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Chapter 1 Linguistics and translation

Chapter 1 Linguistics and translation. linguistic reasoning behind tranlation. 1.1 LANGUAGE STRUCTURE AND THE ORGANISATION OF INFORMATION “The translator should first identify those items that stand as autonomous units.” (Taylor 1998: 14). THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

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Chapter 1 Linguistics and translation

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  1. Chapter 1 Linguistics and translation • linguistic reasoning behind tranlation

  2. 1.1 LANGUAGE STRUCTURE AND THE ORGANISATION OF INFORMATION “The translator should first identify those items that stand as autonomous units.” (Taylor 1998: 14)

  3. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND • 1. Ferdinand de Saussure (Taylor pp 11,12) • Syntagms: joining words or longer units horizontally to form grammatically acceptable and meaningful clauses and sentences. • Syntagmatic sequence • He leaves tomorrow

  4. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND • 1. Ferdinand de Saussure (Taylor pp 11,12) • System: choosing of competing linguistc options from the vertical nature of the system. • paradigmatic: competing linguistic options • He leaves as soon as the weather improves • He / go(es) / tomorrow • she / leave(s) / as soon as the weather improves • you /sail(s) /next week • syntagms: they are combined syntagmatically in a logical order to create meaning

  5. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND • 2. Structuralism. Leonard Bloomfield. (Taylor pp 12-14) • Immediate Constituents Analysis • How would you break the following sentence into autonomous units? • The meeting broke up at midnight and the delegates went home

  6. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND • 2. Structuralism. Leonard Bloomfield. (Taylor pp 12-14) • Immediate Constituents Analysis: • How would you break the following sentence into autonomous units? • Each single word could be split into meaninful contituents: • Quickly

  7. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND • 2. Structuralism. Leonard Bloomfield. (Taylor pp 12-14) • Immediate Constituents Analysis: • How would you break the following sentence into autonomous units? • The meeting /broke up /at midnight • La riunione /si è sciolta / a mezzanotte

  8. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND • 2. Structuralism. Leonard Bloomfield. (Taylor pp 12-14) • Immediate Constituents Analysis: • How would you break the following sentence into autonomous units? • Nasce + da questa esigenza + la figura dell’integratore d’impresa, +di chi+ , cioè sappia costruire + sistemi integrati su misura. • (The idea of the company integrator), (that is) (someome) (able to construct) (custom –made integration system), (arose) (from this need).

  9. Universal structure (Taylor pp 14, 15) Noam Chomsky, Syntactic Structures (1957) Universal “deep” grammar: the core rules of human language which do not change over time. “Surface” grammar: the rules that are specific to individual languages and are subject to change. Eugene Nida (Towards a Science of Translation, 1964) used Chomsky’s concept of deep structure to develop the notion of “kernel sentences” (kernel = nocciolo, nucleo, fondo) based on the core elements of all languages. See example in Taylor pp 14,15.

  10. In whom we have redemtion through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, accordian to the riches of his grace. • the basic kernel are identified as: God redeems us, Christ dies, (shed his blood).God forgives, We sin, and God shos grace richly: • The congruent version provided is: • God redeemd us though Christ’s shedding of his blood, and God forgave our sins. All this indicates how richly God showed hios grace.

  11. The Prague School (Taylor 15-17) • Functional Sentence Perspective (FSP) and Communicative Dynamism (CD). • THEME (known information) and RHEME (new information). • The English have no respect for their languages • THEME RHEME • Information that speaker New information for the interlocutor • and interlocutor share Communicative dynamism

  12. The Prague School (Taylor 15-17) • Functional Sentence Perspective (FSP) and Communicative Dynamism (CD). • THEME (known information) and RHEME (new information). • Interests rates fell by 2%. This drop caused panic on the Stock Market as brokers rushed to inform clients. • THEME RHEME • Information that speaker New information for the interlocutor • and interlocutor share Communicative dynamism

  13. The Prague School (Taylor 15-17) • Functional Sentence Perspective (FSP) and Communicative Dynamism (CD). • THEME (known information) and RHEME (new information). • Jack ha pagato il conto, e siccome era molto caro, ha contribuito anche Mary . • THEME RHEME • Information that speaker New information for the interlocutor • and interlocutor share Communicative dynamism

  14. The Prague School (Taylor 15-17) • Functional Sentence Perspective (FSP) and Communicative Dynamism (CD). • THEME (known information) and RHEME (new information). • Jack paid the bill and since it was expensive, Mary chipped in too. • THEME RHEME • Information that speaker New information for the interlocutor • and interlocutor share Communicative dynamism

