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Before choosing a lexical equivalent, look at: Concepts in the
source language text which are known
in the receptor language
Concepts in the source text which are unknown in the receptor
language
Lexical items in the source text which are key terms
Non-literal lexical equivalents Even though most of the concepts
which occur in a particular text are
also found in the receptor language they are expressed in
different ways
The secondary sense and the figurative sense of lexical items
are usually completely mismatched
- Figurative vs nonfigurative
- Positive vs negative
How do you choose correctly? Understand that a single source
language word may be translated by
one word or many words in the receptor language and vice
versa
- Most of the time there is no literal equivalence
Concepts should also not be expected to be represented the same
way in the receptor language
- The lexical structures are different so concepts are expressed
differently
Descriptive Phrases When a signle word is translated by several
words in the receptor language.
Ex: Glutton= one who eats too much
Praise= it is good
Using related words a equivalents -Synonyms
-Doublets
-Negating Antonyms
-Reciprocal lexical items
Synonyms -Lexical Items having the same or nearly the same
meaning
-Two languages doften do not have a matching of synonyms to a
given concept.
-May have different connotations
Ex: "cop" vs "policeman"
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Doublets -Two near synonymous words or phrases which occur as a
unit.
Ex: "strangers" and "foreigners"
Ex: "nice" and "clean"
Ex: "Peanut butter" and "Jelly"
-Emphasize the idea or modify the area of the meaning.
-Use gneric-specific relationships
-Not always possible or stylistically appropriate to keep both
words or phrases.
Negating Antonyms -Used when no direct quivalent exists
Ex: instead of bad say not good.
-Be aware of collocation to make sure it is appropriate in the
context
Using Reciprocal Lexical Items Often performed by changing
active into passive voice or vice versa.
Generic Specific Words 3 problems when translating:
The source language text may use a generic term but the receptor
language may only have a more
specific term in that semantic area.
The source language uses a specific term but the receptor
language only has a generic word available
in that semantic area.
The receptor language word used in the translation is intended
to be understood in a generic sense
but it is interpreted by the receptor language speakers in a
specific sense.
Ex: Stated specific meant to be generic
"Daily bread"
--Bread is used a specific word but represents a general idea,
foo
Taxonomies Same word, different levels
Ex: Man- mankind, women, boy
Must rely on the context to determine the correct usage.
Avoid ambiguity by including the collocate so the audience knows
if the meaning is generic or specific.
Figurative Senses (figures of speech) Will almost always need
adjusted in the translation but should
not be eliminated all together
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Use a non figurative equivalent
Ex: English: "Get a kick out of it" in ASL: "ENJOY"
Use a different figurative equivalent in the target language
EX: English: "All riled up" in ASL: "BOILING-INSIDE"
Secondary and Figurative Senses Will almost never be translated
with an equivalent item of the
source language.
