Meaning-based translation

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Previous edition C 1984

Volume editor: Boonie Brown

Ub ... .,· of ConCr ... CatiloJinc·m-I'.blitalion Data

l-Ilrron. Mi!drt:d L.

Meanina.basc<llnIrulllion, a , ,,id. to "' ....... t.rt, "lCI' cquivalcnt;c I

Mildred L L.arwn. - 20d ell.

p. CIII .

Indudeo bibiiouapbicai reference, and

I. Tran.la'irtg and interprding I. Title

P306_U4 1997 4 18'.1)2-DC21 97-44626C1P

ISH:"! ()'161 8-Q97().1 (d od!: r.lt. ppr.)

ISBN 1).16 18-W71-6 (pbk: alk. I'I""')

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e-The paper 11K<! in Ib is publication meets lite minimum

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ANSI <:39.48- 19114

L _

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The . uthor wl$h$ (0 ell:prellli npprcc ialioo \0 Iht following auloou

aoo pUblisben. for varuing permIssion 10 qltOle from lhrir JNlirials

III llIi' IIodt: Samson Negbo AbarJ&ma from '1710! of Afotk. In

Denyn l)ucouru ( 1987); Kalharint Barnwell Iron her tv.'/) lexlboob

Tran.,/mion (1975) [lJId 10 &l1Ianlics aN Tml'lS[u,

li()fl (1980); Chicago LinguiSTic Society frOO1 Papt:,..from roo Eighth

kfiqnaJ MU l i1l1f, Elli:! W. Deiblo:r and A J. 1'IYIor Ii'orn T' (JIIJ/mion

(\971); Carl D. Dubois from tu, article eo.u.ecli..u '-11

Sarruwuti Manobo; llah Fleming from bf:r Fil ld Goridefot'

niall''''' Sema.n/,'c ami MOFfmtmic AMI}&< (1 977); Ell en

M. Jackson from Rul and /VIetorj{;tl/ Q"" siions in Tik<lr ( 1982 ):

Kennnh and Evelyn Pike fOl' pcnnissi()(l to the O)!I pages

-49-50 of their book GmmlltGli<:GJ Anal)'>";" (1 977); 1M. Summa

Insrllufe ofLlnguisllcs for f""lnhslon 10 quoo.e from NoIn 0" T",./U￾1(1ll1)n, Note.< on John f)edcrmm ond John Callo",". Tmm.

/ollMg Won:I ofG<x1 (1974), Knlhlcco OIIlow. rnlCOJUst Con,jd·

ao,iOflI Ur Tm ruklllq Word of God (1974), Mildred Larson, A

MiJJMJDl for PTObkllf SoMrrg iN Bibk TraIlSb:sIWn (1915) and .lOOn

BcekIlWl, Jolio C.Uow. 2nd Mkhad 11re StnH!ture

a!WrillU CommUnkillio1l (1 981); TIlt- United Bible frolll

111, HlblE TrmHlalQr, the artIcles by Darday Newman

( 1977) 8Ild David Fro; Weslcm Pubi l!lhlng COltlpaOy fro m

U.d",=/ Hi.<roryofll!f WorlJI Vol. 2 by Jam« L.. StdTeosm (J%6);

and Jam<:! WbcIIlky from his articl ... K_'i,dg<!. AUlitoriJy. a1Iil

IruJi"Wuaii:rm "",ong IItt: Cura (9_iri) (1m) lind ProftOUIr$ and

Nomi"'" Elemn ./.J Iw Bar.airt OW»urst (1973)

'"

CONTENTS

f<l«"'(lrd .

rrd:lCe .

of the Tnm.latiOD Task .

l. Form and Meaning.

2. Kinds ofTrnn;laliom. .., .. ".,

3. The Semantic StrucIl)re of Lungu.lge •.

4. Implicit Meaning.

5, Step< in a Tra",;latioo ProjeC1 ..

The Lultt! • .

6. Words as " BundlcsH of Meaning . .

7. SOllie Itelalionship< """"HI! Ll'xicaJ IteU'" ,

8. Oi$CO'..mn& Meaning by Groupil1ll l1'1d Oln!mst.

9. Mismlllching: oflnical SY$lcml bellii'M! Unguage.

10. Multiple Sen= of Le;d Clll ll.elDl .

11. Figurative Senses ofLe)[ica.1 hrtflll.

12. Person Ref"'"Dce .

lJ. hruIS and Situ.liQual Qootcill.

14. CQlIoc.tion!\lld of Lcxlcal ltclm.

IS. l..elical Equivalent. " 'hen Concepts are Shred.

16. Lexlco.l Equ;v.ients when Coru;eplS Unknown .

17. Spc<:1111 Problems in Findiug u xlcal .

Structure .

Ill. I'lopos:ition< .•.

19. Caae Roles withirl Proposolions ..

20. Rel.ni.OI)S within Sw.: Ptopaositlons •. •

21. bef.>..te\l Propositioool Structure II.IKI

C'tIme SInICtI.Irc.

22. Skewing of tUoclllklnlf)' Force ",,4 Gl'lIm!fl3lkal Form

23. Fil:UrBlive Proposiliorl!J!.fet8.p/>or$ >IlI<I Similcs.

24. More on Propositional AD.lIlyt.is .

,

.,

•

" " " "

" " " " " ".

'" '" '" m

'" '" '"

'" '" '" '"

,.,

'" '" 283

-- I

Com .... niall'''"

25. Addition lind Support .

26, OricnwiOfl and Clarifoo;atioo Relation •.

21. Logical Rdiltions.

28. Stimulus-RESPOSSE

Tn!s

Groupinp ,

30. Discourse Genre

3 1. Cohesion.

32. PromiDeOCC , .

33. "Tho CoInl'QunlC8llon SilU31jon .'

