2.3. Units of international lexicon and ways of rendering their meaning

Identification of genuine internationalisms

Pseudo-international words or translator’s false friends

Translating of genuine and loan internationalisms

Identification of genuine internationalisms

There are words in the source and target languages which are more or less similar in form. The formal similarity is usually the result of the two words having the common origin, mainly derived from either Greek or Latin. Since such words can be found in a number of languages, they are referred to as international.

So, internationalisms are such language units which are borrowed from one and the same source language by at least three genealogically different languages in the same or similar lingual form and identical meaning (cf. долар, атом, інтерес, директор, база, стадіон, театр, фізика, etc.). International, however, may be not only words and phrases, but also morphemes – prefixes, suffixes and even root morphemes as the English or Ukrainian words fund фонд, gas ґаз, lord лорд, ohm ом, park парк, pound фунт, smog смоґ and many others.

These morphemes are conveyed with the help of the translator's transcription. Among the most often occurring international affixes in English and Ukrainian are the following:

1. Prefixes: аnti-/анти-, ех-/екс-, inter-інтер-, tгапs-/транс-, ultra-/ультра-; (antibody/ антитіло, export / експортувати, international / інтернаціональний, transmission /трансмісія, ultraviolet/ ультрафіолетовий)

2. Suffixes: -ar/-ap, -er/-ep, -іst/-ист/-іст, -ssion/-сія, -tion/-ція, etc. (actor/актор, volunteer/волонтер, humanist/гуманіст, constitution/конституція, agression/агресія, humorist/гуморисі, etc.)

3. Inflexions: -um/-ум, (memorandum/меморандум). -us/-yc, (radius/ радіус), -а/-а (formula/формула), etc.

These lexical and syntactic units have been acquired by the borrowing languages to designate notions hitherto unknown in them. The bulk of these borrowed morphemes, lexemes and syntaxymes are found in many languages of a culturally, historically, and often geographically common area as Europe, the Middle East or the Far East. They are used to designate notions belonging to different domains of human knowledge or activity:

a) the social and political terminology comprising the most commonly used political, economic, philosophical, historical, sociological units of lexicon (audit, bank, constitution, parliament, party, president, barter, sophism, etc.). Here also belong terms designating international law, diplomacy, numerous literary terms (cf. drama, poet, metaphor, epithet, hyperbole, etc.); b) natural history/sciences terminology (physics, mathematics, genetics, chemistry) used not only in special but also in scientific and popular works and in mass media (chemical/physical reaction, genes, pneumonia, etc.); c) numerous technical terms (names of machines and their parts: motor, carter, starter, accelerator, battery), as well as names of different means of transport (bus, metro, taxi) and communication (fax, telegraph, telex, radio, e-mail), etc.

These and other words and phrases are referred to as internationalisms, or more precisely genuine internationalisms. The latter never considerably change their lingual (orthographic or sounding) form nor their internationally established meaning. (Cf.: motor мотор, audit аудит, therapeutic терапевтичний).

The main characteristic feature of genuine internationalisms, whether single words or words-combinations, is their semantic singularity. It means that their lexical identity and orthographic similarity in the source language and in all target languages remains unchanged both at the language level (when taken separate) and at speech level, i.e., when used in texts/speech.

Pseudo-international words or translator’s false friends

There are also words in present-day English and Ukrainian which have an identical orthographic form but quite different lexical meaning: accurate точний, правильний, влучний but not акуратний: billet ордер на постій, приміщення для постою but not квиток; compositor складач (друк.) but not композитор; data дані but not дата; decade десятиріччя but not декада; decoration нагорода, прикраса but not декорація; Dutch голландський but not данський: intelligence розум, кмітливість but not інтелігенція: momentous важливий but not моментальний; matrass колба but not матрац (mattress): obligation зобов'язання but not облігація; prospect перспектива but not проспект; production виробництво, випуск but not only продукція: replica точна копія but not репліка; spectre привид but not спектр, etc.

These English words quite accidentally coincide in their lingual form with some other borrowed words in Ukrainian. Thus, replica, for example, has quite a different denotative meaning in Ukrainian than our репліка (cue, remark). These and the like pseudo-international words are often referred to as false friends of the translator (удавані друзі перекладача).

Unlike common lexical units, whose orthographic and sounding forms never coincide in the target language and in the source language, the lingual form of genuine international lexemes in all languages is always either identical or similar. It does not mean that the structural form of genuine internationalisms is necessarily always transplanted to the target language as it is observed in simple lexemes like drama, poet, opera, suffix, lord, kimono, sari, kiwi, motor, proton (драма, поет, опера, суфікс, лорд, кімоно, сарі, etc.).

