Some practice in translation

Partial Equivalence
SL and TL grammatical forms hardly ever coincide fully. The scope of their meaning and their functions and usage generally differ, therefore these forms are mostly partial equivalents.
The category of number in English and in Russian is a case in point. Most often the use of the singular and the plural in the 2 languages coincides. But divergences in the use of the singular and the plural appear in the first place in the so-called Singularia and Pluralia Tantum, that is, in those nouns which have either only a singular or a plural form, e.g.
gate – ворота, ink – чернила, money – деньги
and vice versa:
gallows – виселица, news – новости
Sometimes a countable noun in English and in Russian, e.g.
talent – talents; талант – таланты
develops a new LSV – lexical-semantic variant which is used as an uncountable noun.
Britain is the source of phrase “brain drain” which describes the movement of British talent to the United States.
Выражение «утечка умов», которое означает эмиграцию английских специалистов в Соединенные Штаты, впервые появилось в Великобритании.
Abstract nouns are more often used in the plural in English than in Russian, e.g.
The struggles of many sections of the U.S. population against the war-lovers in America have grown to a height never reached before.
Борьба многих групп населения Соединенных Штатов против сторонников войны достигла небывалого размаха.
Allende’s political skills made him four times candidate for the presidency.
Политический опыт Альенде обеспечил четырехкратное выдвижение его кандидатуры на пост президента.
The semantic volume of the word “skills” justifies its translation by 2 Russian words both used in the singular.
Опыт и искусство Альенде как политического деятеля…
Sometimes different usage prevents a strict observance of the category of number in translation, e.g.
The right to work is ensured by the democratic organization of the national economy, the growth of the productive forces and the elimination of crisis and unemployment.
Право на труд обеспечивается демократической организацией народного хозяйства, ростом производительных сил и отсутствием кризисов и безработицы.
The plural form in Russian (кризисов) achieves the required degree of generalization.
There is also a tendency in English of use nouns like “eye, “cheek”, “lip”, “ear”, “limb”, etc. in the singular, e.g.
He always thought of her as seventeen or so, clean of limb, beautiful of feature and filled with the impatience for life. (R. Wilder).
Он всегда представлял ее себе, какой она была лет в семнадцать – красивые черты лица, стройные ноги и безудержная жажда жизни.
The noun “limb” can also be rendered metonymically – прелестная фигура.
There is also a considerable difference between the use of the Passive Voice in English and in Russian. The English language allows different Types of Passive Constructions and there are a number of verbs in English which can be used in the Passive Voice while the correlated verbs in Russian cannot. For example, many English verbs are used both as Transitive Verbs and Intransitive Verbs.
Original samples of Paris clothing have been flown to London to illustrate lectures to the fashion industry.
Новые модели парижских туалетов были доставлены самолетом в Лондон для показа во время лекций представителям английских домов моделей.
English verbs with a Prepositional Object are also used in the Passive Voice, a Construction non-existing in Russian.
Lovers if familiar symphonic fares are catered for with two Brahms symphonies and First Piano Concerto by Beethoven.
Любителей часто исполняемой симфонической музыки в нынешнем сезоне угощают двумя симфониями Брамса и Первым фортепианным концертом Бетховена.
The Impersonal Passive with a Preposition is translated by an Impersonal Construction.
The increase in the family allowances that was widely hoped for has come to nothing.
Увеличение пособия многодетным семьям, на которое все так надеялись, не осуществилось.
In some cases the use of the Russian Passive form is precluded by the fact that the Russian verb is used with a Prepositional Object.
The Iran earthquake was followed by tremors lasting a long time.
За землетрясением в Иране последовали толчки, продолжавшиеся довольно долго.
Verbs formed by Conversion present great difficulties in translation especially when used in the Passive.
The roads were sentinelled by oaks. (Clemance Dane).
По краям дороги, словно часовые, стояли дубы.
Its picturesqueness is rendered by a Simile which makes the translation Semantically and Stylistically equivalent.
The desire for giving prominence to some element of the utterance, often accounts for the use of the Passive form in English. As the word order is Subject-Predicate-Object and as stylistic inversion is relatively infrequent because of its expressive value, the Passive is naturally used. The tendency is particularly marked in newspaper style.
Fears are expressed that the North Sea could be fished out of herring.
Высказываются опасения, что из Северного моря могут выловить всю сельдь.