34. Inf",.,....;oo Lood .

The Tran.lati"n rrognm .

35. Establishifllj: the Pro;':,", .

36. Tmn.slatioa Procedures.

37. Testing Ibe Trausl3lion.

Rihli"1:I"3 I·1,y

IlMin .

vi

297

'" '" 3J5

'"

379

381

399 <2,

'" ", on

5<17

"" 519

52'

'"

S7l

FOREWORD

In the 1M! thirty yean 3 body oflileraturo QI1 trAuslatl on theory.

IItmngly Inil UCf\COIJ by modem linlUislics. h", I"SUpport arod

give ocadrntic ""'ptCl:'lbiliry [0 !be new pmfession of the nonlilcnq'

U'lJII$lalOr. Some of these boob, ootably " .'rillUJ by West .. E.IISI

Germans, ba\'e h«u '00 p/lil<>tOphical lind absirecl to ",1111" at all

to the translator',

mul)(\:lO;! probl,"""" Some leoncd

toward;; contrasrive linguiSlics. Others bave tended In lie tral'tSi.atJoo

100 clooeJy [0 a Iingulfilc theory.

Nida.'. wen: the first 10 del>11II all pta<'lically WIth the w lUll'llI as

""ell as Ihe manifold linguistic problems Dr. MildJod

L.arwn h ... here prodo,nd tll e first 'nlbool: designed 10 iii: used in 'h.

Cl!I.'UOOIll. as " basis for COIII"5C wQri(.

I am pleased " ,," ftan ..... ed (0 be invited to write a foreword for

her textbook "ftranslation method. The book'. p-"pose Is f,rst to mue

the Surrmer .lnstlltlle of Linguht;cs' tr.>niliotioo priDclples and study

prvccdW'tS "'idely .c.ov. .... and S<"UlAdIy, 10 offu a tCJubook wbleh

will be generally U3CfiII 10 coursos in universities tond

CQlICllts o f fW1ner and hi&ber ed..cation throughOll1 lhe world, pII"

tielllnrly in the tllird world cou nlricm.

where 1l00d English te>;l000b

lOre IOuch in delTlmld.

Tbi3 book include< Il1tOSllllloo eUlup/es from s ,,,,nmably ",kill

range of languages, partlcuLvly As ..... African. and Amerindian

languages. rangina flOO' ilIe ",mantles of words, c:oIlocaIions and

J.JI"Opoiltion to Iht <"!ftats. enclilll each .haper wilh a u<;eful SCI of

pmctical exercises which are also a blick_up for learning English. lI er

Inatment Q[ collo.::aliom is rhe nlOjlthorough Md ill umi""ling thaI J

koow. Metaphor and simile have III importanl p/:w;e in !he book; We

semanlic ru.$lOtWn, of lileral translarion:tsf: ",,,II handled

Or.1....a.-..n h contiooously to explllin LInd iU",trnte!he

interpiayofsy.-ax, and wmr" uniutlve force through suus

II/ld varintions of word ordcr in th C(lmposition of" 1exl. She makes

'"

good II$C: of tbe still fainy /ececdy established p"inclpli:s of

IeXt-[ingU\>tics.

The emphasis of the '000);: Is on the "alue ef Idiomatic

UD,onsll'ainoo. language. The <Uld re.<;QUrCes of

EngUsb language are and uempli6N here "itl>. pt"rvnsiv<:

,."...,. and crnhusWm. The book Is exceplionally wdl pI_oned.. .. 111>

1/1&:" and bib!iOZfl\phy, and I have IK) doobt Ih/l(

every Ic:ocher and self_leaching stndent cftronslat;on , nd ef English

will fuId nlu<:h ill it which they.;:an lliC: "'itb profit

1'c1\:f Newmarl; ,

"fContral Lend"" and of llradf()Id and

Snrrey. U.K.

viii

PREFACE

Mere:llld more un;\'ersitio:s ar(t\lod Ihe world adding OOurse3

in u1\flSlati0l1 10 t!leir how""fIr. the tcxtboob for

¥uch COIlr&es an: Tbis vol""", has been "Tim .• , wilb lIteSe coursa

in mind. TIle de$IR of lbe IUthOf is 10 m'lke 8\lIilabk Ibe principle.

of trnuslalioo wMch have bml learned through penonal

in ir1OIIslmi o:m and OOOS\l llalioo. Ihrous.h Interaction with coll"'g"'"

invol\"w in InnslBtion prOj«1S in many ports of th e world.

A style of pracnl8l1oo h."U been deJibo!r1IIely

RqlClilioo;' rcJUliVly ""'-'<I; hquently usc is made of eJr.81.np/C'I: and

Mch chapUI wilb ",-ercises 10 becmried OUt by Ihe

Since il i. assumed that =ny of the S/udclIIs will ipeakel'$ of

minorily lartgUOlleJ. lIIZIoy of those exercises Involve lramlaJin& from

(If irno \heir mellier tongue. "The llW<:ri.1 I, III ruch • .... y

lhat it can be uled In a scl(-teaciling situ.1tion or in ft c1ll'iS1'<JOrn . An

aJtempl has beeJ) made 10 1<eel' technical lem1' 10 mini,nlJrn. When

tcchnic.'!.l is \UoIOd, evtry effort Is IIIOIde /() clarify III"

tIlCIII)in& of"""h '·onbuiary. This lias been done 50 WI the book can

be U$ed by any e,'en thougI:t hi' «posun: 10 lingui""lc and

t"""lotion theory Iia .. bcett minimal. Ilowowcr, SOlO. "fthe thcory Is

cowplu nnd tKl altemJX It II been made 10 ","rsimp/lfY Il But lbe

audJor has soughl 10 ll':\l 3l:I WlCompliCIIIlod strai&hlforwAfd 'lyle In

order /() tn.'Il"t it e"."'f for lhe user to gmsp the princ:ip/e.; bein&

pr='f1/ed.

