2. History of translation History of theory

Translation of cultures and political terms
The structural peculiarities of the language are the main factors that show us the worldview and the culture of the native speakers. The very famous American linguistic theorist B. Joff wrote that «the native speakers of different languages perceive different facts and phenomena in the different ways because they are expressed differently in each peculiar language». [14. Martin A. Teaching Sight Translation for Future Interpreters. 1993. p. 87] For interpreters it is important to know that «the grammatical structures of the language (unlike the lexical structure) predetermine the aspects of the thing or phenomenon this language expresses». For example in the Russian sentence «я нанял работницу» we can see the sex of the employer and the employee, and the tense of this action. However it is impossible in the English sentence «I hired a worker», here the tense of acting must be defined by choosing a tense form of a verb – «hired» or «has hired» In the simple example «Я нанял работницу» we can clearly see that the grammatical forms have a great impact on the semantic structure of the phrase.
As one of the famous modern linguists of Russian origin N. Jacobson emphasized: «the native speaker concentrate their attention on the aspects which are necessary for word-coding of their native language». [8. Jakobson R. On Linguistic Aspects of Translation. 1996. p. 79] It makes a lot of difficulties for translating from one language into another when there is a range of definite words in one of the languages and there are no such words in the other or vice verse. So in the Russian language there are no articles and compound tenses of the verb but in the English language there are no case endings and verbal prefixes as in Russian.
«В русском языке английский артикль заменяется такими словами, как «one» или «that».
«In the Russian languages English articles are usually translated as «один» or «тот».
«Тот мужчина, который только что вошел, – ее брат»
«The man who just came in is her brother»
«Один его друг сказал мне это»
«A friend of his told me that»
The native speakers of Russian name the range of things by the same word; however in English the words are different. In the English language for instance there are several naming units for each part of the thing that in Russian it is only one word:
«рука» consists of «hand» and «arm» «рука от плеча до кисти»;
«нога» – of «leg» and «foot» «ступня до щиколотки»;
«пальцы» на руках – «fingers»,
«пальцы» на ногах - «toes».
On the other hand, there are no words in the English language to show the difference between
«свекровь» and «теща», and both these notions are translated just as «mother-in-law». The same with verbs
«жениться» and «выйти замуж»: they are translated in the same way – «to marry».
When the unique phenomena in the culture are translated into another language verbally there can be grammatical mistakes or just incorrect phrases. The struggle for detente and friendship among nations got a considerable support was published in the Moscow News February 5, 1989. Or other sentence:
«По праздникам и воскресеньям мой муж работает в гараже»
[19. Visson L. Синхронный перевод с русского на английский. 1999. p. 56]
To translate the last to words as
«In a garage» – means «to receive impression» that husband of this woman «on output and holiday works up in some garage», but meantime she bears in mind that «at free time her husband is busy with his machine in their garage»
The more specific and unique this or that phenomenon on the source language the more difficult is to decide the problems the famous American translator R. Lurie considered choosing «equivalents of cultural realia». The translator loses his courage when he sees such words as «коммуналка» knowing that he has to translate it as «communal apartment». He is ready to lose all verbal associations of this Russian word – this not pure Russian word «коммун» as in the word «коммунист» is softened by the suffix /-ка/ which shows the meaning of some sad feeling of devotion. The English term «communal apartment» puts in remembrance a «kitchen» in the town of Berkley, California, where a band of hippie enjoys cooking some rise for vegetarian lunch while the Russian word «коммуналка» recalls in memory a «lot of big rooms coloured in a gloomy brown colour, the whole family lives in each room, they have a very small stuffy kitchen because you cannot say what you want or what you has just done it»
The same thing Shweicer emphasized in his theoretical works: «Translation is not only intercommunication between languages but also between cultures… The process of translation «crosses» not only the edge of the language but also the edge of cultures». [18. Vinigradov V.S. Lexical problems of translation. 1987. p. 66] A good example of such mutual misunderstanding serves the experience of an American professor, he spoke Japanese perfectly. At the time of mass student disorders in Japan he was in one of its towns at the meeting in the university. They discussed what to do with this situation. When the teacher has finished the main point of the agenda the American thought that the consensus was reached and told this Japanese colleague about this. «Yes, yes, you are right» answered he, «However you are mistaken. The decision was right the opposite you thought. You have understood all the words in the right way but you haven't understood the pauses between them».
Achieving its apogee at soviet period, the problem of intercultural communication still creates to difficulties in Russian-American relations. In its essay about semantics of such problems American psycholinguist E. Glenn brings for illustration interesting example:
The frequent use of the word or notion «неправильное» by the representatives of the USSR created the impression for English diplomats that their Russian partners were obstinate and pragmatic. On the other hand the American prescription that it is necessary to look at both sides of the question was explained by the Soviet people as an attempt to take an indirect position or to hide the real intentions. Without explaining Gegel's philosophy the interpreters said to the audience «we disagree» or just «no» instead of «that's wrong» or «that's incorrect». Simply saying they just retold the Soviet position in the west cultural linguistic terms.
However knowledge of the language and culture of some people and personal attitude to them are the two different layers in the mind of an interpreter and he has to divide them in his work. This is especially necessary during the diplomatic negotiations. Sometimes the interpreter works for one party on the negotiations but he sympathizes the other one. However he has no right to say his own opinion while interpreting one or the other party and also to tell proprietary information to no party.
In order to realize its professional mission an interpreter from Russian into English should not only be aware of their way of living, political situation and philosophy but also know their cultural realia. First these are such notions that do not exist in west and to which there are no English equivalents. For example the words «субботник» and «застолье» bewildered the majority of American translators and interpreters. Besides there exist a lot of phenomena to which there are equivalents in both cultures but they can be used in different contexts. One of such notions is «пафос созидания». It would not be clear to an American without detailed commentaries. When saying «идеализм» a Russian speaker usually means philosophy which is opposite to American «materialism», but an American means the priority of high ideals over practical considerations.
The Russian «лимонад» turns out to be not the same as «lemonade» in America where it is not «aerated water» with some sugar and lemon juice – in Russian there exist two types of lemonade both aerated and not.
To translate both this words at the same way means to name Chinese «рис» English «хлеб». For Russian citizen «общественная жизнь» means different activities of social life and state life while in America according to an expression of one Russian interpreter «social life» means «any relationships with people including visiting theatres and restaurants». The Russian phrase «общественная работа» strongly differs from an American «social work», which mainly means «charity sponsored by local authorities».
In a number of features of Russian culture establishments cost also and services for which there are no faultless analogues in the English-speaking West and which cause to search for roundabout ways for translation. However it sometimes gives to a simultaneous interpreter an opportunity not only to extend, but also to reduce phrases.
To transfer sense of the sentence
«Они решили пожениться, и пошли в ЗАГС»
instead of saying «Registration Bureau» or «Palace of Weddings» reformulate the main sense:
«They took out a marriage license»
«They signed the register» or just say
«they got married»
It is needless to say, that not all specific in Russian culture is a subject to by all means pedantic explanation.
«Он получил путевку в дом отдыха» –
«Не got a voucher for his vacation trip/center»
«Rest home» is, as N. Strelkova emphasized, «учреждение для пожилых людей или для больных, как дорогое заведение для людей, которые восстанавливают силы после длительной болезни…» in America [19. Visson L. Синхронный перевод с русского на английский. 1999. p. 107]
If an interpreter does not have enough time, it is possible to omit some words. He can just say:
«Не went off on vacation» The English variant of the sentence
«Мы долго стояли в очереди на квартиру» took place in the history of ill-translations:
«We stood on line for a long time for an apartment» At listeners the impression as if
«Someone long stood in a queue in the street in hope was made to receive an apartment» Adequate translation would be, certainly:
«For a long time we were on a waiting list»
Without the authentic analysis and preliminary analysis of realities it is impossible to interpret quickly them in English. A woman saying:
«У нас две комнаты и общая кухня с соседями»
does not matter «a common kitchen». Otherwise they appear an ambidextrous phrase as common may mean
«простой, вульгарный». In English it should be like this:
«We share the kitchen with the other people in our communal apartment»
«Соседи» – is also «the false friend of translator» as for English-speaking the word «neighbors» means the people living not in different rooms of same apartments, and in separate apartments or houses, being beside or nearby from each other.
