Handling equivalent-lacking forms and structures
Introductory Notes
It has been mentioned (see p. 24) that the source language may have a number of grammatical forms and structures which have no analogues in the target language, and some procedures were suggested for dealing with such equivalent-lacking elements.
The English grammatical form that has no direct equivalent in Russian may be a part of speech, a category within a part of speech or a syntactical structure. A lack of equivalence in the English and Russian systems of parts of speech can be exemplified by the article which is part of the English grammar and is absent in Russian. As a rule, English articles are not translated into Russian for their meaning is expressed by various contextual elements and needn't be reproduced separately. Translating the phrase "the man who gave me the book" with the Russian «человек, который дал мне книгу» the translator needn't worry about the definite article since the situation is definite enough due to the presence of the limiting attributive clause. There are some cases, however, when the meaning of the article has an important role to play in the communication and should by all means be reproduced in TT. Consider the following linguistic statement: 'To put it in terms of linguistics: a sentence is a concrete fact, the result of an actual act of speech. The sentence is an abstraction. So a sentence is always a unit of speech; the sentence of a definite language is an element of that language." It is obvious that an entity cannot be both a concrete fact and an abstraction. The difference between "a sentence" (любое отдельное предложение) and 'the sentence" (предложение как понятие, тип предложения) should be definitely revealed in the Russian translation as well.
Even if some grammatical category is present both in SL and in TL, its subcategories may not be the same and, hence, equivalent-lacking. Both the English and the Russian verb have their aspect forms but there are no equivalent relationships between them. Generally speaking, the Continuous forms correspond to the Russian imperfective aspect, while the Perfect forms are often equivalent to the perfective aspect. However, there are many dissimilarities. Much depends on the verb semantics. The Present Perfect forms of non-terminative verbs, for instance, usually correspond to the Russian imperfeclive verbs in the present tense:
I have lived in Moscow since 1940. 102
Я живу в Москве с 1940 г.
Progressive organizations and leaders have been persecuted. Прогрессивные организации и передовые деятели подвергаются преследованиям.
The Past Indefinite forms may correspond either to the perfective or to the imperfective Russian forms and the choice is largely prompted by the context. Cf.:
After supper he usually smoked in the garden.
После ужина он обычно курил в саду.
After supper he smoked a cigarette in the garden and went to bed.
После ужина он выкурил в саду сигарету и пошел спать.
The Past Pefect forms may also be indifferent to these aspective nuances, referring to an action prior to some other action or a past moment. Cf.:
I hoped he had read that book.
(а) Я надеялся, что он читал эту книгу, (б) Я надеялся, что он (уже) прочитал эту книгу.
And, again, the broader context will enable the translator to make the correct choice.
Of particular interest to the translator are the English syntactical (infinitival, participial or gerundial) complexes which have no parallels in Russian. Translating sentences with such complexes always involves some kind of restructuring.
A special study should be made of the translation problems involved in handling the Absolute Participle constructions. To begin with, an Absolute construction must be correctly identified by the translator. The identification problem is particularly complicated in the case of the "with"-structures which may coincide in form with the simple prepositional groups. The phrase "How can you play with your brother lying sick in bed" can be understood in two different ways: as an Absolute construction and then its Russian equivalent will be «Как тебе не стыдно играть, когда твой брат лежит больной (в постели)» or as a prepositional group which should be translated as «Как тебе не стыдно играть с твоим больным братом».
Then the translator should consider the pros and cons of the possible translation equivalents. The meaning of the Absolute Participle construction can be rendered into Russian with the help of a clause, an adverbial participle (деепричастие) or a separate sentence. Each of these methods has its advantages and disadvantages. Using a clause involves the
identification of the specific adverbial function of the construction: "Business disposed of, we went for a walk." - Когда (так как) с делом было покончено, мы отправились погулять. This can be avoided by using an adverbial participle, but then care should be taken to refer it to the subject: Покончив с делом, мы отправились погулять. (Dangling participles are common in English but are usually not used in literary Russian. Cf.: "But coming from West Indies, his chances were very slim" and «Подъезжая к станции, у меня слетела шляпа».)
The same sentence can be rendered into Russian by two separate sentences: Работа была закончена. Мы отправились погулять. This method is not infrequently used by the translators, whenever it suits the style of the narration.
Specific translation problems emerge when the translator has to handle a syntactical complex with a causative meaning introduced by the verb 'to have" or "to get", such as: "I shall have him do it" or "I shall have him punished". First, the translator has to decide what Russian causative verb should be used as a substitute for the English "have" or "get". Depending on the respective status of the persons involved, the phrase "I shall have him do it" may be rendered into Russian as «Я заставлю его (прикажу ему, велю ему, попрошу его и т.п.) сделать это» or even «Я добьюсь (позабочусь о том, устрою так и т.п.), чтобы он это сделал». Second, the translator must be aware that such complexes are polysemantic and may be either causative or non-causative. The phrase 'The general had his horse killed" may refer to two different situations. Either the horse was killed by the general's order (Генерал приказал убить свою лошадь) or he was killed in combat and the general was not the initiator of the act but the sufferer (Под ним убили лошадь). An error in the translator's judgement will result in a distorted translation variant.
