English modality. Some problems of translation

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English modality. Some problems of translation

Modality as a way of rendering one's personal attitude to actions or proceedings can be expressed by various modal verbs or word groups, which are numerous in English, as well as oblique moods expressing possibility, probability, desire, certainty and uncertainty. Being used in English quite frequently by grammatical rather than lexical means, it stands a problem for Ukrainian translations as the modal verbs in Ukrainian are not numerous. In order to get the adequate translation we have to use additional words, specific syntactical structures, refer to the grammatical categories characteristic of the Ukrainian language. The problem of rendering the English modals into Ukrainian was researched in the works by I.V. Korunets', V.I. Karaban, L.M. Chernovatyi.

The aim of this paper is to give a further development of the problem, detailing of the discourse, finding a philosophical grounding for the use of English modals and moods while rendering Ukrainian texts into English.

In this article we also tried to research the methods by which intention and willingness, necessity, duty and advice are rendered into Ukrainian.

The modal verb which comes first when we speak about necessity is, naturally, must. The very careful approach to the translation of it is given by I.V. Korunets': «The modal verb must has also peculiar features of its own. Borrowed by Ukrainian from German through Polish, this verb in English and Ukrainian expresses strong obligation, duty, necessity. In these meanings must has for its direct equivalents the strongest Ukrainian modal verb of this same meaning мусити [4, 319]. The author also compares this word with its synonyms повинен, треба: «Not without the long influence of the Russian language, which was for some centuries a dominant political factor in Ukraine, the modal verb мусити has been substituted by urban Ukrainians for its almost as strong semantically Ukrainian synonym повинен or for the modal stative треба». So, due to these reasons the difference in rendering must into Ukrainian may depend on the language style, e.g. I really must be going: it's getting dark. - Я справді мушу йти, бо вже темніє (colloquial). You must come in time. - Ви повинні прийти вчасно (formal). You mustn't keep asking for my help all the time. - Не треба весь час звертатись до мене по допомогу (formal).

Must and mustn't can be used for impersonal necessity. In such cases the option of треба is preferred though повинен is also possible.

e.g. The lead must be connected properly or it won't work. - Треба добре закріпити грузило, інакше воно не зпрацює. The filler must be hard before you can paint over it. - Грунт повинен затвердіти, перш ніж ти почнеш наносити фарбу.

In his book «Philosophy of Grammar» [5, 325] O. Jesperson underlines the following: «The tripartition between:

A. Necessity,

B. Possibility,

C. Impossibility,

is really nothing but a special case of the tripartition mentioned above, for necessity means that all possibilities are comprised, just an impossibility means the exclusion of all possibilities. The verbal expressions for these three categories are:

A. must (or, need)

B. can (or, may)

C. cannot.

If to these three categories we add an element of volition with regard to another being, the result is:

A. Command,

B. Permission,

C. Prohibition.

Verbal expressions for these are:

A. You must,

B. You may,

C. You must not (may not)».

This strict and simple subdivision gives the learners of English the possibility of clear understanding the meaning of the modals in general, but the sphere of a person's feelings and emotions gives a much more diverse choice of their application.

The strength of necessity varies with the situation and the translation depends on it. In orders and instructions the Passive Voice of the English original is frequently substituted by active Ukrainian structures.

e.g. All questions must be answered. (order) - Ви зобов'язані відповісти на всі запитаннями must see the film, it's really good. (advice) - Ти повинен обов'язково подивитись цей фільм, він справді добрий. We must get together sometimes and talk this over (suggestion). - Ми мусимо колись зібратись та обговорити це.

In colloquial speech must is sometimes used with the meaning of some annoying incident which couldn't be avoided. The Ukrainian translation resorts to stable or idiomatic expressions, like треба ж було такому трапитись, так вже вийшлo, що, і тут, як на гріх^с.,

e.g. Just when I was busiest, that bore must come in and waste three hours. - І треба ж було такому трапитись, що саме тоді, коли у мене жодної вільної хвилини не було, як на гріх з'явився цей зануда і змарнував добрих три моїх години.

Have to is very frequently used instead of must in cases when the authority comes from someone else, not the speaker. Here the following Ukrainian equivalents are generally used: мусити, треба, зобов'язаний, приходиться, доводиться, etc.

e.g. We have to report to the manager's office. - Ми мусимо доповісти керівництву. I don't like having to wear suit and a tie. - Не люблю, коли треба вдягати сорочку з краваткою.

It is very natural when have to is translated with the Ukrainian мати (маю, маєш, має і т. п.). The modal expression be to may also be rendered with the help of мати,

e.g. We have to meet them on Monday. - Ми маємо зустрічати їх в понеділок. The next dance is to be mine. - Наступний танок має бути моїм.