More often the same genuine international lexemes in English and Ukrainian may have a different morphological structure. In Ukrainian they usually take derivational and often also inflexional affixes which are rarely observed in present-day English. As a result, most of genuine international words in Ukrainian are structurally more complicated than in English (cf. apathy/апатія, dietic/дієтичний, form/форма, exploit /експлуатувати, economic/економічний), etc.

Some genuine international words, however, may be structurally more complicated in English than in Ukrainian: Cf.: Greek: analysis/аналіз, diagnosis/ діагноз, sclerosis/склероз, academician/академік, geographer/географ, mathematician/математик, philosopher/філософ, geologist/геолог; Latin: appendicitis/апендицит, tuberculosis/туберкульоз, rheumatismus/ревматизм, etc.

Hence, the structural models according to which different logico-grammatical classes of internationalisms are adopted in English and in Ukrainian mostly differ. Lexemes like anti-trade, arch-enemy, inventor consisting of international affixes and having common root morphemes are to be treated as non-internationalisms, i.e., as pseudo-internationalisms. The international nature of a source language lexeme is considered to be fully retained, when the root morpheme or at least the sense and lingual form (part of it) can be rendered in the target language. Consequently, the compounds consisting of a genuine international and a common root morpheme as school-mate, coal-gas, washing-mashine. etc. are to be defined in English as partly international, i.e., mixed-type lexical units. Similarly in Ukrainian: газосховище, радіохвилі, водно-спиртовий.

Translating of genuine and loan internationalisms

Taking into account various peculiarities of meaning and form of international lexemes, several ways of conveying their meaning can be suggested:

1. Literal Translating of Genuine Internationalisms should not be regarded as a mechanical substitution of each letter of the SL lexeme for a corresponding letter of the TL. In many cases a letter may be dropped or added (substituted for another) in the TL when it is not in full conformity with its sound or spelling systems. Nevertheless, there are many letter-to-letter transliterated genuine internationalisms in English and Ukrainian. Latin: angina/анґіна, dentist/ дентист, symposium/симпозіум, gladiator/гладіатор, microscope/мікроскоп, rector/ректор; Greek: poet/поет, electron/електрон, stadium/стадіон, drama/ драма, theatre/театр; Italian: macaroni/макарони, pizza/піцца, concerto/ концерт, duet/дует, solo/соло; Spanish: armada/армада, tango/танґ'о, embargo/ембарго, etc.

2. Translating via Transcribing.Many genuine internationalisms are also faithfully rendered into the TL in their sounding form. Cf.: English: boom/бум, box/бокс, jeans/джинси, knock-out/нокаут, leader/лідер, raid/рейд, round/ раунд, track/трек; French: boulevard/бульвар, bouquet/букет, bourgeoisie/ буржуазія, bureau/бюро, prize/приз, pince-nez/пенсне, etc.

International morphemes and lexemes are adopted in all languages according to the historically established traditions of their own. Thus, whether it is bankruptcy in English, bankerott in German, banqueroute in French or bancarotta in Italian, it will always remain банкрутство in Ukrainian. Hence, only some degree of likeness is retained between the lingual form of bankruptcy and its Ukrainian equivalent банкрутство. The adopted word has obtained in the target language an orthographic, sounding and morphological/structural form, which is only similar to that of English, French, German, or Italian.

English international compounds can be rendered in the following ways:

a) with the help of corresponding compounds having the same international root morphemes as in the SL: electro-biology/електробіологія, film-actor/кіноактор, gas-meter/газометр,motor-cyclist/мотоцикліст, radio-active/ радіоактивний, six-footer/шестифутовий, etc.

b) by word-combinations consisting of the same componential parts as in the international English compound words but of different than in the SL morphological structure and nature of a componential part of speech: dance-music (N+N) танцювальна (adj.) музика, gas-collector /газовий (аdj.) колектор, nerve-centre/нервовий (аdj.) центр, police-station/поліційне (аdj.) відділення, radio-active element/радіоактивний (аdj.) елемент, etc. Thus, only radio-active and радіоактивний are adjectives in both languages.

Mixed-type compounds consisting of international and common Ukrainian root morphemes are translated in accordance with their complex nature: gas-mask/ протигаз, taxi-cab/таксі, river-basin/басейн річки, toilet-table/туалетний столик, torpedo-boat/торпедний катер, turning-point/поворотний пункт, etc.