Many equivalent-lacking structures result from a non-causative verb used in the typical causative complex. Preserving its basic meaning the verb acquires an additional causative sense. Cf.:
They laughed merrily.
Они весело смеялись.
They laughed him out of the room.
Они так смеялись над ним, что он убежал из комнаты.
In such cases the translator has to choose among different ways of expressing causative relationships in TL. Cf.:
The US Administration wanted to frighten the people into accepting the militarization of the country.
Администрация США стремилась запугать народ, чтобы за-
ставить его согласиться на милитаризацию страны. Не talked me into joining him. Он уговорил меня присоединиться к нему.
It should be noted that such English structures are usually formed with the prepositions "into" and "out of as in the above examples.
Exercises
I. Identify the definite or indefinite articles in the following sentences whose meanings should be rendered in translation. Suggest the suitable equivalents.
1. Who is she?-She is a Mrs. Erlynn. 2. A woman was loudly complaining of a pain in her back. 3.1 know an old woman who can be a baby-sitter for you. 4. He decided to solve this problem at a blow. 5. What is your objection to the hour? I think the hour is an admirable hour. 6. From 1836 until his death in 1870 Dickens continued to be in general estimation the English story-teller. 7. His Pecksniff could never have worked the wickedness of which he had just heard, but any other Pecksniff could; and the Pecksniff who could do that, could do anything. 8. This was a Guernica, a Coventry, a Lidice perpetrated in part by a British ship in the service of the Americans. 9. Tomorrow I will be with Essex as the Asquith he expects, a normal Asquith, an undivided, unchanged, untouched, unalterable and eccentric Asquith who will partner him on his great mission to the Security Council. 10. He still wore knee breeches, and dark cotton stockings on his nether limbs, but they were not the breeches. The coat was wide-skirted, and in that respect like the coat, but, oh, how different.
II. Choose the appropriate Russian aspect forms to render the meanings of the verbs in bold type in the following sentences.
1. At that time the big employers began a wild attack against the workers and the trade-union movement. 2. Following the war there developed an almost universal demand that Canada's status and relationship with Britain should be re-defined. 3. The militants rallied the black population and their allies against the lynchers, legal and illegal. 4. The world fascist movement which developed so rapidly during the 1930's, carried an acute threat to the people's democratic liberties. 5. During the middle 1930's the capitalist governments refused to rally to the call of the Soviet Union for an international peace-front. 6. In the Social-Democratic parties of the Americas over many years left-wing groups of militant fighters had been growing up. 7. Their appeasement policy had strengthened the fascist beast until finally it leaped upon them. 8. Flyers report that no attempt was made to intercept them until they were near Braunschweig when the Germans sent up their fighters and put up a
strong barrage. 9. This had terrified the Home Secretary within an inch of his life on several occasions.
III. Translate the following sentences with particular attention to the equivalent-lacking syntactical complexes.
1. The contents of the treaty have been recently published, it being no longer necessary to keep them secret. 2. The peaceful demonstration at the big Ford plant in Dearborn was broken up, with four workers killed and fifty wounded. 3. Only the Russian Bolsheviks opposed the war consistently with the left-wing socialists in many countries also offering various degrees of resistance. 4. Being remarkably fine and agreeable in their manners, Oliver thought them very nice girls indeed. 5. Bobbing and bounding upon the spring cushions, silent, swaying to each motion of their chariot, old Jolyon watched them drive away under the sunlight. 6. Just as I got there a Negro switchman, lantern in hand, happened by. 7. That gentleman stepped forward, hand stretched out. 8. As the hunger marchers moved along Pennsylvania Avenue they were flanked by two solid rows of policemen, most of them club in hand. 9. They walked without hats for long hours in the Gardens attached to their house, books in their hands, a fox-terrier at their heels, never saying a word and smoking all the time. 10. We sped northward with the high Rocky Mountains peaks far off to the West,
IV. State how the meaning of the causative structures in the following sentences should be rendered into Russian. Explain your choice of the translation method.
1. We had two enemy agents arrested, whose role was to create panic by spreading false rumours about the approach of the Germans. 2. In World War II Great Britain lost about 350,000 killed and missing and had her towns and factories blitzed. 3. A very strange thing happened to him a year or two ago. You ought to have him tell you about it. 4.1 can't get him to realize that in this case the game is not worth the candle. 5. These speeches were designed to obscure the issues by inflaming public opinion and stampeding Congress into repressive action. 6. The General Executive cannot give his mind to every detail of factory management, but he can get the things done. 7. No suitable opportunity offering, he was dragooned by family and friends into an assistant-professorship at Harvard. 8. The Tory government would have the British people believe that the US missiles would strengthen the country's security. 9. The fear of lightning is a particularly distressing infirmity for the reason that it takes the sand out of a person to an extent which no other fear can, and it can't be shamed out of a person.
