this respect because they possess quite a number of semantic, grammatical
and stylistic peculiarities, sometimes making their accurate translation
into Russian difficult. Of course, in dealing with the translation of such
lexical units into his or her native language, the translator can consult
the appropriate bilingual dictionary, but what about the profound
comprehension of why this or that phrasal verb is translated only this and
not any other way?
To get a good idea of English phrasal verbs' semantic nuances,
let us first look at their conceptual features. In theory, phrasal verbs
are generally considered to be idiomatic combinations of a verb and an
adverbial particle. The exact status of the latter is still being debated,
scholars being divided on whether it is an adverb, prepositional adverb,
postpositional prefix, special part of speech, etc. However, here we are
interested only in the features of adverbial particles.
In general, the main function of phrasal verbs is conceptual
categorization of reality in the speaker's mind. They denote not only
actions or states as "ordinary" verbs do, but also specify their spatial,
temporal or other characteristics. This ability to describe actions or
states more precisely, vividly and emotionally is determined by the
adverbial components of phrasal verbs. By combining with these elements,
verbs of broader meaning are subjected to a regular and systematic
multiplication of their semantic functions. While the English verb has no
consistent structural representation of aspect, adverbial particles either
impart an additional aspective meaning to the base verb (e.g. the durative
verb sit merges with the particle down into the terminative phrasal verb
sit down) or introduce a lexical modification to its fundamental semantics.
In most cases adverbial elements denote the general spatial direction of
the action or express its qualitative or quantitative characteristics, like
beginning (set out), duration (bum along), completion (think out),
intensity (hurry up), and so on.
Obviously, such semantic peculiarities of English phrasal verbs
must influence the process of their translation into the Russian language,
which has a highly developed system of verbal prefixes. In addition to
their function that is analogous to that of English prefixes, Russian
verbal prefixes resemble English adverbial particles in their semantic
functions, also indicating various qualities of actions and states. Like
adverbial particles in English, Russian prefixes are lexically strong. For
example, the Russian prefix "раз-" denotes 1) division into parts
(раскрошить); 2) distribution, direction of action in different directions
(разъехаться); 3) action in reverse (разминировать); 4) termination of
action or state (разлюбить); 5) intensification of action (расплясаться)
[The Oxford Russian Dictionary]. Thus, in translation from English into
Russian, the meaning of the English adverbial component of the phrasal verb
is mostly conveyed by using the Russian prefix that reflects the character
of the described action or state most accurately. To a greater degree, this
refers rather to nuances of semantics than grammar.
When dealing with translation of English phrasal verbs or pre-
analysis of their adverbial elements' meaning, one should always keep in
mind their astounding polysemy, which sometimes borders on homonymy.
Compare the following: take in 4 (to receive sb in one's home with welcome,
as a guest) and take in 12 (to deceive sb) (Longman Dictionary of Phrasal
Verbs). It holds true for Russian prefixes as well, the same ones rendering
different shades of meaning in different uses (see examples above). That is
why it seems almost impossible to create a consistent rigid system of
lexical correspondences between English adverbial particles and Russian
prefixes, without encountering numerous debatable problems.
Strictly speaking, proper translation of English phrasal verbs to
a high degree depends on the context in which they are used, which suggests
the appropriate interpretation of the described action. Having stated the
specific characteristics of the action denoted by a certain phrasal verb,
one can seek a Russian counterpart prefix, which is the closest in
rendering the same idea and meets the lexical and grammatical requirements
of translation into the target language.
For example, the sentence "The attack had gone across the field,
been held up by machine-gun fire from sunken road, encountered no
resistance in the town, and reached the bank of the river" [E. Hemingway, A
Way You'll Never Be] should be translated as «Атака развертывалась на лугу
и была приостановлена пулеметным огнем с дорожной выемки, не встретила
отпора в городе и закончилась на берегу реки». According to the Longman
Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs, in the above context the phrasal verb hold up
has the following meaning: 2. to delay (sth or sb). The Russian prefix "при-
" adequately renders the idea that the attack was delayed just for a while.
