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5. Semantics Reference Semantic units Equivalence

5. Semantics Reference Semantic units Equivalence.

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5. Semantics Reference Semantic units Equivalence

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  1. 5. Semantics Reference Semanticunits Equivalence

  2. “The term ‘semantics’ doesnotsimplyrefer to the meaning of words; itis the entiresystem of meanings of a language, expressed by grammaraswellasvocabulary. The text is a semanticunit […] meanings are realisedthroughwordings.” (M.A.K. Halliday, cited by Taylor p. 68). Phoneticfeaturesalsocontribute to meaning. In Italianwe can add a diminutive suffix to the end of a noun to suggestsmallness or lightness. In factthere are twodiminutives in Italian. English has a diminutive suffixbutitisusedlessfrequentlythan the Italianforms. However, in English wehave the colloquialexpressionsteeny-weeny and itsy-bitsy to suggestthatsomethingisvery small or of no importanceatall. From a 1960 hit single by Brian Hyland: “Itwas an itsy-bitsy, teeny-weenyyellow polka-dot bikini…” http://testi-di-canzoni.com/canzone/mostrare/243594/brian-hyland/testo-e-traduzione-itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny-yellow-polka-dot/ And whatis the Italianaugmentativesuffix to indicate largeness or heaviness?

  3. Functionwordshave no semanticvalue, only a grammaticalfunction. Whatdoesthemean? Or by or in? Content wordsor lexicalitemsrefer to somethingthatexists in the world, whether concrete (house, Cagliari, coffee) or abstract (curiosity, philosophy, idea). The thingreferred to is the referent; the word/wordsthat indicate itis/are the referringexpression.

  4. Referenceisnotalwaysstraightforward. The English wordsbough /baʊ/ and branch are both translated into Italian by ramo but native speakers of English know that they do not refer to exactly the same thing. Branch is polysemous: it can also be translated as filiale, succursale or sportello. Bough is monosemous but in spoken English there could be ambiguity because it is a homophone of bow, which means inchinarsi. Do paura and spavento refer to exactly the same emotion? Ifyou live at the Equator, whatdoesautumnrefer to?

  5. Semanticunits or chunks Sexualintercoursebegan In nineteensixty-three (whichwas a little late for me) – Between the end of the Chatterleyban And the Beatles’ first LP (from Annus Mirabilis by Philip Larkin 1922-1985)

  6. Equivalenceisrarely 100% perfect Taylor (pp 71,72) points out that: 1. wehave no difficulty in translatingbreadintootherlanguagesbut the target language word probablydoesnotrefer to quite the samefoodproduct; 2. nursery school and asilo infantile do notrefer to exactly the samekind of institution; 3. The sentence “He atemy bacon sandwich” isnotas easy to translateasyoumightthink. L’anagrafe requires a lengthytranslation in English. English speakers take it for grantedthatdoctorrefers to a doctor of medicine.

  7. A complete grammaticalclauseisnotnecessarily a semanticunit for translationpurposes. Thisappears to be an easy translation: Theydecided to park the bus Hanno deciso di parcheggiare il pullman But the source text continues: Theydecided to park the bus and protecttheir 1-0 lead. Here park the busis a metaphorused in football when a team scores a goal and thenadoptsdefensivetactics to stop theiropponents from getting an equalizer.

  8. Lord of the Flies by William Golding (1954) “Thereain’tnothingwe can do. Weought to be more careful. I’mscared…” Jack draggedhiseyesaway from the fire. “You’realwaysscared. Yah – Fatty!” “I got the conch,” saidPiggybleakly. He turned to Ralph. “I got the conch, ain’t I Ralph?” Unwillingly Ralph turnedaway from the splendid, awfulsight. “What’sthat?” “The conch. I got a right to speak.” The twins giggledtogether. “Wewantedsmoke…” “Now look…” A pallstretched for milesaway from the island. All the boys exceptPiggystarted to giggle; presentlytheywereshrieking with laughter.

  9. Il signore delle mosche. Traduzione di Filippo Donini (1980) «Non c’è niente da fare. Dovremo stare più attenti. Ho paura...» Jack staccò gli occhi dal fuoco. «Tu hai sempre paura. Ih!... Grassone!» «Io ho la conchiglia» disse Piggy con voce lagnosa. Si volse verso Ralph. «Io ho la conchiglia, non è vero, Ralph?» Contro voglia, Ralph staccò gli occchi dallo spettacolo splendido e pauroso. «Che c’è?» «Io ho la conchiglia. Ho diritto di parlare.» I gemelli ridacchiarono tutti e due insieme. «Volevamo del fumo…» «Ma sì, guarda!...» Una striscia nera si stendeva per miglia e miglia lontano dall’isola. Tutti i ragazzi tranne Piggy cominciarono a ridacchiare, e dopo un po’ le risate erano altissime.

  10. Piggylosthistemper. “I got the conch! Just youlisten! The first thingweought to have made wasshelters down there by the beach. Itwasn’thalfcold down there in the night. But the first time Ralph says ‘fire’ yougoeshowling and screaming up thishere mountain. Like a pack of kids!” By nowtheywerelistening to histirade. “How can youexpect to be rescuedifyoudon’t put first things first and actproper?”

  11. Piggy perse la calma. «Io ho la conchiglia! Ma sentite un po’! La prima cosa che avremmo dovuto fare, erano dei rifugi laggiù sulla spiaggia. Faceva ben freddo, laggiù, di notte. Ma è bastato che Ralph parlasse di fuoco, ed eccovi tutti quassù sulla montagna a gridare e fare chiasso. Come un mucchio di bambini!» Adesso stavano ad ascoltare la sua tirata. «Come potete pretendere che ci salvino, se non fate quello che bisogna fare?»

  12. FALSE FRIENDS 5 What do yourememberaboutaspersion, assassinate/murderand assume? Attic = soffitta, mansarda Attico = penthouse, top-floorflat Bigot (adjective: bigotted) = notnecessarilyrelated to religion. A bigotissomeonewhohasvery strong viewsaboutsomething (e.g. politics) and refuses to considerotherpoints of view. Bigotry and racismoften go together. Callous = insensibile alle sofferenze altrui. Calloso = callused.

  13. THE DIARY OF A BRAVE TRANSLATOR VERILY IN LEG – PART 5 Don’tbelieveeverythingyousee on the internet. The otherday I readthatit’sverydangerous to use yourphonewhile the batteryisrecharging, but I laterdiscoveredthatitwas just a cow buffalo. There are often stories aboutcertainfoodsthathavemiraculousqualities, but I didn’tfall with the last rain, so I don’tbelievethem. Butthese stories persistbecausethere are plenty of naivepeopleabout and it’s easy to take them by the bottom.

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