Th is ;. Oil introductory texlbook. ]lie firSt five cll.."lI)i.Cl"& give Wl

0",,,.,,1\_ Ihe fuOOarnmlftl ofllWltJatiDfl and the

rut ofthelxlol; and i!lusua!CS Ihc:se principlo.. The <>verriding

prillCipJc is lhat translation is mcaoing_hJsed rathe.r tlwJ fomt-Oased

Once rhe tl3nsl alor has ldrntlficd rhe me<lll ill<l ofm" sourc .. 1el'1. his

goal is 10 expreS$ 111>.1 Same mcaning ill the receptor langnag(' With

forms " 'hid! may be from !hose of the """"'"' ten. Many

"

exampl=s of CTOIiS-language equ ivalence are used to illustrate this

princip le.

The author is d""Ply to the lat. John B«kman. from

wbom she learned much ofwml is included in this book. TIle material

presented h",. borrows beavily from his writings those of Joho

Callow, Kathleel1 Callow, Kamarin. Barnwell. and Eugene Nide. Thi,

book simply takes the tmnsl.tion principles expounded by them and

!hese principles imo a new frameworl: all a texlbook for prospec￾ti"e translators. e<pecially of the ronny minority l:mguag ••

of the world.

J also wisl, to thank Dr. P!:1er Newmark for reviewing lhe

manuscript and writing the foreword. Dr. N.-wmark i. vi.IUng Profes_

sor at the Polytecl:onlc "fCentral London and Unh'ersities of Bradford

""d Surrey, U.K. wflll comi&rahlc e"pcrience ill trainingluru;btors.

I-li. 1981 boot . . 10 Trans/ation, was espociall y helpful 10

me in the p!'epaml;"" ofthi' led book.

M,,"y persons han helped in th e preparation of tMs book. The

author Is especial!y grateful 10 her oolle.o.gue:5. mem1>ers oflhc Summe)'

lnstitute of Linguistics, who revie'-"ed the 1fl3I1uscripl, m8king many

helpful sugge:<tJons. and '0 tho.e wbo helped in many ways in 11,,,

JlNparation of the manuscript The lis! of tho.le who contributed is

very long a'ld ",och gready appredated.

MLL

September 1997

,

OVERVIEW OF THE TRANSLATION TASK

Chapter 1

Form and

Me

a

ning

Whit is transla tion?

Tram latioo. by dictionary definition, consist. of cluu:1ging from

one SlIlt. or tonn 10 another, co (Urn Into one·s own Ol" anodt<:r'$

language (1bC' Mmiam·Webitc.. 1974). Tramlalion i.

bMioollya d tangt:of tonn. WMnw •• pnt.of tht I'orm oc.

"'·e lire referring to !be ""IUIII

words.

paragrnphs, etc.,

whieb are spol;en or written. Thew form. are referred

to .. !be su rface se n ti" ", ofa bnguage. It is the suuctunJ pwt of

,,·bicIJ " actually -"= in prim or hcaN in sptDCh. In

tr .... l&ion the for m. or \he !IOIIf':;e I.onguagc " ,epIaood by lite 1'0 ....

of tbe receptor (target) IMgIIIIge. But how 1.1 IMs ch;ooge aooom￾pti,bed? ""'bal de!ermines the choic.s of r<l.m in tltt trans

The purp<>SC of tltis tut is 10 mow th!ll lrnnslatioo con';w of

ITllr\Jfari", tit. " ' lDin; of 1IHI source llllliUDKC into t/o. r,cepI<n

lanJll3&e. Thi. is done by &0;l1li from the f. rm. of the ftrSllanguage

10 Ole form of a IH!COnd by wa,/ of annantic $UUClUre. It is

IDcanln: which ill boeing and

mu>t be beld COO5tanl. Only

lb c form changes. The f(>1'I1I Ih.llo which tit .. tranillation is made

will

hi! <::Illed the SOUFlCF: LANOUAGJ::. aod \he form into ",b leb it is to

be chaoged will be called the RliCEPTOR LANOUAGE. T ....... btion. then. c:onsiJU ofstlldying lb. le.:lcon, grnmmltlcal strIlClW"". commu￾nicaTion and culrurul t:OIlIext of !he """""" 1ol1!5"l'Sc I1:;U.

anllyzing It in order to det<Ttn i"" its

meanini.

And then reconstructing

tlJilI ....... mc;mllli u<lng the ltxicon and grnmmatios! $trocture which

ar_Ilpp"0rrimeln the RECEPTOR LANGUAGE.1Id i\scullural

The proc:cs. may be ruagr.lltme<i :os <hown in Oispby 1. 1.

l<!t look II an eumpiQ. Assu

me tlu.t we arc tnlnStallng the

Span;5b sentence ,U('nl>,·· into the Aguaruna language ofPmJ.

ntil Spanisb fonn oonslsllJ of the verb fun\) 'eng- 'have·. the ."Uffix

..() ·fl1Sl pcr$OrI", and 1be word.....,110 ·.Ieep." The combination means

Ihat person, the opeak .. , iI in the S\.3le

t.hil S811le mc:anina in Ag\.l.1nllla """ would use K KajDlfg pwja_i. H

,

~ E't;~~! ""~.~ u§.B ci \;I --5 0

• 0 <""I_~S!'j < l<-;; ~!!l "' "'~E~ iS~.., ....; S ~J2 1:l!~ ~ ~ ,-. , • 0 ~.d :;;.,~. j ~..,~-g-; - ! ~ • ... li ""cHi." a l!I.!sl;li°6.; '" ''ii' ',ii -z " 'f ~ • 0 ~i:'B Ii'::: j £~ \ ~P"~ ,. I ~ ~ - _ 0" " E ~ . 'Ull ~o "B~j ~ ~ ~"E~Z"~ or ~ ..s o:s o~"; " '" •

co .a".i~ • -"" d~ ~ , lmt!~! i,~ ~ 1~,ljio ~ • :$ ' 0_

! j.~l~~ u~ < o"'~.}: '" >'E "'" ~"! .:,~"81: • § " ;0.. ""<I t· 3 => ,. g .... -;;

