Translation of English and Ukrainian idiomatic and stable expressions concerning the subject information
INTRODUCTION
This course
paper is dedicated to contrastive analysis of translation of idiomatic and
stable expressions concerning the subject “information” in English and
Ukrainian. I am going to define the difference and similarities in idiomatic
and stable expressions, which signify such notion as “information” or the
process of the information transfer and examine different shades of meaning and
equivalents of translating in English and in Ukrainian. The theoretical
background to the practical findings will be provided in the first part of my
course paper.
The
aim of the present course paper is to
research ways of translating idiomatic and stable expressions concerning the
subject “information” into the English and Ukrainian language, taking into
account different criteria, compare and contrast the results of investigation
in order to discover differences and similarities in translating meanings,
stylistic peculiarities and usage.
The
research materials are the idiomatic and
stable expressions concerning the subject “information” in the languages.
The
objectives of my course research are: 1) to
contrast idiomatic and stable expressions concerning the subject information ;
2) to consider their structure and meaning.
The
methods of research are: the overall selection
( used in gathering the research material), componential analysis ( used in
considering the semantic nature of researched units).
I have analyzed idiomatic
and stable expressions concerning the subject “information” in order to show
their national colouring, since they are the reflection of culture, traditions,
national character in both languages. It lays in the base of every nation to
create idioms, which show the realia of its life, describe different sides of
culture, habits, beliefs, everyday life. So making the following research I
want to show all these peculiarities. Such an analysis is of great interest
since it helps as well to learn more about the nature of researched languages.
The structure of the
presented course paper is the following:
1) the
introduction which describes the aim , the objectives, the research
material,
as well as mentions the methods of translation;
2) the theoretical part which presents the definition of the idiomatic
and stable expressions concerning the subject “information”, dwells upon its
nature and different approaches to its classification;
3) the practical part which shows the ways of conveying the lexical
meaning of expressions; describe the found equivalents ( full and partial) in
the languages;
4) the conclusions which summarize the research results given in the
practical part of the presented course paper.
The
vocabulary of a language is enriched not only by words but also by
phraseological units.
The
stable expression or the idiom is a group of
words whose meaning as a group is different from the meaning those words would
have if you considered each one separately. Idiomatic units are
word-groups that cannot be made in the process of speech; they exist in the
language as ready-made units. N. M. Rayevska defines idiom (idiomatic
phrase) as “a phrase, developing a meaning which cannot be readily analysed
into the several semantic elements which would ordinarily be expressed by the
words making up the phrase. It transcends the ordinary syntactic patterns and
must be studied as an indivisible entity, in itself”.
Idioms
make the language more picturesque. They make each language more individual,
colourful and rich. Idioms reflect the past history of the nation, its
traditions and customs, folk-songs and fairy-tales, as well as its culture.
The word “ information ” as the most
frequent used now word denoting some facts or details about something /
somebody, which in the course of time obtained a great number of different meanings
and different translation. In combination with
other words it can make up a vast range of stable phrases
and idioms. This action and word is widely used in different communicative
situations, styles and provinces of life. That is why it has acquired various
shades of meaning and become the part of stable phrases, some idioms and expressions.
I have chosen this topic, because I
think the process of transferring the information and the subject “information”
are very important sense of human beings and in every language of the world
there are expressions concerning the subject “information” and a great number
of stable phrases and idioms to this word and notion. But as languages and
cultures differ, these phrases are not absolutely the same. I find it interesting
to look for information, to search for it in books or Internet, to become
deeper into details and I am going never look back after finishing it.
Thus, these steps of analysis will aid
in better understanding of the very essence of phrases denoting the subject “information”
in general and in particular.
1. THEORETICAL
PART
1.1.1. Idiomatic
and stable expressions : meanings and
definitions.
The presented work is
aimed at conducting the
analysis of the idiomatic and stable phrases, concerning
the subject “information” or the process of the
information transfer in English and Ukrainian. That is
why it is essential to provide research into
characteristics of the idiomatic and stable expressions in English and
Ukrainian .
