RENDERING STYLISTIC DEVICES IN TRANSLATION

Tamara I.Leontieva
Lectures on Translation Theory
Department of Cross-cultural
Communication and Translation
Study
Foreign Languages Center
Vladivostok State University of
Economics
2008
RENDERING STYLISTIC
DEVICES IN TRANSLATION
TRANSLATION OF:
a) metaphor,
b) metonymy,
c) irony.
Translation of Metaphors
Metaphor is a transference of some quality
from one object to another. It is an implicit
comparison of two unlike objects (Galperin)
Animals in different cultures:
a) gender,
b) image (horse).
Translation: addition or morphological
substitution or both.
Study the Examples:
1. He thought of her as of a horse in his
stables.
2. He is a pig – Он толстый, как
поросенок.
3. He is a swine – Он подлый / грязный,
как свинья.
4. Piggy – * Свиненок
*Свинтус ----> Хрюша or
Поросеночек
Translation of a Prolonged
Metaphor
Her body swayed,
while she danced, as
a plant sways in the
water. The curves of
her throat were the
curves of a white lily.
Her hands seemed to
be made of cool ivory.
Когда она танцевала,
стан ее покачивался,
как тростник над водой.
Шея изгибом
напоминала
белоснежную лилию, а
руки были словно
выточены из слоновой
кости.
Some difficulties in
translation
1.Metaphoric epithet: gossip mills –
мельница пересудов и кривотолков.
2.Difference in traditional associations:
black day but black sheep (паршивая),
black frost (трескучий).
3.Folklore metaphors: красная девица,
добрый молодец – fair maiden, a brave
man.
Techniques of Translating
Metaphors
1. Reproducing the same image
2. Replacing the image in the ST with a
standard TL image
3. Translating metaphor with a simile
4. Explicatory translation
5. Deletion or reduction
6. Calque translation supported by
explanation
Define the method of translation
•
•
•
•
•
•
First catch the hare, then cook him.
The world is a small place.
Truth lies at the bottom of a well.
When pigs fly.
Girls are flowers.
They walked along, two continents of
experience and feeling, unable to
communicate.
Translation of Metonymy
Metonymy is a SD based on some kind of
association connecting the two concepts
these meanings represent (Galperin).
Metonymy is not based on comparison, but
1) on the association between the object and its
properties (epithet)
2) between the whole and its part
(synechdoche)
3) between the proper and common name
(antonomasia)
Three ways of translation
1. A girl in her full denim outfit nearly fell into
the office (metonymic epithet) – В кабинет
буквально ввалилась джинсовая девица.
2. SYNECHDOCHE. These wheels will drive
you at your pleasure: a) euphemistic
paraphrase – Ваш замечательный друг на
колесах… b) expansion – Эти замечательные колеса, современный дизайн корпуса
и автоматическое управление гарантируют вам езду с удовольствием.
Three ways (continued)
3. ANTONOMASIA: The guards now change
at Buckingham Palace to a Lennon and
McCartney:
a) expansion - … под музыку Леннона и
Маккартни;
b) no restructuring - … балдеют под
Леннона и Маккартни.
Define the association
1. Four legs good, two legs bad (G.Orwell.
Animal Farm).
2. She wanted to have a lot of children, and she
was glad that things were that way, that the
Church approved. Then the little girl died.
Nancy broke with Rome the day her baby
died. It was a secret break, but no Catholic
breaks with Rome casually (J.O’Hara).
3. Спасайтесь! Где вода? Это горит
Елисеев!! (М.Булгаков. Театральный роман).
Techniques of translating
metonymies
1. Equivalent translation (complete coinincidence of linguistic and cultural tradition)
2. Structural substitution (different grammar
forms which cannot be reproduced)
3. Semantic restructuring (expansion,
euphemistic paraphrase, omission, etc.)
4. Functional restructuring (stylistic changes)
5. Complete restructuring (compensation of
the metonymy with TL means)
Offer your translation of
metonymies
•
•
•
•
•
I’m all ears, mother.
Paris sang.
He was followed by a pair of heavy boots.
The world might guess it.
“What do you think has happened to Basil?”
asked Dorian, holding up his Burgundy
against the light…
• My love! Prince Charming! Prince of life!
• These wheels will drive you at your
pleasure.
Translation of Irony
Irony is the usage of words, word
collocations or sentences in the
meaning opposite to what they express
for characterizing an object or person
critically. E.g.:
What a noble illustration of the tender
laws of this favored country! – they let
the paupers go to sleep! (Ch. Dickens)
Translation of Irony
(analog)
When I left my public
school I had an extensive
knowledge of Latin and
Greek literature, knew a
certain amount of Greek
and Latin history and
French grammar, and
had «done» a little
mathematics.
Окончив частную
гимназию, я
неплохо знал
античную
литературу, имел
представление об
античной истории и
французском
языке, а также
«прошел» азы
математики.
Translation of Irony
(literal translation or expansion)
After that, Colonel
Cathcart did not trust any
other colonel in the
squadron. The only good
colonel, he decided, was
a dead colonel, except
for himself.
После этого случая
полковник Кэткарт не
верил ни одному
полковнику во всем
дивизионе. Хороший
полковник, это мертвый полковник,
разумеется, за исключением его самого.
Translation of Irony
(antonymic)
Dick Stroeve
flattered himself on
his skill in cooking
Italian dishes, and I
confess that his
spaghetti were
very much better
than his pictures.
… и, должен
признаться, его
картины были
далеко не так
хороши, как
спагетти.
Translation of Irony
(syntactic restructuring)
To read or not to read?
All books can be divided
into three groups: books
to read, books to reread,
and books not to read at
all (Oscar Wilde).
Читать или не читать?
Все книги можно разделить на три категории:
книги, предназначенные
для чтения; книги,
предназначенные для
перечитывания, книги,
вообще непригодные
для чтения.
Techniques of Translating
Irony
1. Direct translation without any changes
2. Expansion (participial or other verbal
structures, attributive constructions, etc.)
3. Antonymic translation
4. Explicatory translation (of quotations
requiring explanation)
5. Cultural-situational substitution (necessary
for preserving the ironical impact: «Your
father is not a gentleman!»)
LITERATURE
1. Ивашкин М.П. и др. Практикум по
стилистике. – С.74-78 (Theory and Ex.1).
2. Казакова Т.А. Практические основы
перевода. – СПб.: Союз, 2000. – 317 с.
3. Прошина З.Г. Теория перевода, 2002. –
С.195-204.