HANDLING MODAL FORMS
Introductory Notes
Modality is a semantic category indicating the degree of factuality that the speaker ascribes to his message. A message can be presented by its author as a statement of facts, a request or an order, or something that is obligatory, possible or probable but not an established fact. Modal relationships make up an important part of the information conveyed in the message. There is a world of difference between asserting that something is and suggesting that it should be or might be.
Obviously a translation cannot be correct unless it has the same modality as the source text. The translator must be able to understand various modal relationships expressed by different means in SL and to choose the appropriate means in TL.
English makes use of three main types of language units to express modal relationships: modal verbs, modal words and word groups, and mood forms.
Modal verbs are widely used in English to express various kinds of modality. The translator should be aware of the fact that an English modal verb can be found in some phrases the Russian equivalents of which have no particular modal forms. Compare the following sentences with their Russian translations:
She can speak and write English.
Она говорит и пишет по-английски.
I can see the English coast already.
Я уже вижу берег Англии.
Why should you say it?
Почему ты так говоришь?
There is no direct correspondence between the English and the Russian modal verbs and the translator should choose the appropriate word which fits the particular context. The meaning of the verb "should", for example, in the sentence "You should go and see him" may be rendered in various circumstances by one of the Russian verbs expressing obligation: (а) Вы должны навестить его. (Ь) Вам необходимо навестить его. (с) Вам следует навестить его. (d) Вам следовало бы навестить его, and so on. For the same reason the modal meaning expressed by the confrontation of the two modal verbs in the English original may be rendered into Russian not by two modal verbs but by some other modal forms:
Were you really in earnest when you said that you could love a man of lowly position? - Indeed I was. But I said "might".
— Вы на самом деле не шутили, когда сказали, что могли бы по-
любить человека небогатого? — Конечно нет. Но ведь я сказала «может быть, смогла бы».
"It may rain today," he said. His companion looked at the sky. "Well, it might," she said.
— Сегодня может быть дождь, - сказал он. Его спутница подняла голову и посмотрела на небо. — Вряд ли, — ответила она.
Most English modal verbs are polysemantic. So "must" can express obligation or a high degree of probability. "May" implies either probability or moral possibility (permission). "Can" denotes physical or moral possibility, etc. Compare the following sentences with their Russian translations:
You must go there at once.
Вы должны тотчас же пойти туда.
You must be very tired.
Вы, должно быть, очень устали.
Не may know what has happened.
Может быть, он знает, что произошло.
Не may come in now.
Теперь он может (ему можно) войти.
I cannot do the work alone.
Я не могу (не в состоянии) один сделать эту работу.
I cannot leave the child alone.
Я не могу (мне нельзя) оставить ребенка одного.
But when a modal verb is used with a Perfect Infinitive form, it loses, as a rule, its polysemantic character. Thus, "must have been" always implies certainty, "may have been", probability, while "can't have been", improbability. It should also be noted that the Perfect Infinitive may indicate either a prior action (after "must", "may", "cannot") or an action that has not taken place (after "should", "ought to", "could", "to be to"). Cf.:
He must have told her about it yesterday.
Должно быть, он сказал ей об этом вчера.
Не should have told her about it yesterday.
Он должен был (ему следовало) сказать ей об этом вчера.
Special attention should be given to the form "might have been" where the Perfect Infinitive can have three different meanings: a prior action, an action that has not taken place and an imaginable action. Cf.:
I might have spoken too strongly. Возможно, я был слишком резок. You might have done it yourself.
108,
Вы могли бы это сделать сами.
То hear him tell his stories he might have won the war alone. Если послушать его рассказы, можно подумать, что он один выиграл войну.
Among other means of expressing modality mention should be made of parenthetical modal words: "certainly", "apparently", "presumably, "allegedly", "surely", "of course", "in fact", "indeed", "reportedly and the like, as well as similar predicative structures: "it is reported", "it is presumed", "it is alleged", etc. They may all express various shades of modal relationships and the translator cannot be too careful in selecting the appropriate Russian equivalents. For instance, "indeed" may be rendered as «более того, поистине, фактически» и т.п., "in fact" — «на самом деле, более того, словом» и т.п., "above all" - «прежде всего, более всего, главным образом».
Не was never a useful assistant to me. Indeed, he was rather a nuisance.
Он никогда не был мне хорошим помощником. Более того, он скорее даже мне мешал.
Some of the modal adverbs ("surely", "easily", "happily" and the like) have non-modal homonyms. Compare:
What should he do if she failed him? Surely die of disappointment and despair.
Что с ним будет, если она его обманет? — Несомненно, он умрет от разочарования и отчаяния. (Неге "surely" is a modal word.)
