Fixed Expressions and Idioms in Translation

7/28/2019 Fixed Expressions and Idioms in Translation

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FIXED EXPRESSIONS AND

IDIOMS IN TRANSLATION


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FIXED EXPRESSIONS

a general term used to refer to various phraseologicalunits:

Fixed expression is a very general but convenient term[...] used to cover several kinds of phrasal lexeme,

phraseological unit, or multi-word lexical item: that is,holistic units of two or more words. These includefrozen collocations, grammatically ill-formedcollocations, proverbs, routine formulae, sayings,similes. Fixed expression also subsumes idioms [...]

Fixed expression, like idiom is unsatisfactory as a termsince [...] many fixed expressions of these types arenot actually fixed...

(Moon 1998: 2)


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FIXED EXPRESSIONS

include different types of word combinations (Fiedler 2007,

Cowie 1998, Moon 1998, Glser 1998) FROMbilexemiccombinations (e.g. blue joke)TOplurilexemic expressionsrendered by:

simple sentences (e.g.The coat does not make thegentleman) complex sentences (e.g. Make hay while the sun shines,Do as you would be done by)microtexts (e.g. the famous quotation from Shaw He who

can does. He who cannot, teaches).

are first and foremost characterized by fixedness at thegrammatical and semantic levels, which is their key property(Moon 1998: 120).


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IDEATIONALExperientialLogical

communication of ideasconnections between ideas

INTERPERSONAL Interactional

Personal

interrelationship betweenspeaker and hearer

moodillocution

modality attitude

TEXTUAL Theme

Information

Cohesion

thematization and thematicpatterning

given/new distinction

cohesive structure

HALLIDAY S MODEL OF TEXT COMPONENTS


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FUNCTIONS OF FEIs:

INFORMATIONAL to state propositions and conveyinformation: e.g. in the long run EVALUATIVE to convey the speakers evaluation and

attitude: e.g. another pair of shoes SITUATIONAL to relate to the extralinguistic context,

to respond to a certain situation: e.g. tell it to theMarines MODALIZING to convey truth values, advice, requests,

etc.: e.g. to all intents and purposes

ORGANIZATIONAL organizing text: e.g. by way ofillustration

(Moon 1998: 217-218)


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FUNCTIONS OF PROVERBS

GENERALIZING to convey general truths of a proverbial nature, coming from

other peoples experiences:e.g. Out of sight, out of mind.Old birds are not to be caught with chaff.No smoke without fire.Make hay while the sun shines.

SITUATIONAL when they are responses to or occasioned by the extralinguisticcontext:e.g. It is the last straw that breaks the camels back.

EVALUATIVEwhen they express the speakers attitude towards a situation andevaluation on some reality, event or happening:

e.g. Blood is thicker than water.

MODALIZING when proverbs are used as or with modalizers, most oftenepistemic:

e.g. Every could has a silver lining.A stitch in time saves nine


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PROVERBS AND SYNONYMY

MISLEADING SYNONYMY:

e.g. a) Truth and oil are ever above.b) It takes many shovelfuls of earth to bury the

truth.

a)Adevrul iese ntotdeauna la suprafa.b)Adevrul iese deasupra ca untdelemnul.c)Adevrul i undelemnul ies ntotdeauna deasupra.

d) Dreptatea ntotdeauna ca untedelemnul plutetedeasupra apei.e) Dreptatea iese ca untdelemnul deasupra apei.


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MISINTERPRETATIONS

e.g. a) He makes a rod for his own back.

b) He that mischief hatcheth, mischief catcheth.

c) Who spits against the wind, reap thewhirlwind.

a) Cine sap groapa altuia, cade n ea.b) Cine scuip n sus, i vine/cade scuipatul pe obraz.c) Dac scuipi n sus, i vine n ochi.d) Cine seamn vnt culege furtun.


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SEMANTIC CONTAMINATION

e.g. a) The dogs bark, but the caravan goeson.

a) Cinii latr, caravana trece.b) Cinii latr, vntul bate.c) Cinii latr, ursul merge.

d) Cinii latr, bivolul pate.e)Apa trece, pietrele rmn.


