Handling translator's false friends

Introductory Notes

There are words in the source and target languages which are more or less similar in form. Such words are of great interest to the translator since he is naturally inclined to take this formal similarity for the semantic proximity and to regard the words that look alike as permanent equivalents.

The formal similarity is usually the result of the two words having the common origin, mainly derived from either Greek or Latin. Since such words can be found in a number of languages, they are referred to as "international".

As a matter of fact, very few international words have the same meanings in different languages. In respect to English and Russian we can cite the words like the English "parliament, theorem, diameter" and their Russian counterparts «парламент, теорема, диаметр». In most cases, however, the semantics of such words in English and in Russian do not coincide and they should rather be named "pseudointernational". Their formal similarity suggesting that they are interchangeable, is, therefore, deceptive and may lead to translation errors. For that reason they are often referred to as the translator's false friends.

The pseudointernational words can be classified in two main groups. First, there are words which are similar in form but completely different in meaning. Here the risk of making a bad mistake is very great whenever the translator fails to consult his dictionary. Lots of mistakes have been made translating such English words as "decade, complexion, lunatic, accurate, actual, aspirant" and the like. E.g.:

(1) It lasted the whole decade.

(2) She has a very fine complexion.

(3) Well, he must be a lunatic.

The respective Russian words «декада, комплекция, лунатик» are pseudointernational and cannot be used in translation. Cf.:

(1) Это продолжалось целое десятилетие.

(2) У нее прекрасный цвет лица.

(3) Да он, должно быть, сумасшедший.

Second, there are many pseudointernational words which are not fully interchangeable though there are some common elements in their semantics. They may become the false friends if the translator substitutes one of them for the other without due regard to the difference in their meaning or to the way the English word is used in the particular context. The translator should bear in mind that a number of factors can preclude the possibility of using the formally similar word as an equivalent. Among these factors the following are most important:

1. The semantic factor resulting from the different subsequent development of the words borrowed by the two languages from the same source. For instance, the English "idiom" can be well rendered by its Russian counterpart to convey the idea of an expression whose meaning cannot be derived from the conjoined meanings of its elements but has

developed such additional meanings as dialect (local idiom) and individual style (Shakespeare's idiom). When the word is used in either of these meanings its equivalent in Russian will not be «идиом», but «диалект, наречие» or «стиль», respectively.

As often as not, the translator may opt for an occasional equivalent to a pseudointernational word just as he may do while dealing with any other type of the word:

South Vietnam was a vast laboratory for the testing of weapons of counter-guerrilla warfare.

Южный Вьетнам стал полигоном для испытания оружия, используемого в войне против партизан.

2. The stylistic factor resulting from the difference in the emotive or stylistic connotation of the correlated words. For example, the English "career" is neutral while the Russian «карьера» is largely negative. The translator has to reject the pseudointernational substitute and to look for another way out, e.g.:

Davy took on Faraday as his assistant and thereby opened a scientific career for him.

Дэви взял Фарадея к себе в ассистенты и тем самым открыл ему путь в науку.

3. The co-occurrence factor reflecting the difference in the lexical combinability rules in the two languages. The choice of an equivalent is often influenced by the usage preferring a standard combination of words to the formally similar substitute. So, a "defect" has a formal counterpart in the Russian «дефект» but "theoretical and organizational defects" will be rather «теоретические и организационные просчеты». A "gesture" is usually translated as «жест» but the Russian word will not be used to translate the following sentence for the combinability factor:

The reason for including only minor gestures of reforms in the program...

Причина включения в программу лишь жалкого подобия реформ...

4. The pragmatic factor reflecting the difference in the background knowledge of the members of the two language communities which makes the translator reject the formal equivalent in favour of the more explicit or familiar variant. The reader of the English original will usually need no explanation concerning the meaning of such terms as "the American Revolution", "the Reconstruction" or "the Emancipation Proclamation" which refer to the familiar facts of the US history. In the Russian

translation, however, these terms are usually not replaced by their pseudointernational equivalents. Instead, use is made of the descriptive terms better known to the Russian reader:

The American Revolution was a close parallel to the wars of national liberation in the colonial and semi-colonial countries.

Война за независимость в Америке была прямым прототипом национально-освободительных войн в колониальных и полуколониальных странах.

This counter-revolutionary organization was set up to suppress the Negro — poor white alliance that sought to bring democracy in the South in the Reconstruction period.

Эта контрреволюционная организация была создана для подавления совместной борьбы нефов и белых бедняков, которые добивались установления демократии на юге после отмены рабства.

The Senator knew Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation by heart.

Сенатор знал наизусть провозглашенную Линкольном декларацию об отмене рабства.

