Article as a traditional means of expression of the category of certainty / uncertainty in English-Ukrainian translation

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Petro Mohyla Black Sea National University Ukraine

Article as a traditional means of expression of the category of certainty / uncertainty in English-Ukrainian translation

Yuliia Sydorenko

Introduction. At the present stage of its development, linguistics is finding new solutions to current problems of language functioning in the process of enriching knowledge about its basis, about the peculiarities of the linguistic picture of the world and linguistic consciousness. The contribution of linguistic science to this issue involves the study of the identification of linguistic means by understanding the world around us, by studying the forms of linguistic consciousness. Such forms include, in particular, language categories that help to subordinate ideas about the world and the personality, and which are responsible for the language functioning as a system. This allows us to say that language categories are a special format of knowledge, and to emphasize the need for their study. The category of certainty / uncertainty is one of such language categories and can be considered as a universal conceptual category, characteristic of all languages.

The category of certainty / uncertainty has repeatedly been the subject of in-depth theoretical and applied analysis in linguistics. This category is somehow characteristic of most languages. The content of the category of certainty / uncertainty indicates whether a certain object denoted by a noun is considered to belong to a certain class of objects, or an object that stands out from the class of homogeneous objects.

The purpose of the article is to study the features of the implementation of English means of the category of certainty / uncertainty in the Ukrainian language (on the example of the Ukrainian translation of the novel by Jonathan Safran Foer "Everything is Illuminated ").

Methods - analysis, synthesis, comparison and generalization of scientific literature, comparative analysis of the source text and translation, descriptive method, method of quantitative analysis.

The originality of the research lies in the disclosure of problems related to the article, identification and formulation of its functions and meanings, systematization of scientific approaches to determining ways of translation of articles as an element of the category of certainty / uncertainty by means of the Ukrainian language.

Results and conclusions. Thus, analyzing the options for translating the article as the main indicator of the category of certainty / uncertainty, we recorded the following means of reproducing the contextual meanings of the article: lexical and grammatical means (definite article (indicative pronouns, definite pronouns, relative pronouns, possessive pronouns, adjectives, specifying the meaning of the word), indefinite article (pronouns of different categories (indefinite pronouns, indicative pronouns, possessive pronouns, definite pronouns, interrogative pronouns), numerals, adjectives, adverbs, particles, clarifying the meaning of the word), morphological (replacement of singular forms of English and sets of Ukrainian nouns) and syntactic, primarily concerning the word order (definite article - preposition of the subject in relation to the predicate; indefinite article - postposition of the subject in relation to the predicate).

We consider the ways of transmitting the category of certainty / uncertainty at the level of the text and different types of discourses to be a promising direction for further research.

Keywords: category of certainty / uncertainty, article, non-article languages, article languages.

Артикль як традиційний засіб вираження категорії визначеності / невизначеності в англійській мові та способи його відтворення в українському перекладі

Юлія Сидоренко

Чорноморський національний університет імені Петра Могили

Статтю присвячено актуальній лінгвістичній проблемі - статусу категорії визначеності / невизначеності в українській і англійській мовах. Показниками цієї категорії в англійській мові слугують насамперед артиклі. Натомість показниками цієї категорії в українській мовній системі виступають лексичні засоби. Через це постають питання щодо адекватного відтворення цієї категорії під час перекладу тоді, коли мова оригіналу - артиклева, а мова перекладу - безартиклева. Категорія визначеності / невизначеності неодноразово була предметом поглибленого теоретичного та прикладного аналізу в лінгвістиці. Ця категорія характерна для більшості мов.

Метою статті є вивчення особливостей реалізації англійських засобів вираження категорії визначеності / невизначеності в українській мові (на прикладі українського перекладу роману Джонатана Сафрана Фоера «Все ясно»). Методи дослідження - аналіз, синтез, порівняння й узагальнення наукової літератури, порівняльний аналіз оригіналу та перекладу, описовий метод.

Автор виділяє такі засоби відтворення означеного артикля, як лексико-граматичні (вказівні займенники, означальні займенники, відносні займенники, присвійні займенники, прикметники, дієприкметники, числівники, частки, уточнювальні значення слова), морфологічні (заміна форм однини англійських іменників формами множини українських іменників) та синтаксичні, насамперед порядок слів (препозиція підмета стосовно присудка). Також, як відзначають вчені, означений артикль може не перекладатися. Ми виявили, що для відтворення неозначеного артикля при перекладі на українську мову застосовують лексико-граматичні (неозначені займенники, вказівні займенники, присвійні займенники, означальні займенники, питальні займенники, підсилені емфатичними частками, числівники, прикметники, прислівники, частки, уточнювальні значення слова), морфологічні (заміна форм однини англійських іменників формами множини українських іменників) та синтаксичні засоби (постпозиція підмета стосовно присудка). Як свідчить проведений аналіз, неозначений артикль, який виконує суто граматичну функцію, може не реалізовуватися в тексті перекладу.

