3 LEXIS In reality the separation of lexis

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3. LEXIS In reality the separation of lexis and grammar is artificial because a

3. 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).

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

Componential analysis The idea of breaking a word down into its separate semantic features/components Simple example: GIRL/RAGAZZA (= + human + female + young) How young? Una ragazza può avere 40 anni? More complicated example: NIECE/NIPOTE

Componential analysis of TANTRUM Il Ragazzini offers four translations: collera, bizze, stizza, nervi. A

Componential analysis of TANTRUM Il Ragazzini offers four translations: collera, bizze, stizza, nervi. A ESSENTIAL (FUNCTIONAL) COMPONENTS 1 displaying anger 2 negative (suggests unjustified anger) 3 associated mostly with children B SECONDARY (DESCRIPTIVE) COMPONENTS 1 loud, perhaps hysterical behaviour 2 mild violence Does this help you to choose the best translation?

Collocation The binding properties of lexical items; how words go together. Predictable collocations: upside

Collocation The binding properties of lexical items; how words go together. Predictable collocations: upside down, back to front, far west, here and there, black and _____, questo è poco ma _____, the rich get rich and the poor get _____. What do you think is the principle meaning of the word season?

Have in English, fare/prendere in Italian Have breakfast, lunch, a shower, a bath, a

Have in English, fare/prendere in Italian Have breakfast, lunch, a shower, a bath, a coffee, something to drink Get + adjective in English, reflexive verb in Italian Get ready, tired, worried, nervous, wet, angry, excited, (un)dressed How do you translate the following? wear jeans wear sandals wear a watch wear ear-rings your seat-belt a crash helmet wear-wore-worn (out) Children’s shoes wear out very quickly. A very old joke: “Is anything worn under a Scotsman’s kilt? ” “No, it’s all in perfect working order. ”

Inflexible collocations: idioms, proverbs, fixed expressions Penny wise and pound foolish. Let sleeping dogs

Inflexible collocations: idioms, proverbs, fixed expressions Penny wise and pound foolish. Let sleeping dogs lie. If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again. A fool and his money are soon parted. It’s just not cricket. Once a Catholic, always a Catholic. (Often simply “Once a Catholic”) He’s a(n) _____ fundamentalist. Poche idee ma ben _____. Vendiamo _____ di proprietà.

Creativity in the source text. What should the translator do? Richard Dawkins is an

Creativity in the source text. What should the translator do? Richard Dawkins is an atheistic fundamentalist. It’s just not rugby. If at first you don’t succeed, parachuting is not for you. A fool and his money were lucky to meet in the first place. (W. C. Fields, US comic actor) Let dishonest dogs lie. Poche idee ma ben confuse. (Ennio Flaiano, writer and journalist) Osservato a Quartu Sant’Elena, agosto 2015: Avviso scritto a mano: “Vendiamo uva di proprietà. ” Commento di un altro ambulante: “De ghi? ” The translator must try to understand the speaker’s or writer’s illocutionary force or communicative intention. It is more important to convey that intention than to produce a target text that is formally similar to the source text.

Proper nouns Paris/Parigi, London/Londra, Wien/Vienna but Washington, Copenhagen, Helsinki. Il principe Carlo d’Inghilterra ma

Proper nouns Paris/Parigi, London/Londra, Wien/Vienna but Washington, Copenhagen, Helsinki. Il principe Carlo d’Inghilterra ma i suoi figli sono William e Harry. Oscar Wilde’s best-known play is The Importance of Being Earnest. The title is usually translated as L’importanza di chiamarsi Ernesto but something is lost. What? 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. But Taylor (p. 32) gives an example of a wonderfully inventive translation of a character’s name: Source Text: Maxwell House Target text: Teo Lipton

From Animal Farm by George Orwell (1945) The commandments were written on the tarred

From Animal Farm by George Orwell (1945) The commandments were written on the tarred wall in great white letters that could be read thirty yards away. They ran thus: THE SEVEN COMMANDMENTS Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend. No animal shall wear clothes. No animal shall sleep in a bed. No animal shall drink alcohol. No animal shall kill any other animal. All animals are equal. It was very neatly written, and except that ‘friend’ was ‘freind’ and one of the ‘S’s’ was the wrong way round, the spelling was correct all the way through.

Traduzione di Bruno Tasso. I Commandamenti furono scritti su un muro incatramato, a grandi

Traduzione di Bruno Tasso. I Commandamenti furono scritti su un muro incatramato, a grandi lettere bianche si potevano leggere alla distanza di trenta metri. Eccone il testo: I SETTE COMMANDAMENTI Tutto ciò che va su due gambe è nemico. Tutto ciò che va su quattro gambe o ha ali è amico. Nessun animale vestirà abiti. Nessun animale dormirà in un letto. Nessun animale berrà alcoolici. Nessun animale ucciderà un altro animale. Tutti gli animali sono eguali. Tutto ciò era scritto molto accuratamente e, salvo qualche accento e un “tutto” con una t sola, anche l’ortografia era corretta.

NAMES OF PIGS TASSO’S TRANSLATION Napoleon Napoleon Snowball Palla di Neve Squealer Clarinetto A

NAMES OF PIGS TASSO’S TRANSLATION Napoleon Napoleon Snowball Palla di Neve Squealer Clarinetto A VERY POWERFUL HORSE Boxer Gondrano

FALSE FRIENDS 3 What do you remember about agenda, agony and alumnus? Amateur (noun

FALSE FRIENDS 3 What do you remember about agenda, agony and alumnus? Amateur (noun and adjective) is the opposite of professional. Dilettante. The adjective amateurish is used in a derogatory sense, like dilettantesco. Dilettante is in the lexicon of English; it refers to someone who studies something or does an activity rather superficially, without real commitment. Amatore. An art-lover, a music-lover etc. or someone who loves/is fond of/is keen on art, music etc. Antique: pezzo di antiquariato Antico: 1. Ancient (ancient history), 2. Long-standing (long-standing friendship) Antico Testamento = Old Testament Gli Antichi = the Ancients You should know something about apology, application/apply and arrange/arrangement.

THE DIARY OF A BRAVE TRANSLATOR VERILY IN LEG – PART 3 I’m going

THE DIARY OF A BRAVE TRANSLATOR VERILY IN LEG – PART 3 I’m going to London soon. I don’t see the hour to use my English with native speakers. One of my colleagues wanted to come with me but he’s as mad as a horse, so I discouraged him. I’m going to stay in a hotel near the British Museum, and that’s an area I know like my own pockets because I’ve been there several times before. You never know what weather to expect in England but – touch iron – it won’t rain while I’m there.