XIII. Translation of Nationally Biased Lexicon

The language of each nation is a living organism that is inseparably related to the history, culture and social life of people. Communicating with each other, native language speakers convey their culture by means of language and a translator is a key intermediary. It is undeniable that different nations perceive a world through the prism of their native language and, consequently, it conditions forming of nationally biased lexicon, that are characteristic of any language.

The excellent knowledge of grammar, phonetics, stylistics, vocabulary, as well as knowledge of cultural specific character of the source and target language are required from a translator.

Translation of the nationally biased lexicon is a part of the large and important problem of passing national and historical originality that derives form the beginning of the origin of the theory of translation as an independent science. The nationally biased lexicon belongs to non-equivalent vocabulary but is the part of the least studied linguistic units. Comparison of vocabulary of any foreign and native languages shows that lexical and grammatical units that have no equivalents in the target language are near to the linguistic units, which have single or numerous correspondences in the target language.

The units of foreign language that have no regular correspondences in the target language are called non-equivalent units.

Non-equivalent vocabulary mainly turns out to be among neologisms, words that name specific notions and nationally biased lexicon, not popular names and names for which it is necessary to create occasional correspondences in the process of translation.

Within bounds of non-equivalent vocabulary the nationally biased lexicon is classified into the separate translating category. There are two main opinions of understanding this phenomenon, namely extralinguistic and linguistic one.

The supporters of extralinguistic approach consider the nationally biased lexicon as a totally extralinguistic phenomenon, determining it as the facts related to the events of public and cultural life of a country, peculiarities of its state order, national history etc.

The supporters of the linguistic approach considers that the relevant criterion of selecting the nationally biased lexicon is a brightly expressed nationally colouring, interrelationship with objective reality that is reflected in the consciousness of concrete lingvo-cultural community and, as a result of it, absence of correspondences in other languages.

The nationally biased lexicon is met mainly in belles-lettres literature, where it makes the elements of local and historical colouring. The nationally biased lexicon always belongs to the nation in the language of which it was born. It is adopted as «a guest» in the other languages that is used there for a day, a year or stays forever, enriching or leaving litter about language that accepted it. The nationally biased lexicon is always originated by a natural word-formation, and it is completely clear, as the nationally biased lexicon is folk words, that are mainly interrelated with the way of life of a nation. Thus,

The nationally biased lexicon is words and word-combinations of a folk language, which represent the name of objects, notions, phenomena that are characteristic of a geographical environment, culture, material way of life or social and historical peculiarities of a nation, country, tribe, and which, consequently, arise up as bearers of the national, local or historical colouring. Such words do not have exact correspondences in the other languages, and therefore, they cannot be translated «on the general basis», as the special approach to translation is required.

In regard to the structure of the nationally biased lexicon, the researchers do not give simple answers to a question of what category of language devices should be related to it.

It is possible to relate nominative word-combinations, in other words such combinations of words that are semantically equaled to a word, to the nationally biased lexicon. Nominative word-combination can belong to the nationally biased lexicon as loan translations that are often equated with it, as long as loan translations represent the very same word-combinations.

The other form of nationally biased lexicon is shortenings or abbreviations. The inclusion of them to the nationally biased lexicon is very logical step, as they represent nominative word-combinations that are pulled together in one word.

The Phraseological units, in other words, stable expressions of all types, as well as idioms, proverbs and sayings, the most of which have national and historical colouring, are often related to the nationally biased lexicon.

The nationally biased lexicon is classified by:

1) Objective characteristics.

2) Local characteristics (depending on national and language belonging).

The nationally biased lexicon that is classified by objective characteristics includes:

1 ) The geographical nationally biased lexicon:

a) Names of objects of physical geography, including meteorology: «steppe» (степ), «prairie» (прерія), «saline land» (солончак), «tornado» (торнадо) etc.

b) Names of the geographical objects related to the activity of a man: «polder» (польдер) (that is a drained plot of land defended by a dam), «aryk» (арик) (that is an irrigation or ditch in the Central Asia, Kazakhstan) etc.

c) Names of endemics (that is species of animal and plants met in the certain geographic area): «kiwi» (ківі), «sequoia» (секвоя), «pika» (піщундська сосна) etc.