  15. M.A.K. Halliday (1985), An Introduction to Functional Grammar (Taylor pp 17,18) Halliday also equates grammatical subject with theme with known information in unmarked declarative sentences. However, he notes that we frequently move the communicative focus in marked sentences (interrogative or imperative clause where the verb form, coming first is theme) in which the theme is not the grammatical subject: Example: All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others. (unmarked sentence) THEME RHEME

  16. M.A.K. Halliday (1985), An Introduction to Functional Grammar (Taylor pp 17,18) Many sentenses are marked in some way. Sometimes adverbial expressions are found in theme position:   Example: On the first day of Christmas my true love gave me a partridge in a pear tree (marked sentence) THEME RHEME

  17. M.A.K. Halliday (1985), An Introduction to Functional Grammar (Taylor pp 17,18) Or some new information is presented first in a clause, as theme. As we can see the theme in the second clasue is new:   Example: We three kings of orient are bearing gifts we traverse afar. (marked sentence) THEME RHEME

  18. M.A.K. Halliday (1985), An Introduction to Functional Grammar (Taylor pp 17,18) Such considerations can assist in the organization of the translation of a sentense such as the following, where the Italian sentence actually thematises the verb: Example: Si avvia al termine la pausa estiva che, come ogni anno, ha determinato la sospensione  dell’attività parlamentare. The summer break which, as every year, has brought about an adjuournment of parlamentary activity, is drawing to a close. (marked sentence) THEME RHEME

  19. M.A.K. Halliday (1985), An Introduction to Functional Grammar (Taylor pp 17,18) Example: Si avvia al termine la pausa estiva che, come ogni anno, ha determinato la sospensione  dell’attività parlamentare. The summer break which, as every year, has brought about an adjuournment of parlamentary activity, is drawing to a close. (marked sentence) A mere copying of the Italian construction could sound clumsy, given that the unmarked English language option is always to equate the theme with the subject.

  20. Ways in which the information focus/communicativedynamism can beshifted. • Active or passive • Only the best tennis isplayed at Wimbledon • 2. The interrogative pre-positioningof the operator: • Doyou play tennis? • 2. CleftsentencesbeginningwithIt • Itwas Rush whoscored the goal. • 3. Pseudo cleftsentencesbeginningwithWhat • WhatRush didwasgalvanise the restof the team. • An embeddedclauseassubject: • That Ruth would come back to Liverpool wasnever in doubt. • 5. The thematizationofanadverb: • Againstallodds, Liverpool managedtowin • The translatorhastoconsiderwhy the source text authorchosetothematisesomething.

  21. The syntactic flexibility of the Italian language and its different thematic organization enables such constructions: Example: È arrivato il Re! È arrivato il Re! In English: *Has arrived the King Is ungrammatical.

  22. The King is here ! The King is here! • The thematic organization of Italijn may push the trannlsator to reject the congruent syntax of the following: • Example: • The King is here! The King is here! • and opt for a presentative construction with subject shiftes to the right: • Here is the King! Here is the King!

  23. COHESION • Coherence: the extralinguisticsemanticlinks (context) thatbind a text together so thatitmakessenseasdiscourse. • Cohesionisachieved in variousways: • Cohesion: internallinkswithin a text (co-text). • 1) Conjunctions: • John arrivedand sat down • 2) Reference (pro-formsthatrefer back or aheadwithin the text) • Pronounsthatrefer back to a previously–mentionedentity are saidtoconstitute ‘anaphoric’ reference: • Johncame in,hedid A, hedid B, hedidz…

  24. COHESION Coherence: the extralinguistic semantic links (context) that bind a text together so that it makes sense as discourse. Cohesion is achieved in various ways: Cohesion: internal links within a text (co-text). Where the reference is to an entity further ahead in the discouse, it is termed cataforic: 3) cataphoric This is nopt good news for you. You are all fired! 4) Substituion or Ellipsis It might rain but I hope it doesn’t (verb phrase substituted by auxiliaries) I voted for the Greens . Why…? Synonyms/antonyms Hyponyms Lexical cohesion

  25. COHESION Coherence: the extralinguistic semantic links (context) that bind a text together so that it makes sense as discourse. Cohesion is achieved in various ways: Cohesion: internal links within a text (co-text). 4) Repetition of words The only thing we have to fear is fear itself 5) Synonyms or near synonims Having lost one opportunity, he won’t get a second chance 6) Through the use of semantically-related items: a) antonyms That’s the top and bottom b) Hyponyms The tiger is an endangered animal(that is a superordinate term animal is associated with a subordinate, hyponymous term tiger) Lexical cohesion