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SYNTACTIC ASPECTS

NO SYNTACTIC PARALLELISM

e.g. a) Good finds good.

a) Bine faci, bine gseti.b) Dac faci bine, (bine) gseti (bine).c) Bine faci, prin (ca) urmare/ aadar/ deci

bine gseti.


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SYNTACTIC ASPECTS

PARTIAL SYNTACTIC PARALLELISM

e.g. a) Do well and have well.

REDUCTION VS. EXTENSION OF PROVERBS

e.g. a) Good finds good.

Bine faci, bine gseti.

b) Do well and have well.Binele cu bine se rspltete.


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MODALIZATION OF PROVERBS

e.g. If there should be a slipbetween the cup and the lip, he

was to take sides with Jack.


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TEXT SAMPLES


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i adevrat este, cci aa amscpat ieu de cnii luiTrsnea,

atunci cndam dat pestepcat cu ei i eicu mine.Noroc din ceriu pn-n pmntc nu m-a prins melianuli

haramninul de Trsnea, careavea mare ciud pe mine, decnd m zpsise n grdinalui lafurat mere domneti i pere

sntilieti, ccim-ar fi snopitn btaie.-apoinumai asta mi-ar fimai trebuit acum, ct eram

de procopsit!

And that's a fact, for that is howI got rid of Trsnea's dogs on

this occasion whenthey wereafter me. It was amazing that Iwas not caught by that greathulking villain Trsnea, who

had borne me a grudgeeversince the time when he hadcaught me stealing his bestapples and summer pears in his

garden, forhe'd have beatenthe life out of me, andthatwould have been the last

straw, considering the plight

I was in!


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nsfrit, dupcem-au lsatcnii luiTrsnean pace, cum v-am spus, am srit n

rspintenele unui drum; deacolo, n grdin la noi, iatuncimi s-a prut cm aflu nsnul lui Dumnezeu. imerg euacum fr psare prin ppuoi,pn n dreptul ogrzii, i m uitpintre gardi vd pe mamacumse dade vnt dup trebi, cndn cas, cnd afar; i-mi era mai

mare milade dnsa,dar idepntecele meu cel stocit de apncmiera mil.

At last when Trsnea's dogsgaveup, as I've told you, Ijumpedinto a crossroadsand thence

into our own garden, and then Ifelt as ifI were safe in

Abraham's bosom. I walkedwithout a care in the world acrossthe maize patch till I reached theyard, I peeped through the palingsand caught a glimpse of Motherworking with a will, bothindoors and out, andmy heart

bledfor her; and it bled too, formy own belly, exhausted withswimming as was.


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Vorba ceea:Mil-mi e detine, dar de mine mi se

rupeinima de mil ce-mi

este".i nemaiputnd suferifoamea, ncep a mrni ugilitpintre gard:

As the old saw says:"I'msorry enough for you, but

sorrow for myself quite

breaksmy heart."Unableto bear the pangs of hungerany longer I began to whinedejectedly behind the

palings:


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Mmuci, iact-m-s!"

-odat i sar n ograd,m nfoez dinainteamamei, aa chipos cum eram,i apuc mna cu sila, o srut

izic, scncind:Mam, bate-m, ucide-m,spnzur-m, fcetii cumine;numai d-mi ceva demncare, cmor defoame!"

"Mother, I've come home."

And all of a sudden, I dashedinto the yard, stood beforeMother in my birthday suit,caught hold of her unwilling

hand and kissed it, saying toher, whining all this while:"Mother, you may beat me,kill me, hang me or dowhatever you will with me;only give me something toeat, forI'm nearly done

for!"


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Vorba ceea:Goltatea ncunjur,iar foamea dde-a dreptul".Ea atunci, cum e mama cu

buntate, se uit gali la mine izice oftnd:- Bine-i ede, cocogeme coblizan,s umbli lela pe drumuri n halul

acestaim laitocmai la vremeaastafr leac de ajutor!Haide mnnc, dars tii cmite-ai lehmetit de la inim; doars te poride-acum tare bine, smaifu ceea ce- am fost pentru tine; darnu tiu, zu!