Idiomatic
or phraseological expressions are structurally, lexically and semantically fixed phrases or sentences having
mostly the meaning, which is
not made up by the sum of meanings of their component parts1. An
indispensable feature of idiomatic (phraseological) expressions is their figurative, i.e., metaphorical
nature and usage. It is
this nature that makes them distinguishable from structurally identical free combinations of words Cf.: red tape (free
word-comb.) червона стрічка - red tape (idiom) канцелярський
формалізм (бюрократизм); the tables are/were turned (free word-comb.) столи перекинуті/були
перекинуті - the tables
are fumed (idiom) ситуація докорінно
змінилася; супротивники помінялися ролями/місцями; play with fire гратися з вогнем біля багаття (free word-comb.) гратися
з вогнем - наражатися на небезпеку (idiom).
On
rare occasions the lexical meaning of idiomatically bound expressions can coincide with their direct, i.e., not
transferred meaning, which facilitates their
understanding as in the examples like: to make
way дати дорогу; to die a dog's death здохнути як собака; to receive
a hero's welcome зустрічати як
героя; wait a minute/a momentзачекайте
хвилинку/ один момент; to
tell (you) the truth правду
казати/правду кажучи; to dust one's coat/jacket витрусити пальто/ піджака -дати духопеликів (idiom).
Some
proper names can also be endowed with figurative meaning and possess the
1 See: Кунин А.В. Фразеология английского язьїка. - М.:
Международ. отношения, 1972. Martin H. Manser. A Dictionary of Contemporary Idioms. - London,
Pan Books Ltd., 1983.
necessary
expressiveness which are the distinguishing features of idioms2: Croesus, Tommy (Tommy
Atkins), Yankee, Mrs. Grundy, Jack Ketch, etc.
These proper names have acquired their
constant meaning and can not be confused with usual (common) proper names of people. As a result
their transferred meaning is conveyed in a descriptive way. So Mrs. Grundy
means світ, люди,
існуюча мораль; Jack
Ketch кат; Croesus Крез, надзвичайно багата людина; Tommy Atkins англійський солдат; Yankee
(in Europe) янкі/американець,
etc.
Idiomatic/phraseological
expressions should not be mixed up with different fixed/set prepositional,
adjectival, verbal and adverbial phrases
the meaning of which is not an actual sum of meanings made up by their constituent parts either: by George, by
and by, for all of, for
the sake of, cut short, make believe; or compounds like: topsyturvy,
higledy-piggledy; coordinate combinations
like: high and dry, cut and run, touch
and go; Tom, Dick and Harry, etc.
These and a lot of other stable
expressions can very often be treated as standardized collocations. Their
meaning can be rendered in a descriptive way too, like that of genuine idiomatic expressions: fifty-fifty
так собі; ні добре ні погано; О.К, все
гаразд, на належному рівні; cut short обірвати, присікти/припинити
щось (поїздку), обірвати (розмову).
Such
and the like stable expressions, like most of other standardized collocations, have usually a transparent meaning
and are easier to translate
than regular idioms (the so-called phraseological fusions). Meanwhile it is
next to impossible to guess, for example, the meaning of the English idiom Hobson's choiceirom the
seemingly transparent meanings
of its componental parts. Only a philological inquiry helps establish the
meaning of the name and the real sense of the idiom -«no
choice whatsoever», «acceptance of what is offered» жодного вибору.
Many
other English and Ukrainian picturesque idioms,
proverbs and sayings, which have national literary
images must
also be similarly treated and
they also reflect the traditions, customs, the way of conduct or the mode of life of a nation. Their meaning, due
to absence of similar idioms in
the target language, can be rendered descriptively, i.e. through a regular explication. The latter, depending
on the semantic
2 See: Collins V.N. A Book of English Idioms. - Л.: Учпедгиз, 1950. Англо-український фразеологічний
словник. Склав К.Т. Баранцев. - Київ: Рад. шк., 1969.
structure of the
source language idiom, may be sometimes achieved in the target language with the help of a single word.
Cf.: English: an odd/queer fish дивак; Canterbury
tale небувальщина,
вигадка; blue bonnet («синій
берет») шотландець; ніде курці клюнути crammed; зубами
тертяка вибивати to
be chilled. Most often, however, the meaning of this kind of idioms is conveyed with the help of free word-combinations:
to dine with Duke Humphrey залишитись без обіду (нічого не ївши); to cut off with a shilling позбавити когось спадщини. Similarly in Ukrainian: ноги на плечі to go quickly (or very quickly) on one's feet; зуби з'їсти на чомусь to have great
experience in something; кивати/накивати п'ятами to run
away quickly/hurriedly.
