In this case preposition is omitted in translation because as the
originality of the English word usage required complete transformation.
To the traditional word usage can also be referred the so-called
clichйs — order, and the clichйs in wider sense.
Hands up!
Руки вверх!
Long live America!
Да здравствует Америка!
The assault of the castle was followed by continuous bombing. Loss of
life was uncountable.
За штурмом крепости последовала длительная бомбардировка. Жертвы были
бесчисленны.
The Commonwealth countries handle a quarter of the world's trade.
На страны Британского содружества приходится четверть всей мировой
торговли
As you can see from the examples given above – in translations
corresponding Russian clichйs are also used.
§ III. Stylistic difficulties of translation
In the previous chapters we carefully considered the grammatical and
lexical transformations that occur while translating political literature
from English into Russian. And we have figured out that most of these
reasons are rooted in national and cultural settings of both languages.
Practically, stylistic devices in almost all languages are similar
still though their functions in speech vary. Identical stylistic devices
are used differently in languages; they perform different functions and
have different value in stylistic system of their language what actually
explains their necessity when transformations in translation occur. The
stylistic changes are as necessary as grammatical or lexical ones. While
applying some grammatical or lexical transformation in translation the
translator is guided by principle of rendering grammatical of lexical
meaning. When rendering stylistic meaning of the source text a translator
should be guided by the same principle – to recreate in translation the
same impression that might be left by the original text.
A translator should not try to preserve the stylistic device given in
the sentence, but reproduce its function in the target language.
We should not forget that almost all stylistic devices are multi
functional. It is like when polysemantic words in English and Russian
languages do not coincide in their lexical-semantic variants and the same
is when differ the function of identical stylistic device. Thus when
comparing stylistic devices we can easily identify complete correspondence,
partial correspondence and even sometimes absence of correspondence and
their functions.
To illustration it we can compare alliteration in the English and
Russian languages. The function of alliteration coincides in both languages
— in this function alliteration is one of the basic devices of poetic
speech. However the usage of alliteration for pleasant sounding in prose is
more characteristic for the English language, than for Russian. The second
function of alliteration is logical. Alliteration emphasizes close
relationship between components of the statement. Especially brightly
alliteration shows the unity of an epithet with an attributed word.
The third function of alliteration in English language – to attract
attention of the reader — is widely used in the names of literary works,
newspaper headings and often in articles.
The use of alliteration is a convincing acknowledgement that various
functions of stylistic devices in different languages do not always
coincide in usage.
We have already discussed functional translation of stylistic devices.
But it is extremely important to distinguish in the translated text
original and imagined alliterations so that to avoid unnecessary
emphasizing and to keep stylistic equivalence which presents necessary
component of adequate translation. there is a constant danger to smooth and
de-color the original text or, on the contrary, to make translation
brighter and stylistically colored. But sometimes a translator consciously
applies some "«smoothing" or neutralization in other words.
Repetition as you know is a more widespread stylistic device in the
English language, than in Russian.
In some cases repetition as the stylistic device should be necessarily
kept in translation, but for the difference in combinability and various
semantic structures of polysemantic words or words of wide meaning in
English and Russian languages the translator has to change and replace some
of elements.
The repetition is widely used with stylistic purposes in newspaper
publicity. In these cases the translator is compelled to apply stylistic
changes, make substitution or omission.
A policy of see no stagnation, hear no stagnation, speak no
stagnation has had too long a run for our money.
Слишком долго мы расплачиваемся за политику полного игнорирования и
замалчивания застоя в нашей экономике.
The triple repetition of no stagnation has been omitted in
translation, though is partially compensated by the use of synonymic pair
at a word (stagnation), but neutralization is evident in translation. The
neutralization happened when translating the phraseological unit to have
(too long) a run for our money.
Among stylistic devices used in political literature rather frequent
there are synonymic and alliterated pairs. The use of such pairs is
traditional for all styles of the English language including business style
as well. When translating official documents such pairs are frequently by
one word. For example, the just and equitable treatment of all nations from
UN Charter is given in Russian as справедливое отношение ко всем нациям,
for in Russian there is no absolute synonym for the word just.
Metaphor is used in all emotionally – colored styles of speech.
However in style of fiction the metaphor always carries original character,
whereas in political literature the original metaphor is used rather seldom
and basically — copied metaphors. Nevertheless in advanced clauses of the
English and American political literature, the purpose of which is to
assure, to make people believe and to impress the reader, that is to force
him to agree with the point of view given in the article, one can often see
rather bright and colorful metaphors.
Sometimes the difficulty of translation of metaphor consists in
translating some word combination or a phraseological unit, which does not
have figurative equivalent in Russian.
We have already discussed the necessity of neutralization of means of
expressiveness when translating English or American politics. Let us
consider the problem of extended metaphor. The extended metaphor represents
a chain of the logically connected figurative components. Sometimes such
components of the extended metaphors pass through the whole clause. The
below-mentioned example is taken from clause of the American observer James
Reston.
The latest official explanation of the President's Indochina policy is
that " he is backing out of the saloon with both guns firing ", but there
is a catch to this.
He insists that the guys in the white hats keep control of the saloon
before he leaves town. He wants a non-communist bartender, and a non-
communist sheriff, and a secure non-communist town before he rides away
into the sunset of November, 1972.
In the final paragraph of the article the elements of one metaphor are
partially repeated: but all this is a little more complicated than "
backing out of the saloon ".
The images of this extended metaphor are taken from so-called "western"
— of film about cowboys in "wild" West. In this case all elements of the
developed(unwrapped) metaphor, perhaps, can be kept in translation.
Согласно последнему официальному объяснению политики президента в
отношении Индокитая, «он хочет выбраться из бара, пятясь к двери и
отстреливаясь из двух пистолетов». Но за этим кроется что-то еще.
Он хочет, чтобы парни в белых шапках следили за порядком в баре до тех
пор, пока он не уедет из города. Он хочет, чтобы бармен не был коммунистом
и чтобы шериф не был коммунистом и чтобы город заведомо не был в руках
коммунистов. И только тогда он поскачет навстречу ноябрьским сумеркам 1972
года.
And at the end of clause — «но все это несколько сложнее, чем пятясь
к двери, выбраться из бара».
However there are cases, when the preservation of all figurative
components of the developed(unwrapped) metaphor is impossible, as well as
preservation of both components of synonymic pair, for it would break the
stylistic norms of Russian.
Being purely linguistic and stylistic device – metonymy is used more
and more in political literature, perhaps, even more than metaphor.
Metonymy translation presents one of numerous problems for the use of
metonymy significantly differs in English and Russian languages. Due to
this fact the translator is often forced to go back to the primary meaning
of a word, that is to the meaning that was firstly created by metonymy.
It is a widespread case of metonymy usage – substitution of concrete
notion by an abstract one, which can not always be preserved.
"It (the flood) has hurl us a great deal, " the Pakistan Prime Minister
told correspondents last week as he toured the destruction in the flooded
provinces. ("Newsweek")
«Наводнение нанесло нам огромный ущерб»,—сказал корреспондентам премьер-
министр Пакистана, на прошлой неделе во время поездки по пострадавшим от
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