Representation of nationally-biased units with verbal component in Ukrainian translations of British political texts of different video genres

Размещено на http://www.allbest.ru/

Representation of nationally-biased units with verbal component in Ukrainian translations of British political texts of different video genres

Lutsenko Roman Ivanovych, Postgraduate Student at the English Philology and Philosophy of Language Department Kyiv National Linguistic University

Purpose. The purpose of the article is to identify and describe specifics of nationally-biased lexical units of the verbal representation in the Ukrainian translations of the British political texts of various video genres.

The object of the research is verbal components of nationally-biased units and their representation in the Ukrainian translations.

The subject of the research is the peculiarities of political texts with verbal component representation in the Ukrainian communicative situation.

Main problems covered in the article include the connection of verbal communication with the image of speaker in political discourse and rendering of nationally-biased units reflecting British political arena.

Methods. The following research is conducted with the help of several methods: method of stylistic analysis, discourse analysis method, comparative method and translation analysis method.

Results. Since the article describes the characteristics of the verbal component representation of nationally- biased lexical units in the British political texts of various video genres and their Ukrainian translation, each genre of political discourse has unique parameters of carrying information to the interlocutor. As the communicative aim differs in each of the represented genres, it is difficult for a translator to grasp the gist of the main idea of the utterance. Non-verbal components of communicative act are considered as the confounding factor in choosing the right strategy of source language text translation. The features of non-verbal communication are investigated in the article with the aim to create the new rendering paradigm for non-verbal components. Following this objective, the videos of different video genres have been analyzed, among them are recordings of interviews and political debates containing the nationally-marked lexicon of Great Britain. It is concluded that the genre specificity of multimodal text is the contributing factor in choosing the right strategy for text rendering as a semantic unity.

Conclusions. It is stated that the verbal components of translation of political texts in the British and the Ukrainian media should consider cultural differences of both countries, avoiding typical cultural stereotypes, and ensure equivalency of the translated lexical units; choosing an approach to express denotative meanings specifically, the units of the national vocabulary strictly predefine some specific factors, including especially semantic and structural ones the complexity (or similarity) of specific culturally biased vocabularies from the source language. The choice of translation method may depend on the style of the source language text, hence, the concept of a certain source circuit affects its language.

Key words: political texts, video genres, verbal components, rendering, nationally-biased units.

Луценко Роман Іванович, аспірант кафедри англійської філології та філософії мови Київського національного лінгвістичного університету

Мета. Мета статті - виявити та описати особливості вербальної репрезентації національно заангажованих лексичних одиниць в українських перекладах британських політичних текстів різних жанрів відео.

Об'єктом дослідження є вербальні компоненти національно зумовлених одиниць та їх репрезентація в українських перекладах.

Предметом дослідження є особливості репрезентації мовного компонента політичних текстів в українській комунікативній ситуації.

Основні проблеми, які розглядаються у статті, включають зв'язок вербальної комунікації з образом мовця в політичному дискурсі та відтворення національно упереджених одиниць, що відображають британську політичну сферу.

Методи. Під час дослідження застосовувалися такі методи: стилістичного аналізу, методу дискурсивного аналізу, порівняльного методу та методу аналізу перекладу. Методологія дослідження перекладу та усного перекладу передбачає набір процедур і методів, які використовуються для збору, аналізу та інтерпретації даних, пов'язаних із перекладом та усним перекладом тексту. Актуальним для цього дослідження є метод кейс-стаді, оскільки автор аналізує окремі випадки реалізації мультимо- дальної теорії в аудіовізуальному матеріалі різних відеожанрів. Тематичні дослідження в галузі перекладу та усного перекладу можуть надати багато детальних даних, які можуть допомогти дослідникам глибше зрозуміти процес перекладу, а також фактори, що впливають на якість перекладу. Однак, оскільки тематичні дослідження зосереджені на конкретній людині чи ситуації, їх не можна узагальнити для інших перекладів чи перекладачів. Як і у випадку з будь-яким іншим методом дослідження, перед проведенням дослідження важливо ретельно розглянути питання дослідження та доцільність використання підходу тематичного дослідження.

Результати. Оскільки стаття описує особливості репрезентації словесного компонента національно упереджених лексичних одиниць у британських політичних текстах різних жанрів відео та їх українському перекладі, варто зазначити, що кожен жанр політичного дискурсу має унікальні параметри донесення інформації до співрозмовника. Оскільки комунікативна мета різна в кожному з представлених жанрів, перекладачеві важко вловити суть головної думки висловлювання. Вербальні компоненти комунікативного акту розглядаються як вагомий фактор у виборі правильної стратегії перекладу тексту мовою оригіналу. У статті досліджуються особливості невербальної комунікації з метою створення нової парадигми відтворення невербальних компонентів. З цією метою було проаналізовано відео різних відеожанрів, серед яких - записи інтерв'ю та політичних дебатів, що містять національну лексику Великої Британії. Зроблено висновок, що жанрова специфіка мультимодального тексту є визначальним фактором у виборі правильної стратегії відтворення тексту як семантичної цілісності.