2 ) The ethnographic nationally biased lexicon:

The Way of life:

a) A meal, drinks etc.: «shchi» (щі) (cabbage soup), «cheburek» (чебурек), «kumiss» (кумис), «cider» (сидр), «ale» (ель) etc.

b) Clothes (including shoes, head-dresses etc.) and adornments: «kimono» (кімоно), «sari» (сарі), «kokoshnik» (кокошник) etc.

c) Habitation, furniture, crockery and the other appliances: «izba» (хата), «yurta» (юрта), «amphora» (амфора) etc.

d) Transport (facilities and drivers): «ricksha» (рікша), «cab» (кеб), «landau» (ландо), «pirogue» (пірога), «gondolier» (гондольєр) etc.

e) Another things: «makhorka» (махорка), «sakwy» (сакви) etc.

Labour:

a) Men of labour: «brigadier» (бригадир), «farmer» (фермер), «groom» (грум, конюх), «concierge» (консьєржка) etc.

b) Implements: «machete» (мачете), «lasso» (ласо), «boomerang» (бумеранг) etc.

c) Labour organization: «kolkhoz» (колгосп), «ranch» (ранчо), «guild» (гільдія, цех) etc.

Art and culture:

a) Music and dances: «blues» (блюз), «tarantella» (тарантела), «reel» (ріл) etc.

b) Musical instruments etc.: «balalaika» (балалайка), «tomtom» (тамтам, гонг), «castanets» (кастаньєти), «banjo» (банджо) etc.

c) Folk-lore: «saga» (сага), «bylina» (билина), «chastooshka» (частівка) etc.

d) Theater: «mystery» (містерія), «harlequin» (арлекін), «Punch» (Петрушка) etc.

e) Performers: «troubadour» (трубадур), «kobza-player» (кобзар), «skomorokh» (скоморох) etc.

f) Customs and rituals: «vendetta» (вендета), «toast-master» (тамада), «рancake week» (масниця) etc.

g) Holidays and games: «Victory Day» (День Перемоги), «Easter» (Пасха), «Thanksgiving Day» (День Подяки), «lapta» (лапта), «cricket» (крикет) etc.

h) Mythology: «wood-goblin» (лісовик), «Santa Claus» (Санта Клаус), «Father Christmas» (Дід Мороз), «troll» (троль), «Valkyrie» (валькірія), «elf» (ельф) etc.

i) Cult (admirers and followers) and cult building and objects: «lama» (лама), «abbot» (абат), «pagoda» (пагода), «manna» (манна) etc.

j) Calendar: «September» (вересень), «Indian summer» (Бабине літо) etc.

Ethnic objects:

a) Nationalities: «Basque» (Баск), «Kazakh» (Казах) etc.

b) Nicknames (usually humorous and offensive): «cockney» (кокні), «gringo» (грінго, іноземець) etc.

c) Nameі of persons by the place of inhabitation: «kanaka» (канак), «oberdinets» (обердинець) etc.

Measures and money:

a) Units of measures: «arshine/arshin/arsheen» (аршин), «yard» (ярд), «pood» (пуд), «dessiatina» (десятина), «acre» (акр), «bushel» (бушель) etc.

b) Monetary units: «lev/lew» (лев), «r(o)uble» (рубль), «franc» (франк), «peso» (песо), «pound» (фунт), «sterling» (стерлінг), «dollar» (долар) etc.

с) Simple names of measures and money: «buck» (бакс), «five-kopeck coin» (п’ятак) etc.

3 ) The social and political nationally biased lexicon:

Administrative and territorial organization:

a) Administrative and territorial entity: «province» (губернія), «region» (область), «county/shire» (графство), «office of voevode» (воєводство) etc.

b) Inhabited localities: «сossack village/stanitsa» (станиця), «khutor» (хутор) etc.

