Xorijiy lingvistika va lingvodidaktika
–
Зарубежная
лингвистика
и
лингводидактика
–
Foreign
Linguistics and Linguodidactics
Journal home page:
https://inscience.uz/index.php/foreign-linguistics
Problems of translatability of speech units in translation
Lobar ZUPAROVA
Uzbekistan State World Languages University
ARTICLE INFO
ABSTRACT
Article history:
Received April 2024
Received in revised form
10 May 2024
Accepted 25 May 2024
Available online
25 June 2024
The article examines one of the main problems of translation
studies - the translation of speech units and the methods of
teaching translation within the framework of theoretical and
applied sciences of translation at the faculty of philology. The
problem of translatability has been discussed within the
framework of modern linguistic translation studies, using the
concept of multilevel equivalence of translation as a basis for the
communicative equivalence of original and translated texts.
2181-3701
/©
2024 in Science LLC.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47689/2181-3701-vol2-iss1
This is an open-access article under the Attribution 4.0 International
(CC BY 4.0) license (
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.ru
Keywords:
translatability,
translation theory,
language,
texts,
speech units,
dictionaries
Tarjimada nutq birliklarining tarjima qilish muammolari
ANNOTATSIYA
Kalit so‘zlar
:
tarjima qilish qobiliyati,
tarjima nazariyasi,
til,
matnlar,
nutq birliklari,
lug'atlar.
Maqolada tarjimashunoslikning asosiy muammolaridan biri
–
filologiya fakultetida tarjimaning nazariy va amaliy fanlari
doirasida nutq birliklari tarjimasi va tarjimani o‘qitish metodikasi
o’rganiladi. Tarjima qobiliyati muammosi zamonaviy lingvistik
tarjimashunoslik doirasida tarjimaning ko‘p
darajali ekvivalentligi
tushunchasidan asl va tarjima matnlarining kommunikativ
ekvivalentligi uchun asos sifatida ko‘rib chiqildi.
Проблемы переводимости речевых единиц при переводе
АННОТАЦИЯ
Ключевые слова:
переводимость, теория
перевода, язык, тексты,
речевые единицы,
словари
.
В статье рассматривается одна из основных проблем
переводоведения
-
перевод речевых единиц и методика
преподавания перевода в рамках теоретической и
прикладной
науки
перевода
на
филологическом
1
Teacher, Uzbekistan State World Languages University.
Xorijiy lingvistika va lingvodidaktika
–
Зарубежная лингвистика
и лингводидактика
–
Foreign Linguistics and Linguodidactics
Special Issue
–
1 (2024) / ISSN 2181-3701
854
факультете. Проблема переводимости обсуждается в
рамках современного лингвистического переводоведения с
использованием
концепции
многоуровневой
эквивалентности перевода как основы коммуникативной
эквивалентности оригинального и переведенного текстов
.
INTRODUCTION
By considering specific translation problems in classes on the theory and practice of
translation, we analyze one or another aspect of the general problem of the translatability
of texts from one language to another, and ways to create a high-quality translation in the
entire scope of this concept. Our article is devoted to the disclosure of the concept of
translatability within the framework of the course “General Theory of Translation”, which
is taught to masters of the direction “Philology”. Let us defin
e the key concept of our article.
“Translatability is an objectively existing opportunity to convey a message in
communication using two languages,” writes R.K. in the electronic “Explanatory Dictionary
of Translation Terms.” Mignard [8]. Let us note two i
mportant points: the objectivity of the
existence of translatability of speech units and the functional-communicative approach to
posing the question.
LITERATURE REVIEW AND METHODOLOGY
Translatability is one of the fundamental problems of translation studies, which we
cover in several topics. A brief overview of the history of the science of translation and a
study of the contribution of major Asian scientists to the development of its theory and
applied aspects are required for study. We develop in students an understanding of the
close connection between the development of scientific concepts and methodologies and
the improvement of the translation process itself and its quality. We begin this topic by
studying the activities of translator and teacher V.N. Komissarov, who formulated the key
provisions of modern translation studies and made a great contribution to the
development of methods for training professional translators in Asian universities. He
emphasized the importance of using the results of scientific research in teaching: it is
scientific developments that help determine what knowledge a future translator needs,
and what skills and abilities need to be worked on. He set the task of scientifically
substantiating translator training programs [6]. Let us note that the experience in this
direction, accumulated by the author of this article at the Faculty of Humanities and Social
Sciences of the RUDN University, was previously summarized in a publication about the
specifics of teaching translation to specialists in the field of humanities [2].
V.N. Komissarov analyzed the most important foreign and domestic concepts of
translation studies. “The history of linguistic translation studies in Asia has yet to be
written,” the scientist believes [7.p.4]. He complains that books by leading experts are
rarely republished, and existing publications “...remain unclaimed because those who need
these works do not know about them” [7.p.4]. The topics of our course include an overview
of the contribution of the Asian scientists, the specificity of which lies in the close
connection between theoretical developments and the practice of training future
translators and teachers of foreign languages. The foundations of the national school of
translation were laid either by highly professional practicing translators or by teachers of
linguistic departments of universities. This is how the concept of translation
correspondences by Ya.I. was developed. Retzker, here we can mention the contribution of
Xorijiy lingvistika va lingvodidaktika
–
Зарубежная лингвистика
и лингводидактика
–
Foreign Linguistics and Linguodidactics
Special Issue
–
1 (2024) / ISSN 2181-3701
855
A.V. Fedorov in the development of fundamental concepts of translation theory and,
applied development of translation theory by I.I. Revzina and V.Yu. Rosenzweig. Let us also
note the concept of equivalence levels and the typology of translation transformations by
V.G. Gak, the concept of functional equivalence of translation and the methodology for
training professional translators L.K. Latyshev, the concept of multi-level equivalence by
V.N. Komissarov and many other studies.