Висновки. Зазначається, що вербальні компоненти перекладу політичних текстів у британських та українських медіа повинні враховувати культурні відмінності обох країн, уникати типових культурних стереотипів та забезпечувати еквівалентність перекладених лексичних одиниць. Вибираючи підхід до конкретного вираження денотативних значень, одиниці національної лексики суворо зумовлені деякими специфічними факторами, включаючи особливо семантичні та структурні, складність (або подібність) конкретних культурно упереджених словників з вихідної мови. Вибір методу перекладу може частково випливати з концепту відповідного джерела.

Ключові слова: політичні тексти, відеожанри, вербальні компоненти, відтворення, національно зумовлені одиниці.

Introduction

The main objective of the following research is to demonstrate the main principles of representation of verbal communicative components in units of nationally-biased lexicon regarding different video genres in modern British political discourse and their rendering into Ukrainian.

Accumulation of information in modern technologically-developed world has caused suitable conditions for giving the non-verbal communication paradigm to be interpreted in terms of modern challenges and scientific trends.

In everyday communication, verbal communication plays an important role. The 21st century's hallmarks of globalization and informatisation, which take various forms, inspire linguists to consider communication from all possible perspectives. Verbal components of communication, which include the content of our message, all linguistic units aimed at helping to express the attitude of speaker different notions of life, including nationally-biased lexicon, as well as rate, volume, pitch, pronunciation, fluency and articulation play an important role in creating politician's identity as an authoritative power in society.

Multimodality in verbal communication refers to the use of multiple modes or channels to convey information. These modes can include spoken language, gestures, facial expressions, body language, tone of voice, and even written words in some cases. It recognizes that communication is not just about words, but also about how those words are delivered and complemented by non-verbal cues. In this vein the multimodal constructions are created as a mixture of verbal components and ways of their representation on viewer's screen, be it, for instance, a particular video genre, namely, political debates or political programmes.

The general theoretical paradigm includes works of such scholars as R. Jakobson, N. Adhikary in the field of verbal communication, as well as practical reconsideration of ideas based on Kress and van Leewen's theory of multimodality.

The challenge lies in rendering of such multimodal constructions without severe changes of source language meaning that bears the cultural specificity of British political processes, the way of living and interaction with other people.

1. Theoretical foundations of verbal communication

The word “communication” itself is a derivative of the Latin language and consists of two words: `communis' (noun) and `communicare' (verb) which means commonality and to make common respectively. The communicative process itself shares the functions of sharing “something” from one person to another. By “something” we refer to knowledge or any meaning which is hidden behind the word, word expression or a sentence (Adhikary, 2010: 155).

The theory of verbal communication is the problem investigated by foreign scholars, such as R. Jakobson, D. Berlo, N. Adhikary to name a few. In Ukraine the prominent scholars who investigated the problem of verbal communication are N. Babych, S. Yermolenko, A. Koval among others.

According to Katz and Cahn, verbal communication, aimed at using human language to represent the world and pass on information, is regarded as “a larger system of human communication, it therefore exhibits all features of an open communication system” (Katz & Kahn, 1966). David K. Berlo suggested the following model of communication (Berlo, 1960).

While sharing information, a sender converts a message into a code (language) and sends it as a discourse (text) to a receiver over a specific channel. Despite the fact that it is frequently the primary trigger for initiating an act of communication, individuals frequently engage without a clearly defined and/or preplanned message or goal, particularly in informal interactions (e.g., congratulating, condoling, expressing thanks). In many such stereotypical situations, certain aspects of contact (appearance, initial reactions, acceptance/rejection) take precedence over content, and interlocutors, in order to relieve the strain of the situation, choose from a stock of ready-made prefabricated formulae such as greetings, congratulations, condolences, apologies or gratitude (Hoffmannova, 1997: 122).

The communication means are represented by code and signal (medium). By code, we mean a signal system that can translate between two signal systems. Natural language is the dominant (primary) code in verbal communication, consisting of a system of linguistic signals (arbitrary symbols) as well as grammatical and pragmatic norms for their usage. Non-linguistic sign systems are used in addition to language in verbal communication; these symbolic codes may be used in conjunction with language (e.g., reinforcing gestures, such as using fingers when counting), or they may completely replace language (e.g., using the index finger to point at things); some of them are capable of being used as codes in their own right (e.g., using body language in a noisy setting) (Hoffmannova, 1997: 124-125).

As for communication network, a greater difference is sometimes made between medium (i.e., a means in which a message is delivered) and channel (i.e., a path along which a message is carried) when it comes to the relationship between the two sides in spoken communication. The medium is usually connected with the employed verbal (oral or written) information, whereas the channel is a sort of physical connection between communicants (e.g., air vibration, electromagnetic waves, touching, smelling, tasting). The kind of interaction between the participants is determined by the channel: direct (face-to- face talk) or mediated (cell phone, electronic mail, etc.), monological or dialogical (dyadic or polylogical communication depending on whether two or more interlocutors are engaged) (Hoffmannova, 1997: 126).