As they say:"Nakedness goesround about; hunger hits the

nail on the head."At which she,

with a mother's kindness, lookedtenderly upon me and said with asigh:"A fine thing for such a great big,

idle fellow to walk the country insuch a state andleave merightnowwithno help at all! Comeand have something to ear but,mind, I've had more thanenough of you. Maybe if youbehave yourself from now on, Imight feel towards you as before,but I can't honestly make any

promises."


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iscurt vorb, vzndcm-am pus ru cu mama, i

giuruiesc eu c ce-am fcut n-oiu mai face. Apoiumblu totcu bineorulpe lng dnsa inu ies din cuvntul ei afar

nici cu fapta, nici cu vorba,cci:Vorbadulce multaduce"; la trebi-s hrnicu ctse poate: dereticami mturam

prin cas ca o fat mare, de n-avea mama grij cnd se duceaundeva.

To cut a long story short,seeing thatI was in Mother's

bad books, I swore to her thatI'd never behave like that again.ThenI was as good as goldwith her, never doing or

saying anything to upsether, fora kind word will do agreat deal. I did the householdchores as industriously as could

be, I tidied up and cleaned thehouse as well as any capablegirl, so that Mother had no needto worry when she went out.


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i-ntr-o zi o vd c m srut

i-mi zice cu blnde:

- Dumnezeustenzileasc,Ionic, dragul mamei, i s-i

deietoate darurile sale celebogate dac te-ai purta cumvd c te poride-o bucat devreme ncoace!

And one day she gave me a

kiss and said with greattenderness:"May Godgrant youhappy days, Ionic, my

darling, and may Heshower upon youHismost precious gifts, if youkeep on as you've beendoing recently!"


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i printele m i la dragoste,i Smrndia ncepe din cndn cnd a m fura cu ochiul,i bdia Vasile m pune s

ascult pe alii, ialt finse mcina acum la moar.

The priest put me down in hisgood books and littleSmaranda flashed a glance atme now and then; Master

Vasile entrusted the coachingof other boys to me, and, asthe saying goes, a different

kind of flour was nowbeing ground in the old

mill.


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Aa ne nvase o bab s facem

ca s ne treac de rie. V puteinchipui ce vra s zic a te scldan Bistria, la Broteni, de douori pe zi, tocmai n postul cel

mare!i nici tu junghiu, nici tu friguri,nici alt boal nu s-a lipit de noi,dar nici de rie n-am scpat.

Vorba ceea: Se ine ca ria deom.

An old woman had taught us

this as a means of getting ridof the scab. You can imaginewhat it meant to bathe twice aday in theBistriaatBroteni,

before Easter.Neither shooting pains, norague, nor any other sicknessdid we get, nor did we get rid

of the scab, for that matter. Asthe saying goes:It clings toa man like thescab.


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-Ei, mi biei, ia amu tragei laaghioase, zise unplie,scprnd idnd foc unui brad.-Cei-i scris n frunte i-ipus;chefi voie bun, zisecellalt scond o hrinc

ngheat din desagi, prplind-ope jratic idndu-nei noucte-o harchin.

"Now boys, let us lie down andsleep it off," one of the mensaid, getting to work with hisflint and tinder and setting a firtree alight."Whatever is ordainedStands written upon a

man's brow; make merry andbe of good cheer", the otherone said, taking a large piece of

cold mmligout of hissaddlebag, toasting it lightlyupon the cinders and giving usa piece each.


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i iaca aa cu cireele; s-amplinit vorba mamei,

srmana, iute i degrab: CDumnezeu n-ajut celuicare umbl cu furtuag".ns ce i-i bun pocina

dup moarte? D-apoi ruineamea, unde o pui? Mai pas ded ochi cu mtua Mrioara,cu mo Vasile, cu vrul Ion ichiar cu bieii i fetele dinsat

And that's how it was withthe cherries; Mother's word,

poor dear, had come truefull-soon:thatGod will nothelp him who steals. Yetwhat good is compunction

after death? And my ownshame to boot! Just try toface Aunt Marioara if youplease, Uncle Vasile, CousinIon, or even the boys andgirls of the village for thatmatter


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ns ce-i de fcut?... S-a treceeai asta; obraz de scoar,

ilas-o moart-n ppuoi,ca multe altele ce mi s-auntmplat n via, nu aantr-un an, doii deodat, ci n

mai muli ani ipe rnd, ca lamoar.

