the Ukrainian language:
«That's what I say.» she said. «Оце така моя думка.» -
«That's the way I feel.» she said, сказала вона. «Отакя ставлюсь
(D.Parker) до цього», -підсумувала вона.
The first complex sentence with its predicative clause and the second complex sentence with its attributive clause have both been transformed into simple extended Ukrainian sentences and thus changed their outer structure and syntactic nature («Оце така моя думка,» «Отак я ставлюсь до цього», «Це так я ставлюсь до цього»).
3) Merger of two separate sentences into one composite sen
tence in the target language. This type of reduction may be required
by the content, as well as by the national Ukrainian way of expression
(and by the style of the text). For example:
380
1. Every once in a while Dave »(1) Раз по раз Дейв ставав
got on his hands and knees and навколішки і розрівнював
turned the straw over. 2. It was руками (2) бананову підстилку,
the banana straw, and it was яка була сира (відсиріла), і від
soggy and foul-smelling, якої неприємно тхнуло.
(Caldwell)
It is easy to assert that each sentence in the source language is semantically and syntactically highly relevant. Nevertheless, only the first sentence can be completely transplanted to Ukrainian: Раз no раз Дейв ставав навколішки і розрівнював підстилку. The second sentence, however, when transplanted unchanged, would be structurally and stylistically irrelevant, i.e., not fit in the style and for the Ukrainian way of expression in this particular context. Cf.: Це була бананова підстилка, і вона була волога і неприємно тхнула.
То avoid literalism and structural/syntactic awkwardness in Ukrainian, the translator reduced the second sentence or rather changed it into an attributive subordinate clause, which made the Ukrainian variant sound stylistically and semantically quite natural: Дейв розрівнював бананову підстилку, яка була мокра і неприємно тхнула.
One more example of contextual reduction (or extension) of English sentences through their merger in Ukrainian can be seen below. The only difference between this and the above-given sentence lies in the placement of the second English sentence, which in the Ukrainian translation is moved to the front position. This is required by the peculiarities of the Ukrainian way of expression and by the semantic/logical structure of its communicative units. Cf.:
«Oh, we have more argu- «О, ми стільки спере-
ments about colored people. чаємось про кольорових.
I talk to him like I don't know Я як розійдуся, то такого
what. I get so excited.» (D.Parker) йому наговорю, шо й сама не
знаю, що.»
These and the like purely subjective, at first sight, transformations are absolutely necessary in order to achieve a faithful expression of content of the English sentences and maintain the logical flow of thought characteristic of the natural Ukrainian speech. It goes without saying that such kind of transformations through reduction, extension or replacement can not always be treated as deliberate or exclusively subjective, because they are objectively required by the peculiarly national ways of expression in the target language.
381
Always subjective, however, is the approach of the translator to the choice of some semantically and syntactically equivalent versions of the source language units as in the following sentence:
«They gave me a wrong book, and I didn't notice it, till I got back to my room.» (Salinger) This sentence can have two equally faithful versions in Ukrainian, each of which fully expresses its content:
1) Вони мені дали не ту 2) Мені дали не ту книжку,
книжку, і я не помітив цього, і я помітив ие. аж коли
аж доки не прийшов додому. прийшов додому.
The subjective transformations in the left hand Ukrainian definite personal clause Вони мені дали не ту книжку is transformed into the indefinite personal sentence Мені дали не ту книжку,
2) the second co-ordinate clause і я не помітив цього is changed into the antonymic affirmative clause І я помітив це, and the adverbial subordinate clause аж доки не прийшов додому is changed into an affirmative clause (antonymic again) аж коли прийшов додому.
These subjectively introduced by the translator transformations have not in any way changed the syntactic nature or content of the English composite (compound-complex) sentence as a whole. Neither have they changed the order of words, though the plane of expression has undergone some alterations, the main of which is the employment of the antonymic device. It is expedient to term such kind of alterations in the structural plane of syntactic units as «inner transformations» as well. The latter involve only minor structural or lexico-semantic alterations without causing any cardinal changes in the structural form of the sense units under translation.
These were by far all the possible objectively required or deliberately introduced transformations of lexical and syntactic units called forth in the process of translation by the existing divergences between the means of expression in the source language and in the target language on one hand, or due to the translator's subjective approach to some types of sense units on the other.