In the first years of reorganization during one of greater space bridges «USSR-USA» where problems of both countries were compared, the Soviet doctor has complained, that
«у нас низкая культура противозачаточных средств» In this saying the last 3 words
«культура противозачаточных средств»
were translated as
«The culture of contraceptives»
that sounds very unusual in English as these «means»
«Cannot have their own «culture»
The orator meant
«Bad quality of contraceptive means» and
«Lack of knowledge of them»
As a result – in a populous American audience there was bewilderment because of translation which should sound absolutely differently:
«Our problems with birth control devices»
Such word as «коллектив» also needs some explanation. When you say:
«коллектив нашей школы» it can be, depending upon a context
«a class» or «a sports team»
«коллектив нашего института» – «the staff», and
«коллектив нашего завода» – «the employees» Otherwise the word «коллектив» has so many meanings that it can be
«group»
«personnel»
«staff»
«colleagues»
«co-workers»
«associates»
And similar realities make long enough number for G.V. Chernov's which part offers descriptive translations:
Russian English
рабочий поселок industrial settlement
рабочий поселок workers' community
стаж seniority
стаж period of service
детская консультация child welfare center
медалист honor student
вредная профессия hazardous occupation
поликлиника health center
поликлиника health center
ЗАГС civil registry office
курсы повышения квалификации refresher courses
курсы повышения квалификации advanced training courses
субботник an unpaid donation of a day's work
субботник weekend donation of a day's work
субботник stint donation of a day's work
субботник volunteer effort donation of a day's work
субботник community effort donation of a day's work
[2. Chernov G.V. Основы синхронного перевода. 1987. p. 68]
Needless to say, that translation listed above the phenomena assumes, that they are already rethought and expressed in English directly or by explanations:
«Они пили чай из пиалок»
«They drank tea from small china cups with no handles»
«They drank tea from small Central Asian china teacups»
In the rare cases when the interpreter has got enough time he can say a Russian word and give a description to it in English:
«They drank tea from pialki, Central Asian china teacups with no handles»
The other word that means nothing to an American is «автореферат». It can also be explained in English:
«Он объяснял эти идеи в своем автореферате»
«Не explained these ideas in his автореферат, the published summary of his thesis»
«Не explained these ideas in his автореферат, the published summary of his dissertation»
L. Chernyakhovskaya gives some interesting examples in her works on English syntax:
«Они надеются, что недалек тот день, когда в стране будут открыты крупные залежи»
«They hope that large deposits will soon be discovered in Kazakhstan»
This phrase is taken from performance in an audience where to listeners it is absolutely clear, that the orator speaks about Kazakhstan. As if to the receiver the name of concrete republic is perceived by them easier and more clearly, than a word «страна».
«недалек тот день»
can be translated word by word
«the day is not far off that»
but the English translation should be much simpler. L. Chernyakhovskaya suggests
«they hope eventually to discover…»
But the shortest and the closest to the word «недалек», that is in the final translation is an English word «soon».
[8. Jakobson R. On Linguistic Aspects of Translation. 1996. p. 69]
Or another example:
«22 июня он ушел добровольцем на фронт»
«On June 22, the day Nazi Germany attacked, he went to the front»
«On June 22, the day Nazi Germany attacked, he volunteered for the front»
[19. Visson L. Синхронный перевод с русского на английский. 1999. p. 96]
In this sentence the decision of an interpreter how to translate the sense of the phrase depends upon his audience. If the people are historians he should not add «on the day Nazi Germany attacked»
«On June 22 he went to the front»
«On June 22 he volunteered for the front»
However he cannot say just «On June 22» to the American farmers because it means to lose the main idea of the speaker. At the same way it is possible to change pure Russian terms on the terms that more frequently occur in the west countries: especially
«Великая Отечественная война»
is translated as
«World War II»
Changing the sense of realias is necessary not only when speaking about the historical events.
«Наши курорты функционируют круглый год»
«Our health resorts are open all year round»
«Our health resorts stay open all year round»
«Our health resorts stay open year round»
«Our resorts function the whole year» – this word by word translation sounds bad in English
 «Эти три года дали нам главное, что необходимо для молодых людей – поле для активной деятельности»
 «These three years gave us what (the) young people needed most what was most important for young people, a chance to do big»
 «These three years gave us what (the) young people needed most important»
 «These three years gave us what (the) young people needed most great things»
 «These three years gave us what (the) young people needed most to build the country»
 «These three years gave us what (the) young people needed most to make full use of their abilities»
 «These three years gave us what (the) young people needed most gave young people a chance to work and grow»
A word by word translation: a field for active activity with the repetition of active sounds ridiculously in English. Expressions which are absolutely normally perceived by Russian listeners, can seem English- speaking grandiose or rather strange. And for elimination of such stylistic distinctions in perception of Russian realities the translator in essence should semantically reinterpret each concept, which nonequivalent English. Otherwise «false friends» turn for the translator to traps where it is possible to get continually, especially translating word by word. Here are some translator's false friends that occur frequently and make a mess for an interpreter:
аргумент артист авантюра декада
декорации диверсия экономный фальшивый
характер характеристика конкретный курьезный
манифестация митинг момент нормально
оперативный пафос персонаж перспективный
поэма
претендовать: Он претендовал своего соседа; адресный (адресные рекомендации, санкции)
targeted specific topical pressing relevant
military diversionary tactic:
subversion sabotage thrifty frugal
immediate important reasons
convictions (not disagreement) any performing artist
a shady or risky undertaking

practical artificial forged imitation

ten days
not ten years stage sets

counterfeit nature

disposition (a character in a work of literature is а персонаж)
description
a letter of recommendation:
actual specific positive
public mass demonstration: mass public demonstration:
definite amusing odd
intriguing funny
rally (never a get-together of a few people) period of time
element point
aspect (один из моментов его выступления)
well
properly (он вел себя нормально) effective
character in a literary work:
promising future long-range
metaphorically – something wonderful:
этот торт – поэма
на имущество – lay claim to
quick practical current timely excitement inspiration enthusiasm emotion thrill

a long epic poem

not short verses (стихи)
have pretensions to:
nice pleasant sweet
title for the nobility: duke, count crude
shameless
ruthless amoral
[19. Visson L. .Синхронный перевод с русского на английский.1999. p. 136]
From the list of words given above it becomes clear how the cultural realia differ from each other and how it is difficult to find the right equivalent.
Political terms: In early years and today there are a lot of political terms that while being translating becomes «false translator's friends». Let's consider, for example, this seemingly mono-semantic notions:
«революция» and «revolution».
In Russian this word means something «radical», «progressive» otherwise «positive changes».
In English it may mean «progressive» and also «conservative event» or «phenomenon». That is why such sentence as
«Revolutions are a common occurrence in Latin America» may be translated into Russian negatively:
«Государственные перевороты – обычное явление в Латинской Америке».
«эксплуатация» and «exploitation» may also be interchangeable. So «эксплуатация угнетенного народа или этнического меньшинства» is clearly different from «эксплуатации минеральных ресурсов».
