THE WORLD OF IDIOMS

The headache of translators while working with idioms is to find the right  counterparts in the target language . In this line false friends are numerous .

An illustration is  the French idiom “ se répandre comme une traînée de poudre “. From the first look translating this expression into English  may yield an awkward phrase, that is :«  spreading out like gunpowder” . Sure an English reader is likely to puzzle about the meaning of such statement .

Whereas when the translator  reminds himself that the adjacent idea of the French idiom refers to how fast something can reach out both people  and places , then he would recall an English idiom that can match up  with the source phrase though the image that is referred to  may be quite different . We think of the idiom  “ to spread out like wildfire”.

Noteworthy is the fact that the noun “ wildfire “ is not a synonymous to “traînée de poudre” yet the idioms are equal to each other . They convey the same message of fastness and danger

Another example is the English phrase  :” circumstances beyond our control” . its French counterpart is “ circonstances indépendantes de notre volonté”. It can be noted that etymologically the word “ beyond “is an English adverb and does not match with the adjective “ indépendantes” . Plus “ control “ does  not have the same meaning with the French “ volonté” .Nonetheless the above phrases are equivalent to each other . Should a translator have used the French “contrôle” ,in a word-by-word translation , the phrase would turn to be baffling indeed .

Here under are listed some other  double-crossing  phrases and idioms

English	False French friend	Right French friend
The ins and outs of To be a matter of dispute To chase rainbows To be the chef in the kitchen	Les intérieurs et les extérieurs de être l’objet de dispute Poursuivre les arcs-en-ciel être le chef -cuisinier	Les rouages de.. Etre un sujet à caution Chercher les poux sur les bouteille être le seul maitre à bord

Still , not all the idioms and phrases in a language have a counterpart in the others for languages vary in their historical background and their lexicons.

In such a situation the skillful translator is bound to explain the meaning of the source idiom . The point is to help foreign readers understand what the speaker has in his or her mind .Example : given the French idiom “ on n’ y va pas la fleur au fusil” . It means a work should not be taken as a play . It can be noticed that the phase” on n’y va pas “ is the negative form of a phrase that basically alludes to a movement like the action of  leaving a place to another one . But since it related to an idiom it takes up a figurative resonance and then refers to an initiative that is going to be undertaken  or a project or a work that are going to be carried out with eagerness .

The world of idioms is breath-taking.

TRANSLATION AND ITS TEACHING SESSIONS

Accuracy is a focal point in the translation work . Then for accuracy purposes  every thorough translators should  fan out some informative details that help foreign readers grasp the spirit of the author. Accuracy is two-folded : first  it entails putting the right counterparts side by side. And secondly it involves informing the readers about some details that they might ignore . For example the translation of geographical texts as well as that of historical  material

Historical documents often harbours names of high personalities . Usually in the source texts , personalities are called  without any mention of their titles or their rank  for the writer assumes the readers well know whom he or she is portraying

Yet foreign readers may not know them . Hence the compulsion  of the translator  to bring in his or her work more details that are going to  enhance a better understanding of the reading material .

Given the translation of French names : Henri II ,and  Louis XIV. The English results are : king Henry II and king  Louis XIV for English –speaking people might not know the rank of these folks.

Similarly geographical entities should be located with accuracy . For instance given a source text with the address : “ Pennsylvania , N.Y.city ”. The French translation will give more details by featuring the country that is , ‘ Pennsylvanie, New York , Etats-Unis “.  By mentioning the country in the target text the translator ensures that any French reader is going to figure out the spatial framework of the text .

In this regards translation is also an explanatory  task.

TRANSLATION AND INTERPRETATION : the clear-cut boundary

In the mind of the layman , careers related to languages are  all but the same . He views the job  of translation as a synonymous to the task of interpretation . But in fact where is the boundary  between these two careers ?

            The fact is , translation involves a merge of  many people ‘s minds . Otherwise said the work of translation enhances oneness of spirit between the folk that are interested by the topic. Translation enables them to  think to  the same matter in the same way . Therefore they can react or behave in the same mood.

The translator abides by the shape and the content of the source text. The target text should display a high degree  of fidelity to the source text . During the translation effort the linguist upholds the cultural background of the readers and that of the text’s author . Most of the time a word-by-word translation is less accurate and it does not speak to the heart of the targeted audience. For instance , given the French phrase: “N’en déplaise à .. :” ,a word-by-word  English translation yields the non-sense meaning :”it does not please to ”or “no offense” which does not fit with the spirit of the source text. Then the careful translator should look for an English counterpart that expresses the same feeling that is induced in these word, the feeling of  indifference, of sufficiency .

