Problems of translation of English announcement texts

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PROBLEMS OF TRANSLATION OF ENGLISH ANNOUNCEMENT TEXTS

Сумский государственный университет,

ул. Римского-Корсакова, 2, Сумы1, 40007, Украина

Статья посвящена исследованию проблем перевода англоязычных текстов-анонсов. Основной целью исследования является общая тенденция к исследованиям прагматическо-коммуникативных характеристик языковых явлений, а также тем, что недостаточно изученной остается взаимосвязь между прагматикой текстов, условиями их функционирования, с одной стороны, и выбором языковых средств, с другой; наличием большого количества трудностей при переводе англоязычных текстов- анонсов.

Ключевые слова: тексты-анонсы, декодирование, проблемыі перевода, кодирование, первоначальный текст, процесс редактирования.

translation english announcement texts difficulties

Advertisements form a fast growing industry in modern societies. In the past fifty years or so advertisements have become an inseparable part of consumers' lives. Advertising exists in various market systems and the way it affects the receivers varies from system to system. However, it does influence society to behave in a certain way. The past few decades have witnessed an increased demand for the translation of English announcement texts because most products and services available in different countries are imported from American and countries which use English as the language of commerce. In the process of translating English announcement texts, the culture of the people will have an impact on the way the translation is perceived [2].

Announcement texts have a particularly complex structure which requires special attention to both the text's macro-structure (medium) and its micro-structure (i.e. words, phrases and sentences). Translating announcement texts is not an easy task for they are a microcosm of various prosodic, pragmatic, syntactic and textual elements and rather difficult when encountered in translation. Contemporary translated English announcement texts how that many of these advertisements are very much bound to their originals. As a result, the translations are clearly texts of foreign origin which negatively influence consumers `understanding of the messages conveyed. Consumers, in different cases, frown at English texts transliterated because they include foreign textual elements. These foreign textual elements, which form part of culture-specific concepts, phrases, logos and terms, are translated by means of strategies such as loan words, transliteration and direct translation and dominate a great part of the translated texts. Direct translation maintains the textual-linguistic structure of the source text and also uses many loan words. Direct translation strategies are not acceptable because they retain the source text elements in the translation [5, p. 224]. The purpose of transliteration is to write a language in its customary orthography, using the exact same orthographical letters, but also using carefully substituted orthographical symbols. Although it is possible to use transliteration for English words, it does not satisfy the requirements of non-English speakers who cannot guess their meanings. So, translating English announcement texts requires careful consideration of available strategies. This will retain the original impact of the source text on the target market and in the translated target text.

It became clear that the role played by selected translation strategies to deliver the message in announcement texts to target readers requires special attention. It also became obvious that the current translation strategies that are used to translate English culture- specific terms, phrases, logos and concepts repeatedly affect the rate of sales of consumer goods as they fail to generate the proper message. In this regard, it is pointed out that previous research on this subject was conducted among different language pairs, where the resulting strategies were categorized in a traditional and broad manner, e.g. nontranslation, word-for-word translation and literal translation.

One of the most difficult problems regarding advertisement translation is the translation of logos. The current trend in advertising is to use emotive situations which transcend cultural barriers in international advertising campaigns. A translator has to look for equivalents in terms of relevance in the target language and exercise discretion by substituting certain elements in a text. Even with all the apparent cultural hurdles, a translator can create equivalence by the judicious use of resources. Most translations are intended to serve, however imperfectly, as a substitute for the original, making it available to people who cannot read the language in which it was written. This imposes a heavy responsibility on the translator. One should be familiar with one's own culture and be aware of the source-language culture before attempting to build any bridge between them. The role of the translator is to facilitate the transfer of message, meaning and cultural elements from one language to another.

Translation is, of course, a rewriting of an original text. Rewritings can introduce new concepts, new genres, new devices and the history of translation is the history also of literary innovation, of the shaping power of one culture upon another. But rewriting can also repress innovation, distort and contain, and in an age of ever increasing manipulation of all kinds, the study of the manipulative processes of literature as exemplified by translation can help us toward a greater awareness of the world in which we live.

The announcement text can be characterized as a conceptual model of the reflection of a communicative situation that develops between the three participants (the producer of the original text, the producer of the announcement text, the recipient of the announcement text) [4, p. 167]. From the cognitive point of view, the announcement text contains two conceptual kernels that are characterized by a different communicative orientation. The first kernel is that something is available and constitutes some information and it is directed from the original text to the announcement text and implements the informative function [6, p. 45]. The second kernel is that something will be useful for someone and it is directed from the announcement text to the recipient and is realized through the advertising function of the announcement text [1, p. 165]. Example:

Cutting Edge is a multi-level English course for adults and young adults. It combines rich international content, comprehensive grammar, and real-life functional language within a clear, easy-to-teach structure [2].