Many other political terms in the course of translation can also change its original emotional coloring. «круги» in the meaning of «circles» in Russian often had negative shade. They happened to be more often bourgeois and capitalistic than official and business. In the sentence
«Эти круги делают ставку на безудержную гонку вооружений»
the account of action is surely in the negative sense. That is why English «circles» is not always the most suitable word for translation of the word:
quarters sections community forces
elite
or other synonyms can be more suitable.
«Это предложение не встретило сочувственного отклика в официальных кругах»
«This proposal did not find favor in official quarters»
«деловые круги» – «business circles» (neutral)
«международные научные круги» – «the international scientific community»
«правящие круги» – «the ruling elite», «officialdom», «power circles», «policy makers»
For the words «общественный», «государственный» and «публичный» is not always suitable the English words «social», «state» and «public».
«Государственная библиотека» is «state library», when the speaker means «Московская Государственная Библиотека», but «public library», if the speaker means some «local library».
«Общественное мнение» is «public opinion», but in the USA «государственный сектор» – is «public sector» or «government sector», to that «private (частный) sector» is opposition.
«Общественный деятель» is not translated as «social worker» or «public worker», but as someone «active in local affairs» or someone «active in community affairs» or «public figure»; in America such person may be translated also as «philanthropist», i.d. «a person who makes his contributions into charity»
When there is no equivalent in English for this or another Russian socio-political phenomenon this notion can be described transferred into neologism or just transliterated.
The choice of the word is as a rule defined by the context:
«служащие» is not always «employees» or «white-collar workers»;
«отсутствие безработицы» – «lack of unemployment» or mostly antonymous «full employment»
If the Russian word is well-known for English speakers the interpreter can just say it without any translation: «kolkhoz», instead of «collective farm». If the word is not wide spread as «область», it is translated into English as «oblast'» or «region».
The special attention and carefulness is necessary for translating into English the American terms that have already become Russian neologisms. For example, when the Russian delegate speaks about American
«Minister of Defense», this rank is called «Secretary of Defense», and «Minister of Justice» – «the Attorney General». «Политика поощрения», «Политика продвижения национальных меньшинств», is as a rule translated as «Affirmative Action».
As for the Russian political terms which are completely absent in the English language it is necessary to provide a descriptive explanation to them: «наказ» means «instructions» or «requests from voters to an elected official», and «секвестр» – «budget cuts».
Description, transliteration and other fake language equivalents came into using under the forming of vocabulary of «Gorbachev's perestroika». At the end of 80-es American newspapers wrote about openness and restructuring; but in some years «гласность» and «перестройка» steadily came into English and have not been translated. It is clear that such terms as «выводиловка» – «juggling or padding figures and statistics» or
«администрирование» – «the abuse of administrative power» or «authoritarianism» still need to be explained.
Here is an example of translation where to avoid or for word translation of a political sentence a list of different professions connected with political affairs was omitted.
«Комитет защиты мира, являясь самой массовой неправительственной организацией, объединяет в своих рядах десятки миллионов людей – рабочих, представителей интеллигенции, ученых, художников, артистов, религиозных деятелей, ветеранов войны, молодежь»
In verbal translation that was an ordinary thing in the English press it was:
«The Committee for the Protection of Peace, being the most mass nongovernmental organization, united and its ranks tens of millions of people».
So the long list of professions is shortened in the English version of a sentence however some necessaries are left. Under the careful analysis of this phrase it becomes clear that the first 3 words can be shortened to 2: «The Peace Committee». The word «являясь» does not mean «being», but «as» and can be omitted. The phrase «самая массовая» we can simplify as it means «biggest» or «largest». «Объединяет в своих рядах» we can condensate in «brings together» or «unites». «Tens and dozens» sound more idiomatically in English than «tens of millions». But are they necessary? The sense of this sentence is that «many people are involved in the activity of peace protection». As a result the final version is more simple and brief:
«The Peace Committee, the largest nongovernmental organization, brings together millions of people».
In the original Russian sentence there were 34 syllables, verbal translation consists of 44 ones and the final version has 33. That is why the final version sounds more idiomatically in English and loses 11 syllables. It saves a lot of time for an interpreter especially in such cases when the speaker speaks too fast.
Besides evident necessaries in the phrase about «the Peace Committee» there are some semantic ways for condensation. So the word combination from 11 syllables «представители интеллигенции» is shortened to:
«intellectuals». «Ученые» – is a wider notion than English «scientists». How to translate it properly? «Scholars»
– is possible but not precise variant. That is why the most suitable word here is «academics» – a notion that includes everybody who teaches or makes researches. As for «художников» it is possible to name them
«painters», but if the speaker is saying about «артисты», than there is a notion performing «artists».
«Религиозные деятели» – 10 syllables, are easily translated to «the clergy» – 3 syllables.
The notion «собеседник», ever-present in the Russian language, is a very big difficulty for interpreters. The word «interlocutor» does not sound good as its equivalent. What to do in such case? An interpreter first can say «the other party», «the other side» or «the name of this person» or «rank of this person»:
«Как я сказал моему собеседнику…»
«As I said to Mr. Ivanov …»
«As I said to the Director…» Secondly it is possible to use a pronoun:
«As I said to him »
«As I said to her »
«As I said to them»
At some cases the word «собеседник» is omitted:
«Я несколько раз подчеркивал моему собеседнику, что,…»
«I repeatedly made the point that…»
«I emphasized several times that…»
In the political and economical vocabulary there is a plenty of military words:
«арсеналы средств»
«вахта мира»
«борьба за производительность труда»
«новый фронт в промышленности»
«ударный труд»
«борьба за производительность труда» – «labor efficiency campaign»
«боеспособность» – «efficiency», «readiness»
«борьба за первое место» – «competition for first place»
Though in English there is a set range of «military» metaphors they are inconsiderable in number and they are not horrible to ear. An American essay-writer Susan Sontag has emphasized the usage of military metaphors at description of some different diseases, especially cancer: «tumors invade», «cells are bombarded with rays».
«Болезнь рассматривается здесь как вторжение чужих организмов, а тело реагирует на них тем, что мобилизует свои, «военные силы», т.е. «immunological defenses»; «курс лечения» –
«aggressive», например, когда говорят о химиотерапии»
[1. Agrifoglio M. Sights Translation and Interpreting.1996. p. 198].
In other context it should be said
«the battle for survival»
«conquest of space»
«going great guns»
«war of nerves»
«bite the bullet»
However such expression sounds much more colloquial, than Russian military lexicon. When meeting with the English translator in operation happens to search for «peace» equivalents:
«Вы приехали сюда после жарких дебатов, вооруженные наказами своих избирателей»
«You've come here bearing/bringing/with/encouraged by/backed by instructions/requests of your voters/constituents»
«You've come here bearing with instructions of your voters»
«You've come here bringing requests of your voters»
«You've come here bearing with requests of your voters »
«You've come here encouraged by instructions of your constituents»
«You've come here backed by instructions of your voters »
«You've come here bearing with requests of your constituents»
«You've come here backed by requests of your voters »
«You've come here bearing with constituents»
Even at analysis Russian text, in which is spoken about war, sometimes happens to resort to decryption:
«Великая победа над гитлеровским фашизмом, имеющая всемирно-историческое значение, – наше общее достояние, и одержана она была общими усилиями народов и армий стран антигитлеровской коалиции, партизан, бойцов движения Сопротивления, антифашистов, демократов и патриотов, миллионов борцов за свободу»
«Hitlerite» – in no circumstances «Hitler's! » the word «гитлеровский» is sometimes used for the translation however in the West it often said as «Nazi». The first part of the phrase can be translated simplier –
«the historic victory over Fascism», omitting an adjective «Hitlerite» as it repeats the notion «Fascism».
«Имеющую» should not be translated as a verb but of «historic» – not «historical» significance.