The sentences "There was a little fire there. Nancy built it up,
when it was already hot inside" [W. Faulkner, That Evening Sun] have the
following translation: «В очаге еще были горячие угли, она их раздула, и
пламя вспыхнуло". The adverbial particle up in the phrasal verb build up
imparts the idea of increasing the size of the fire and shows the
intensification of the action. According to the definition given in the
Oxford Russian Dictionary, the most appropriate Russian prefix should be
"раз-", indicating the intensification of action.
For the sentence "Three or four times while I was going through
their envelopes, I was tempted to get up and make a formal protest to
M.Yoshoto" [J. D. Salinger, De Daumier-Smith's Blue Period] the best
translation would be "И когда я просматривал их работы, меня не раз так и
подмывало вскочить и обратиться с официальным протестом к мосье Йошото", as
there is a proper semantic correspondence between the adverbial element
through in the phrasal verb going through and the Russian prefix "про-" in
the verb "просматривал", both denoting exhaustive action.
English phrasal verbs can be highly idiomatic, their meanings
being unpredictable from the sum of their constituents' meanings (e.g. take
in (to deceive), lay down (to build), let on (to tell a secret). In such
cases, where the context or professional experience fail to reveal the
sense of a phrasal verb, a good explanatory or bilingual dictionary can be
of great help to the translator. For example, for a person who is not a
native speaker of English, in the sentence "He liked to break in his
assistants slowly" neither the context, nor the adverbial element of the
phrasal verb hint at the real meaning of the combination break in.
According to the Longman Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs, the phrasal verb
break in has the following "unexpected" meaning: 4. to help (smb) to become
accustomed (to work, etc.) . The Russian edition of this very dictionary
(Английские фразовые глаголы. Англо-русский словарь, Russkiy Yazyk
Publishers, Moscow, 1997) treats this meaning in the same way: 4. вводить
(кого-л.) в курс (новой работы и т.п.).
I think that a thorough study and consequent understanding of
semantic correspondences in the English and Russian verbal systems can be
quite a powerful tool in the translator's arsenal.
Practical translation
The Porsche crept along the street like a sleek black panther.
Hugging the curb, its engine purred so deep and low it sounded like a
predator’s growl.
Marnie Hibbs was kneeling in the fertile soil of her bed, digging
among the impatiens under the ligustrum bushes and cursing the little bugs
that made three meals a day of them, when the sound of the car’s motor
attracted her attention, she glanced at it over her shoulder, then panicked
as it came to stop on front of her house.
“Lord, is it that late?” she muttered. Dropping her trowel, she
stood up and brushed the clinging damp earth of her bare knees.
She reached up to push her dark bangs off her forehead before she
realized that she still had on her heavy gardening gloves. Quickly she
peeled them off and dropped them beside the trowel, all the while watching
the driver get out of the sport car and start up her front walk.
Glancing at her wristwatch, she saw that she hadn’t lost track of
time. He was just very early for their appointment, and as a result, she
wasn’t going to make a very good first impression. Being hot, sweaty, and
dirty was no way to meet a client. And she needed this commission badly.
Forcing a smile, she moved down the sidewalk to greet him, nervously
trying to remember if she had left the house and studio reasonably neat
when she decided to do an hour’s worth of yard work. She had planned to
tidy up before he arrived.
She might look like the devil, but she didn’t want to appear
intimated. Self-confident friendliness was the only way to combat the
disadvantage of having been caught looking her worst.
He was still several yards away from her when she greeted him.
“Hello”, she said with a bright smile.
“Obviously we got our signals switched. I thought you weren’t coming
until later.”
“I decided this diabolical game of yours had gone on long enough.”
Marnie’s sneakers skidded on the old concrete walk as she came to an
