The frequency and types of transformations in poetry translation



The article analyzes the frequency of transformations used in translation of the songs from the musical «Les Misérables».

Keywords: translation, transformations.

В данной статье рассматривается частотность переводческих трансформаций на материале поэтического перевода песен из мюзикла «Отверженные».

Ключевые слова : трансформации, перевод.

The need for transformations in the process of translation can be caused by both external (different cultural realities) and internal factors (differences in grammar and communicative structure). The concept of transformation is widely used in translation studies. The scholars have not yet agreed on the universal definition of the term. According to L.Barkhudarov, transformations in translation are the numerous and diverse transformations carried out to achieve the translation equivalence despite the possible discrepancies in the semantic systems of the languages. [1]

There exist many different classifications of these transformations. For example, V. E. Schetinkin highlights three types of translation transformations:

– grammatical (among them addition, omission, transposition and replacement)

– lexical (among these are concretization, generalization, antonymic translation, compensation, explication)

– stylistic (modulation) [6]

L. S. Barkhudarov highlights four types of transformations:

– transposition (change in the order of the components of a complex sentence)

– replacement (including compensation, replacement of the part of sentence, replacement of the part of speech, concretization and generalization, sentence integration and fragmentation, antonymic translation)

– omission

– addition [1]

V. N. Komissarov divides all transformations into the following groups:

– lexical (transcription, transliteration, calque, concretization, generalization, modulation);

– grammatical (literal translation, sentence integration and fragmentation, replacement of the part of speech, replacement of the part of sentence, replacement of the grammatical category, replacement of the type of sentence);

– lexical-grammatical (antonymic translation, explication, compensation). [2]

Y. Retsker talks about only two types of transformations: grammatical transformation (replacement of the part of speech, replacement of the part of the sentence) and lexical transformations (generalization, concretization, semantic development, holistic transformation). [5].

L. K. Latyshev highlights the following types of translation transformations: lexical, stylistic, morphological, syntactic, semantic and mixed transformations. [4]

Taking into account the differences in approaches to the systematization of the transformations by various researchers, the best option is to combine several classifications for analysis. This analysis is based on the classifications of transformations proposed by Y. Retsker, V. Komissarov, L.Barkhudarov and L.Latyshev. While analyzing the translation of the lyrics, the following algorithm was used:

1. Analysis of lexical transformations (according to Y.Retsker’s classification)
2. Analysis of grammatical and lexical-grammatical transformations (according to classifications by V.Komissarov and L.Barkhudarov)
3. Analysis of stylistic transformations (according to L.Latyshev’s classification)

After analyzing the translation of several songs from the musical «Les Misérables» («Do you hear the people sing?», «Look down (beggars)», «Empty chairs at empty tables», «The Epilogue») the following results were achieved:

Lexical transformations	40
Semantic development	20
Holistic transformation	10
Generalization	4
Concretization	6
G rammatical and lexical -grammatical transformations	68
Replacement	33
of the part of speech	8
of the part of sentence	10
of the type of sentence	15
Sentence integration	6
Sentence fragmentation	2
Addition	10
Omission	15
Antonymic translation	2
Stylistic transformations	4

Semantic development constitutes 50 % of all lexical transformations. This transformation allows to preserve the formal characteristics of the original with minimal semantic losses. For the same purpose, a holistic transformation (25 % of lexical transformations) is used. In addition, generalization and specification are used quite often.

Among the grammatical transformations, replacements are prevalent. The most common type is the replacement of the type of sentence. Replacements of a part of sentence are also widely used. In most cases a subject is replaced by an object or a noun is replaced by a pronoun. There is a significant amount of omissions, but in most of the cases the omitted information can be derived from the context of the song.

Only a few stylistic transformations were used, which is explained by the specifics of the genre. Songs in musicals tend to be written in a neutral style. Nevertheless, stylistic transformations include neutralization of some stylistically colored units of the original.

References:

1. Бархударов, Л. С. Язык и перевод/ Л. С. Бархударов. — М.: Международные отношения, 1975. — 239 с.;
2. Комиссаров В. Н. Современное переводоведение. — М.: ЭТС, 2002. — 424 с.
3. Комиссаров, В. Н. Теория перевода/ В. Н. Комиссаров. — М.: Высшая школа, 1990. — 253 с.
4. Латышев Л. К. Перевод: проблемы теории, практики и методики преподавания: Книга для учителя школ с углубленным изучением немецкого языка. М.: Просвещение, 1988.
5. Рецкер Я. И. Теория перевода и переводческая практика. М.: Международные отношения,1974.
6. Щетинкин В. Е. Пособие по переводу с французского языка на русский. М.: Просвещение, 1987.
7. Иванов, Андрей Отверженные Les Miserables стихотворный перевод / Андрей Иванов. — Текст: электронный // Stihi.ru: [сайт]. — URL: (дата обращения: 19.08.2022).
8. Les Miserables lyrics | Song lyrics for musical. — Текст: электронный // Allmusicals.com: [сайт]. — URL: https://www.allmusicals.com/l/lesmiserables.htm (дата обращения: 19.08.2022).