Descriptive translating. One must bear in mind that it is the notional meaning of the source language unit and not always its morphological nature or structural form that is to be rendered in the target language. As a result, the target language unit, which equiva-lently/faithfully conveys the denotative/connotative meaning of the corresponding source language unit may not necessarily belong to the same language stratification level. Depending on the notion expressed by the source language word/lexeme, it may be conveyed in
1 See: .. . - .: . , 1975, . 46-48.
the target language sometimes through a word-combination or even through a sentence, i.e., descriptively: indulge , ; infamous (, ), ; inessentials , ; up to the brim, full to the brim; ' the nape of one's head, the back of the head; crust of a loaf, hunk of a bread; () to become lame (grow blind). Therefore, the descriptive way of conveying the sense of language units implies their structural transformation which is necessary to explicate their meaning with the help of hierarchically different target language units.
Descriptive translating/interpreting is very often employed to render the sense/meaning of idioms/phraseologisms, which have no equivalents in the target language. Cf. in English: (as) mad as a hatter / ; all my eye and Betty Martin! ! (!); like one (twelve) o'clock , , . In Ukrainian: to feel very cold (to feel freezing); hard times make one inventive; / to say much nonsense.
No less often is descriptive translation employed when dealing with the notions of specific national lexicon: haggis 崴 ( , ); porridge ( ); Senate ( 볿, ); sweet-meat , .
Alongside the literal translating some explications of the meaning of specific national notions becomes sometimes necessary: varenyky, middle-sized dumplings filled with curd, cherries, etc.; duma, Ukrainian historic epic song; kobzar, a performer of dumas to the accompaniment of the kobza (a mandoline-like four string musical instrument), the bandore (a flat multistringed Ukrainian musical instrument).
Descriptive translation is also employed in foot-notes to explain obscure places in narration. Cf. midland , 볿, a spiritual . .
Antonymic translation is employed for the sake of achieving
faithfulness in conveying content or the necessary expressiveness of sense units. It represents a way of rendering when an affirmative in structure language unit (word, word-combination or sentence) is conveyed via a negative in sense or structure but identical in content language unit, or vice versa: a negative in sense or structure sense unit is translated via an affirmative sense unit. Cf.: to have quite a few friends () ; mind your own business ; take it easy , ; not infrequently ; time like the present ( ); (..) feel/am perfectly well; look before you leap; , every dark cloud has a silver lining, etc.
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The antonymic device is empolyed in the following cases:
1) when in the target language there is no direct equivalent for
the sense unit of the source language. For example, the noun infe
riority and the adjective inferior (like the verb phrase to be infe
rior) have no single-word equivalents in Ukrainian. So their lexical
meaning can be conveyed either in a descriptive way or with the help
of their antonyms superiority, superior: The defeat of the Notts
in last season's cup semi-finals was certainly the result of their physical
and tactical inferiority... (The Kyiv Post)
(... ,
).1
The meaning of some English word-groups can also be conveyed in Ukrainian antonymically only: Baines was reading a newspaper in his shirt-sleeves. (Gr. Greene) . Do you mind this? (M.Wilson) ?
2) When the sense unit of the source language has two
negations of its own which create an affirmation: In those clothes
she was by no means non-elegant. (S.Maugham)
.
3. In order to achieve the necessary expressiveness in narration: I don't think it will hurt you, baby. (E.Hemingway) , , . A shell fell close. (Ibid.) . lurched away like a frightened horse barely
1 See more about transformations of the kind in part IV of this work.
missing the piano stool. (J.London) ³ , , ( ).
4. In order to avoid the use of the same or identical structures close to each other in a text (stylistic aim and means):
Mrs. Strickland was a woman of character. (S.Maugham) ̳ (, ). Most of the staff is not away. (M.Wilson) ( ). Savina said nothing. (Ibid.) ( ).