            On the other hand Interpretation enhances the oneness of spirit in a conversation or in a public talk between the speaker and his or her audience. As regards  calls or public talks or conferences the interpreter  is expected to read  the text of the speaker well ahead the opening of the event . In such a situation the job of interpretation is similar to the work of translation for it’s text –based.

            However interpreting a conversation is a quite different story . It requires swiftness _ the interpreter is expected to talk as soon a s the speakers shut up their mouths .

The interpreter should also be alert about grasping the words as well as the way the speakers  voice them so as to glean the real intentions and feelings of the speaker that might lie beneath.

            The  interpreter should be tactful for it can happen that one to the speakers uses  abusive speech against the other or he or she might be sarcastic to the other or even one of the speakers might be illiterate and then displays a low level of speech . It is not the job of the interpreter to  fire fights and quarrels . He should rather be tactful and  identify the underlying  feelings  . Then he or she can word them in a more convenient way .

For instance let us assume a discussion where one of the speakers insults the other .The interpreter is going to inform the other person about the anger of his or her counterpart without translating the” dirty” word he has earlier uttered.

Sometimes the interpreter is expected to summarize the speech of a talkative person . An illustration of this is the case of a tourist that marvels about a countryside . He might be going to notice every detail of the scenery . The skillful interpreter is not expected to go along all those lyrics . It is adviceable that he summarizes the tourist’s words  into a  positive feeling and says for example that  tourist  is very fond of the place .

It is obvious the interpreter enjoys a high degree of freedonm than the translator . At the same time their work is more binding than the translator’s own . In the translation process there are many pairs of eyes that care about the accuracy of the final text whereas the interpreter is the sole person who is responsible of the quality of his services and their ensuing impacts be them positive or be them negative.

Therefore   is the boundary between the above fields  so clear ? Were it on a map , where could we  locate it ? Going through these processes is the best way to grasp the meaningful truth.

The Eiffel Tower in fire !  

 

 Despite the fire from the wicked guns 

 Despite the nearness of  useless guts 

We stay Paris !

LANGUAGE DIVERSITY

Issue 2 :TRANSLATING PICTURIAL WORDS

Human languages have the peculiarity that  they encompass idioms , figurative speeches and the like. This quality enhances poetry and the use of mental pictures while people are speaking.

Such ability of the human brain to convey pictorial messages is a daunting task to the language professional. Plus grammar rules and idioms are language-dependent and there are many  gaps in connection with these parameters.

The headache of the language professional is therefore to mention  these pictures from the source language or at least to allude to them in the target language.

That’s why the translation of poems is somehow more difficult than the translation of prosaic texts for example . As a matter of facts  assuming a French translation of  the following English rime  :

“Create your fate”

_ onlinebuzzy.blogspot.com ,11/11/2014.

A  good translator should be observative  that the first and the last words end with the same suffix that is , “ ate”. Such a pattern enhances the beauty of this short poem and makes it unforgettable to the readers.

The translator should therefore find French words with identical endings that translate the idea of the source poem.. Plus the source poem involves  a pictorial word namely , “ create” that is linked to craftwork .  Then the language professional should find a French word that  are in connection with arts.

An attempt of  a French translation of the poem under study is :

“Créez votre destin”. In this example the first word starts with a “c” exactly as in the source poem . Additionally the translated word is etymologically the meaning of “ create”

Yet this translation  does not feature the pattern of the source poem , hence its beauty of the source poem is blurred in such a way that the  French reader can not love it just like the English reader does it. Then it is faulty .

Another attempt is the following rime:

“Faites the dessin

 De votre destin”

In this case it can be noticed that the source poem rime is somehow repeated with the suffix “ in” at the endings of both rimes .  Moreover the French word “ dessin” is linked to the arts of painting and drawing .

Nonetheless the reading of this poem is lengthier than its reading in the source language for the translated poem entails six words and two rimes . That is the double of the words in the source language . Therefore the overall pattern of the source poem is not respected in the translated poem.  Its reading may become burdensome. It can likely  be said that this attempt too is faulty .

Thus  the right translation should abide by the message of the source poem , It should be respectful of its overall pattern as well .The translator should also be careful about the phonetic beauty of his end –text.

The right translation is therefore this rime  :

“Dessinez votre destinée”.

Comparing these two rimes under study reveals these facts . They both display:

 -the same pattern that is, both rimes encompass three words with like-tone at the end of their first and last words.

