Third Type – Situational or Factual Equivalence

The content or sense of the utterance is conveyed by different grammatical and lexical units.

Situational equivalence is observed when the same phenomenon is described in a different way because it is seen from a different angle, e.g.

The police cleared the streets.

Полиция разогнала демонстрацию.

Unemployed teenagers are often left without means of gaining food and shelter.

Безработные подростки часто оказываются без средств к существованию.

Hold the line.

Не кладите трубку.

The Commonwealth countries handle a quarter of the world’s trade.

На страны британского содружества приходится четвертая часть мировой торговли.

This type of equivalence also comprises the translation of clichés, orders, warnings and notices, phraseological units and set expressions, formulae of politeness, etc.

There were no survivors.

Все погибли.

Fragile – осторожно, стекло;

Keep off, wet paint – не садиться, окрашено;

Many happy returns of the day – поздравляю с днем рождения.

In this way, the third type of equivalence conveys the sense, the meaning of the utterance without preserving its formal elements.

(For a detailed analysis of the levels of equivalence problems and the structural level patterns the reader is referred to the studies of Soviet linguists В.Н.Комиссаров «слово о переводе» and В.Н.Крупнов «сборник научных трудов», вып. 203, с. 183-199).

LEVELS OF EQUIVALENCE

Equivalence may occur at different linguistic levels: phonetic, word building, morphological, at word level, at phrase level, at sentence level and finally at text level.

Phonetic level of Equivalence

The sound form of corresponding English and Russian words seldom coincide, consequently this level of equivalence is not common and is of primary importance only in poetic translation.

Word-building Level of Equivalence

e.g.: irresponsible – безответственный; unpredictable – непредсказуемый; counterbalance – противовес, еtс.

Morphological Level of Equivalence

e.g.: The report’s proposals were handed to a political committee.

Предложения доклада были переданы политическому комитету.

Equivalence at Word Level

e.g.: She clasped her hands round her handbag. (Agatha Christie).

Она крепко сжала в руках свою сумочку.

Equivalence of Phrase Level

Equivalence at phrase level is of two kinds: a SL word corresponds to a TL phrase (to negotiate – вести переговоры), a SL phrase corresponds to a TL word (Hippies are in revolt against an acquisitive society. – Хиппи восстают против потребительского общества).

Equivalence at Sentence Level

It occurs: a) in phraseology – two is company, three is none – третий лишний; b) in orders and regulations – keep off the grass – по газону не ходить.

Equivalence at Text Level

It is usual in the translation of poetry as seen in the translation of William Blake’s stanza by S. Marshak.

1. To see a World in a Grain of Sand,

2. And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,

3. Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand,

4. And Eternity in an hour. (W. Blake, Auguries of Innocence)

4. В одно мгновенье видеть вечность,

1. Огромный мир – в зерне песка,

3. В единой горсти – бесконечность

2. И небо – в чашечке цветка.

The translation by S.Marshak may be regarded as excellent. The text as a unity is reproduced most fully and this conception of unity justifies the change in the order of the lines within the stanza.

A strict observance of equivalence at all levels ensures a similar reaction on the part of the S and T language receptors and can be achieved by means of functional substitutions.

LECTURE

TYPES OF TRANSLATION

Good theory is based on information gained from practice. Good practice is based on carefully worked-out theory. The two are interdependent. (Larson l991, p. 1)

The ideal translation will be accurate as to meaning and natural as to the receptor language forms used. An intended audience who is unfamiliar with the source text will readily understand it. The success of a translation is measured by how closely it measures up to these ideals.

The ideal translation should be…

Accurate: reproducing as exactly as possible the meaning of the source text.
Natural: using natural forms of the receptor language in a way that is appropriate to the kind of text being translated.
Communicative: expressing all aspects of the meaning in a way that is readily understandable to the intended audience.

Translation is a process based on the theory that it is possible to abstract the meaning of a text from its forms and reproduce that meaning with the very different forms of a second language.

Translation, then, consists of studying the lexicon, grammatical structure, communication situation, and cultural context of the source language text, analyzing it in order to determine its meaning, and then reconstructing this same meaning using the lexicon and grammatical structure which are appropriate in the receptor language and its cultural context. (Larson l998, p. 3)

Diagram from Larson l998, p. 4

In practice, there is considerable variation in the types of translations produced by translators. Some translators work only in two languages and are competent in both. Others work from their first language to their second language, and still others from their second language to their first language. Depending on these matters of language proficiency, the procedures used will vary from project to project. In most projects in which SIL is involved, a translation team carries on the project. Team roles are worked out according to the individual skills of team members. There is also some variation depending on the purpose of a given translation and the type of translation that will be accepted by the intended audiences.

Good theory is based on information gained from practice. Good practice is based on carefully worked-out theory. The two are interdependent. (Larson l991, p. 1)

The ideal translation should be…

Accurate: reproducing as exactly as possible the meaning of the source text.
Natural: using natural forms of the receptor language in a way that is appropriate to the kind of text being translated.
Communicative: expressing all aspects of the meaning in a way that is readily understandable to the intended audience.