  26. COHESION Coherence: the extralinguistic semantic links (context) that bind a text together so that it makes sense as discourse. Cohesion is achieved in various ways: Cohesion: internal links within a text (co-text). c) Items in the same semantic fields Clear away the tables and the chair d) part/whole relationship She sewed a new button on her jacket 8) Lexical cohesion

  27. LEXIS In reality the separation of lexis and grammar is artificial because a certain lexical choice often has grammatical implications (uncountable furniture and plural mobili obviously involve grammatical considerations for translators). It is better to talk of lexicogrammar. Terms: unambiguous, monosemic, often technical e.g. isotope, quarks, protein. Words: polysemous (polysemic) with figurative as well as literal meanings e.g. orange (fruit or colour), rosa (flower, colour, associations of femininity). Content words (or lexical items): words that have semantic value. Function words: words that have a grammatical function but no semantic value (e.g. articles).

  28. LEXIS In reality the separation of lexis and grammar is artificial because a certain lexical choice often has grammatical implications (uncountable furniture and plural mobili obviously involve grammatical considerations for translators). It is better to talk of lexicogrammar. Terms: unambiguous, monosemic, often technical e.g. isotope, quarks, protein. Words: polysemous (polysemic) with figurative as well as literal meanings e.g. orange (fruit or colour), rosa (flower, colour, associations of femininity). Content words (or lexical items): words that have semantic value. Function words: words that have a grammatical function but no semantic value (e.g. articles).

  29. Componential analysis The idea of breaking a word down into its separate semantic features/components

  30. Collocation The binding properties of lexical items; how words go together. Predictable collocations: provide examples in English and in Italian “You shall know a word by the company it keeps” (Firth 1968: 106)

  31. Collocation Some collocations are more predictable than others and could be mirroed in other languages: Read a book: leggere un libro blue sky: cielo azzurro Expressions : Time flies: il tempo vola Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth: A caval donato… Others might be tautologuous and thereforee expendable in translation : Garage mechanic: meccanico Motor car: macchina Medical doctor: medico

  32. Collocation • Fixed idioms may have obscure origins • Campa cavallo • Topsy-torvey • Topsy and torvey collocate with no other words • Other items collocate with surprisingly combinations: • Ride collocates with horse, bicycle, elephant, • But also: • ride the storm (superare la tempesa) • Ride along (partecipare)

  33. Collocation • by extension to the storm , • ride a crisis, problem, etc. • With a potentially huge number of variattion recognisablke as collocations. This poses enormous problems for translators, the most obvious being that the patterns of collocation in one language are often not mirroed in another.

  34. Collocation • Predictable collocations: equivalence • Italians mangiano spaghetti but also si magiano le unghie • English bite their nails. • Idioms, colloquial language is more complex idiosincrasis of individual languages • Example: • Ci sono molti treni che fanno servizio tra Longra e Brighton: • There are frequent trains running between London and Brighton.

  35. Predictable collocations: equivalence

  36. Creativity in the source text. Whatshould the translator do? • The translatormusttrytounderstand the speaker’s or writer’s illocutionaryforce or communicativeintention. Itis more importanttoconveythatintentionthanto produce a target text thatisformallysimilarto the source text. • Partington (1995): • Reformulation: The cookythatdidn’t crumble ( That’s the way the cookie crumble ) [sono cose che succedono] • Abbreviation: Once a Catholic (Once a Catholic , always a Catholic) • Expansion: Songsfrom the AgeofInnocence (SongsofInnocence + The AgeofInnocence)

  37. Creativity in the source text. Whatshould the translator do? • The translatormusttrytounderstand the speaker’s or writer’s illocutionaryforce or communicativeintention. Itis more importanttoconveythatintentionthanto produce a target text thatisformallysimilarto the source text. • Partington (1995): • 2) Abbreviation: Once a Catholic (Once a Catholic , always a Catholic) • Proverbialused in truncatedforminsteadofcanonicalexpression .The collocationalforceofthsewordsissuchasto preclude the necessityof total explicitness. • DoesItaliantruncateproverbialexpressions and for the samereasons? • “campa cavallo”, acqua passata”. • Expansion: Songsfrom the AgeofInnocence (SongsofInnocence + The AgeofInnocence)

  38. Creativity in the source text. Whatshould the translator do? The translatormusttrytounderstand the speaker’s or writer’s illocutionaryforce or communicativeintention. Itis more importanttoconveythatintentionthanto produce a target text thatisformallysimilarto the source text. Partington (1995): 3) Expansion: Songsfrom the AgeofInnocence (SongsofInnocence + The AgeofInnocence) (William Blake) An educatedpersonsknows the peom the is no reasonnottotranslate ‘Canti da un’età dell’innocenza’.instedofAgeofinnocence(Età dell’innocenza)