Slowly, surely as a magnet draws he was being drawn to the shore.
Медленно и верно, как будто магнитом, его тянуло к берегу.
The English mood forms give relatively little trouble to the translator since he can, as a rule, make use of the similar moods in Russian. Note should be taken, however, of those forms of the English Subjunctive (the Conjunctive) which are purely structural and express no modal meanings that should be reproduced in translation:
It is important that everyone should do his duty. Важно, чтобы каждый выполнил свой долг. I suggest that we all should go home. Я предлагаю всем пойти домой!
While handling modal forms the translator should not forget that while the English language has practically no modal particles, the Russian language has. Whenever necessary, Russian particles (ведь, хоть, мол, де,
дескать и др.) should be used to express modality which is expressed in the source text by other means or only implied:
After us the deluge.
После нас хоть потоп.
Не was in wild spirits, shouting that you might dissuade him for twenty-four hours.
Он пришел в неистовство и кричал, что вы можете его разубеждать хоть круглые сутки.
Exercises
1. Analyse the modal verbs in the following sentences and indicate the modal meanings they have.
1. This fatal policy must be reversed if we arc to regain our freedom.
2. If she wanted to keep things from him, she must, he could not spy on her.
3. There is a painting by Surikov. In this picture we can see Suvorov crossing the Alps. 4. The exact and immediate cause of this letter cannot, of course, be told, though it is not improbable that Bosinney may have been moved by some sudden revolt against his position towards Soames. 5. At nineteen he was a limber, freckled youth with a wide mouth, light eyes, long dark lashes, a rather charming smile, considerable knowledge of what he should not know, and no experience of what he ought to know. 6. I am afraid, I'll have to leave earlier today. 7. Come, now, that's good, sir -that's very good. Your uncle will have his joke. 8. One has only to read the business journals of Wall Street — to see the real origin of the arms race. 9. Under the pressure of the US Ambassador in Paris the President of France abandoned his intention of seeing Charlie Chaplin's picture. We cannot say how he felt about the matter, but 1 have yet to meet a single Frenchman who did not see in this an insult to his own national dignity,
II. Interpret the meaning of the modal forms in bold type and suggest their Russian equivalents.
1. In his opinion the two superpowers should have made more progress at the Geneva talks. 2. "You couldn't have tried so very hard," said Carrie. 3. But for the sweetness of family gossip, it must indeed have been lonely there. 4. The lamp lit her face and she tended the long pipe, bent above it with the serious attention she might have given to a child. 5. Phuong lit the gas stove and began to boil the water for tea. It might have been six months ago. 6. It was a strange situation, and very different from any romantic picture which his fancy might have painted. 7. "We'll take it to my den." - "Why, of course! Might have thought of that before." 8. Entering the church he looked like a childlike man ... His feet
scarcely wakened the slightest sound. He might have been trying to steal in unobserved in the middle of a sermon. 9. Physically he looked like his parents - in every other respect, he might have dropped from the moon for all resemblance he had to them.
III. Translate the following taking special care to render the meanings of modal words.
1. The workers demand a radical change in foreign policy, and this demand they address not only to their MP's, but above all to the British government. 2. The British realities put the problem of foreign policy before the British people, and the working class above all, in a sharper way than ever before. 3. In telling what I saw and heard on this trip I'll let as many Soviet people speak for themselves. And above all, in this series of articles the facts will speak for themselves. 4. When Italy invaded and annexed Ethiopia she was not checked by the League of Nations. In fact, England gave us a reason for refusing to act in behalf of Ethiopia that it was not "sufficiently advanced to enter the League". 5. Just over a year before a boycott of public transport in Barcelona hit the world's headlines as indeed it would, showing that the Spanish people are prepared to act in defence of their rights. 6. This Tory in fact proposed that England should make plans for either eventuality — for the defeat of the USSR and for the Soviet victory over Hitler. 7. That democracy will eventually grow far beyond its present limitations — indeed, that men will one day look back on this era and wonder how we could even think we had democracy — is, I think, certain. 8. George looked delighted. Of all his relations it was this little toad alone whom he at all tolerated. Indeed, he made a favourite of him. 9. I want to remind you of our curious - indeed our precarious - position. 10. The President had allegedly done his best to get the treaty signed.
IV. What modal meanings are expressed by the mood forms in the following sentences? Where should they be reproduced in translation and in what way?
1. Glancing at her husband, she found no help from him, and as abruptly as if it were a matter of no importance, she threw up the sponge. 2. "She's your child. I'm not the person to stand in your way. I think if it were my child I'd rather see her." 3. Should a significant amount of oil be found beneath any of Paris' monuments, officials say, it would simply be pumped out from a distance. 4.1 really don't see why you should make such a fuss about one picture. 5. It was a long time before takeoff, and there seemed no reason why I should not step back to collect the missing material. I knew there would be a row if it was left behind. 6. She was by now intensely anxious that the boy should speak openly and tell her everything. 7. It is unthinkable that our sons and daughters, our grandchildren should live to see the horrors of the concentration camps. 8.1
had telephoned Margaret that morning insisting that we should meet and talk it out, and she had given way.
