Truman Capote.

Breakfast at Tiffany's

I am always drawn back to places where I have lived, the houses and their
neighborhoods. For instance, there is a brownstone in the East Seventies where,
during the early years of the war, I had my first New York apartment. It was one
room crowded with attic furniture, a sofa and fat chairs upholstered in that itchy,
particular red velvet that one associates with hot days on a train. The walls were
stucco, and a color rather like tobacco-spit. Everywhere, in the bathroom too, there
were prints of Roman ruins freckled brown with age. The single window looked out
on a fire escape. Even so, my spirits heightened whenever I felt in my pocket the key
to this apartment; with all its gloom, it still was a place of my own, the first, and my
books were there, and jars of pencils to sharpen, everything I needed, so I felt, to
become the writer I wanted to be.
It never occurred to me in those days to write about Holly Golightly, and
probably it would not now except for a conversation I had with Joe Bell that set the
whole memory of her in motion again.
Holly Golightly had been a tenant in the old brownstone; she’d occupied the
apartment below mine. As for Joe Bell, he ran a bar around the corner on Lexington
Avenue; he still does. Both Holly and I used to go there six, seven times a day, not
for a drink, not always, but to make telephone calls: during the war a private
telephone was hard to come by. Moreover, Joe Bell was good about taking messages,
which in Holly’s case was no small favor, for she had a tremendous many.
Of course this was a long time ago, and until last week I hadn’t seen Joe Bell in
several years. Off and on we’d kept in touch, and occasionally I’d stopped by his bar
when passing through the neighborhood; but actually we’d never been strong friends
except in as much as we were both friends of Holly Golightly. Joe Bell hasn’t an easy
nature, he admits it himself, he says it’s because he’s a bachelor and has a sour
stomach. Anyone who knows him will tell you he’s a hard man to talk to. Impossible
if you don’t share his fixations, of which Holly is one.
 The text I’m going to analyze is an extract from “Breakfast at Tiffany's” by Truman Capote
(the translator is Taras Boyko). Truman Garcia Capote was an American novelist, screenwriter,
playwright, and actor. His works have been adapted into more than 20 films and television dramas.
First of all, let’s take into consideration lexical transformations. Talking about formal
transformations, there are two names mentioned in the text: Holly Golightly and Joe Bell. We can
use mixed transcoding (transcription with some elements of transliteration) and it will be Холлі
Голайтлі and Джо Белл.
As for lexical semantic transformations, such a transformation as a modulation (the word
or word combination of the TL is the contextual equivalent of the SL word) can be used here: a
brownstone – похмурий особняк; tobacco-spit – тютюнова жуйка, a fire escape - пожежні
сходи, my spirits heightened - на душі в мене ставало веселіше, it still was a place of my own - я
жив сам собі господарем, I wanted - я мав на меті, , Joe Bell was good about - Джо Белл
охоче; there are also examples of differentiation (the choice of a suitable word out of a number of
different dictionary meanings): nature – вдача, apartment – помешкання; concretization
(providing in translation a word with narrower semantics (hyponym) to substitute a ST word with
wider semantics (hyperonym)): a train – залізничний пульман.
Lexical grammatical transformations are also used here, for example, antonymic
translation (the change of meaning of SL word to its opposite in TL): pencils to sharpen – не
застругані олівці, a bachelor - неодружений; сompression (omission of certain words or word
combinations of SL in the translation): a private telephone – телефон, first New York apartment –
перше помешкання, the key to this apartment – ключ, during the early years of the war – під час
війни; decompression (addition of words or word combinations in the translation): where I have
lived - де я колись жив.
Now, let’s talk about grammatical transformations. In the translation of this text
transposition, replacement and integration are used. Transposition is the change of parts of speech
in the process of translation: a tenant – мешкати, not for a drink - не випивати (verbalization).
Replacement is the change of word-order in the translated sentence: for instance, there is a
brownstone in the East Seventies where, during the early years of the war, I had my first New York
apartment - є, приміром, у східній частині Нью-Йорка, на одній із сімдесятих вулиць, великий
похмурий особняк, в якому під час війни я наймав своє перше помешкання. Integration is a
device opposite to partitioning and consists in converting a complex or compound SL sentence into
a simple TL sentence or in combining two or more SL sentences into one TL sentence: the walls
were stucco, and a color rather like tobacco-spit - поштукатурені стіни мали колір тютюнової
жуйки (inner integration).
As for stylistic transformations, expressivity (the SL neutral lexical unit is substituted by a
stylistically marked TL unit) is used in the translation: crowded – захаращений, one – одна-єдина.
