Theory of translation
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Chapter 5. TRANSLATING PRONOUNS§1. TRANSLATING PERSONAL PRONOUNSOne of the most difficult problems is translating pronouns of the second person. The modern English you corresponds to the Russian ты and вы, though Russian ты also corresponds to the English archaic thou, now used only in poetry. To select a proper equivalent to the English you, a translator should clearly understand the function of this pronoun in the sentence. The Russian ты and вы differ in their social status, ты indicating a person of lower status. For example, “The American Tragedy” by T. Dreiser has an episode describing Clyde’s transfer from one prison to another. “And girls and women …[were] calling to him gaily and loudly as the train moved out from one station to another: ‘Hello, Clyde! Hope to see you again soon. Don’t stay too long there.’” This episode has been translated the following way: «И бывало, что какая-нибудь женщина или девушка ,,, громко и весело кричала вслед отходящему поезду: “Хэлло, Клайд! Мы еще увидимся. Смотрите, не задерживайтесь там”.» Evidently, it is unnatural that passersby address a prisoner using the polite вы. Sometimes the meaning of ты as an indicator of a person’s low social status can be derogatory. In Russian-to-English translation it can be compensated by expressive means. For instance, Да вечно ли ты мне дорогу перебегать будешь? – Damn it… you’re not always going to stand in my way, are you? The English sentence expresses irritation and manifests the addressee’s low social position, as it begins with a very emphatic interjection and ends in a tag-question. Another function of the Russian ты is to demonstrate friendly or intimate relations between the speakers: Я ведь думала, что ты там… у дяди! – You see, darling, I thought you were at your uncle’s. As you see, again compensation is of great help here. In some cases explicatory translation can be used to render the meaning of the Russian ты: Они говорили друг другу ты. – They spoke to each other like two old friends. A translator should be familiar with ethical norms characteristic of the cultures in question. These norms may affect the usage of the pronouns. For example, English-speaking countries’ ethical norms allow people to talk about a person who is nearby in the third person singular (by employing the pronouns he or she). In the Russian community the usage of он/она is considered impolite if the person spoken about is in the same room. Pronoun usage in a political and economic context can imply certain conclusions. For example, the pronoun she is sometimes employed when developed countries are spoken about. In contrast to she, the pronoun it often refers to developing countries (though it may also be neutral in political sense). For example, When Italy invaded Ethiopia, she was not yet checked by the League of nations. … it [Ethiopia] was not sufficiently advanced to enter the League. – Когда Италия вторглась в Эфиопию, Лига наций не остановила ее. ... Та (Эфиопия) еще была недостаточно развитым государством, чтобы войти в Лигу наций. Furthermore, there is a traditional reference in English to a vehicle (a boat, car, etc.) in the form of she: Look at my new car – isn't she beautiful? – Посмотри на мою новую машину – не правда ли красивая? There is also some pragmatic difference between using English and Russian personal pronouns. English, being an egocentric language, is speaker-centered; Russian is considered to be an “alter-egocentric” listener-centered language. Therefore, in English speech the pronoun I sounds much oftener than in Russian, so in translation it is frequently substituted by ты/вы: How do I know this? – А как вы это докажете? I wonder what he did? – Что он такое сделал, как ты думаешь? I’ll take eggs and ham. – Давай яичницу с ветчиной. No doubt, one shouldn’t overuse this transformation. This is merely a tendency, not a fixed rule. It should be kept in mind that pronoun repetition can lead to differences in the sentences. Cf., Mom came in the room and turned off the lights. – Мама вошла в комнату и выключила свет. Mom came into the room and she turned off the lights. – Мама вошла в комнату, и это она выключила свет. The first sentence expresses a succession of two actions; the second, a sort of complaint about Mom’s turning off the lights, is emphasized in Russian by an expressive construction. An English co-referential pronoun can precede the noun, which is alien to Russian. Therefore, a translator should not be confused by who is meant in the sentence: When he arrived, John went straight to the bank. – Приехав, Джон сразу отправился в банк. A visit to her invalid parents in Indiana… gave New York City actress Gretchen Cryer an idea. – Когда нью-йоркская актриса Гретхен Крайер навестила своих больных родителей в Индиане, ей пришла в голову одна идея. If a pronoun must be verbalized,there should be a change of word order. When translating from Russian into English, students are sometimes baffled by a form of English pronouns, used in certain positions. Such is a long-standing problem of competitive pronouns in the Nominative case and those in the Objective case in the predicative function: Это я (он, она и т.