Ключові слова: категорія визначеності / невизначеності, артикль, артиклеві мови, безартиклеві мови.

Артикль как традиционный способ выражения категории определенности / неопределенности в английском языке и способы его воссоздания в украинском переводе

Юлия Сидоренко

Черноморский национальный университет имени Петра Могилы

Статья посвящена актуальной лингвистической проблеме - статусу категории определенности / неопределенности в украинском и английском языках. Показателями данной категории в английском языке служат прежде всего артикли. Зато показателями данной категории в украинской языковой системе выступают лексические средства. Из-за этого возникают вопросы относительно адекватного воспроизведения этой категории при переводе в случаях, когда язык оригинала - артиклевый, а язык перевода - безартиклевый. Категория определенности/неопределенности неоднократно была предметом углубленного теоретического и прикладного анализа в лингвистике. Эта категория характерна для большинства языков.

Целью статьи является изучение особенностей реализации английских средств выражения категории определенности/неопределенности в украинском языке (на примере украинского перевода романа Фоер «Все ясно»). Методы исследования - анализ, синтез, сравнение и обобщение научной литературы, сравнительный анализ оригинала и перевода, описательный метод.

Автор выделяет такие средства воспроизведения определенного артикля, как лексико-грамматические (указательные местоимения, определительные местоимения, относительные местоимения, притяжательные местоимения, прилагательные, причастия, числительные, частицы, уточняющие значение слова), морфологические (замена форм единственного числа английских существительных формами множественного украинских существительных) и синтаксические, прежде всего порядок слов (препозиция подлежащего относительно сказуемого). Также, как отмечают ученые, определенный артикль может не переводиться. Автор обнаружил, что для воспроизведения неопределенного артикля при переводе на украинский язык применяются лексико-грамматические (неопределенные местоимения, указательные местоимения, притяжательные местоимения, определительные местоимения, вопросительные местоимения, усиленные эмфатические частицы, числительные, прилагательные, наречия, частицы, уточняющие значение слова), морфологические (замена форм единственного английских существительных формами множества украинских существительных) и синтаксические средства (постпозиция подлежащего относительно сказуемого). Как показывает проведенный анализ, неопределенный артикль, который выполняет непосредственно грамматическую функцию, может не реализовываться в тексте перевода.

Ключевые слова: категория определенности / неопределенности, артикль, артиклевые языки, безартиклевые языки.

Introduction

Formulation of the problem. At the present stage of its development, linguistics is in the process of finding new solutions to current problems of language functioning in the process of enriching knowledge about its basis, about the peculiarities of the linguistic picture of the world and linguistic consciousness. The contribution of linguistic science to this issue involves the study of the identification of linguistic means that serve for the understanding of the world around us by studying the forms of linguistic consciousness. Such forms include, in particular, language categories that help to subordinate ideas about the world and the personality, and which are responsible for the functioning of a language as a system. This allows us to say that language categories are a special format of knowledge, and to emphasize the need for their study. The category of certainty / uncertainty is one of such language categories and can be considered as a universal conceptual category, characteristic of all languages.

The category of certainty / uncertainty has repeatedly been the subject of in-depth theoretical and applied analysis in linguistics. This category is somehow characteristic of most languages. The content of the category of certainty / uncertainty indicates whether a certain object denoted by a noun is considered to belong to a certain class of objects, or an object that stands out from the class of homogeneous objects.

Analysis of recent research and publications. Leading scientists such as E. Barabash, M. Bloch, V. Burlakov, A. Vetoshkina, L. Gurenko, O. Espersen, I. Ivanova, J. Kerm, P. Christophersen, J. Lynch, O. Marantzman, Y. Myronets, M. Nikitin, E. Reiman, B. Rogovska, T. Sokolova, O. Smirnytsky, G. Sweet, B. Khaimovich, O. Schweizer, D. Stelling and others devoted their works to the study of the article as the main means of expressing certainty / uncertainty V. Labetova explores the category of certainty /uncertainty in terms of hidden grammar.

Problems of translation of the article were in the center of scientific research of G. Vakhnik, A. Gudmanyan, Y. Zhluktenko, V. Karaban, I. Korunets, A. Fedorov and others. However, there is still a need for a comprehensive study that would show the place of the category of certainty / uncertainty in the system of the Ukrainian language. Thus, the relevance of the problem raised lies in the question that arises when translating from the original article language to the language of translation - non-article one.

The purpose of the article is to reveal the peculiarities of the translation of English means of the category of certainty / uncertainty (article) into the Ukrainian language (on the example of the Ukrainian translation of Jonathan Safran Foer's novel "Everything is Illuminated").