CHAPTER 4. STYLISTIC ASPECTS OF TRANSLATION4.1. HANDLING STYLISTICALLY-MARKED LANGUAGE UNITS
Introductory Notes
In different communicative situations the language users select words of different stylistic status. There are stylistically neutral words that are suitable for any situation, and there are literary (bookish) words and colloquial words which satisfy the demands of official, poetic messages and unofficial everyday communication respectively. SL and TL words of similar semantics may have either identical (a steed - скакун, aforesaid - вышеозначенный, gluttony - обжорство, to funk - трусить) or dissimilar (slumber - сон, morn - утро, to swop - менять) stylistic connotation. The translator tries to preserve the stylistic status of the original text, by using the equivalents of the same style or, failing that, opting for stylistically neutral units.
The principal stylistic effect of the text is created, however, with the help of special stylistic devices (see 4.2) as well as by the interworking of the meanings of the words in a particular context. The speaker may qualify every object he mentions in his own way thus giving his utterance a specific stylistic turn. Such stylistic phrasing give much trouble to the translator since their meaning is often subjective and elusive. Some phrases become fixed through repeated use and they may have permanent equivalents in TL, e.g. true love — истинная любовь, dead silence — мертвая тишина, good old England - добрая старая Англия. In most cases, however, the translator has to look for an occasional substitute, which often requires an in-depth study of the broad context. When, for example, J. Galsworthy in his "Forsyte Saga" refers to Irene as "that tender passive being, who would not stir a step for herself, the translator is faced with the problem of rendering the word "passive" into Russian so that its substitute would fit the character of that lady and all the circumstances of her life described in the novel.
A common occurrence in English texts is the transferred qualifier syntactically joined to a word to which it does not belong logically. Thus the English speaker may mention "a corrupt alliance", "a sleepless bed" or "a thoughtful pipe". As often as not, such combinations will be thought of as too bizarre in Russian or alien to the type of the text and the qualifier will have to be used with the name of the object it refers to. 'The sound of the solemn bells" will become «торжественное звучание колоколов» and 112
"the smiling attention of the stranger" will be translated as «внимание улыбающегося незнакомца».
Note should also be taken of the inverted qualifier which syntactically is not the defining but the defined element. Such a qualifier precedes the qualified word which is joined to it by the preposition "of: "this devil of a woman", "the giant of a man", etc. The phrase can be transformed to obtain an ordinary combination (a devilish woman, a gigantic man) and then translated into Russian. The translation may involve an additional element: the devil of a woman — чертовски хитрая (умная, неотразимая и т.п.) женщина.
Stylistically-marked units may also be certain types of collocations. Idiomatic phrases discussed above (see 2.2) may be cited as an example. Another common type includes conventional indirect names of various objects or "paraphrases". A frequent use of paraphrases is a characteristic feature of the English language.
Some of the paraphrases are borrowed from such classical sources as mythology or the Bible and usually have permanent equivalents in Russian (cf. Attic salt - аттическая соль, the three sisters - богини судьбы, the Prince of Darkness - принц тьмы). Others are purely English and are either transcribed or explained in translation: John Bull — Джон Буль, the three R's — чтение, письмо и арифметика, the Iron Duke - герцог Веллингтон.
A special group of paraphrases are the names of countries, states and other geographical or political entities: the Land of Cakes (Scotland), the Badger State (Wisconsin), the Empire City (New York). As a rule, such paraphrases are not known to the Russian reader and they are replaced by official names in the translation. (A notable exception is "the eternal city" — вечный город.)
Complicated translation problems are caused by ST containing substandard language units used to produce a stylistic effect. The ST author may imitate his character's speech by means of dialectal or contaminated forms. SL territorial dialects cannot be reproduced in TT, nor can they be replaced by TL dialectal forms. It would be inappropriate if a black American or a London cockney spoke in the Russian translation in the dialect, say, of the Northern regions of the USSR. Fortunately, the English dialectal forms are mostly an indication of the speaker's low social or educational status, and they can be rendered into Russian by a judicial employment of low-colloquial elements, e.g.:
He do look quiet, don't 'e? D'e know 'oo 'e is, Sir? Вид-то у него спокойный, правда? Часом не знаете, сэр, кто он будет?
Here the function of the grammatical and phonetical markers in the English sentence which serve to show that the speaker is uneducated, is fulfilled by the Russian colloquialisms «часом» and «кто он будет».
Contaminated forms are used to imitate the speech of a foreigner. Sometimes, both SL and TL have developed accepted forms of representing the contaminated speech by persons of foreign origin. For example, the speech of a Chinese can be represented in English and in Russian in a conventional way, which facilitates the translator's task:
Me blingee beer. Now you pay.