• ~" "~ '1. I~ ~~ Z" ~:g • ~ If I 8 ..c U' ,, r.::"

_

001 ~j -0; " o.z .. il • -9:a.; 2j:::'i;.£ -.Ii' !.= • 'Q oil is ~ .. I. !I II

rn

•

~ jj ~'''~''

rnr~

o•••• )i::..'l<"::i -!r·! _

- .;~~~ ~

• " , !.., g~E81:

h~~~I~"i • o!O '; ~ j h;~ u -

~ ~ .c it]" ........ • ~ ~. "d' 'j =HJH u

• "" !::$ .8~_ "

• OVERVIEW OF TH£ TRANSLATION TASK

Ulp \(J fantdic M ...... j<> lo./aId. In anoIber pl."" brocln"" ""Y3. -Ikyond 011 Utou ,hillp. mJoyof rkiidOlu l/tal your pro!",' m;"d CWI

(7et/1t. M(1MjO is ilt.fpiraril)7f, meaning "And. above all. enjoy tht

dc:h&hu whIch your own mind will cre!lte. Mal'!jo

will ;ru;piro

A look at thc Portuguese 011 the other side oflhe tbat

the unnaumll English was tile result of following the form of the

Portuguese llOlII'Ce i:JI Ulllking the EIlgIWI rectpoor

rransJaIiOll. T (} do efT«Ilve tf1ll>Slalion one must dl$CO>'cr the m .... ning

orllle source language and '* receptor l:mguage forms wbleb c:xpross

this menning in a .. "lund .. 'ay.

II is !he purpose oftl'lil b<lok to fumiliariu tJx, reader

wilh til<>

basic IInaulstfc and socloHngubTk facton invol ved in {[",\Slating Q

text from . SOURCE LANGUAGE into a $I.lC()OO IMgUagc, i,e .. II,.

RECEPTOR LANGUAGE, (I/ld to give them enoual' prnc!ice tn 11,.,

process for the o:ie1.'elopnenr of d;lIli in

tmr:I'If"l". ne UDderIYlrlg pret1IiIIe upon which the book is t..scd is tIuot

the but umu!IIIion is the <lne ..,bicll (1) uses tu IW)I"I'J'I3l 1ang"'91

f<IJJM of lb. (2) eornmunicales, _much .. po:mible,

(0 the r«eplor Ia.'lgul'ge speakers the saine meanl na that was under￾stood by the speakers of the SOIlrCe i:>nguage, and (3) maintains the

dynamics of the originnl source language Maintaining the "dy￾namks" of the original

mea"" Ibal the lrnD.'lia!iOl1 i.

pre&en1M in .""h a WIly thaI il .... ill. bopefully. evoke the u rne resp"n.e

as 1M SOUfC( ie.'l:1 to

Characttri$tks of lugllllgt .... hicb "fTt tT tnll,lation

ThcrI= ate certain of JangUllgcs

which 1'(1.\"( a very

direct bc:lII"ing on prindples of lTlInslal;on. f IN!. 101 \IS look 31 the

charactcr!st!c, of meaning co'"poneot:I. Me. nl0l: compo nents arc

InIO items. bUI Ihey rue "packaged" differently In

0118 1.tllIiWlge than in anoI.hcr. In lIlon Iher<: ilo a meuin,

..... 1 ofpJuralil)'. for eu mple Ih. English -I. ThJJ.often occurs

In !he gram

mar M I wffix nouns or vutllli or both. In Aguaruna,

flQwC"'f Cf, phtrllUl)' IlOOlponetll oftbt.: ,·qb.'lem ItK lJ"and unoot

be IIeJI01fUCId OUI for many of the more common "en.,. Jfthc lICtor i.

tile first fonn will be> lIocd, If plural,

I. Ite run$ 2.pi.laju

eke/" be silt 2. peUJruaII Ihey lil

l. IO-et< M WC01 2 . .JJtiaJw !hey WQI

Form 4nd Hutting

A study of any diaionary will indlcak the am3lJng Mp!ldaging"

of meaning COf1IpanenIS in lexical ilnns.. In OtDllll" (Muico). one

$insle .... ord rnran<....udo shup U)' " igJoI. All of those componetl!l: are in a ¥insJc lexical item. In there is' word

w!,icb meoos

ItllWl.f 10 go ,,,,d IOmelhilf8 M/'fNl/U tlI so

he Iorts /0 SO bad: Mme. Many limes a iringle word in !he OOUrcc

languace will need 10 be Irl\l1Sla,oo by sevem words. For I'Ulllple. 3

projNror ... ·u called 1M Ihillg firm slwws lJic1"fes on lhe .. ..n by !be

Chipaya of Sol,,';""

Second. h Is clrllacterimc of that the &aII1I: J1lC3I1ing

compor>Ctlt will 0C<:Ur in >ie\'cnrJ surface structure kJr.lcal items

(fol'll1").ln EngUi;h, Ihewonl jJoup oc=n. How"'"el, r.be words /(lmb.

ram, and ewI\' 81so include the sMep. They l[}Clude tbe

additional componenls of yo<mg (In lamb), IJdr.,lr 3fld male

(in ram), and 00..11 andfunale (In e"I<'o!). In HuambiloA (I'cru), Ic.mb

would ((I be u:aru;lated by M,beep its child. rtfm by "sheep big.

md roo ... by Rshcep il3 "·oman.

