Theory of translation (english and russian)

§1. TRANSLATING PERSONAL PRONOUNS

One of the most difficult problems is translating pronouns of the second person. The modern English you corresponds to the Russian ты and вы, though Russian ты also corresponds to the English archaic thou, now used only in poetry. To select a proper equivalent to the English you, a translator should clearly understand the function of this pronoun in the sentence. The Russian ты and вы differ in their social status, ты indicating a person of lower status. For example, “The American Tragedy” by T. Dreiser has an episode describing Clyde's transfer from one prison to another. “And girls and women …[were] calling to him gaily and loudly as the train moved out from one station to another: `Hello, Clyde! Hope to see you again soon. Don't stay too long there.'” This episode has been translated the following way: «И бывало, что какая-нибудь женщина или девушка ,,, громко и весело кричала вслед отходящему поезду: “Хэлло, Клайд! Мы еще увидимся. Смотрите, не задерживайтесь там”.» Evidently, it is unnatural that passersby address a prisoner using the polite вы.

Sometimes the meaning of ты as an indicator of a person's low social status can be derogatory. In Russian-to-English translation it can be compensated by expressive means. For instance, Да вечно ли ты мне дорогу перебегать будешь? - Damn it… you're not always going to stand in my way, are you? The English sentence expresses irritation and manifests the addressee's low social position, as it begins with a very emphatic interjection and ends in a tag-question.

Another function of the Russian ты is to demonstrate friendly or intimate relations between the speakers: Я ведь думала, что ты там… у дяди! - You see, darling, I thought you were at your uncle's. As you see, again compensation is of great help here.

In some cases explicatory translation can be used to render the meaning of the Russian ты: Они говорили друг другу ты. - They spoke to each other like two old friends.

A translator should be familiar with ethical norms characteristic of the cultures in question. These norms may affect the usage of the pronouns. For example, English-speaking countries' ethical norms allow people to talk about a person who is nearby in the third person singular (by employing the pronouns he or she). In the Russian community the usage of он/она is considered impolite if the person spoken about is in the same room.

Pronoun usage in a political and economic context can imply certain conclusions. For example, the pronoun she is sometimes employed when developed countries are spoken about. In contrast to she, the pronoun it often refers to developing countries (though it may also be neutral in political sense). For example, When Italy invaded Ethiopia, she was not yet checked by the League of nations. … it [Ethiopia] was not sufficiently advanced to enter the League. - Когда Италия вторглась в Эфиопию, Лига наций не остановила ее. ... Та (Эфиопия) еще была недостаточно развитым государством, чтобы войти в Лигу наций.

Furthermore, there is a traditional reference in English to a vehicle (a boat, car, etc.) in the form of she: Look at my new car - isn't she beautiful? - Посмотри на мою новую машину - не правда ли красивая?

There is also some pragmatic difference between using English and Russian personal pronouns. English, being an egocentric language, is speaker-centered; Russian is considered to be an “alter-egocentric” listener-centered language. Therefore, in English speech the pronoun I sounds much oftener than in Russian, so in translation it is frequently substituted by ты/вы: How do I know this? - А как вы это докажете? I wonder what he did? - Что он такое сделал, как ты думаешь? I'll take eggs and ham. - Давай яичницу с ветчиной. No doubt, one shouldn't overuse this transformation. This is merely a tendency, not a fixed rule.

It should be kept in mind that pronoun repetition can lead to differences in the sentences. Cf., Mom came in the room and turned off the lights. - Мама вошла в комнату и выключила свет. Mom came into the room and she turned off the lights. - Мама вошла в комнату, и это она выключила свет. The first sentence expresses a succession of two actions; the second, a sort of complaint about Mom's turning off the lights, is emphasized in Russian by an expressive construction.

An English co-referential pronoun can precede the noun, which is alien to Russian. Therefore, a translator should not be confused by who is meant in the sentence: When he arrived, John went straight to the bank. - Приехав, Джон сразу отправился в банк. A visit to her invalid parents in Indiana… gave New York City actress Gretchen Cryer an idea. - Когда нью-йоркская актриса Гретхен Крайер навестила своих больных родителей в Индиане, ей пришла в голову одна идея. If a pronoun must be verbalized, there should be a change of word order.

When translating from Russian into English, students are sometimes baffled by a form of English pronouns, used in certain positions. Such is a long-standing problem of competitive pronouns in the Nominative case and those in the Objective case in the predicative function: Это я (он, она и т.д.). - It's I (he, she, etc.) or It's me (him, her, etc.). After long arguments, grammarians came to the conclusion that the first version (It's I) sounds very formal, whereas the second version (It's me) is neutral and informal.

The same holds true in reference to comparative structures: Он старше меня. - He is older than me. / He is older than I. The latter English version is more formal. The same stylistic coloring differentiates sentences with a personal pronoun after but: Никто кроме меня не сделает этого. - Nobody but me can do it. / Nobody but I can do it. The latter form, being hypercorrect, is no longer used.¹¹²⁸ Г р и н б а у м С., У и т к а т Дж. Словарь трудностей английского языка //Longman Guide to English Usage. - М.: Русский язык, 1990. - С.114-115.²⁸

In coordinate phrases with the conjunction and/or, the case form depends on the pronoun's syntactic function. As a subject, pronouns take the Nominative case form; as an object, they take an objective case form: You and I should be friends. In alter-egocentric Russian, this conjoint meaning is expressed differently, with the pronoun I avoided: Мы с тобой должны быть друзьями. That should be between you and me. - Это должно остаться между нами. She didn't hit him or me. - Она не ударила ни его, ни меня.