Моя плинесла пиво, твоя типель платить.
If no such tradition exists, the translator has to select some possible contaminated Russian forms to produce the desired effect, e.g.:
When you see him quid' then you quick see him 'perm whale (the speech of a Kanaka).
Когда твоя видел спрут, тогда твоя скоро-скоро видел кашалот.
Exercises
I. Suggest the Russian equivalents to the different types of qualifiers in the following sentences.
1. By contrast with European countries, which were always deeply involved in diplomacy, the diplomatic service of the United States was notoriously amateurish and shabby. 2. She might have been one of the great actresses of the age, indeed, the highbrow critics still thought a lot of her. 3. Mr. Mandeville's attire was festive, perhaps a little too festive; the flower in his buttonhole was festive; the very varnish on his boots was festive; but his face was not at all festive. 4. She had a powerful and rather heavy face of a pale and rather unwholesome complexion, and when she looked at anybody she cultivated the fascinations of a basilisk. 5. "We've come at the appointed time," grumbled Granby, "but our host's keeping us waiting the devil of a time." 6. The day which had been brilliant from daybreak was now glowing and even glaring; but Father Brown carried Ms black bundle of an umbrella as well as wearing his black umbrella of a hat. 7. The man is a proud, haughty, consequential, turned-nosed peacock. 8. From the Splendid Hotel guests and servants were pouring in chattering bright streams. 9. She was a faded white rabbit of a woman.
II. Identify the referents of the following paraphrases.
1. the Emerald Isle; 2. the Land of White Elephants; 3. the Land of the Shamrock; 4. the Land of the Thousand Lakes; 5. from John O'Groat's to Land's End; 6. the Mother State; 7. the Golden State; 8. the Evergreen
State; 9. the City of Brotherly Love; 10. the City of Seven Hills; 11. the vale of misery; 12. John Barleycorn; 13. the Man of Destiny; 14. the Wise Men of the East; 15. a white elephant; 16. a white slave; 17. a white crow; 18. the Union Jack; 19. the Stars and Stripes; 20. John Doe
III.Translate the following sentences taking special care to reproduce the stylistic effect of substandard forms.
1. When I came home it was midnight and everybody was in the sack. 2. While the father kept giving him a lot of advice, old Ophelia was sort of horsing around with her brother, taking his dagger out of the holster and teasing him and all while he was trying to look interested in the bull his father was shooting. (After seeing "Hamlet") 3. When we was three or four hundred yards downstream we see the lantern show like a little spark at the door for a second, and we knowed by that that the rascals had missed their boats. (Huckleberry Finn) 4. "Wery much obliged to you, old fellers," said Sam, ladling away at the punch in the most unembarrassed manner possible, "for this 'ere compliment, wich, comin' from such a quarter, is wery overvelmin." 5. Before she sang the French girl would say, "And now we like to geeve you our impression of Vooly Voo Fransay. Eet ees the story of a leetle Fransh girl who comes to a beeg cccty, just like New York." 6. "Here is moneys," says General Rompiro, "of a small amount. There is more with me — moocho more. Plentee moneys shall you be supplied, Senor Galloway. More I shall send you at all times that you need. I shall desire to pay feefty-one hundred thousand pesos, if necessario, to be elect."
4.2. HANDLING STYLISTIC DEVICES Introductory Notes
To enhance the communicative effect of his message the author of the source text may make use of various stylistic devices, such as metaphors, similes, puns and so on. Coming across a stylistic, device the translator has to make up his mind whether it should be preserved in his translation or left out and compensated for at some other place.
Metaphors and similes though most commonly used in works of fiction, are not excluded from all other types of texts. A metaphor and a simile both assert the resemblance between two objects or processes but in the latter the similarity is made explicit with the help of prepositions "as" and "like".
Many metaphors and similes are conventional figures of speech regularly used by the members of the language community. Such figurative units may be regarded as idioms and translated in a similar way. As in the case of idioms (see 2.2) their Russian equivalents may be based on the same image (a powder magazine — пороховой погреб, white as snow —
J
белый как снег) or on a different one (a ray of hope — проблеск надежды, thin as a rake — худой как щепка). Similarly, some of the English standard metaphors and similes are rendered into Russian word for word (as busy as a bee — трудолюбивый как пчела), while the meaning of others can only be explained in a non-figurative way (as large as life — в натуральную величину).
More complicated is the problem of translating individual figures of speech created by the imagination of the ST author. They are important elements of the author's style and are usually translated word for word. Nevertheless the original image may prove inacceptable in the target language and the translator will have to look for a suitable occasional substitute. Consider the following example:
They had reached the mysterious mill where the red tape was spun, and Yates was determined to cut through it here and now. (St. Heym. "Crusaders")
"Red tape" is usually translated as «бюрократизм, волокита», but bureaucratism cannot be spun or cut through. The translator had to invent an occasional substitute:
Они уперлись в стену штабной бюрократии, но Йейтс твердо решил тут же пробить эту стену.