Third, il is funh .. cbaJw;t<::ri:$llc of languages thai ro ron will

be moo 10 represenr l'C\'erai .hClMlive meanin\:l. ao:aln is

obviou$ fr(>m looking in any good dictionary. For example, the

Reader's J)igo,\ Oreal Enc.ydopodic Dictiooary gives fifty-foll( mean￾ing< for rhe English word nm. Mo;r word<> more than one

meaning. There will be a ptimary -Ihe ooe ",hleb usually

comes to mind

wb en tile word is said in iwlatioo-nnd

_ the lIddill0ll31 muninp which a word has in wilb

otbt1" words. 10 Engli.!t. we can A)' rM boy tlllU, using nlll in its

primary IDleMlng. We can all<) say rhe 1NO/at"/1l1IJ. the rlw:rrwu, and

M.I nln1, u$ing nm in ""'ColI<1.'II), so::tlS'eS, I.e., Wilh different

mean ings. BUiootice the following comparison with Motors

fI1ld noses <lo noI ,om in oli langWlges.

f..NGLlSIt

Th<boy_

n .. ,,1000I" I\ID&.

The clock run •.

His nose I1lI\l.

SPANISH

E1 nl6\l com (l1IIIS).

EI molO< I'unclor .. {funaloMj

III reloJ .. 1d4 (""lu).

Su nW ctIorrfl (&ipo).

Tb is pt"inc:iplc i. OOllimiu"j 10 for it Is also true that

the _ s-tlem !lUIy expr-ess ""''era! qultco differmt

meaninSl' For the ErJglldr phrase ",yit",," may

mean b.O\ISe I o"n, Mtbe hou:Ie I rent." '"'the Itouse lllvc In.M

, OV1':,RYJEW OF l1Je TRANSLATTON TASK

I w ilt, M 0< "tile hOU'lC for ",1\kh I drew up the plans." Only

!be Im"gft" context Oetermines !he rnunirl&. t;ori« Ihe followia&

VO$$CiSive Pmoscs rind tile \1IIiOtY of rnc:aoing:s:

m,=

......

"'1 fool

my

"'Y book

my ln.1r>

oWlImhip

""'"

port· .... ho'" (pari or my body)

""""-llCt;v:i!), (J lIng)

O'I'ner.;bip or anhon.tiip

(!he book [""' .... or. me book L ........ )

[lhe ,'[!\ag • ....bcrc I H,".)

U<& (tho 1nI1" l .ide 00.)

Whole -"'I1u:nces nlS)' also ha,'e ... vaal fWlClKln!o. A quesliOl1

form may "" uud for a nonqlltSlion. Fore:campk>.lhI: question "M",),.

wiry d",,'lp< .....,. tMdi.<M.1?"Jw I.e fontl of. question, and I118Y

In """. OOIItUI be for informBlioo, but it Ii often USN "'ith

the ",ea ninl: OfCOlTlllland (or lban a real question.

It 1$ th en a rhe lOl1cal que'tion. (The mnner of trandatlng questions

will be discussed In chapter 22.) A simple &.dish scnltncc like "f!,

",/Ilk ,"'" Nd. .nay

mcan eill101l" "He made (_ • carpenter "'(luM

(1I;U::c) the bed. ()J PIll the .shoets. bllmkCl, .00 pillow ill neal

order on the "

JLlSI as woxds havo prim;1l)' and MCOOdaty meanings. 50 gram.

matlcal markers have (heir primasy function and ollen have Oilier

seeondary fian<:tj(lnl. The Oil is \ISW in F.n£lisll to sigllal ft

,'lIriecy of Com!",", !he following uses of on with lhe

_pondilll! form med in

Jolin found . book <)It ' he floor.

JCM foomd a book oro

owr..mw< ..

/otuI found. boot "'" n-d3y.

iohn foond boo&: "'" .. Ie.

Ju:on .. ""oml un hbn> ... (on) eJ "",10.

J,JoilIl tJlcoo1r6 UIl libro

(ob:u) nwan&ticas.

'u.n onOOft1r"O libn> rl (1he) man=.

JI.llIIl enQ)llmlun libra a (ftl) Ia '· .... 1lI

(on OIl barallllo)

F(m .. find MMmng 9

Coonp8fC abo !he follo"'ing UiIe$ or b)"

.John ,,, .. 1Ioppcd by tile polir<:1IlIIrI.

John <topped by the

In the fll'St, by ;1 used to sigmllhe ulc:aning \hat the poUcc:m.ao h lhe

ogot1lf ofllle

Kim In Ihe seooIId, "" signals iMilhe hooblaDd is lbe

/JxlJ1iD1r.

In the AchoU lmguage of Sud.m. the word has \'arlous

f1ICMlngs depend ing OIl the words witb which it oo;cur5

N()(ice the

fol lowing'

r...ru._. The child jz tI-'.

A: ulu«<t. The pot U

Mac .. ", The rue I.t ""'" ""I.

We !lave S«t1 thai OIlC form may t:ll1lf"5S '

On tLc olhfl" band. !IAOlber charo<:teristic of llollguages is •

.11Ii-le be expressed in a variety of forms. F""

3tnplc. the m03ning " the cat il bllld.·' may be expressed loy Ihe

fo llowing: IIu! cal i$ black, Iht cat, and llul Cal. ",hkh i4

bhut, on bow thaI mUning rel.oces to.> 0100 meanillS$-

In addition. lIIe mc:minp of"14 lhu piau f4ke,,1" " lllhe,.., "")"'lIe

4ining !ten?., and " May 14i1lrt=1" Prt essmtlally thc sarne. The

speak,"" is Indicating a to .It in a UJUi/I II("II. In Pidgin, the

meaning "He gave me a SIllY' csscrnially til e same ..... helher

one I glv;", Itlonpelo buk mi" or "en> i mi

"",nIXI" but."

