Text AnalysisST
Text AnalysisST
Text AnalysisST
(summer term)
based on
Mona Bakers In Other Words
PhDr. Martin Kubu
propositional meaning,
expressive meaning,
presupposed meaning,
and evoked meaning.
Propositional meaning
The propositional meaning of a word or
an utterance arises from the relation
between it and what it refers to or
describes in a real or imaginary world, as
conceived by the speakers of the
particular language. It can be judged as true
or false.
Expressive meaning
Expressive meaning cannot be judged
as true or false. This is because
expressive meaning relates to the
speakers feelings or attitude rather to
what words and utterances refer to.
E.g. -- Quiet, please! Vs. Shut your mouth!
The difference in the sentences does not lie in the
propositional meaning but in their expressiveness.
Presupposed meaning
Presupposed meaning arises from cooccurrence restrictions, i.e. restrictions on
what other words or expressions we expect to
see before or after a particular lexical unit.
These restrictions are of two types:
Selectional restrictions: these are a function of the
Collocational restrictions
Collocational restrictions: these are
semantically arbitrary restrictions which do not
follow logically from the propositional meaning of
a word. For instance, laws are broken in English,
but in Arabic they are contradicted. In English,
teeth are brushed, but in German and Italian they
are polished, in Polish they are washed, and in
Russian they are cleaned.
E.g: to acknowledge ones sources, to cast a
film,
Evoked meaning
Evoked meaning arises from dialect and
register variation.
A dialect is a variety of language which has
currency within a specific community or group of
speakers. It may be classified on one of the
following bases:
Geographical
Temporal
Social
Geographical
e.g. American as opposed to British
English examples: lift elevator
waistcoat vest
vest undershirt
crisps chips
chips fries
trousers pants
pavement sidewalk
flat apartment
underground subway
Temporal
e. g. words and structures used by
members of different age groups within a
community, or words used at different
periods in the history of a language:
e.g. verily -- really
Pharisee -a
hypocritically self-righteous person
A member of an ancient Jewish sect that emphasized strict interpretation and
observance of the Mosaic law in both its oral and written form. later the meaning is also broadened
Social
words and structures used by members of
different social classes:
scent -- perfume
napkin -- serviette
Register
Register is a variety of language that a
language user considers appropriate to a
specific situation.
Field
Field of discourse is an abstract term for
what is going on that is relevant to the
speakers choice of linguistic items.
Tenor
Tenor -- an abstract term for the relationships
between the people taking part in the discourse.
The language people use varies depending on
such interpersonal relationships as mother/child,
doctor/patient, or superior/inferior in status.
The speakers choice of linguistic items will
depend on his relationship towards the hearer.
Example
An example of a wrong tenor An authentic e-mail by
our former Erasmus student:
Dtum: tvrtok, 15. janur 2009, 20:36
Dear Martin,
I am jonathan your lovely italian schoolboy, I hope your 2009 have
been started in the best way. I am writting to you at first for tell you
sorry about the last time, but I was sick and also to ask you if make
test is possible on next Thursday at 3 pm or at any time is convinient
to you. I am studying hard hoping it could be not too much difficult to
me.
best wishes
Jonathan
Mode
Mode an abstract term for the role that the
language is playing (speech, essay, lecture,
instructions) and for its medium of transmission
(spoken, written). Linguistic choices are
influenced by these dimensions.
To sum up
Of all the types of lexical meaning
explained above, the only one which
relates to the truth or falsehood of an
utterance and which can consequently be
challenged by a reader or hearer is
propositional meaning. All other types of
lexical meaning contribute to the overall
meaning of an utterance or a text in subtle
and complex ways and are often much
more difficult to analyze.
For example
E.g. in the semantic field of PLANTS we
can find trees, flowers, bushes etc.
The lexical sets have further lexical sets
under them.
Name examples of other semantic fields
and their lexical sets.
Example
Tree
Oak
Birch
Beech
Note!
Different kinds of non-equivalence
require different strategies, some
very straightforward, others more
involved and difficult to handle.
Common problems of
non-equivalence
1. Culture-specific concepts
For example
Indonesian makes a distinction between
going out in the rain without the
knowledge that it is raining (kehujanan)
and going out in the rain with the
knowledge that it is raining
(hujanhujanan).
For example
Russian has no ready equivalent for
facilities, meaning any equipment,
building, services, etc. that are provided
for a particular activity or purpose.
For example
house its hyponyms bungalow, cottage,
croft, chalet, lodge, hut, mansion, manor,
villa and hall.
7. Differences in physical or
interpersonal perspective
Physical perspective may be of more importance
in one language than it is in another. Physical
perspective has to do with where things or
people are in relation to one another or to a
place, as expressed in pairs of words such as
come/go, take/bring, arrive/depart, and so on.
