STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF NON-FICTIONAL TEXTS IN THE PRO- CESS OF TRANSLATION: SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL TEXTS
Main points:
5.1. General features of the language of scientific and technical texts
5.2. Scientific and technical terms as a challenge for translators
5.1. General features of the language of scientific and technical texts
Translation of scientific (academic) and technical texts is an essential feature of the contemporary fast-changing technological world. Each day brings up new technical and academic ideas, new concepts, new terms. The main communicative aims of technical and scientific texts are to inform the addressee about the results of the academic research or about technical design of equipment, to prove scientific hypotheses, to create new concepts or ideas, to instruct the addressee on how to apply scientific data or technical instruments.
The language of scientific and technical texts should be as exact and clear as possible and provide for the complete and unambiguous expression of facts and thoughts. Therefore the main criteria of a quality translation here are exactness and precision, though certain lexical and grammatical transformations are inevitable as in any kind of translation [see Карабан 1997, 1999; Корунець 2003; Миньяр-Белоручев 1996].
Main linguistic features of the texts of scientific and technical texts are:
- the use of numerous "subject field" terms, abbreviations and acronyms, ways of rendering of which are described further on in the book;
- extensive use of the newly created words (neologisms) and foreign words, often of Latin or Ancient Greek origin;
- frequent use of asyndetic attributive word-groups, like: Space Station Proposal Contest, Accelerated Information Processing treatment, etc.;
- impersonality of expression, i.e. the use of phrases like: It is well known that..., It is believed that..., One can mix an acid with alkali to receive the necessary proportion, etc.;
- extensive use of the passive constructions;
- however, where argumentation so requires, texts in question are characterized by direct reference to various authors, direct flotations.
- foot-notes and cross-references;
- restricted use of stylistic devices and expressive means.
Translators of scientific and technical texts have to remember one simple truth that whatever dictionaries are used and theoretical recommendations are given, acceptable scientific and technical translation is possible only if a translator understands what is being translated, i.e. knows at least basic things about the subject field he or she is working with. Therefore, "being a kind of an expert" in science and technology is the key to success in this sphere of translator's activity.
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Scientific and technical terms as a challenge for translators
Rapid scientific, technological and social changes have led to forming up of professional "subcultures" with respective "sublanguages" used for communication within certain political, social, scientific and industrial sections of society. Often people of the same nation understand very little when they hear or read texts, which belong to a professional sphere alien to them. The situation is complicated by the development of subject field slang or jargon within professional "sublanguages" which is often not registered by dictionaries. Thus, people who work with computers will have no problems with understanding the meaning of "to click on Ukraine" while phrases like «We have a pool of high-fliers whom we promote» and "We have ten projects in the pipe-line"; are familiar to civil servants, people from the financial sector and other officials. However "the ordinary people" may not know the above- mentioned contextual meanings of the underlined words.
We can imagine that in the languages of today words are constantly "on the move" from their conventional meanings to terminological meanings and professional slang and further on into "the passive" vocabulary (e.g., such words as scientist and sportsman which are gradually being replaced by academic and athlete). On the other hand, words may move in the reverse way, i.e. "forgotten" words may reappear as terms and even enter the standard vocabulary (e.g., coach and challenge). These movements, as well as coining of absolutely new words according to existing models, are conditioned by the following factors [see Максимов 2001; 2002 ]:
1) the need to name a new object or phenomenon (e.g.: web-site, browser, computer mouse, hyper-text, hang-glider, e-mail, e-commerce, remote server, вентиляторный двигун, резонансна справа);
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2) the need to give different names to different objects which have certain similar features (e.g., coach technically differs from bus and supermarket from shop);
3) acquiring new meaning by the object or phenomenon (e.g., challenge is viewed as something more substantial and requiring greater attention than problem; Ukrainian words біржа, комерсант, підприємецъ, ринкова економіка have acquired positive connotation during last two decades;
4) sociolinguistic factors, and, in particular, gender parameters of speech (e.g. masculine biased sportsman and chairman are gradually replaced by neutral athlete and chair or chairperson, while calling a woman ombudsman hardly seems to be polite;
5) disappearance of the object or phenomenon which makes respective word historically obsolete (e.g., such words as wireless, punched card, typewriter, coldwar, калошіi, примус, лікнеп, колгосп, госпрозрахунок, etc.).
