Lecture 16
Lecture 16
24
PhI 23-7k3
PhI 23-7r
Plan:
1. Conception of the pragmatics of translation
2. The principles and methods of pragmatic adaptation of the translation
3. Factors influencing on the quality of translation.
Words in language are related to certain referents which they designate and
to other words of the same language with which they make up syntactic units.
These relationships are called semantic and syntactic, respectively. Words are also
related to the people who use them. To the users of the language its words are not
just indifferent, unemotional labels of objects or ideas. The people develop a
certain attitude to the words they use. Some of the words acquire definite
implications, they evoke a positive or negative response, they are associated with
certain theories, beliefs, likes or dislikes. There are «noble» words like «honor,
dignity, freedom», etc., and «low» words like «infamy, cowardice, betrayal».
Words can be «nice» or «ugly, attractive or repulsive». Such relationships
between the word and its users are called «pragmatic».
The pragmatic implications of a word are an important part of its
meaning that produces a certain effect upon the Receptor. Of even greater
significance is the pragmatic aspect of speech units. Every act of speech
communication is meant for a certain Receptor, it is aimed at producing a certain
effect upon him. In this respect any communication is an exercise in pragmatics.
Since the pragmatic effect plays such an important part in
communication, its preservation in translation is the primary concern of the
translator, though it is by no means an easy task. The pragmatic aspect of
translation involves a number of difficult problems.
To begin with, the pragmatics of the original text cannot be as a rule directly
reproduced in translation but often require important changes in the transmitted
message. Correlated words in different languages may produce dissimilar effect
upon the users. An «ambition» in English is just the name of a quality which may
evoke any kind of response — positive, negative or neutral. Its Kazakh/Russian
counterpart «амбиция» is definitely not a nice word. Thus, the phrase «The voters
put an end to the general's political ambitions» can be translated as
«Сайлаушылар генералдың саяси амбициясын тоқтатты» /«Избиратели
положили конец политическим амбициям генерала», retaining the negative
implication of the original, but if the implication were positive the translator would
not make use of the derogatory term. The sentence «The boy's ambition was to
become a pilot» will be translated as «Баланың арманы ұшқыш болу
болды» /«Мечтой мальчика было стать летчиком».
Such words as «idealism» or «nationalism» often have a positive effect in the
English text and are rendered into Kazakh/Russian as «идеалдарға қызмет ету»,
«риясыздық»/«служение идеалам, бескорыстие» and «ұлттық өзін-өзі тану,
ұлттық мүдделер» / «национальное самосознание, национальные интересы»,
respectively.
When we consider not just separate words but a phrase or number of
phrases in a text, the problem becomes more complicated. The communicative
effect of a speech unit does not depend on the meaning of its components
alone, but involves considerations of the situational context and the previous
experience. A report that «John has run a hundred metres in 9 seconds» will pass
unnoticed by some people and create a sensation with others who happen to know
that it is a wonderful record-breaking achievement.