Lecture 7 Grammatical Problems of Translation 1 2

Lecture 7. Grammatical Problems of Translation 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Translating Tense and Aspect Forms. Translating Passive Voice Forms. Translating the Subjunctive Mood Forms. Translating the Infinitive. Translating the Gerund. Translating the Participle. Translating Absolute Constructions.

1. TRANSLATING TENSE AND ASPECT FORMS. English In English there are four tense forms: 1) Present, 2) Past, 3) Future, 4) Future in the Past. Ukrainian In Ukrainian there are three tenses: 1) Present, 2) Past, 3) Future In English there are four aspect In Ukrainian there are two aspects: groups, which show the action is 1) Perfective performed: 2) Imperfective. 1) Simple, 2) Progressive, 3) Perfect, 4) Perfect Progressive.

REGULARITIES observed between the English and Ukrainian Tense Forms: 1. English Simple (Indefinite) tenses correspond to the Ukrainian imperfective aspect: Water boils at 100º Centigrade. – Вода кипить при 100ºC. 2. Progressive tenses correspond to the Ukrainian imperfective form: He first became interested in drama when he was working abroad. – Він вперше зацікавився драматургією, коли працював за кордоном. 3. English Perfect forms, when expressing a completed action, correspond to Ukrainian perfective verbs: I haven’t finished yet. – Я ще не закінчила. 4. English Perfect Progressive tense forms correspond to the Ukrainian imperfective forms: He has been studying Japanese for three years. – Він вивчає японську мову вже три роки.

ASYMMETRY observed between the English and Ukrainian Tense Forms: 1. Ukrainian future tenses correspond to English present tense forms in adverbial clauses: Якщо він прийде, я дам вам знати. – If he comes, I’ll let you know. 2. When the English present tense is used to denote the near future, in Ukrainian the present tense form alternates with the future: The train arrives in five minutes. - Поїзд прибуде через п'ять хвилин. 3. The English Present Perfect or Present Perfect Continuous verb is usually translated by the Ukrainian past tense verb, since it indicates a ‘prepresent’ action: Who has eaten my soup? – Хто з'їв мій суп? 4. In emotional speech the English Progressive and Simple tenses seem to exchange their aspect characteristics: She is always complaining! – Вічно вона скаржиться! 5. Lexical compensation is often a way out in contrasting tense and aspect forms: «Чому ти не знаєш правила? » - «Я вчив. » - «Вчив, та не вивчив. » - “Why don’t you know the rule? ” – “I learnt it. ” - “You tried to, but failed. ”

2. TRANSLATING PASSIVE VOICE FORMS English passive is classified into four types of construction: a) direct passive: A book was given to him. It has a corresponding Ukrainian passive voice form: Книга була дана йому. b) indirect passive: He was given the book. This form is translated by the corresponding Ukrainian active voice verb in the impersonal sentence: Йому дали цю книгу. c) prepositional passive: The article was not referred to. – На цю статтю не посилалися. The corresponding Ukrainian impersonal sentence is also with the active verb. d) adverbial passive: The room hasn’t been lived in. When translated into Ukrainian, the passive construction is substituted by an active one, sometimes a subject of the sentence is introduced: У кімнаті ніхто не жив / не живе.

Translation of the English double passive the predicate can be substituted by the active verb: The treaty is reported to have been signed by both parties. – Повідомляють, що договір вже підписаний обома сторонами. the principal clause can be substituted by a parenthetical one: Як повідомляють, договір вже підписаний обома сторонами. the passive infinitive can be substituted by the active one, so that the sentence subject turns into the sentence object: The prisoners were ordered to be shot. – Було наказано розстріляти бранців. there might be a substitution by the noun: The music is intended to be played on the piano. – Музика призначена для гри на фортепіано.

3. TRANSLATING THE SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD FORMS Adverbial clauses of condition presuppose the usage of the were/ did or had done forms: Якби я тільки знала. . . - If only I knew (had known). Nominative clauses predetermine the usage of (should) do forms: Пропоную, щоб він це зробив. – I suggest that he (should) do it.

To render in Ukrainian the meaning of the English sentence one has to compensate the English verb form by some modifier indicating time: If she were in New York, she would certainly call you. – Якби вона зараз була в Нью-Йорку, вона б, звичайно, подзвонила вам. If the meaning of time is clear from the context, a zero transformation is employed in Ukrainian: The demonstration would have passed off quite peacefully, had the organizers taken a few elementary precautions. – Якби організатори передбачили елементарні заходи безпеки, демонстрація пройшла б цілком мирно.

