STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATIONS IN TRANSLATION

1. An Overview of Grammar Transformations

2. Translation of Phrase Epithets and Attributive Clusters (or: Collocations).

3. Complex Transformations.

4. Communicative Structure of the English and Russian Sentences. Word Order Change due to the Functional Sentence Perspective.

An Overview of Grammar Transformations - 1

Rule: For an equivalent translation do not mirror the grammar forms of the ST! Choose between the parallel forms and various grammar transformations. E.g.:

1. Translation of infinitive forms: perfect, active and passive, indefinite and continuous.

The train seems to arrive at 5 vs

The train seems to have arrived at 5.

An Overview of Grammar Transformations - 2

2. Translation of continuative infinitive:

a) Parliament was dissolved not to meet again for 11 years.

b) He came home to find his wife gone.

3. Substitution of parts of speech:

a) Ben’s illness was public knowledge.

b) His style of writing is reminiscent of Melville’s.

Translation of Phrase Epithets

1. He said it with a please-leave-me-alone expression.

2. The «call a spade a spade» ideal of Swift should once more be called to mind.

3. The eternally-asked, never-to-be-answered question, why people could not mind their own business.

Complex Transformations1. He is a three-time loser at marriage.

Он был три раза неудачно женат.

2. May I trouble you to pass the salt?

Передайте соль, пожалуйста.

3. I don’t think you’re right.

Думаю (боюсь), вы не правы.

4. But he turned out badly, he drank, then took to drugs.

Но из него ничего хорошего не вышло - он начал пить, потом пристрастился к наркотикам.

Communicative Structure of the English and Russian Sentence

Rule: Each sentence develops from a known piece of information called the theme to a new one called the rheme and the sentence analysis in this case is referred to as functional sentence perspective. In the Russian sentence the rheme is placed at the end, in English it is mainly initial or elsewhere.

The Location of the Rheme

1. A boy entered the room.

2. He went to London.

3. He delivered a lecture yesterday.

1. В комнату вошел мальчик.

2. Он поехал в Лондон.

3. Вчера он читал лекцию.

Determiners of the Rheme in the English Sentence

1. The indefinite article: A waitress came to their table.

2. «No» with the subject: No machinery is needed to perform this test.

3. Intensifying words (or phrases): Only the educated are free.

4. Inverted constructions: There is a book on the desk.

5. «By-agent» in the passive construction: The telephone was invented by Bell.