LINGUISTIC MEANING.

EQUIVALENCE IN TRANSLATION

Autumn 2021
REVISION QUESTION: GAP FILLING

Translation must fully represent the …. and … of

the …. ; possess the …. composition (being easy-
to-read).

Original ideas ease of original style

PLAN

1. Linguistic meaning of a word. Types of

meaning.
2. The concept of equivalence. Background.
3. Degrees of equivalence in translation.
4. Translation of culture-bound words.
5. V. Komissarov’s classification
REFERENCES
1. Алексеева И.С. Введение в переводоведение. Уч.
пос. для фил. и лингв. фак-тов ВУЗов. М., Academia,
2004. 352 с.
2. Комиссаров В.Н. Современное переводоведение.
Учебное пособие. М., ЭТС. 2002. 424 с.
3. Терехова Г.В. Теория и практика перевода: Учебное
пособие. Оренбург, ГОУ ОГУ, 2004. 103 с.
4. Сітко А. В., Гудманян А. Г., Єнчева Г. Г. Вступ до
перекладознавства. Нова Книга, 2017, 296 с.
5. Мамрак А.В. Вступ до перекладу. Київ, Центр учбової
літератури, 2009. 304 с.
WHAT IS A WORD?

Is it the main unit in a language?

Is it the smallest meaningful unit in the

language?

What other language units do you know? Levels?

Loosely, the word is can be understood as ‘the
smallest unit of language that can be used by
itself’
(Bolinger & Sears 1968, 43).

However, we believe that it is not just a unit of a

language but a communication unit.
From the formal perspective, a written word can
be defined as any sequence of letters with an
orthographic space on either side. (M.Baker)

e.g. in rebuild there are two distinct elements of

meaning:
re & build – that is ‘to build again’. The same
applies to disbelieve, which may be paraphrased
as ‘not to believe’.
Importantly, elements of meaning, represented by
several orthographic words in one language, may
be represented by one orthographic word in
another and vice versa (Baker, p. 10).

e.g., a tennis player is written as one word in

Ukrainian тенісистка, or теннисистка in Russian.
WORDS AND MORPHEMES
Some linguists have suggested the term
morpheme to describe the minimal element of
meaning in a language, as distinct from word,
which may or may not contain several elements
of meaning.

Still, in contrast to words, a morpheme cannot

contain more than one element of meaning and
cannot be further analyzed.
WORDS AND MORPHEMES. YOUR TURN

Unavoidable
helplessness
congratulations
grow
Misunderstanding
unable/enable/disable
WORD MEANING

1. IS THE WORD MEANING MATERIAL OR

ABSTRACT?
2. IS THE WORD SOUND MATERIAL?
3. DOES EVERY WORD HAVE A MEANING?
WORD MEANING
It is a certain psychological unit, a cognitive
category typical of humans only. It exists as a
phenomenon in human mind and is a brain
function.

It mentally reflects objects, phenomena or

situations within the word structure and is its
internal aspect (ideal), while the phonetic sound
of a word is its material substance.
YOUR TURN

Is graphical representation of a word material or

abstract?
WORD MEANING

Referential meaning (aka denotative or conceptual

meaning ) is relation to the referent that stands for a
real object, property, phenomenon or situation.

Significative meaning is a type of lexical meaning, it

stands for the relation to the significate (as opposed
to denotatum), i.e. to the concept of the object that
the word refers to (the concept of a human, old, joy,
poplar, rose etc.)
WORD MEANING
Pragmatic meaning is the attitude of the language
speakers to the word. It can be neutral or
emotionally coloured, can be evaluative, signaling of
communication conditions and providing social
background description to the speaker.
Grammatical meaning includes the meaning of
grammatical items (e.g. function words and
inflectional affixes), grammatical functions (e.g.
subject and object), and different sentence-types
(e.g. declarative and interrogative)
WORD MEANING IN TRANSLATION

Referential meaning is primarily preserved in

translation since it contains all practical
experience of the language community.

Pragmatic meaning is less adaptable in

translation to another language.