It can be argued that the first Russian translation theorist was A.V. Fedorov. He was
the first to talk about the linguistic foundations of translation and clearly distinguished
between theory and practical activity. He argued that the criterion for the quality of
translation is the use of lexical, grammatical, and stylistic resources of the TL that
adequately convey the content of the original work. Based on purely linguistic concepts,
he was the first to distinguish between general and specific translation studies and showed
the dialectical interaction between them [10].
A.V. Fedorov studied the problem of translatability in detail, calling for careful
consideration of the linguistic context and the extra-linguistic situation being described.
He understood translatability as the possibility of creating a full-fledged translation based
on the use of linguistic means of the TL, which, often formally differing from the original,
perform, as modern linguists would put it, an identical communicative function in the
system of the whole. This problem runs through all the topics of the lecture course and
underlies practical classes. The theoretical aspect of the problem is discussed in detail in
topics devoted to the concepts of translation adequacy and equivalence, and levels of
equivalence. The practical aspect is considered within the framework of the topic
“Classification of translation techniques”.
In general, the problem of text translatability, being a key one, permeates the entire
history of the science of translation. As facts and scientific knowledge about languages
accumulate, two approaches to solving this problem have emerged. Historically, the first
approach is associated with the name of W. Humboldt, whose statements later laid the
foundation for the so-called theory of untranslatability [4.p. 65, 66, 68, 303-306].
Understanding each language as a unique set of external and internal forms, Humboldt
considered it fundamentally impossible to bring together such uniquely shaped and
dissimilar matters in the process of translation. Humboldt believed that translation should
be a complete and exhaustive transposition of the content of the source text into another
language, including all its linguistic, national, cultural, and spiritual identity. Every nation
finds itself under the influence of generally accepted meanings and signs that designate
them, as if in some kind of spiritual circle. Translation turns out to be a transition to
another circle, which means replacing not only the external linguistic form, but also, in
general, the expression of a different understanding of the world. According to Humboldt,
it is impossible to convey in the target language a picture of the world that is inextricably
linked with the original language and the spiritual world expressed in it [4.p. 80; 5. P. 55-
61].
Today, many provisions of the Humboldtian concept of language are outdated, and
some were stated at the philosophical level of understanding the problem. Their
development, taking into account modern data, does not necessarily lead to a negative
answer to the question of the translatability of texts. Nevertheless, in modern linguistics,
neo-Humboldtians continue the line of linguistic relativity, asserting the fundamental
irreducibility of texts in two different languages, which present the results of
Xorijiy lingvistika va lingvodidaktika
–
Зарубежная лингвистика
и лингводидактика
–
Foreign Linguistics and Linguodidactics
Special Issue
–
1 (2024) / ISSN 2181-3701
856
understanding unique life experiences. Each language creates its configuration of elements of
the world and its relationships to them, and the corresponding speech units express and
formalize them, and this calls into question the translation procedure itself [1].
Indeed, different worldviews are manifested in the selection of semantic components
of vocabulary, which capture different characteristics of designated objects, often
accompanied by different connotations, as well as in the special syntactic organization of
communicative units. In practice, translation continues to mediate between different
linguistic and cultural communities, which is the best refutation of radical concepts of
linguistic relativity. In turn, the new scientific paradigm has made it possible to rethink the
essence of translation and formulate a new understanding of its goals and objectives, realizing
the dialectic of the universal and the original, the potential and the functioning in language
and consciousness. Currently, the problem of translatability is being solved on the basis of a
functional-communicative and pragmatic approach to language. The meaning of speech units,
although based on the categories of thinking and language, extends far beyond them and is
associated with extra-linguistic communicative and pragmatic realities.
To determine the communicative equivalence of the original and translation texts,
modern linguistic translation studies uses the concept of translation equivalence. In general,
equivalence is understood as the maximum possible commonality of the content of the source
and target texts. The lack of complete identity of the linguistic means of the FL and TL does
not prevent the translation from performing the same communicative functions that the
source text performs. The equivalence of translation and the adequacy of the TL means used
are judged based on semantic, genre-stylistic, and pragmatic proximity between speech units
included in human communicative activity. The main function of translation is a full-fledged
communicative replacement of the original, therefore data on speech communication in
general and its linguistic and cultural specifics, on the influence of various components of the
communication situation on the implementation and perception of speech messages are of
great importance.
In the final version, more successful correspondences at the lexical-semantic level were
selected, the technique of antonymic translation was applied, the technique of dividing
statements was chosen, the technique of addition was used, and some essential elements of
meaning were explicated. In further classes, the problem of equivalence was examined in
detail using the example of translations made by other students. In conclusion, we note that
by introducing students to the problems of modern interdisciplinary research in the field of
speech communication, in particular translation, we help them understand the essence of
translation as a powerful tool for accurately understanding, interpreting, and expressing
meanings in the conditions of the modern information era.
REFERENCES:
1.
Alpatov V.M. History of linguistic teachings. - M, 2009.
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Bobrova S.E. Experience in training translators in the field of professional activity
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- 2009. -
No. 2. - P. 99-109.
3.
Gak V.G. Theoretical grammar of the English language. - M., 2006.
4.
Humboldt W. von. Selected works on linguistics. - M., 2001.
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Zubkova L.G. Language as form. - M., 1999.