Presentation of the main research material

When translating a text from English into Ukrainian, in addition to problems directly related to the translation of lexical items, there may be difficulties in conveying the meanings of grammatical forms. It is well known that the grammatical phenomena of the English language differ from the grammatical phenomena of the Ukrainian language. The category of certainty / uncertainty in the languages being compared has a different linguistic essence, is perceived and reproduced differently by its speakers. In the Ukrainian language, where the category of the article is absent, the category of certainty / uncertainty is unmorphologized, hidden and has no specialized grammatical forms of expression, being realized as an additional meaning of some other grammatical means. Among the grammatical elements of the English language that do not have formal equivalents in Ukrainian, articles need special attention when translating. The absence of articles in the Ukrainian language does not mean that similar concepts in it cannot be expressed by other means. Translation theory explores and offers different ways of conveying the meanings and functions of this part of speech.

It is well known that the article is a formal grammatical indicator and the most neutral means of expression of the category under study.

The study confirmed that the article as a linguistic phenomenon invariably continues to arouse keen interest of scientists. Among the reasons for this interest, we have identified the following: the problem of the place of the article in the language, the number of articles, the variety of functions of the article, ambiguity, the difficulties associated with its translation into non-article languages.

In our opinion, the simplest way to convey the meaning of the definite article is zero translation, in which the article is omitted during the translation process.

We found that the use of this technique is possible in cases where the non-equivalent form performs a grammatical function and does not affect the overall content of the message [1].

Analysis of the novel and its translation showed that the preservation of the category of certainty / uncertainty, which is expressed in English by the definite article, in the translated text sometimes requires the use of additional morphological means, namely the plural forms of this noun.

In cases where it is necessary to highlight and emphasize a certain lexical and semantic nuance of the meaning of the word, as a rule, the meaning of certainty is transmitted in translation by word order [3].

Thus, the above examples show that the syntactic means of the language (in this case - Ukrainian) open opportunities for the transmission of meanings expressed in English through the article. According to A. Fedorov, this possibility of translation is by no means universal, i.e. it is by no means a rule without exceptions. But from the point of view of translation theory, which is based on the analysis of different cases of the relationship between languages, it is important that for the transfer of morphological means of one language, which has no formal counterpart in another language, means of another level are used - not morphological but syntactic. It is important that a specific means of translation language (freer word order) is used to convey a specific element of the original language (article) [10].

Among the morphological categories of the Ukrainian language that can render the meaning of the English article in translation, linguists (A. Gudmanyan, V. Burlakova, Y. Zhluktenko, I. Ivanova, V. Karaban, G. Pocheptsov), first of all, single out pronouns of different categories, for example:

1. Indicative pronoun цей (ця, це, ці).

2. Indicative pronouns такий (той, та, те, ті), той самий, (саме той, та сама), такий самий.

3. Possessive pronouns мій, твій, його, її, їхні, свій.

4. Defining pronoun весь, вся, всі, все / цілий.

5. Relative pronoun який (яка, яке, які).

6. Defining pronoun сам, сам собою, інший / інша.

It should be noted that the equivalents of the definite article, as suggested by the above mentioned scholars, may be other lexical and grammatical units of the Ukrainian language - numerals, adjectives, verbs, particles are the means of transmitting certainty

As for the use of the definite article to indicate a previously known person or object from the context, it may be translated by:

1. Indicative pronouns той, той самий, цей, те. The good gefilte fishmonger Bitzl Bitzl R watched the commotion from his paddleboat, which was fastened with twine to one of his traps. - Чесний торговець свіжою рибою Біцль Біцль Р. спостерігав за цим гармидером зі свого човна, прив'язаного до одного зі своїх ятерів.

2. Adjective (in the function of attribute) теперішній, нинішній, існуючий, діючий etc.

3. Additional and (or) words clarifying the meaning. The context of a sentence, paragraph or whole text suggests a correct translation

We studied the ways of translating an indefinite article as an expression of the category of uncertainty. In most cases an indefinite article that performs a purely grammatical function is not translated. For example Father toils for a travel agency, denominated Heritage Touring. - Мій Батя вкалує на 0 туристичну агенцію «Дорогами предків».

According to scholars, when translating noun groups with indefinite articles, it should be remembered that the subject expressed by such a group is the center of the message in the sentence, and therefore the translator should use the permutation of the subject at the end of the sentence. Thus, the corresponding noun with an indefinite article in the Ukrainian language is in the postposition of the subject in relation to the predicate.

The study found that to implement the category of uncertainty, which is expressed in English by the indefinite article, in the text of translation sometimes additional morphological means, namely the plural forms of the noun are used, for example Father's agency scores a translator, guide, and driver for the Jews, who try to unearth places where their families once existed. - Батіна агенція пропонує послуги перекладачів, гідів і водіїв тим євреям, які хочуть відвідати місця, де колись жили їхні предки.

