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O.I. Panchenko
THEORY AND PRACTICE OF TRANSLATION
(Lecture Notes and Tests)
Lecture 1
THEORY OF TRANSLATION AS A SCIENCE
Translation and art are twin processes. Octavio Pas
PLAN
1. The subject and tasks of the science.
The subject and tasks of the science.
Translation is a peculiar type of communication interlingual communication.
The goal of translation is to transform a text in the Source Language into a text in the Target Language. This means that the message produced by the translator should call forth a reaction from the TL receptor similar to that called forth by the original message from the SL receptor. The content, that is, the referential meaning of the message with all its implications and the form of the message with all its emotive and stylistic connotations must be reproduced as fully as possible in the translation as they are to evoke a similar response. While the content remains relatively intact, the form, that is, the linguistic signs of the original, may be substituted or replaced by other signs of the TL because of structural differences at all levels. Such substitutions are justified; they are functional and aim at achieving equivalence.
Equivalent texts in the two languages are not necessarily made up of semantically identical signs and grammatical structures and equivalence should not be confused with identity.
LECTURE
EQUIVALENCE
Equivalence is the reproduction of a SL text by TL means. Equivalence is not a constant but a variable quantity and the range of variability is considerable. The degree of equivalence depends on the linguistic means used in the SL texts and on the functional style to which the text belongs. E.g.:
Early December brought a brief respite when temperatures fell and the ground hardened, but a quick thaw followed.
, , , .
The messages conveyed by the original and the translaton are equivalent as every semantic element has been retained although some changes have been made in strict conformity with the standards and usage of the Russian language.
TYPES OF EQUIVALENCE
Equivalence implies variability and consequently several types of equivalence can be distinguished.
First Type Formal Equivalence.
Children go to school every morning.
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The content, the structure of the sentence and the semantic components (language units) are similar. Each element of the SL text has a corresponding one in the TL text. But such cases of complete similarity are rather rare.
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Second Type Partial Correspondence Equivalence.
Non-corresponding elements may be lexical, grammatical or stylistical. Equivalence of the second type is usually achieved by means of various transformations: substitution or replacements (both lexical and grammatical), additions and omissions, paraphrasing and compensation.
All through the long foreign summer the American tourist abroad has been depressed by the rubber quality of his dollar.
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Although a considerable degree of equivalence has been achieved a number of transformations, certain losses have been incurred, namely, compactness and vividness. They are accounted for by existing discrepancies in collocability (valency).
Attention should be paid to the Stylistic aspect of equivalence because of its importance in achieving the second type of equivalence. The stylistic aspect of equivalence implies the rendering in translation of stylistic and emotive connotations. Stylistic connotations presuppose the use of words belonging to the same layer of the vocabulary (literary, neutral and colloquial). Emotive connotations presuppose the use of words evoking similar connotations. The following example illustrates the rendering of stylistic connotations:
Delegates to the conference in San Francisco, April, 1945, from European countries have been traveling three weeks. The German U-boats which were hanging around were most effectively scared off by depth-charges from accompanying destroyers.
-, 1945 ., . , .
The coll er).
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Attention should also be drawn to the Pragmatic aspect of equivalence.
Pragmatic equivalence can be achieved only by means of interpreting extra-linguistic factors.
Mr. Healey by his decision presented a Christmas package so small that it is hardly even a Christmas stocking-filler.
, , , .
The literal translation of a Christmas stocking-filler would hardly convey any sense to the Russian receptor unfamiliar with the custom. In this case the pragmatic aspect motivated the translation a Christmas stocking-filler by . The addition of the words is also necessitated by pragmatic considerations.
Here is another example of interesting substitution.
The Elgin marbles seem an indisputable argument in favor of the preservation of works of art by rape.
, , -, .
The substitution of the subject and the addition of the participle construction convey the necessary pragmatic information. If a detail denoting some national feature is not important enough it may safely be omitted, e.g.
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He could take nothing for dinner but a partridge with an imperial pint of champagne (J. Galsworthy).
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The word imperial does not convey any significant information and may therefore be omitted in the Russian translation without impairing equivalence.
The pragmatic aspect of the content is sometimes closely interwoven with the linguistic aspect and their interaction also requires explanatory additions, e.g.
I was sent to a boarding school when I was very little about five because my mother and father couldnt afford anything so starchy as an English nurse or a French governess (Ilka Chase).
, , , , .
The difficulty there lies not only in the pragmatic aspect of the adjective starchy but also in its use in two meanings, direct and indirect, simultaneously (1. ; 2. ).
