Analysis of the translation of constructions such as "If the disease is not treated" into English

Kartavova Polina Student, Department of Linguistics and Translation Studies, Moscow City Pedagogical University 129 226, Russia, Moscow, 2nd Agricultural Ave., 4, bldg. 1 polina.kartavova@mail.ru

introduction

This article discusses translation problems caused by the need for structural and grammatical restructuring of an utterance when translating it from Russian into English. The translation process is asymmetric, and this dictates the need to replace the original structure with its structural and functional correlate in the translation language.

This work is carried out within the framework of modern translation theory and presents an analysis of the translation of constructions such as If the disease is not treated into English within the framework of a structural and functional approach.

The subject of the study is the strategies of text reduction in the Russian-English translation of constructions such as If the disease is not treated.

The relevance of the research undertaken is determined primarily by the need of society to optimize translation practice. Linguistics has accumulated a wealth of material related to translation practice. Russian Russian translation of semipredicative structures [Gudukhina, Kardanova-Biryukova 2020], transformations in the translation of English semipredicative conditional constructions into Russian [Evstafiadi 2017], etc., have been widely studied, however, the constructions studied in this work were not the subject of special research. At the same time, this construction is a compact predicative structure typical of the English language and, accordingly, allows you to get an adequate translation and authentic text. Nevertheless, translators practically do not use this strategy of text reduction. In this regard, there is a need to study the principles of translation.

The novelty of the study is that the Russian-English translation of constructions of the type If the disease is not treated is considered for the first time in the work. 

The research methodology was determined by its purpose and objectives. At the first stage, 10 translation textbooks and four English grammar textbooks were analyzed [Querck 1982; Close 1979; Jespersen 2006; Leach, Svartvik 1983] in order to find materials where the translation of the construction is considered If the disease is not treated.

At the second stage, an empirical research base was created – examples of the translation of this construction from the NCR were selected. The following elements were entered into the search bar: 1) a union if 2) a transitive verb in the initial form or an indefinite-personal structure of the type ask / ask. Then the "manual" selection of structures was carried out. The search was carried out in parallel and newspaper subcorps. The main difficulty in finding materials was the "manual" selection of examples. Due to the fact that no algorithm has been developed for searching for such difficult-to-formalize syntactic structures, the search engine cannot identify all examples with a construction of the type If the disease is not treated or includes structures in the list that are not such, since it is impossible to set the coreference of the subject in this construction and in the main sentence. In addition, the NCRR search engine does not allow you to specify the source language and the translation language, which complicates the process of searching for examples, since it is required to "manually" select only the Russian-English translation.

At the next stage of the work, the translation of examples from a parallel subcorpus is analyzed, as a result of which the main strategies of the Russian-English translation of the construction are identified. The examples selected from the newspaper subcorpus were translated via Google Translate, which made it possible to identify the main trends in the translation of this construction in machine translation. The choice was made in favor of this service due to its user-friendly interface, the ability to use all the functions of the program for free and the constant improvement of the service, accuracy and quality of translations, so that translation through Google Translate can form a research perspective.At the next stage of the analysis, the search for examples of the studied design was carried out on the website of the President of Russia, where the texts of V. V. Putin's speeches are presented.

120 speeches were analyzed. This source was chosen as the research material due to the fact that it is a full-fledged bilingual corpus of texts with professional translation, and its volume allows us to obtain reasonable results. The search was carried out as follows: using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + F, the search was performed on the page. The word if was entered into the search bar. Next, all sentences with this word were viewed in order to find correlates of the English construction If untreated.At the last stage, more than 30 hours of official speeches of Russian politicians (V. V. Putin, S. V. Lavrov, E. A. Primakov, V. A. Chizhov, etc.) and their interpretation into English were analyzed.

 The choice was made in favor of this source due to the fact that official political speeches are usually translated synchronously or sequentially, and translation recordings are freely available, which provides a large amount of material for the study of official interpretation.results

Analysis of translation textbooks has shown that they do not present a translation strategy for the selected constructions. Thus, it can be concluded that the Russian-English translation of this construction does not seem to be fully investigated.

There are also no materials on this topic found in English grammar textbooks, however, the authors of the textbook "Grammar of Modern English for Universities" [Kwerk 1982] use constructions of the If untreated type when explaining the rules. The textbook found 8 examples, cf.: The principal syntactic difference between the use of adjective and adverb forms is that the adjective form, if acceptable at all, is restricted to a position after the verb or (if present) the object. Thus, it can be assumed that in English this construction is frequent, however, If untreated constructions are not considered in textbooks.