Organs and public agents:

a) Authorities: «Seym» (Сейм), «Rada» (Рада), «municipality» (муніципалітет), «upper chamber/House of Lords» (верхня палата/Палата Лордів) etc.

b) Public agents: «chancellor» (канцлер), «Lord-Mayor» (лорд-мер), «hetman» (гетьман), «khan» (хан), «tsar/czar» (цар) etc.

The social and political life:

a) Political activity and political figures: «the Whigs» (Вігі), «the Tories» (Торі) etc.

b) Patriotic and public movements (and their participants): «guer(r)illa/partisan» (партизан), «Slavophil(e)» (Слав’янофіл) etc.

c) Social phenomena and movements (and their representatives): «business» (бізнес), «NEP (New Economic Policy)» (НЕП (Нова економічна політика)), «hippie/hippy» (хіпі) etc.

d) Ranks, titles, appeals: «bachelor» (бакалавр), «prince» (князь), «mister» (містер), «madam» (мадам) etc.

e) Establishments: «civilian registrar’s/registry office» (загс), «trade delegates» (торгове представництво) etc.

f) Educational organizations and cultural establishments: «ten-year secondary school» (десятирічка), «college» (коледж), «lyceum» (ліцей) etc.

g) Status and castes (and their members): «nobility/nobles» (дворянство), «merchant class» (купецтво), «Samurai» (самурай), «muzhik/moujik» (мужик) etc.

h) Class signs and symbols: «half moon» (півмісяць), «Union Jack» (Державний прапор Об’єднаного Королівства) etc.

The soldiery nationally biased lexicon:

a) Subdivision: «legion» (легіон), «horde» (орда), «phalanx» (фаланга) etc.

b) Weapon: «arbalest» (арбалет), «musket» (мушкет), «yataghan» (ятаган) etc.

c) Uniform: «helmet» (шолом), «chain armour» (кольчуга), «tunic/jacket with high collar» (кітель/мундир), «pea-jacket» (бушлат) etc.

d) Military personnel and commanders: «ataman» (отаман), «non-commissioned officer» (унтер-офіцер) etc.

The nationally biased lexicon that is classified by local characteristics (depending on national and language belonging) includes:

In the plane of one language:

1) The native nationally biased lexicon (mostly native words of this language): «ale» (ель) etc.

2) The borrowed nationally biased lexicon (mostly loan words, to put this in another way, words of foreign origin, that are used in the vocabulary of a language or loan translations which are morpheme or word for word translations of the names of objects foreign to this nation as well the transcribed nationally biased lexicon of the other language: «brynza» (румун.) (бринза), «business» (амер.) (бізнес), «satellite» (рос.) (супутник) etc.

In the plane of two languages:

1) The external nationally biased lexicon (equally foreign to both languages): «fiord» (фіорд) (the external nationally biased word for Ukrainian, Bulgarian or any other language except the Norwegian language).

2) The internal nationally biased lexicon (the words which belong to one language of a pair, consequently, foreign for the other language of it: «fiord» (фіорд) (this word «fiord» is the eternal nationally biased word for Norwegian language in the pair of Ukrainian and Norwegian languages).

There are two essential difficulties when translating the nationally biased lexicon:

1) Absence of the correspondences (equivalents, analogues) in the target language because of absence of an object, which this nationally biased word defines, in the native speakers’ language.

2) Necessity not only to pass the subject meaning (semantics) of the nationally biased word, but its connotation and national and historical colouring.

This process of translation is complicated by necessity to take into account a number of circumstances that prevent to give one answer for all the problems of translation. It is absolutely clear that there are no any recipes of faithful and successful translation. A translator, taking into account theoretical explanations and being guided by the own knowledge of the language, own experience and insight, and above all the things by «contextual circumstances», chooses the way that is the most appropriate and sometimes the only possible in each separate case.

