2.4. Units of nationally biased lexicon and ways of their translation

Ways of rendering the meaning of nationally biased units of lexicon

Translation of phraseological/idiomatic and stable expressions

Methods and ways of translating various proper names

Ways of rendering the meaning of nationally biased units of lexicon

The distinguishing features of the nation find their reflection in different aspects of material and spiritual life and are materialized in separate words and word-groups designating national customs, traditions, folk rites and feasts, administrative or political systems, etc. They may also designate peculiar geographical, geological or environmental conditions of a nation's life, cultural or religious traditions of a nation. Most peculiar are always national meals, beverages and even partaking of food, established as a result of a nation's agricultural traditions and consumption of peculiar products.These notions are found in all languages, for example, in English: county, muffin, toffee, inch, mile, penny, shilling, pound, lady, mister, sir, lobby, speaker, Whitehall, etc.; Ukrainian: кобзар, козак, запорожець, січ, борщ, вареники, кутя, гривня, Івана Купала, Маковія; Ireland's: St. Patrick; Scottish: kilt, tartan; American: dollar,Uncle Sam.

Peculiar national culturally biased notions can penetrate into the target language in the process of traditional bilateral economic and cultural contacts which may be maintained at different levels. First in the process of trade contacts many notions are borrowed as designators for production which they signify. The designators may be regular labels (or trade marks) like bacon, champagne, jam, jeans, Coca-Cola, corn-flakes, macaroni, vodka, spaghetti, sweater, tweed, whisky, pizza, etc. The contacts may be multilateral which often facilitates an international circulation of some specific national notions pertaining to a certain language (or a number of languages).

Still other specific national notions become world-wide known through literary/historic works, through the press or by way of other mass media like the radio or television (cf. oasis, boycott, hryvnia, Labourist, pagoda, barter, management, picket, taboo, Tory, rickshaw, sauna, Soviet, etc.).

Although some nationally specific notions signifying important or historical events or magnificent scientific/technological achievements may spread all over the world almost immediately, as it happened with the Sovietisms like kolkhoz, kulak, collectivization, Gulag, cosmonaut and many others.

The methods of translating may also be predetermined by the specific notion being new and not yet quite known as well as by its long tradition of usage in the target language. The choice of the method of translating may partly be influenced by the sphere of circulation of the specific notion in the SL, depend on the translator himself the aim or purpose of translating/interpreting.

The following methods of conveying the meaning of specifically national units of lexicon can be recognized:

1. By Transcription or Transliteration. The units of the nationally specific lexicon, whose meanings are rendered at the phonological level, usually belong to genuine internationalisms and comprise social and political units of lexicon in the main:

New classified rates per word for ads in hryvnias in the Kyiv Post.

Нові тарифи на рекламу в гривнях за слово в газеті «Київ Пост».

«It's a poor coloured woman's place and you are a grand gentleman from Cape Town» (RAbrahams).

Це кімната для бідної кольорової жінки, а ти ж великий джентльмен із Кейптауна.

«You're a supercilious half-baked snob» (Cronin).

Ти насправді зарозумілий і обмежений сноб.

2. By Descriptive Explaining. The orthographic form of a considerable number of sense units belonging to the nationally specific lexicon of the SL can not be rendered into the TL. That happens mostly when the transcription/transliteration can not be helpful in expressing the sense of the culturally biased national unit, or when it might bring about an unnecessary ambiguity in the TT cf.: matron завгосп у навчальному закладі (суміщає економку і медсестру); Pilgrim Fathers Батьки-прочани перші колоністи з Англії, що прибули 1620 року до Північної Америки на вітрильнику «Мейфлауер»; prorogation офіційне розпорядження монарха про відновлення/ закінчення сесії парламенту Великої Британії; quartermaster старшина-стерновий у морській піхоті (and also квартирмейстер) в англ. армії.

And not all culturally biased units of national lexicon are so «heavily» loaded with information so that they have to be explicated in a footnote.