OBJECTIVELY AND SUBJECTIVELY CONDITIONED
TRANSFORMATIONS OF LEXICAL UNITS IN THE
PROCESS OF TRANSLATION
Transformations of nationally peculiar lexical units in the process of translation, as will be shown below, are sometimes of particu-
lar interest as well. These transformations become inevitable as a result of differences existing between the ways and means of expression of the same meanings in the source language and in the target language. Among the lexical units that change their outer/structural form in the target language as a result of translation are a number of simple and compound words belonging to different parts of speech and representing various layers of lexicon. They include three main stylistically distinguished classes of units: 1) Stylistically neutral lexis; 2) stylistically evaluative lexis; 3) culturally biased national specific units of lexicon pertained to each source language and to every target language. Such transformation are lexical substitutions.
1. Among the numerous stylistically neutral simple and compound words both in the English and Ukrainian languages there are variousdifferent notional parts of speech - nouns, adjectives, adverbs, verbs, numerals, pronouns, the semantic equivalents of which in the target language may be single words, word-groups and even sentences. Because of this the choice of their lexical equivalents in the target language is not always easy. Cf.:
advertiser той /та, ті/, хто дає/що дають рекламне оголошення, пропонують на продаж товар;
akimbo взявшись руками в боки, тримаючись руками в боках, руки в боки;
answerable той, та, те, що/на що можна відповісти/дати відповідь;
backer той, хто підтримує когось/допомогає, сприяє комусь у чомусь;
boatful пасажири й команда корабля/судна; заповнене/ завантажене судно/корабель;
indulge робити собі приємність у чомусь, віддаватись якимось утіхам (читанню, слуханню музики, грі в футбол, тощо);
airsick той/та, те, ті, що погано переносять повітряне подорожування (в літаку).
A considerable number of stylistically neutral Ukrainian simple and compound words have very often word-groups or sentences for their semantic (but not structural) equivalents in English as well. Cf.:
грамотний person who can read and write or well informed in smth.;
пополудні in the afternoon, post meridiem;
принатися/прискакати to come quickly running or riding (to come galloping);
382
383
обороноздатність the strength of the defensive capacity of a country;
перекотиполе rolling Аах(рослина) and rolling stone (про
людину);
пустомолот/пустомеля an idle tale-teller, copious speaker
(chatterbox);
світогляд conception of a person's world/world outlook/ one's
creed.
A great number of such and the like stylistically neutral words are given in any bilingual English-Ukrainian dictionary and never present any difficulty for the translator to check up their meaning.
2. A separate group of lexical units, which may sometimes have the same meaning but quite different outer/structural expression in English and Ukrainian is presented by diminutives. They have a very poor representation in English (only among some nouns) but there is a very large quantity of them in Ukrainian, where they exist practically among all parts of speech. These words may be used in English only as diminutives or they may express diminutive evaluation as well, which is regularly identified in context. It is difficult to say, for example, whether booklet, manikin or hillock are diminutives only or diminutives and evaluatives at the same time. As diminutives they mean брошура, карлик and горбок respectively, and as diminutive evaluatives they may express the meanings of книжечка, брошурка, чоловічок (small and handsome or scornful), горбочок (not high but pleasant hillock).
This distinction is almost always clearly identified and expressed in Ukrainian where diminutive suffixes may also point to an escalating gradation of a diminutive quality in a noun. This can be seen from each second or third outer form of the following nouns:
1. ручка 2. ручечка 3. рученька 4. рученя 5. рученятко 6.рученяточко 7.руця;
1. голова 2. головка 3. головочка 4. голівка 5. голівочка
6. голівонька/головонька;
1 дівчина 2. дівчинка 3. дівча 4. дівчатко 6. дівчаточко
7. дівонька 8. дівчинонька, etc.
Similar meanings have to be expressed (and are to some extent expressed) in English with the help of lexico-syntactic means, i.e., by means of some additional adjectives containing the seme of smallness. Cf.: голівка small head; голівочка/голівонька small/little head; дівчинонька dear/lovely girl, lovely little girl, etc.
English diminutive and evaluative meanings are not always clearly and fully expressed by isolated nouns, except for those which have corresponding suffixes as daddy, sissy, granny, and a few others whose direct Ukrainian equivalents are respectively татко / татунь, таточко; сестричка /сеструня/ сестронька; бабуся / бабка, бабуня, бабусенька, etc.