With the knowledge of, and due regard to, these factors, the translator stands a good chance of making the pseudointernational words his good friends and allies.

Exercises

I. Make a careful study of the following groups of words. Note the difference in the meaning in English and in Russian and suggest the appropriate equivalents.

1. actual ф актуальный; 2. appellation Ф апелляция; 3. aspirant Ф аспирант; 4. balloon Ф баллон; 5. baton ф батон; 6. billet ф билет; 7. compositor ф композитор; 8. concern Ф концерн; 9. depot Ф депо; 10. direction Ф дирекция; 11. fabric Ф фабрика; 12. genial Ф гениальный; 13. intelligence Ф интеллигенция; 14. motion Ф моцион; 15. motorist Ф моторист; 16. obligation Ф облигация; 17. physique Ф физик; 18. probe Ф проба; 19. protection Ф протекция; 20. pathos Ф пафос

П. Note the meanings of the English international words and translate them in the examples cited below.

1. extravagant ad]. 1. spending much more than is necessary or prudent;

wasteful; 2. excessively high (of prices)

We mustn't buy roses — it is too extravagant in winter.

2. catholic ad], (esp. likings and interests) general, wide-spread; broad-

minded; liberal; including many or most things

Mr. Prower was a politician with catholic tastes and interests.

3. dramatic adj. 1. sudden or exciting; 2. catching and holding the

imagination by unusual appearance or effects

How would you account for such dramatic changes in the situation?

4. minister/?. 1. Christian priest or clergyman; 2. a person representing his

Government but of lower rank than an ambassador

The British minister at Washington was requested to notify his Government of a possible change in the agenda of the forthcoming meeting.

5. routine n. the regular, fixed, ordinary way of working or doing things

Frequent inspections were a matter of routine in the office.

6. pathetic adj. \. sad, pitiful; exciting pity or sympathetic sadness; affecting

or moving the feelings; 2. worthless, hopelessly unsuccessful

Perhaps it was merely that this pathetic look of hers ceased to wring his heart-strings.

7. pilot n. 1. a person qualified to steer ships through certain difficult

waters or into or out of a harbor; 2. a guide or leader

Before entering on his literary career Mark Twain was employed as pilot on vessels going up and down the Mississippi river.

8. student n. (of smth.) a person with a stated interest; anyone who is

devoted to the acquisition of knowledge

The recently published work of the world-known ornithologist will be interesting to any student of bird-life.

III. Explain why the Russian words similar in form cannot be used as substitutes for the English words in bold type.

1. Tolstoy devoted the remainder of his life to writing little pamphlets, preaching peace and love and the abolition of poverty. 2. The navigator on an aircraft must have a good eye for spotting the slightest error in case the robot pilot goes out of control. 3. The boy is quick and accurate at figures. 4. He kept that TV going from noon till long past midnight. Away from it for any length of time he actually became confused and disoriented. 5. His faith in himself and his project was a delicate thing at best. 6. She smiled and Joe was touched suddenly by the very special beauty of the lady — by the still-young blue of eyes that were more deeply sympathetic than truly young eyes could ever be. 7. This indecision consumed the better part of an afternoon. It was typical of the kind of paralysis into which his mind had fallen. 8. Covering a portion of wall from ceiling to floor, were several long strips of paper on which had been painted in black the legend: "It's later

than you think." 9. We met at the academy, roomed together and immediately felt that rare and wonderful rapport that lights up when two people get along beautifully. 10. Efforts have been made to show that Wishart carried his doctrine into practice; that he was an agitator and may well have been an intermediary in the murder plot against Beaton.

IV.Translate the following sentences with particular attention to the translation of pseudointernational words.

1. When he was fifteen Chopin entered his father's school for academic studies. 2. It was largely due to Eisner's sympathy and understanding that Chopin was able to evolve a personal style of writing almost from the very beginning of his creative career. 3. His desire to leave Warsaw was intensified by a schoolboy love for Constantia Gladkowska, a singing student. A change of scene seemed the logical prescription. 4. He was bored with the city and agonized by his unrequited love. 5. His father provided him with funds and in the summer of 1829 he came to Vienna. 6. World War I was a dramatic demonstration of the fact that capitalism had plunged into an incurable general crisis. 7. The President's tour of the flood-stricken areas dramatized the fact that the terrible tragedy presented, in the first place, a federal problem. 8. Reason told him he was in the presence of an archenemy, and yet he had no appetite whatever for vengeance. 9. More than 500 senior British scientists from 20 universities signed a pledge boycotting research for the American Strategic Defence Initiative, popularly known as Star Wars.