Not all the details constituting the semantic structure of the units of specific national lexicon have been fully conveyed in English and Ukrainian translations:

The sand was warm like a clay stove of a country cottage. Пісок був теплий, як нагріта лежанка. Thus, the clay stove does not sufficiently explicate the proper role of лежанка, for any stove predominantly implies its being used for cooking. In reality, however, the clay stove was designed in Ukrainian country cottages (khata) for heating and warming purposes only. The same can be said about the Ukrainian culturally biased notion of рушник which is certainly not quite equivalent to the descriptive meaning of embroidered in national colours towel, because it is an indispensable item in every folk rite like birthday, weddings or burials: Everybody saw me and you being married in the church.Усі бачили як ми у церкві на рушник стали. That is why its translation in the above sentence is not fully faithful.

Translation of phraseological/idiomatic and stable expressions

Idiomatic or phraseological expressions are structurally, lexically and semantically fixed phrases or sentences having mostly the meaning, which is not made up by the sum of meanings of their component parts. An indispensable feature of idiomatic (phraseological) expressions is their figurative, i.e., metaphorical nature and usage. It makes them distinguishable from structurally identical free combinations of words Cf.: red tape / червона стрічка (free word-comb.), канцелярський формалізм (idiom); the tables are turned / столи перекинуті (free word-comb.), ситуація докорінно змінилася (idiom); play with fire / гратися з вогнем (біля багаття) (free word-comb.), наражатися на небезпеку (idiom).

Some proper names can also be endowed with figurative meaning and possess the necessary expressiveness which are the distinguishing features of idioms. So, Mrs. Grundy means світ, люди, існуюча мораль; Jack Ketch кат; Croesus надзвичайно багата людина; Tommy Atkins англійський солдат; Yankee (in Europe) янкі/американець, etc.

Idiomatic/phraseological expressions should not be mixed up with different fixed/set phrases: Their meaning can be rendered in a descriptive way too: fifty-fifty так собі; ні добре ні погано; О.К. все гаразд, на належному рівні; cut short обірвати, припинити щось (поїздку, розмову).

Faithful translating of a large number of picturesque idiomatic| phraseological expressions can be achieved by a thorough selection of variants having in the TL a similar to the original lexical meaning, and also their picturesqueness and expressiveness: English: grass widow / солом'яна вдова; not to see a step beyond one's nose / далі свого носа нічого не бачити; measure twice and cut once / сім раз одміряй, а раз відріж; Ukrainian: вночі що сіре, те й вовк / all cats are grey in the dark; яблучко від яблуні далеко не відкочується / like father, like son etc.

The following ways of faithful rendering the idiomatic/phraselogical expressions are to be identified:

1. Translating with the help of Absolute/Complete Equivalents is employed when dealing with idioms which originate from the same source in both the languages. These sources may be:

1) Greek or other mythology: Augean stables / авгієві стайні (занедбане, занехаяне місце); Cassandra warning / застереження Кассандри (застереження, на які не звертають уваги, але які збуваються); Hercules' Pillars (the Pillars of Hercules) / геркулесові стовпи (Ґібралтарська протока); Pandora's box / скринька Пандори (джерело всіляких лих); the Trojan horse / троянський кінь (прихована небезпека);

2) ancient history or literature: to cross (pass) the Rubicon / перейти Рубікон (прийняти важливе рішення); the die is thrown / жеребок кинуто (рішення прийнято); I came, I saw, I conquered / прийшов, побачив, переміг;

3) the Bible or works based on a biblical plot: to cast the first stone at one / першим кинути у когось каменем; the golden calf / золотий телець/ідол; a lost sheep/ заблудла вівця; the ten commandments / десять заповідей; the thirty pieces of silver / тридцять срібняків;

4) contemporary literary or historical sources relating to different languages (mainly to French, Spanish, Danish, German, Italian, Arabic). English: Time is money / час – це гроші; self made man / людина, що сама проклала собі шлях у житті; my house is my castle / мій дім – моя фортеця. French: after us the deluge / після нас хоч потоп; the game is worth the candle / гра варта свічок; more royalist than the king / більший монархіст ніж сам король; one's place in the sun / місце під сонцем; Spanish: blue blood / блакитна кров; the fifth column (introduced by E. Hemingway) п'ята колона; to tilt at the windmills (introduced by Cervantes) воювати з вітряками; Italian: Dante's inferno / Дантове пекло; finita la commedia / ділу кінець.