It
goes without saying that none of the phraseologisms above can be translated word-for-word since their constituent
images would lose their connotative, i.e.,
metaphorical meaning in the target language.
So, пообідати з
герцоґом Гамфрі or обрізати шилінґом could be understood by the Ukrainian language speakers in
their literal meaning. The
same can be said about our idiom ноги
на плечі та й гайда, i.e., * with one's legs on the shoulders which
would never be understood, when
translated literally, by the English language native speakers.
Therefore, the componental images, when mechanically transplanted to the target language, may often bring about a complete destruction of the idiomatic expression.
The
choice of the way of translation of this kind of idioms may be predetermined by the source language context or by the
existence/absence of contextual equivalents
for the idiomatic/stable expression in the
target language. Thus, in the examples below units of this kind can be translated into Ukrainian either
with the help of a single word or
with the help of a standardized phraseological expression: to give a start здригнутися; to give heart to one підбадьорювати,
морально підтримувати когось; the weaker vessel (facet) жінка (прекрасна
стать; жіноцтво; слабша половина людства), the Holy Mother Богоматір.
Not
infrequently the meaning of a standardized collocation (after Acad. V.V.Vinigradov) like that of a regular idiom
may have synonymous single word
equivalents in the target language. The choice of the equivalent is predetermined then by the meaning
of the standardized collocation/phraseologism and by
the style of the sentence where it is used:
to make sure упевнитись
(переконатися), забезпечувати; to make comfort втішатися; to take
place відбуватися;
траплятися; the world and
his wife yci.
Similarly
treated are also traditional combinations which have in the target language several stylistically neutral free
equivalents (words or word-combinations) as: to run
a risk ризикувати, йти на ризик, to
apply the screw натиснути (на когось); to
drop like a hot potato швидко позбутися когось, обірвати стосунки, раптово припинити знайомство.
Faithful
translating of a large number of picturesque idiomatic/ phraseological
expressions, on the other hand, can be achieved only by
a thorough selection of variants having in the target language a similar to the original lexical meaning, and also
their picturesqueness and
expressiveness. This similarity can be based on common in the source language and in the target language
componental images as well as on the
structural form of them. As a result, the meaning of such idioms is mostly guessed by the students,
which generally facilitates their
translation.
A
few examples will suffice to prove it. English: a grass widow (widower) солом'яна вдова (вдівець); not to see a step beyond one's nose далі свого носа
нічого не бачити; measure twice and cut once сім
раз одміряй, а раз відріж; not for love or money ні
за які гроші/ ні за що в світі; Ukrainian: не знати/тямити
ні бе, ні ме, ні кукуріку
(not to know chalk from cheese); вночі що сіре, те й вовк all cats are grey in the dark, який
батько, такий син, яка хата, такий
тин (яблучко від яблуні далеко не відкочується) like father,
like son; not a cat's/dog's chance жодних
шансів/можливостей, (однієї) клепки бракує (he)
has not
all his
buttons, etc.
It often happens that
the target language has more than one semantically
similar/analogous phraseological expression for one in the source language. The
selection of the most fitting variant for the passage under translation should
be based then not only on the semantic proximity of the idioms/phraseologisms
but also on the similarity in their picturesqueness, expressiveness and
possibly in their basic images. The bulk of
this kind of phraseological expressions belong to the so-called phraseological unities. (Vinogradov). Here are some Ukrainian variants of the kind of English
phraselogisms: either win
the saddle or loose the horse або пан, або пропав; або перемогу здобути, або вдома не бути; many hands make work light це згода, там і вигода; гуртом і чорта побореш; гуртом і батька
добре бити; громада - великий чоловік; a
man can die but once від смерті не втечеш; раз мати народила, раз і вмирати; раз
козі смерть; двом смертям не бути, а
одної не минути; haste
makes waste/the more haste,
the less speed тихше їдеш -
далі будеш, поспішиш - людей насмішиш, хто спішить -
той людей смішить.
A
number of phraseological units, due to their common source of origin, are characterized in English and Ukrainian by
partial or complete identity of their syntactic
structure, their componental images,
picturesqueness and expressiveness (and consequently of their meaning). Such
kind of idioms often preserve a similar or even identical word order in the source language and in the
target language. Hence, they are understood and translated by our
students without difficulties: to cast
pearls before swine кидати
перла перед свиньми; to
be born under a lucky star народилася
під щасливою зіркою; to
cherish/warm a viper in one's
bosom пригріти гадюку в
пазусі; to be/ fall
between Scilla and Charybdis бути
між Сціллою і Харібдою/між двох вогнів.