Translation is a process based on the theory that it is possible to abstract the meaning of a text from its forms and reproduce that meaning with the very different forms of a second language.

Diagram from Larson l998, p. 4

The following three types of translation can be distinguished: equivalent translation, literal translation and free translation.

Equivalent translation

Equivalent translation has been considered in the preceding pages. Achieving equivalence is the goal aimed at in translation.

Literal translation

In spite of the fact that there are cases of semantic and structural coincidences they are rather an exception. A literal or word translation is obviously unacceptable because it results in a violation of form, or a distortion of sense, or both.

No desire on the part of the translator to preserve in his translation the lexical, grammatical or stylistic peculiarities of the original text can justify any departure from the norms of the TL.

Literal translation imposes upon the TL text alien lexical and grammatical structures, alien collocability, alien connotations and alien stylistic norms.

In literal translation form prevails over content and the meaning of the text is distorted. Literalism may be lexical, grammatical or stylistic, e.g.

He wagged a grateful tail and climbed on the seat (Georgetta Heyer).

Он благодарно завилял хвостом и вскарабкался на сиденьею

She was letting her temper go by inches (Monica Dickens).

Она понемногу теряла терпение. (Она все больше и больше теряла терпение).

The pragmatic aspect of translation does not admit literalism either – and requires interpreting translation or substitution.

The Tory Team, however, aren’t all batting on the same wicket.

The metaphor is taken from cricket, a very popular game in Britain but hardly known to Russian readers.

Однако, консерваторы не едины.

Однако, команда консерваторов играла не дружно.

Translation Loans

Literal translation should not be confused with translation loans. A translation loan is a peculiar form of word-borrowing by means of literal translation. Translation loans are built on the pattern of foreign words or phrases with the elements of the borrowing language, e.g. collective farm is atranslation loan of the Russian колхоз but in a full and not in an abbreviated form: oil dollars -нефтедоллары; goodneighbourly relations – добрососедские отношения (a full loan); war effect (a partial loan as number does not coincide).

Free Translation

Free translation, that is, paraphrasing is a special type of translation used as a rule in annotations, précis, abstracts, etc. free translation is rendering of meaning regardless of form. The aim of such translation is to convey information to people in other countries in a most compact and condensed manner.

There is another interpretation of the term “Free translation”.

The translator in this case considers himself as co-author and takes great liberties with the original text resorting to unjustified expansion or omissions.

“She burst out crying” is translated as “Слезы показались на глазах моей милой малютки” (Ch. Dickens, tr. By J.V. Vedensky).

TO CONCLUDE: the three parameters of translation are: rendering of contents, rendering of form and observance of TL norms. These fundamentals are of equal significance and are to be duly taken into account in the process of translation. The vast resources of the Russian language enable the translator to achieve excellent and the fundamental principle of translation – what is said in one language can as well be said in another – remains inviolable.

LECTURE

GRAMMATICAL PROBLEMS

General considerations

Equivalence, as has been pointed in the previous chapter, is achieved by different transformations: grammatical, lexical, stylistic. The present chapter deals with grammatical transformations and their causes. The causes generating these transformations are not always purely grammatical but may be lexicalas well, though grammatical causes naturally prevail due to differences in the SL and TL grammatical structures.

Not infrequently, grammatical and lexical causes are so closely interwoven that the required transformations are of a twofold character. The following example illustrates this point.

The vigil of the U.S. Embassy supported last week by many prominent people and still continuing, the marches last Saturday, the resolutions of organizations have done something to show that the Prime Minister does not speak for Britain.

Круглосуточная демонстрация у здания американского посольства, получившая на прошлой неделе поддержку многих видных деятелей, все еще продолжается. Эта демонстрация и состоявшиеся в субботу походы, а также принятые различными организациями резолюции, явно свидетельствуют о том, что премьер-министр отнюдь не говорит от имени всего английского народа.

A number of lexical and grammatical transformations have been effected in: 1) the long English sentence in which the subject is expressed by three homogeneous members (the vigil, the marches, the resolutions) is translated by two separate Russian sentences. The structure of the English sentence is typical of the structure of brief notes or of leads which usually contain miscellaneous information on the principles of “who, what, when, where and how”. This, however, is not usual in Russian newspaper style. The word демонстрация is repeated as both sentences have the same subject. 2) The word “vigil” has recently developed a new meaning – “around the clock demonstration”. This new meaning is accordingly rendered by two words (круглосуточная демонстрация); similarly, the participle “supported” is also rendered by two Russian words (получившая поддержку); 3) a number of additional words have been introduced: у здания (посольства), состоявшиеся (в субботу походы), а также принятые различными (организациями резолюции). 4) The word “last” has been omitted as its meaning is implied in the Russian adverbial of time (в субботу); 5) The emphatic meaning of the predicate with its object (have done something to show) is conveyed by the adverb явно. 6) The cliché (speak for Britain) is rendered by a corresponding cliché говорить от имени. 7) Finally, the metonymy (Britain) is translated by the words it stands for весь английский народ.

Strictly speaking only the translation of the complex sentence by meaning of two sentences can be regarded as a purely grammatical transformation, whereas all the other transformations are of a mixed character – both lexical and grammatical.