To be bears a very instructive connotation and is recommended for the translation of medicinal advice, orders and programs. It's necessary to emphasize, however, that used in the Past Indefinite this expression denotes the action referring to the past while used in the Past Indefinite + Perfect infinitive and Perfect infinitive passive it denotes the action which never happened,

e.g. The medicine is to be taken after meals. - Ці ліки треба приймати після їжі. You aren't to leave school without my permission. - Не можна йти зі школи без мого дозволу. We were to leave in the morning. - Ми мали від'їжджати зранку. We were to have left in the morning. - Ми мали виїхати зранку (але не виїхали).

According to the opinions of British grammarians we use should and ought to to express our opinion about what is right and wrong [6, 54]. So, in our Ukrainian translations we may give different personal connotations to these modals and insert colloquial particles in order to make the translation less formal,

e.g. Drivers ought to be more considerate to other road users. - Все ж таки водії повинні мати більше поваги до інших учасників дорожнього руху. You really shouldn't be lifting heavy furniture at your age. - У Вашому віці не слід піднімати важкі меблі.

We use should have and ought to have talking about the past. They suggest what happened in the past was wrong or unfortunate. In order to have a natural character of translated utterances in Ukrainian we resort to the inverted word order thus avoiding formality,

e.g. You shouldn't have worked so much. - Не треба було Вам так багато працювати. He ought to have started training in his early age. - Треба було йому з дитинства починати тренуватися.

The modal verb need is not very frequently used in affirmative sentences. Much more often it is used in negative ones or, rarer, in questions. As it is known need can function both as a modal and as a regular verb. It is recommended to use the regular form with auxiliaries if the authority does not come from the speaker. When the authority comes from the speaker we use the modal verb,

e.g. Сьогодні нам не треба йти до школи. - We don't need to go to school today. Не хочеш - не приходь. - You needn't come if you don't want to.

To talk about the past the forms didn't need to and needn't have are used, the meaning is different here. With needn't have the fulfilled action wasn't necessary, with didn't need to the context may be different,

e.g. Не треба було купувати так багато квітів! - You needn't have bought so many flowers! В той день не треба було купувати багато квітів. - You didn't need to buy so many flowers that day.

A kind of polite request with the help of will is sometimes used in announcements expressing necessity,

e.g. Гості готелю мають звільнити номери до одинадцятої години ранку. - All guests will vacate their rooms before eleven o'clock.

For giving advice the modal would or the phrase had better can be very suitable, e.g. На твоєму місці я б так не робив. - I wouldn't do that if I were you. Зателефонуй додому, вже пізно. - You'd better phone home, it's late.

Having analyzed different kinds of discourse, we come to the conclusion that modality in English is sometimes overlapped with the subjunctive mood and other oblique moods which can give different ideas for rendering English texts into Ukrainian. The problem of moods can be our further research objective.

It is known that will and would (past or conditional) express willingness or intention to do something. The precise meaning of these verbs may express a stronger (promise, threat, refusal) or weaker (willingness, intention) colouring, e.g. I will never forget you. - Я ніколи тебе не забуду (promise).

I will punish you if you do it again. - Я покараю тебе, якщо знов це зробиш (threat).

Come with me! - No, I won't. - Ходім зі мною! - Не піду (refusal).

In all cases the Ukrainian translation uses the future tense to express the promise, threat or refusal. It is interesting to emphasize that some shades of modal meaning become different in sentences with other subjects than the 1^st person singular,

e.g. He will never forget you. - Він тебе ніколи не забуде (prediction).

He will punish you if you do it again. - Він покарає тебе, якщо ти знов це зробиш (prediction).

She says she wouldn't come with me. - Вона відмовляється іти зі мною (refusal).

«There will be change in Egypt», she said, adding that it must be peaceful. - «В Єгипті будуть зміни», - сказала вона, додавши, що вони мають бути мирними (prediction).

The intention in the statements of officials should be rendered by the words implying necessity rather than personal desire,

e.g. The Prime Minister will say that years of «hands-off tolerance» have encouraged different cultures to live. - Прем'єр міністр підкреслює, що роки невтручання сприяли розвитку різних культур.

Strong intention may be expressed in English by shall or shan't. In order to translate them correctly additional words are needed for creating the atmosphere of difficulty or impedance the speaker is ready to overcome.

e.g. I told you I'd succeed and I shall! - Я казав тобі, що зможу і я це зроблю, побачиш! (незважаючи ні на що, що б не було і т.і.).