Grammatical meaning is frequently lost in

translation.
WORD MEANING IN TRANSLATION

Functional style determines the order of

conveying meanings:
e.g.
Science & technology – primarily referential
followed by pragmatic
Literary - primarily pragmatic followed by
referential
JEAN-PAUL VINAY & JEAN DARBELNET ON EQUIVALENCE

Vinay and Darbelnet wrote Stylistique

Comparée du Françaiset de l' Anglais (1958,
English version 1995) which contains
comparative stylistic analysis of the different
translation strategies and procedures used in
French and English.
JEAN-PAUL VINAY & JEAN DARBELNET ON EQUIVALENCE

They distinguish between direct and oblique

translation, the former referring to literal
translation and the latter to free translation (p.
84).
Direct translation can be carried out following
three procedures: borrowing, calque, literal
translation, while the oblique translation
involves transposition, modulation,
equivalence and adaptation.
JEAN-PAUL VINAY & JEAN DARBELNET ON EQUIVALENCE

Equivalence is viewed as a procedure in which

the same situation is replicated as in the
original but different wording is used
(Vinay&Darbelnet, 1995, 32).
Through this procedure, it is claimed that the
stylistic impact of the source-language (SL)
text can be maintained in the target-language
(TL) text.
JEAN-PAUL VINAY & JEAN DARBELNET ON
EQUIVALENCE
Accordingly, proverbs, idioms and clichés can
be given equivalents at the level of sense and
not image.
E.g., comme un chien dans un jeu de quilles (lit.
like a dog in a set of skittles) could be
translated like a bull in a china shop (cited in
Munday, 2001, 58).
IT IS YOUR TURN!

The last straw – Ukrainian equivalent - ?

Живі та здорові – English equivalent - ?

Like two peas in a pod – Ukrainian equivalent - ?

Злива/льет как из ведра – English equivalent - ?

JEAN-PAUL VINAY & JEAN DARBELNET ON EQUIVALENCE

Vinay & Darbelnet supported the idea of

including equivalent expressions in bilingual
dictionaries “as full equivalents” (p. 255).
However, they realized the utopia of such a
statement by admitting that glossaries and
collections of idiomatic expressions are non-
exhaustive (p. 256).

Thus, a translator is to be active and creative in

searching equivalents.
ROMAN JAKOBSON: LINGUISTIC MEANING AND
EQUIVALENCE
“On linguistic aspects of translation” (1959)
He followed Saussure’s idea that
Signifier (the spoken and written signal) +
signified (the concept signified) = linguistic sign

The linguistic sign is unmotivated and arbitrary

(e.g. Why cheese is called cheese?)
ROMAN JAKOBSON: LINGUISTIC MEANING AND
EQUIVALENCE
“There is ordinarily no full equivalence between
code-units” (1959, p. 114)

According to Jakobson, translation is performed

at the message level, where
“The translator recodes and transmits a message
received from another source. Thus translation
involves two equivalent messages in two different
codes” (ibid.).
R. JAKOBSON: LINGUISTIC MEANING AND
EQUIVALENCE. CROSS LINGUISTIC DIFFERENCES
 Level of gender (dog – neuter in English,
feminine in Russian, masculine in Ukrainian);
 Level of aspect (in English it is conveyed
analytically (perfect – non-perfect) while in
Ukrainian and Russian synthetically, via
affixation);
 Level of semantic fields (cheese – Käse, queso,
formaggio, сир, but in Russian творог is used
for cottage cheese)
CROSS LINGUISTIC DIFFERENCES
DIRECT ПРЯМИЙ ПРЯМОЙ
Straight Лінійний, як лінія Лінійний, як лінія
Without anyone or anything else Безпосередній Безпосередній
being involved or between Правдивий Правдивий
(She decided to take direct Буквальний Справжній
control of the project.) Безумовний
In direct light/heat – strong Буквальний
light/heat that has nothing
protecting and separating one
from it.
Direct relation / relative /
descendant – He is a direct
relative to my father.
Complete – a direct contrast/ the
direct opposite of …
Honest – I like her open and
direct manner.
EUGENE NIDA
Nida maintains that there are two basic types of equivalence:
1) formal 2) dynamic.

In particular, Nida argued that in formal equivalence the TT resembles

very much the ST in both form and content whereas in dynamic
equivalence an effort is made to convey the ST message in the TT as
naturally as possible.

It can be argued that Nida was in favour of dynamic equivalence since

he considered it to be a more effective translation procedure.

This comes as no surprise given the fact that Nida was, at the time at
which he voiced his views about equivalence, translating the Bible, and
hence trying to produce the same impact on various audiences he was
simultaneously addressing.
EUGENE NIDA
Nevertheless, Nida’s theory has been severely
criticized (see more detail in Munday).
Still Nida contributed to translation studies
development as he was able to produce a
systematic and analytical procedure for
translators working with any kinds of texts.
He also emphasized the role of
readers/receptors and their cultural
expectations.
DEGREE OF EQUIVALENCE IN TRANSLATION

Conveying any meaning, a translator must find an

equivalent or substitution.