AIO<l, lbe meanlna: Is essentially the WIle in the following Enalish scnIenca (uample fmon K...L. Pike):

O<h . ... blomod.loM bcaw.le of 11><: dimwIt)".

OIb ..... IlI"mcci John for ,be

0rIIm bLlom«l !he dilf.cul.ly Ill> John.

Odxn -'d.loM w. respoo$lbk fur II>< difficully.

OIbers IIOOUoe..l JoJu, Qf beio, I .. pcn<lbk for th o dlfYi

w \!y.

, YSE .5 ~ H[, ,

" f! oS"'.s il'''''_~''' tJ:i ~ ~ ~~ Ii~ ~~ -l! ~-.1l~1i '1:'.2 ~ ~li-~ "" d" -'" Pl ! ~_o!'l ~

l~ ~E S ~l §:~8 ~g.§ I;j~ -?,,",~" ii:""1~~; -ioe " ~t~el~'s~~ ~- -'" ~j . " "'1!<l~"':::~~.!1 "

1S.

o i!

__ ~ .~ . .; ~~~~~~~l:~~"" ~ ~":t-

. ~" ~:l!: !It ...,-.,

~~[~ .. '" §~l~ -. o " .;3 E ~

~Jj 6"'=-'; !;~;{i~~ "-g !:!.!!I l' ~f': ~_ E ~..2::t: 1<"'1 "'" . " " -.. " ~ ".. ~ ~ IS :<~!lI:i ~ ~ '" § t}J!.:! ~g;<~ ~g .. ~]~:~ ': ~ll~ a<.2,'E-s·~.gli f ~E'l~.;~-s~~ !:1]~ "E .. );;tl , 0

.r "O<l ........ t-s.;j l;~~~1!~g l~~ ~~ ~ ~]~t: ~ Sol .. !:t0 0 ,:,,: ..., '" - ,'<. t" "- ~ '"' ,

<>" . 5"

~. ~ll , - ~ f~:l ,~ ~ ~-§~-;i~til41~ ,,~ § ~ ~]>t..s o;~~ ~~~ ~.s ~ ~'i? ""-S.~.! 1i- ~~ ~~ ~i],~~~~t ~ "' ';f-'; ~~ ., ~] = r:; ~ ~ ~~.@~ ~.:;] ~..,~: ~ ~ ro ~§

;: ,, ~ ~ ~ """ ."':t <> - t ~ j<'"1 " i'!U i""'" .. ll-::!.;;" ~,,~ "i"t'o; ~'§ ~ """ "'., '" .... is 8 <> >. I! i~11 -<: - " ... ..., ,,'" ~" ! .. ~j~§ !";::i~",~~ "ll~<; "-':.Q".§cl,l~ ~~ .~! ' < " ~ §~;;-~E41-i;-S~§ ~ i:: l J;1ll~~"IS ~~:;:] .~ ~:l2j r~ ~~";; ~~ ""·-~2""2"-S"gg; ... " a '" ' '''''''" <3 '-'" !!i .!!~"EIi"'~~~"- &.g~6 ~ .:;; "<.0 ... l! h - "1 g Jl"'~ ~,,"'''' ~'~l;! -E ... g "' ~ '-'f; "'" '" -.;

;~ .- ~ ~ a

oo~o _ " "6J!.g):;'ii-~ "'" " " >.."'" ..

~ ~q~~ '" .. "'" ":; ~2""5.!:i?""''''-'''tl''.,;<; ii Jl" g ~E ;; ~" ... '~"'1!""" il' ~~" il ,-£ ...

~ll~ [ ~hS!""'is,"5il.~] il.o ~"" " ,,- .t-- =:;.f'.] " ~ ... " 0'0 s n '; §i~~" ~~§~t-~ll~ <I-~- <)" " "

,,]~ ,,'_ !: ~~-,-;,~".;l~~

~~il.l;!~ ~ i?''''''''~ ;;

~~ ~: ~.~~ ]~ "* E!c!ll~ "-c::"'-~~~",~-c::"''''~ ~ ~ -s§~~~ ~~ ~§~~~,,~~~~ ·!:l~\:ib~~ t: Q "0 , 0

'""~=.sI-1i Z-s "'" " " " ,,~7; ..,." .,," E .5 ~] E5 :...1 ~ ~ ~'o 8- , ,, - ,," !f8-5.E

n QVEJWI£H' OF TH£ TIUNSUT/QN TASK

along M mddfnly $IIW" p-rlty liltk Mdloa Jyill601/

/he rood. up .lte lIutldn and thnM it ;"'" hi$

_Ill IMto: ...... "noll,er perM/II ""idling behind /rim

aNI h" diJ/,, '/ ...... 111 /rim 10 su lire """u..a. The lfr<J"G"r

dido"' obi_ rltat nect/lJa >ow- rn.lly a snak. lie diM

imfndiarll/Y.

He dltd /at. dJ,,', rea/be 110.0.1 iJ IO'M"

m*; /U did" mow NI"'l " sNlke ima hi., _It. Ill/he,.

,1.1111" n""i:lna.

Anyth;,'i

whicb ClIO be fAlld in one laogu!lgecarJ be $ltld In loo(h,.

