VIII. Lexical Devices of Translation

The inner world of a personality, world of the values, ideals, aspirations, expressed in the character traits and stereotypes of behaviour, methods of thinking, social vital purposes and elected ways of their achievement make the core of any content of the literary character.

The greatest difficulty for a translator is an objective passing of reality, as it is uneasy to possess the style. Translator’s attitude to the literary language and ways of its using are realized in texts, their structure, characters and images created as well as in the character of a translator’s personally. A translator does not personify the surrounding reality and creates the own artistic world, that’s why a work translated usually turns to be more various and richer, than its prototype, in fact, reality.

Except stylistic devices of translation there are another means, which can be used in order to reach the main goal of translation. They are lexical devices of translation, which include synonyms, antonyms, and homonyms.

Lexical devices of translation are such type of denoting phenomena that serves to create additional expressive, evaluative and subjective connotations.

I. Synonyms:

There are different definitions of synonyms, which reflect different views on the phenomenon of synonyms.

The most widely spread definition is based on the difference in shades of meanings.

Synonyms are words of the same part of speech, which define the same notion but have difference in shades of meanings.

The second definition is based on the criteria of interchangeability.

Synonymsare words of the same part of speech, interchanged in some context without considerable changes in the denotational meaning. There are only few words, which can be interchanged without any changes in the meaning of the utterance.

The third definition is based on the semantic criteria.

Synonymsare words with one denotational meaning and different connotational meanings.

According to the semantic criteria synonyms are united into rows and each row has a dominant synonym.

Synonyms are classified into:

I. Stylistic synonyms,which belong to different stylistic spheres.

For example:

To expire – to die (почити – померти);

Stomach – belly – tummy (живіт, шлунок – черево – черевце, животик) etc.

Stylistic synonyms are emotionally and expressively coloured.

II. Ideographic synonyms coincide with one notion and belong to one neutral stylistic sphere.

For example:

Power – force – energy (сила – міць – влада);

Love – like – admire (любити – подобатися – захоплюватися) etc.

Ideographic synonyms may be of:

1. Connotation of manner.

2. Connotation of degree.

3. Causative connotation.

4. Evaluative connotation.

5. Emotional connotation.

III. Contextual synonyms are similar in the meaning of words, but only in some context.

For example:

To buy / to get bread (купувати хліб);

To study / to go to university (вчитися в університеті) etc.

Synonyms can be united into the synonymic rows.

Synonymic rowis a range of words, which are linked semantically, and where each member of this range is different by any component of its meaning from the other members of the row and at the same time coincides with them by the other component.

For example:

Road (дорога, шлях, шосе, проїжджа частина дороги) – way (дорога, шлях, напрям) – lane (вузька дорога, стежка) – highway (велика дорога, магістраль) – route (дорога, шлях, шосе, магістраль, маршрут) – main road (шосе, магістраль, головна дорога) etc.

There are several sources of synonyms:

1. Word-building:

a) Conversion.

For example:

Water (n) – (to) water (v) (вода (іменник) – поливати (дієслово)) etc.

b) Shorting.

For example:

Vet – veterinary surgeon, veterinarian (ветеринар, ветеринарний лікар, ветеринарний) etc.

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