Theory of translation
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Chapter 6. TRANSLATING THE ARTICLEOne of the grammar challenges in translating from English, and especially into English, is the article, since this category no longer exists in the Russian language. Article translation depends on the function the article has in the sentence. §1. TRANSLATING THE INDEFINITE ARTICLEThe indefinite article can have the following functions in the sentence:
When in classifying function, the article signifies an object as a representative of a class. Usually it is not translated into Russian: He is a taxi-driver. – Он водитель такси. Some translation theorists call this a zero transformation. Another possible version of translation is the article compensation by the pronoun какой-то/какой-нибудь: Tell me a joke. – Расскажи какой-нибудь анекдот. The article can also be compensated by the partitive один из: He is a director of the company. – Он один из директоров этой компании. In Russian, we sometimes use the intoductory word один in the classifying function: Я знаю одного человека, который знает это. This pronominative adjective has the classifying function and corresponds to the indefinite article a/an but not to the numeral one: I know a person who knows it. When used with proper nouns, the classifying article is always compensated, either by the pronoun некий/какой-то: A Mr. Jones called you this morning. – Сегодня утром тебе звонил некий мистер Джоунз., or by the adjective настоящий: You will never be a Dombey. – Ты никогда не станешь настоящим Домби. The classifying article can change the meaning of a proper name and turn it into a common name denoting a work of art: This museum has a Picasso. – В этом музее есть (картина) Пикассо. If the context allows, the zero transformation can be employed; if not, the translated sentence requires extension. Thus, lexical compensators of the classifying article might be as follows: один из, некий, какой-то, некто, один, настоящий, такой. If a noun with the classifying article is in the beginning of the sentence, the word order in the sentence is usually changed, with the subject taking the final position in the Russian sentence: A passenger looked out of the window. – Из окна выглянул пассажир. The article in the numeric function retains its historical meaning of “one”: I’ll be back in a minute. – Я вернусь через (одну) минутку. This meaning is either rendered in Russian by the corresponding numeral or is not translated at all. With the names of material the numeric article denotes one portion or one sort, so it can be compensated by a noun phrase: I’d like a coffee, please. – Мне, пожалуйста, чашечку кофе. When the numeric article is used with the ordinal numeral, it conveys the meaning of addition and corresponds to the Russian ещё один, другой: He ordered a second coffee. – Он заказал еще один кофе. On the whole, lexical compensators of the numeric article can be the following: один, ещё один, очередной, второй, новый, такой же, одинаковый, целый. The article in the aspect functions helps to single out some aspect or quality of the phenomenon,133 a particular example of a quality, idea or feeling. Very often it is compensated by a pronoun какой-то, некоторый, or a phrase своего рода, так называемый to emphasize something unusual, strange or peculiar in the object: There was an indefinable sadness in his voice. – В его голосе была какаято непонятная печаль. Failing the final exams was a bitter disappointment for me. – Провал на выпускных экзаменах оказался своего рода горьким разочарованием для меня. He proposed a National Intelligence Tasking Center. – Он предложил создать так называемый Национальный центр по проверке интеллекта. Followed by a form similar to that of the superlative degree, a group with the indefinite article denotes an object of fairly high quality and is translated by the particles довольно, весьма: That’s amost amusing story. – Это весьма забавная история. In summary, the compensatory means of the aspect article are as follows: некоторый, какой-то, своего рода, как бы, свой, крайне, весьма, довольно, известный. The article in the individual generalizing function signifies a class made up of individual objects. Any object of the class gives the idea of the whole class. This kind of article is usually not translated into Russian: A drowning man catches at a straw. – Утопающий хватается за соломинку. This article can also be compensated by the pronouns любой, каждый, всякий, сам: A book is a mirror. – Любая книга подобна зеркалу. …even a Colbert could not put things right. – Даже сам Кольбер не смог бы ничего исправить. §2. TRANSLATING THE DEFINITE ARTICLEThe definite article is usually used in one of the two functions:
