STYLISTIC ASPECTS OF TRANSLATION

Handling Stylistically-Marked Language Units
Handling Stylistic Devices

Handling stylistically-marked language units
In different communicative situations the language users select words of different stylistic status.
The translator tries to preserve the stylistic status of the original text, by using the equivalents of the same style or, failing that, opting for stylistically neutral units.

Handling stylistically-marked language units
The principal stylistic effect of the text is created with the help of special stylistic devices.
The speaker may qualify every object he mentions in his own way thus giving his utterance a specific stylistic turn.
Such stylistic phrasing gives much trouble to the translator since their meaning is often subjective and elusive.

Handling stylistically-marked language units
Some phrases become fixed through repeated use and they may have permanent equivalents in TL,
e.g. true love — истинная любовь, dead silence — мертвая тишина, good old England - добрая старая Англия.
In most cases, however, the translator has to look for an occasional substitute, which often requires an in-depth study of the broad context

Handling stylistically-marked language units
Stylistically-marked units may also be certain types of collocations.
Idiomatic phrases may be cited as an example.
Another common type includes conventional indirect names of various objects or "paraphrases".
A frequent use of paraphrases is a characteristic feature of the English language.

Handling stylistically-marked language units
Some of the paraphrases are borrowed from such classical sources as mythology or the Bible and usually have permanent equivalents in Russian (Attic salt - аттическая соль, the three sisters - богини судьбы, the Prince of Darkness - принц тьмы).
Others are purely English and are either transcribed or explained in translation:
John Bull — Джон Буль, the three R's — чтение, письмо и арифметика, the Iron Duke - герцог Веллингтон.

Handling stylistically-marked language units
A special group of paraphrases are the names of countries, states and other geographical or political entities:
the Land of Cakes (Scotland), the Badger State (Wisconsin), the Empire City (New York).
As a rule, such paraphrases are not known to the Russian reader and they are replaced by official names in the translation.

Handling stylistically-marked language units
Complicated translation problems are caused by ST containing substandard language units used to produce a stylistic effect.
The ST author may imitate his character's speech by means of dialectal or contaminated forms.
SL territorial dialects cannot be reproduced in TT, nor can they be replaced by TL dialectal forms.

Handling stylistically-marked language units
It would be inappropriate if a black American or a London cockney spoke in the Russian translation in the dialect, say, of the Northern regions of Russia or western part of Ukraine.
Fortunately, the English dialectal forms are mostly an indication of the speaker's low social or educational status, and they can be rendered into Russian by a legal employment of low-colloquial elements, e.g.:

Handling stylistically-marked language units
He do look quiet, don't 'e? D'e know 'oo 'e is, Sir?
Вид-то у него спокойный, правда? Часом не знаете, сэр, кто он будет?

Handling Stylistic Devices
Causes:
Different words may acquire additional lexical meanings which are not fixed in the dictionaries in a certain context (contextual meanings).
Transferred meaning reflects the interrelation between the two types of lexical meaning: dictionary and contextual.

Causes:
Stylistic devices are necessary when the deviation from the acknowledged meaning is carried to a degree which causes an unexpected turn in the recognized logical (dictionary) meanings.

Causes:
One and the same stylistic device may be used with different frequency, perform different functions and have different meanings in the stylistic system of any language.

Causes:
Stylistic devices in different languages are the same in their core, but they function differently in languages.
This is the cause of stylistic transformations.

STYLISTIC devices
Stylistic Devices:
Metaphor: - Prolonged metaphor;
Metonymy: - Synecdoche;
- Metonymic epithet;
Antonomasia;
Alliteration.

STYLISTIC METHODS OF TRANSLATION
One should take into account that while translating there is coincidence, partial coincidence and divergences of rendering stylistic devices.

Alliteration
Alliteration- is the repetition of the initial consonant in two or more words. It can be used for emphasis, logical connection between the components.
e.g. Nothing befalls him that he can not transmute into a stanza, song or story.
Все что происходит с писателем может отображаться в его песнe, поэме, или повести.