But the verb should take place in this sentence because it is meant for a dash between the words
«значение» and «наше»:
«Великая победа над гитлеровским фашизмом, имеющая всемирно-историческое значение, – наше общее достояние, и одержана она была общими усилиями народов и армий стран антигитлеровской коалиции, партизан, бойцов движения Сопротивления, антифашистов, демократов и патриотов, миллионов борцов за свободу»
«The great victory… is our common/shared legacy/heritage and was won/gained by the joint efforts of the peoples and the armies of (the countries of) the anti-hitlerite coalition»
«The great victory… is our common legacy and was won by the joint efforts of the peoples and the armies of the anti-hitlerite coalition»
«The great victory… is our common legacy and was won by the joint efforts of the countries of the anti- hitlerite coalition»
«The great victory… is our shared heritage and was gained by the joint efforts of the countries of the anti-hitlerite coalition»
The same sense can be expressed in a shorter way:
«The war was won by…»
The phrase «бойцов движения Сопротивления» is easily translated as «the Resistance» or «the resistance movement»; «millions of freedom fighters in» are shorter than «millions of fighters for freedom». If an interpreter is in a hurry, he can shorten «the list of people struggling against Fascism» to «antifascists» and
«freedom fighters»:
«The historic victory over the Nazis is our common/shared legacy/heritage and was won by the peoples and armies of the anti-fascist coalition, partisans, the Resistance movement, antifascists, (democrats and patriots) and millions of freedom fighters»
«The historic victory over the Nazis is our common legacy and was won by the peoples and armies of the anti- fascist coalition, partisans, the Resistance movement, antifascists and millions of freedom fighters»
«The historic victory over the Nazis is our shared heritage and was won by the peoples and armies of the anti- fascist coalition, partisans, the Resistance movement, antifascists, and millions of freedom fighters»
«The historic victory over the Nazis is our common heritage and was won by the peoples and armies of the anti- fascist coalition, partisans, the Resistance movement, antifascists – democrats and patriots, and millions of freedom fighters»
[6. Golikova A. Learn to translate by translating from English into Russian. 2001. p. 156] Certainly, need in softening Russian-language «military» or «aggressive» terminology appears far from always. This is done only then, when «translatable» does not approach to contents English text. Otherwise, verbal arsenal of the political vestment not only is not weakened, but, on the contrary, is consciously
emphasized by means of not stronger equivalent:
«Ничего они не жалеют, чтобы поддержать режим своих ставленников…, совершающих кровавые преступления против этого маленького народа»
Translation of Verbs and Adverbial Modifiers of Time
The Russian verbs with their limited Tense System and two types of verbs – Perfective and Imperfective aspects – with their prefixes, impersonal aspect, participle and adverbial participle constructions are usually a puzzle for simultaneous interpreters. The problem is that the Present Tense, Past Tense and Future Tense of Russian verbs while being translated into English do not show the tense of actions. There are no exact equivalents in English for the different aspects of Russian verbs. As a result an interpreter has to choose an English verb carefully, especially choosing between Simple or Compound Tenses.
Here are some examples of incorrect usage of English tenses and constructions made by TASS.
«For many centuries now, Spaniards are living without paying attention to what is happening beyond their country»
«This is a successor to the association which was active for nearly a decade recently»
«The play was banned from being performed at the Taganka»
«We were recommended to spend our holidays in the mountains»
[19. Visson L. Синхронный перевод с русского на английский. 1999. p. 226]
There is a big temptation for simultaneous interpreters. It is to translate the Russian verb in the Simple Tense, not Compound Tense. It happens because Russian verbs do not have Compound Tense.
«Социалистическая Республика Вьетнам, героически перенесшая все тяготы многолетней и суровой войны, теперь мужественно отстаивает свой суверенитет»
«The Socialist Republic of Vietnam, which heroically bore the burdens of a terrible war which raged for years, is now courageously defending its sovereignty»
And here is an example of changing tense. The translation of the sentence «Вы меня раздражаете» depends upon a context. If you annoy the speaker every day you can say:
«Вы меня раздражаете»
«You annoy/irritate me»
«You annoy me»
«You irritate me»
But if you are doing it only at this moment and usually your behavior is good you should say:
«Вы меня раздражаете»
«You are irritating/annoying me»
«You are irritating me»
«You are annoying me»
In the Russian language a verb can be repeated in the Past Tense as well as in Present Tense for emphasizing some constantly continuing action. The verbal translation of this continuation into English with repeating the Past and Present Tenses sounds at least ridiculously. «Руку!» is an example of such translation:
«Мы поддерживаем, и будем поддерживать прифронтовые государства Африки в их усилиях по достижению урегулирования этого вопроса»
«We support and will support the front-line African states» It sounds bad. This variant is much better:
«We have always supported the front-line states»
«We are continuing to support the front-line states»
«We shall continue to support the front-line states» We can replace the verb «to support» by a noun « our support»:
«We shall continue our support for the front-line states»
«Военная угроза» is better to translate as «threat of war» but not as «military threat» – the same with
«военное эмбарго», it is usually «arms embargo», but not «military embargo»
«Направление» should not be translated in this sentence: «aimed at» or «designed to» does not make an additional sense.
The Russian construction with the combination of Past and Present Tenses of imperfective aspect can be translated into English by one Compound Tense:
«Мы никогда не искали и не ищем себе выгод – будь то экономические, политические или иные»
«We have never sought profits/advantages for ourselves - be they economic, political or any other kind»
«We have never sought profits for ourselves – be they economic, political or any other kind»
«We have never sought advantages for ourselves – be they economic, political or any other kind»
«have never» shows Russian but the Present and Past tenses: «не искали и не ищем».
The combination of Present and Past Tenses of Imperfective aspect is often translated by the verb to
continue:
«Мы предлагали и предлагаем договориться о полном запрещении ядерного оружия»
«We are continuing to propose/continue to propose/continue to favor/we have always favored/ always proposed agreement on a total nuclear weapons test ban»
«We are continuing to propose we have always proposed agreement on a total nuclear weapons test ban»
«We continue to propose we have always proposed agreement on a total nuclear weapons test ban»
«We continue to favor we have always favored agreement on a total nuclear weapons test ban»
«We are continuing to propose we have always favored agreement on a total nuclear weapons test ban»
«We continue to propose we have always favored agreement on a total nuclear weapons test ban»
«We continue to favor we always proposed agreement on a total nuclear weapons test ban»
An Imperfective aspect of Russian verbs usually emphasizes the process but not the end of an action and can be in the same sentence in the Future Tense as well. For this phenomenon there are some Definite Constructions in English:
«Мы выступали, и будем выступать в их поддержку»
«We shall continue to support them» This sounds better than:
«We have always supported them»
The Russian verbs of the Present or Past Tenses that are repeated with a dash can be translated as: «keep
+ verb, … » and like this:
«Я иду-иду, уже сил нет, а все еще далеко до места»
«I keep/kept on going, but it is/was still a long distance to/far to that place…»
«I keep on going, but it is too far to that place…»
«I kept on going, but it was still a long distance to that place…»
«On I went/I walked and walked, but…»
«On I went and walked, but…»
«On I walked and walked, but…»
Or:
«Он смотрел-смотрел, никак не мог разглядеть»
«He kept on looking but/No matter how he looked he could not make it out»
«He kept on looking but he could not make it out»
«No matter how he looked he could not make it out»
The so called «the false Future Tense» and «the false Past Tense» can be translated by the words
«впредь», «прежде» и «по-прежнему», however in English it is necessary to search for «Past» or «Future» for expressing the sense of the action in the Future, earlier or formerly. However in such constructions the Perfective Aspect of a verb shows the continuation of a process but not the end of it.