One of the peculiar
features of this type of idiomatic expressions
is their international nature. Only few of them have phraseological synonyms of national flavour, being thus
restricted to corresponding speech
styles, whereas international idioms predominantly belong to the domain of higher stylistic level.
National/colloquial
variants of international idiomatic substitutes, therefore, always differ
considerably by their picturesqueness, expressiveness and their lexical meaning. They are only
semantically analogous to
genuine equivalents, which may sometimes lack absolute identity
in the source language and in the target language (to cross the Styx канути в Лету; to drop from the clouds з неба впасти; neither fish nor flesh ні
пава ні ґава).
As
can be seen, some international idiomatic expressions slightly
differ in English and Ukrainian either in their structural form and lexical/idiomatic meaning or in the images
making up the idioms. Thus, the
idiomatic expression to fish in troubled waters has in English the plural of waters whereas in its
Ukrainian equivalent has a singular
form, moreover, the component to fish is detalized and extended to ловити рибку (рибу) в каламутній воді; the Society of Jesus is орден
єзуїтів (but not the Order
of Jesus) and the Babel of tongues is вавілонське стовпотворіння and not *Вавілон
мов.
Slight
divergences are also observed in several other English and Ukrainian international equivalents: the game is
(not) worth the candle
(singular) варта гра свічок (plural). The idiom a sound mind in a sound body, on the other hand, has a reverse position of its
component parts: у здоровому тілі здоровий дух.
Therefore,
each of the above-given idiomatic expressions has either a different form of a component/image, a different
word order or a slightly
different lexical meaning of a componental part. And yet despite
the pointed out divergences such and the like idiomatic expressions/phraseological units do not cease to be
absolute equivalents in either of
the two languages.
Apart
from the kinds of idiomatic expressions singled out on the foregoing pages, there exists in each language a
specific national layer of idiomatic/phraseological
expressions comprising also proverbs
and sayings, which are formed on the basis of componental images pertaining solely to a concrete national language.
Such idioms are first of all distinguished by their
picturesqueness, their expressiveness and
lexical meaning of their own. Due to their national particularity, these idioms/phraseologisms can not
and do not have traditionally established literary variants in the
target language. As a result, their
structural form and wording in different translations may often lack absolute identity. In their
rough/interlinear or word-for-word variants
they mostly lose their aphoristic/idiomatic nature and thus are often subject to literary perfection: the
moon is not seen when the sun
shines місяця не
видно, коли світить сонце/ місяця не помічають, коли світить сонце; it is a great victory that comes without blood велика та перемога,
яку здобувають без пролиття крові or найбільша та
перемога, яка здобувається без пролиття крові.
Similarly
translated are some Ukrainian national phraseologisms into English: один дурень так зіпсує, що й десять розумних не направить what is spoiled by one fool can not be mended by ten wisemen; малі
діти - малий клопіт, великі діти - великий клопіт small children - smaller troubles, grown-up children - grave
troubles.
Isomorphic
is also the existence in both the languages of a number of idiomatic expressions which are of regular
sentence-type structure containing some common componental parts. Hence, their lexical meaning, nothing to say about their componental
images, their picturesqueness and
their expressiveness are identical as well. This is predetermined by their common source of origin in
English and in Ukrainian: if
you run after two hares, you will catch neither якщо побіжиш
за двома зайцями, не впіймаєш жодного; a drowning man will catch (snatch) at a straw потопаючий хапається за соломинку (і за соломинку вхопиться, хто топиться); Bacchus has drowned more men
than Neptune Бакх утопив більше людей, ніж Нептун (вино
загубило більше людей, ніж море); he who spares the rod spoils the child хто жаліє
різку, той збавляє дитину.
As
can be noticed from these examples, some English and Ukrainian idiomatic expressions are far from uniform
lexically, structurally, and by their componental
images, picturesqueness and expressiveness. They do not always spring from the
same source of origin either. Because of
this a faithful translation of phraseological/idiomatic expressions depends upon some factors the main
of which are as follows:
1) whether the idiomatic expression in the source language and in the target language is of the same/different
source of origin;
2) whether the idiomatic expression has in the target
language only one, more
than one or all componental images in common;
3) whether the componental images, when translated, are perceived by the target language speakers;
4) whether the structural form of the idiomatic expressions
can be retained in the
target language without any transformations;
5) whether there exists an analogous/similar in sense
idiomatic expression in the
target language, etc.