Degrees of equivalence:
1. Full (absolute) equivalents;

2. Partial equivalents;

3. Culture-bound lexical units.

CONTEXTUAL EQUIVALENTS

Non-regular – they are context based.

Can we find them in dictionaries?

NO

They are the result of translator’s / interpreter’s

creative search.
DEGREE OF EQUIVALENCE IN TRANSLATION

Full equivalents (Ukr. повний, одиничний

еквівалент) include the words that do not involve
ambiguity in translation. They are only to be
known by the translator.
a) terms (controversial);

b) calendar dates (controversial);

c) numerals;

d) names of exotic animals.

DEGREE OF EQUIVALENCE IN TRANSLATION

Partial equivalence (Ukr. Варіантний

відповідник), e.g. direct / прямий / прямой

It is common to have several semantically

equivalent options in the target language.
(involving some semantic variations).
(гарний wonderful (day), beautiful (girl),
good (paper))
DEGREE OF EQUIVALENCE IN TRANSLATION

Culture-bound words (P.Newmark) are lexical units

that do not have full or partial equivalents in the
target language. They lack equivalents (cf.
безеквівалентна лексика).
Leonid Barkhudarov offered the following
classification of these units:
1. proper and geographic names;
2. names of organizations, entities, periodicals;
3. realia, unavailable in the TL cultural background;
4. accidental gaps.
TRANSLATION OF CULTURE-BOUND WORDS

Culturally bound lexical units are not

untranslatable, as any name can become a
permanent equivalent.
The ways of translating culture-bound words are:
- transcription and transliteration;

- translation loan (calque);

- loose translation;

- descriptive translation (paraphrasing).

LOAN TRANSLATION
Loan translation (calque) is a borrowing (a word
taken from one language to another) translated in a
literal or word-for-word (morpheme-for-morpheme)
way:
"Groundhog" from Dutch "aertoercken”
departement/department – відділення
semiconductor – напівпровідник,
skyscraper – хмарочос
masterpiece, from German meisterstück, Ru.
пылесос – Ukr. порохотяг) (Collins Dictionary)
DESCRIPTIVE TRANSLATION

Descriptive translation is a complex

transformation, used to explain the meaning of
source language (SL) units, often with the help of
hierarchically different target language (TL) units.
For example, a word may be translated as a word-
combination or vice versa.

Descriptive translation may be used:

DESCRIPTIVE TRANSLATION
1) to render the meaning of equivalent-lacking units, e.g.:
-national specific lexemes:
Верховна Рада – The Ukrainian Parliament (Descriptive), the Verkhovna Rada (Literal),
Supreme Council (word-for-word), Supreme Rada (mixed)
вареники – a traditional Ukrainian dish, meat or fruit dumplings (Descriptive), varenyky
(literal)
-neologisms:
stepwife – the current wife of a women’s ex-husband or the ex-wife of a current husband
(зведена дружина – теперішня дружина колишнього чоловіка або колишня дружина
теперішнього чоловіка)

gaydar – an intuitive sense that enables someone to identify whether another person is
gay (гейдар – здатність (дар) розпізнавати нетрадиційну орієнтацію іншої людини
(геїв)
DESCRIPTIVE TRANSLATION
2) to render the meaning of phraseological units or idioms:

as mad as a hatter – навіжений

sit on the fence - вагатися

to rain cats and dogs – лити як з ведра або злива

as right as rain - здоровий

3) in footnotes to explain obscure places in narration

spiritual – спірічуел, релігійна пісня афроамериканців

REVISION QUESTIONS: LOOK BACK AND SAY:
1. Is there complete equivalence between the ST (source text)
and the TT (target text)?
No
2. What is a full equivalent?
Full
3. What kind of equivalents is not indicated in dictionaries?
Contextual
4. What kind of equivalents has a number of translation
options?
Partial
5. What translation process was used when translating a
skyscraper as a хмарочос?
Translation loan
TRANSCODING. WHAT’S THIS?