«Мы будем и впредь совместно с другими странами действовать в интересах оздоровления международных отношений»
«We shall continue to act/work with the other countries to improve international relations»
«We shall continue to act with the other countries to improve international relations»
«We shall continue to work with the other countries to improve international relations»
«В интересах» should not be translated here: it does not add any sense but breaks an idiom.
Or:
«Мы будем, как и прежде, содействовать выполнению этой организацией ее миссии»
«We will continue to encourage this organization to carry out its mission/in carrying out its mission»
«We will continue to encourage this organization to carry out its mission»
«We will continue to encourage this organization in carrying out its mission»
Or:
«Расисты по-прежнему продолжают незаконную оккупацию этой территории»
«The racists are continuing/have not ceased/are going on with/are carrying on with the illegal occupation of this territory»
«The racists are continuing on with the illegal occupation of this territory»
«The racists have not ceased the illegal occupation of this territory»
«The racists are going on with the illegal occupation of this territory»
«The racists are carrying on with the illegal occupation of this territory»
[17. Pyadusova G. E. Пособие по переводу для лиц, говорящих на английском языке. 1989. p. 287]
In some English phrases the Infinitive is expressed be the Future Simple Tense of the verb:
«Дети есть дети»
«Children will be children»
The English Present Tense plays more specific role. It is necessary for a Russian Subordinate Clause
with the verb in Subjunctive Mood.
«Если завтра будет хорошая погода, мы пойдем гулять»
«If the weather is good tomorrow, we'll go for a walk»
«Случись так, что расходы превысят доходы…»
«If expenditures exceed revenue/income/if expenditures should exceed revenue/income…»
«If expenditures exceed revenue …»
«If expenditures exceed income …»
«If expenditures should exceed revenue …»
«If expenditures should exceed income…»
In English grammar the Russian Sequence of Tenses can be changed in such cases when Imperative Mood in singular form is used in Conditional Tense:
«Приди я вовремя, ничего бы не случилось»
«If I had come in time nothing would have happened»
This aspect can mean that the speaker «obsesses» or «has to act undesirably»:
«Тебе хорошо с гостями чаи распивать, а я дома сиди»
«You're having fun drinking tea with the guests while/but I've got to stay home»
«You're having fun drinking tea with the guests while I've got to stay home»
«You're having fun drinking tea with the guests but I've got to stay home»
«Сами гулять пойдете, а я пиши»
«Go off on your own, I've got to write/I'm stuck with the writing»
«Go off on your own, I've got to write»
«Go off on your own, I'm stuck with the writing»
Third importance of this form of the verb – «unexpected» or «not deliberate action»:
«Он меня позвал – я споткнись, чашку разбил»
«He called to me and I stumbled and broke a cup»
«Дорога ровная – а он возьми и упади»
«The road was flat/even when all of a sudden he fell»
«The road was flat when all of a sudden he fell»
«The road was flat even all of a sudden he fell»
The Present Tense of Russian is sometimes translated by the Future Simple Tense:
«Я уезжаю через неделю, завтра я весь день работаю, а вечером сижу дома»
«I'm leaving in a week – tomorrow I'll work/I'm working all day and in the evening I'll be home»
«I'm leaving in a week – tomorrow I'll work all day and in the evening I'll be home»
«I'm leaving in a week – tomorrow I'm working all day and in the evening I'll be home»
In its perfective aspect Russian verb expressing continuing action is translated into English by the
Present Continuous Tense:
«Сегодня мне весь день мешают – то кто-нибудь придет, то телефон зазвонит»
«I'm being bothered all day – people keep coming in and the phone keeps ringing»
For description of usual man's behavior in the Russian texts sometimes a whole range of verbs is used.
«Он всегда прибежит, накричит, наскандалит, а потом удивляется: почему его не любят?»
«He's always barging in/rushing in screaming/yelling at someone/causing trouble/insulting people/offending people/raising a row and then he wonders why/is surprised that/and then he asks why people don't like him»
«He's always barging in yelling at someone causing trouble and then he wonders why people don't like him»
«He's always rushing in screaming insulting people and then he is surprised that people don't like him»
«He's always barging in yelling at someone offending people and then he asks why people don't like him»
«He's always rushing in screaming raising a row and then he wonders why people don't like him»
In some colloquial phrases an interpreter has to translate the Past Tense of the verbs «пойти» and
«поехать» by the Future Tense of an English verb:
«Я пошел»
«I'm about to leave»
«Я поехал, буду через два часа»
«I'm off/I'll be going/I'll be back in two hours»
«I'm off I'll be back in two hours»
«I'll be going/I'll be back in two hours»
Gerunds are shorter and more idiomatical in English:
«Мы начали вечер с того, что предложили всем потанцевать»
«We started the party/evening by suggesting/with the suggestion that everyone dance»
«We started the party by suggesting that everyone dance»
«We started the evening by suggesting that everyone dance»
«We started the party with the suggestion that everyone dance»
«We started the evening with the suggestion that everyone dance»
«Он начал с того, что лично познакомился со всеми»
«He began by introducing himself to everyone/by getting personally acquainted with everyone»
«He began by introducing himself to everyone»
«He began by getting personally acquainted with everyone»
[18. Vinigradov V. S. Lexical problems of translation. 1987. p. 231]
Sometimes «чтобы» is not translated and the Tense of verb is defined by the context:
«Я не видел, чтобы он чистил зубы»
«I didn't see him brush his teeth/I never saw him brush his teeth»
«I didn't see him brush his teeth»
«I never saw him brush his teeth»
«Я хочу, чтобы вы меня правильно поняли»
«I want you to understand me correctly/to get what I mean»
«I want you to understand me correctly»
«I want you to get what I mean»
Instead of an awkward phrase «in order to» or «so as to», «чтобы» we can translate «to + infinitive»
«Я вернулся с тем, чтобы предупредить вас»
«I came back to warn you»
«Я пришел не с тем, чтобы спорить с вами»
«I didn't come to argue with you» Sometimes the word «чтобы» is translated «as so that»:
«Говори, чтобы все поняли»
«Speak so that everyone understands/gets the point»
«Speak so that everyone understands»
«Speak so that everyone gets the point»
The dependant clauses beginning with «как» or «как бы» can be translated by «the subjunctive mood of a gerund»:
«Я люблю смотреть, как он выступает»
«I like watching him perform/I like to watch him perform/I like watching him performing»
«I like watching him perform»
«I like to watch him perform»
«I like watching him performing»
«Он боялся, как бы не простудиться»
«He was afraid of catching cold/He was afraid he might/could catch cold»
«He was afraid of catching cold»
«He was afraid he might catch cold»
«He was afraid he could catch cold»
«He + инфинитив + бы» requires «don't» or «See that X doesn't do Y».
«He простудиться бы!»
«Take care/I'll take care not to/See that you don't catch cold»
«Take care»
«Take care not to catch cold»
«I'll take care not to catch cold»
«See that you don't catch cold»
«He забыть бы его адрес!»
«See you don't/take care not to/be sure you don't/I mustn't/I must take care not to forget his address»
«See you don't forget his address»
«Take care not to forget his address»
«Be sure you don't forget his address»
«I mustn't forget his address»
«I must take care not to forget his address»
«He забыть» or «Не забывать»? Here type of the verb at translation can and not to play solving dug. Same pertains and to some other example. Finally, «Он это говорил» и «Он это сказал» is it often translated on English equally. But as a whole row of the events deal is otherwise. Visualize that you translator on international conference, where delegates are interested, as it is realized that or other taking them resolution. And here is one of they speak: «Мы две недели решали эту задачу» and another speaks: «Мы вчера решили эту задачу». The difference between these two offers is extremely important for being Present. Classical example of such difference is:
«Колумб был счастлив, не когда он открыл Америку, а когда он ее открывал» Or:
«Он умирал две недели, очень мучился, а умер вчера вечером».