All
these and some other factors should not be neglected when translating idiomatic/phraseological expressions from
and into English. In fact, here
exists a regular interdependence between the lexical meaning, the origin, the picturesqueness and the
expressiveness of idioms on
the one hand and the method of their translating on the other.
2.
PRACTICAL PART
This part of the course paper deals with analysis of the ways of
faithful rendering the idiomatic and stable expressions concerning subject “information”
in English and Ukrainian. There have been found 207 stable and idiomatic expressions concerning subject “information” in English and 149 in Ukrainian. The main part
of my research investigates stable and idiomatic expressions concerning subject “information” in English and Ukrainian. The ways of translating of these
expressions have been analyzed according to the following classifications: by choosing absolute/complete equivalents, translation of idioms by choosing near
equivalents, translation by choosing genuine idiomatic analogies, translating
idioms by choosing approximate analogies, descriptive translating of idiomatic
and set expressions.
2.1.
TRANSLATING BY CHOOSING ABSOLUTE/COMPLETE
EQUIVALENTS
This
is the method of translating by which every componental part of the source language idiom is retained in the
target language unchanged.
The componental parts include all notionals and also the lexically
charged functional which contribute to the lexical meaning of the idiomatic/phraseological expression. The
notional components also create the
main images (the picturesqueness), the expressiveness and the figurative (connotative) meanings of
idiomatic expressions. Translating with the help of equivalents is
resorted to when dealing with idioms which originate from the same source in both the languages in question. These sources may
be:
1)
Greek or other mythology: Cassandra warning - застереження
Кассандри (застереження, на які не звертають уваги, але
які збуваються). I have found only one expression, which partly expresses
the subject information.
2) ancient history or literature. I did not find any stable and idiomatic expressions
concerning subject information neither in English, nor in Ukrainian.
3) the
Bible or
works based
on a
biblical plot:
to cast
the
first
stone
at
one
першим кинути у когось каменем.
This expression is sometimes used to symbolize the conversation, which started
with quarrel. Someone hurts somebody using words
A
great many absolute equivalents originate from contemporary literary or historical sources relating to different languages
(mainly to French, Spanish, Danish,
German, Italian, Arabic). German: da ist der Hundbegraben ось
де собака заритий; It is used to
notify that someone learned a secret, that the information was disclosed.
Translating with the help of monoequivalents, as the
absolute equivalents are
sometimes called, is very often made use of when dealing with the sentence
idioms containing the subject, the predicate,
and some other parts of the sentence, though some minor alterations in their structure/word order may not be
excluded altogether. Such alterations, however, do not change either the
denotative meaning or the componental images, the picturesqueness,
expressiveness or connotative
meaning of idioms: out of the
mouths of babies speaks the truth (wisdom) устами немовлят говорить істина/мудрість; walls
have ears стіни
мають вуха, etc.
As has been said, the target language variants of phraseological monoequivalents may sometimes slightly differ in
their structure or in the order of words from the source language idioms (cf. hold
one`s tongue тримати язика на припоні ). These
minor changes in the structural form,
however, do not influence in any way the meaning and the expressiveness or
picturesqueness of absolute equivalents in the target language.
Not
only regular idioms but also many so-called standardized word-combinations, which may often originate in the two
languages from a common source, can be translated
by absolute equivalents. Due to this, they retain in the target language the
semantic identity and the componental
structure of the source language units: a word spoken is past recalling — слово
не горобець, вилетить
– не спіймаєш; to throw light проливати
світло, shoot off one’s mouth -
вистрелити з рота etc.
Standardized
word-combinations, as will be shown below, can also be translated in some other
ways, which is an obvious testimony to the unchangeable inconsistency of the way identified as «translation
by means of loans» («кальки», «калькування»).
2.2. TRANSLATION OF IDIOMS BY CHOOSING NEAR EQUIVALENTS
The
meaning of a considerable number of phrase idioms and sentence idioms originating in both languages from a
common source may sometimes
have, unlike absolute equivalents, one or even most of their components
different, than in the target language. Hence, the quality of their images is not identical either, though
not necessarily their picturesqueness and
expressiveness (if any): measure twice,
cut once сім раз
одміряй, один раз одріж; to go in one ear and
out of the other –
в одне вухо влетіло, з іншого вилетіло.
