Equivalence at word level

There is no one-to-one correspondence between orthographic words and elements of meaning within/across languages . E.g. English Tennis player = Turkish tenisgi; English type = Spanish pasar a maquina.

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Meaning in words (Cruse)

Propositional arises from the relation between it and what it refers to or describes in the real/imaginary world; provides the basis on which we can judge an utterance as true/false. Expressive cant be judged as true/false relates to the speakers feelings or attitude rather than to what words and utterances refer to. E.g. Dont complain. Dont whinge (annoying action.)

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. Presupposed arises from cooccurrence restrictions, restrictions on what other words or expressions we expect to see before or after a particular lexical unit. These restrictions can be of 2 types:
a)

Selectional a function of the propositional meaning of a word. geometrical adj. for inanimate subject

e.g. Studious adj. for human subject

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b) . Collocational semantically arbitrary restrictions which dont follow logically from the propositional meaning of word E.g. Teeth are brushed.(English) are polished (German , Italian) are washed (Polish) are cleaned (Russian)

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Evoked - arises from dialect and register variation.

Dialect a variety of language which has currency within a specific community or group of speakers. It can be : Geographical (e.g. Lift=elevator) Temporal (e.g. Verily=really) Social (e.g. Scent =perfume) Register a variety of language that the user considers appropriate to a specific situation.
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Register variations:

Field of discourse linguistic choices will vary according to whether the speaker is taking part in something or discussing it.

e.g. Make a political speech or discuss politics . Performing an operation or discussing medicine .
Tenor

of discourse the language people use depends on the relation between them.
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 Mode

of discourse role that language is playing and its medium of transmission (spoken/written).

E.g. A word appropriate in business letter but seldom used in spoken English.

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Common problems on non-equivalence: 1.Culture specific concepts the source language word may express a concept which is totally unknown in the target culture. Ex. In English: privacy, speaker (House od Commons), airing cupboard. 2. The SL concept is no lexicalized in the TL. Ex: in English savoury ,landslide have no equivalence in other languages.
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The problem of nonequivalence

3. .The SL word is semantically complex - a word consisting of one morpheme can express a more complex meaning than a sentence. Ex. Brazilian arruaqao means clearing the ground under coffee trees of rubbish and piling it in the middle of the row in order to recover the beans dropped during harvesting. 4. The SL and TL make different distinctions in meaning. Ex. Indonesian kehujanan means going out in the rain knowing that its raining but hujanhujanan means going 4/1/12 in the rain out

5. .The TL lacks a superordinate the TL may have specific words to head the semantic field. Ex. Russian has no ready equivalent for facilities,meaning 'any equipment, building, services, etc. that are provided for a particular activity or purpose.It does, however, have several specific words and expressions which can be thought of as types of facilities, for example sredstva peredvizheniya ('means of transport'), naem ('loan'), neobkhodimye pomeschcheniya ('essential accommodation'),and neobkhodimoe oborudovanie ('essential equipment'). 4/1/12

6. .The TL lacks a specific term language tend to have general words but lacks specific ones. Ex. In English ( bungalow, cottage , chalet , hut, villa, hall) the hyponyms of house dont have equivalence in many languages. 7. Differences in physical or interpersonal perspective has to do where the things are and the relation between people. Ex. Japanese yarn, ageru, morau, kureru, itadaku, kudasaru meaning give, depending on who gives to whom.
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8. .Differences in expressive meaning if in TL equivalent is neutral the translator can add the evaluative element. Ex. In Japanese tataku (beat) + an equivalent modifier for ruthlessly means in English to batter. 9. Differences in form certain prefixes and suffixes in English have no equivalence in other languages. Ex. In English drinkable = in Arabic suitable for drinking , boyish, wash-ateria, groceteria(evoked meaning by affixes).
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. 10. Differences in frequency and purpose of using specific forms. Ex. The continuous
ing form cant be used as frequently as in English in German, Danish or Swedish because the text would sound unnatural. 11. The use of loan words in the ST . Ex. words like chic, alfresco, aufait are used in English for their prestige value; diletante is a loan word used in Russian, English and Japanese but has no equivalent loan word in Arabic; in English word feminist with a Japanese feminist (feminist in Japanese 4/1/12

Translation by a more general word : in English to shampoo back-translated from Spanish = to wash, from Arabic= to put on the hair. Translation by a more neutral word: in English to mumble back-translated from Italian= to suggest; in English exotic back-translated from Chinese = strange, unique.

Strategies used by professional translators

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. Translation by a cultural substitution. Ex. In British cream tea, that means to drink tea with scones, jam, cakes back-translated from Italian =pastry.
Translation using a loan word or a loan word+ explanation. Ex. In English cover the hair with a plastic cap or towel back-translated from Arabic= the hair is covered by means of a cap, that is a plastic hat which covers the hair.
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. Translation by a paraphrase using a related word when the concept expressed by the source item is lexicalized in the target language in a different form. Ex. In English That giant pandas are related to the bears. back-translated from Chinese That big pandas have a kinship relation with bears.
Translation by a paraphrase using unrelated words. Ex. In English dine alfresco back-translated from German= eat in the open.
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Ex. In English The pandas mountain home is rich in plant life and gave us many of the trees, shrubs and herbs. backtranslated from Chinese= The mountain settlements of the panda have rich varieties of plants. There are many kinds of trees, shrubs and herbal plants. Translation by illustration:

.Translation by omission.

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Equivalence above word level

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Collocations
Collocations- semantically , arbitrary restrictions which dont follow logically from the propositional meaning of a word. Words which are synonyms will have different sets of collocates. Ex. Rancid butter but addled eggs, break rules but not break regulations .

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Collocational range and markedness

Every word in a language has a range of items with which it is compatible to a greater or lesser degree. Factors that influence the collocational range of an item. 1. Level of specifity the more general the word is, the broader is its collocational range, the more specific it is- the more restricted is its collocational range. Ex. Shrug shoulders ; run car, nose,water, river,show,company,business.
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2. .Number of senses the word has Ex. The verb run in the sense of manage collocates with : company, business, institution. In the sense of provide or operate with service, course.

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