Ambiguity of type of the verb is well seen in both examples as indicator of the terminated action. In English this is expressed simple and complex time:
«While Columbus was discovering America»
«He was dying for two weeks» Linguist Ketford brings such example:
«Что же делал Бельтов в продолжение этих десяти лет? Все или почти все. Что он сделал? Ничего или почти ничего»
«What did Beltov do during these ten years? Everything or almost everything. What did he achieve? Nothing, or almost nothing»
[4. Gentile A. «Types of Oral Translation in the Australian Context», 1998. p. 56]
Moreover, one more circumstance is important. Translator must constantly bear in mind that in English are used absolutely different verbs for issue of the sense of both members one Russian aspectual pairs, as, for instance, «сделать» or «делать». «What did he succeed in doing?» Sounds badly and longer than «What did he achieve?»
Here are more examples of such pairs of words:

сдавать сдать экзамен to take to pass an exam
поступать поступить в университет to apply to to be admitted into a university
to get into a university
In like events at translation verb imperfect type it is impossible not to emphasize that the question is attempt speaking or someone other anything do.
«Войска брали крепость целый месяц»
«The troops tried for a whole month to take the fortress»
«Я к нему долго привыкал, но наконец, привык»
«For a long time I tried to get used to him, and finally did it»
«He оправдывайся!»
«Don't try to justify yourself»
«Don't try to make excuses!»
There exists also aiming category person verb: beside them imperfect type points to condition, which is from terminated actions and is sent made by type «Я «понимаю» is the result of «я понял», and note that English «I understand» translates them both.
«Я понимаю»
«Я понял»
«I understand»
The formal pair «разобраться/разбираться» is exactly the same; the verb in «Я разобрался в этом» is an achievement with the change-of-state meaning characteristic of perfectives, while the verb in «Я разбираюсь в этом» signals the state resulting from the achievement. They may both be translated as understand, but the former means «have figured out» – «come to understand», while the latter means «I understand far» a result of
«having figured out». These verbs belong to a very large group of perfectives whose change of state is inceptive, whose imperfectives denote the new, resulting state: «понял», «понимаю», «поверил», «верю»,
«понравиться», «нравиться».
[19. Visson L. Синхронный перевод с русского на английский.1999. p. 312]
Hard and labor consuming is for translation and faceless designs, since they're often happen to reconstruct. For example, «Здесь не курят» should not be translated word by word. We can say:
«Здесь не курят»
«Smoking is/not allowed/forbidden here or No smoking»
«Smoking is not allowed here»
«Smoking is forbidden here»
«No smoking»
«Посетителей просят оставить верхнюю одежду в гардеробе»
«Visitors are requested/asked to leave/Visitors must leave/check their coats in the coatroom»
«Visitors are requested to leave their coats in the coatroom»
«Visitors are asked to leave their coats in the coatroom»
«Visitors must leave their coats in the coatroom»
«Visitors must check their coats in the coatroom» We can insert the subject:
«Об этом часто приходится слышать»
«I/he/we/they often hear about this»
«I often hear about this»
«He often hear about this»
«We often hear about this»
«They often hear about this»
«Чувствовалось, что он доволен»
«I/we/they felt/could feel that he was pleased»
«I felt that he was pleased»
«I could feel that he was pleased»
«We felt that he was pleased»
«We could feel that he was pleased»
«They felt that he was pleased»
«They could feel that he was pleased»
In some context revocable verbs are translated as connecting with accompaniment subjecting to:
«Под вакуумом понимается пространство, не содержащее вещества»
«A vacuum is defined as space/By a vacuum we mean space/The definition of a vacuum is space/A vacuum is understood to be space free from/not containing/devoid of matter»
«A vacuum is defined as space free from matter»
«A vacuum is defined as space not containing matter»
«A vacuum is defined as space devoid of matter»
«By a vacuum we mean space free from matter»
«By a vacuum we mean space not containing matter»
«By a vacuum we mean space devoid of matter»
«The definition of a vacuum is space free from matter»
«The definition of a vacuum is space not containing matter»
«The definition of a vacuum is space devoid of matter»
«A vacuum is understood to be space free from matter»
«A vacuum is understood to be space not containing matter»
«A vacuum is understood to be space devoid of matter»
«В данном случае сложное движение рассматривается как результат двух движений»
«In this case complex movement is considered as/considered to be/we see complex movement as/we define complex movement as the result of two movements»
«In this case complex movement is considered as the result of two movements»
«In this case complex movement is considered to be the result of two movements»
«In this case we see complex movement as the result of two movements»
«In this case we define complex movement as the result of two movements»
When Russian pronoun is an addition faceless verb, it is possible to remake in subject to/subject. Translator to account that or other tenses realizes these conversions, but do not require the person of the voltage. However, aiming category of the similar expressions so known that is converted nearly instinctive.
«Меня знобит»
«I am feverish»
«В ушах звенело, во рту пересохло»
«His/my ears were ringing, his/my throat was dry»
«His ears were ringing, his throat was dry»
«My ears were ringing, my throat was dry»
«Меня неудержимо клонило в сон»
«I felt an irresistible urge to sleep»
«I just couldn't stay awake»
«I felt horribly sleepy»
«I felt terribly sleepy»
«I felt awfully sleepy»
«Ее потянуло в Париж»
«She felt an urge to go to Paris»
«Paris was calling to her»
«She felt like going to Paris»
«Мне жаль мою подругу»
«I'm sorry for my girlfriend»
But:
«Мне жаль потерянного времени»
«I regret/begrudge the time lost/wasted»
«I regret the time lost»
«I regret the time wasted»
«I begrudge the time lost»
«I begrudge the time wasted»
[19. Visson L. .Синхронный перевод с русского на английский.1999. p. 345]
Both in Russia, and in USA future translator teaches that Active Participle persisting time is always
translated on English verbal form to /-ing/. It is right but a bit pragmatically. Of course,
«Девушка, читающая книгу, очень красива» is
«The girl who is reading the book is very pretty»
But same can be said by translator with gap of the Participle that is to say by means of short turn with pretext and short dependent clause that allows to spare variety of slab, but signifies much time.
«Группа, имеющая такие блестящие результаты, является гордостью нашего университета»
«The group with such outstanding results is the pride of our University»
«Вопрос, выходящий за рамки данной статьи»
«A matter/issue/question beyond the scope of this article»
«A matter beyond the scope of this article»
«An issue beyond the scope of this article»
«A question beyond the scope of this article»
The Reflexive Particle is usually translated with a preposition:
«Строящийся завод является одним из новейших в стране»
«The factory under construction is one of the newest in the country»
«Принадлежащий» можно выразить просто притяжательной формой прилагательного:
«Книга, принадлежащая ей»
«Her book»
The Passive Participial turns persisting time are translated with the Russian language «sooner» as
Adjective, than as Participles.
«Проводимая страной политика одобряется всем народом»
«The policy pursued (not «which is being pursued») by our country has the backing/approval of the entire people»
«The policy pursued by our country has the backing of the entire people»
«The policy pursued by our country has the approval of the entire people» In some cases the Participle can be omitted:
«Ясно определились позиции, занимаемые обеими сторонами по таким жизненно важным вопросам»
«The positions of both sides on such vitally important questions are now clear»
The Participles «имеющийся», «сложившийся», «создавшийся», which are mostly used in a political vocabulary can also be omitted:
«Нам нужно вскрывать имеющиеся резервы»
«We need to exploit the available reserves/the reserves at our disposal/the existing reserves»
«We need to exploit the available reserves»
«We need to exploit the reserves at our disposal»
«We need to exploit the existing reserves»
«Сложившаяся ситуация требует укрепления существующей правовой основы»
«The present/today's/this situation requires a strengthening of the existing legal basis»
«The present situation requires a strengthening of the existing legal basis»
«The today's situation requires a strengthening of the existing legal basis»
«This situation requires a strengthening of the existing legal basis»
«Необходимо на все 100% использовать сложившиеся благоприятные условия»
«100% use must be made of today's/present/existing conditions»
«100% use must be made of today's existing conditions»
«100% use must be made of present existing conditions» Sometimes «сложившийся» or «создавшийся» are the synonyms of this.
