Translation of songs: analysis and recommendations. Part 2

The article analyses the process of translating songs from English into Russian on the basis of the songs from the famous musical “Les Misérables”. Based on the results of the analysis, some recommendations for translators are made in the end of the article.

Keywords: translation, transformations.

На материале перевода песен из мюзикла «Отверженные» рассматривается процесс перевода песен с английского на русский язык и используемые при этом переводческие трансформации. По результатам анализа выведены некоторые рекомендации для переводчиков.

Ключевые слова : перевод, переводческие трансформации.

Analysis of the translation of the song “Empty chairs at empty tables” (translated by A. Ivanov)

There are no differences in the rhythmic pattern between the original and the translated texts. In the original text only the second and fourth lines are rhymed, whereas in the translated text the first line is rhymed with the third and the second line is rhymed with the fourth. Lexical transformations include the translation of the fourth line with the help of semantic development. Grammatical transformations include replacing the affirmative sentence in the first line of the original text with an interrogative sentence in the first line of the translation. Some elements of antonymic translation are used ( can't be spoken — выразить смогу ли). Lexical-grammatical transformations include the use of an antonymic translation in the third line ( goes on and on — уж не пройдет).

There are no differences in the rhythmic pattern between the original and the translated texts. In the original text only the second and fourth lines are rhymed, whereas in the translated text the first line is rhymed with the third, the second line is rhymed with the fourth. Lexical transformations include the use of semantic development when translating the first line. Generalization is used in the first line, specification is used in the second line. The grammatical transformations include the replacement of the coordinative conjunction and in the original text by a subordinating conjunction in the translation of the fourth line. The second line uses the replacement of a part of sentence is used in the second line. In the third line the adjective светлом is added and the pronoun they is omitted, in the second line the noun сердце is added and the adverb here is omitted.

There are no differences in the rhythmic pattern between the original and the translated texts. In the original text only the second and the fourth lines are rhymed, in the translation the first line is rhymed with the third, the second line is rhymed with the fourth. Lexical transformations include the use of semantic development in the third and fourth lines. The grammatical transformations include replacing two affirmative sentences in the original text with interrogative sentences in the translation.

There are no rhythmic differences between the original and the translated texts. In the original text only the second and fourth lines are rhymed, in the translation the first line is rhymed with the third, the second line is rhymed with the fourth. Lexical transformations include the use of holistic transformation in the fourth line. Grammatical transformations: in the third and fourth lines the adjective phantom is omitted twice, the verbs танцуют and пляшут are added. In the third line there is a replacement of the part of speech (the adjective empty is replaced by the verb пустуют ).

There are no rhythmic differences between the original and the translated texts. In the original text only the second and the fourth lines are rhymed, in the translation the first line is rhymed with the third, the second line is rhymed with the fourth. Lexical transformations include the use of a holistic transformation in the second line. Semantic development is used in the third line. Grammatical transformations include replacing the imperative sentence in the original with the affirmative sentence in the translation.

Lexical transformations — 9 (among them semantic development — 5, generalization — 1, concretization — 1, holistic transformation — 2). Grammatical and lexical-grammatical transformations — 17 (among them additions — 4, omissions — 4, replacement of the type of sentence — 4, replacement of a part of speech -2, replacement of a part of sentence — 1, antonymic translation — 2)

There are no stylistic transformations used.

Based on the results of the analysis, the following recommendations can be made:

1) Omissions are acceptable when the omitted information is easily deduced from the context

2) There is no need to preserve the grammatical structure of the original text. The use of various grammatical transformations allows a translator to create a natural text in the target language.

In accordance with the above recommendations, the main task of the translator is to maintain a balance between preserving the formal characteristics of the original text and avoiding semantic distortions.

References:

1. Бархударов, Л. С. Язык и перевод/ Л. С. Бархударов. — М.: Международные отношения, 1975. — 239 с.;
2. Комиссаров, В. Н. Теория перевода/ В. Н. Комиссаров. — М.: Высшая школа, 1990. — 253 с.
3. РецкерЯ. И. Теория перевода и переводческая практика.М.:Международные отношения,1974.
4. Иванов, Андрей Отверженные Les Miserables стихотворный перевод / Андрей Иванов. — Текст: электронный // Stihi.ru: [сайт]. — URL: (дата обращения: 19.08.2022).
5. 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).