Diminutive and evaluative poetic and endearing (ласкаві) meanings of most other English nouns, unlike their Ukrainian equivalents, can be expressed (and identified) only or mostly in the form of word-groups, which convey these connotative meanigs: small little fingers / dear little fin- пальчики, пальчички, пальчи-
gers
нятка
sweet/dear little flowers гарні / гарненькі / любі квіточки
/ квітоньки
little star (Cf. Twinkle, twinkle зірочка/зіронька
little star)(poet.)
sweet little lips, lovely little lips вустонька, губи, губоньки,
(poet, colloq.) губки, губенята/губенятка
sweet little girl, dear sweetheart серденько (любка), любонька
No less, if not more, extensive is the use of the diminutive adjectives in Ukrainian which have no semantic and morphological/structural equivalents in English because of which they have to be translated in a descriptive way, which can only partly express their subtle Ukrainian meanings. Cf. білесеньке личко a beautiful white little face, dear/lovely white little face; молоденький козаченько - a handsome and lovely youth, тоненькії брівоньки very beautiful thin little eyebrows, ясненький/яснесенький місяченько a very bright and lovely/ beautiful little moon/dear beautiful little moon.
Diminutive and evaluative meanings of Ukrainian numerals and pronouns are expressed in English practically in the same way: двієчко/двійко гарненьких діточок two nice little children/two dear little kids, трієчка a miserable C mark/a miserable satisfactory mark; нічогісінько (там не робиться) absolutely/practically nothing is being done there.
No need to emphasize that a miserable satisfactory mark or absolutely nothing by far from completely express the diminutive and evaluative meanings of трієчка and нічогісінько.
Diminutive and evaluative meanings of Ukrainian adverbs and verbs can be explicitly and implicitly expressed, though only to some degree, in the same descriptive way too. Cf.: тихесенько вітер віє...
384
385
(Г.Шевченко) the wind breathes very softly, сядьмо рядком та поговоримо ладком (proverb) let us sit side by side and have a lovely talk/chat together; спатки/спатоньки, спатуні, спатунечки to have a little (sweet) sleep; їстиЛстоньки to have a nice/tasteful little bite/ dinner, supper, etc.
Neither has the English language any morphological means to express explicitly the augmentative and evaluative meanings of Ukrainian lexemes (mostly nouns). As a result, they acquire in English an objectively predetermined form of explicit expression by means of word-groups or sentences. For example, the pejorative (mostly contemptuous) meanings of a number of Ukrainian augmentative nouns will have the following English outer form expression: вовчище a big formidable wolf/a (big) monster of a wolf; дубище a very thick and tall/ ramous oak-tree; здоровило a healthy/robust fellow, a regular/robust maypole; п'янюга a miserable heavy drunkard, a disgusting inebriate, a three-bottle man, etc.
3. The third class of lexical units, which mostly require a different explicit/outer form presentation in the target language are culturally biased elements/specifically national notions. When in the form of words not belonging to regular internationalisms like lord, mister, shilling, etc. лорд, містер, шилінґ, they are mostly transcribed or transliterated and shortly explicated in the target language. Cf.:
haggis (шотл.) геґґіс посічені й перемішані з вівсяним борошном та спеціями овечі потрохи, зварені в жирі в овечому кендюсі; muffin маффин, солодка здоба, випечена в чашкоподібній формі з прісного чи сходячого тіста (споживається гарячою); sheriff шериф, поліційний начальник округи (США); бабка babka cooked noodles mixed with egg, sugar and raisins, baked in a pot (in oven) and served fresh/warm; веснянки vesnyanky Ukrainian songs hailing the coming spring; вишиванка vyshyvanka an embroidered Ukrainian linen/silk shirt; плахта plakhta thick checkered cloth wrapped by Ukrainian girls and younger women around the waist over the shirt (as a kind of skirt). All above-given structural transformations of lexical units through translation exemplify the objectively conditioned ways of expression pertained to the English or Ukrainian language respectively. The subjectively employed transformations of lexical units in the process of translation are predetermined not so much by the objective, i.e., national linguistic factors, than by the stylistic aims realized by the translator. These are employed to achieve the necessary evaluation or a higher degree of expressiveness. Thus, to render the meaning of (my) dear love the translator, guided by the context, is free
to choose on his own will one of tile following Ukrainian semantic equivalents: люба, кохана, любка/любочка, серденько, дівчинонька, дівчина-рибчина, ясочка, зіронька, дружинонька. No less difficult may also be, for example, the choice of the most fitting in a Ukrainian context diminutive equivalent, say, for the adjective teeny (colloquially teeny- weeny) or its Scottish variant wee, which may have the following synonymous word equivalents in Ukrainian: малесенький, манюній, манюнький, манюсінький, манюпусінький, крихітний.