«В создавшейся обстановке наш комитет должен выполнить свой долг»
«In this situation our committee must do its duty»
В «назревших проблемах» можно первое слово перевести как «longstanding», «pressing problems»
«pressing issues»
The Adverbial Participles make a lot of difficulties for interpreter. Here are two examples from Moscow News: где в одном случае деепричастием просто злоупотребляют, а в другом – пренебрегают им даже тогда, когда оно требуется в английском:
«Every country must build its own economy based on its own ideas rather than copying foreign technological developments»
«Many of us have hundreds of times experienced the need for a reference book and the utter impossibility to find one»
The Past Tense from Russian is translated into English as an Adverbial Participle.
«Мы видели, как дети купались в реке»
«We saw the children swimming in the river»
А русское деепричастие настоящего времени подчас приходится переводить на английский прошедшим:
«Раза два в год он бывал в Москве и, возвращаясь оттуда, рассказывал об этом»
«Не would visit/used to visit Moscow a couple of times a year, and after returning home/on his return home tell/would tell about it»
«Не would visit Moscow a couple of times a year and after returning home would tell about it»
«Не would visit Moscow a couple of times a year and on his return home tell about it»
«Не used to visit Moscow a couple of times a year and after returning home would tell about it»
«Не used to visit Moscow a couple of times a year and on his return home tell about it» An Adverbial Participle of the Past Tense can be translated in Present:
«Сев за рояль, она заиграла вальс»
«Sitting at the piano, she played a waltz»
While translating the Russian Adverbial Participle sometimes it is necessary to explain Adverbial Modifiers of Time and Adverbial Modifiers of Cause:
«Выслушав меня внимательно, вы быстро меня поймете»
«If you listen to me carefully, you'll understand quickly»
«Почувствовав голод, они решили обедать без гостей»
«Because/since they were hungry, they decided to eat without/without waiting for/the guests»
«Because they were hungry, they decided to eat without the guests»
«Because they were hungry, they decided to eat without waiting for the guests»
«Since they were hungry, they decided to eat without the guests»
«Since they were hungry, they decided to eat without waiting for the guests»
«Переехав в собственную квартиру, он стал гораздо более самостоятельным человеком»
«When/after he moved to his own apartment he became a lot more independent»
«When he moved to his own apartment he became a lot more independent»
«After he moved to his own apartment he became a lot more independent»
[2. Chernov G.V. Основы синхронного перевода. 1987. p. 134]
The adverbial modifiers of time make an interpreter to think over them. Even a beginning interpreter knows that «вчера вечером» is not translated «yesterday in the evening», but «last night». Here is an example of a seemingly simple sentence:
«Центральная Америка как никогда нуждается в мирных условиях»
«Central America needs peace as never before» It sounds badly. The word «peace» is better than «peaceful conditions». Moreover «more than ever» or «now, more than ever» and «just desperately needs peace», are surely preferable.
The phrase «в эти дни» is used very often and better be translated «as now», «today», «at present», «at this time», «аnd these days» or «during these days». «В последнее время» – is also a wide spread word- combination and should not be translated verbally: «recently» sounds more idiomatically instead of «in recent times»
«В последнее время, благодаря распространению спутниковой связи, большую популярность получили разного рода теле- и радио-мосты»
«Recently, thanks to increased satellite communications, various types of TV and radio spacebridges have become very popular»
«Recently, thanks to expanded satellite communications, various types of TV and radio spacebridges have become very popular»
«Recently» – is also possible for translating «на днях», however in the sentence like «Я видел его на днях», there is no information about the time of action. To define it we need the context and the exact time of that period.
«Буквально на днях был сделан очередной, крайне опасный шаг по обострению ситуации в Центральной Америке»
«Just a few days ago yet one more/yet another very/extremely dangerous step was taken/move was made which aggravated/to aggravate the situation in Central America»
«Just a few days ago yet one more very dangerous step was made which aggravated the situation in Central America»
«Just a few days ago yet one more extremely dangerous step was taken to aggravate the situation in Central America»
«Just a few days ago yet one more extremely dangerous move was made which aggravated the situation in Central America»
«Just a few days ago yet one more very dangerous move was made to aggravate the situation in Central America»
«Yet another extremely dangerous step was taken which aggravated the situation in Central America»
«Yet another extremely dangerous move was made which aggravated the situation in Central America»
«Yet another very dangerous step was taken to aggravate the situation in Central America»
[13. Krupnov V. N. Курс перевода. 1979. p. 98] Adverbial modifier of time sometimes needs to be translated anonymously:
«Выдвинут, и не сейчас, вопрос о сокращении военных бюджетов»
«The question of reducing military budgets was put forward quite some time ago»
«The question of reducing military budgets was put forward a long time ago»
Otherwise the word combination «в свое время» is translated by the English compound tense showing that «an hour has already past», «a day has already past».
«Это идет вразрез с интересами длительного значения, которые в свое время были положены в основу данного соглашения»
«This runs counter to those long-range interests, which have been the basis for this agreement»
«This runs counter to those long-range interests, which had been the cornerstone of this agreement»
«This runs contravenes those long-range interests, which have been the basis for this agreement »
«This runs contravenes those long-range interests, which had been the cornerstone of this agreement»
In the sentence where Russian verb is in the Present Tense but means the Past Tense the most important thing is to show the fact that the action has already happened.