Shall with other persons than I and we often has the meaning of threat, contradiction from the other person's side,

e.g. You shall do it, I promise! - Ти зробиш це, навіть через «не хочу»!

The negative forms of will and would are frequently used to talk about machines refusing to work properly. In this case the translation may reside to personification or double negation,

e.g. The car wouldn't go. - Aвто ніяк не заводилось (double negation).

Авто відмовлялось їхати (personification).

The Ukrainian language uses phonological means of expressing modality quite often. The works by Prof. I.V. Korunets' give a number of examples showing different ways of using particles and adverbs for the translation of English modal verbs [4, 308]: «These means may also express the most subtle meanings of suggestion, admonition, supposition, doubt, assuredness, etc. Among the most frequently used particles, which create such and other meanings, are аж, ж, хоч, б, би, і, й, - но, - то, саме,

таки etc., and also adverbs авжеж, адже надто, певне, напевне, все ж, все ж таки, мов, немов, ніби and some others».

Particles are very relevant in the translation of English offers and requests with the modals will and would,

e.g. I'll do that for you - it's no problem. - Я б зробив це для тебе. Це не проблема (offer).

Marcus said he would have helped me. - Маркус сказав, що він міг тоді допомогти мені (past offer).

It is worth mentioning that the forms of polite request or offer in Ukrainian traditionally use the 2^nd person plural with the infinitive of the finite verb when formality is observed,

e.g. Can I help? - Тобі допомогти? (informal offer)

May I be of any assistance? - Вам допомогти? (formal offer)

Polite offers and requests in English can involve not only modal verbs but also phrases with modals the aim of which is to inquire the other person's opinion and to make a tentative step to ask for something. The Ukrainian translation should preserve those forms of politeness as they reflect the cultural background of the English community in the language,

e.g. Whould you like a hand with your luggage? - Бажаєте допомоги з багажем?

You wouldn't mind giving me a hand, would you? - Ви ж не проти допомогти мені, чи не так? (tentative request).

Do you think you could give me a hand? - Гадаєте, Ви змогли б мені допомогти? (tentative request).

Would you be so kind as to hold this for me? - Чи не були б ви такі ласкаві потримати це для мене? (very polite request).

It is quite natural when a request is responded willingly but it is quite frequent when the other person is not able to carry it out. If there is the possibility that the intention won't be carried out it is common to use the expression be willing to. Such modal phrases can be rendered by the following expressions:

та я б з задоволенням, але…, я б залюбки, та., я б всією душею, та., etc.,

e.g. I'm willing to help, but I don't have time. - Я б з радістю, та не маю

часу.

The expression be willing to with may, might, would is used for very tentative

offers,

e.g. I might be willing to make a few contacts for you, at a price. - Я міг би звести Вас де з ким, за визначену ціну, звичайно.

The modals would and might with be willing to can be used for polite requests which sound very tentatively. The Ukrainian translation will use the phrases like чи не згодились би Ви…, що б Ви сказали, якщо…, як би Ви подивились на те, що… etc.,

e.g. Would / might you be willing to do the job if I offered you another ten per cent? - Чи не згодились би Ви виконати цю роботу, якби я запропонував Вам ще десять відсотків?

When giving or asking for permission, or making requests or offers, the degree of politeness or formality depends strongly on the situation, stress and intonation, and who is speaking to whom. As an approximate guide, may and might are more polite and formal; could and would are more polite than can and will [6, 70],

e.g. Можна мені піти раніше сьогодні? - Can I leave early today? Дозвольте, будь ласка, скористатися Вашим телефоном. - Could I possibly use your phone?

We often use might with wonder which renders a very high degree of politeness, like in the following example: I wonder if I might have your attention for a moment. - Чи не можна мені запозичити хвилиночку Вашої уваги? The Ukrainian translation uses here the combination of a modal verb and a diminutive form of the noun in order to reach the high degree of politeness.

However, because may and might are formal, they can sound aggressive and sarcastic,

e.g. Might I suggest that you talk to the manager about it? - Так Ви поговорите про це з управляючим? And where have you been, may I ask? -1 де ж це ти був, дозволь запитати?

The Ukrainian translation shows here that we may change the person so that the effect of sarcasm could be reached.

So, offers and requests with modal verbs and phrases translated from English into Ukrainian can preserve not only the meanings of such, but they can be rendered by the choice of lexis which do not ruin the specific form of utterances peculiar for the English culture.

Will and would are frequently used for talking about habitual actions in the present or past which requires additional words in translation. For will there may be adverbs or expressions like частенько, зазвичай, звичайно. Very often there is no translation at all and the present tense is used,

e.g. They will spend hours on the phone to each other every night. - Вони частенько часами базікають по телефону щовечора.

