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Transformation in the process of translation




The student, who followed the preceding pages with attention, could not have failed to notice that some sense units of the source language retained their sense and structure in the target language unchanged, whereas others had retained only their content/meaning unchanged, but altered or completely changed their original/source language form. The kind of major and minor alterations in the structural form of language units performed with the aim of achieving faithfulness in translation are referred to as translator's transformations. They are carried out either because of the incompatibility of the target language means of expression, which makes the transplantation of some source language units to it impossible, or in order to retain the style of the source language passage and thus maintain the expressiveness of the source language sense units. Naturally, not all sense units need to be structurally transformed in the process of translation, a considerable number of them are also transplanted to the target language in the form, meaning and structure of the original, i.e., unchanged or little changed. Among these, as could be seen on the foregoing chapters, are the following classes of language/sense units:

1) Most of genuine internationalisms (words, word-groups, sentences), some idiomatic expressions, culturally biased notions. For example: begonia , computerization ', mar keting 1, electron , theorem , gentleman , chemical reaction , democratic system , finita la commedia ( ), veni, vidi, vici , , , etc.

2) Many loan internationalisms which maintain in the target language the same meaning and often the same structural form but


 


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have a different phonetic structure (sounding). Cf.: agreement/con cord (gram), , adjoinment/juxtaposition , word- formation , the complex sentence , subordination ', longitude (geogr.) , latitude , horse power , standard of living , etc. 3) Almost all proper nouns of various subclasses (names of people, family names and geographical names, etc.): Arvid , Dora , Floy , , Newton , Longfellow , Boston , Newfoundland , Ohio , Hyderabad , General Motors Corp. , Playboy Magazine , etc.

Some proper names and family names, as well as geographical names, names of companies/corporations, firms, titles of newspapers, magazines/journals, as has been shown already in Chapter II, do not always completely retain their source language form in the target language, e.g.: Mary Stewart , Charles V ', Lorraine , Munich , Cologne , Leghorn ˳, Continental Airlines , Boston Globe and Mail , USA Today -- , Sports , etc. These and many other proper nouns acquire in the target language a somewhat different sounding and additional explication (cf. ), which often extend their structure as compared with that in the source language (cf. Reuters ). As a result, there is not always the same structural dimension (because of transformation) of the source language units in the target language, where they are partly transformed, as a rule.

A considerable number of various different proper nouns do not maintain their form or structure due to the historic tradition or because of the lack of the corresponding sounds in the target language. Cf.: Warsaw, Moscow, Zaporizhya, Kharkiv, etc. The lingual (sounding) structure of these and some other geographical names somewhat differs from that in the source language, because Zaporizhya, Kharkiv or Khrushch do not fully reflect their authentic Ukrainian sounding. But since the English language has no [r, , , ', , , '] sounds/phonemes and the Ukrainian language has no [9,d, r\, r, h] and other sounds, the spelling forms like Tsarenko for , Zayarya for ' .

362


for Thackerey, Ruth should be consfdered as justified and, therefore, correct, in other words faithfully turned in either of these two languages. Such and the like (or more complicated) alterations and changes constantly take place in the process of translation both at word level and at syntactic level. Hence, from what was shortly shown on the examples above, one can draw an irrefutable conclusion that translation of sense units at the language level, i.e., at the level they belong to in the source language, represents nothing else than a process of constant transformations. The most regular if not the most frequent of these are the following two:

1) inner or implicit transformations taking place at the lexical/semantic level of the target language as compared with the corresponding source language units;

2) outer or explicit transformations causing some alterations in the target language as compared with the structure of the corresponding sense units of the source language units.

A vivid illustration of inner transformation is realized in genuine internationalisms through their synonymous or polysemantic meanings. For example, the noun icon apart from its direct Ukrainian meaning may have in some context also the meanings , , . Any of the last three forms of the word represents an implicit/inner transformation of icon. Similarly with the noun idea which may mean apart from its genuine international sense also , , . When realised in its faithful translation through any of these three last meanings, it exemplifies an inner/ implicit translators' transformation.

Similar deviations from the direct and main meaning may be observed in many more translated English genuine internationalisms. For example: idiomatic / but also / , , . (Cf. idiomatic English , , but not , ); illumination , and also / (, ); illustration , and also , .

Sometimes the meaning (inner form) of an internationalism or any other language unit may be absolutely unexpected for an unexperienced translator or interpreter. Cf.: imitation 1. ; 2. and , , Cf.: imitation coffee , -; intonation 1. ; 2. and / ; militia

363


1. ; 2. (.) 볿; militiaman (.)
and also ; national 1. ;

2. and , (Cf.: national forces of Ukraine
); nationalist 1. , 2.
,  ,
,
i.e.  ; realize
1. , ; 2. ,
and , , .
Therefore, inner or implicit transformations disclose the semantic po
tential of the source language units in the target language. The outer/
explicit
transformation is performed in the process of translation prac
tically on any type of the source language sense unit; already the
change of the Roman type () for the Ukrainian or Arabic one
presents an explicit or outer transformation (cf. Lviv, Chop).
A kind of combined explicit and implicit transformation may some
times take place too. Thus, the proper name John, for example, may
have three outer/contextual explicit realizations of its implicit mean
ings in Ukrainian: 1. as in , ʳ; 2. as in
Pope John Paul II ; 3. loaHHasinKing John

, John the Baptist .

