Antonymic Translation

This type of transformation means that a certain word is translated not by a corresponding word of TL but by its antonym, with negation being added at the same time (or, if there is negation in the original sentence, it is omitted in translation):

It was n ’t too far. – Це виявилось досить близько.

I’ve lost her. – Я її не зберіг.

“ Far ” is translated as “ близько ” and negation in the predicate is omitted.

The necessity for this transformation arises due to several reasons:

1. peculiarities of the systems of SL and TL:

a) in Ukrainian the negative prefix “ не ” coinsides in its form with the negative particle “ не ”, while in English they differ (un-, in-, im-, dis-, mis-, ir-, etc., and the negative suffix –less on the one hand and the particle “ not ” on the other); so it is quite normal to say “ not impossible, not misunderstand, not unnecessary ” in English, while in Ukrainian “не неможливо, не не розуміти, не необхідно” is bad;

b) groups of antonyms in SL and TL do not necessarily coincide: in English the word “ advantage ” has an antonym “ disadvantage ”, while in Ukrainian the word “ перевага ” has no antonym, English has antonyms “ to arrange – to disarrange ”, while Ukrainian has only “ систематизувати ”, etc.

2. contextual requirements:

Sometimes antonyms become the most adequate way of rendering the contextual meaning:

a murderer is only safe when he is in prison

вбивця не становить загрози лиш тоді, коли сидить в тюрмі”.

In a particular context this transformation may help to render emotional and stylistic coloring of the text:

“He’s probably thirsty. Why don’t you give him some milk?” – “Мабуть, він хоче пити. Може, дати йому молока?”

Direct translation “Чому б не дати йому молока?” is not colloquial, while the heroes of P.G.Wodehouse speak in a highly informal way.

3. traditional norms of TL:

“I only wish I could. I wish I had the time” (S.Leacock)

“Мені дуже шкода, що я не можу. На жаль, у мене немає часу”.

The variant “Я би хотів, щоб я міг (в минулому)” is not Ukrainian.

Antonymic translation allows the translator to create a more natural grammatical structure in TL in cases, when the grammatical form comes into conflict with the rules of lexical compatibility and deprives the target text its expressiveness and clarity.

The following complex lexical-grammatical replacement is broadly spread: affirmative construction is transformed into a negative one and visa versa:

Sal.: Stradlater didn’t say anything.	Стредлер промовчав. (Сказати – промовчати)
I’m not kidding.	Я вам серйозно кажу. (Жартувати – говорити серйозно)
I meant it, too.	І я не прикидався.
That doesn’t happen much, though.	Проте це нерідко трапляється.
She wasn’t looking too happy.	Вигляд у неї був доволі нещасний.
I don’t hate too many guys.	Я дуже мало кого ненавиджу.
I don’t believe this is a smoker.	Мені здається, це вагон для тих, хто не палить.
They all had on the kind of hats that you knew they didn’t really live in New York.	По їхніх капелюшках зразу ж було видно, що вони звідкілясь приїхали.
I couldn’t think of anybody to call up.	Я подумав, що дзвонити мені нема кому.

Typical is the use of antonymic translation in rendering English construction not... (un)til... into Ukrainian; (un)til being changed into “ лише тоді, тільки (тоді), коли”, which to some extent may be considered its antonyms:

	He did not begin to calm down until he had cut the tops off every camelia bush Mrs. Dubose owned (To kill...)	Він трохи оговтався лишень тоді, коли позбивав верхівки з усіх камелій місіс Дюбоуз.
	They gave me the wrong book, and I didn’t notice it till I got back to my room. (Sal.)	Я тількивдома помітив, що мені дали не ту книгу.
I didn’t think of it till we went half-way through the park.	Згадав я про це, коли ми вже проїхали майже весь парк.
He didn’t believe it until he saw the ruined farm.	Він повірив у це, тільки коли сам побачив зруйновану ферму.

It should be kept in mind, that negation in English is not necessarily expressed by the particle not, but other devices as well, e.g., with the help of preposition without:

He never met him afterwards without asking him.	Після цього він кожен раз під час зустрічі питав його.
The Radley-house had no screen doors.	Двері в них були суцільними.

Antonyms exist among such auxiliary parts of speech, as prepositions and particles:

Keep the child out of the sun.	Не тримайте дитину на сонці.
Keep off the grass.	Не ходити по траві!
Not tooloud, please!	Тихше, будь-ласка!

Replacement of adjective or adverb in comparative or superlative degree by an adjective or adverb in neutral or zero degree or visa versa, which is followed by changing the construction “sign” + ð -; - ð + is a special type of antonymic translation:

She paid Riri’s parents the proper visit of condolence, but she neither ate less heartily nor slept less soundly. (Maugham. A man with a Conscience)	Вона, як годиться, відвідала батьків Рірі, принесла їм свої співчуття. Проте їла так само з апетитом і спала так само міцно, як завжди.
I’m the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life (Sal.)	Я страшенний брехун – такого ви ніколи в житті не бачили.
It wasn’t as cold as it was the day before.	Стало тепліше, ніж учора.

The example of transforming affirmative construction into a negative one, is not accompanied by an antonymic replacement, but replacement of a compound sentence by a simple one and by the change of a syntactical function of the word before – “раніше”:

It will be February 8 before they return to Earth.