It [s pos.lble 1<,1 The gOili of the tnm,laIOr i. 10 keep the

meanihg constant. Where-,'cr !1eCeSMry. the receptor "'!liUagc ror",

should be chAJIgo:d In order that tbe source language be

distoned. Since a expressed by a particular rOl"m 10 Olle

language may be up,cued 111 quile a differenl form III W1IX/Ia'

language, il Is often occessruy 10 tile form when translatIDa.

t:.XERClSlS - Form ane! Menia=-

A. Iden'ifying ch8nse of I!It .... lllt \"emI$ ct\angf o rfor • . Some of

!he following pail"$ differ in their forl"ll . Some differ

in r,.,dieale if the primary change is in the furn. 0< in

(he

meanInG.

Ex. They robbed the old

mat)

The old III:lIl was robbed by them.

Answer: t10ange of form

I, TIIIO 10 M:ll)8!llia.

The like srudylng lemanllcs.

2. I booghl a P'oir o f hom-s"'-.

1 bought a pair tlf shoes.

J. He SIO .... !be bird.

Sbe heard IIIe cat.

<I. PhiltJp ,,'Ill.lr.ln&

Phillip I0OI<. a walk..

5. Go to t>ed

I "lUll you 10 ,0 LQ bed.

Font. "nd

6. ! Clme ; 1:IaW; I COIIIfUO'I'1!'d

I (:;onK;, saw, and

7. later he came.

Aft.". Iw., ... "fd:s he came.

8. nne iI a l1lhI.e in Ihe booL

Thcre 11 • book 00 lable.

9. The young man had a Greek grammu book ,!Olen.

A Greek grammar book W"" stolen from tlto young man.

10. He was awllkened by a thunderclnp.

A thunderclap awakened him

/3

B. U'iltl.< mIlIlY gramnt.1lical Conns 01'! yout"" which realize Ihe ... me

munhl, as tM one given below. Thfn p!lllhe "me "'flAIIlI inlo

• <>Ihe< th:\D in .... many forn" lIS can.

Ex. llIe cal is black,

llIe bI.ad; cal

ltIe rnl, wllich is bla<;k

l. the "'''''eo- jug

2. John bought m car

). hOI day

... mother', long blue dress

S. l'elcr's house

c.

All oC the fO»)lowing have (he same lIJMIl1Iallcal form. Wilh the

dw'S" ot" laical i!emS, Ihere 1.0 • chanae of mcanina

w hieb is

aigMltd by that luital it...". apart from Ih. rcf .. ...,lial rnc..run& of

Ibe WOld ;tlele. WhaI mell1ling Is signaled In eIICb ofthc foll""'1ng

ponmive p/lrMes? Ans .... .,.. by Il$Iling.

How 0lII lhai I"I'IGOlin&

besl be expressed in III1OtlJa" Iaoguage "'loich you Ipmk7

E... (he matI's car _ the man OWIIS 1M car

!he mAn'S - the i'I part orllle man

I . Ille office

2. the doaor'$ paliOOl

3. the book

u OVERVIEW OF TlfE TRANSLATION USE

4. tbe (\0<;10"$ broIhe.r

5. tbe dOClOr', h:.OO

6. tile dOClor's hClllSe

D. (Adap1ed from 1986:24 - 5.) For eacb pair ()f

$MC whelher lhe I"'" sentences are ( 1) Ihe same in meaning 0<'

(2) differall In loo:mlDl!.

I. (3) I. ralnc"hU nigh t.

(bl RIIIn fcn all nlght.

2 (a) n",,,,, i$ a boot on the table

(b) That I, 8 (able In Ih. boo k.

3. (a) k>Im ..... as surpised wilen be heard the news.

(b) 'The new. very mIlCh lImaud l ohn when he beIml n.

4. (a) II II hot day.

(b) TM d:Iy was bot.

:'l. (a) I'elcrw house.

(b) The thaI bd oags 10 Peter.

(a) nc rO!IUined iilent.

(b) He did not say :>11)'lhlng.

1. (I) I bot'&hl dOlh to make Mary a""",' drew.

(h) I OOllgbt a DeW drc&I: rQl Mary.

(a) 1 bCILJghl In lJoe marl",t.

(b) J bolJgtu tomatoes aod oni008 in 'Wllkel.

9. (al My parmlS IIJ"e well.

(h) My mo4ba" and fathn:ue well.

10. (al Johll Is il!; he h". a bad case

(b) John b '·err ill induo:L

11. (&) There 11K fotIT rooms in !he !loose.

(b) The h_ hu fuur room_ nod .ltitchen "'Ihe bai:k.

r om, {lild " 12. (a) In my opinion. (he is deinl! well a!>d making

many impro .... ments (n the COllnt!)'. Sui dlcn: arc many

people wllo do 001 _srco!hal this Is 110.

(b) Opiolons "I'e divided commins lhe government SOllie

tay Ihey = doing w.ll and malinll mADy improvemenu

in Ihe country. OrhCN do not agru.

,. OV1,RYIEW OF mE TRANSLATION TASK

£nillsb verllon 1< a ' n ""blknl. of the French.

F'flIeh: Odeu/!, pasusgrrra d6fillt>liQft rk DouaIII.

mt

An Idiomatic traMI.llon into English would be:

Idlom_lK- t:n ilisll'

M5. O<.lette. plSS«\gtr rOT Oooala. )'0\1

!Ire wanted 00 the phone.

Excq::t for Inlcrlinr:ar uaruJations, a uuty literal 1l'aOSI0l1oo Is

Uncommon. Most ITlorulaton who lend to translAte ]it(rally aolual.ly

lnnke a partially modified Il lu a l lrlllsl.,]on. modify the order

nrul gr:umnar enough to USOl acccplabJe senlmce structure ill the

receptor lana""e, H"",'ever, the k,tical item:! are lil=nlly.