Is it a linguistic term?
Yes, it is.
Is it a linguistic term only?
No, it isn’t.
Where else can we find the process of
transcoding?
What does this term mean there?
 TRANSCODING IN A DICTIONARY
Transcoding
noun [ U ]
COMPUTING specialized
1
the process of changing computer information that is stored in a particular code (=
a language used to program computers) into another code:
The software provides "transcoding" - translation between standard web pages written
in standard HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) and Wap's WML (Wireless Markup
Language).
2
the process of changing a media file (= a file that contains sound and video) from
one format (= the way in which information is arranged and stored on a computer) to
another:
It is a very nice computing machine for DVD transcoding.
Once on the hard disk all sorts of transcoding is possible.
(https://dictionary.cambridge.org/ru/%D1%81%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%8C/%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B3%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%B9%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9/transcoding
TRANSLITERATION
Transliteration is the process of transferring a word from the
alphabet of one language to another. Transliteration helps
people pronounce words and names in foreign languages.

Unlike a translation, which tells you the meaning of a word

that's written in another language, a transliteration only gives
you an idea of how the word is pronounced, by putting it in a
familiar alphabet. It changes the letters from the word's original
alphabet to similar-sounding letters in a different one.
In Hebrew, the Jewish winter holiday is .‫חנוכה‬
Its English transliteration is Hanukkah or Chanukah.
TRANSCRIPTION
It is a way of rendering a foreign word with the
native alphabet, i.e. it is the transfer of its
phonetic form. This way of translating is used for
proper and other names.
For example: white spirit – уайт-спірит (solvent)
Whitehall – Уайтхолл (вулиця у Лондоні, де
розташовані урядові установи) or Даунінг стріт.
The aim of using transcription is to keep the text
concise and authentic.
THE CONCEPT OF ADEQUACY IN TRANSLATION

The person is sleeping.

Людина спить.

Помийся.
Have a shower.

The meal was delicious.

?
THE CONCEPT OF ADEQUACY IN TRANSLATION

A.V. Fedorov stated that “перевод должен

полностью сохранять содержание оригинала”

L.S. Barkhudarov concluded that “the translated

text can never be the full and absolute equivalent
of the original text”
THE CONCEPT OF ADEQUACY IN TRANSLATION

Chemistry wasn't something you could just create

anyway; it was either there or it wasn't.
Серцю не накажеш, або кохаєш, або ні.

Whatever makes you tick…

Як тобі подобається…

Speaking
Алло / слухаю
THE CONCEPT OF ADEQUACY IN TRANSLATION

“Those evening bells, those evening bells,

how many a tale their music tells
of youth and home and that sweet time when first I
heard their soothing chime” (T. More)

“Вечерний звон, вечерний звон, как много дум

наводит он.
О юных днях в краю родном, где я любил, где отчий
дом”. (I.Kozlov)
THE CONCEPT OF ADEQUACY IN TRANSLATION

R. Jakobson singled out key elements of

communication:
- message addressor,
- addressee,
- referent (what the message is about),
- media channel,
- language code
- the message itself of a certain form.
THE CONCEPT OF ADEQUACY IN TRANSLATION

R. Jakobson classified speech functions

accordingly (6):
1) If a message focuses on the addressor,
expressing his/her feelings or emotions, it
fulfils the emotive function.
2) The focus on the information recipient
(addressee) performs an imperative function,
aiming at a certain reaction from the
addressee.
3) Referent situation, naturally, means the main
focus on the message content.
R. JAKOBSON’S R. JAKOBSON CLASSIFICATION
OF SPEECH FUNCTIONS

4) The concentration on the media channel is designed to

check contact, establish or support communication and
therefore it is called contact-establishing or phatic. (see
also McLuhan)
5) The focus on the language code means that the point is
in the language structure, its form or meaning of its units,
i.e. it fulfils metalinguistic function.
6) The attention to the message form, creating a certain
esthetic impression, referred to the poetic function.
POTENTIAL & TRANSLATION EQUIVALENCE

Potential equivalence is the maximum similarity

of two texts written in different languages.

Translation equivalence is the actual similarity in

the meaning of the original and translated texts,
achieved by the translator.
 DEGREES OF EQUIVALENCE BY V.KOMISSAROV

It is important to note that the must-have function for an

equivalent translation is communicative, or that of
communicative aim.

