Translation of Word Combinations

1. Translation of Free Word Combinations

Translation of Attribute Groups

The attribute group consists of two words.

In these word-combinations the right noun is a prop word (опорное слово) and the left noun is a determiner ( определяющее).

Most often the prop word is considered the first member, and the determiner is the second member. But there are cases when it is absolutely appropriate to translate such word combinations from left to right, for example, security forces - службы безопасности.

From the structurally-semantic point of view attribute word-combinations are divided into two groups:

Type of the word-combination	English example	Russian translation
Adjective / Participle + noun (A / P + N)	Operating budget	Операционный [текущий] бюджет
Noun + noun (N + N)	Labour victory	Победа лейбористов (но не Лейбористская победа)

The attribute group (or the nomial word-combination) can be introduced by articles, possessive pronouns (this, that), indefinite pronouns (some, any), negative pronouns and nouns in the possessive case. They serve as syntactic words but not as members of word-combinations. As a rule they refer to the prop word.

One should bear in mind that these syntactic words are the markers of the left border of the word-combination, and the marker of the right border cannot be anything but a noun.

Ex: some rebranding tips – some tips on rebranding

Helpfully, she later shared some rebranding tips with the Financial Times.

Позже она любезно согласилась поделиться некоторымисоветами по возрождению бренда с журналистами газеты Financial Times.

In order to understand the noun + noun word combination correctly it is necessary to establish a sense connection between its members. Quite often to achieve this aim the translator has to restructure the attribute group, using a suitable preposition which will connect both nouns into a logical word combination.

Ex: property administration = administration of property (управление недвижимостью)

Translation of Three-Member Word-Combinations

This kind of word-combinations differs from the two-member one by the fact that there is one more third element, which is the extreme (крайний) left member.

Type of the word-combination	Word-combination	Translation	Explanation
N + N + N	Family size norm	Норма размера семьи (средний размер семьи)	1) the norm of size - норма размера; 2) the size of a family - размер семьи
A / P + N + N	Minimum wage legislation	Законодательство о минимальной заработной плате	1) wage - заработная плата; 2) minimum wage - минимальная заработная плата; 3) wage legislation - законодательство о заработной плате

Most often the third member is closely connected with the first one, but in any case the correct translation depends upon the context.

NB! The ability to define the current structural type is very important for the correct understanding:

Ex: the forward car wheels = 1) передние колеса а/м;

2) колеса передней а/м

Translation of Multinuclear Nomial Combinations

The multinuclear nomial combination consists of four and more members. They can be represented by the following structures: N + N + N + N, N + A / P + N + N, A / P + N + N + N, A / P + N + N + N + N, N_abbr. +A + N + N + N, A + N + A + N + N + N, A / P + N + N + N + N + A + N, and others.

The table below contains some examples of such word combinations. As in the previous cases to translate them correctly you should start with the head noun and proceed in reverse or­der to the initial word, analyzing the semantic interrelations between the components of the multinomial.

Type of the word-combination	Word-combination	Translation	Explanation
N + N + N + N	Customer relationship management system	Система управления взаимоотношениями с клиентами	1) the system of management; 2) management of relationship; 3) the relationship with customers 4) the system of customer relationship management
N + A / P + N + N	Government-controlled gas company	Контролируемая государством газовая компания	1) the company; 2) the gas company; 3) the gas company controlled by the government
A / P + N + N + N	Common market grain prices	Цены на зерно на мировом рынке	1) the prices; 2) the prices for grain; 3) the prices for grain on the market; 4) the market is common
A / P + N + N + N + N + A + N	Long-Term-Disability workers compensation medical benefits	Медицинские выплаты в качестве компенсации для работников с долговременной нетрудоспособностью	1) benefits - выплаты; 2) medical benefits; 3) workers compensation benefits (пособие по нетрудоспособности); 4) disability benefits (пособие по нетрудоспособности); 5) long-term disability

Translation of attributive quotations or multicomponent word combinations with internal predication also requires special skills. As a rule, they are represented by the structure: noun (in the function of a prop word) + quotation.