TOPICS FOR SELF-TESTING AND CLASS DISCUSSION
-
Name the classes of sense units which do not undergo any structural transformation in the process of translation.
-
Expand on the nature of inner/implicit transformation of the source language/sense units in the target language.
-
Define the nature and types of outer/explicit transformation of the language/sense units in the process of translation.
-
Explain and exemplify the outer phonetic/phonological transformation of some language units in the process of translation.
-
Give examples of some possible transformations of the English and Ukrainian simple/compound words and word-groups including internationalisms and specific notions of national lexicon/culturally biased elements.
-
Identify the grammatically/objectively conditioned transformations of sense units and point out the devices employed to achieve faithfulness in their translation.
-
Explain the reason of employment of stylistically conditioned transformations of language/sense units in the process of translating.
-
Explain the transformation which occurs through omissions, additions, extensions, reductions, etc. in the target language in the process of translation.
-
Name the main transformations employed in the process of translating Ukrainian evaluative (and connotative) lexis (diminutives and augmentatives).
EXERCISES FOR CLASS AND HOMEWORK
Exercise I. Analyse the semantic structure and translate the following English simple and compound words into Ukrai-
386
387
nian. Point out the difference (if any) in their outer form in the two languages.
Model: abduct викрадати силою чи обманом (особливожінку чи дитину), a simple word in English - an extended word-group in Ukrainian.
-
Abiology, abloom, acclamation, adore, adrift, agape, airborn, airsickness, all-clear, all-up, answerable, ashen, babyhood, bailable, blameful, carnation, chargeable, chemise, clockwise, coddle, cuff, deployment, diner, embark;
-
endanger, eventful, exuberate, fence, season, fishmonger, grandmotherly, haunter, headachy, header, head-phones, hurry-scurry, immiscible;
-
jeopardize, jumping-rope, lucubration, lunate, matchwood, melodize, midmost, midsummer, misstatement, monologize, mother's mark, mythisize, name-child, needful, northerner/southerner, off-print, off-shore, outrank, overtalk (v);
-
overtask, parcook, pencraft, percipient, patchwork, playable, politicize, pot-valiant, pauperize, prison-breaker, prosify, propulsive, quantify, queenhood;
-
rebuff, reforest, reiterate, remand, readable, repayable, rusticate, schoolable, salad-days, saddlefast, sea-bom, seaworthy, signatories, speaking-trumpet;
-
straddle, stampede, sugar candy, sunproof, sweetie, swing-door, war-whoop, swift-handed, washable, waterage, zipper.
Exercise II. Prior to translating the Ukrainian simple and compound words into English point out the influence of some prefixal and suffixal morphemes upon their semantic and outer structure in the corresponding English equivalents.
-
Аспірантка, багатостраждальний, багатшати, байдикувати, бездощів'я, безлюддя, бліднути, будень, будь-коли, буханець, вдосвіта, вдруге/втрете, веселитися, вибовкувати, вигодинюватися, вигодовувати;
-
виголоднітися, вилежуватися, виплакувати, вихвалювати, віддавна, власноручний, вмить, востаннє, вранці, вслухуватись, глухнути, двометровий, десятирічний, дубочок, доверху, доношувати, донедавна;
3. дообідній, досі, досипати, досхочу, дохристиянський,
дощаний, дужчати, жалкувати, задощити, зарікатися, заспівувати,
манюсінький, найменшенька, нанівець, обіруч, обношуватися,
одвіку, одомашнювати;
-
окатоличуватися, опам'ятатися, ощасливлювати, панькатися, переінакшувати, підбігати, поміцнішати, по-молодецькому, по-нашому, по-святковому, придивлятися, мчатися, притакувати, прицінюватися;
-
простоювати, ремісникувати, різдвяний, родичатися, розтовстіти, розцілуватися, самохіть, середньодобовий, свободолюб, словотвір, спохвачуватись, сокір/сокорина, тогочасний, торік, увірувати, хнюпитися;
6. холоднеча, худнути, циркач, чаювати, щодуху, найкраще,
щороку, щосили, ювіляр, якнайшвидше, якомога, ярмаркувати.