To render the structures of “problematic condition”, it is necessary to substitute the subjunctive mood by the future tense form of the indicative mood, compensating lexically the specific construction meaning: Should I not be promoted, I'm going to have to go out and look for a better-paying job. – Якщо все ж мене не підвищать на посаді, я буду змушений виїхати в пошуках краще оплачуваної роботи. Constructions with the ‘wish’-clauses often require antonymous translation: I wish she were here. – Шкода, що її тут немає. English and Ukrainian sentences often differ in degree of certainty expressed by the mood construction: It looks as if he were sick. (I am not sure). – It looks as if he is sick. (He really is but I wouldn’t like to sound categorical. ) In Ukrainian this subtle difference in meaning is lost: Здається, він хворий.

4. TRANSLATING THE INFINITIVE English forms of the Infinitive: the Simple Infinitive: Я рада, що бачу вас. - I am glad to see you. / Я рада, що піду туди. - I am glad to go there. the Continuous Infinitive: Я рада, що читаю цю книгу. - I am glad to be reading the book. the Perfect Infinitive: Я рада, що побачила вас. - I am glad to have seen you. the Perfect Continuous Infinitive: Я рада, що читала цю книгу. - I am glad to have been reading the book.

Difficulties in translation of the Infinitive: 1. The infinitive in its modal meaning: This is a book to read. – Ось книга, яку можна (потрібно) почитати. 2. The infinitive in its adverbial function. Iron combines with oxygen to form rust. (subsequent event) – Залізо з'єднується з киснем і утворює іржу. She is too old to go there. (result)– Вона дуже стара і не поїде туди. She is old enough to go there. – Вона досить доросла і може поїхати туди.

3. Complex Object construction is usually translated by a clause: We expect them to pay us by Friday. – Ми очікуємо, що нам дадуть зарплату до п'ятниці. 4. When translating the Complex Subject construction, it is recommended that the finite verb be translated first, and then the subject and the infinitive be joined to form a clause: After a few minutes the men were seen to be running in all directions. – Через кілька хвилин побачили, що ці люди біжать в різні боки. The letter seems to have been opened. – Здається, лист вже розкрили.

5. The for-to-infinitive construction is translated in the following ways: �by a Ukrainian complex sentence: She arranged for the office to be opened by one of the security people. – Вона влаштувала так, що офіс відкрив один з охоронців. �by a compound sentence: He was a very nice fellow, you had only to say you wanted something for him to give it to you. – Він був дуже хороший хлопець: варто було вам тільки сказати, що вам щось потрібно, і він тут же давав це вам. 6. The Absolute construction with the infinitive. This construction usually has the meaning either of concession or of successive events: With so much to say, the two said nothing. – І хоча цим двом так багато треба було сказати, вони не сказали нічого.

By the infinitive: To err is human. – Людині властиво помилятися. By the noun: Ways of translation of the Infinitive The best way to make children good is to make them happy. – Кращий спосіб виховання хороших дітей - це зробити їх щасливими. By the participle: The problem to be considered in Chapter 2 is concerned with the article. – Питання, що розглядається в розділі 2, стосується артикля. By the clause: Питання, яке буде розглянуто в розділі 2, стосується артикля. By parallel verbs: He went to Australia to fall sick there. – Він поїхав до Австралії і там захворів.

5. TRANSLATING THE GERUND 1. In the function of a subject or predicate the Indefinite Gerund may be translated either by the infinitive or by the noun: Smoking is harmful. – Паління шкідливе (Палити шкідливо). 2. In the function of an object (with or without preposition or possessive pronoun) the Gerund may be translated by the finite verb: Mary insisted on taking the bus instead of the plane. – Мері наполягала на тому, щоб поїхати автобусом, а не летіти літаком.

3. In the function of an attribute (usually with preposition of) the Gerund is translated, as a rule, by the infinitive: There is a possibility of acquiring this property at a good price. – Є можливість придбати цей будинок за прийнятну ціну. The Gerund used before the definite noun is translated by the noun-phrase: writing-paper – папір для письма; dancing place – місце для танців. 4. In the function of an adverbial modifier the Gerund is conveyed in Ukrainian with the help of the diyepryslivnyk or a phrase with the diyepryslivnyk. When paraphrased, the Gerund may be translated as an adverb (sometimes as a subordinate clause): They went without talking. – Вони йшли, не розмовляючи. 5. The Рerfect Gerund is usually translated with the help of the subordinate clause or a prepositional noun: I thanked him for having built this house. – Я подякував за те, що він побудував цей будинок (за будівництво).

