Мой день беспутен и нелеп
Мой день беспутен и нелеп:
У нищего прошу на хлеб,
Богатому даю на бедность,
В иголку продеваю - луч,
Грабителю вручаю - ключ,
Белилами румяню бледность.
Мне нищий хлеба не дает,
Богатый денег не берет,
Луч не вдевается в иголку,
Грабитель входит без ключа,
А дура плачет в три ручья –
Над днембез славы и без толку.
Translated by Angela Livingstone and Elaine Feinstein:
My day is dissolute, absurd,
I ask the beggar for the bread,
I give the rich man poor man`s coins,
I thread a needle with a ray,
I trust the burglar with a key,
I rouge pallid skin with bleach.
The beggar doesn`t give me bread,
the rich man doesn`t take my coins,
the sunbeam won`t go through the needle,
the burglar enters without a key,
and now this fool dissolve in tears
over the senseless, gloryless day.
Translated by David McDuff:
My day is dissipated, mad.
I ask the beggar for the bread,
I give the rich man pauper`s pennies.
With light I thread my needle`s eye,
I give the burglar my door`s key,
With white I rouge my face`s paleness.
The beggar will not give a thing,
The rich man spurns my offering,
The light will not go through the needle.
The thief gets in without the key,
The idiot woman weeps her three
Streams over a day absurd, ignoble.
· Study the metre, rhyme and phonics of the poem and compare their functions with what is done in English translation. Which expressive functions of the form have been reconstructed and which lost?
· Study the choice of words and compare them with the English substitutes; see which English words do not compensate for the intersemiotic distance between the two languages.
· Study the imagery of the poem and stylistic devices used to convey it.
· Compare the stylistic features of the source text with those of the translated versions.
· Comment upon the grammatical problems of translating of the poem and the ways the translators have solved them.
· Read the translated texts aloud to see which of them sounds more expressive in English and closer to the nervous rhythm of the Russian poem.
· Try to translate the poem on your own and comment upon the results.
Examination Tasks
Task 1
Translate the underlined polisemantic words using context:
She set some milk and bread in front of me.
I set my watch by the radio
.After serving his term the prisoner was set free.
Don`t play with matches, you`ll set fire to the house.
You`d better set to work at once.
You should set a good example to your brother.
We set out on foot to the nearest village.
The sun has set, it`ll be cooler soon.
I`ve just seen him, he must be somewhere here.
It`s just ten o`clock.
We had only just enough time to catch the train.
You must keep your tram ticket till you are out of the tram.
Put on your apron to keep your dress clean.
She kept us waiting for almost two hours.
The rain kept us indoors.
Keep straight on till you come to a bridge then turn to the left and walk on.
He kept on running to the window.
There was not a thing to eat.
Anything wrong? – Not a thing.
Bring your swimming things with you.
He was a great man and could do great things.
Is there a small thing I can do for you?
Molly was a nice, little thing.
Poor thing, he`s been ill for two months.
He told me everything as we went along.
The dog was running along behind the boy.
Thick grass grew all along the road.
She has served in the family for 20 years.
Shall I serve tea?
This sentence may serve as an example of the rule.
You are wanted on the telephone.
The floor wants washing.
That boy wants sense.
I`ll get the book for you.
Little by little the work got easier.
How did you get in? the door was locked.
The boots are too tight. I can`t get into them.
Look! The cat is getting on the table.
I couldn`t get up into the tree because the branches were too high.
He watched the scene from the window.
Borodino was the scene of the famous battle in the patriotic war of 1812.
Act II of the play has three scenes.
Will you hold the bag for me?
Hold on to my neck.
The train was held up by the frog.
This pail holds eight kilograms of potatoes.
Well, take hold of my hand and come along with me.
I can`t keep hold of all the parcels.
Task 2
Translate colloquial English idioms:
There were several vacancies in the new plant, but Geoffrey missed the bus.
It often happens that a young wife is in hot water as long as her mother in law lives in the same house.
The police cannot find any tracers; the burglars have indeed given them a hard nut to crack.
Oh, the reason is clear. He lost his nerves, got the wind up suddenly.
It was reported… he had shown the white feather in his regiment.
You have caused me to lose my temper; a thing that has hardly ever happened to me before.