A rolling stone (gathers no moss) means a person who

moves from place to place, job to job, etc. and so does not
have a lot of money, possessions or friends but is free from
responsibilities
перекати-поле,
той, хто не сидить на місці, добра не наживе
 DEGREES OF EQUIVALENCE BY V.KOMISSAROV
Degrees or types of equivalency as different degrees of
semantic closeness between the original and translation texts:
1) aim of communication;
2) aim of communication + situation identification;
3) aim of communication + situation identification + the
method of situation description;
4) aim of communication + situation identification + the
method of situation description + meaning of syntactic
structures
5) aim of communication + situation identification + the
method of situation description + meaning of syntactic
structures + lexical units
V.N. KOMISSAROV’S CLASSIFICATION

1. The only element preserved in the translation

text is the aim of communication.

“Maybe there is some chemistry between us

doesn’t mix”
“Бывает, что люди не сходятся характерами.”
V.N. KOMISSAROV’S CLASSIFICATION
2. The translation text preserves the aim of
communication and identifies the situation.
“The telephone rang and he answered it.”
“Задзвонив телефон, і він зняв слухавку.”
“Push-Pull” -- «від себе, на себе»,
“He had his left hand around the neck of his
companion” («?»)
“He knocked at the door and came in”
«Він постукав у двері й зайшов у кімнату.»
V.N. KOMISSAROV’S CLASSIFICATION

Your turn:
Attention // roadwork // Uses
“He is the last man to betray a friend” – “?”
“No smoking” – “?”
He’s got a new Aston-Martin – “?”
I do not shop in Lidl / M&S - “?”
V.N. KOMISSAROV’S CLASSIFICATION
3. The translation text preserves the aim of communication +
situation identification + the method of situation description.

She knocked and came in /

She knocked at the door and came into the room.
(implicit & explicit meaning)

At that moment the great white was just next to him.

He was being examined by the doctor. (voice)

Regular paste + translation into Ukrainian ???

V.N. KOMISSAROV’S CLASSIFICATION
4. The TT preserves the aim of communication +
situation identification + the method of situation
description + meaning of syntactic structures
The bridge was built within a year.
Міст було збудовано/збудували за (один) рік.

The installation must function at low temperatures.

The developers should take it into account.
Розробникам слід звернути увагу на те, що прилад
повинен працювати за низьких температур.
V.N. KOMISSAROV’S CLASSIFICATION
5. The TT preserves the aim of communication +
situation identification + the method of situation
description + meaning of syntactic structures +
lexical units.
I saw her at the cinema.
Я бачила її в кіно(театрі).

Difficulties are in semantics: denotative/

connotative / intralinguistic meaning.
V.N. KOMISSAROV’S CLASSIFICATION

Issues related to the denotative meaning:

- range of vocabulary (tinker – to repair, adjust,
or work with something in an unskilled or
experimental manner - ?)
- scope of meaning – (плавати vs
swim/float/sail/drift; slam the door in one’s face
– зачинити перед чиїмось носом)
- combinability
V.N. KOMISSAROV’S CLASSIFICATION
Issues related to the connotative meaning
include emotional, stylistic or figurative meaning
a word can have.
Businessman –
бізнесмен/підприємець/ділова людина
Businessmen – бізнесмени/підприємці/ділові
люди/представники ділових кругів
+ mistakes (deliberate, stylistically marked) and
puns (sweethearts – sweetmeats?, grammar)
V.N. KOMISSAROV’S CLASSIFICATION

Intralinguistic meanings are normally lost in

translation:
For example:
The board expelled him.
Engine (for a steam locomotive)
 LEVELS OF EQUIVALENTS
Stepan Barkhudarov (1969) suggested a consistent
approach to identifying the ways of translating
language units by levels. The recreation of language
units at
1) phonemic level Liverpool(Ліверпуль), Watson
(Уотсон), speaker (спікер);
2) morphemic level (bi-lateral – дво-сторонній, multi-
stori-ed – багато-поверховий);
3) lexical level (rain – дощ, snow – сніг. He came
home. Він прийшов додому);
 LEVELS OF EQUIVALENTS
4) phrasal level (make yourself at home –
почувайте себе як вдома, чувствуйте себя как
дома, располагайтесь// The terrestrial globe is a
member of the solar system – Земна куля
входить до сонячної системи);
5) sentence level (Every dark cloud has a silver
lining – Буде й на тій вулиці свято, нема лиха
без добра);
6) text level
 LEVELS OF EQUIVALENTS

Drawbacks:
Differences in morphemic composition, in levels
of equivalents etc.
e.g. participate – брати участь,
Indulge oneself - Робити собі приємність у
чомусь