Communication activity involves message production (encoding of a message and formation of an audio or visual signal), message transmission via a communication channel, and message receipt (sensory perception of a signal), decoding, and message interpretation. It is usually the goal of both sides to achieve communication success, which occurs when the receiver perceives the sender's objective and acts appropriately. Because the stages of creation and reception are not necessarily mirror-like, total comprehension is not always required. Communication issues may develop at any stage of communication activity; nevertheless, interlocutors have the ability to forecast them and, in order to avoid them, adjust the direction of their communicative activity (Hoffmannova, 1997: 130).

Speaking about functions of verbal communication speech, it is important to mention R. Jakobson's communication functional model (Jakobson, 1964). It comprises six functions, namely, the referential function, the poetic function, the emotive function, the conative function, the phatic function and the metalinguistic function.

The emotive function is focused on the sender's identity. The main aim of this function is to represent a certain kind of emotion which demonstrates the attitude of the speaker, be it real or fake. A speaker who uses expressive components to appear his/her disagreement or amusing position is beyond any doubt to express ostensible information as well. The emotive layer of the language is usually represented by interjections. The affective purpose that underpins interjections gives all of our utterances a distinct phonic, grammatical, and lexical flavour. When we examine communication from the standpoint of the information sent, we cannot reduce the concept of information to the cognitive side of language. A speaker who employs expressive features to indicate disagreement or irony is likely to convey apparent information as well (Jakobson, 1964).

The conative function of the message is oriented toward the receiver's identity. It is usually represented by vocatives and imperatives which bind the receiver of the message to act in a certain way. The conative function is widely used in dialogic storylines in which characters converse with one another, for example, in political debates, where the opponent forces the speaker to interact in the way the opposition wants (Jakobson, 1964).

The phatic function provides for the reinforcement, extension, or interruption of the communication chain. It indicates if the communication channel or circuit is operational. Its purpose is to catch the interlocutor's attention or to affirm that he or she has understood the information correctly. When the addresser has to repeat a message that the addressee did not understand correctly, the phatic function steps in, either by repeating the element/part that was missed or by offering further explanations (Jakobson, 1964).

The code is important to the metalinguistic function. It is concerned with the use of language to describe or explain oneself. Not only is the metalinguistic function a scholarly instrument utilized by logicians and linguists, but it also plays an essential part in our everyday communication. There are times when we employ metalanguage without being aware that our remarks are metalingual.

When communication focuses on the context, the referential function is used. The context might be conceived of as a phrase or as a functional stylistic linguistic variant. It is the true dynamic factor in meaning production. As Descamps states, “The synonymy realized in the context is the basis of the lexical competence of the speakers of a language” (Descamps, 1992). The context might be thought of as a phrase or a functional stylistic language variety. It is the actual dynamic component in the development of meaning.

The poetic function deepens the fundamental dichotomy of signs and objects. Consequently, when dealing with the poetic function, linguistics cannot be narrowed down to poetry alone. That is why we have expanded this function to the stylistic and translating function, because the eloquence of speech itself may be a contributing factor to the success of a politician.

2. Ways of rendering verbal components comprising units of nationally-biased lexicon in Ukrainian translation of the British political texts belonging to different video genres

Nationally biased vocabulary is a vocabulary or set of words that reflects a bias toward a particular nation or country. This bias can manifest itself in the use of language, terminology or cultural references specific to a particular national context. It is important to be aware of such biases in communication and to strive for inclusivity and neutrality in language use. It is suggested to use several methods to render verbal clusters in the British Political texts of various video genres.

First of all, we speak about direct translation. It involves such language shifts, including calque, literal translation or official equivalent. According to this concept, the boundaries between direct translation and borrowing of the original phrase are vague. For example, the expression “The British Spanish Society”, as it was presented by Hugh Elliott, the UK ambassador to Spain, to Jimmy Burns, the reporter for LaRevista magazine (Burns, 2020), can be simply translated as “Британсько-іспанське товариство” since the geographical nominations represented in this example belong to units of nationally-biased lexicon as they represent the actual political situation and cooperation between the UK and Spain and are official toponyms accepted by international and local authorities of sovereign countries. Such occurrence is represented by the term “exonymic ”, which is a conventional place name (Kadmon, 2006). It is important to mention that in this case the translator should stick to the dual nature of the linguistic unit, which has both geographical and cultural references which should not be distorted in the translation.

The second strategy of rendering is logical explication. It refers to a set of strategies aimed at explaining or defining the nationally-biased lexicon unit and differentiating it from the ordinary linguistic representation. In the BBC extract from the UK Parliament meeting, we observe a peculiar scene when Dennis Skinner, MP accuses Mr. David Cameron, the former Prime Minister, in major misdemeanors against the British nation (BBC, 2016). He used the expression “dodgy Dave” to offend Mr. Cameron in front of the deputies. It should be obvious for the translator that the abovementioned phrase represents the political situation of a particular country, thus, it becomes the unit of a nationally-biased lexicon, because it represents the actual accusation of the MP to the Prime Minister of the UK. In that case we explain the meaning of the phrase and translate it as follows: «Хитрий Дейв» (образлива кличка прем'єр-міністра Великої Британії Девіда Кемерона, яку використав депутат Британського парламенту Денніс Скіннер під час дебатів у Британському парламенті 2016року).