Moscow University Translation Studies Bulletin. 2018. 3.

This article is an analysis of the decision­making mechanisms in translation based on the criteria of acceptability and preference . The article considers a variety of approaches to decision­making, which is determined by both objective parameters and an interpreter’s perception of the main components of translation as a complex system .

The article deals with a complex interrelation of competence and interpretation factors in translation. In translation, interpretation implies both the understanding of the sense presented in the Source Language/Source Text (SL/ST) and its expression in the Target Language/Target Text (TL/TT) through the use of language­specific means. The limits or boundaries of interpretation are established by the invariant sense, and its adequate rendering requires a high level of professionalism. The competence factor in translation is intrinsically tied to the translator’s personality. If the translator’s language and conceptual thesaurus are poorly developed, this factor can produce a negative effect, as it limits the interpretation factor. Well­developed translator’s competences facilitate an in­depth understanding of presuppositions and implications in the SL, which serve as the basis for interpretation in translation and the criterion for the choice of transformations (shifts) used to cope with interlingual asymmetries and prevent interlingual interference. Interlingual asymmetries are present at all language levels and can cause interlingual interference that, in its turn, leads to language and translation errors. The competence factor produces impacts depending on the direction of translation: in the course of translation from a foreign language into the mother tongue the challenge is presented by the first phase of interpretation, viz. understanding, while in the course of translation from the mother tongue into a foreign language the difficulty lies in the choice of idiomatic means to express the invariant sense.

The article deals with the phraseological and non­phraseological methods of translation of phraseological units found in the German press from the point of view of equivalence and adequacy. An analysis of specific translation solutions is conducted. The correlation between equivalence and adequacy is established by using different translation correspondences.

The article develops the idea that theoretical research work on interpretation in China began relatively late compared to the West. The Chinese theory of interpretation has been influenced by Western interpretation theories, among which the French translation school has had a particularly great influence on the Chinese theoretical foundations for interpretation didactics. The Chinese interpretation didactics has incorporated the most advanced Western theories of interpretation and is now moving toward scientification, systematization and professionalism, which has laid a solid foundation for professional training in the field of interpretation.

The article deals with various translation problems. The author’s focus is on the linguistic bases for the translation process. According to language theories, several levels are distinguished in a literary text. In the process of translation each of those can be either activated or neutralized. The adequacy of substitution depends on these factors.

The article offers a comparative semantic analysis of the cluster “Cultivated Plants” in the Russian and Chuvash linguistic world images. The authors analyze both direct and figurative meanings of the Russian and Chuvash words and set expression, as well as free combinations of words from a given thematic group. Also analyzed are polysemy, metaphors, symbols, connotations of various Russian and Chuvash words, phraseology and set similes in the Russian and Chuvash languages. Special attention is paid to the Russian and Chuvash folklore. The Russian and Chuvash words from any given thematic group are part of the linguistic world images of the Russian and Chuvash ethnic groups alike. The analysis contributes to the reconstruction of the integrated linguistic world image and helps to reveal some peculiarities of the national world perception.

Linguocolorisms as part of the artistic aura in a poetic text are reviewed in the present article from the standpoint of the translator’s strategy, which is exemplified by Emily Elizabeth Dickinson’s poems and their Russian translations by A. Gavrilov, E. Valgurina and V. Avsiyan. The translator’s operations and transformations, such as invariant correspondences, borrowings, replacement, omittance, addition, dislocation or rearrangement, may cause local and global changes at the level of words, phrases, sentences as well as at the level of the whole text. The inevitable changes and radical transformation of the original poem can be motivated by the omitted linguocolorism, which has been demonstrated through the use of the conceptual models and mental patterns in the translated text; textual strategies of the poem are described from the perspective of the cognitive frame method.

Book review:

Translation and translations: the past and the present (in Russian)

The article studies various English and French realia found in Eliduc by John Fowles, the ways of their translation into Russian, their use for a better understanding of the plot and the poetics of the story. The main difficulty any translator faces when dealing with realia is the absence of equivalents in the target language, therefore it is necessary to choose relevant translation methods.

The article describes different ways of translation used in the process of teaching foreign languages in the 19th century. Some ways of translation offered by English scholars (e.g. Gamilton and Robertson) and the French scientist Jacotot are analyzed. Assessments of their works made by Russian scientists and linguists are presented.

With the development of interpretation teaching activities in China, Chinese scholars have begun to actively study the specialization of interpretation training methods as well as the scientific pedagogical design of interpretation disciplines to train professional interpreters in China. The article deals with a number of didactic concepts, principles and models of interpretation training programs suggested by Chinese researchers.

The article develops the idea that theoretical research work on interpretation in China began relatively late compared to the West. The Chinese theory of interpretation has been influenced by Western interpretation theories, among which the French translation school has had a particularly great influence on the Chinese theoretical foundations for interpretation didactics. The Chinese interpretation didactics has incorporated the most advanced Western theories of interpretation and is now moving toward scientification, systematization and professionalism, which has laid a solid foundation for professional training in the field of interpretation.