6.

Grammaticalandsyntacticaltransformationsintranslation
Thislesson:
Explainsthenotionoftransposition;
Pointsoutthecaseswhengrammaticalorsyntactical
transformationshavetobemade;
Transposition(Changingthewordorderinthesentence)
Veryoftenthesyntacticstructureofthesentenceundergoeschangesduringthe
processoftranslation.Oneofthemostfrequenttransformationsistransposition
(changeofwordorder).TheEnglishsentenceischaracterizedbyaverystrict
wordordersubject+predicate+object+adverbialmodifier.InRomanianthe
wordorderisnotsostrict.Inbothlanguagesthelogicalcenterofthesentence
(whatsnewinthesentence)isattheendofthesentence.However,thereare
frequentcaseswhenthelogicalcenteroftheEnglishsentenceisatthe
beginningandinthesecasestranspositionisusedinordertotranslatethem.For
example:
Radicalchangeshavetakenplaceoverthelastdecade.nultimiledeceniiau
avutlocschimbriradicale.a
.
Contexthelpsthetranslatortodeterminethelogicalcenterofthesentenceand
consequentlytochoosetheappropriatestrategyfortranslation.Articleisoneof
themostimportantmeans,whichhelpstodeterminethelogicalcenterofthe
centence.Compare:
Anagreementwasreachedafterthreedaysoftalks.Duptreizilede
negocierisaajunslaunacord.
.
Theagreementwasreachedafterthreedaysoftalks.Acordulafostncheiat
duptreiziledenegocieri.
.
Transpositionisusedwhentranslatingtheemphaticstructuresitis/wasthat.
Forexample:
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Itwasadecadeagothathistoriansdiscoveredherexistence.Istoriciiauaflat
despreexistenaeicuzeceainnurm.

.
IfwetalkabouttranslationintoRussian,itisworthmentioningthatthe
adverbialmodifiersoftimeandcauseinEnglishareusuallyplacedattheendof
thesentence,whileinRussiantheyareplacedatthebeginningofthesentence
(butforcaseswhentheadverbialmodifieristhelogicalcenterofthesentence).

Consequently,whentranslating,wemovetheadverbialmodifiertothe
beginningofthesentence.Forexample:
WhenH.G.Wellspublished"TheTimeMachine"100yearsago,helaidthe
foundationsofmodernsciencefiction.100
,
.
Thetrainmaybelateduetothemaintenanceworkontheline.
.
But:
Thetrainwaslateduetothemaintenanceworkontheline.
.
Itisevidentthatinthelastexamplethewordorderisdeterminedbythe
context.
Transpositionisalsousedwhentranslatingsentenceswithparenthetical
(introductory)structures.
Birthsoutsidemarriagecontinuetorise,accordingtoaGovernmentreport.
Conformraportuluiguvernamental,numrulcopiilornscuinafara
cstorieiestencretere./
,,.
Thesurgeinthenumberofasthmacasesmaybelinkedtorisinglevelsof
obesity,doctorssay.Mediciiconsiderccretereabruscanumruluide
cazurideastmsedatoreazcreteriinumruluideoameniobezi./
,

.
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Grammaticalandsyntacticaltransformationsintranslationofsentences
whentheadverbialmodifierhasthefunctionoftheagent
ThestrictwordorderoftheEnglishlanguageiscompensatedbyawider
compatibilityofnounsthathavethefunctionofsubjectwithverbs,whichare
usedaspredicates.
ApeculiarityoftheEnglishlanguageistheabilityoftheEnglishsubjectto
expresscause,mode,placeortimeoftheaction,i.e.theadverbialmodifierhas
thefunctionofthesubject(agent/doeroftheaction)andthepredicateis
expressedbyaverb,whichbyitsmeaningshouldcollocatewithananimate
agent.Forexample:
Theeconomicboomhasproducedabiggroupofwelloffpeople.
Theliteraltranslation:Cretereaeconomicaprodusungrupmaredeoameni

nstrii.