Ex: ‘Hands off Syria’ call – Призыв «Руки прочь от Сирии»

2. Translation of Bound Word Combinations

English bound word-combinations are divided into set-phrases and figurative phraseological units (idioms).

Set expression is any expression which offers a ready-made way of saying something. (Oxford Concise Dictionary of Linguistics, p. 141) For example, to earn one's living - зарабатывать на жизнь; by the way - кстати, между прочим, etc. It should be noted that such word combinations don’t present any difficulty for the translator.

The problem usually arises when translating phraseological units (or idioms). As a rule, they produce “a considerable expressive effect for, besides conveying information, they appeal to the reader’s emotions, his aesthetic perception, his literary and cultural associations. Whenever the author of the source text uses a phraseological unit, it is the translator’s duty to try and reproduce it with the utmost fidelity”. (Olga Churilova, http://passexam.cc.ua/handling-phraseological-units/)

Idiom is an expression which functions as a single unit and whose meaning cannot be worked out from its separate parts. (Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics, p. 246)

We distinguish between two types of idioms: phraseological fusions (фразеологическое сращение) and phraseological unities.

Type of idiom	Example	Translation
Phraseological fusions are word combinations whose meaning cannot be derived from the meaning of their elements.	Even in the 1969s, when the fashion was democratized and everyone claimed the right to be stylish, the marketers had the upper hand.	Даже в 1960-е, когда мода стала демократичнее и каждый считал, что он имеет право выглядеть стильно, последнее слово все равно оставалось за маркетологами.
Phraseological unities are word combinations whose meaning is partially dependent on the meaning of their individual words. (Dubrovin, A Book of Russian Idioms Illustrated, p. 5)	The actual use of the bomb in cold blood on Hiroshima is the most horrible single act so far performed. (C. P. Snow, ‘The New Men’, part IV, ch. 27)	Атомную бомбу сбросили на Хиросиму вполне хладнокровно; это самое ужасное преступление, какое только можно себе представить.

In the majority of cases it is impossible to translate idioms literally, that is why m any linguists and translators have characterized them as ‘untranslatables’. As a rule they have their equivalents in the TL. But there are a number of idioms with complete or partial correspondence in both languages.

Translation of Idioms

Translation	English idiom	Russian idiom
- by means of the TL idiom which is identical to the SL idiom in all aspects of its semantics (absolute equivalent); - by means of the TL idiom which coincides with the SL idiom in meaning and style, but differs in some lexical or grammatical aspects such as word-order, word-form, etc. (relative equivalent)	to play with fire (to be involved in something risky)	играть с огнём, рисковать
drop sb. a line     I’ll drop you a line as soon as I get there.	черкнуть несколько строк   Я черкну тебе пару строк, как только приеду туда.
- by means of the corresponding TL analogue, when different imagery is used to convey the same idea	a free hand   Usually, however, Lincoln left his generals a pretty free hand in such matters. (W. Foster, ‘The Negro People in American History’, ch. 25)	полная свобода действий Впрочем, обычно Линкольн предоставлял своим генералам значительную свободу действий в подобных делах.
If an idiom doesn’t have an equivalent in the TL, it can be translated:   - by means of literal translation or calque;     - by means of descriptive translation (explicating the figurative meaning of the SL idiom)	vanity fair     Had he not been so great a prince very few possibly would have visited him; but in Vanity Fair the sins of very great personages are looked at indulgently. (W. Thackeray, ‘Vanity Fair’, ch. XLVII)	ярмарка тщеславия, базар житейской суеты   Если бы лорд Стайн не был таким знатным вельможей, очень немногие посещали бы его, но на Ярмарке Тщеславия снисходительно смотрят на грехи великих особ. [выражение впервые встречается в книге Дж. Беньяна «Странствие пилигрима» а также в названии романа У. Теккерея]
to have one’s cake and eat it too (to enjoy both of two desirable but incompatible alternatives)	совмещать несовместимое

Lecture 5

Дата добавления: 2015-07-10