WRITTEN

LITERARY TEXT
TRANSLATION COURSE

2021
 COURSE DESCRIPTION
 HOURS PLANNED: 50
 A PRACTICAL TRANSLATION COURSE IN
WRITTEN FORM.
 TYPE OF TEXT: LITERARY
 AIMS: PRACISING TRANSLATION OF DIFFERENT
LITERARY GENRES.
 UTILISATION OF TRANSLATION TECHNIQUES
AND METHODS IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE A
MAXIMUM LEVEL OF EQUIVALENCE .
 Magic Search http://magicsearch.org/

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 MANDATORY SOURCES:
 KOMISSAROV V.N., KORALOVA
D.L.“PRACTICAL GUIDE IN TRANSLATION”;
M.1990, 127 P.
 PROSHINA Z. “THEORY OF TRANSLATION”
FAR EASTERN UNIVESITY PRESS; 2008, 276 P.
 VIANU L. “ENGLISH FOR EVERYONE”
(EXERCISES IN TRANSLATION).
CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE PRESS;
BUCURESHTI 2011, 445 P.
 SANDULESCU G., VIANU L. “ENGLISH
THROUGH TRANSLATIONS”; BUCURESHTI
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 DEFINITION
Eugen Nida and Charles Taber assert that
“translating consists in reproducing in the
receptor language the closest natural
equivalent of the source -language meaning
and secondly fidelity in terms of style.”

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 TYPES OF EQUIVALENCE
• E. Nida argued that there are two different types of
equivalence, namely formal equivalence—which is
referred to as formal correspondence—and dynamic
equivalence.
• Formal correspondence 'focuses attention on the
message itself, in both form and content', unlike
dynamic equivalence which is based upon 'the
principle of equivalent effect‘.

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 TRANSLATION UNIT
Mona Baker distinguishes between equivalence
that can appear at word level and above word
level, when translating from one language into
another. Baker acknowledges that, in a
bottom-up approach to translation, equivalence
at word level is the first element to be taken
into consideration by the translator.

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 Grammatical equivalence
• Grammatical equivalence, when referring to the diversity of
grammatical categories across languages. Grammatical rules
may vary across languages and this may pose some problems
in terms of finding a direct correspondence in the TL. In fact,
different grammatical structures in the SL and TL may cause
remarkable changes in the way the information or message is
carried across. These changes may induce the translator either
to add or to omit information in the TT because of the lack of
particular grammatical devices in the TL itself. Amongst these
grammatical devices which might cause problems in
translation Baker focuses on number, tense and aspects, voice,
person and gender.

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 Textual equivalence
• Textual equivalence, when referring to the
equivalence between a SL text and a TL text in
terms of information and cohesion.
• Pragmatic equivalence, when referring to
implicatures and strategies of avoidance
during the translation process.

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 TRANSLATION UNIT
• For P. Newmark , “the sentence is a natural
unit of translation" .
• Other sub-units of translation in the sentence
clause are group of words, collocation and
words including idioms; compounds are
grammatical and lexical sub-units of
translation.

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 EQUIVALENCE
PRAGMATIC SEMANTIC
STRUCTURAL

(function) (content) (form)

situational lexical grammatical

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 TRANSLATION TECHNIQUES
 Transcription, transliteration or copying the sound
form of the source language word by means of the
target language letters: garde-robe →wardrobe;
display
 Calque translation: brainwashing – manipulare,
spălatul creierilor
 Translation transformations are complete changes of
the appearance of a translated word, phrase, or
sentence (shifts of translation:

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 Grammatical transformations:
 Grammatical substitution (Her hair is fair and wavy; He is a poor
swimmer)
 Word order change (A new press conference was held in Washington
yesterday)
 Sentence partitioning (My car wouldn’t start. Therefore, I couldn’t
pick you up.)
• Sentence integration (In ancient Rome, garlic was believed to make
people courageous. Roman soldiers, therefore, ate large quantities of
it before a battle.)
• Grammatical compensation (''Take some of the conceit out of him,'' he
gurgled. ''Out of who?'‘ asked Barbara, knowing perfectly well that
she should have said 'whom' '' - «Поубавь немного у него
тщеславия,» - буркнул он. «С кого?» – спросила Барбара, хорошо
зная, что ей следовало сказать ‘у кого’».)