«Из года в год растет и ширится международная поддержка справедливой борьбы этого народа»
«Year by year/The years have seen/Over the years/Every year there has been/we have seen the growth and expansion of international support for the just struggle/campaign of this people»
«Every year there has been the growth and expansion of international support for the just struggle of this people»
«Every year there has been the growth and expansion of international support for the campaign of this people»
«Over the years we have seen the growth and expansion of international support for the just struggle of this people»
«Over the years we have seen the growth and expansion of international support for the campaign of this people»
«The years have seen the growth and expansion of international support for the just struggle of this people»
«The years have seen the growth and expansion of international support for the campaign of this people»
«Year by year we have seen the growth and expansion of international support for the campaign of this people»
«Year by year we have seen the growth and expansion of international support for the just struggle of this people»
In the word-phrase «который + какой-то период времени» it is necessary to emphasise that the action was repeated in the past:
«Однако противники ядерного разоружения уже, который год твердят, что якобы не существует приемлемых условий для проведения переговоров»
«How often now have the opponents of nuclear disarmament asserted that the conditions for negotiations are unacceptable»
«How often now have the opponents of nuclear disarmament claimed that the conditions for negotiations are unacceptable»
«How often now have the opponents of nuclear disarmament propounded that the conditions for negotiations are unacceptable»
«For how many years now have the opponents of nuclear disarmament asserted that the conditions for negotiations are unacceptable»
«For how many years now have the opponents of nuclear disarmament claimed that the conditions for negotiations are unacceptable»
«For how many years now have the opponents of nuclear disarmament propounded that the conditions for negotiations are unacceptable»
When there is a question about days of week, months, years and decades the word combination «уже не
+ период времени» can be translated as «for many X's now» «several X's now»
«Уже не одно десятилетие эта страна продолжает игнорировать решения нашей организации»
«For decades/for several decades now this country has been ignoring/has continued to ignore the decisions of our organization»
«For decades now this country has been ignoring the decisions of our organization»
«For decades now this country has continued to ignore the decisions of our organization»
«For several decades now this country has been ignoring the decisions of our organization»
«For several decades now this country has continued to ignore the decisions of our organization»
«Уже много лет не сходит с повестки дня вопрос о выводе иностранных войск из этого района»
«For years/many years now the issue/question/item of the withdrawal of foreign troops from this region has been/remained/stayed on our agenda»
«For years now the issue of the withdrawal of foreign troops from this region has been remained on our agenda»
«For years now the question of the withdrawal of foreign troops from this region has been stayed on our agenda»
«For years now the item of the withdrawal of foreign troops from this region has been remained on our agenda»
«Many years now the issue of the withdrawal of foreign troops from this region has been stayed on our agenda»
«Many years now the question of the withdrawal of foreign troops from this region has been remained on our agenda»
«Many years now the item of the withdrawal of foreign troops from this region has been stayed on our agenda»
In many adverbial modifiers of time «уже» should not be translated as «already»
«Вот уже сорок лет мы занимаемся обсуждением этого вопроса»
«For almost/nearly/for some forty years (now) we have been discussing/have been engaged in discussion of this question»
«For almost forty years now we have been discussing this question»
«For almost forty years now we have been engaged in discussion of this question»
«For nearly some forty years now we have been discussing this question»
«For nearly some forty years now we have been engaged in discussion of this question»
«For some forty years now we have been discussing this question»
«For some forty years now we have been engaged in discussion of this question»
In the phrase where Russian verb in the Present Tense is not possible to translate in the same Tense the Compound Past Tense in English means «уже». When after «уже» and «еще» the precise date is pointed out they should be translated as: «as long ago as», «as far back as»:
«Уже в январе 1985 года обе стороны договорились о том, что целью их переговоров по ядерным и космическим вооружениям будет выработка эффективных договоренностей…»
«As long ago as/as far back as/back in January 1985 both sides agreed that the objective of their negotiations on nuclear and space weapons was to draw up/conclude effective agreements…»
«As far back as in January 1985 both sides agreed that the objective of their negotiations on nuclear and space weapons was to draw up effective agreements…»
«As far back as in January 1985 both sides agreed that the objective of their negotiations on nuclear and space weapons was to conclude effective agreements…»
«Back in January 1985 both sides agreed that the objective of their negotiations on nuclear and space weapons was to draw up effective agreements…»
«Back in January 1985 both sides agreed that the objective of their negotiations on nuclear and space weapons was to conclude effective agreements…»
[19. Visson L. .Синхронный перевод с русского на английский.1999. p. 375]
In the phrase given above the noun «выработка» is better translated by the verbs «draw up» or
«conclude», however «уже» has the same meaning as «еще». That is why in many contexts both conjunctions are translated in the same way. But when translating from English into Russian as «long ago» is translated as
«еще»:
«As long ago as 1841 a Royal Commission directed the attention of the British government to the advantage of establishing a decimal system of coinage».
«Еще в 1841 году королевская комиссия указывала английскому правительству на преимущества введения десятичной системы денежного обращения».
«Еще» or «уже + дата» can be also translated as «as early as»:
«Это было известно еще в 1910 году»
«This was known back in 1910»
«Это было известно уже в 1910 году»
«This was known as early as in 1910»
In other contexts the equivalent for «еще/уже» is «even»:
«Еще ребенком он был выдающимся скрипачом»
«Уже ребенком он был выдающимся скрипачом»
«Even as a child he was a superb violinist»
«Давно наступила пора», – is said about the things that have existed for a long time
«Давно наступила пора смыть позорное пятно, лежащее на совести человечества»
«However the time has long been ripe is longer and more complicated than It is high time»
« The time has long been ripe is longer and more complicated than It is high time»
«It is high time to erase/remove/dissolve that shameful stain/blot (the participle «can» and «should be» omitted, as in English «stains» and «blots» do not «lie») on the conscience of humanity/mankind»
«It is high time to erase that shameful stain on the conscience of humanity»
«It is high time to remove that shameful stain on the conscience of humanity»
«It is high time to dissolve that shameful stain on the conscience of humanity»
«It is high time to erase that shameful stain on the conscience of mankind »
«It is high time to remove that shameful stain on the conscience of mankind »
«It is high time to dissolve that shameful stain on the conscience of mankind »
«It is high time to erase that shameful blot on the conscience of humanity»
«It is high time to remove that shameful blot on the conscience of humanity»
«It is high time to dissolve that shameful blot on the conscience of humanity» The sense of the expression «назрела пора» is translated in the same way:
«Давно назрела пора для четких рекомендаций по вопросу о сокращении военных бюджетов»
«It is time for clear recommendations on the question of reductions military budgets»
«It is time for clear recommendations on the question of reducing military budgets»
«It is time for clear recommendations on the issue of reductions military budgets»
«It is time for clear recommendations on the issue of reducing military budgets» However it can be also said like this:
«The question of reducing military budgets is a longstanding one for a long time»
«The question of reducing military budgets is a long overdue for a long time»
«The question of reducing military budgets has been with us for a long time» There is one more possibility. It is an antonymous translation:
«This question is hardly a new one»
«This question is hardly new»
«This question is hardly new to us»
But this piece of advice is better for a translator than interpreter who has too little time for difficult reconstructions of the oral speech.
Conclusion: Many lexical aspects of oral translation represent difficult problems for interpreters and they cause a lot of mistakes in translation.
While examining lexical aspects of oral translation, we have come across a great flow of difficulties which appear in the translation from one language into another because the translators do not take into the consideration different cultures and way of life of different people. These aspects are an important part for translation practice.
The main task of the study is to discover the difficulties in interpreting brought by some lexical aspects of different languages. We have investigated the lexical aspects of frequent occurrence, studied the difficulties of their translation, found out the borrowed words in the source languages and the ways of their rendering into the target languages, and defined cultural peculiarities of English and Russian native speakers and others.
While studying the lexical aspects of interpreting, we have focused on the novelty of the paper. First of all, it is laid on the various lexical peculiarities of the English and Russian languages and the ways of translating them. Languages suffered many changes in the course of their development, which are closely connected with the culture of people, their social life and political life. There appeared a lot of borrowings and neologisms and interpreters should borrow it in mind and take into account while translating.
The examination of these problems is made with the help of different methods such as
• the descriptive method
• the comparative method
• the translational method
• the method of component analysis
Due to these methods, we could also see the practical value of the paper. With the help of this material people studying English as the foreign language can see all aspects of the language and learn new patterns of it. Teachers can make use of the facts about the cultural realia and political terms and neologisms of the language. The interpreters can use this material as a reference source in their work.
The interpreter should keep in mind that words or concepts cannot be isolated from the cultural context and social context in which the language resides. Therefore, social variables and cultural variables have important impact on the transfer of meanings from one language to another.
Dealing with these lexical difficulties the interpreter should know that knowing two languages is necessary but not sufficient to make one a competent translator or interpreter. A competent translator or interpreter must have been immersed in both cultures in order to appreciate the subtitles of the languages and be able to select codes with meanings closest to the meanings intended. The competent translator or interpreter must also be a good communicator with adequate knowledge of the subject matter being translated. The translator should understand that many concepts have different connotations or different meanings all together in different cultures. When these are translated literally, they are likely to be misunderstood by the target text readers. When a concept is new to target text readers, many interpreters use word-for-word translation since there written word to express such concepts in the target language. Such translation, if done without definition target text, might render the text incomprehensible or misunderstood.
Bibliograhpy
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15. Moscow News, выпуск на английском языке, 5 февраля 1989.
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