Oecasiol'Lllly, !bcsc arc also ch:mgro 10 avoid complotc IlOIlSI:JlSC or

10 improve the communiulion. Ho .... ..,.,'er, (be resu lt <till does DOl

9OUI>d oatu",]. Nottce the fotlowlngeJllUIlple fmo • language In POpll'

N_ Guinea:

,., aJoo.ttbo npsifo p""""'/>oyrIndi

I t.... I,can 1_1'a!......:I-her (llunf)

I fomned ..... {o my hton. .... I1)

The modil\<)d Inl nsl. lIoB .hOOf!'" tho:: order iDlo English

.struCIUJe. How""a, me " m does MI communk:ate In de:\/" English. All k110(l1 3littr:o.nsbllol ,,-auld ha'"eusedlhc fonn: ME nevI!!"

f<)<lot 01 l ept h ... mcu><lIY in my heart."

A ,,'hOll"anslales lu II modirlffi lilual mann ... ,,·iIl ell""ge

tl,. grammatical f()!'1lls ",lieu Ihe COIl5lrU<tioIlS are obligatory.

How_

ever. if he hfl'l l choice, he wilL follow Ihe f(!flll oCtbco e'·. n

though Q differtUI f(llm mighl N m<lfe in \he 1angu."lgC.

Liltnll and )ilenl tnnsb lio l%!.COI\S ISlentl)' err in th.al lhe y

literal eqWv,lents for tbe wo:d$, I.e., tbe Iweal items beln&

tnnslated. ... 1 traru"'!iom. of words, idioms, fia,\lreI o f If'<<Ch,

Cle., result in uoe lcar, unnatural, and sometimes nooseD.ital trnnsla·

lions. In 1I roocllntd liler:ll tnllsl.rioll, Ihe lrnIl,lalOr umally lIdjlLSI$

the t=bliort enough to avoid rcalll<lllSttlSe and wmog meaning.,

but the UIlIIaturalnns srill,emains.

Idiomatk traoS)atiOIlI we the ILII!UIaI forms of the re«JXOr

langullge, botlI in Ibe gn>IIIIMIitJll o:lrIStf\>ttlOO$ and in Ihc choice of

lexi<::a1 ilem •. .'I. truly idiomatk t MlllSlalion dl)tS no( round like a

Ki

mk of T""" .'laf'o"" l'

1nIIl,\atiOfl, It ,ooods [ike It WIIS "'THIen oriJl!!I.llly in tbe re<;ep:or

language. Thoercflft, a good translator will try 10 tntnslate idiomati_

caUy. This is hI:!: 1:0"1.

However, tnno:\Mions are oflen a mixture ora

1I1enl ll'llllSfer of !be W'lils alon, whh some idioll).t.tk

rr .... of rm:aning orllle len II is 001 ealy 10 oollJistently

translate !diomatlcally. A tr.lntlaw may npre.s.s so

me part.s of hiS

ITMSlation in ycry natural fornu and th.en in other paris r,n back into

.. Iileral form. Tramlazioos f.U on .. continU\I!II fJ'QID _Y li:eml, 10

Iitcra1, II.} lOOdirlCd lilmll. 10 near Idiomatic, 10 Idiomatic. tItld lhen

may e-..., moy" on 10 be und uly free (sec 2.1).

\"ery """,iroed In<>>t1.'' .... '' u"duly

Illral liletf m""Ire iWoo;nat'" idi0'l"'tic ('5

[)is"",y J J

1

TRANSLATOR, 'S

00"

UOdu ly free Ira"sladoU:IN DO{ ronsidc:rcd acccplAble IrIloslI.

tiono fOT 0100It pIl!'JlOSe5- T"",It\lk)m are Dudu ly rroe if tbey add

exlnmeoui; Intorm..fion II(1t In d.e .,.,...,., text. if tbey cbartgc the

meaning of Ille WUR:e tanl\1a&e, or if they diston tile fact. of

historical and cultural Selling of the 13Og\1age Icxt. S<>melimc:s

ullduly INc nrc IllIIdo foo- purpo«:S Qfhulllor or to bring

.boul a spe.; u.1 rcspcnse from the reccpror langw.gc Spea);:L'rS, How￾lbey .,e 1101 atXeptable ... "",,0).-.1 tmnslati""", The emphasis Ll

00 Ille reaaion of Ib<= !'eliding Or hearing h ..00 Ihe tnr.anin& i • .,..,.

necessarily lhe same as !hal of the i<I\ltU \angUII,e.

In oottrellslalloo. the $(JUIce le:luaid, "/ wcugllllfwhelf SIepllanll1,

Fortunatus and Ac/tnk:us amvtd, /hey ""<1Il>W'

lackingfrom you.

For Spirtl (HId >0"" aw. S""h mtll

rt:OOg1Iilicft." 11 \\11$ " Ir $ "", i. f:OOd 1O..ec

WcZy BOd 'B!& Bam'. They sort, IIl3ke up for your MI being

TIoey're a big boc:IillO both me aod you.aU.l.et'. &1\'" lIum a big h;nI. M

TIle ptlJJlOSC of Ihe tronsIatioo wu 10 make lin BnCie<lt luI "''em

oonlcmfX'l'll}'. but (he re!uit an ulldnly fr «

The trarululor·s gool .lIQuld be to reproouu in the roccpl(>I

lMguage a lUI ",hiGh coijllnunk:!lles the sacne message a.o; Ihe source

1""8""8e bu.t usinllhc natural grammalical and lexical choices ofille

rcc;e",..- I'""¥l"'Se. ffu goal Is !loll Idio

m. lie In Ibe

cha",en \\flkII follow, the manyde\lils invol""" In productogsucb I

trlnllatiOll will be dJ=sed. The b;lsic ovmiding princ iple is tlIII! ""