The slight divergences in the near equivalents as compared with the
source language idioms can manifest themselves also in some other aspects, as for example:
a)
in the structure of the target language variant (cf. to
make a long story short сказати коротко);
b) in
the omission (or adding) of a componental part in the target language
(cf. to come up against a blank wall – говорити, ніби до глухої стіни );
c) in the substitution of a feature (or image) of the source
language phraseological/idiomatic expression for some other (more fitting or traditionally expected) in the target language: to
find common ground –
знайти спільну мову ;
Similar
componental substitutions, both semantic and structural, can be observed in regular standardized collocations and in comparative proverbs or saying as: to throw/shed light проливати
світло; to
ask smb. humbly; to go cap in hand to smb бити чолом (пояснювати певну інформацію); to listen open-mouthed розвісити вуха.
In
other words, translation of idiomatic expressions «by means of loans» does not always fully justify the essence of
the term as such.
2.3.
TRANSLATION BY CHOOSING GENUINE IDIOMATIC ANALOGIES
An
overwhelming majority of English idiomatic expressions have similar in sense units in Ukrainian. Sometimes these
lexically corresponding
idiomatic expressions of the source language may also contain easily perceivable for the target language
speakers combinations of
images as well as similar or identical structural forms. These idiomatic expressions, naturally, are in most cases
easily given corresponding
analogies in the target language. As a matter of fact, such expressions are sometimes very close in their connotative
(metaphorical) meaning
in English and Ukrainian as well. Any common or similar traits of idiomatic expressions are the main
proof of their being genuine
analogies. The latter in each of the two languages comprise also proverbs and
sayings as well as the so-called standardized and stable
collocations: to have the ready tongue за словом у кишеню не лізти; beat
a dead horse товкти воду в ступі.
Many
of such and the like idiomatic expressions may often have two and more
analogous by sense variants in the target language. The choice of an analogy rests then with the
translator and is predetermined by the style of the text: to poke/thrust
one's nose into smth., to pry into smth. –
пхати свого носа в чужу розмову, to
go in one ear and out of the other
– в одне вухо влетіло, з іншого вилетіло. The number of analogous (similar by sense) expressions for an idiom in the target language may reach a regular row as it is
the case with the Ukrainian phraseological expression розвісити
язика, мати язик без костей, розпустити язика, etc. This
idiom may have the following substitutes in different
contextual environments: to fall victim to smb.'s tongue, to be always on smb.'s lips, you can get anywhere if
you know how to use your tongue; a clever tongue will take you anywhere, he has
a ready/glib tongue, he is itching to say it,
the word is on the tip of my tongue, he
wears his heart on his sleeve, he cannot keep his thoughts to himself, he has a
long/loose tongue, he is too fond of talking, to have a quick/ready tongue, to
be quick-tongued, to loosen the tongue, to
wag one's tongue, to
talk too glibly, it slipped out, to
babble on and on, to jabber away, to throw words around ,
etc.
2.4.
TRANSLATING
IDIOMS BY CHOOSING APPROXIMATE ANALOGIES
Some source language idiomatic and stable expressions
may have a peculiar
nature of their componental parts or a peculiar combination of them and thus form nationally peculiar
expressiveness and picturesqueness of componental images. The latter constitute
some hidden meaning, which is mostly not quite explicit and comprehensible, not transient enough for the foreigner to catch it.
As
a result, there exist no genuine phraseological analogies for the
units in the target language. Since it is so, their lexical meaning can be expressed by means of only approximate
analogies or through explication, i.e., in a descriptive way. These
analogies are only to a slight degree similar to the source language idioms,
although they may be no less picturesque and
expressive than the source language variants:
kind words butter no parsnips годувати байками солов'я; to
lose one's breath кидати слова на вітер; etc.
No
need to emphasize that selection of approximate analogies for a translator is no easy task, as the source languages
idioms/ phraseologisms often
bear some characteristics of a language's traits having no correspondence in
the target language.
Many idioms have
obscure origin/etymology and selecting of approximate
equivalents as any other corresponding semantic variants often requires a linguistic investigation on
the part of the translator. For
example: to come under fire means to be angrily criticized
It may be translated into Ukrainian
as закидати камінням.
2.5.