The specifying article specifies the definite object, either known to the speaker and listener or inferred from the situation. In this case it is often compensated by a Russian pronoun (вот) этот, (вон) тот, тот самый: Here is the man we are looking for. – Вот тот человек, которого мы ищем. Sometimes in Russian the specifying function is not expressed; in this case a zero transformation takes place: This is thehouse that Jack built. – Вот дом, который построил Джек. (Though not verbalized, the specifying function is implied here and can be easily compensated: Вот этот дом, который построил Джек.) The definite article can also be compensated by a possessive pronoun: “How's the leg today, Mrs. Steel?” “Not too bad, thank you, doctor.” – «Как ваша нога сегодня?» «Спасибо, доктор, неплохо.» The specifying article can also be compensated by the adjectives известный, данный, вышеупомянутый, вышеуказанный or some others according to the context: P. Tchaikovsky, the great Russian composer, is loved all over the world. – П. Чайковского, известного русского композитора, любят во всем мире. You don’t mean you met the Richard Gere, do you? – Ты хочешь сказать, что встретила того самого Ричарда Гира, известноговсему миру актера? The generic definite article helps to designate a class as a whole. As such it is often translated by substituting the noun in the singular with that in the plural: The olive grows only in warm climates. – Оливки растут только в теплом климате. The article in this function can also be compensated by the noun семья or its synonym when used with the name of the family: The Schmidts are coming to lunch on Saturday. – В субботу к нам на обед придет чета Шмидтов. When used with the substantivized adjectives, the definite article denotes the plural (referring to people or things in general): The absent are never without fault. Nor the present without excuse. – У отсутствующих всегда найдется какаянибудь вина. Как у присутствующих – какое-нибудь оправдание. It may denotethe singular when referring to some abstract thing: I suppose we’ll just have to wait for the inevitable. – Думаю, нам только остается ждать неизбежного. §3. TRANSLATING THE ZERO ARTICLEThe main functions of the zero article are as follows:
The generalizing zero article indicates an abstract notion expressed by the noun rather than a concrete object. Therefore, it can be compensated by the following words: вообще, как таковой, if any: Woman is physically weaker than man. – Женщина вообще физически слабее мужчины. Life is short. – Жизнь (как таковая) коротка. When usage of the zero article with the noun in the plural is close to that of the classifying indefinite article with the noun in the singular, the compensating pronoun все can be used: Museums are closed on Mondays. – В понедельник закрыты все музеи. The totalizing zero article indicates that two or more objects are considered as a single unit, as a whole.134 As such, the sentence can be translated either word for word or with the help of a resumptive word: He gave us ink, paper and pen and asked us to put down everything we could remember about the accident.135 – Он дал нам ручку, чернила и бумагу и попросил написать все, что мы могли вспомнить об этом несчастном случае. Он дал нам все, что нужно для письма:ручку, чернила и бумагу - и попросил написать все, что вспомним об этом несчастном случае. The qualifying zero article is used with the nouns referring to action, state, and /or quality rather than object: I’m really tired and I’m going to bed. – Я действительно устала и собираюсь лечь спать. He was soldier enough to fight that battle to its bitter end. – У него было достаточно мужества, чтобы выдержать битву до ее горького конца. He translated word for word. – Он все перевел дословно. Thus, to translate a sentence with the qualifying article, we often have to resort to substitution of a part of speech. The individualizing zero article should be taken into account, first and foremost, in translating from Russian into English. It is common knowledge that no article is used with proper nouns. However, this article can also be characteristics of common nouns, referring to members of one’s own family (in this case, the nouns are usually capitalized): I hope Uncle will not be late, because Grandmother is rather tired and so is Mother. – Надеюсь, что дядя не опоздает, так как бабушка довольно устала, и мама тоже. The article, thus, helps to understand whose family is meant, the speaker’s or somebody else’s: The puppies looked just like the neighbor’s dog, so we assumed it was the father. – Щенята были очень похожи на соседского пса, поэтому мы предположили, что это был их отец. The individualizing zero article is also typical of address: Почему ты плачешь, девочка? – Why do you cry, little girl? This article is also used with nouns modified by postpositional cardinal numerals: Откройте книги на странице 20. – Please open your books to page 20. |