д.). - It’s I (he, she, etc.) or It’s me (him, her, etc.). After long arguments, grammarians came to the conclusion that the first version (It’s I) sounds very formal, whereas the second version (It’s me) is neutral and informal. The same holds true in reference to comparative structures: Он старше меня. – He is older than me. / He is older than I. The latter English version is more formal. The same stylistic coloring differentiates sentences with a personal pronoun after but: Никто кроме меня не сделает этого. – Nobody but me can do it. / Nobody but I can do it. The latter form, being hypercorrect, is no longer used.128 In coordinate phrases with the conjunction and/or, the case form depends on the pronoun’s syntactic function. As a subject, pronouns take the Nominative case form; as an object, they take an objective case form: You and I should be friends. In alter-egocentric Russian, this conjoint meaning is expressed differently, with the pronoun I avoided: Мы с тобой должны быть друзьями. That should be between you and me. – Это должно остаться между нами. She didn’t hit him or me. – Она не ударила ни его, ни меня. §2. TRANSLATING POSSESSIVE PRONOUNSUnlike Russian, English possessive pronouns are normally used with nouns denoting a body part or some personal thing. They are usually not translated into Russian: Mary broke herleg when she was skiing in Austria. – Мэри сломала ногу, когда каталась на лыжах в Австрии. There stood a man at the door with his hat in his hand. – В дверях стоял мужчина со шляпой в руке. When making a translation, Russian students are sometimes uncertain of the choice between the English definite article the and the possessive pronoun. The definite article is usual in prepositional phrases related to the object (or, in passive constructions, the subject): Девчушка взяла меня за руку. – The girl took me by the hand. Должно быть, что-то ударило меня по голове. – Something must have hit me on the head.129 In oral translation from English into Russian, care should be taken about homophones that sound very much alike:
Another problem is the alteration between Russian synonymous possessive pronouns: свой and его, её. When the pronoun is co-referential with the sentence subject, свой is used. Его, её imply different subjects: He is speaking about his business. – Он говорит о своем деле. She is speaking about his business. – Она говорит о его деле. Свой – мой, твой, наш, ваш differ pragmatically: the pronouns of the first and second person are much more expressive than the pronoun свой: «…У Лермонтова противопоставление всей вашей черной кровью поэта праведную кровь выходит сильнее, чем если бы было сказано: всей своей черной кровью,» A. Peshkovsky, an outstanding Russian linguist, remarked.130 The Russian pronoun свой is convenient for referring to nouns of general gender. In today’s English, due to anti-sexist tendencies, double pronouns are used: A student who wishes to apply for a grant must send in his/her application form before the session begins. – Студенты, желающие обратиться за стипендией, должны представить свои заявления до начала сессии. §3. TRANSLATING RELATIVE PRONOUNSWhen using pronouns, it is necessary to avoid ambiguity in sentences. This ambiguity can be caused by the inappropriate position or form of the pronoun: *Вследствие интенсивного лова в Охотском море возникла угроза исчезновения минтая, которая является наиболее ценной рыбой в этом море. The sentence is agrammatical because of the incorrect form of the pronoun которая following the masculine and feminine nouns. The relative pronoun here should have been used in the masculine gender, since it refers logically to the word минтая. The feminine gender forces the reader to look for a nearby noun in the feminine, which proves to be the word угроза, though evidently the author of this translation intended to make agreement between the relative pronoun and the noun that follows, рыба. §4. TRANSLATING THE PRONOUN ONEA sentence with the English impersonal pronoun one can be rendered by a Russian impersonal sentence: One can easily understand peoples’ aspirations for world peace. – Легко можно понять стремление народов к миру во всем мире.131 Another way of translating English indefinite sentences with one is the Russian generalizing personal sentence implying the general ты: One is free to do as one likes so long as one’s habits do not irritate one’s companions. – Делать волен все, что хочешь, пока твои привычки не досаждают окружающим. Pay attention to using the pronoun one’s in the possessive form, if the sentence subject is expressed by one (the possessive pronoun is not substituted for any other pronoun, for instance, your.): e.g., One has to do one’s best. There is another way of rendering a universal meaning of an English sentence: with the help of the pronoun you. However, this can be understood as being directed to the receptor and, therefore, it can cause misunderstanding, as was brilliantly shown by J. London in his novel 'Martin Eden': “By the way, Mr. Eden,” she called back, as she was leaving the room, “what is booze? You used it several times, you know.” “Oh, booze,” he laughed. “It’s slang. It means whiskey, and beer – anything that will make you drunk.” “And another thing,” she laughed back. “Don’t use ‘you’ when you are impersonal. ‘You’ is very personal, and your use of it just now was not precisely what you meant.” “I don’t just see that.” “Why, you said just now to me, ‘whiskey and beer – anything that will make you drunk’ – make me drunk, don’t you see?” “Well, it would, wouldn’t it?” “Yes, of course,” she smiled. “But it would be nicer not to bring me into it. Substitute ‘one’ for ‘you’, and see how much better it sounds.”1 A translator should also know that you and one differ stylistically, you being informal and colloquial, and one sounding very formal and official. The English one can also function as a noun substitute. In translating to Russian, it is desirable not to repeat the word, but to use a synonym if the noun reduction is impossible: Tokyo – Japan’s most serious problem – and the one that is least discussed – is overpopulation. – Самая серьезная проблема Токио и всей Японии – вопрос, который обсуждается менее всего – это перенаселение. Russian-to-English translation is challenged by the choice between one and it. Compare, Надень шлем. Нельзя ездить без него. – Put on your helmet. It’s illegal to ride a bike without one. «Мне нравится этот шлем.» «Ну, и купи его.» “I like the helmet.” “So buy it.” The pronoun one represents a general notion; it refers to a specific