Perspective may also include the relationship
between participants in the discourse (tenor).
E.g: Vykanie, tykanie,
Note!
In other words, if the target-language
equivalent is neutral compared to the
source-language item, the translator can
sometimes add the evaluative element by
means of a modifier or adverb if
necessary, or by building it in somewhere
else in the text.
E.g: zbi zmlti
9. Differences in form
For example
drinkable Slovak have equivalents
but e. g. Arabic has to paraphrase.
Preventable, in Slovak, we
paraphrase
For example
Slovak does not use prechodnk as
frequently as English uses ing
constructions which are propositionally
equivalent to the Slovak prechodnk
Idc dolinou, zbadal som srnu. The
usage of the structures, rather neutral in
English, may sound unnatural or archaic,
poetic in Slovak.
For example
e. g. al dente cooked until slightly
firm but not soft[4] // AL DENTE taliansky termn v preklade "na skus",
pouvan pri varen cestovn, ktor
s do mkka, ale mierne tuh.[5]
NOTE!
Loan words also pose another problem for
the unwary translator, namely the problem
of false friends, or faux amis as they are
often called. False friends are words or
expressions which have the same form in
two or more languages but convey
different meaning.
For example
be careful, English sympathetic should
not be confused with the Slovak word
sympatick, or control with kontrola
They do not always map.
or: bezcenny in Polish, priceless in English
wild mushrooms freely growing
mushrooms
More examples?
For example
Metaphors or idioms which in our
language would sound unnatural:
"I have to go around with my shirt open so
that I have enough room for my chest.
(Hillenbrand, 2010)
Eg.
... inak mi napr do nosa...
For example
Little Boy the atomic bomb
Eg:
Atmov bomba Little Boy (Chlapek)
For example
For example
An example from Baker: You can even
dine alfresco in the summer on our open
air terrace.
Backtranslated as: In the summer you
can also sit and eat on the terrace in the
open.
7. Translation by omission
If the meaning conveyed by a particular item or
expression is not vital enough to the
development of the text to justify distracting the
reader with lengthy explanations, translators can
often do simply omit translating the word or
expression in question.
For example
or: Yokohama, Japan in Hillenbrand,
2010 in the given context feels
redundant, readers will know >
Jokohama note. PSP, p. 88.
Or
Quack and Butcher An untrained person
who pretends to be a physician and
dispenses medical advice and treatment.,
used as a nickname Msiar the
function retains, other possibility:
arlatn, but the function may not be the
same, the expressive meaning is different
Since it is a nickname, ialen arlatn is
very long in comparison to Quack
Digression: translation of
nicknames:
See: Heko, Kalanikov, Kubu
Or
Particular items are omitted for other
reasons, e. g. like lack of general
knowledge or incompetence.
8. Translation by illustration
This is a useful option if the word which lacks an
equivalent in the target language refers to a
physical entity which can be illustrated,
particularly if there are restrictions on space and
if the text has to remain short, concise, and to
the point.
E.g.: tagged teabags, see Baker
Collocational meaning
It is, however, disputable whether a word
on its own can mean anything. What we
do when we are asked to give an account
of the meaning of a word in isolation is to
contextualize it in its most typical
collocations rather than its rare ones.
Some collocations may seem untypical in
everyday language but are common in
specific register.
For example
See the examples: Dry clothes, dry
weather, dry cows, dry wine, dry voice, dry
humour
Or e. g. Dry county A dry county is a
county in which alcoholic beverages may
not be legally sold.
How can we translate these?
Note!
In rendering unmarked source-language
collocations into his/her target language,
a translator ideally aims at producing
a collocation which is typical in the target
language while, at the same time, preserving the
meaning associated with the source collocation.
This ideal cannot always be achieved.
Translation often involves a tension a difficult
choice between what is typical and what is
accurate.
Example
Similarly, the nearest acceptable collocation
which can replace hard drink in Arabic is
alcoholic drinks. But hard drink refers only to
spirits in English, for example whisky, gin, and
brandy. It does not include other alcoholic drinks
such as beer, lager, or sherry. The Arabic
collocation, however, refers to any alcoholic
drink, including beer, lager, sherry, as well as
spirits. The meaning of the two collocations
therefore do not map completely.
Culture-specific collocations
Some collocations reflect the cultural setting in
which they occur. If the cultural settings of the
source and target languages are significantly
different, there will be instances when the source
text will contain collocations which convey what
to the target reader would be unfamiliar
associations of ideas. Such culture-specific
collocations express ideas previously
unexpressed in the target language. Like
culture-specific words, they point to concepts
which are not easily accessible to the target
reader.
Example
Papers
In Slovak
The expressions mal jazyky a vek
jazyky may be considered offensive or
chauvinistic also in our cultural context.