When searching for examples of construction in the NCRE in order to expand the empirical base of research, the research corpus also includes vaguely personal models that are translated according to the same principle. The differences between the constructions of the type If the disease is not treated and the type If the disease is not treated are only in the type of predicate (in one case it is an infinitive model, in the other it is indeterminately personal), while the basic structural model is preserved, which allows us to consider these constructions from a translation perspective undifferentiated.

Seven examples of correlates of the If untreated type construction were found in the parallel subcorpus of the NCR, two of which are translated through this construction, cf.:

One thing he decided this morning: he would not go to them and would tell the truth if asked. – One thing, however, he decided upon this morning ? that he would not go there, and would tell the truth when asked. (He (his) is an object, he is a subject)

... that he is satisfied, but will drink more if asked ... – ... he was well pleased but would not mind having another glass if pressed ... (He (his) is an object, the subject is omitted) In these examples, the Russian object of action coincides with the subject and is omitted in the English sentence, since it is easily restored from the context.

Four examples are translated using the "formal" pronoun you/they, cf:

But ? if they ask you, what are you doing there? – But suppose they ask you what you are doing there? (You are the subject, you are the object)

"If they ask, maybe I'll tell them," he thought, approaching the office. – If they question me, perhaps I'll simply tell, "he thought, as he drew near the police-station. (I am the subject, the object is omitted)

I was agonizing over what to answer if they asked why I began to close the door of my room at night with a hook. – What if they asked her why she had taken to closing her door on the latch at night? (It is implied that the object and the subject are me)

One construction was translated through a passive structure, but in the subordinate part of the sentence the subject was duplicated by a correlating pronoun, cf.: If you deprive people of immeasurably great, they will not live and will die in despair. – If men are deprived of the infinitely great they will not go on living and will die of despair. (People are an object, they are a subject)

In the examples given, the Russian object of action coincides with the subject and can be omitted in the English sentence, since it is easily restored from the context.

As a result of an appeal to the website of the President of Russia, 6 examples of the studied design were found, but these passages were omitted in the translation.

As a result of the analysis of the speeches of Russian politicians, no examples of correlates of the English construction of the If untreated type were also found. It should be noted that in Russian the correlate of the studied construction is infrequent and in some cases it is omitted during translation, which is a problem of collecting material. Thus, since there is no direct correlate of the If untreated type of construction in the Russian language, this presents a difficulty in translation. Moreover, this construction is quite frequent in English.

At the next stage of the study, the strategies of machine translation of the structure were identified, which was carried out through Google Translate. As a result, 20 examples out of 107 were translated through the design under study, MS.: The head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Vladimir Puchkov, said that Russia is ready to increase the number of rescuers if a corresponding request is received from Indonesia. - Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov said that Russia is ready to increase the number of rescuers, if requested from Indonesia. The Russian Defense Ministry is ready to help Belarusian colleagues in finding the causes of the crash, if a request is received.

-  The Russian Ministry of Defence is ready to help its Belarusian colleagues in finding the causes of the plane crash, if requested. In both examples, the Russian object of action (Russia and the Ministry of Defense, respectively) coincides with the subject and is omitted in the English sentence, since it is easily restored from the context.

Let's pay attention to the fact that in 17/20 examples translated in this way, the construction was expressed vaguely by a personal model of the type If asked / asked:

If asked, I will not refuse. – If asked, I will not refuse.If they ask, I will express my point of view.

– If asked, I will express my point of view.If asked, help with advice, say hello to your colleagues, wish good luck.

– If asked, help with advice, say hello to colleagues, wish good luck.I fully support this candidate, so I will take part if asked," said the artistic director of the Lenkom Theater, Mark Zakharov.

– I fully support this candidate, so I will take part if asked, - said the artistic director of the Lenkom theater Mark Zakharov.It can be assumed that the Google system has a stable translation of expressions like If asked / asked, which explains the choice of a translation option with this English construction.