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 Lexical transformations:
 Lexical substitution
(молодой картофель - new potatoes.)
 Specification substituting words with a wider meaning with
words of a narrower meaning:
(I’ll get the paper on the way home. Will you do the room?)
 Generalization substituting words of a narrower meaning
with those of a wider meaning :
(People don’t like to be stared at. → Oamenilor nu le place să
fie fixați cu prvirea. She bought the Oolong tea on her way
home. → По дороге домой она купила китайского чаю.)

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 Lexical transformations:
 Differentiation is a rather rare technique of
substitution. It takes place when we substitute a word
by another one with parallel meaning, denoting a
similar species:
bamboo curtain → железный занавес → jaluzele.
 Modulation is a logical development of the notion
expressed by the word:
But outside it was raining. → Но на улице шел дождь. → Dar
afară ploua.

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 Lexical transformations:
 Compensation is a deliberate introduction of
some additional element in the target text to
make up for the loss of a similar element in the
source text.
One of the Galsworthy’s characters was called a leopardess → it
was translated as tigriţa

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 Lexical transformations:
 Metaphoric transformations are based on
transferring the meaning due to the similarity of
notions:
• He will pay us our money back when hell freezes over → El o să
ne dea banii înapoi la paștele calului/ când va curge Oltul la deal.
• Don’t dirty your hands with that money! → Не марай рук этими
деньгами!
• Complex (lexical and grammatical)
transformations: (Он решил начать жить по-новому. – He
decided to turn over a new life.)

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 Phraseological Unit - PU
 A phraseological unit is a set expression consisting of a group of
words in a fixed order having a particular meaning, different from
the meanings of each word understood on its own.
 Metaphor is a figurative expression, transferring the meaning from
one thing to another based on their similarity:
Ex: to strain one’s memory -
 Phraseological units may be both metaphorical : keep to the beaten
track; make a mountain out of a molehill;
 and non-metaphorical: to live beyond one’s means; to take part in.
• Metaphorical phraseology is usually called idioms

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 INTERLINGUAL TRANSFORMATIONS
1. Metaphorization: a source language non-metaphoric word is
translated by a metaphor. Example: The old woman came around
the body of the car. – Из- за автомобиля вынырнула старуха.
 Sometimes this transformation occurs with the introduction of an idiom. Ex.
Example, a colloquial form can be compensated by a colloquially colored idiom:
You ain’t no worse the rest of us. (Dreiser) – Мы все тут одного поля ягоды.
 Grammatical (lexical compensation of a specific grammar form in the source
language): When Rawdon and his wife wished to communicate with Captain
Dobbin …, the captain had vanished. – Когда Родон с женой поспешили к
нему.., нашего приятеля уже и след простыл.
 lexical (source language phraseological lacuna): to give up – разводить руками.

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 INTERLINGUAL TRANSFORMATIONS
2. Demetaphorization, or dropping of a metaphor: a source language
metaphor is translated by a non-metaphoric expression.
Ex.: Here is a statement made in a television program: Меры,
предпринимаемые правительством, - это только пластырь на
теле больной экономики. The interpreter suggested the following
translation: The government measures are only a temporary relief.
3. Remetaphorization, where a source language metaphor is translated
by a metaphor. Y. Retsker considers this technique to be an ideal
one.170 In this case the image may be fully preserved, which is done
by full or partial equivalents.
EX: to play with fire – играть с огнем; to read between the lines – читать между
строк

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 TRANSLATION OF IDIOMS
 Substitution with the analog: (the image must be preserved) to live
from hand to mouth / a trăi de la o zi la alta/ a lega tei de curmei.
When substituting a figurative expression with its analog, a translator
may generalize or specify some components of the idiom: They could
not conceive of any greater joy in life; to work their own land, to keep
what they produced by the sweat of their brow, for themselves and their
children.
 Substitution with the simile. After getting married she is living in
clover. (trăiește ca în miere, ca câinele la stână, ca găina la moară)
 Antonymous translation takes place when the translator uses a
negative construction to translate an affirmative sentence: The
situation was serious, but he kept his head.