All in all, if we want to avoid an inadequate, word-for-word translation, it is necessary to
apply transformations and as a result a literal translation will be adapted to the standards of the
language of translation and become adequate.
 Jojo Moyes. Me Before You
When he emerges from the bathroom she is awake, propped up against the
pillows and flicking through the travel brochures that were beside his bed. She is
wearing one of his T-shirts, and her long hair is tousled in a way that prompts
reflexive thoughts of the previous night. He stands there, enjoying the brief flashback,
rubbing the water from his hair with a towel.
She looks up from a brochure and pouts. She is probably slightly too old to
pout, but they’ve been going out a short enough time for it still to be cute.
‘Do we really have to do something that involves trekking up mountains, or
hanging over ravines? It’s our first proper holiday together, and there is literally not
one single trip in these that doesn’t involve either throwing yourself off something or
–’ she pretends to shudder ‘– wearing fleece.’
She throws them down on the bed, stretches her caramel-coloured arms above
her head. Her voice is husky, testament to their missed hours of sleep. ‘How about a
luxury spa in Bali? We could lie around on the sand … spend hours being pampered
… long relaxing nights … ’
‘I can’t do those sorts of holidays. I need to be doing something.’
‘Like throwing yourself out of aeroplanes.’
‘Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.’
She pulls a face. ‘If it’s all the same to you, I think I’ll stick with knocking it.’
His shirt is faintly damp against his skin. He runs a comb through his hair and
switches on his mobile phone, wincing at the list of messages that immediately
pushes its way through on to the little screen.
‘Right,’ he says. ‘Got to go. Help yourself to breakfast.’ He leans over the bed
to kiss her. She smells warm and perfumed and deeply sexy. He inhales the scent
from the back of her hair, and briefly loses his train of thought as she wraps her arms
around his neck, pulling him down towards the bed.
‘Are we still going away this weekend?’
He extricates himself reluctantly. ‘Depends what happens on this deal. It’s all a bit up in the air at the moment.
There’s still a possibility I might have to be in New York. Nice dinner somewhere Thursday, either way? Your choice
of restaurant.’ His motorbike leathers are on the back of the door, and he reaches for them.
She narrows her eyes. ‘Dinner. With or without Mr BlackBerry?’
 The text that I am going to analyze is an extract from the romance “Me Before You” written
by Jojo Moyes. This book was translated by Ukrainian translator Nadiya Hayetska.
Let us consider lexical formal transformations. We may use mixed transcoding to translate
these proper nouns: Mr BlackBerry – Містер Блекберрі and transcription: Will Traynor – Віл
Трейнор.
Let us move to lexical semantic transformations that could be used during the translation
process. We may use differentiation in this case: When he emerges from the bathroom. – Коли він
вийшов з ванної. Also, I suggest using modulation to translate these sentences: that were beside
his bed – що лежали поруч; she is probably slightly too old to pout – літа її, можливо, не ті
вже, щоб так поводитись.
If to talk about lexical grammatical transformations, I want to use antonymic translation,
compression, and compensation. I suggest using antonymic translation to translate this English
sentence: I can’t do those sorts of holidays. – Я надаю перевагу іншому виду відпочинку. In
addition, in some cases we may use decompression in this sentence: We could lie around on the
sand … long relaxing nights … - Лежали б собі любісінько на пісочку та пустували,
розслаблялися б ночами довгими. What is more we may use compensation: she throws them
down on the bed - потому кидає буклети на ліжко.
Talking about grammatical transformations, we could use replacement in the following
sentence: “His motorbike leathers are on the back of the door, and he reaches for them.” and we
get “Він тягнеться по свою шкіряну мотоциклетну форму, що висить на дверях.”.
What is more, in these English sentences we may use outer integration: She throws them
down on the bed, stretches her caramel-coloured arms above her head. Her voice is husky,
testament to their missed hours of sleep. - Потому кидає буклети на ліжко, випростує над
головою руки й хрипким від безсонних годин минулої ночі голосом каже.
Also, we may use outer partitioning is this case: She is wearing one of his T-shirts, and her
long hair is tousled in a way that prompts reflexive thoughts of the previous night. - Одягнена в
одну з його футболок, вона схилила набік голову. Довгі скуйовджені пасма ліниво спадали на
ліжко, нагадуючи йому про попередню ніч.
What is more, transformation of nominalization is used here: She is probably slightly too old
to pout. - Літа її, можливо, не ті вже.
Let us move on to stylistic transformations, there are some cases when we need to use
expressivity: trekking up mountains –дертися в гори.
To sum it up, the translator should be able to use different types of transformation. His or
her main task is to make the translation readable, understandable and well worded, so the readers
could understand the main idea of the text and what the author’s message was.