But what can you do?... Ittoo will pass off in time;

nothing for it but to grow athick skin, andlet sleepingdogs lie. It's been the samewith many another trial that

I've been through in life, notjust matters of a year or twowith a definite beginning andend, but recurrent troubleslasting several years, asone's turn comes round forgrinding at the mill.


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i doar m ifeream eu, ntr-oprere, s numai dau pestevro pacoste, darparc naibam mpingea, delefceamatunci cu chiuita.

And after all, I did look outin a kind of way, lest I walkinto some sort of trap; but avery devil seemed to promptme and I wouldstir uptrouble in plenty.


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iorict oiu fi mers cu de tare,vreme trecuse la mijloc doar, ct amumblat horhindcinetie pe unde i

ct am bojbit i mocoit prin teiu,s prind pupza, ilingurarilor, nicimairmne cuvnt, li se lungiseurechile de foame ateptnd. -apoi,

vorba ceea:iganului, cnd i-efoame, cnt; boierul se primblcu mnile dinapoi, iar ranulnostru iarde luleauaimocnete ntr-nsul".

But no matter how fast I walked,time had not stood still while I'dbeen knocking about goodness-

knows-where, fussing and messingabout in that lime tree to catch thebird; and the gypsies, it goeswithout saying, had grown wild

with hunger, while they werewaiting. There's a saying thatgoes:"A gypsy, when hungry,will sing; a gentleman will

walk up and down with his

hand behind his back, while a

peasant will smoke his pipe

and smoulder within himself."


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-Doamne, cumnic-hi, cumse pot nvrjbi oameniidinnimica toat, lundu-se

dup gurile cele rle! Iapoftim, soro, maibine smncm ceva din ce-a da

Dumnezeu, s cinstim cte-unpahar de vin n sntateagospodarilornotri i:Celerle s se spele, celebune

s s-adune; vrajba dintrenois piar, ineghina dinogoare!

"My goodness, sister, howpeople may fall outfor amere nothing, by lendingan ear to evil tongues! Beseated, sister, and let usrather partake of the good

things that God has grantedus and drink the health ofour husbands in a glass ofwine, and:May all evil

from us go, may the goodthings ever grow, vanish

from us feuds and cares,

all our land be free from

tares!


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Iar eu, mncnd lupete, mfaceam smerit si numai

rdeam n mine, mierindu-mtot atunci de ghibciaminciunilor ce potrivisem, de-mi venea mai-mai sle cred

i eu singur pe jumtate.Iaca, aa se poate nela omulde multe ori, cnd nici n-agndit, dac nu tie a judecabine. ns iar m ntorc i zic:Tot pitu-i priceput!"

Eating like a wolf, I pretendedto be humble and laughed up

my sleeve, all the whilewondering at the skillful lies Ihad been telling her, so muchso, that I half believed them

myself.That's how a person mayoften be taken in when heleast suspects, if he can'treason things out; but onthe other hand:Experience is the mother

of wisdom."


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Iar eu intram n pmnt de

ruine, ict pe ces m nec,de ciud ce-mi era.idin dragostea cea mare demai dinioarea, mi venea acum

sle strng de gt, nualtceva.Dar vorba ceea:Poi opri

vntul, apaigurile

oamenilor?

I wished the earth would

swallow me and my shameup, and I very nearly drownedmyself, I was that upset; andthe worship of a while ago

had now changed to a desireto strangle them, neither morenor less. But as the sayinggoes:"You can't stop windor water, and people will

talk!"


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-apoi mai aveami altebunuri: cnd m lua cineva curul, puin treab fcea cu

mine; cnd m lua cubineorul, nici atta; iar cndm lsa de capul meu, fceamcte-o drgu de trebuoar

ca aceea, de nici sfntaNastasia, izbvitoarea deotrav, nu era n stare a odesface cu tot meteugul ei.Povestea ceea:Unnebunarunc-o peatr n balt, izece cumini n-o pot

scoate".

