Predicate translation

Lexical metonymic transformations are often applied in translating predicates. This is due to the fact that in Russian the action is mostly expressed by the verb, whereas English implies the action by verbalizing the state with a nominal language unit.

These interlingual metonymic relations are typical of translating predicates expressed by

· the link verb to be + an adverbial phrase of place: We were at school together when we were boys. – В детстве мы учились в одной школе. Are the boys in bed? – Мальчики спят?174 This metonymic transformation is a kind of modulation, or logical development of the notion.

· to be + adjective / participle: Still she was hesitant. – Она все еще колебалась. Don’t berude! – Не груби! Don’t be so literal. – Не понимай все так буквально. I am serious. – Я говорю серьезно. By the time it was dark they were airborne. – К тому времени, когда стемнело, они уже летели на самолете.

· to be + noun: She is not much of a cook. – Она плохо готовит. If your handwriting is illegible, you are a fast thinker. – Если у вас неразборчивый почерк, значит, вы быстро думаете.

There are structures with abstract nouns: I am a bad influence on you. – Я плохо на вас в­лияю. It was some consolation that Harry was to be there. – Несколько утешало то, что там должен был быть Гарри. These nouns mostly indicate a temporary state, whereas class nouns denote characteristic, typical features of the subject.175

As compared with Russian, it is much easier in English to derive an affixed noun, especially from a verb stem: Always a mouth-breather, he was biting his tongue now and panting slightly. – Поскольку он всегда дышал ртом, сейчас он кусал язык и тяжело дышал. These nouns are mostly new words, not yet fixed by a dictionary. Nevertheless their meanings are easily guessed from the context and given an explicatory translation: He is a muster. – Он любит командовать.

English is also different from Russian in having close links between a predicative (nominal part of the predicate) and its modifiers that normally are introduced between the linking verb and the predicative, that is, the nominal part of a predicate: Vladivostok is 7 hours ahead of Moscow time. – Владивостокское время опережает московское на семь часов. The wall is six feet high. – Стена высотой в два метра. He was mountain born. – Он родился в горах. She was house proud. – Она гордилась своим домом.176 In English, the modifier refers to the noun predicative and is expressed by an adjective. In Russian it corresponds to the adverb modifying the verb: The children are taken good care of. – О детях хорошо заботятся.

The Russian adverb also corresponds to the English adjective after linking verbs (to be, seem, become, smell, taste, feel, sound). – The lunch smells delicious. – Обед пахнет превосходно. She looks good. – Она хорошо выглядит­.

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