19 constructions out of 107 were translated through passive structures, but in the subordinate part of the sentence the subject was duplicated by a correlating pronoun, cf.:

Therefore, if a person is deprived of "fast" sleep, he will not be able to properly assimilate information. - Therefore, if a person is deprived of "REM" sleep, he will not be able to properly assimilate information. (Man is an object, he is a subject)

"However, if this disease is treated in the early stages, it costs the state much cheaper," he noted Kvass. – «However, if this disease is treated in the early stages, it costs the state much cheaper,» Kvasny said. (Disease is an object, it is a subject)

If people are allowed to leave, they can eventually benefit in the development of this place with their new knowledge and skills. – Renowned expert on the development of new industries and regions of growth, Anna Lee Saxenian, analyzing the experiences of Taiwan and India, says that if people are allowed to leave, they can eventually benefit from the development of the place with their new knowledge and skills. (People are an object, they are a subject)

We all know perfectly well that (1) if a person is treated for a cold, then he will recover in a week, and (2) if not treated, then in 7 days. – We all know perfectly well that if a person is treated for a cold, he will recover in a week, and if not treated, then in 7 days. (In case 1, it was translated through a passive construction, and the subject was duplicated by the correlating pronoun he, in case 2 – through a construction of the type If untreated; a person is an object, he is a subject)

60/107 examples of the construction are translated through active constructions of the type If you / we / I do, while using a subject from a wide context, for example:

Because if you ask people what they specifically have against this person, it is unlikely that they will be able to accuse him of something. - Because if you ask people what they specifically have against this person, they are unlikely to be able to accuse him of anything. (People are an object, they are a subject)

If you do it in compliance with all the requirements of Russian legislation, it can be profitable only thanks to ... – If you do it in compliance with all the requirements of Russian legislation, it can be profitable only due to ... (He (them) is an object, he is a subject)

Wouldn't he be offended if you called him the most discreet of his kind? – Won't he be offended if you call him the most discreet of his kind? (He (his) is an object, he is a subject)

I think if you invite them to participate in such an assessment, they will gladly accept such an initiative, they will not consider it something shameful for themselves. – I think, if you invite them to participate in such an assessment, they will gladly accept such an initiative, they will not consider it something shameful for themselves. (They (im) are the object, the subject is omitted) 

In the examples given, the Russian object of action coincides with the subject and can be omitted in the English sentence, since it is easily restored from the context.

The subject is a "formal" pronoun, practically non-referential or with a generalized reference. 

7 examples are translated through active constructions, cf.:

 And if a request for help from Athens does arrive, will the eurozone have to pay? –And if a request for help from Athens does arrive, will the eurozone have to pay?Russia will be ready to consider a possible discount on gas for Ukraine if such a request is made by Kiev...

– Russia will be ready to consider a possible discount on gas for Ukraine, if such a request follows from...If a request (for assistance in training officers) comes from the army or the Government of Pakistan, then NATO will be ready to participate in such training.

– If a request (for assistance in training officers) comes from the army or the government of Pakistan, NATO will be ready to participate in such training.

One example is translated through the construction there is, cf.: He will not be invested if there is no interest in it. – He will not invest if there is no interest in it.Thus, Google Translate translates most of the examples of the studied construction without omitting the subject in the subordinate part of the sentence.

conclusion

Thus, as a result of the consistent solution of the tasks set, it can be concluded that the Russian-English translation of the construction of the type If the disease is not treated does not seem to be fully investigated. Indeed, an analysis of the theory relevant to this work has shown that this construction is not considered in translation textbooks. The study of the written translation of the studied construction showed that translators almost do not use the If untreated model in translation. So, of the seven examples of a construction of the type If the disease is not treated, only two are translated through a construction of the type If untreated.

An analysis of the translation via Google Translate of 107 examples selected from the newspaper subcorp of the NKRR showed that only 19% of the examples were translated through an If untreated construction. Approximately the same number of examples (18%) were translated through passive constructions, where in the subordinate part of the sentence the subject was duplicated by a correlating pronoun. In most cases (56%), the program translates the studied construction through active constructions of the type If you / we / I do, where a subject from a wide context is used. (See diagram 1).

Diagram 1.

As a result of an appeal to the website of the President of Russia, 6 examples of the studied design were found, but these excerpts were omitted in the translation. As a result of the analysis of official speeches of Russian politicians (V. V. Putin, S. V. Lavrov, E. A. Primakov, V. A. Chizhov, etc.) and their interpretation into English, no examples of correlates of the English construction of the if untreated type were also found.

Thus, the study showed that in machine translation of constructions of the type If the disease is not treated, there is no reduction of the text and translation transformation is not used. In addition, the translation textbooks do not consider the Russian-English translation of the studied construction. As a result, translators practically do not use this strategy of text reduction. In this regard, there is a need to study the principles of translation. It seems that the results of the analysis are most relevant in interpretation, in which the desire for economy is especially expressed.

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