In practice of translation there are such devices of the nationally biased lexicon translation:

1) Transcription and transliteration.

2) Replacements.

3) Contextual translation.

1) Transcription of the nationally biased lexicon foresees mechanical transference of the nationally biased word from the target language in the source one by the graphic devices of the latter with the maximal approaching to the original form. For example: «Whig» (віг, член партії вігів), «Utah» (Юта – Штат США) etc.

The desire and necessity of using transcription when passing the nationally biased lexicon is conditioned by the circumstance that a translator can get possibility to overcome the difficulties of translation, but if the choice between transcription is done incorrectly, it can very complicate understanding of a text translated by the reader.

Transliteration of the nationally biased lexicon foresees passing letters, which make the English word, by the letters of the source language. For example: «Waterloo» (Ватерлоо), «Murray» (р. Муррей) etc.

2) Replacement as a device of passing the nationally biased lexicon to the source language is used when transcription or transliteration is impossible or undesirable in some this or those cases.

After transcription and transliteration creating a neologism is a most suitable way of saving the meaning and colouring of the nationally biased word translated. It is often possible to obtain the good effect of the translation with creation of a new word or word-combination. For example: «carpet-bagger» (саквояжник – сіверянин, який добився впливу та багатства на Півдні), «seven-league boots» (чоботи-скороходи) etc.

Approximate translation of the nationally biased lexicon is used more frequently than any other method. Using this method it is often possible to pass the subject meaning of the nationally biased lexicon, though not exactly enough, but the colouring is often lost as a replacement of the expected connotative equivalent for neutral one in style in other word with zero connotation takes place.

There are several cases of replacement in translation:

a) A principle of replacement by unit of correspondent gender and kind allows passing meaning of the nationally biased lexicon by the unit with more widespread meaning (rarely, narrower meaning) and permits replacing the superordinate concept by the gender term. As a matter of fact, replacing a kind by gender, more partial concept by more general one, a translator applies method of generalization that is known in the theory of translation. For example: «cottage» (будинок) etc.

This method of translation is possible if allowed by context.

b) A functional analogue is the element of final utterance that causes the east reaction at the Ukrainian reader. This way of translation of the nationally biased lexicon allows, for example, the name of one game unknown to the reader of translation to replace by the other, familiar, one or to replace the name of one musical instrument by the other neutral name, not coloured nationally in the source language text etc. An analogue should represent indeed the functional replacement of the nationally biased lexicon that is translated. For example: «baseball» (лапта), «cricket» (лапта) etc.

A functional analogue is often comfortable for passing the nationally biased lexicon that names measures, in particular, when they are intended for creation of some qualitative ideas or conceptions at the reader. For example: «hundred poods» (сто пудів) means «very heavy» (дуже важкий), «couple of pounds» (пара фунтів) means «a little; not much; not many; a few» (небагато) etc.

с) Description, explanation, interpretation, as a method of approximate translation is used in those cases, when there is no the other way and notion that can not be passed by transcription is necessary to be explained. For example: «the boys were playing fly up» (хлопчики грали у м’яча) etc.

An approximate translation of the nationally biased lexicon is not faithful, as it doesn’t pass the meaning of the proper unit fully. In concern to the national and cultural colouring, a reader can guess of it, only if a translator managed to suggest it by the choice of devices of expression.

3) Contextual translation is usually contrasted to «dictionary translation», thus marking out the correspondences, which a word can have in a context unlike given in a dictionary. This mean of translation lies in replacement of dictionary correspondences when translating by contextual, logically related ones. At the same time the absence of some correspondences of a word translated is a distinctive feature and the meaning of a word is passed by the context transformed properly. For example: «How much are accommodations at health resorts?» (Скільки коштує путівка на курорт?) etc.

Thus, these are the basic devices of translation of the nationally biased lexicon. Every time they put a translator before an alternative of transcribing or translating. The choice depends on some preconditions:

Дата добавления: 2014-12-23