Translation as a term and notion is of polysemantic nature, its common and most general meaning being mostly associated with the action or process of rendering/expressing the meaning/content of a source language word, word-group, sentence or passage (larger text) in the target language or with the result of the process/action of rendering. In other words with the work performed by the translator (cf. this is my translation). Translation is also used to denote the subject taught or studied, the examination in the subject (cf. we have translation in the time-table today; I have to pass translation tomorrow). Translation may refer to the title of the manual/theoretical work on the subject (cf. I bought Translation by Ivanenko). Besides, the Romanization of proper nouns, geographical names, different internationalisms, etc., when Latin letters are used to convey the Ukrainian nouns, verbs, adverbs is translation too: Kyiv, Brovary, Lviv, Bila Tserkva, Poltava, Zghurivka, Medvyn, algebra , geographer , computer ', opera , telephone (v) , /7///, ignore , historically . Translated in this way, i.e., transliterated with the help of Cyrillic letters are many English and otherforeign names and different terms. Cf.: Archibald Cronin , Robert Frost , Ottawa , NickHfc, Susan , Helmut Kohl , shilling 1, pizza , therapeutic , etc.
No less ambiguous is also the term interpretation which is synonymous to translation and is used to denote the way or manner of presenting the idea of the work in translation orally (as well as its aesthetic, religious, political, pragmatic background and other qualitative characteristics of the work under translation). These may be artistic, genre and stylistic peculiarities rendered by the translator in his particular way, which is somewhat different from that of the author's. The thing is that interpretation, unlike translation, admits some more freedom of the translator in his treatment (at least in certain places or cases) of the matter under translation. Hence, the existence of free versifications () and free adaptation ()
which are rightly treated as new creations (when they are of high artistic value). To the latter belong the famous free interpretations of Virgil's Aeneid in Ukrainian by I. Kotlyarevskyi or I. Franko's free adaptation of the German work Reineke Fuchs under the Ukrainian title , and many others both in our national literature and in world literature. Practically adapted (thought in a peculiar way and with the highest degree of faithfulness, i.e. interpreted according to our national literary tradition), are also Shakespearean masterpieces, Byronean writings and many other poetic and prose works. Consequently, interpretation may denote apart from the oral method of translation also a peculiar, pertained to a master of the pen and characteristic of him, as well as the only way of presenting a prose or poetic work in translation. (Interpretation may also denote the style of a peculiar translator and his way of presenting a particular literary work).
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Apart from the two mentioned above, there are some other terms in the theory of translation which may seen ambiguous to the inexperienced student. These usually common terms are: accurate or exact (to what degree?) translation ; faithful (or realistic) translation, / ; faithfulness of translation/interpretation, / / ; fidelity (or faithfulness) of translation/interpretation , ; equivalent translation/interpretation ; free interpretation , ; free adaptation , ; free interpretation , ; free/loose translation , ; consecutive interpretation , ; off-hand translation/ interpretation / ( ); rehash ( ) ; sight translation/interpretation (translation at sight) / /; simultaneous translation/ interpretation ; rough translation , and some others.
Each of the above-mentioned terms may be understood and interpreted differently. Thus, free interpretation may mean both free translation, free adaptation and sometimes even loose translation. Similarly with the terms and notions as faithful translation and equivalent translation which are synonymous if not identical by their general meaning thought not without some difference between
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them. The term faithful translation (, ) is used to denote the highest level/degree of rendering the denotative or connotative meanings of words, the sense of word-groups and sentences, the content, the expressiveness, picturesqueness and the pragmatic subtext/intention of passages or works of the source language with the help of the available means of the target language. The term equivalent translation is nowadays practically used in the same meaning as faithful translation with one exception only: it also includes the necessity of quantitative and qualitative representation of all constitutive parts or elements of the source language units in the target language. Consequently, a faithful translation very often means the same as equivalent translation which can be best illustrated on single words, word-groups or sentences as the following: , de/, work npaup, professors and students , to work hard , take part , throw light , between Scilla and Charybdis , Ukraine celebrated her fifth anniversary in August 1996 ' 1996 .
Equivalent can also be considered the translation of the following English sentence which maintains in Ukrainian its main constituent parts, its content, expressiveness and picturesqueness: There was Penelope flying after me like mad. (W.Collins) , , .
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In regard to the afore-said, there can be no equivalence but only faithfulness in the translation of such and the like English language units as: complexion , to take measures , little bird (), live in the street , one's sands are running out (idiom) / , same here (colloq.) ( ) ( ), / or: . In a large number of cases translation is traditionally applied to various substitutions of the source language constituents/images for the explicatory constituents and images of the target language, which helps achieve the necessary faithfulness in conveying their meaning. Cf.: penny-in-the slot /- (); the land of golden fleece ; red blood , , (); let George do it ( ); agonic () , etc. Therefore, faithfull is not always equivalent.
The term translation is used even to denote purely functional substitutions which have absolutely nothing in common with any expression/rendering of meaning of the source language sense units in the target language. A graphic example of this kind of translation can be the following passage: There's the tree in the middle... It could bark... It says Bough-wough... That's why its branches are called boughs. (L.Carrol, Alice in Wonderland). In Ukrainian: Գ !.. Գ-, . It goes without saying that the lexical meaning of tree is not Գ and Bough-wough or boughs do not correlate with which they were substituted for in this Ukrainian translation by H.Bushyna.
Similarly translated i.e. functionally substituted are different English and Ukrainian metaphorically used nouns, verbs and set expressions as in the examples knight of the pencil / , baby-snatcher , , the Square Mile ѳ ( ), the Square Mile of Vice (Cora, ), soft head (), etc.