And that was not the sum ofmy accomplishments. If I wastreated harshly, that didn't

work; if I was treated gently,that worked even less; andwhen I was left to myself, Imade such a fine tangle of

things that not even St.Nastasia, who can save youfrom poison, was able tounravel it for all her skill. Asthe saying goes:"One foolcan throw a boulder into a

pond, and ten wise men

cannot get it out."


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Poate c nici crmriei nu-iera tocmai urt a sta ntre noi,de ne cerca aa des.

La urma urmelor unde nu-i dTrsnea cel uricios un pupoiufr veste!

Cci la aceste mai totprostul se pricepe.i atunci crmria ceafrumoas curat c s-a mniet.

Dar ce s-i facem? Vorba ceea:n care cme s-amniet, ntr-aceea s-a

dezmnie.

Maybe the hostess took nooffence whatever at ourcompany, thats why shed try

it so often. At long lastTrsnea, that unpleasant lout,took her unawares and gave

her a smacking kiss.Any asswill soon put its foot in it.And then the lovely hostesswas really cross. But what

could we do? As the sayinghas it:Shell doff it withher bodice, for there is no

other way out of it.


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Noi, atunci, am prlit-o la fug. Iarel, zvrr! cu o scurttur n urma

noastr, cci era om hursuzsipcliitpopa Olobanu.i, din spaima ceea, am fugitnoi maijumtate de sat napoi, fr s avem

cnd i zice popei:Drele pe podelesiburei peprei; ctepenepe cucoi,atia copii burduhoi", cumobicinuiesc a zice plugarii pe la casele

ce nu-i primesc.

Thereupon wetook to our heels,followed by the priest with a cudgel,

hard on us; for Parson Olobanu wasan ill-tempered, crusty fellow.We were so scared, we'd runhalfway back through the village

without having taken theopportunity to wish the priest:"A floor with fungus inches

deep, toadstools up the wall

that creep, children fat and

loathsome too, dozens of them

you shall rue", as carol singers willat those houses that won't receivethem.

References


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References

Agha, A. 2001. Register in A. Duranti (ed.) Key Terms in Language and Culture.Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.

Avdanei, C. 2000.Construcii idiomatice n limbile romn i englez. Iasi: EdituraUniversitii Alexandru Ioan Cuza.

Cacciari C. and S. Glucksberg 1991. Understanding idiomatic expressions: Thecontribution of word meanings in G. B. Simpson (ed.) Understanding word and sentence.Amsterdam: Elsevier, pp. 217 -240.

Duranti, A. 2001 Key Terms in Language and Culture. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. Errington, J. 2001. Ideology in A. Duranti (ed.) Key Terms in Language and Culture.

Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. Gheorghe, G. 1986. Proverbele romneti i proverbele lumii romanice. Bucureti:

Editura Albatros. Halliday, M.A.K. 1978. Language as Social Semiotic. London: Edward Arnold. Lefter, V. 1978. Dicionar de proverbe roman-englez. Bucureti: Editura tiinific i

Enciclopedic. Moon, R. 1998. Fixed Expressions and Idioms in English. A Corpus-Based Approach.

Oxford: Clarendon Press. Nunberg, G., I. A. Sag and Th. Wasow 1994. Idioms in Language. 70/3, pp. 491 538. Obelkevich, J. 1987. Proverbs in social history in P. Burke and R. Poter (eds.) The SocialHistory of Language. Cambridge: CUP. Titone, D. and C. Connine 1999. On the compositional and noncompositional nature of

idiomatic expressions in Journal of Pragmatics, 31/3, pp. 1655-1674. Vega- Moreno, R. E. 2001. Representing and processing Idioms, UCL Working Papers in

Linguistics. 13, pp. 73-107. Yankah, K. 2001. Proverbs inA. Duranti (ed.) Key Terms in Language and Culture.

Oxford: Blackwell Publishing

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Fixed Expressions and Idioms in Translation