DESCRIPTIVE
TRANSLATING OF IDIOMATIC AND SET EXPRESSIONS
The
meaning of a considerable number of idiomatic as well as stable/set expressions
can be rendered through explication only, i.e., in a descriptive way. Depending on the complexity of
meaning contained in the
source-language idiom, it can be expressed in the target language in some ways:
1) by a single word: to babble on and on, to jabber away, to throw words around патякати;
to hold one's tongue, to keep one's mouth shut; he/she won't have the heart to say it; to keep a steel
tongue in one's head; to bit one's tongue, to shut up мовчати (не видавати інформації);
2)
when the lexical meaning of an original idiomatic expression is condensed or when it is based on a nationally specific notion/structural form alien to the target language, the idiomatic expression may be conveyed by a sentence or a longer explanation: yes man (yes-man)
людина, що з усіма згоджується, тільки підтакує
(підтакувач).
It must be added in conclusion that some English idiomatic/set expressions have a rather transparent lexical meaning and are easy for our students to translate into Ukrainian: walls
have ears – і
стіни мають вуха;
to keep something under wraps - держати під сукном;
to hold one’s tongue - придержати язика; to lay one’s cards on
the table -
викладати карти;
to remove scales from somebody’s eyes
- відкривати, відкрити очі;
полуда з очей спала .
Depending
on the speech style of the passage/work, in which the idiomatic/phraseological expressions are used, and
taking into account the nature
of them (literary, colloquial, historical) some modifications
of the above-given methods of translations and even new variants of translation may be suggested by the translator. Nevertheless,
the aim of translation will always remain the same, viz. to fully render in the target language the lexical meaning
and where possible also the
structural peculiarities, the picturesqueness, the expressiveness, and
the connotative meaning (if any) of the source language idiomatic or stable expressions and this is far from always easy or even possible. How and with what means it can be
achieved will be shown on some examples of rendering the meaning of
several national idioms.
2.6.
TRANSFORMATION OF
SOME IDIOMS IN THE PROCESS
OF TRANSLATING
As has already been pointed out, some phraseological
expressions singled out by Acad. V. Vinogradov as unities and having mostly a
transparent meaning may reflect various national features of the source
language. The latter may be either of lingual or extralingual nature, involving the national images, their
peculiar picturesqueness or means of
expression with clear reference to traditions, customs or historical
events, geographical position of the source language nation. Such phraseological expressions are often of a simple or composite sentence structure. Being nationally
distinct, they can not have in the target language traditionally
established equivalents or loan variants. As
a result, most of them may have more than one translator's version in the target language. It may be
either a regular sense-to-sense
variant (an interlinear-type translation) or an artistic literary version rendering in which alongside the lexical
meaning is also the aphoristic
nature, the expressiveness, the picturesqueness, the vividness, etc. of the source language
phraseologism/idiom.
Taking
into account the aims pursued and the contextual environment of the idiom,
there must be acknowledged at least two main levels of translating the national idioms:
1) the
level of the interlinear rendering, i.e., sense-to-sense
translation only, which
is quite sufficient to faithfully express the lexical meaning
of most of these phraseologisms/idioms;
2) the literary/literary artistic level, at which not only
the sense but also the expressiveness, the vividness, the
picturesqueness and the aphoristic
nature (if any) of the idioms should possibly be conveyed as well.
Faithful translation of national idioms/phraseologisms is
mostly achieved via deliberate
transformations of all kinds performed by the translator. The transformations are
aimed at making the national images,
the sense and structure of these phraseologic expressions easier for the target language readers/listeners to
comprehend. Such transformations,
therefore, adjust in many a case the source language idiom as a sense unit to the requirements of the target
language bearers.
No
need to emphasize that some successful literary artistic translations/variants
of specifically national idioms may in the end become regular translation loans of the target language.
CONCLUSION
A language is a
living substance, which evolves under the influence of different factors. Being
very flexible English and Ukrainian languages constantly enriche their vocabulary
with the words invented by the language speakers, making it more colorful with
new idiomatic expressions, and at times refills its stocks with the borrowings
and neologisms. English just amazes by its extraordinary linguistic diversity.
It is a language
rich in exceptions and spelling traps, where almost every rule is valid 90% of
the time. English is a language with a vast idiomatic basis, which makes its
learning very exciting and intriguing. There are about 4,000 idioms used in the
American English.