Exercise III. Translate the Ukrainian evaluative words into English. Distinguish, where possible, between the ways of expressing their purely diminutive or purely augmentative meanings on one hand and tender or coarse meanings on the other.
1. Ангеля/ангелятко, бабусенька, батечко, багатенько,
бажаннячко, батіжок, бурячок, вівчарик, віничок, газетка, Ганнуся,
гарбузик/гарбузяра, голубеня, горнятко, горішок, давненько,
дитятко, дівчинонька, діжечка, діляночка, дрібнесенький (дощик),
дубище, екранчик, житечко, журавлик;
2. жучище, забіяка, зайчик/зайцюга, здоровило, земелька,
зміюка, зубки, зубиська, зятьок, каченяточка, жабера, їстоньки,
кабанчик, кабанюра, катюга, кізонька, коник, корівка, коровисько,
котичок, котяра, левисько, ліжечко, лисичка-сестричка, личко,
літечко, любесенько, масельце;
-
матуся, місяченько, молодичка, ніженьки, ніченька, носяка, онучатко, орляка, оченята, очиська, півничок, пісенька, повнісінько, приярок, рибонька, рибище, рученьки, серденько, синочок, сонечко, сальце;
-
свинюра, тихесенько, точнісінько, тупенький, убоїще, україночка, усмішечка, фартушок, фіалочка, футлярчик, хатиночка, хлібець, худесенький, хутесенько, цапок, цілісінький, цілуночок, цяцечка;
5. чепурушка, черешенька, чистесенько, чоботище, чортяка,
чубисько, чумаченько, шаблюка, шакалюга, шахраїще,
школярочка, штаненята, щасливчик, ямище, яруга.
Exercise IV. Define the possible ways of expressing the sense of the following English specific notions of national lexicon in Ukrainian.
1. Doughboy, kilt, backbencher, call-up (Aimer.), corndodger,
388
389
borough, Dixie (Dixie Land), Empire City, exeat, gobbet, hastings, The Great Lakes, graduation school, headliner, hot-pot, jaw-breaker, Joe Miller, John Bull, K-ration, Labour Exchange, Lady Day, ladyship, landlordism, lovelock, master-spirit, matriculation, maypole, Number 10 Downing Street, Okie, part-song;
-
Peeping Tom, penny-wise, penny-worth, pound-foolish, playoff, play-by-play, policy-shop, poor law, porringer, poundage, priestcraft, the principality, proctor, prize-fight, pro-and-con, provided school, pussyfoot, remittence-man;
-
roadster, (the) Rockies, sandwich-man, salad-days, Scotch broth, scon, Stars and Stripes, Solicitor-General, secularist, sophomore, spa, sporran, squaman, standpatter, stateside, summerschool, teddy boy, teller (in parliament), tenner;
-
term-time; Tom, Dick and Harry, tommy-shop, tube (London), tutti-frutti, twopence, toryism, Uncle Sam, under-secretary, unionist, Valentine (Day), V-Day/VE-Day, Victorian, votee (Amer.), Wardour Street English, walkie-talkie, Welsh rabbit/rarebit, Whitehall, write in, yeomanry, Yule-tide, log, zero hour.
Exercise V. Point to the difference in the outer forms of expression in English of the following Ukrainian culturally biased (specific) notions of national lexicon.
Арнаутка, бабка, борщ, боярин, вареники (з сиром, капустою тощо), вергуни, веснянки, вечорниці, вишнівка, гайдамаки, галушки (страва), гопак, гривня, ґринджоли, дівування, дримба, дружка, дядина, залікова книжка, заслати сватів, жупан, картопляники, киптар, кобзар, козаччина, кожух, коломийка, колядники, крашанка, кукурудзяні баранці, куліш, кутя, лантух, льох, маковія, обжинки, окріп, оселедець (козацький), паляниця, пампушки, парубкування, перепій (весільний), пиріжки (із сиром), писанка, плай, плахта, посипальники, рухівці, рушник, ряжанка, сирники, солонина/сало, січовик, січові стрільці, соломка (їстивна), толока, трембіта, троїсті музики, Хмельниччина (істор.), цябрина, чумакування, шулики', щедрівки/щедрування, «Ще не вмерла Україна», Дочка Прометея, Кобзар, Каменяр, розкуркулювання, герої Крут.