-the same message namely that of an encouragement to struggle for a living

-like-words that are in connection with craftworks.

Translating pictorial words is a far more challenging task.

Thanks for reading.

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LANGUAGE DIVERSITY :THE SOLUTIONNARY TRANSLATOR

Issue 1: A PUZZLING INEQUALITY

Talking about language diversity refers to discussing the plurality of languages in the world .Languages vary in their origin ,hence in their nature. They also vary in their syntax that is, the grammar rules proper to each of them. Languages differ phonetically from others as well for some sounds that are common in some languages do not completely exist in others .Plus some words that are present in many languages may be differently pronounced depending on the cultural background of the speaker.

The current discussion is going to put an interest in the impact languages ' diversity has on the translation work.. Therefore in order to raise an interest for further essays on this topic and for purpose of efficiency , emphasis is going to be put on two European languages notably, English and French .

In these languages some words such as demonstration pronouns do not convey similar message all the times.. An instance is the french sentence that reads : "Les concernés devront apposer leurs signatures sur ce document et l'envoyer au directeur après coup."

This sentence harbours the demonstration pronoun " ce" that is the English counterpart of "this "or "that".. However a word by word English translation of this sentence will be confusing .The English reader for he or she might wonder where then is that document since in English "this " always indicate the position of something or somebody

In this case therefore the right translation of that demonstration pronoun will rather be a phrase  .  As the French demonstration pronoun of the above mentioned example pertains to the file that the reader holds in his or her hands , then the right English translation will be :" The assigns should lay their signatures on the current file and they should send it tho the manager thereafter."

Another illustration that portrays the importance of  first assessing what lays in the speaker's mind is the following sentence :"the topic herein discussed is two-folded."

Given this sentence should be translated in French. The qualified translator should remember that demonstration pronouns in English are not always translated by their French counterparts otherwise the meaning of the sentence will be blurred.

Plus some nouns are used as verbs in English while in French the rule is quite different. Hence the following appropriate french translation :"Ce sujet de discussion comporte  deux  volets ."

From the foregone translating from one language to another requires a perfect knowledge of both languages that is , their history and their evolution through ages.

Happy upcoming Translation Day to all !

RIDDLE

My first friend is the male counterpart of  an ewe 

My second friend is the first homosapien in the bible record

Then my best friend is  sacred  . What is his name?

 IN THE SECRECY OF TRANSLATION

Languages convey ideas , feelings in short messages . Should a speaker be misunderstood  by his or her  fellowman , then it is ironical  ; how much more so for the speaker who is addressing to somebody of a different language background ?

Hence the need of proper interpretation in the case of a conversation and the urgency of reliable translation skills  when written materials are involved .

Naturally a language is liable to the culture of its speakers . Such a situation is often called localization  with reference to the way a language is spoken an a particular location. For instance English is a widespread language. Yet in many parts of the world some english words are uttered in a way that may sound strange to English gentlemen .

A showcase is the adjective “ busy” which is uttered “ bizi” in the original English that is , the  one spoken in London ...

Thanks for reading.

WOMEN EMPOWERMENT & GENDER EQUALITY

Both topics  "Women empowerment" and "Gender equality" are the two folds of the same issue namely,the improvement of the living conditions of women on a worldwide range. This issue is a major concern for women have been contributing a lot in the society .

Women empowerment is the synonymous of the increase of women purchasing power through legal work .This implies women should be willing to work hard and also that they should be ready to help one another .Such attitudes can be displayed through creativity This entails suggestions making ,the submission of proposals about projects that can solve  problems :theirs and the world's own.

Women should also be  ready to take rightful initiatives that can enhance the implementation of their projects' proposals. They should not always be waiting for help rather they should be ready to become help-providers.

Furthermore there should be a heartfelt collaboration in among women first and then external intervenients.

With regards to the gender equality issue it can be noticed that the relationships which are supposed to link women and are here discussed. Moreover this issue is dependable on the socio-cultural background of places. For instance in western civilizations women can work outside their home ,they can also perform their rights in courts yet in this very place women-battering is rampant.

On the other hand in eastern countries  a good bulk of women are illiterate yet some  Nobel Prize winners come from these regions.That is being said efforts are on the way to attain success .

In perfect line with the first statement of the United Nations' Chart, women can play a major part in the struggle for gender equality.

They should be women of action that is ,in addition to claims, protests they should take actions on their behalf .They should set goals to themselves and they should work hard to achieve them.