The stranger’s face was familiar to Lammlein, though he couldn`t place it.
The truth is we all get under his skin- particularly Gina, of course.
If you think your driver was responsible for the accident, you are barking up the wrong tree.
He was all at see with half an eye that you are in love with her.
Then when his wife died about six or seven years ago, he seemed to go all to pieces.
My mother is always at me about my behaviour at meals.
He kept under his hat what he had seen that evening.
It is hardly to be supposed that his friend could pull the wool over his eyes.
The judge did not believe the defendant`s cock-and-bull story.
I`ve no time for this sensational journalism.
My dear, I haven`t practiced for donkey`s years.
It was up to her to take that decision.
I must say that you are asking for trouble.
The driver had his heart in his boots when we lost our way in the dessert and ran short of petrol.
The horror film is enough to put the wind up even the bravest man.
The workers made no bones about telling the employers that they would go on strike unless their wages were raised.
Tell him I don`t know what he is talking about. It`s double Dutch to me.
Take it easy, Larry, we`re both a little on edge.
Mary often stays with her old uncle and keeps house for him. He is very rich, and she knows on which side her bread is buttered.
He works overtime, attends evening classes, and studies French. I think he bit off more than he can chew.
You know, Venetia, you have a mind like a man. You `re never at a loss.
At the recent examinations Peter came off with flying colors.
Smith has finally cooked Brown`s goose.
I`d like to go back there and give them a piece of my mind – they`re asleep most of the time.
A little bird tells me you are getting married next month.
Don`t go to that shop or you`ll be done brown.
A camping holiday is just my cup of tea.
Well, the long and the short of it is that officials must not gamble.
Having settled his guest in a chair the actor went straight to the point “I `m not going to beat about the bush,” he said.
I do my best. I`m on the go night and day.
How he could be such a fool beats me!
These unruly children need to be taken in hand.
All right! Keep you hair on! There`s no need to shout at me.
Have a look at this patent tin- opener, will you? It`s got me beaten. I can not see how it works.
It was interesting enough at first, while we were at the phonetics, but after that I got deadly sick of it.
Everything that can be done is being done, you needn`t worry about that Martin knows the place like the palm of his hand.
Why did you ask Smith how his wife is when you know she has left him? You are always putting your foot in it.
My son wasted his time in pubs and night-clubs; he has taken a plough now.
I was in a maze when I received the news.
He waltzed through his examinations.
He played ducks and drakes with his money instead of paying the family`s debts.
The old lady bit the boy`s nose off because he had broken her windowpane.
I got one or two ideas that I will let you in on.
We had always suspected she was a snake in the grass; now our suspicion was confirmed.
Take care of young Rogers – he`s blue eyed boy in this office.
Andrew, you can talk my head off, but you can not change wrong into right.
You have said your say; I am going to say mine.
It will take me a month of Sundays to do it.
If the men don`t return by tomorrow, they`ll get their cards.
She always talks about being hard up.
Task 3
Render into Russian the following proverbs:
“ Oh, dear, I`ve caused you so much trouble”, said George.
“I do feel bad.” “All is well that ends well,” said Antonia.
Take a short holiday. You know the old proverb “Out of sight, out of mind.” If people aren`t there to be talked about the talk dies.
“ What`s the matter, Smith? “ Oh, it`s you, Mr.Brown. I was just thinking of you. Talk of the devil and he will appear!” he said, making a joke of it.
If you can not give me a flat, please give me a room in the hostel. What I need is a roof over my head. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
“I just wanted to ask you: must I take this TV set? I don`t think it`s a good one.” But it is a present. Don`t look a gift horse in the mouth.”
It is quite true that “fortune favours the brave”, as the old proverb says. The successful people in life are those who have the courage to try.
“Still you can learn to do something else, you know. Where there is a will there is a way.”
Rome was not built in a day, son. We started on the small jobs too, but now we are all skilled workers.
“What do you think of new press law?” he began. “What do I think of it? I don`t think it will be of much value, but half a loaf is better than no bread.”
We must all remember the law of labour: no pains, no gains.
Look before you leap- think well before taking a decision.
Oh, all right, I shan`t argue with you, you are stronger than me. The leopard cannot change his spots.