IV. SEMANTIC ASPECTS OF TRANSLATION
LANGUAGE UNITS AND LEVELS OF THEIR FAITHFUL TRANSLATION
The theoretical principles of faithful translation and their realization through various devices of the target language testify to the fact that referential meanings of many language units can be equivalents expressed via the same level units of the target language. For example, the proper names of people and most of geographical names, like the international words can be faithfully translated at the level of words. The phraseological/idiomatic expressions and the bulk of words expressing specific nationally biased units of lexicon are mostly translated at the level of words-combinations/phrases and sentences. Though sometimes the lexical meaning of an idiom or a unit of specific national lexicon can be faithfully turned into the target language with the help of a single word as well (when international).
In other words, a considerable number of simple lexemes and word combinations, stable and idiomatic expressions can be faithfully translated when they are taken isolated, viz. at language level. Thus, the meaning of most pronouns and numerals remains unchanged whether they are used in context or taken as separate words at language level Cf.: глгеетри, fifteen п'ятнадцять, fifty п'ятдесят, fifth/ sixth п'ятий/ шостий, one-third'одна третя, zero point nine нуль цілих дев'ять десятих; І я, he він, she вона, nobody ніхто, etc.
Similarly with many nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs and function words which are monosemantic both in the source language and in the target language: the sky небо, the moon місяць, geese /swans гуси/ лебеді, lake озеро, the island острів, po//f/ca/політичний, black чорний, white білий, bathe купатися, sing співати, sleep спати, here тут, often часто, firstly по-перше, among серед/споміж, under під, or чи, that (conjunction) що; hallo! anno, ah ax, oh ox, even навіть, yet однак, etc.
A bulk of words belonging to the above-mentioned logico-gram-matical classes of words may also have two or more semantically identical referents, i.e., synonymous meanings. The latter are often stylistically marked and .should possibly be distinguished in the text under translation as well. Among these may be even such seemingly simple words as the English because бо, тому що, через те що; courage сміливість, відвага; dad/daddy тато, татунь/татусь; drake селезень/ качур; everywhere повсюди, скрізь or Ukrainian: дитя
390
391
baby/kid/child; осел ass, donkey; тьху! phew, pie, pshaw, pooh!; чиж/икgreenfinch, siskin. These words have one referent similarly to many different terms which are translated both at word level and at word-group/sentence level. E.g.: sprint спринт, біг на короткі дистанції; steeple-chase біг з перешкодами; service first stroke (tennis) удар, яким уводиться м'яч у гру.
A faithful conveying of a referential meaning at word level may often depend upon some extralingual factors as well. Thus, depending on the readers/listeners addressed, the translator/interpreter should use correspondingly either British or American lexical variants: lorry вантажна машина (Br. Engl.), truck (Amer. Engl.), tin консервна банка (Br. Engl.), can (Amer. English), timetable розклад (Br. Engl.), schedule (Amer. Engl.), sweets цукерки (Br. Engl.), candies (Amer. Engl.), bathroom ванна (Br. Engl.), туалет (Amer. English), maize кукурудза (Br. Engl.), corn (Am. Engl.), cloak-room роздягальня (Br. Engl.), coat-room (Amer. English), etc.
Regional peculiarities of the kind must be taken into consideration in order to achieve the necessary national orientation of a purposeful written or oral translation.
Most of compound English words having transparent componental semes are translated into Ukrainian either at the level of words (compounds) or at the level of word-combinations, the latter being formed from the componental parts which become separate words in Ukrainian: air-base авіабаза; but air-raid повітряний наліт; birthplace місце народження; cross-road перехрестя шляхів/доріг; steamship пароплав; foofn paste зубна паста; hour-hand годинникова стрілка.
The translation of compounds may sometimes look like descriptive though: breadthways у ширину/завширшки; longwise у довжину/завдовжки; southward на південь/у південному напрямку; tenfold десятиразовий; thousandfold у тисячу разів; westward спрямований на захід/у західному напрямку.
A similar approach is often made when translating many Ukrainian structural and semantic compounds into English: восьмина the eighth part of smth.; вузькоколійка the narrow-gauge railway; третина, the third part of smth./one-third of smth.; сімсотріччя the seven-hundredth anniversary.