Boys will always be boys. - Хлопці - це завжди хлопці (no translation).

Would is always translated into Ukrainian by бувало, частенько, зазвичай etc. with the past tense,

e.g. Every morning I would get up at the crack of dawn and take the dog for a walk. - Бувало щоранку я прокидався на світанку і вів собаку на прогулянку.

When stressed will and would express the speaker's annoyance at the habits both in the present and past. This may be rendered into Ukrainian by знову, вічно, раз у раз, etc.,

e.g. She will slam the door every time leaving the house! - Знову вона грюкає дверима, виходячи з дому. They would keep talking when I just wanted to go home. - Тільки-но я збирався йти додому, як вони знову починали безкінечні розмови.

In order to emphasize annoyance we may change a statement by an interrogative sentence,

e.g. You will always argue. - Навіщо ти завжди сперечаєшся?

Talking about habitual actions we most commonly express the idea of frequency with adverbs of frequency like rarely, seldom, frequently, normally, often, constantly, regularly, repeatedly,

e.g. Нас постійно за це критикують. - We are constantly being criticized for it. Скільки разів тобі казати, щоб ти не качався на стільцеві? - Haven't I told you repeatedly not to tip your chair back?

More rarely we use the adverbs specific for the official English: consistently, sporadically, unfailingly, incessantly, permanently,

e.g. Ви мешкаєте в цьому приміщенні постійно? - Do you live in this place permanently? Такі захворювання виникають як поодиночні випадки. - The diseases occur rather sporadically.

Sometimes frequency can be expressed in a more precise way, with the help of the phrases like on the daily bases, twice a month, fortnightly, every other day,

e.g. Коли я був студентом, то приїздив додому раз у два тижні - When I was a college student I went home fortnightly. Ми маємо заняття з англійської мови через день. - We have English speach practice every other day.

It is in the Ukrainian tradition to use phraseological expressions or adverbial phrases instead of modal verbs which seem to us smarter and more specific in showing a habitual or repeated action: now and then, now and again, every so often, all the time, again and again, on and off, from time to time, non-stop, forty times a minute, every hour on the hour, in quick succession, once in a blue moon. With these phrases we translate the following Ukrainian adverbial expressions: час від часу, знову і знову, весь час, безупинно, сто разів за хвилину, кожну годину, підряд, раз в сто років, коли-не-коли, вряди-годи,

e.g. Автобуси до Ялти відходять кожної години. - The buses to Yalta leave every hour on the hour. Забивши три голи підряд, він довів рахунок до 10:8. - Scoring three goals in quick succession he made it 10-8.

We can often express frequency using adjectives: common, uncommon, usual, unusual, prone to, liable to, unheard of, regular, unprecedented, frequent, permanent, unstopping, incessant, lasting, current, recurrent, repeated, reiterative etc.,

e.g. Ми з сестрою схильні до алергій. - My sister and me are both prone to allergies. Я можу легко валитися на сонці. - I'm liable to get sunburnt.

Verbs, verb and noun phrases can express habits and trends. The most frequently used are the following ones: to tend to, to be in the habit of, to have a tendency to, to follow the latest trends, to set the trend,

e.g. Ти слідкуєш за модою? - Do you follow the latest trends in fashion? Деякі люди мають звичку розмовляти самі з собою. - Some are in the habit of talking to themselves.

Having analyzed the possibilities of rendering into a target language phrases containing intention, willingness, offers, requests, frequency, politeness, formality, we come to the conclusion that the English modals will and would are quite frequently used for such purposes as well as numerous words and expressions which can substitute the given modals quite successfully. The problem of researching the forms of modality in English is rather complicated and involving. We may also suppose that some new aspects of translation may come out in the process of rendering the English modals into Ukrainian in our further papers. The problem of translating the English oblique moods can be interconnected with our present research objective.

Literature

translating modality english

1. Бархударов Л.С. Язык и перевод / Л.С. Бархударов. - М.: Международные отношения, 1975. - 240 с.

2. Каушанская В.Л. Грамматика английского языка / В.Л. Каушанская. - М.: Старт, 2006. - 319 с.

3. Komissarov V.N., Koralova A.I. A Manual of Translation from English into Russian / V.N. Komissarov, A.I. Koralova. - М.: Высшая школа, 1990. - 127 с.

4. Korunets' I.V. Theory and Practice of Translation / I.V. Korunets'. - Вінниця: Нова книга, 2003. - 448 с.

5. Jespersen O. The Philosophy of Grammar / O. Jespersen. - London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1924. - 358 p.

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7. Kyiv Post newspapers, 2010-2012.

8. The Times newspapers, 2010-2012.

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