§2. TRANSLATING POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS

Unlike Russian, English possessive pronouns are normally used with nouns denoting a body part or some personal thing. They are usually not translated into Russian: Mary broke her leg when she was skiing in Austria. - Мэри сломала ногу, когда каталась на лыжах в Австрии. There stood a man at the door with his hat in his hand. - В дверях стоял мужчина со шляпой в руке.

When making a translation, Russian students are sometimes uncertain of the choice between the English definite article the and the possessive pronoun. The definite article is usual in prepositional phrases related to the object (or, in passive constructions, the subject): Девчушка взяла меня за руку. - The girl took me by the hand. Должно быть, что-то ударило меня по голове. - Something must have hit me on the head.¹¹²⁹ L e e c h G., S v a r t v i k J. A Communicative Grammar of English. - Moscow: Prosveshcheniye, 1983. - P.241.²⁹

In oral translation from English into Russian, care should be taken about homophones that sound very much alike:

his - he's (= he is): His is a good suggestion. He's not here.

its - it's (=it is): Its function is unknown. It's raining.

your - you're (= you are): Your mother's here. I don't think you're ready.

their - they're (=they are) - there (adv.): Have you met their daughter? They're supposed to come. There are our friends.

Another problem is the alteration between Russian synonymous possessive pronouns: свой and его, её. When the pronoun is co-referential with the sentence subject, свой is used. Его, её imply different subjects: He is speaking about his business. - Он говорит о своем деле. She is speaking about his business. - Она говорит о его деле.

Свой - мой, твой, наш, ваш differ pragmatically: the pronouns of the first and second person are much more expressive than the pronoun свой: «…У Лермонтова противопоставление всей вашей черной кровью поэта праведную кровь выходит сильнее, чем если бы было сказано: всей своей черной кровью,» A. Peshkovsky, an outstanding Russian linguist, remarked.¹¹³⁰ П е ш к о в с к и й А. М. Русский синтаксис в научном освещении. - М., 1956. - С.162. ³⁰

The Russian pronoun свой is convenient for referring to nouns of general gender. In today's English, due to anti-sexist tendencies, double pronouns are used: A student who wishes to apply for a grant must send in his/her application form before the session begins. - Студенты, желающие обратиться за стипендией, должны представить свои заявления до начала сессии.

§3. TRANSLATING RELATIVE PRONOUNS

When using pronouns, it is necessary to avoid ambiguity in sentences. This ambiguity can be caused by the inappropriate position or form of the pronoun: *Вследствие интенсивного лова в Охотском море возникла угроза исчезновения минтая, которая является наиболее ценной рыбой в этом море. The sentence is agrammatical because of the incorrect form of the pronoun которая following the masculine and feminine nouns. The relative pronoun here should have been used in the masculine gender, since it refers logically to the word минтая. The feminine gender forces the reader to look for a nearby noun in the feminine, which proves to be the word угроза, though evidently the author of this translation intended to make agreement between the relative pronoun and the noun that follows, рыба.

§4. TRANSLATING THE PRONOUN ONE

A sentence with the English impersonal pronoun one can be rendered by a Russian impersonal sentence: One can easily understand peoples' aspirations for world peace. - Легко можно понять стремление народов к миру во всем мире.¹¹³¹ З р а ж е в с к а я Т. А., Г у с ь к о в а Т. И. Трудности перевода общественно-политического текста с английского языка на русский. - М.: Высшая школа, 1986. - С.109.³¹

Another way of translating English indefinite sentences with one is the Russian generalizing personal sentence implying the general ты: One is free to do as one likes so long as one's habits do not irritate one's companions. - Делать волен все, что хочешь, пока твои привычки не досаждают окружающим.

Pay attention to using the pronoun one's in the possessive form, if the sentence subject is expressed by one (the possessive pronoun is not substituted for any other pronoun, for instance, your.): e.g., One has to do one's best.

There is another way of rendering a universal meaning of an English sentence: with the help of the pronoun you. However, this can be understood as being directed to the receptor and, therefore, it can cause misunderstanding, as was brilliantly shown by J. London in his novel 'Martin Eden': “By the way, Mr. Eden,” she called back, as she was leaving the room, “what is booze? You used it several times, you know.” “Oh, booze,” he laughed. “It's slang. It means whiskey, and beer - anything that will make you drunk.” “And another thing,” she laughed back. “Don't use `you' when you are impersonal. `You' is very personal, and your use of it just now was not precisely what you meant.” “I don't just see that.” “Why, you said just now to me, `whiskey and beer - anything that will make you drunk' - make me drunk, don't you see?” “Well, it would, wouldn't it?” “Yes, of course,” she smiled. “But it would be nicer not to bring me into it. Substitute `one' for `you', and see how much better it sounds.”^** L o n d o n J. Martin Eden. - Moscow: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1960. - P.79.

A translator should also know that you and one differ stylistically, you being informal and colloquial, and one sounding very formal and official.

The English one can also function as a noun substitute. In translating to Russian, it is desirable not to repeat the word, but to use a synonym if the noun reduction is impossible: Tokyo - Japan's most serious problem - and the one that is least discussed - is overpopulation. - Самая серьезная проблема Токио и всей Японии - вопрос, который обсуждается менее всего - это перенаселение.

Russian-to-English translation is challenged by the choice between one and it. Compare, Надень шлем. Нельзя ездить без него. - Put on your helmet. It's illegal to ride a bike without one. «Мне нравится этот шлем.» «Ну, и купи его.» “I like the helmet.” “So buy it.” The pronoun one represents a general notion; it refers to a specific thing.

§5. TRANSLATING THE PRONOUNS КАЖДЫЙ / ВСЕ