Since the number of notions in any language does not coincide with the number of words expressing them, a word-level translation can not always provide a faithful rendering of any single word meaning. Thence, a large number of the source language words are to be trans-
lated into the target language by meafis of word-combinations or even sentences: hi-jack силою змушувати пілотів міняти курс літака з корисливою метою; аЬоипс/бути багатим на щось; agape роззявивши рота (від здивування); armistice коротке перемир'я /припинення воєнних дій; asyndeton пропуск сполучників; aurist спеціаліст із захворювань вуха; banting лікування ожиріння дієтою; Ьг/Ьегтой, хто дає хабарі; casualize переводити на тимчасову роботу; didacticism схильність до повчань.
Quite a few monosemantic words in Ukrainian are also notion-ally extended: вчадіти to be affected by the fumes/to die from carbon monoxide poisoning; доба day and night (24 hours); заполоч coloured threads for embroidering; літепло slightly warm/ed water; бути нівроку (to be) healthy looking and fleshy, beautiful, strong; нудьгуватиХо be despirited/to be in the dumps; нюшити to sniff the air (about dogs); окріп boiling/extremely hot water, періодизація division into periods; цяцькатися to take much trouble over smb./smth.
Various evaluating meanings (diminutive, augmentative, etc.) are expressed or rather conveyed in English and Ukrainian both at word level and at word-combination level, the former being predominant, as a rule, in Ukrainian: baggie мішечок; catkin котик (на вербі); coatee пальтечко; горбик hillock; квіточка floweret; чоловічок manikin.
Many Ukrainian diminutives expressing also the meaning of endearment through morphological means may have in English two realizations (morphological and lexico-syntactic): матуся mummy/ dear mum; татко dad (daddy), dear dad; сестричка sissy/little sister; книжечка booklet/little book; пташина birdie/little bird; хмаринка cloudlet/little cloud, small little cloud.
It must be emphasized, however, that more Ukrainian words expressing their evaluating meanings morphologically are rendered in English through lexico-syntactic sense units/word-combinations: будиночок a small house or a small little house; рученька a little hand or a small little hand; садочок a small garden or a small little garden/orchard, воріженьки perfidious/cunning enemies.
Higher degrees of diminutiveness and endearment in Ukrainian diminutive words which is expressed as shown above (through suffixes and prefixes) can be conveyed in English (though not always to an equal degree) with the help of lexico-syntactic means (at word-combination level): матусенька/татунечко dear/dearly loved (beloved) mummy/daddy; рученятка /рученяточка small little hands/ dear little hands; манюсінький ґномик small/tiny little gnome;
392
393
найкращенька рибинка the most beautiful small/tiny little fish; двієчко 67точок two small little babies/two dear kiddies; спатоньки to have a little sleep, have a sweet little sleep, etc.
Negative evaluating meanings, which are mostly expressed at word level in Ukrainian, can also be rendered into English lexico-syn-tactically (at word-combination level): бицюра (про чоловіка) a veritable man of a bull; собацюра a monster of a dog; рибисько a whale of a fish; ямище a veritable abyss; дідуган (pejorative) a venerable/ staid old man, вітрюга heavy/strong wind, an almost stormy wind; дурощі (напр. куріння) monkey-business, etc.
It must be noted that some pejorative evaluating meanings can be expressed in Ukrainian and sometimes in English by morphological means. Consequently, these meanings are rendered at word level: heavy drunkard п'яничка/п'янюга; dullard тупак/тупиця, «ступа»; kinglet нікчемний король/королик, sluggard ледацюга/лежень.
These are by far all Ukrainian and English means which can together with the diminutive/augmentative affixes considerably influence the denotative and connotative (evaluative) meaning of some notional words. The beginning translator must be well aware of this fact while selecting equivalent versions for such kind of words in the target language. Still greater care should be taken when rendering the connotative meanings of words which are not morphologically manifested.
Ways of Conveying the Meanings of Polysemantic Language Units
Unlike words with evaluative and other connotation, the denotative meaning of a bulk of words can be identified at the level of word-combinations or sentences only. These words constitute a considerable part of present-day English lexicon and are referred to as polysemantic words. For example, the denotative meanings of the verb (or noun)
Достарыңызбен бөлісу: |