We knew of the danger because our friends had warned us. Forewarned is forearmed. We were prepared for the attack.
“I am not going to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds,” he thought. “I must act for her.”
“We`ll try,” said the teacher. “Nothing venture, nothing have.”
“ You may be proud of your daughter. She behaved beautifully during the competition. She won the first prize,” my father told my mother. “Handsome is as handsome does” my mother said.
Life taught her a good lesson. She had to begin all over again. And she understood that one must live and learn.
Tom liked to sleep late. By the time he got up Kate had come back with the basket full of mushrooms. “The early bird catches the worm”, the mother said.
“Honesty is the best policy”, Mary thought.
“It never rains but it pours”, said the neighbours. Very soon after his father`s death Mike`s mother died and he became an orphan.
You must be more patient. Some time will pass, and you may have a success. One could cut down even the largest of trees with a penknife. Little strokes fell great oaks.
There`s many a slip between the cup and the lip! Who knows what may happen, Dick! Who knows whether you will be the chairman next year?
Don`t hallo till you are out of the wood. You had better wait for the results of the experiment instead of boasting that you have done something wonderful.
Don`t get upset. Every cloud has a silver lining.
He did me a good turn once, and I try to help him when I can. One good turn once, and I try to help him when I can. One good turn deserves another.
The old man was fond of tea, but he took it only at tea time. So he always said, “Everything is good in its season!”
I want to know what you really think I should do. Two heads are better than one, you know, even when mine is one of them.
Task 4
Translate the following sentences. Give the meaning of the underlined international words in English and in Russian.
I inquired about the address of Mrs. Clements.
The object of my visit was to discover the persons responsible for Ann`s disappearance.
They remained at Grymsby during the first half of the new year, and might probably have stayed there much longer, but for the sudden resolution of Anne, who decided to go back to Hampshire.
This place was not near to Sir Percival`s residence.
The Count got some medicine.
This distance from here to Blackwater Park was between three and four miles.
In London Mrs. Clements found respectable lodgings.
At the appointed day and time they arrived at the station.
I couldn`t guess exactly what their design might be.
They brought me before the magistrate, and accused me of the assault.
I`m only looking for my master.
My two companions stood struck with terror.
I`ll try my chance with Fosco.
I`ve got quite a sum for that.
Here is the weak point of the whole conspiracy.
Task 5
Translate the following sentences using transformations:
An attempted overthrow.
A long and unprotected delay in the work of Commission.
She was bowed out of the room.
His guests had been washed, brushed and brandied.
He advocated using this method.
He insists on the contract being signed immediately.
Fleur suddenly stood up leaning out of the window.
The strike movement may turn into a general strike, bringing about the downfall of the dictatorship.
Agatha, having stayed in with a cold he had been to service by himself.
The war being over, the soldiers returned to their homes.
We started on the manifestation, the band walking in front.
He admitted that the miners must continue to press for greatly increased wages while rejecting the introduction of foreign labour.
When asked he said that he was planning to visit Moscow.
Mr. Nelson said if elected he would support the workers` wage demand.
The tribunal`s decisions, when arrived at, reflected the opinion of the members.
The chairman wanted the members of the commission to consider the report.
Three British fishing boats are reported to be missing.
The news of the loss of the diamond seemed to petrify her.
Japan is likely to become Britain`s competitor in the East.
The NATO representatives are unlikely to come to any agreement.
A council to be nominated by the Governor of Malta.
These roads must have been built by the Romans.
I have closed the window for you not to catch cold.
Sweden might try to form the central nucleus of a new alliance of neutrals.
The expedition must be reaching the destination now.
The plant is to be placed into service in January.
Objections to his plan, if any, should be reported to the committee at once.
We must strengthen our party, whatever the difficulties.
The British people have to submit to new taxation, hover ever high.
The question was sidetracked.
The minister sandwiched Greece in between Egypt and Great Britain.
Cast iron proof was given to show that he was innocent.
The United states have not allowed the grass to grow under their feet.
Red carpet for the Oil Prince.
Every country on the old continent has a fine collection of skeletons in the cupboard.
The President is not going to be a bull in the economic china shop.
Iraqi troops have suffered heavily in the attacks.
Seldom have I seen such slackness.