Chapter 5. PHRASEOLOGICAL AND METAPHORICAL TRANSLATION

METAPHOR AND THE PHRASEOLOGICAL UNIT

A phraseological unit is a set expression consisting of a group of words in a fixed order having a particular meaning, different from the meanings of each word understood on its own.166

Metaphor is a figurative expression, transferring the meaning from one thing to another based on their similarity: table legs – ножки стола; to strain one’s memory – напрягать память.

Phraseological units may be both metaphorical (keep to the beaten track – идти по проторенной дорожке; make a mountain out of a molehill – делать из мухи слона) and non-metaphorical (to live beyond one’s means – жить не по средствам; to take part in – принимать участие в). Metaphorical phraseology is usually called idioms.

Metaphors can belong to language and speech. Language metaphors (Дождь идет. I had my teeth capped because they were in a terrible state.) are common and hardly expressive. Normally, a native speaker is not conscious of the image, though foreign learners of the language often find it rather expressive, since its figurative meaning may be new to them. Dead metaphors are not difficult to translate, as they are provided by the dictionaries.

Speech metaphors are brighter, for they are mostly situational, individual metaphors: A stubborn and unconquerable flame creeps in his veins and drinks the streams of life.167 Спит Земля в сиянье голубом. Speech metaphors conjure up a certain image. They are called genuine metaphors.

Metaphors may be single (one word) and extended (a collocation, sentence, proverb, complete imaginative text).168

Language and speech metaphors may be prolonged or sustained. In this case their figurative meaning is livened up and played upon: It was raining cats and dogs and two little puppies fell on my writing table.

INTERLINGUAL METAPHORIC TRANSFORMATIONS

Interlingual transformations can change metaphors. There may be three cases169:

1. Metaphorization: a source language non-metaphoric word is translated by a metaphor. For example, The old woman came around the body of the car. – Из-за автомобиля вынырнула старуха. Since the Russian metaphor is a language one, the expressiveness of the text is not emphasized by introducing the metaphor.

Sometimes this transformation occurs with the introduction of an idiom.

The reasons for translating a non-idiomatic word or phrase by a metaphor may be

· stylistic (to retain the same style). For example, a colloquial form can be compensated by a colloquially colored idiom: You ain’t no worse the rest of us. (Dreiser) – Мы все тут одного поля ягоды.

· grammatical (lexical compensation of a specific grammar form in the source language): When Rawdon and his wife wished to communicate with Captain Dobbin …, the captain had vanished. – Когда Родон с женой поспешили к нему.., нашего приятеля уже и след простыл.

· lexical (source language phraseological lacuna): to give up – разводить руками.

2. Demetaphorization, or dropping of a metaphor: a source language metaphor is translated by a non-metaphoric expression. In written translation this is the last transformation to apply, only in case of a phraseological lacuna in the target language: The skeleton in our family closet was my brother John. No one mentioned him because he drank too much. – Нашей семейной тайной был мой брат Джон. Никто не говорил о нем, потому что он пьянствовал.

However, interpreters often drop metaphors in order not to be trapped by a sustained metaphor if a speaker were to play upon the idiom. Here is a statement made in a television program: Меры, предпринимаемые правительством, - это только пластырь на теле больной экономики. The interpreter suggested the following translation: The government measures are only a temporary relief.

3. Remetaphorization, where a source language metaphor is translated by a metaphor. Y. Retsker considers this technique to be an ideal one.170 In this case the image may be fully preserved, which is done by full or partial equivalents.

Full equivalents are target language expressions whose components coincide fully (in terms of vocabulary, grammar and style) with the source language expressions. Full equivalents may be represented by some proverbs (All is well that ends well. – Всё хорошо, что хорошо кончается.); international phrases, especially biblical, mythological, or historical (Damocles’ sword – Дамоклов меч; Noah’s ark – Ноев ковчег; to burn one’s boats behind one – сжечь свои корабли); or other phrases (to play with fire – играть с огнем; to read between the lines – читать между строк).

Partial equivalents differ from the source language expression either lexically (four corners of the world – четыре стороны света, to save money for a rainy day – откладывать деньги на черный день) or grammatically (to have news first hand – узнать новость из первых рук; играть на руку кому-либо - to play into smb’s hands).

The figurative meaning, or the image, may be changed in translation: to sit on a powder keg – жить как на вулкане; сидеть, как на углях – to sit on pins and needles.