.Itwouldbenaturaltosay:nrezultatulcreteriieconomiceaaprutun
grupmaredeoameninstrii.
.
ComparethefollowingEnglishsentenceswiththeirRomanian/Russian
equivalents:
Theairlinercrashkilledmorethan50people.nrezultatulcatastrofei
aeriene50persoaneaudecedat.
50.
Thearticlediscussestheproblemofjuveniledelinquency.nacestarticolse
discutproblemadelicveneijuvenile.SauAcestarticolabordeazproblema
delicveneijuvenile.
.
Practicalassignments
I.Translatethesentences,makingthenecessarychanges
1.Itsnotmychoice.It'swhatyouthinkthatmatters.2.Shedecidedtosellthe
house.Itwasn'tthemoneyshewanted,thoughtheupkeepmusthavebeen
considerable.ItwasLondonshemissed.3.Itisnotbecausetheylovefoxesthat
theywanttoabolishhunting:itisbecausetheydetestfoxhunters.4.It'sthe
seventhyearthatEltonhashostedanOscarnightpartyandit'snowbecomean
annual
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event.5.Itwasafterathoroughinvestigationthattheownerofthecarwas
traced.6.ItwasforPhilip'sthirteenthbirthdaythatGeorgeboughtanairgun.7.
ItwasthedigitalcamerathathadclaimedmostofDavidson'sattention.He'd
promisedacameratohisson.8.Itwasquiteincidentallythattheyfoundthe
lettersawayinsideoneofthelocalnewspapers.9.Itwasonsuchexpeditions
thatherfaithinlifewasbased.
II.Translatethesentences,payingattentiontotheparenthesesandthe
groupsofadverbialmodifiers
1.Womeninmostcountriesarechoosingtohavefewerchildrenthanever
before,accordingtoareportonworldpopulationtrendsreleasedyesterday.The
averagenumberofchildreninfamiliesindevelopingcountrieshasfallenfrom
sixtothreein25years.2.TheJerseyZoothatDurrellfoundedin1959lurched
fromonefinancialcrisistoanotherintheinitialyears.3.Youngchildrenwho
sleepwiththelightonaremuchmorelikelytobeshortsightedwhentheygrow
up,accordingtonewresearchpublishedyesterday.4.BlackcabfaresinLondon

aretorisesothattaxiscanmeetstrictstandardsonpollutionby2007,theMayor
said.5.JesseJacksondiscussedanIzraelHezbollahprisonerswapwithSyrian
presidentonSundayinDamascus.6.Theyarenotallowedtoownmorethan49
percentofafishingboatunderLebaneselaw,oreventojoinfishermen's
unions;sotheyareevenmorevulnerablethanmanyoftheirpeers.7."Thereis
nostatisticalcorrelationbetweenstarsandsuccess,"saidAbrahamDavid,a
professorofeconomicsandfinanceatRutgersUniversityinNewJersey.Yet
thereisabedrockbeliefthatthewinningformulaconsistsoftherightstarinthe
rightmovie.8.SeveraloftheplottershadtravelledtoPakistanwithinweeksof
thearrests,accordingtoanAmericancounterterrorismofficial.9.Severalofthe
suspectsmetthroughtheirinvolvementinthecharity,afriendofoneofthe
suspectssaid.10.Irantookin$45billioninoilrevenuelastyear,theCouncilon
ForeignRelationsinNewYorksays.11.AnewbookbyPulitzerPrizewinning
authorNormanMailerhisfirstnovelin10yearswillbereleasedin
January,publisherRandomMouseannounced.12.Therehadbeenaboyamong
Fred'sfellowpupilsinthesixthformwhopossessedavirtuallyphotographic
memory.
III.Translatethesentencescontainingadverbialmodifierswiththe
functionofanagentandmakethenecessarygrammaticaland
syntacticaltransformations
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1.Attentofiveitwasalreadydarkandpocketsoffogmadeveryslow,cautious
drivingessential.2.AlthoughtheofficialstorystatesthatLudwigkilled
himself,thecircumstancesofhisdeathhaveneverbeensatisfactorilyexplained.
3.Shewasthedirecttargetofanattemptthatkilledfourpeopleandinjureda
furtherfourteen.4.Thetrainhitthebridgeandtheimpactkilledthedriveranda
passenger.5.AftertheNormans,Maltasawtroubledtimes,attacksbySaracens
andpirates,fallingbymarriageandinheritanceintovarioushands,including
thoseofSpain.6.Yesterdaysawthepublicationofnotonesetofcrimebuttwo.
Thefirst,thepolicefigures,tellsofcrimesreportedtolocalpolicestations.The
other,theBritishCrimeSurvey,recordsthepublic'sexperienceofcrime.7.The
Renaissancesawthebeginningofthegreatwritingrift,thesplittingawayof
literaturefromeverydayspeech.8.Severalthingsexplainthesedifferences.9.
Thiscenturyhasseenalongandtortuousjourneytowardstoday'sliberties.10.
TheSantiagosummitlaunchedtalksaimedatcreatinga34countryFreeTrade
AreaoftheAmericas(FTAA).11.TheheadlinesofSaturday,6June1970drew
parallelswithanothercasethattookplacelessthanayearearlier.12.Thenews
thateveningwasbleak.Londonfeltominous,evenleaderless.13.Lastweek,