In this course
paper there was conducted analysis of idiomatic and stable expressions
concerning subject “information” and the process of transferring the
information in English and Ukrainian. During the investigation there were
analysed 207 English and 149 Ukrainian idiomatic and stable expressions
concerning subject “information’.
Though
the difference is not a great, but I suppose that this figure must be taken
into consideration. I have chosen this topic, because I think the process of
transferring the information is a very important sense of human beings and in
every language of the world there is a word denoting the subject “information’
and a great number of idiomatic and stable expressions to this notion. Thus
it is obvious that such expressions play
an important part in the language. Thus idiomatic
and stable phrases enrich
the vocabulary and makes the language more colourful and emotionally shadowed. In
this course paper expressions which I have found were
classified according to such classifications:
by choosing absolute/complete
equivalents, translation of idioms by choosing near equivalents, translation by
choosing genuine idiomatic analogies, translating idioms by choosing
approximate analogies, descriptive translating of idiomatic and set expressions.
The aim of my investigation was: to
compare and understand which language boasts the greater number of idiomatic expressions
concerning subject “information” and to find differences and similarities in
translating these phrases in given languages. My research consisted of the
following stages:
• first of all I collected idiomatic expressions
concerning subject “information” from Ukrainian and English dictionaries of idioms
and from some other dictionaries;
•
then I devised ways of faithful rendering the
idiomatic and stable expressions, which I have found. That presented
considerable difficulties as there was a need for a proper classification which
could illustrate typical features of translating these stable phrases denoting communication
of information in Ukrainian and English.
• the forthcoming work was dedicated to
the confrontation expressions concerning subject “information” according to
formulated classifications;
During this process I pointed out all
the differences and similarities of all phrases concerning subject “information”
in both languages. The great part of investigation belongs to theoretical
section which consists of analysis of translation of idiomatic/phraseological
and stable expressions in the English and Ukrainian languages. The last stage
of the research is a general conclusion to the data obtained.
During all my investigation it was
sometimes hard to find direct equivalents to phrases in both languages, but all
of them may be easily rendered, but not always as the idiomatic expressions.
Idioms derived
from the culture of the nation and from day-to-day life. In real context idioms
explain themselves: 9 times out of 10 times, idioms carry their own
explanation. The main function of idioms is to paraphrase what is going on, and
what is being said.
Idiomatic
expressions pervade English and Ukrainian
with a peculiar flavor and give it astounding variety, bright character and
color. They help language learners understand culture, penetrate into customs
and lifestyle of people, and make a deeper insight into history
of the country.
To sum up, in this course paper there
was conducted analysis of idiomatic and stable
expressions denoting the subject “information” in
the English and Ukrainian
languages. This niche of language is of great
interest since idiomatic and stable phrases have
interesting meanings
applied in varied situations.
Whilst, the
majority of native language speakers can not always know the origin of idioms
they use, though as long as they utilize them in every day communication, they
know its meaning and feel where it is appropriate to use this or that idiom.
Undoubtedly, the correct usage of
English and Ukrainian
idioms is finesse, which makes the language of the speaker more vivid and
exciting.
REFERENCES
1.
Амосова
Н.Н. Основы английской фразеологии. – Л., 1963
2.
Квеселевич Д.І., Сасіна В.П. Практикум з
лексикології сучасної англійської мови: Навч. посібник. – Вінниця: «Нова
книга», 2001
3.
Корунець
І.В. Теорія та практика перекладу. – Вінниця. «Нова книга», 2003
4.
Пономарів О.Д. Сучасна українська мова.
– Київ: „Либідь”, 1991
5.
Раєвська Н. М. English
lexicology. – Київ: „Вища
школа”, 1998
6.
Удовиченко Г.М. Словник українських
ідіом. – К.: Радянський письменник, 1986
7.
Фразеологічний словник української
мови/Уклад.: В.М.Білоноженко та ін. –К.: Наук. думка, 1999
8.
Arnold I.V. The English Word. –
М.:
Высшая
школа,
1973
9.
Cambridge International Dictionary of
Idioms
10.
Longman Pocket Idioms Dictionary.
– Harlow, Pearson Education Limited, 2001
11.
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary
English. – Harlow, Pearson Education Limited, 2001
12.
Oxford. Collocations. Dictionary for
Students of English. – Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2002
13. http://www.refine.com.ru/pageid-1106-1.html