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 Literal, or calque translation. This technique can be employed even if
there is an idiom analog. A word-for-word translation is used in
translating sustained metaphors, phraseological synonyms, and puns.
(A pune ceva la inimă – to take sth very much to heart.)
 Descriptive or explanatory translation. When an original metaphor
appears to be a little obscure and not very important, it may be
replaced with a descriptive expression. У него семь пятниц на
неделе. – He is very confused. Это камешки в мой огород? – Was
that aimed at me? To cross swords with sb – a intra într-un conflict.

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 METONYMIC TRANSLATION
Metonymy is transference of meaning from one object to another one
based on their contiguity.
Classified semantically, meanings can transfer from
• process to result (e.g. translation indicates the process of decoding
and the result of this process)
• material to a work (to drink from a glass)
• location to people (Los Angeles greets honored guests)
• cause to effect (The little horror never stops playing tricks on his
• mother)
• part to whole and vice versa. This type of metonymy is called
synecdoche (Little Red Riding Hood – scufița roșie).

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Stylistic metonymy is a figure of speech used to decorate the style
and make the text more expressive by creating images and appealing
to the receptor’s feelings.
An example of stylistic metonymy is as follows:
The pen is mightier than the sword.

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 COMPLEX TRANSFORMATIONS
 Explicatory translation, that is, re-wording the meaning into
another structure so that the receptor will have a better understanding
of the phrase. Explicitation, extension: I have a nine-to-five job; gun
licence → licenţă, permis de port de armă
 Reduction (omission, implicitation) is giving up redundant and
communicatively irrelevant words: (Elvis Presley denied being lewd
and obscene → Элвис Пресли отрицал свою непристойность.
Elvis Presley nega că ar fi fost indecent (desfrânat și obscen);
conservationists → adepţii/militanții pentru protecţia mediului)
• There is a general tendency of the English language to laconic and
compressed expressions as compared with Russian: внебюджетные
источники финансирования – nonbudget sources; контроль за
ходом проекта the Project control.

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 COMPLEX TRANSFORMATIONS
 Integral transformation is the replacement of a
set phrase with another clichéd structure that has
the same speech function: Help yourself. → Serviți. Wet
paint.
 Antonymic translation is describing the situation
by the target language from the contrary angle:
She is not unworthy of your attention; I don’t think I can do it. → Ea
este demnă de atenția ta. Nu cred că pot face asta.

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 COMPLEX TRANSFORMATIONS
 Metonymical translation is the transferance of
meaning and structure based on the contiguity of
forms and meanings of the source and target
languages:
The last twenty years has seen many advances in our linguistic
knowledge. → Ultimii douăzeci de ani au cunoscut multe progrese în
știința lingvistică.
• Their food, clothing and wages were less bad than they had been. →
Теперь их еда, одежда и зарплата были не такими уж плохими,
как когда-то.
• Don’t trouble trouble until trouble troubles you. → Во дворе трава
на траве дрова. Nu te lega la cap dacă nu te doare; vă rog să nu vă
deranjaţi
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 SYNTACTICAL SD
• Detached construction is a SD in which one of the
secondary parts of a sentence by some specific consideration of the
writer is placed so that it seems formally independent of the word it
logically refers to. They seem to dangle in the sentence as isolated
parts.
• Detached parts assume a greater degree of significance and are
given prominence by intonation.
• Ex. Sir Pitt came in first, very much flushed, and rather unsteady in
his gait. (Thackeray)
• Ex. June stood in front, fending off this idle curiosity - a little bit of
a thing, as somebody said, ‘all hair and spirit’. (Galsworthy)