4. Descriptive Translating of International Lexemes. Many genuine international lexemes are semantically condensed and can be translated into the TL only in a descriptive way:

a) the lingual form of the SL lexemes can be retained as the main lexemes of the TL word-combination: civilizable той (те), що піддається цивілізації; classifiable той, що піддається класифікації; barony володіння барона; титул барона; energize викликати енергію; examinee той, що екзаменується/складає іспит;

b) the lingual form of the internationalism can not be retained in the TL. It happens when the internationalism has not been adopted yet by the TL: epilogue is a genuine internationalism in many European languages but the adjective epilogic derived from it is unknown in Ukrainian. Besides, some internationalisms can be substituted in the process of translation with the aim of achieving expressiveness or explaining their denotative meaning: deputize (v) бути представником від когось; epilogic заключний, кінцевий; park (parking) ставити машину на стоянку; percenter лихвар (процентник); twopenny нікчемний/копійчаний (вартий двох пенні).

5. Translating by Way of Synonymous Substitution becomes possible due to the existence in the TL internationalisms borrowed by it at different previous historical periods. The faithfulness of translation may be usually established in a text only, though it may partly be traced at the word-group level: athletics гімнастика and not атлетика, diagram схема and not діаграма, phase період and not фаза, fashion paper журнал мод and not журнал фасонів, committee комісія and not комітет,; ангар garage and not hanger, бульвар avenue and not boulevard, естрада variety and not estrade, party line політичний курс and not партійна лінія, national есопоту народне господарство and not національна економіка.

Translating of Loan Internationalisms. Loan internationalisms are constantly appearing in different languages as a result of unceasing progress in various domains of science, technology and culture. They preserve in each national language the unity of their componential parts, i.e., their structural peculiarity, an absolutely identical notional meaning and a common sphere of functioning: loud-speaker: Germ. Lautsprecher, Ital. altoparlante, Ukr. гучномовець, Russ. громкоговоритель; steam-engine: Germ. Dampfmaschine, Ital. macchina a vapore, Ukr. парова машина; long/short waves (radio), Germ, lange/kurze Wellen, Ital. onde lunge/corte, Ukr. довгі/короткі хвилі etc.

Depending on their nature, as well as on their denotative meaning and their sphere of functioning, international loan units can be rendered into Ukrainian in one of the following three ways:

a) by direct translation of the componential parts without changing considerably their structural form cf.: coefficient of efficiency / коефіцієнт корисної дії; genitive case / родовий відмінок; personal pronouns / особові займенник; literal translation буквальний / переклад, etc.

b) with the help of componential translation and some replacements, omissions or substitutions arising from the national peculiarities of the TL, i.e, depending on its stylistic mode of usage. Thus, the equivalent of the English set expression foreign trade is not іноземна торгівля but зовнішня торгівля, and living standard is not життєвий стандарт but життєвий рівень.

с) with the help of descriptive translation: digital computer цифрова обчислювальна машина; involution (math.) піднесення до ступеня; evolution (mathem.) винесення з-під радикала (витягнення кореня), common fraction (mathem.) простий дріб.

Exercise1. State whether the words below are genuine or pseudo-international.

Actual, adequate, accuracy, ambition, analyst, admiral, algebraic, allergy, annulment, appellation, archive, aspirant, bronchitis, barbarity, buffet, capillary, civil, code, concern, cybernetics, desperation, diminutive, direction, dramatic, dynamic, dissymetric, effective, elementary, ellipsis, epochal, expedition, faction, fabric, fiction, film, figure, front, fantasia, hierarchical, humanity, inductor, imitation, instrument, juridical, liberal, locomotive, medicine, minister, motion, nation, natural, obligation, objective, original, paragraph, pathos, petition,reduction, rhematic, scenery, press, protection, physique, record, revolution, scene, storm, tank, terror, vector, vulgar.

Exercise 2. Translate the following English compounds. Point out which of the words or word-combinations are partially/fully international or pseudo-international:

a) air-mechanic, administer, arch (n), barman, club-law, coffee-bean, dessert-knife, gas-main, lieutenant-colonel, motiveless, paper-cutter, phrase-book, soda-fountain, soda-water, sugar-cane, tiger's-eye, cane-sugar, narcotism, number, orchestric;

b) day-school, field-hospital, fire-bomb, fire-brigade, fish-torpedo, opium-eater, horsemaster, seeding-machine, stamp-album, steam-turbine, stock-farm, telegenic, teleshow, travel-bureau, washing-machine;

c) boxing-match, consul-general, electro-dynamic, figure-artist, grammar-school, office-copy, orange-coloured, palm-oil, party-club, press-corrector, station-master, sugar-refinery, tram-line, yacht-club.

Exercise 3. Translate the words and word-groups and identify which of them are genuine internationalisms, loan internationalisms and which pseudo-internationalisms.

