Translation by Choosing Approximate Analogies

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 581.

Translation by Choosing Genuine Idiomatic Analogies

An overwhelming majority of English idiomatic expressions have similar in sense units in Ukrainian. Sometimes these lexically corre­sponding idiomatic expressions of the source language may also contain easily perceivable for the target language speakers combina­tions of images as well as similar or identical structural forms. These idiomatic expressions are in most cases easily given corresponding analogies in the target language. For example: to have the ready tongue за словом у кишеню не лізти; to beat a dead horse товкти воду в ступі.

Many of such and the like idiomatic expressions may often have two and more analogous by sense variants in the target language. For example: a crooked stick throws a crooked shadow який Сава, така й слава/який батько, такий син, яка хата, такий тин; first catch your hare then cook him не скуби, доки не зловиш; не кажи гоп, доки не перескочиш.

Some source language idiomatic expressions may have a peculiar nature of their componential parts or a peculiar combi­nation of them and thus form nationally peculiar expressiveness and picturesqueness of componential images. The latter constitute some hidden meaning, which is mostly not quite explicit and comprehensi­ble for the foreigner to catch it.

As a result, there exist no genuine phraseological analogies for the units in the target language. Their lexical meaning can be expressed by means of only approximate analogies. These analogies are only to a slight degree similar to the source language idioms, although they may be no less picturesque and expressive than the source language variants: more power to your elbow ні пуху, ні пера.

5. Descriptive Translation of Idiomatic Expres­sions

The meaning of a considerable number of idiomatic expressions can be rendered through explication only. It can be expressed in the target language in some ways:

1) by a single word: out of a clear blue sky раптом, зненацька; poor fish йолоп, нікчема;

2) undoubtedly the most frequent is rendering the sense of idi­omatic/phraseological expressions with the help of free combinations of words as in: to sit above the salt сидіти на почесному місці;

3) when the lexical meaning of an original idiomatic expression is condensed or when it is based on a nationally specific notion/struc­tural form alien to the target language, the idiomatic expression may be conveyed by a sentence or a longer explanation: a wet blanket і людина або обставина, що розхолоджує.

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