A similar tactics is resorted to by the translator when he comes across a pun in ST. If the SL word played upon in ST has a Russian substitute which can also be used both literally and figuratively, a word-for-word translation is possible:
Whenever a young gentleman was taken in hand by Doctor BUmber, he might consider himself sure of a pretty tight squeeze.
Когда доктор Блаймбер брал в руки какого-нибудь джентльмена, тот мог быть уверен, что его как следует стиснут.
In other cases the translator tries to find in TL another word that can be played upon in a similar way:
He says he'll teach you to take his boards and make a raft of them; but seeing that you know how to do this pretty well already, the offer... seems a superfluous one on his part.
Here the word "teach" is intended by the owner of the boards to mean "to punish" but the man on the raft prefers to understand it in the direct sense. The Russian equivalent «учить» does not mean "to punish" and the translator finds another word which has the two required meanings:
Он кричит, что покажет вам, как брать без спроса доски и де-116
лать из них плот, но поскольку вы и так прекрасно знаете, как это делать, это предложение кажется вам излишним.
A very popular stylistic device is to include in the text an overt or covert quotation. Unlike references in scientific papers the stylistic effect is usually achieved not by citing a complete extract from some other source, giving the exact chapter and verse and taking great care to avoid even the slightest change in the original wording. In literary or publicist texts quotations often take the form of allusions with a premium put on a general impression. It is presumed that the cited words are well known to the reader and can readily suggest the sought-for associations.
Translation of such allusions is no easy matter. The translator has to identify the source and the associations it evokes with the SL receptors and then to decide whether the source is also known to the TL receptors and can produce the similar effect. He may find the allusion untranslatable even if the source is sufficiently popular. For instance L. Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland" was many times translated into Russian and is much enjoyed both by children and adults in this country. However, the translator will hardly preserve the obvious allusion to the book in the following sentence:
The Tories were accused in the House of Commons yesterday of "living in an Alice in Wonderland world" on the question of nuclear arms for Germany.
Вчера в палате общин консерваторов обвинили в том, что они питают призрачные иллюзии по поводу ядерного вооружения ФРГ.
As a rule, previous translations of the source of the allusion are widely used to render it into Russian. This can be exemplified by S. Marshak's translation of the popular English nursery rhyme about Humpty Dumpty which is often cited in Britain and USA. In the translation Humpty Dumpty who "sat on the wall and had a great fall" was called «Шалтай-Болтай» and "all the king's men" who "cannot put Humpty Dumpty together again" became «вся королевская рать». And ever since all allusions to the rhyme have been translated on the basis of Marshak's version. So, when C. Bernstein and B. Woodward called their famous Watergate story "All the President's Men", it was unquestionably rendered into Russian as «вся президентская рать».
Some stylistic devices may be ignored by the translator when their expressive effect is insignificant and their reproduction in the target text would run counter to the spirit of TL. One of the oldest and most commonly used stylistic devices in English is alliteration. Many headings, strings of epithets and other phrases in English texts consist of words which begin with the same letter. An Englishman seems to be very happy if he can
call an artificial satellite "a man-made moon" or invent a headline like "Bar Barbarism in Bars". As a rule, the formal device cannot be reproduced in the Russian translation where it would look rather bizarre and often distort the meaning of the phrase. There are, however, infrequent exceptions when the repetition of the initial letters assumes a particular communicative value. A much cited example is from Ch. Dickens "Little Dorrit":
'Тара is a preferable mode of address," observed Mrs. General. "Father is rather vulgar, my dear. The word Papa, besides, gives a pretty form to the lips. Papa, potatoes, poultry, prunes and prism, are all very good words for the lips, especially prunes and prism."
Obviously the Russian equivalents to the "good" words should all begin with the letter «n» even if they referred to quite different objects, e.g.: папа, пряник, персик, просьба, призма, etc.
Still more infrequent is the reproduction in translation, of another common English stylistic device, the so-called zeugma, when a word enters in several collocations within one sentence each time in a different sense, e.g.:
(The man) ... took a final photograph of Michael in front of the hut, two cups of tea at the Manor, and his departure.
In Russian such usage is outside the literary norm (cf. Шли три студента: один - в кино, другой - в сером костюме, а третий - в хорошем настроении).
A stylistic effect can be achieved by various types of repetitions, i.e. recurrence of the word, word combination, phrase for two times or more. A particular type of repetition is the reiteration of several successive sentences (or clauses) which usually includes some type of lexical repetition too, e.g.:
England is a paradise for the well-to-do, a purgatory for the able, and a hell for the poor.
Англия — рай для богачей, чистилище для талантливых и ад для бедняков.