  39. Proper names •  The criteria for the translation of such names are those of historical importsance. Great names from the past in all field of human endeaviour find their names translated . • The nearer we get to the present day the less this usage persists. • William the Conqueror Guglielmo il Conquistatore • Guglielmo Clinton • fossilized names do not require translation: • Johnson John’s son • Different considerations come into play for names of fictitious character and fictional names: • names of onomastic nature do not translate: David Copperfield • Names that carry any kind of meaning: • Bluebeard/barbablù • Little red riding hood/Cappuccetto Rosso • The March Hare/la Lepre Marzolina

  40. Proper names Some cities are tranlated: Paris/Parigi, London/Londra, Wien/Vienna but Washington, Copenhagen, Helsinki. Il principe Carlo d’Inghilterra ma i suoi figli sono William e Harry. If the source text involves puns on names that also have semantic value (e.g. Frank, Hazel, Sandy), it may be impossible to reproduce the double meaning in the target text. Taylor (p. 32) gives an example of translation of a character’s name: Source Text: Maxwell House (a well –known brand coffee) Target text: Teo Lipton

  41. Terminology • The study of and the field of activity concerned with the collection , description, processing and presentation of terms, i.e. lexical items belonging to specialised areas of usage of one or more languages.

  42. Terminology • the ideal “one-concept-one –term” is not always applicable: • approved debts/ debito approvato Sometimes not: • advising bank/ banca corrispondente di avviso del credito

  43. Terminology • termformation: newmodes on existingterm Latin and Greek • Parallelpatters operate: rapidlyexpanding + filedofcomputers: software , hardaware, • Compounding: Pressurescrew [twonoun cluster] = vite a pressione [noun + prep.+ noun] Thisexampleisinstructivefor 2 reasons: • Terms do notconsistof just onelexical word Closed-circuittelevision [adj+noun+noun] televisione a circuito chiuso [noun+ prep.+ noun+adj]

  44. Terminology • termformation: newmodes on existingterm Latin and Greek • Compounding: Pressurescrew [twonoun cluster] = vite a pressione [noun + prep.+ noun] Thisexampleisinstructiuvefor 2 reasons: • Terms do notconsistof just onelexical word 2) The process and the modelsthey create can leadtoconfusion: Diamonddrilling Concrete drilling

  45. Terminology • termformation: newmodesonexistingterm Latin and Greek b) Affixation: [prefix] interaction, contradict, monotone; [suffix] hydrophobia, etc. c) Abbreviation: CCTV, AMU (atomic mass unit). • Parallelpatters operate: rapidlyexpanding + filedofcomputers: software , hardaware,

  46. Terminology Lexical density : proportion between lexical words (nouns, verbs, agj, adv., etc)and function words (prep., Conj., Copular verbs, etc.). • Written language is more dense than spoken language • Technical texts have a higher lexical density; higher ratio of techical terms; • The translator should attempt to create the same effect in the TL and to confim the translator’s adhererance to the TL.

  47. 4. TRANSLATION STRATEGIES Taylor borrows J.L. Malone’s list of nine strategies for translating at a structural or lexicogrammatical level: Equation Substitution Divergence Convergence Amplification Reduction Diffusion Condensation Reordering Malone, J.L. (1988), The Science of Linguistics in the Art of Translation. Albany: State University of New York Press.

  48. 4. TRANSLATION STRATEGIES • The first eight are presentedaspairsasthey are imagesofoneanother:   • Examples: • Aplificationrequires the additionof some elements, Reduction the opposite. • Equationsuggests some formofauthomaticequivalence, substitutionwhenauthomatismisnotpresent. • EquationSubstitution • DivergenceConvergence • AmplificationReduction • DiffusionCondensation • Reordering

  49. Equation and Substitution • Equation 1 •  The mostobviousformofEquationis the loan word • Loanwords: baseball, relax (riposo); • Neologismalsoappers a asloan: sofware, screening; • Termscoinedforparticuparsubcultures: video games, rap; corner, •  At a phoneticlevelundergoradicalchanges • The secondformofEquationisprovidedby the TL adaptation : • 2) Calques: click/cliccare,stop/stoppare, dribble/dribblare, cross/crossare, goodafternoon/buon pomeriggio

  50. Equation and Substitution Equation 1 The second form of Equation is provided by the TL adapts : 2) Calques: click/cliccare,stop/stoppare, dribble/dribblare, cross/crossare, good afternoon/buon pomeriggio, ho realizzato/I realized [mi sono reso conto]

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