2. Translation of Idioms by Choosing Near Equivalents.

The meaning of a considerable number of idioms may sometimes have one or even most of their components different, than in the TL: baker's dozen / чортова дюжина; the devil is not so black as he is painted / не такий чорт страшний, як його малюють; a lot of water had flown/run under the bridge / багато води спливло відтоді; in broad daylight / серед білого дня; as short as a dog's tale / короткий, як осінній день; as pale as paper / блідий мов стіна, measure twice cut once / сім раз одміряй, один раз одріж.

3. Translation by Choosing Genuine Idiomatic Analogies.

An overwhelming majority of English idiomatic expressions have similar in sense units in Ukrainian. These idiomatic expressions are in most cases easily given corresponding analogies in the TL: he that mischief hatches mischief catches / хто іншим лиха бажає, сам лихо має; to have the ready tongue / за словом у кишеню не лізти; to keep body and sole together / зводити кінці з кінцями; there is no use crying over spilt milk / що з воза впало, те пропало.

4. Translating Idioms by Choosing Approximate Analogies.

Some SL idiomatic and stable expressions may have a peculiar nature of their componential parts and thus form nationally peculiar expressiveness and picturesqueness of componential images. As a result, their lexical meaning can be expressed by means of only approximate analogies: to lose one's breath / кидати слова на вітер; to make a cat's paw of something / чужими руками жар вигрібат; to come off scot free / вийти сухим з води; to be finger and thumb / водою не розлити; it is six and half a dozen / не вмер Данило, так болячка задавила; to get the blues / місця собі не знаходити/ сумувати, etc.

5. Descriptive Translating of Idiomatic and Set Expressions.

The meaning of a considerable number of idiomatic as well as stable/set expressions can be rendered through explication only, i.e., in a descriptive way: out of a clear blue of the sky / раптом, зненацька; to pall and peel грабувати/оббирати; poor fish / йолоп, бевзь, нікчема; red blood / мужність, відвага, хоробрість; to sell smoke / піддурювати, підманювати; to set at large / звільнювати (випустити на волю).

When the lexical meaning of an original idiomatic expression is condensed or when it is based on a nationally specific structural form alien to the TL, the idiomatic expression may be conveyed by a sentence or a longer explanation: a wet blanket / людина або обставина, що розхолоджує; well day / день, коли у хворого не погіршувався стан здоров'я; wise behind / млявий, що погано міркує; white elephant / подарунок, якого важко позбутися (те, що приносить більше турбот, ніж користі); yes man / людина, що з усіма згоджується; to cut off with a shilling / залишити без спадщини.

Methods and ways of translating various proper names

Ukrainian proper names of people and family names are mostly conveyed on the basis of their phonemic structure, i.e., are transliterated in English. E.g.: Антоніна Antonina; Роман Roman; Авраменко Avramenko; Лавріненко Lavrinenko; Панібрат Panibrat; Іван Ivan; Тамара Tamara; Семен Semen; Петро Petro, etc.

A number of English proper names are rendered into Ukrainian by way of transliteration only: Barbara Барбара, Norman Норман, Rita Ріта, Adams Адамс, Barker Баркер, Collins Коллінз, Clark Кларк, Cronin Кронін, Wilson Вільсон, Nelson Нельсон, Robert Frost Роберт Фрост etc.