Apart from the notionals many functionals may undergo inner/ implicit transformations in the process of their translation as well. For example, the word yet may realize its lexical potential as follows: adverb (needyou go yet? ?); conjunction (thoughyoung yet experienced , / ); the word nowwhich may be adverb (he is here noW); noun (he is there by nowB'm ); conjunction (we may start, now the work is over , ). Even the functional word the has two different realizations: 1. that of the grammatical determiner (definite article) and that of a particle as in the sooner the better , . Inner transformations, therefore, may be performed on most sense units.

Outer/explicit transformations may sometimes change the structural form of the sense unit under translation. Thus, the noun the Orkneys becomes a word-group and the Hebrides becomes , whereas Labrador becomes , and vice versa: some Ukrainian and English word-groups, proper names are transformed in the target language into single words: - Ladoga, - Onega, - the Urals, the Antarctic Continent - , the Artctic Region -, etc.


A peculiar type of outer transformation is observed at the phonetic/phonological level, when conveying different types of proper names, internationalisms and some lexical units designating specifically national (culturally-biased) elements of the source language. The outer transformation of the source language units in this case finds its expression only in adopting their spelling and sounding forms to the corresponding target language phonetic/phonological system, which usually differs from that of the source language. For example: acoustics [e'ku:stiks] , assembly [e'sembli] , ceremony ['serimeni] , discussion [dis'kAJn] , etc.

A great number of phonetic/phonological transformations of the kind had been performed in the course of our history of translation. As a result, different types of various proper and other nouns have been already adopted by our language both directly and through mediating languages (Polish or Russian).

In the process of this adoption many different proper names of people and geographical names have acquired in Ukrainian a partly transformed phonetic/phonological i.e. outer structural form. Cf.: Ireland [aialand] , Maine [mein] ( ), Ulster [Alsta] , Thessaly ['eesgli] , Thesalonica [0es3l9'nai:ka] , , Rwanda [ru:'anda] , etc. Others acquired a unified outer form to express different notions: Algeria [aePd3i3ri9] (), Algiers [^] (), Tunisia (), Tunis ().

The observant reader could not have missed to notice that the outer forms of some of the above-given nouns were not everywhere linguistically justified, as their outer presentation contradicts the latest rule of Romanization of Ukrainian proper names and the rule of Ukrainization of foreign proper names respectively. In accordance with these rules the U.S. state of Maine, should be , Ulster should be , and Thessalia, Thesalonica - and . Nevertheless, the outer form of these and many other nouns still remains in their traditional presentation, which was in some period of the past introduced in a wrong translators' transcription, cf.: Athens instead of (as ), etc.

A lot of other language units have either completely or partly changed their outer form according to the requirements of the target language. Cf.: arcuate , bachelor , charter , defile , fherapeuf/, etc. Many loan internationalisms, on the other hand, maintain their inner and outerform in Ukrainian. Cf.: case , tense form ,


 


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syntactic relations , syntactic connection ', etc.

The outer form of many language units of the source language may, naturally, differ from its structural presentation in the target language. Thus, the sense of several simple words may be expressed through word-groups: advance , drive , quantify / ; to put young fish into the pond, to knock down/to knock down together, / to get chilled, to be nipped by the frost.

Compound words on the other hand may 1) maintain their outer form/structure in the target language: 1) easy-going , first- rate , fireproof , fcofo/c/, free thinker ; 2) they may be transformed into semantically corresponding word-groups: /^/ , bed-fast (), spotlight , squaw- man (Amer.) / ; 3)they may turn in Ukrainian into simple words: ear-rings , dress-coat , mother-in- //, ink-pot , operating-room , son-in-law , glass-house /, go-ahead , etc.

Similar outer (structural) and inner (lexico-semantic) transformations are often resorted to when rendering the meaning of specific notions of national lexicon, namely: 1) when a single-word notion of the source language is translated by means of a single word (when the notions are internationalisms): mister, miss, lady, lord, barter, etc., , , , , . 2) when a word-group notion is conveyed through a common word: little Mary (jocul.) , Lord Harry /, the outwardman (), for ever and a day /, to turn one's / (). 3) when a word-group structure of a specific source language notion is rendered through a sentence structure: Nosy Porker / ; Lazy Susan * , ( ); doctor Fell , ; the Centennial State , 1876 . ; K - ration (. Amer.) , . Very often, the structural (outer) forms of some sense units may also coincide. Thus, the word-group structures of the source

* ,


language are not changed in the tai>get language: straight ' (), London particular(coWoq.) , sane and sound (jocul.) , in one's birthday suit (jocul.) 泻 (), the Sunflower state (colloq. American) (), etc. But complete transformations are often performed when rendering the meaning of idiomatic expressions, especially of those based on specific notions of the national lexicon. Cf.: the Dutch have captured Holland , (nop. ); Queen Ann is dead / ; the boot is on the other leg , ; or in Ukrainian: for cats and dogs to laugh at, () he/she presents things much better than they in reality are, he/she bounces too much boasts or: pretends to have some thing in abundance, etc.

All these outer transformations were prearranged by the semantic aims, i.e., they were used to express as fully and faithfully as possible the sense of the source language units in the target language. The translator here is mostly free to deliberately choose any sense unit of any structural form in order to convey faithfully the meaning of the source language unit. Thus, when translating the word trifle as a unit of the English culturally biased lexicon the translator is free to choose deliberately any of the three possible equivalents: 1) ; 2) ; 3) , ( ). The choice of this or that Ukrainian equivalent transform among these three is also conditioned by the personal preference of this or that equivalent and by the context requiring correspondingly a more or less extended information of the reader about this or that English specific national notion.





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