Semantic differences between languages

LEXICAL PROBLEMS

OMISSIONS

ADDITIONS

Additions are caused by various factors. Very often they are necessitated by what may be called "lexical incompleteness" of certain word groups in the source language. Thus, in English in many cases words are omitted that can be easily restored from the context, while in Russian their actual presence in the word is necessary, which calls for additions in translation; compare: pay claim -требование о повышении заработной платы;

gun license - удостоверение на право ношения оружия;

oil talks - переговоры по вопросу о нефти;

solid engine - двигатель на твёрдом топливе;

the Watergate judge - судья, назначенный для рассмотрения Уотергейтского дела.

Sometimes, additions are required to compensate for the lack of grammatical forms in the target language. Thus, the lack of plural forms of the corresponding nouns in Russian calls for lexical additions when translating the following phrases: workers of all industries - рабочие всех отраслей промышленности; modern weapons - современные виды оружия; enemy defenсes -оборонительные сооружения противника; other philosophies - другие философские направления (теории).

Omissions are the reverse of additions and are used to ensure a greater degree of what is called "compression", that is, reducing the redundancy of the text by omitting words which can be easily restored from the context. Thus, the following sentence from J. Salinger's novel: "So I paid my check and all. Then I left the bar and went out where the telephones were" is translated by R. Rait-Kovaleva as: «Я расплатился и пошёл к автоматам».

The words "left the bar" are omitted because of their redundancy (the bar was mentioned in the preceding context and "leaving" is implied by the subsequent use of "went out"). Note also other transformations here, such as unification of sentences and replacement of a complex sentence by a simple one, all of which greatly reduce redundancy of the original text.

For other examples of additions and omissions, as well as of other transformations, see also Л. С. Бархударов, Язык и перевод, гл. 5.

Languages differ not only in their phonological and grammatical systems. Their systems of meaning are also different. As J. С Catford puts it, "Meanings, in our view, is a property of a language. An S.L. (Source Language) text has an S.L. MEANING, and a T.L. (Target Language) text has a T.L. meaning". (J.C. Catford A Linguistic Theory of Translation, L.-1965* p.35) Hence it follows that semantic structures of correlated words of the Source Language and the Target Language cannot be co-extensive, can never "cover each other". A careful analysis invariably shows that semantic relationship between correlated words, especially polysemantic words, is very complex.

Therefore it seems to be necessary first to consider here the three types of lexical meaning which can be distinguished and are to be rendered in translation: referential, emotive and stylistic.

Referential meaning (also called logical, denotative) has direct reference to things or phenomena of objective reality, naming abstract notions and processes as well. It is also necessary to distinguish between primary and secondary referential meaning.

Emotive meaning, unlike referential meaning, has reference not directly to things or phenomena of objective reality but to the feelings and emotions, associated with them. It is a connotative meaning created by connotations raised in the mind of the speaker and reader; it is inherent in a definite group of words even when they are taken out of context.

Stylistic meaning is based on stylistic stratification of the English vocabulary and is formed by stylistic connotations. Stylistic and emotive meanings are closely connected. As a rule, stylistically coloured words, i.e., words belonging to certain stylistic strata, except the neutral, possess a considerable element of emotive meaning. The slang-words "mug", "phiz" are undoubtedly more expressive than their neutral counterpart "face" and have a pejorative emotive meaning. In addition to the emotive and stylistic meanings, proper to the word as a linguistic unit, some emotive connotations may be acquired in the context. Both are to be rendered in translation.

1. Referential Meaning and Its Rendering in Translation

Causes of lexical transformations in the rendering of referential meaning

1. Different vision of objects of reality and different usage;

2. Different semantic structure of a word in the source language and the target-language;

3. Different valency or collocabilitv.

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