We have found out that the equivalents of the English indefinite article translated into Ukrainian can also be various lexical and grammatical units of the Ukrainian language. Pronouns, numerals, adjectives, adverbs, particles, etc. are the means of transmitting uncertainty here.

I. Gavrilova and Y. Sadovska emphasize that the absence of a formal indefinite article, as well as the definite article, does not prevent the grammar of the Ukrainian language to express a universal category of certainty and uncertainty [2].

Thus, in the Ukrainian language there are a number of pronouns of different types that are used similarly to English articles, for example:

1. Indefinite pronouns якийсь, якась, якесь (without quantitative or ordinal numbers): I've got it! a man shoutedfrom the far end of the river. I've got it! - Я дістав його! - закричав якийсь чоловік з дальшого закута річки, - він у мене!

2. Indicative pronouns той (та, те), такий (така, таке) (when a lexically significant indefinite article precedes a noun under logical emphasis) But now that there was an offense - that the shtetl should be that shithead's namesake - the citizens had a name not to go by. - А тепер, коли трапилася така халепа - і містечко назвали іменем того тупоголового невігласа - мешканці ніяк не називали своє поселення навмисно.

3. One of the possessive pronouns (according to their contextual meaning): He had even lost a name.... - Він навіть загубив своє ім'я....

4. One of the defining pronouns It was a secret when the Well-Regarded Rabbi awoke one morning with these words on his tongue: BUT WHAT IF? - Інша таємниця постала, коли Доброчесний Рабин прокинувся вранці, а з його язика ледве не злетіли слова: А ЩО ЯК?

5. Interrogative or indefinite pronouns, amplified by emphatic particles: It's possible that he, or a part of him, washed up on the sands of the Black Sea, or in Rio, or that he made it all the way to Ellis Island. - Можливо Трохима, чи бодай якусь його частину, викине хвилями десь на узбережжі Чорного моря чи у самому Ріо, а може, навіть донесе до острова Елліс.

An indefinite article can be translated with the help of cardinal numerals один (одна, однеД-> the ordinal number перший, for example: It was a secret when Yankel shrouded the clock in black cloth. - Перша таємниця народилася тоді, коли Янкель запнув годинника чорним.

We have found that relative adjectives can be seen as the equivalents of the indefinite article: певний, відомий, справжній, etc., the choice of which depends on both the contextual conditions and the additional shades of meaning of the noun. The relative adjective цілий is also used, and it is close in meaning to the definite pronouns весь, вся, все [7], for example: He stored them in a thing on his belt. - Він ховав їх у спеціальній штуці собі на поясі.

In the course of research, we found that the contextual meaning of an indefinite article can be conveyed by an adjective enhanced by an emphatic or other particle or group of particles, for example: OK, I had never met a Jewish person until the voyage. - О'кей, от тільки справжнього єврея до тієї поїздки я взагалі не бачив.

Among the morphological categories of the Ukrainian language that can compensate for the meaning of the English indefinite article in translation, scholars distinguish adverbs (навіть, зовсім, etc.) and particles [7], for example: Mother is a humble woman. - Моя мама дуже скромна жінка.

In the course of the research we came to a conclusion that an indefinite article can be realized in the Ukrainian translation with the help of words and expressions новий, ще один, такий як, постать на кшталт, etc. [6]

We agree with I. Gavrilova and Y. Sadovska that although the issues of categorical status and place of the category of certainty / uncertainty in the modern Ukrainian language are not fully clarified, there are stable and universal features of this category in non-article languages, including Ukrainian.

Conclusions and prospects for further research

Thus, analyzing the options for translating the article as the main indicator of the category of certainty / uncertainty, we recorded such means of reproduction of the article as lexical and grammatical (indicative pronouns, definite pronouns, relative pronouns, possessive pronouns, adjectives, verbs, numerals,), morphological (replacement of singular forms of English nouns by plural forms of Ukrainian nouns) and syntactic, first of all word order (subject preposition in relation to predicate). Also, as noted by scientists, definite article may not be translated. Lexical and grammatical (indefinite pronouns, indicative pronouns, possessive pronouns, definite pronouns, interrogative pronouns, amplified by emphatic particles, numerals, adjectives, adverbs) are used to translate an indefinite article into Ukrainian. Morphological (replacement of singular forms of English nouns by plural forms of Ukrainian nouns) and syntactic means (postposition of the subject in relation to the predicate) are also used As our analysis shows, an indefinite article that performs a purely grammatical function may not be realized in the translated text.

We consider ways of conveying the category of certainty / uncertainty at the textual level and different types of discourses to be a promising research issue. It a promising direction for further.

category certainty article translation

References

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