Abacus, conductivity, corner-stone, copyright, decontaminate, equilibrium, refrigerator, hypersonic, ignition, jet-fighter, non-conductor, gymnasium, second-class, self-preservation, shock-worker, self-defence, sleeping-bag, smoke-screen, smoking-carriage, sparking-plug, standard-bearer, subtitle, summarise, summation, superconductivity, supernatural, supersonic, superstructure, thermostable, turn-screw, argument, billet, bombard, brilliance, complexion, cream, dispute, implicitly, intelligence, liquor, locomotion, nocturnal, observation, occupant, officiant, replica, satin, satirize, technology, unintelligible, zero-gravity, alternative current, direct current, rate of exchange, co-ordination, subordination, proof-reader, spelling-book, versification, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, decimal fractions, equations, identity, root extraction, engineering, hothouse effect, storage-battery, traffic rules, horse power, income tax, black soil, land improvement, growth rate, latitude, longitude, mass media, national economy, precipitation, weather forecast, penalty kick, snow boarding, purification, traffic-light.

Exercise 4. Identify the possible ways of faithful conveying the terms and units of international lexicon in the passages below and translate them into Ukrainian.

Macroeconomic Policies

Macroeconomic policy management has a large impact on investor confidence in the reforming country. Economic volatility raises uncertainty for investors, who look for stability and predictability. The basic elements of macroeconomic policy management for effective reform are the following.

Fiscal Policies. An important indicator of prudent fiscal management is a low, predictable rate of inflation. A lack of control over inflation points to macroeconomic and fiscal unbalances. The most extreme manifestation of this problem, hyperinflation, leads to the introduction of shock programs as a basis for stabilization. When countries impose shock programs, recessions often result, posing difficulties for local workers and consumers. By bringing inflation under control, countries establish a necessary precondition for stability and growth. The stabilization programs implemented by the survey countries had this fundamental objective in mind. For example, Argentina endured many bouts of high inflation, followed by wage and price freezes to arrest them. The controls only halted inflation temporarily, as the root cause – excessive spending by the public sector – was not addressed.

Appropriate Exchange Rates. Appropriate exchange rate policy adjusts the value of the local currency on a steady, predictable basis, which, again, contributes to economic stability and investor confidence. Countries that experience high rates of inflation typically have overvalued exchange rates, because adjustments in the value of the local currency lag behind the rate of inflation. However, local currencies that are overvalued hurt exports, which are more expensive in international markets compared to the exports from countries with cheaper currencies. Exchange rate reform usually entails a devaluation of the local currency, making the country's export more competitive in terms of price and the country itself more attractive for private investment.

Prices and Wages. As noted earlier, price and wage controls are often used to control inflation. While they may have the desired effect in the short-term, they almost always unravel and end up creating more inflation. When governments repeatedly employ wage and price freezes, consumers and businesses adjust their behavior in anticipation of the next round of controls by hoarding goods, raising wage demands or raising prices, leading to yet higher inflation.

Exercise 5. Translating the texts into English, define the possible ways of conveying internationalisms and proper names in them.

Слова американських індіанців в українській мові

З Америки після відкриття її Христофором Колумбом 1492 року, хоч її, як тепер відомо, не раз відкривали й до того, вивозили не тільки золото. Завезено з Америки (головно іспанцями, які першими колонізували її) також низку індіанських слів. Серед найбільш уживаних є: томат, шоколад, какао. Дещо забуті нині слова табака (нюхальний тютюн) і табакерка походять від індіанського тобако. Слово ураган на перший погляд може здатися русизмом, але це не так. Воно походить від індіанського хуракан. Однією з індіанських звичок, яку спостерігали європейці, було жування листя рослини під назвою кока. Звідси слово кокаїн – назва наркотичної речовини. Слова хіна, хінін (відомий засіб проти малярії з кори хінного дерева) походять від індіанського слова кіна – кора.

Індіанського походження слово кураре – назва рослинної отрути, яка застосовувалась індіанцями для змазування стріл, а тепер використовується в медицині. Від перуанських індіанців запозичене відоме всім слово каучук – цей матеріал одержували з соку особливих рослин. Тваринний світ Америки представлений у нашій мові такими словами індіанського походження: пума, яґуар, гагара, кайман, іґуана (велика ящірка). Запозичені індіанські назви птахів: кондор – американський гриф, ара – рід папуг, нанду – американський страус, колібрі. Є в українській мові і назви рослин індіанського походження: ананас (від нана), маїс (інша назва кукурудзи), їстівні рослини маніока, ямс. З пригодницьких романів нам відомі слова: томагавк – бойова палиця або сокира, пирога – вузький довгий човен, каное – також човен.