Many English geographical and proper names are conveyed in Ukrainian partly with the help of transcription and partly via transliteration. This can be observed in the two-syllable names:

Birmingham Бірмінгем Brighton Брайтон

Kingstown Кінгстаун Greensboro Ґрінзборо

Names of seas, oceans, bays, straits, channels, administrative territories and compound names of countries having the structure of word-combinations are always translated: the Atlantic Ocean / Атлантичний океан; the Grampians / Грампіанські гори; the Gulf of Mexico / Мексиканська затока; New South Wales / Новий Південний Уельс; Strait of Magellan / Магелланова протока; Карпати / the Carpathians; Закарпаття / Transcarpathia; Південо-український зрошувальний канал / the South Ukrainian Irrigation Canal; Азовське море / Sea of Azov, Stratford-on-Avon / Стратфорд-на-Ейвоні.

The geographical names formed on the basis of common nouns which acquired the status of proper names are generally translated from English into Ukrainian and vice versa: Cape of Good Hope / мис Доброї Надії, Саре Verde Islands / Oстрови Зеленого Мису; Golden Gate / Золоті Ворота; Great Slave Lake / Велике Невільничне озеро; Northern Highlands / Північне-шотландське нагір'я; the Rocky Mountains / Скелясті гори.

Traditionally, most names of companies (corporations, firms, etc.) are transcribed or transliterated and shortly explicated at the same time. This method is also employed when rendering the names of publishing houses, titles of most newspapers and magazines or journals, and of some public bodies. The translation may be performed either with the employment of a shorter or more extended explication. The former is practiced when the name of the company (corporation, firm) is well-known or when translating at language level; the latter is resorted to when translating at speech/text level: Associated Biscuit Manufacturers / англійська компанія по випуску хрустких коржиків «Ессошіейтед біскіт менюфекчерерз; T.Wall & Sons Co. Ltd. / англійська компанія по виробництву м'ясомолочних продуктів і морозива «Т. Волл енд санз компані лімітед», but: General Motors / корпорація «Дженерал Моторз».

Ukrainian companies, firms and other state and private bodies performing the same or similar functions are translated according to the same rule (they are transliterated or transcribed and explicated at the same time). For example: Укргазпром / Ukrainian Ukrhazprom natural gas importing and extracting body; Тернопільська меблева фабрика «Нова» / Ternopil Furniture Factory «Nova» Ltd; CD «Вента» (парфуми та косметика з Болгарії) Bulgarian Venta Joint Venture (perfumes, makeup); Львівська взуттєва фірма «Прогрес» Lviv Prohres footwear firm.

Names of newspapers, journals, and magazines require a special approach on the part of the translator. The thing is that in English some more extended explication may be needed for a particular foreign newspaper (magazine, journal) than in Ukrainian: газета «Голос України» / the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada Holos Ukrainy newspaper; «Вільне життя» / Vilne Zhyttia regional Ternopil newspaper; but газета «День» The Ukrainian Day newspaper (published also in English).

Exercise 1 Translate the proper meanings of the particular English and American national notions.

№10. Downing Street, Whitehall, the Upper House, the Commons, the woolsack, speaker, teller (Parliament), division of Parliament, the Stock Exchange, John Bull, the British Lion, lobby, ladyship, lordship, peerage, coroner, proctor, farthing, guinea, sixpence, comprehensive school, jeans, jersey, pullover, leggings, stretches, tweed, calumet, wigwam, bushel, foot, inch, sheriff, crown, bacon, Yorkshire pudding, frankfurters, hot dogs, ale, gin, smoked brisket and ham, grilled chicken and greens, French onion soup, honey-mustard dressing, dirty rice, tossed salads, creamy cheesecake, peanut butter.

Exercise 2. Read through the text on the British Parliament below and translate it into Ukrainian.