thing. §5. TRANSLATING THE PRONOUNS КАЖДЫЙ / ВСЕThese pronouns correspond to English each and every. But they are not interchangeable in all cases. The pronoun every makes reference to a number of three or more. It correlates with unknown persons or things and has a collective reference. Therefore, every is usually translated by the Russian pronoun все. Each refers to a number of two and more. It stresses the idea of discreteness and refers to individuals already specified.132 This can be illustrated by the following sentences: Все дома на той улице были выкрашены в белый цвет. Они входили по очереди в каждый дом. – Every house in the street was painted white. They went to each house in turn. As compared with every, the pronoun all refers to the complete amount or number (of), or the whole (of): Весь импортируемый лес должен быть подвергнут химической обработке от всяких болезней. – All imported timber must be chemically treated against disease. §6. TRANSLATING PARTITIVE PRONOUNS SOME / ANYThe indefinite (partitive) pronouns some/any correspond to the Russian какой-то/какой-нибудь/какой-либо/немного. Their usage is determined by a positive or negative meaning implied by the speaker. Some is associated with the positive meaning; any, with the negative meaning. Cf., If you eat some porridge, I’ll give you a candy. – Если съешь немного каши, я дам тебе конфетку. (the implied consequence is positive.) If you eat any candy, I’ll punish you. – Если съешь хоть какую-нибудь конфету, я тебя накажу, where the consequence is sure to be negative. The same thing happens in negative sentences where a contrast of form and meaning takes place: I don’t mind some coffee. – Я не против выпить немного кофе. (the affirmative meaning: I am going to have a cup of coffee). I do mind any coffee. – Я возражаю против какого-либо кофе (the negative meaning: I won’t have coffee). In interrogative sentences, by using some the speaker anticipates an affirmative answer. When s/he uses any, the expected answer is likely to be negative. For example, Didn’t you publish some poems in this volume? – Разве неправда, что вы опубликовали несколько стихотворений в этом томике? Didn’t you publish any poetry in this book? – Правда, что вы не опубликовали никаких стихов в этом сборнике? In the interrogative sentence, the partitive any can presuppose the meaning of even the smallest amount or number of something: Is there any of that lemon cake left? In Russian, this partitive meaning can be stressed by the particle хоть: Остался хоть какой-нибудь кусочек лимонного торта? Another meaning of any – that of ‘not important’ which corresponds to the Russian любой: You can come any day you like. – Можешь прийти в любой день, когда захочешь. The partitive pronoun some can be substituted in Russian by the word одни ifthe sentence implies enumeration: Some blame it on television, or the weather, or bad films, or slimmer purses. – Одни винят в этом телевидение, другие – плохую погоду, третьи – плохие фильмы, четвертые – отощавшие кошельки. In this case, a translator must supply a sentence subject to all parallel objects. §7. TRANSLATING DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNSThe difference between the English this/these – that/those can be traced in four aspects which should be known to a translator:
This indicates something within the speaker’s reach; that, out of speaker’s reach, is separated from him by space. This difference is not as evident in Russian: (on the phone) Hello, this is Clair. Who is that speaking? Is that Mike? – Алло, Клер слушает. Кто это? Это Майк? When English-speaking people refer to this country, they mean their own country. In translation it should be substituted by the proper name: almost 53 years later, the King’s abdication has come to be widely seen as an inevitable event. At the time, it was a shock to many in this country and the Commonwealth. – Спустя почти 53 года всем стало очевидно, что отречения короля было неизбежно, а в то время многих в Англии и в Содружестве это приводило в ужас. This and that also indicate different directions of motion. Despite the space between the speaker and a person, the approaching person will be called this man. If a person is going away, he is referred to as that man. Compare the usage of the pronouns in the following sport commentator’s remark, which became a joke: Ladies and gentlemen, this is Stirling Moss, that was. Construed as the juxtaposition of the two pronouns, the joke could be rendered in Russian by means of compensation: Дамы и господа, к нам приближается Стирлинг Мосс… и вот его уже нет. The temporal difference between this and that is illustrated by the contrast between the present/future, on the one hand, and the past, on the other: This is odd. This will be interesting. That was nice. (Compare the Russian: Это странно. Это будет интересно. Это было неплохо.) In informal speech, notwithstanding space and time, this/these is used with positive connotations, to emphasize a good attitude to somebody/something, whereas that/those indicates a negative attitude: Then I saw away in the distance, this lovely girl. The speaker’s positive attitude to the girl can be compensated by an emphatic adjective or by some emotional affix, typical of Russian: И тогда я увидел вдалеке прелестн(ейш)ую девушку. Here is that awful Jones and those ugly children of his. – А вот и гадкий Джоунз и его скверные дети. A typical mistake made by Russians attempting to translate into English is overuse of the pronoun such corresponding to такой. Such is much more emphatic than the Russian такой. It can be used in emotional speech: Это такой хороший фильм! - It’s such a good film! But in neutral speech it is better to substitute такой by the pronouns this/that, that kind of, like that. For example, Он опять сделал такую же грубую ошибку. - He made that kind of blunder again. He made a blunder like that again. |