We, therefore, tend to use rozren and
menej rozren jazyky.
Note!
Generally speaking, collocations are fairly
flexible patterns of language which allow several
variations in form. For example, deliver a letter,
delivery of a letter, a letter has been delivered,
and having delivered a letter are all acceptable
collocations.
Note!
Unless s/he is consciously making a joke
or attempting a play on words, a speaker
or writer cannot normally do any of the
following with an idiom:
1. change the order of the words in it
2. delete a word from it
3. add a word to it
4. replace a word with another
5. change its grammatical structure
For example
E.g.: face the music this idiom was used
in both literal and figurative meanings:
Lets face the music and dance a song
by I. Berlin, 1936
Note!
As their name suggests, fixed expressions such
as having said that, as a matter of fact, Ladies
and Gentlemen, and all the best, as well as
proverbs such as practise what you preach and
waste not, want not allow little or no variation in
form. In this respect, they behave very much like
idioms. Unlike idioms, however, fixed
expressions and proverbs often have fairly
transparent meaning.
e.g.: waste not, want not.
For example
Bakers example Merry Christmas may
also be regarded culture specific.
Note!
Idioms and fixed expressions which contain
culture-specific items are not necessarily
untranslatable. It is not the specific items an
expression contains but rather the meaning it
conveys and its association with culture-specific
contexts which can make it untranslatable or
difficult to translate.
For example
E.g.: To go to the dogs (to lose ones
good qualities) has a similar counterpart
in German, but whereas the English idiom
can be used in connection with a person
or a place, its German counterpart can
only be used in connection with a person
and often means to die or perish.
3. Translation by paraphrase
This is by far the most common way of
translating idioms when a match cannot be
found in the target language or when it seems
inappropriate to use idiomatic language in the
target text because of differences in stylistic
preferences of the source and target languages.
4. Translation by omission
As with single words, an idiom may sometimes
be omitted altogether in the target text. This
may be because it has no close match in the
target language, its meaning cannot be easily
paraphrased, or for stylistic reasons.
5. Strategy of compensation
One strategy which cannot be adequately
illustrated is the strategy of compensation.
Briefly, this means that one may either omit or
play down a feature such as idiomaticity at the
point where it occurs in the source text and
introduce it elsewhere in the target text. This
strategy is not restricted to idiomaticity or fixed
expressions and may be used to make up for
any loss of meaning, emotional force, or
stylistic effect which may not be possible to
reproduce directly at a given point in the target
text.
Note!
Using the typical phraseology of the target
language its natural collocations, its own fixed
and semi-fixed expressions, the right level of
idiomaticity, and so on will greatly enhance the
readability of your translations. Getting this level
right means that your target text will feel less
foreign and, other factors being equal, may
even pass for an original.
Note!
Here a translator must be attentive and creative
since a charactonym poses a pun a name,
or a nickname, which carries a meaning. Be
careful, the translated name should carry a
trace of its original so that it sounds foreign,
yet understandable enough see Vilikovsk,
Preklad ako tvorba, 1984
For example:
From Unbroken by L. Hillenbrand, 2010
Butcher Msiar
Shithead Hovnohlav
Lieutenant Shit-in-Breeches Poruk Zakak
Lady Dia Riere lady Kakachka
Lady Gonna Riere lady de Syfilis
For example
Knob explanation needed Brit taboo a slang word for
penis // Nob -- A person of wealth or social standing
eg. Pohlavrsky d however, this charactonym,
nickname, is more clumsy, awkward, being much longer,
consisting of more than one word
Sandblaster a short person, with his buttocks close to
the ground Pieskoborec
Willie Maker a nickname of an airplane willy Brit.
informal a childish or jocular term for penis, it was a
nickname of a plane, on which a naked sailor chases a
girl eg. Pipk nmornk,
For example
From Woody Allen: (see also: Kubu Problematika prekladu
satirickch funknch mien a nzvov v diele W. Allena http://
www.fhv.umb.sk/app/index.php?ID=3382, UMB website, p. 79)
For example
April Fleshpot a woman of loose morals April
Courtysanov
Moe Bottomfeeder a pseudochristian fraud,
running his own business Maurice Oshmecker
E. Coli Biggs a low-cost movie producer,
For example
Man and Sting Ray Man Ray a real name, a
photographer, sting ray -- we should keep the
pun characteristic of the second name Jack a
Po Tworkovci (J. Tworkov was a painter)
(on the Material of Translation into English of The History of a Town by M.E. SaltykovShchedrin)1
http://translationjournal.net/journal//35propernames.htm)
Martin Kubu Problematika prekladu satirickch
funknch mien a nzvov v diele W. Allena http://
www.fhv.umb.sk/app/index.php?ID=3382, UMB website,
p. 79)