Repetition is a powerful means of emphasis. It adds rhythm and balance to the utterance. In most cases the translator takes pains to reproduce it in TT. Repetition, however, is more often used in English than in Russian and the translator may opt for only a partial reproduction of the English long series of identical language units.
Exercises
I. Suggest the possible ways of translating the metaphors in the following sentences.
1. The tool business is one of the most competitive industries in 118
America - dog eat dog down to the puppies. 2. The Tory card-castle of illusions of the British Empire's glorious future lay in ruins. 3. The owners of the coal mines knew which side their bread was buttered on. 4.1 always knew you to be a rolling stone that gathered no moss, but I never thought you would have taken away what little moss there was for my children to lie upon. 5. No amount of eating your cake and wanting to have it could take the place of common honesty. 6. Jolyon stood a moment without speaking. Between this devil and this deep sea - the pain of a dreadful disclosure and the grief of losing his wife for two months - he secretly hoped for the devil, yet if she wished for the deep sea he must put up with it. 7. The racists in South Africa began to feel the waves of Africa liberation lapping round their ankles. 8. Father Brown seemed to take it quite naturally and even casually, that he should be called in to consider the queer conduct of one of his flock, whether she was to be regarded as a black sheep or as a lost lamb. 9. Mel, airport general manager — lean, rangy and a powerhouse of disciplined energy —was standing by the Snow Control Desk, high in the control power.
II. Translate the following similes into Russian.
1. There was a mile of clear road ahead, straight as a die. 2.1 came into her room half an hour before the bridal dinner, and found her lying on her bed as lovely as the June night in her flowered dress — and as drunk as a monkey. 3. It had begun to rain. Umbrellas sprouted like mushrooms to right and left. 4. Here and there, among the more familiar things, plants of cactus stood up like the listening ears of strange animals. 5. All day since reading that letter there'd been a queer taste in my mouth, like copper, like blood. 6. He makes most people with so-called principles look like empty tin cans. 7. Luckily the night was mild. He won't have caught pneumonia. Besides, he's as strong as an ox. 8. The sanitation won't bear looking at. In a dry summer the kids die like flies with infantile cholera. 9. All were packed, despite the elongation of the vehicle, like herrings in a tin. 10. Mary would be all right now, right as rain.
III. Explain the translator's tactics to be used to render the puns in the following sentences
into Russian.
1. Even the Conservatives were refusing to call themselves Conservatives again, as if there was something ridiculous about the word, and they knew there was really nothing to conserve. 2. There's a lot of feet in Shakespeare's verse but there are not any legs worth mentioning in Shakespeare's plays. 3. But their united sagacity could make nothing of it, and they went to bed - metaphorically - in the dark. 4. If our cannon balls were all as hot as your head, and we had enough of them, we should
conquer the earth, no doubt. 5. He said he had come for me, and informed me that he was a page. "Go long," I said, "you ain't more than a paragraph." 6. Well, I was stunned; partly with this unlooked-for stupidity on his part, and partly because his fellows so manifestly sided with him and were of his mind - if you might call it mind. 7. When he had done that, he corked the bottle tight, with the air of a man who had effectually corked the subject also and went to sleep for three stages. 8. Then the hostler was told to give the horse his head; and his head being given him, he made a very unpleasant use of it: tossing it into the air with great disdain and running into the parlour window over the way.
IV. Analyse the following sentences. Point out the source of the allusions and suggest their Russian translations.
1. Freedom of speech, like many other equalities, was more honoured in the breach than in the observance. 2. Obviously something was rotten in the State of Alabama - something putrid and stinking. 3. The watchword of the graft-busting drive was "Beware of Agents Bearing Gifts". 4. The conservationists try to get the industry to realize that grime does not pay. 5. A Federal judge said at the time that the decision had made a shambles of the Smith Act. But Humpty Dumpty has been put together again by the new Administration. 6. His hair couldn't have been more violently on end, if it had been that moment dressed by the Cow with the crumpled horn in the house that Jack built. 7. As a true artist the writer held up his mirror to catch the flashes of light and shadow that make up the struggle of the working class. 8. Each member of the union must be prepared to offer his widow's mite to help the starving children of the strikers.
V. Analyse various types of repetitions in the following sentences and suggest the ways of rendering them into Russian.
1. The Union ranks grow in struggle and it is in struggle that we recruit our leadership and the ranks of the best men and women of the working class. 2. Come war, come deluge, come anything and everything except the popular uprising against the scarcity-dividend system, the international machine of profit-making must pound on. 3. The wretched slaves had no knowledge, no rights, no protection against the caprices of their irresponsible masters. 4. Examination convinced him that the deacon was dead - had been dead for some time, for the limbs were rigid. 5. She did more that day than any other. For, in the morning she invariably cleared off her correspondence; after lunch she cleared off the novel or book on social questions she was reading; went to a concert clearing off a call on the way back; and on first Sundays stayed at home to clear off the friends who came to visit her.