International and pseudo-international words in translation

International words are defined as words of identical origin that occur in several languages as a result of simultaneous or successive borrowings from one ultimate source (I.V.Arnold, R.S.Ginzburgh, etc). Research into this category of words has revealed that it is not homogeneous and alongside true international words there are several groups of words which coincide only in their outer form, but not in meaning. They are qualified as pseudo-international words, false equivalents and misleading words of foreign origin. Disregard of this category of words may cause mistakes in translation so it is natural that not only special numerous papers are devoted to this problem, in recent years there have been published several dictionaries that collect related words in different languages. P. Palazhchenko, a well-known translator and interpreter, has collected in his dictionary «Мой несистематический словарь» ( 2003)cases of divergences in related English and Russian words that are often neglected and thus result in translation errors. As an example we can refer to the words aggressive – агрессивный. The English word has positive connotations: very determined to win or be successful; assertive; forceful. Its Russian counterpart was initially devoid of positive connotations, but now we are witnessing changes in it under the influence of English as combinations like агрессивная кампания, агрессивная реклама become loaded with positive evaluations.

The most well known dictionaries in this country which compare English and Russian related units are: V.V. Akulenko ‘English-Russian and Russian-English Dictionary of Misleading Words, M., 1969; L.I. Borisova ‘Misleading Words. General scientific lexis, M., 2002; A.I. Pakhotin “English-Russian and Russian-English Dictionary of Translators’ False Friends”, 2003. The dictionary by L.I. Borisova is restricted to terms, the approach adopted in the dictionary by A.I. Pakhotin is too broad as he compares words at random that are not related in origin, cf. solid – солидный. Of great theoretical interest and practical help is the dictionary compiled by V.V. Akulenko.

V.V.Akulenko singles out three groups of related words in English and in Russian which may be referred to misleading words:

1) inter-language relative synonyms,

2) inter-language homonyms,

3) inter-language paronyms [Акуленко 1969: 371-372].

Inter-language relative synonyms coincide partially in their meaning and usage, inter-language homonyms coincide in their sound or graphic form, but have different meanings, inter-language paronyms are partially alike in their form, but they arouse false associations in meaning though they are different in that respect. The author does not accept the term ‘deceptive cognates’ suggested by R. Lado instead of the word- combination ‘misleading words of foreign origin’ as it is clear from the above definitions that not all groups are related in their origin.

V.V.Akulenko collected in his dictionary 900 pairs of English and Russian misleading words of various types. On the basis of the analysis of related words the author establishes the following kinds of discrepancies between them:

a) inter-language relative synonyms that may have the following points of difference:

· the difference in the denotational component of meaning, e.g. депо – depot. The English word has four meanings: 1) storehouse for goods, 2) a place where military stores are kept and new soldiers are trained, 3) a railway station, usu small, or a bus station, 4) a place where buses are kept and not repaired, a bus garage. The Russian counterpart has a slightly different set of meanings that correspond to the English: shed, roundhouse; fire-station (for the word-combination пожарное депо).

· the difference in combinability: absolutely – абсолютно, cf. to absolutely agree with – согласиться без возражений; to vanish absolutely – полностью исчезнуть.

· the difference in the connotational component, cf. consultation (styl. neutral) and консультация (bookish); compilation (neutral) – компиляция (negative);

b) inter-language homonyms the meanings of which have nothing in common as they appear as a result of accidental coincidence, e.g. actual – актуальный (pressing, urgent, vital, of great contemporary interest, topical); translate – транслировать (to transmit, to broadcast, to relay);

c) inter-language paronyms have no common meanings despite their near identity in form, e.g. intelligent – интеллигентский. The Russian word has two meanings: 1) characteristic of intellectuals, 2) weak-willed, hesitating; while the English word means 1 ) clever, understanding, thoughtful; 2) smart, witty.

L.I.Borisova studied correlations of English and Russian pseudo-international words in scientific texts and established some regularities in their translation:

specialization of an English general scientific word, e.g. companion device – вспомогательное устройство; some styles – некоторые модели,

de-internationalization of an English word, e.g. compromise and its non-international translations into Russian, cf. the best compromise – оптимальное соотношение, as a compromise – в качестве промежуточного варианта; optimistic – завышенный, pessimistic – заниженный.

stylistic neutralization of an English general scientific word which is stylistically marked, e.g. microprocessor’s talents – потенциальные возможности микропроцессора; provocative – интересный, представляющий интерес.

Thus, the category of misleading words is of great theoretical and practical importance for translators and it should be given the utmost attention it deserves in order to avoid errors in the work of both experienced translators and beginners.

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