Handling Equivalent-Lacking Forms and Structures

Translation of Articles

The Indefinite Article1. The only sensible solution in the Middle East is a

peace which would withdraw Israeli troops.

2. I will never marry a Malone or a Sykes.

3. He is a Kennedy.

4. This was a Coventry (a Stalingrad).

5. The MP is a Mr.Hollen.

6. He ordered a tea.

7. I do not claim to be a John Lennon.

8. The British Prime-Minister said not a word about tortures in Iraq.

9. Nickolas was a Maniloff.

The Definite Article1. The Richard who appeared in More’s account was

a man highly-strung and deeply suffering.

2. I can’t explain the feeling but I seem to have touched the real you more closely this morning.

3. One is the America of Abraham Lincoln, the other is the America of Theodore Roosevelt.

4. England is gray industrial cities - Leeds and Brad-ford, Newcastle and Birmingham. That’s the England that really counts.

5. He succeeded in solving the three problems.

Equivalent-Lacking Words

Realia, neologisms, foreign words, taboo-words, proper names, etc.

Translation of newly coined words

1) Names of specific national phenomena have no regular equivalents: coroner, impeachment, doshirak, baby-sitter.

2) Names to new objects or phenomena: Polandologist, a nuclearist, the Monicagate.

3) Find a good way of translating this: In many European capitals central streets were pedestrianized.

What is the best variant for «Word-Processor»?

a) словообработчик,

b) словопроцессор,

c) текстопроцессор,

d) текстовый редактор?

What Are Realia?

- culturally loaded words;

- they represent an object peculiar to this or that ethnic culture;

- they represent the word or words naming that object of culture: гжель, мужик, кимоно, babyshower, вытрезвитель, canoe, trailer, sophomore, bush fire (Canada), charisma (God’s gift), drugstore, happy hour, Easter rabbit, Washington Cherry tree, etc.

Types of Realia

According to comparison of languages and cultures:

• Unique realia: Gulag, the Kremlin, the Pentagon, The Globe Theatre

• Analogues: drug-store, дедовщина (hazing)• Similar realia with different function: cuckoo’s

call• Language lacunae of similar notions: hammering

heart (watch), shock work (ударный труд, subbotnik), clover-leaf

According to the semantic field:• Toponyms (geographical terms): Munich,

Illinois, Washington D.C.

• Anthroponyms, or people’s names: Henry Adams, Raisa M.Gorbachev

• Zoonyms: kangaroo, weasel, grizzly

• Social terms: The House of Lords, Госдума

• Ergonyms: DalZavod (Far Eastern Docks), Heinemann, санэпидстанция

• Titles and headlines: The Da Vinci Code, Woe from Wit, The Diamonds to Sit On.

Location and Time CharacteristicsLocation

• Exoticisms: bonsai (dwarf tree), kabuki, chiaotse (Chinese pelmeni)

• Barbarisms: хобби, авеню, овердрафт

Time

• Neologisms: internet, hamburger, ноухау

• Historisms: уезд, штоф, Lost Generation

• Archaisms (out of use words): Sire (father), злато, град.

Ways of Translating Realia

• Transcription, transliteration: voucher,• Calque: skyscraper, Статуя Свободы• Half-calque: carpet-bagger• Assimilation: canoe --> каное, кану; afternoon

- вечер• Semantic neologism: sauna - сауна; дача -

dacha• Hyponymic (приблизительный): сенцы -

entrance; рысак - horse; уха -fish soup

Ways of Translating Realia(continued)

• Explicatory: 13 зарплата - annual bonus payment; breadline - очередь безработных за бесплатным питанием

• Lexical substitutions: Scout (“To Kill a Mockingbird”) - Глазастик; Secretary of State -министр иностранных дел

• Contextual translation: путёвка на советский курорт - accommodation at Soviet health resort

Various Ways of Translating the Same Word of Realia

1. Пошли мужики на рыбалку.

2. Пришли мужики к царю.

3. Мужик - это деревенский житель.

Assignments:

1) Mind the contextual meaning of the Russian word of realia and offer your variants of translation.

2) Make additions to the lecture and slide presentation from Proshina, pp.145-152.