Тема 16. Приемы передачи иронии

Ирония заключается в подразумевании противоположного во внешне положительных характеристиках. Иногда подразумеваемое выражается в языковых единицах, которые сами по себе представляют трудность для перевода, но гораздо чаще проблема заключается в несоответствии традиционно применяемых способов выражения иронии в разных культурах.

Простейшим способом выражения иронии и в русском, и в английском языке являются кавычки, когда вполне стандартное и ожидаемое слово или фраза берутся в кавычки в стандартном контексте. Такие ситуации, как правило, легко переводятся аналогичным приемом.

Например:

When I left my public school I had an extensive knowledge of Latin and Greek literature, knew a certain amount of Greek and Latin history and French grammar, and had “done” a little mathematics.

Окончив частную гимназию, я неплохо знал античную литературу, имел представление об античной истории и французском языке, а также «прошел» азы математики.

Более сложной разновидностью иронии является противопоставление двух качеств или двух взаимоисключающих возможностей в одном и том же замкнутом контексте.

Например:

I went to Balliol University a good classic and a complete ignoramus.

Я отправился в Баллиол специалистом в области классической филологии и полным невеждой во всех остальных областях.

При переводе иронических контекстов с английского языка на русский приходится сталкиваться с ироническим обыгрыванием известных цитат или их более сложного варианта, аллюзий. Преобразованная цитата должна быть узнаваема в переводном тексте.

Например:

To save or not to save? (ссылка на фразу To be or not to be? Из Шекспира «Гамлет»)

Иногда при переводе следует восстановить всю фразеологическую конструкцию аллюзии.

Например:

– Madam, you are Caesar’s wife. – Мадам, жена Цезаря должна быть вне подозрений

Задания:

Переведите предложения, обращая внимание на приемы передачи иронии:

1.Their only hope was that it would never stop raining, and they had no hope because they all knew it would.2. Late that night Hungry Joe dreamed that Huple’s cat was sleeping on his face, suffocating him, and when he woke up, Huple’s cat was sleeping on his face. 3. At the end of ten days, a new group of doctors came to Yossarian with bad news: he was in perfect health and had to get out of the hospital.

Приложения

Приложение 1.

TAXATION

The ways in which governments raise money through taxation continue to vary widely across the OECD, with Denmark collecting almost 60% of its revenues from personal and corporate taxes and France less than 25%, according to data in the latest edition of the OECD’s annual Revenue Statistics publication.

In North America, Mexico collects more than half of its tax revenue from taxes on the sales of goods and services while the US raises less than fifth of its revenue form this source. At regional and local level, different patterns are also visible. While most countries use a mix of state and local taxes to finance sub-national government, Ireland and the UK rely exclusively on local property taxes and Sweden exclusively on local income tax. Such differences reflect national choices with regard to taxation which in turn are determined by economic and social priorities.

In 2004, the OECD publication reveals, Sweden once again had the highest tax-to-GDP ratio among OECD countries, at 50.7% against 50.6% in 2003. Denmark came next at 49.6% (48.3%), followed by Belgium at 45.6% (45.4%). At the other end of the scale, Mexico had the lowest tax-to-GDP ratio, at 18.5%, against 19.0% in 2003. Korea had the second lowest, at 24.6% (25.3%), and the US had the third, at 25.4% (25.6%).

The ratio of total tax revenues to gross domestic product at market prices is a widely used measure of the extent of state involvement in national economies. Countries with high tax-to-GDP ratios tend to pay more from public purse for services that citizens would have to pay for themselves – or do without – in lower-tax countries. However, comparisons are not always easy to make: for example, many countries with high tax-to-GDP ratios provide family benefits as cash payments rather than as tax reductions, increasing the apparent tax burden as measured by the tax-to-GDP ratio.

Taking the 30-nation OECD area as a whole, the tax-to-GDP ratio calculated on an unweighted average basis fell marginally in 2003 – the latest year for which complete figures are available – to 36.3%, from 36.4% in 2002 and from a peak of 37.1% in 2000. In 1975, the average tax-to-GDP ratio was 30.3%. The Netherlands showed the biggest percentage-point reduction in the overall share of taxation in its economy, with the tax-to-GDP ratio falling two percentage points to 39.3% of GDP in 2004 from 41.3% in 1975. In Spain, by contrast, the tax-to-GDP ratio jumped by almost 17 percentage points from 18.2% in 1975 to 35.1% in 2004.

Recent changes in tax-to-GDP ratios in many countries have reflected the combined impact of changes in economic growth and lower rates of taxation on personal and corporate income. The OECD average corporate tax fell from 33.6% in 2000 to 29.8% in 2004, while the average top personal income tax rates fell from 47.1% to 44.0%. These resulted in marked falls in revenues between 2000 and 2002, when economic growth was sluggish, but a revival of economies in 2003 led to a recovery in revenues, thanks to the positive impact of growth on incomes and profits, and hence in the overall tax base.

Приложение 2.

Banking

Text A. Types of accounts

Checking Account.Generally speaking,banks are not permitted to pay interest on the balances in business checking accounts. The primary exceptions to this rule are accounts of business partnerships and “not-for-profit” organizations. If you seek this exception, you will be required by the bank to prove your company’s eligibility.

Both business and personal checking accounts are referred to in banking regulations as transaction accounts. Although banks may not pay interest on business checking accounts, most businesses can achieve the same thing by having their accounts placed on an “analysis” basis. Under such an arrangement, the bank gives the customer an earnings credit for most of the interest income it earns on the average balances left in the checking account. The bank then offsets against those earnings all the costs incurred while servicing the account during the period in question. A report, or account analysis, detailing all the earnings and expenses on the account is sent to the customer at each period end, usually each month.

Savings Accounts. Any business is permitted to keep a savings account with a bank. Interest-bearing deposit accounts, including savings accounts, pay a yield determined by the length of time funds are deposited the posted rate of interest. By the law, the yield is expressed as an Annualized Percentage Yield (APY), which is meant to help comparison shopping rates at competing financial institutions. The APY is calculated according to a formula that assumes the funds will be left in the account for a full 365-day year. Actual interest earned will be less if frequent withdrawals are made or funds are deposited for less than a year.

Certificates of Deposit. Certificates of deposit pay higher interest rates than those offered for savings accounts and money market deposit accounts and higher than the earnings credit used by banks in their account analysis. Under normal conditions, the longer the maturity of the CD, the higher the rate it will bear. Unlike savings account rates, which change only rarely, the rates on certificates of deposit change daily at some banks and weekly at many others. Many banks have a special phone number you can call in order to learn their latest rates.

As certificates of deposit bear higher interest rates, they can be an excellent parking place for temporary funds. However, many banks charge penalties for withdrawals before maturity. the penalties can significantly reduce the return on your deposits, making it mandatory for you to use good cash management techniques if you are going to try to maximize company earnings by putting excess funds in CDs.