Alliteration (functions)
The author may use alliteration for the following purposes:
to create consonance and aid memorization
(Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers. Про пестрых птиц поет петух, про перья пышные, про пух.);

Alliteration
to establish logical connection between the components
(cold comfort – слабое утешение; cold conditions – нерабочий режим);
to attract the reader’s attention
(Britain’s Biggest Bazaar – крупнейшая распродажа в Великобритании).

Alliteration
Very often it is not necessary to retain alliteration while translating:
e.g. Rolls on the Rock – банкpутство компанії Роллс-Ройс;

STYLISTIC METHODS OF TRANSLATION
- Alliteration is often omitted when used in newspaper and publicistic style, where the informative function is the primary one:
E.g. Bar Barbarism in Bars – Запретить варварство в барах.

Alliteration
Alliteration should be preserved when possible if the poetic function is more important than the informative one:
E.g. The word Papa gives the pretty form to the lips: potatoes, poultry, prunes and prisms, and all very good for the lips.
Слово «папа» придает изящную форму губам: папа, палисандр, персики и призмы – прекрасные слова.

Metaphor
Metaphor is a stylistic device which consists in the usage of words in a figurative transferred meaning based on the analogy or similarity and is used in all emotive styles.
e.g. hot money- горячие деньги.
It is important to retain metaphors when dealing with fiction.

Ways of rendering metaphor
In case it is impossible to retain it, the metaphor should be then compensated or substituted for another stylistic device.

Problems of conveying metaphors:
the difference in traditional associations related to some notions or phenomena.
e.g. black sheep- паршивая овца,
black frost- трескучий мороз
the metaphors those origin lie in the national folklore
e.g. красна девица- fair maiden,
добрый молодец- brave man

Problems of conveying metaphors
the metaphoric expressions which have the same origin for the both SL and TL but are expressed differently.
e.g. Bавилонское столпотворение- the confusion of Babylon
Дары данайцев- The Greek gifts

Problems of conveying metaphors
any changes in the metaphor can lead to reconstruction of the whole phrase
e.g. SPARKLER- Light up your life!
СПАРКЛЕР- БРИЛЛИАНТ ЧИСТЕЙШЕЙ ВОДЫ!

Problems of conveying metaphors
the metaphor in the process of translation can be substituted for metaphoric epithet, simile, etc.
e.g. a beast of a car- не машина, а зверь
an angel of a girl- не девушка, а ангел/ ангелоподобная девушка

Problems of conveying metaphors and simile
Metaphors and similes are lexical figures of speech.
Both metaphor and simile are terms that describe a comparison: the only difference between a metaphor and a simile is that a simile makes the comparison explicit by using "like" or "as":
You are my sunshine (metaphor) – Your eyes are like the sun (simile).

Problems of conveying metaphors and simile
Ways of rendering metaphors and similes:
- by choosing absolute equivalents where the image is preserved:
E.g. white as a sheet – бледный как полотно/простыня.
by finding near equivalents when the image of the SL phrase is substituted for the different one:
E.g. old as the hills – старо как мир.

Problems of conveying metaphors and simile
by means of word-for-word translation:
E.g. As busy as a bee – занят как пчела.
by means of descriptive way of translation:
E.g. As large as life – в натуральную величину

Problems of conveying metonymy
Metonymy- is transference of a name of one object to another object.
Metonymic transference of name is based upon the principle of contiguity of two objects.

Problems of conveying metonymy
e.g. Two men entered the room. The red was smiling, the black was upset.
Двое мужчин вошли в комнату. Рыжий улыбался, а черный был грустный.

Problems of conveying metonymy
This example contains the original metonymy is quite simple to translate since the structural and semantic expressions are the same in the SL and TL.
Metonymy may be instructively contrasted with metaphor.
Both figures involve the substitution of one term for another.

Problems of conveying metonymy
While in metaphor this substitution is based on similarity, in metonymy the substitution is based on contiguity.
Metaphor example: The ship plowed through the sea (plowed instead of navigated).
Metonymy example: The sails crossed the ocean (sails instead of ship with sails).