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 SYNTACTICAL SD
• Parallel construction is a device, which deals not
so much with a sentence but with supra-phrasal units and
paragraphs. The necessary condition in parallel construction is
identical or similar structure in two or more sentences or parts
of a sentence in close succession.
• E.g. Our senses perceive no extremes. Too much sound
deafens us; too much light dazzles us; too great distance or
proximity hinders our view.
• E.g. And so, from hour to hour, we ripe and ripe,
And then, from hour to hour, we rot and rot. (Shakespeare)

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 ENUMERATION
• ENUMERATION is a rhetorical device used for listing details, or a process of
mentioning words or phrases step by step. In fact, it is a type of amplification or
division in which a subject is further distributed into components or parts. E n
u me r a t i o n is a stylistic device by means of which homo­geneous parts of an
utterance are made heterogeneous from the semantic point of view. Let us
examine the following cases of enumeration:
"'Famine, despair, cold, thirst and heat had done Their work on them by turns,
and thinn'd them too..." (Byron)
• Climax (Gradation).
C I i in a x is an arrangement of sentences (or of the homogeneous parts of one
sentence) which secures a gradual increase in significance, importance, or emotional
tension in the utterance as in:
• "It was a lovely city, a beautiful city, a fair city, a veritable gem of a city.

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 COMPLEX TRANSFORMATIONS
 Complex compensation is a deliberate change of
the word or structure by another one because the
exact equivalent of the target language word or
phrase is unable to produce the same impact upon
the receptor as does the source language word or
phrase.
 Puns, riddles, tongue-twisters are often compensated : Don’t trouble
trouble until trouble troubles you. → Dă-mi o pace și-ți dau două.

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 LTT ANALYSIS SAMPLE

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 FUNCTIONAL STYLES -
REGISTERS
• The concept of functional style has been
developed in Russian stylistics by
(V. Vinogradov, D. Shmelyov) and Czech
linguists (B. Gavranek, V. Mathesius).
American and British linguists use the term
‘register’, which is close in meaning to
functional style. Register is defined as the style
of language, grammar and words used for
particular situations.
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Most linguists single out:
 Everyday colloquial style,
 Journalistic (publicistic) style,
 Scientific and technical style,
 Official, or bureaucratic style.
All of them, except for the everyday colloquial style, are
represented by informative texts, carrying out an
informative function. The status of literary style, or
the style of imaginative literature, is controversial.
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• The publicistic style is understood as a variety
of language that carries out simultaneously
two functions – informative and expressive –
and is used in public and political spheres of
activity.

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This style incorporates such substyles
(sometimes called styles) as newspaper,
journalistic, oratorical, and propagandist
substyles. Each substyle has particular genres.
The newspaper substyle includes editorials,
news stories, chronicles, reports, summaries
(e.g., weather broadcasts, sports results, etc.).

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The journalistic substyle is made up of
commentaries, comic strips, analytical articles,
pamphlets, reviews, essays and the like.
The oratorical substyle comprises speeches,
sermons, and orations.
And the propagandist substyle implies slogans,
proclamations, appeals, promotions,
commercials - the last genre, though, is now
referred to as a new style of advertising.
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The main distinctive features of the publicistic
style are standardization and expressiveness:
drunk-driving, think-tank etc.

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 SCIENTIFIC TECHNICAL
STYLE
 The scientific and technical style involves the
following substyles: scientific, technical, instructional
(educational), popular science.
The substyles are classified into the following genres:
monograph, manual, textbook, article, report, technical
description, discussion, etc.
 The distinctive features of scientific and technical
style are preciseness, clear logic, economy and
compressive character, impersonality, formality.

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