Branching of professional subcultures results in creation of "esoteric metalanguages" which become understood only by professional elites. Though it is quite difficult to draw a borderline between esoteric (i.e. understood by the narrow group of professionals) and common terms, one can rely upon the dictionaries, which unfortunately are from 3 to 7 years behind the real usage. Thus, if dictionaries contain such entries as bull market, bear market, benchmark, portfolio investor, facilitator, швестищйний портфель, наскрізний коносамент then these terms may be considered as being generally accepted. However, words may be treated as esoteric terms if no dictionary registers them in the given morphological form, e.g.: subsidiarity (ability of one level of the administrative system to support another level), interoperability (operational, technical and logistical compatibility of the armed forces), e-commerce (commercial contracting by e-mail), електронка (e-mail), резонансна справа (a case which has a wide public response), НЖО (perverted NGO - non-governmental organization). Rendering of such esoteric terms is often a problem because in the target cultures respective objects or phenomena do not exists or are quite new. This results in numerous, sometimes clumsy translation loans, descriptions and attempts to find analogies.
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Translation practice of today makes use of all possible ways of rendering subject field terms, abbreviations and acronyms with a certain preference given to practical transcription and transliteration in comparison to loans, analogies and descriptive translation which is often used in parallel, e.g.:
clearing - кліринг (practical transcription); brand- бренд (practical transcription); trust - траст (practical transcription); insurance - іншуренс (practical transcription); vouching - ваучинг (practical transcription); business lounge - бізнеслаундж (practical transcription); broker-dealer - брокер-ділер (transliteration and practical transcription); underwriting - надписування (цінних паперів) (loan); cash - (фінансові засоби, готівка (analogy); benchmark - база для порівняння статистичних або економічних показників (descriptive translation); показник, маяк (analogies); recycling - рісайклінг (practical transcription), повторне використання (відходів виробництва) (descriptive translation); repellent - репелент (transliterantion); surgery - робота депутата з виборцями (descriptive translation); sustainability - спроможність підтримувати щось на заданому (усталеному) piвni (descriptive translation); VAT (value added tax) - ПДВ (податок на додану вартість) (loan); GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) - ГАТТ (transliteration); RRVI (recurrent, respiratory viral infection) – ГРВІ (гостра респіраторна вірусна інфекція) (analogy and transliteration); Верховна Рада - Verkhovna Rada (transliteration); область - oblast (transliteration); прописка - propiska (transliteration); прокуратура - prokuratura (transliteration); адміністративно-командна система - administrative-command system (loan); безготівковий розрахунок - noncash settlement (loan); матеріальні цінності - stocks; tangible assets (analogy); Кабмін - Kabmin (transliteration); CIЗО - pre-trial detention centre (loan), SIZO (transliteration).
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Certain preference to use practical transcription and transliteration can be explained by the absence of the respective objects or entities in the target culture and also by the desire to avoid long descriptions. Such practices open the doors to borrowings from foreign languages and accelerate drifting of professional sublanguages, however, recent attempts to combat penetration of "foreign words" into Ukrainian by the use of artificially created coinages seem to be naive and mostly fruitless (e.g., the use of далекогляд instead of телескоп, хрестослов instead of кросворд, etc.).
In recent years a tendency not to translate subject field words into Ukrainian and leave them in Latin script has significantly increased especially in the "culture" of informational technologies, e.g.: Модуль системи містить повний GSM-модем, no цъому каналу можна отримати e-mail та доступ в Інтернет; 166-400 Mhz Pentium пропонуємо за продукти харчування; Корпуса full-tower, midi-tower, mini-tower [Panorama]. In general the culture of informational technologies provides unlimited room for creation of new notions, meanings, words, abbreviations, acronyms, which revolutionize modern lexicography. Sometimes these coinages are so weird that it is difficult for "an ordinary individual" to understand what stands behind them. Take, for instance, such neologisms as hacker, hackification, login, unbuffer, emoticon, e-boutique, on-line, gamer, IMO (in my opinion), AFAIK (as far as I know), BTW (by the way), OTOH (on the other hand), etc.
Separation and drifting of professional sublanguages is an objective factor, which cannot be stopped or restricted. Therefore translators and interpreters in order to keep up with the fast changing world and be able to translate scientific and technical texts have to specialize in certain areas (or domains) of human activity. Translators of scientific and technical matter have to be a little bit of academics, engineers or medical doctors in order not to mislead readers or listeners.
SEMINAR 5
Questions for discussion and practical assignments:
1. What are the main linguistic features of scientific (academic) and technical prose?
2. Why rendering scientific and technical terms is a major challenge for translators?
3. What are main factors, which determine coining of new words or make "old" words acquire terminological meanings?
4. What ways of rendering scientific and technical terms are used nowadays?
5. Analyse and translate the following texts paying special attention to rendering scientific and subject field technical terms:
Text 1.
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