The Glimpse of Great Britain and Its Parliament Life

The country's first constitution, the Magna Charta, was signed under the pressure of her Parliament by the despotic King John Lackland, son of King Richard the Lion Hearted, as far back as June 10,1215. The Magna Charta had a great influence on the country's parliamentary life and traditions which have remained unchanged for centuries. The Parliament consists of two Chambers or Houses – the Upper Chamber or the House of Lords and the lower Chamber or the House of Commons. The Upper House consists of over 1,100 Members belonging to one of the three unequally represented groups of peers: 1. Hereditary Peers. Marquises, Earls, Viscounts, Barons (almost half of all peers), and Peeresses in their own right (ab 20); 2. Life Peers and Life Peeresses; 3. Archbishops (2) and Senior Bishops (20).

The House of Lords is headed by the Lord Chancellor who is also the minister of Justice and Head of the High Court. The House of Commons consists of elected MPs. The House is headed by the Speaker. The number of seats in the House, however, covers the need of only two-thirds of the elected MPs, the rest using the «front benches», the «cross benches» and the «back benches».

The Brigade of Guards of the Queen (and the Royal family body-guards) consists of two regiments representing the nationalities of the United Kingdom. The English Grenadiers wear the bear skin caps twenty inches high. The Scots Guards wear a wide black ribbon on the back of their uniform colour 15 cm wide and 25 cm long. All the Guards wear scarlet or red tunics and black trousers except the Scots Guards wearing their traditional regimental cloth. The Irish Guards wear a triple row of brass buttons and distinctive plumes.

Among other old traditions the most prominent are the ceremony of the Keys which is over 700 years old (since 1215 when King John was forced to sign the Magna Charta) and Lord Mayor's Show. The latter goes back to the mayoralty of Richard (Dick) Whittington, who was mayor four times (1396, 1397, 1406 and 1419). The Lord Mayor rides from the City in a splendid six horses-spanned coach through the streets of London and stops at Law Courts where he is presented to the Lord Chief of Justice, who hands him his sword of office after receiving a solemn promise to carry out his duties faithfully. The procession then continues to Westminster, and then returns to the Mansion House, the official residence of the Lord Mayor.

Exercise 3. Translate the following idioms into Ukrainian.

An eye for an eye, and tooth for a tooth; custom is a second nature; he laughs best who laughs last; let bygons be bygons; like two drops of water; look before you leap; a new broom sweeps clean; no work, no money; to pick one's chestnuts out of the fire; a prodigal son; proud as a peacock; to return like for like; there is no smoke without fire; a tree of knowledge; a voice in the wilderness; to wipe off the disgrace; with open arms; with a rope round one's neck; fire and water are good servants but bad masters; he who is born a fool is never cured; beauty is a fading flower; a bad beginning makes a bad ending (Greek); the belly is not filled with fair words; bread and circus; between the devil and the deep; like water off the feathers of a duck; what is writ is writ; no sweet without sweat; first come, first served; eyes are bigger than the stomach; not blink an eye; work like a dog; work one's fingers to the bone; Alpha and Omega; the salt of the earth.

Exercise 4. Suggest Ukrainian near equivalents for the idiomatic expressions below. Use part b) of the exercise for the purpose:

a) 1. A good beginning makes a good ending. 2. To kiss the post. 3. To know as one knows one's ten fingers. 4. To lay something for a rainy day. 5. He that diggeth a pit for another should look that he fall not into it himself. 6. Lies have short legs. 7. To kill two birds with a stone. 8. To make one's blood run cold. 9. Measure twice and cut once. 10. More royalist than the king. 11. Nobody home. 12. No sooner said than done. 13. An old dog will learn no new tricks. 14. To buy a pig in a poke. 15. To play one's game. 16. To pour water in a sieve. 17. To praise smb. beyond the skies. 18. Not to have a sixpence to bless oneself. 19. Not to have a shirt (rag) to one's back. 20. To put spokes in one's wheel. 21. Pride goes before a fall. 22. To promise mountains and marvels. 23. One fool makes many. 24. The voice of one is the voice of none. 25. One step above the sublime makes the ridiculous. 26. On Monday morning don't be looking for Saturday night.