Gerundial Complexes are translated into Ukrainian in the following ways: 1. In the function of a complex subject the Gerundial Complexes may be rendered by a noun-phrase or a subordinate clause: Your coming here is desirable. – Ваш приїзд сюди дуже бажаний. 2. In the function of an object the Gerundial Complexes may be translated by the object subordinate clause or noun phrase: I think everybody looked forward to his coming back. – Думаю, всі чекали, що він повернеться (Думаю, що всі чекали на його повернення). 3. In the function of an attribute the Gerundial Complexes may be translated by an attributive subordinate clause or infinitive: I don’t know the reason of your leaving. – Я не знаю причини вашого від’їзду (Я не знаю, чому ви від’їжджаєте). 4. In the function of an adverbial modifier the Gerundial Complexes may be translated by diyepryslivnyk or a functionally corresponding subordinate clause (of time, cause, purpose etc): She was trying to approach without his seeing her. – Вона намагалася наблизитися так, щоб він не помітив її.

6. TRANSLATING THE PARTICIPLE 1. In the function of the attribute the participle is usually translated into Ukrainian by means of: a) present and past participles: The survey, carried out on five continents, is intended solely for anecdotal use (not quite serious). – Дослідження, проведене на п’яти континентах, мало жартівливий, а не науковий характер; b) finite verbs in attributive subordinate clauses: This is usually done to access records contained in a database. – Це зазвичай робиться для того, щоб отримати доступ до відомостей, які зберігаються в базах даних. c) semantically equivalent adjectives or nouns: The resulting analysis serves as a guide to further research. – Вихідний аналіз слугує орієнтиром для подальших досліджень.

2. In the function of the adverbial modifier it is rendered into Ukrainian with the help of: a) gerund (дієприслвник): Scientists use data processing for a wide variety of applications, including the analysis of data from scientific experiments. – Науковці застосовують обробку даних у багатьох випадках, включаючи і аналіз даних наукових експериментів. ; b) finite form of the verb: Then he cut chemistry from the list, retaining only physics. – Потім він викреслив із списку хімію, а залишив тільки фізику; c) аdverbial clauses, introduced with the help of words коли, якщо, оскільки: If given the opportunity this industry will rapidly develop. – Якщо цій галузі промисловості надати можливість, вона буде швидко розвиватись. 3. Compound predicates with component participles are mostly translated with the help of simple verbal predicates or compound nominal predicates: Sunshine came spilling upon us. – Сонце залило нас своїм промінням.

The Objective Participle Complex is translated into Ukrainian in the following ways: 1. By an object subordinate clause introduced by the conjunction що or connectors як, коли: He heard her moving about the house. – Він чув, як вона ходить по будинку. 2. By adverbial subordinate clauses of time, purpose, manner, etc. : I had seen the girl yesterday crossing the road not far from our school. – Я бачила цю дівчину вчора, коли вона переходила дорогу біля нашої школи. 3. By a finite form of the verb: Some of the houses had their windows broken. – У деяких будинках порозбивали вікна. 4. By similar complex in Ukrainian sentence: When I returned I found the fence broken and the house door opened. – Коли я повернувся, то побачив, що паркан поламано, а хатні двері відчинені.

The Subjective Participle Complex in Translation Transformed into Ukrainian complex sentences introduced by one-member indefinite personal principal clause followed by an object subordinate clause: A plane was heard flying high in the sky. – Було чути, як високо в небі пролітав літак. The Subjective with the Past Participle Complexes used with the verbs ''to appear'', ''to seem'', etc. are usually translated with the help of finite verbs in simple sentences: The work seemed finished. – Робота, здається, закінчилась.

7. TRANSLATING ABSOLUTE CONSTRUCTIONS 1. In the function of an adverbial modifier of time and cause it is usually translated with the help of a subordinate clause introduced by the conjunctions оскільки, коли, після того, як: The conference being over, the participants went on an excursion. – Коли (оскільки) конференція закінчилась, учасники поїхали на екскурсію. 2. In the function of adverbial modifier of attending circumstances it is mostly translated by clauses introduced by the conjunctions причому, а, і, тоді, як: The figure represents an animal, its total length being two and a half inches. – Фігура зображує тварину, причому / a /i її загальна довжина складає два з половиною дюйма. 3. The Absolute Participle Complex may be introduced by the preposition with, which is not translated: The territory extends for about 150 miles, with a breadth varying from 50 to 100 miles. – Територія простирається на сто п’ятдесят миль, причому її ширина змінюється в межах від п’ятдесяти до ста миль.

4. In most cases the clauses, rendering the meanings of Absolute Participle Complexes can be transformed into independent sentences: The reaction was immediate, Helen almost shouting. – Реакція була миттєвою, Гелен ледве не закричала (Реакція була миттєвою. Гелен ледве не закричала). 5. Sometimes the meanings of Absolute Participle Complexes are rendered in Ukrainian with the help of gerunds (дієприслівники) or constructions with them: His head lowered, holding to the banister, Dan ran upstairs. – Понуривши голову, тримаючись за перила, Ден побіг нагору. 6. Not infrequently prepositional nouns or noun phrases are used to translate the meanings of Absolute Participle Complexes: He was watching her, his eyes amused. – Він з цікавістю спостерігав за нею.