The first kernel in the example "Cutting Edge is a multi-level English course" provides brief information about the book, the second one - "for adults and young adults" emphasizes who the book is intended for. Next is a description of its characteristics.

Thus, the announcement text is an information model and is aimed at preparing the recipient for his (primary) perception. The main pragmatic task of the announcement text is the presentation of information about the announcement text, therefore, the functional load the announcement text and distributed between the information-incarnating and advertising functions [5, p. 224]. All these features of the ad text must necessarily be retained during translation. Example:

Cutting Edge - це багаторівневий курс англійської мови для дорослих та молоді.

Він поєднує в собі наявність інформації, цікавої для представників всіх національностей, повний об'єм граматики та приклади повсякденної розмовної мови, представленої в зрозумілій, легкій для сприйняття формі.

The primary text is an obligatory element of the conceptual structure of the announcement text, since the implementation of the announcement text is the provision of information about the primary text, which occurs by providing the presentation object (primary text) with a more detailed description. The first place is the peculiarities of the structure and content of the book that is the subject of presentations [1, 167]. Example:

Cutting Edge includes these additional key features:

- High-frequency, useful vocabulary

- Regular, well-structured speaking tasks

- Unique Mini-dictionary [2].

The announcement text often has an addressee whose explicit implementation is carried out through the use of a person pronoun you:

One of those long rich, full narrative novels of Howard Spring. You move and live and think with his large assortment of characters [2].

or by the list of admissible recipients of the text [1, p. 167]:

With a discovery approach to grammar and upfront focus on vocabulary, Opportunities ensures the most effective language for teenagers [3].

Consequently, there are certain peculiarities that need to be taken into account when writing promotional texts. The basic requirement for announcement text is the maximum of information and a minimum of words. The text should be written easy to read in the font, in large letters, so that the reader did not have to strain his eyes. The language must be bright and understandable [7, p. 184]:

The announcement texts do not contain such a traditional form of representation of the addressee as a system of pronoun forms of the first person (I, we) [8, p. 240]. Realization of modality in announcement texts is carried out with the help of impersonal sentences. The announcement text, as the secondary type of text contains information about the author of the original text, which creates a positive attitude to the book, gives him confidence. The announcement text uses the words of emotional and rational assessment.

The communicative situation of the announcement texts develops between the three actants: the producer of the original text, the producer of the announcement text and the recipient of the announcement text [1, p. 167]. The announcement text is the preparation of the reader for the perception of the original text. It provides information on the original text, its author, it is determined for whom it is intended.

Translation of the announcement texts from one language to another is a complicated, responsible process that has many difficulties. Translation as a term has a polysemantic nature, its most widespread and mostly generalizing meaning associated with the process of passing the value / content of the word, group of words, sentence or excerpt from the language of the original to the language of translation [9, p. 144]. The term "translation" can be defined as follows: the replacement of text material in one language (the language of the original) is equivalent to the text material of another language (language of translation). The main purpose of any translation is to achieve adequacy. An adequate translation can be defined as a translation, which provides the pragmatic tasks of the translation act to the maximum possible level for achieving this goal of equivalence.

In the process of translation, regardless of its form (oral or written), we can distinguish the following basic steps [10, p. 319]:

1. Decoding or understanding (reading, listening) the text in the source language

2. Translation

3. Codding (recording, voice over) of the received text in the language of translation.

But also the text editing process, which is defined as a view (in other words, analysis, control) and correction of messages, is also very important. According to most researchers, the subject of editing is to bring the object of editing in line with the rules in force at certain times and in a specific society, as well as its creative optimization, whose purpose is to obtain a given social effect. The process of editing is to verify the information in order to improve or correct its structure, content, compliance, completeness, logical sequence, presentation methods. Since the editor is facing a different task, his work must be organized and systematized [11, p. 256].

For many translators, the text of a foreign language serves only as a means to understand the idea of the subject matter, but the text itself is often rewritten in the language of the consumer's country, taking into account the peculiarities of its national specificity. In those cases where the exact translation is inappropriate, the translator uses approximate phrases that must take into account traditional ethnic, national and social peculiarities, and stereotypes of the behavior of a particular audience. Certain difficulties arise in the translation of individual words, sentences, if for decoding the information contained in them; one must resort to extra-linguistic factors: background knowledge, knowledge of special terms, abbreviations, etc. [11, p. 656].

Another problem for an interpreter may be the translation of content of their proper names. Such names perform in a speech function as a sign that names, and a sign, that means, because they not only point to the object, but also characterize it usually from an ironic or satirical point of view. The translator must find such content for the internal form of the name, which would adequately characterize the same with the pronounced original quality of the character and faithfully reflect the author's attitude towards it.

ПРОБЛЕМИ ПЕРЕКЛАДУ АНГЛОМОВНИХ ТЕКСТІВ-АНОНСІВ

Ю. В. Кац, канд. філол. наук, доцент,

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