b)1. Одним ударом двох зайців убити. 2. Носити воду в решеті 3. Знати, як свої п'ять пальців. 4. Сорочки на плечах не мати. 5. Один у полі не воїн. 6. Брехнею далеко не заїдеш. 7. Кров у жилах холоне. 8. Сім раз відміряй, а раз відріж. 9. Більший католик, ніж папа римський. 10. Не всі вдома (однієї клепки не вистачає). 11. Сказано – зроблено. 12. Вченого вчити – тільки час марнувати. 13. Купити кота в мішку. 14. Танцювати під чиюсь дудку. 15. Поцілувати замок. 16. Підносити когось до небес. 17. Не мати шеляга/копійки за душею. 18. Відкладати щось на чорний день. 19. Вставляти палиці комусь в колеса. 20. Гордість до добра не доводить. 21. Обіцяти золоті гори. 22. Дурість заразлива. 23. Хто іншому яму копає, той сам у неї потрапляє. 24. Від великого до смішного – один крок. 25. Шукати вчорашнього дня. 26. Добре розпочати – півділа зробити.

Exercise 5. Suggest suitable Ukrainian versions for the following English proverbs and sayings.

1. Actions speak louder than words. 2. All that glitters is not gold. 3. A bad workman always blames the tools. 4. Barking dogs seldom bite. 5. Beauty is only skin deep. 6. Don't cross the bridge until you come to it. 7. Don't put the cart before the horse. 8. The early bird catches the worm. 9. Every dog has his day. 10. Forbidden fruit is sweetest. 11. If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing well. 12. Its easy to be wise after the event. 13. It's never too late to mend. 14. It never rains but it pours. 15. Necessity is the mother of invention. 16. Never look a gift horse in the mouth. 17. No news (is) good news. 18. One swallow doesn't make a summer. 19. Out of sight, out of mind. 20. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. 21. Still waters are deep. 22. Too many cooks spoil the broth. 23. When the cat's away the mice will play. 24. While there's life, there's hope. 25. You can't run with the hare and hunt with the hounds. 26. Man proposes and God disposes. 27. An old man is like a child. 28. There is no place like home. 29. A man is old as he feels; a woman is old as she looks. 30. A great ship asks deep waters. 31. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. 32. To fiddle while Rome is burning. 33. Fish begins to stink at the head. 34. Man is known by the company he keeps. 35. A rolling stone catches no moss.

Exercise 6. Translate the following geographical names into Ukrainian.

1. The Rocky Mountains (the Rockies) are considered young mountains: of the same age as the Alps in Europe, the Himalayas in Asia, and the Andes in South America. 2. At the border of the Pacific Ocean lie the Coast Ranges, relatively low mountains. 3. The Grand Canyon cut by the Colorado River in the high Colorado Plateau, is 1.6 kilometers in depth. 4. North of the Central Lowland are the five Great Lakes and West of the Central Lowland are the Great Plains. 5. The Mississippi is one of the world's great continental rivers, like the Amazon in South America, the Congo in Africa, or the Ganges, Amur, and Yangtze in Asia. 6. The winding Mississippi River and its various branches drain a great basin extending from the Appalachians to the Rockies about one-third the land of the United States. 7. The Rio Grande is the foremost river of the Southwest between Mexico and the United States. 8. The skyscrapers of New York, the steel mills of Pittsburg and the automobile assembly lines of Detroit which are symbols of industrial America form the «melting pot» of the country. 9. Detroit, heart of automobile industry, began as a waggon-making town, using wood from the forests that covered the peninsula between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. 10. The cargo tonnage which passes between Lake Superior and Lake Huron about equals the combined capacity of the Panama and Suez Canals. 11. Great Salt Lake to the north of Salt Lake City in the State of Utah contains an estimated six thousand millions of tons of soda.