Вони (астронавти) повернуться на землю нераніше ніж 8 лютого.

If there are two negations present in one sentence, then the translation is made according to mathematical principle, i.e. when “minus plus minus in sum give plus”:

– When does she want to go? – ASAP, but she cannot book a flight until after the FAX comes that will help her get her visa.	– Коли вона хоче полетіти? – Якомога швидше, але вона зможе замовити квиток на літак тільки тоді, коли надійде факс, що допоможе їй отримати візу.
Once your hard disk is installed it should not be removed unless it is damaged or you upgrade to a larger disk.	Якщо жорсткий диск встановлено, то знімати його слід лише тоді, коли він пошкоджений або коли ви хочете замінити його на більш місткий.
But he was no outfielder as Ikey was.	Йому більше таланило, ніж Айкі. (Він не був таким невдахою, як Айкі.)
“A Forsyte”, replied young Jolion, “is not an uncommon animal.”	„Форсайт, – відповів молодий Джуліан, – досить звичайна тварина“.

Double negation frequently occurs in scientific-technical literature and colloquial expressions:

If I don’t misunderstand you…	Якщо я вас правильно розумію…
Not infrequently…	Досить часто…
Not disconnected with…	Що має певний (деякий) зв’язок з…
Not without reason…	Досить обґрунтовано (не без причини)…
Not inconsiderable…	Досить значний…
This may not seem unusual except we are on an enormous hill and it was blizzard conditions out.	Це здається досить звичним, якщо не знаєш, що ми знаходимося на високому пагорбі, а на вулиці страшна завірюха…
Nothing is impossible for him…	Він все подолає… (Для нього немає нічого неможливого)…
He doesn’t want to disobey you.	Він хоче вас слухатись…
We cannot (help) but hope he is right…	Нам залишається лише сподіватись, що він має рацію…

Antonymic translation is sometimes caused by lexical differences:

Snowdrifts three feet deep.

Кучугури з метр заввишки.

The city is built on terraces rising from the lake.

Місто збудоване на терасах, що збігають до озера.

Questions for discussion:

1. What types of lexical replacements do you know?

2. What is concretization?

3. What is generalization?

4. Can you explain the replacement of effecr by cause and vice versa?

5. How is antonymic translation manifested in translation?

6. What levels of translation are involved in antonymic translation?

Translate the following text into Ukrainian:

(The continuation)

Many American place-names are purely arbitrary coinages. Towns on the border between two states, or near the border, are often given names made of parts of the names of the two states, e. g., Pen-Mar (Pennsylvania+Maryland), Mar-Del (Maryland + Delaware), Texarkana (Texas+Arkansas), Kanorado (Kansas+Colorado), Tex-homa (Texas+Oklahoma), Dakoming (Dakota + Wyoming), Texico (Texas+New Mexico), Calexico (California+Mexico). Norlina is a telescope form of North Carolina. Ohiowa (Neb.) was named by settlers who came partly from Ohio and partly from Iowa. Colwich (Kansas) is a telescope form of the name of the Colorado and Wichita Railroad. There are two Delmars in the United States. The name of one is a blend of Delaware and Maryland. Cadams (Neb.) is a collision form of C. Adams; Wascott (Wis.) derives from W. A. Scott; Eleroy (III.) from E. Leroy; Bucoda (Wash.) is a blend of Buckley, Collier and Davis; Gilsum (N. H.) is a blend of Gilbert and Sumner, Marenisco (Mich.) is named after Mary Relief Niles Scott; Miloma (Minn.) derives its name from the first syllable of Milwaukee, and the first two syllables of Omaha; Gerled (Iowa) is a blend of Germanic and Ledyard, the names of two nearby townships; Rolyat (Ore.) is simply Taylor spelled backward; Biltmore (N. C.) is the last syllable of Vanderbilt plus the Gaelic Grundwort, more.

The main port of Belgium is Antwerpen (in Dutch) and is translated as Antwerp in English, Amberes in Spanish, and Anvers in French. A curious detail is that Belgian francophones pronounce the final "s" of Anvers, while the French do not. There is a legend about the name Antwerpen. In the Middle Ages a mean and nasty giant controlled traffic across the River Schelde, and asked for exorbitant tolls, exploiting the local population. A brave young man, named Brabo, confronted and defeated the giant. Brabo cut off one of the giant's hands with his sword and then threw it across the river. A town was founded on that site. The name of the town was Hantwerpen, a name derived from the Flemish words for hand and throw. With time, the initial "H" was left unpronounced yielding Antwerpen. Despite the fact that this seaport is a bastion of Flemish nationalism, its football team playing in the Belgian first division league is known by its English spelling, Antwerp, and not by its Dutch spelling Antwerpen.

Another city name that may lead to confusion is Liege, a city where French has flourished for centuries. It is Liege in French, Lieja in Spanish, and Lüttich in German. Despite its strong attachment to French culture, Liege was governed by a Prince-Bishop who was an elector of the German Empire. Hence for several centuries the city and its dependencies were part of the German Empire. Thus, when searching for documents on Liege, and particularly on ecclesiastical history, the name Lüttich may appear instead of Liege, even in documents written in English.- A translator not familiar with its history may unwittingly lead the reader to confusion by using an inappropriate name for the city.

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