Problems of conveying metonymy
The most difficult to render are metonymies based on the associations between:
- the object and its quality (metonymic epithet);
- the whole and its part (synecdoche);
- the proper and common names (antonomasia).

Ways of rendering metonymy
by means of reconstruction of the common name
(in case the original metonymic word has neither equivalent nor analogue in the TL and is not known to the target reader due to different cultural traditions):

Ways of rendering metonymy
the difference both in the means of metonymization and the extent to which it has spread in the SL and TL.
different traditions and rules of metonymic expressions.
e.g. To buy some Kellog’s- купить кукурузные хлопья.

Ways of rendering metonymy
by means of structural transformations
(in case grammatical norms of the two languages are different, and the context cannot be rendered equivalently in terms of grammar):
structural transformations and discrepancies in the grammatical norms

Ways of rendering metonymy
e.g. Very soon after words there was a concerned official’s face staring at me through the jagged hole in the glass of the kitchen door.
Вскоре из дыры в стекле кухонной двери на меня уставилось озадаченное лицо представителя закона.

Ways of rendering metonymy
by means of functional transformations
(in case the stylistic status of the metonymy is different in the source and target languages):
functional transformations when the stylistic status of the metonymic expression do not coincide in SL and TL

Ways of rendering metonymy
e.g. These wheels will drive you at your pleasure. Ваш замечательный друг на колесах гарантирует Вам комфортное передвижение и приятные эмоции .

Ways of rendering metonymy
by choosing absolute equivalents (in case there is a complete coincidence between the cultural traditions of expressing individual qualities of a certain object in the source and target languages):

Ways of rendering metonymy
Word-for-word translation due to full correspondence both in cultural and in individual properties of the metonymic expressions
e.g. I am revolt of the stupidity of a country police.
Меня возмущает глупость полиции.

Ways of rendering metonymy
by means of reconstruction of the basis for metonymic transference
(in case the metonymic transference used in the SL does not sound natural in the TL in a particular situation):

Ways of rendering metonymy
E.g. The guards now change at Buckingham Palace to a Lennon and McCartney .
Смена караула у Букингемского дворца проходит сегодня под музыку Леннона и Маккартни .

Ways of rendering synecdoche
Synecdoche- this variety of metonymy is realized in two variants.
The first variant is naming the whole object by mentioning part of it.
e.g. Caroling lives with Jack under the same roof.
Каролин живет с Джеком под одной крышей.

Ways of rendering synecdoche
The second is using the name of the whole object to denote a constituent part of this object.
e.g. The hall applauded.
Холл аплодировал.

Problems of conveying synecdoche
The means of it expression may often be different in SL and TL.
Sometimes it requires the replacement of the stylistic device
e.g. These wheels will drive you at your pleasure. “These wheels” stands for this car.
We cannot say “колеса” because it will not correspond to genre of ad.

Problems of conveying synecdoche
“Ваш чудовий друг на колесах” або “ці чудові колеса, сучасний дизайн й автоматичне керування гарантують вам їзду із задоволенням”.

Problems of conveying epithet
Metonymic epithet - on basis of association between the object and of its qualities or features.
e.g. У кабінет буквально ввалилося джинсове дівчисько. –
A girl in her full denim outfit nearly fell into the office.
The only way of translation is changing the attribute into the object, but at the same time part of SL emotive and evaluative information is lost.

Problems of conveying antonomasia
Antonomasia- is based upon the principle of identification of human beings with things which surround them.
e.g. John is a real Romeo.
Джон- настоящий Ромео.

Problems of conveying antonomasia
Cultural differences.
While translating names the translator has to reconstruct the basis for the metonymic substitution because the antonomasia is not widely used in Russian.
e.g. “Old Blue Eyes” for Frank Sinatra.
“The King” for Elvis Prestly.

Ways of conveying stylistic devices
There are three main ways of conveying stylistic devices:
If it is possible, to retain them;
Stylistic devices can be substituted for other stylistic devices;
Stylistic compensation (when it is impossible to retain stylistic device in the text).