Britainfrozethecharity'sbankaccountsandopenedaninvestigationinto
possibleterroristabuseofcharitablefunds.14.BombingsinIraqleftatleast18
peopledeadanddozenswounded.Intheworstoftheattacks,abombblewapart
aminivanusedasapublicbusinBaghdad,killingatleastninepeopleand
injuring16,policesaid.15.Asurveypublishedtodayfindsthatofthe1346
motoristsquestioned,29percentclaimedthatpartnerscriticizingtheir
performanceatthewheelwasthebiggestsourceoffriction.16.Thistypeof
cancerkills4,000ayearandatrialsuggeststhatscreeningcouldextendthe
livesofthosewhodevelopitbytwoandahalfyears.17.Theraidkilledfour
civiliansandasoldier.18.LastweeksawHezbollah'sguerillaforceinflict
furthercasualtiesononeoftheworld'smostpowerfularmiesinSouthern
Lebanon.19.Theupdated,fictionalizedversionofthestorywillseethe
womenofaYorkshirefarmingcommunitytaketheplaceoftheHungarian
villagers.20.Someestimatessuggestthatthetrialprocesshasalreadycostclose
to20million,moneythatDisseldorf'staxpayerscanillafford.21.The
followingSaturdaymorningfoundmeattheStaffDevelopmentCentre.22.This
weekseestheannouncementofasignificantadvanceinthescienceofcloning
animals.
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IV.Translatethetexts,makingthenecessarytransformations
Renewables
Afifthofenergyistocomefromrenewablesourceswind,waveandsolar
powerby2020.Astheyproducenocarbondioxideorothergreenhouse
gases,theywillplayan"important"role,thereviewsays.Electricitycompanies
aretobecompelledtoproducemoreenergyfromrenewables.Thereviewsets
outtheadvantagesoftidalpower.PlansforabarrageacrosstheSeverncould
providefivepercentofUKelectricitydemandby2020.Thecostwouldbe
around14billionbutcouldraiseenvironmentalconcerns,itsaid.Windpower
alreadygeneratesenoughpowertosupplyamillionhomes.Theplanning
systemwillbereformedtomakeiteasiertobuildnewturbines.
SleepingwithLighton"RisksChildren'sSight"
Youngchildrenwhosleepwiththelightonaremuchmorelikelytobe
shortsightedwhentheygrowup,accordingtonewresearchpublished
yesterday.Thestudysaysthatlongperiodsofdarknessmaybeessentialforthe
healthydevelopmentoftheeye.Sleepinginalitroomduringthefirsttwoyears
couldleaveachildfivetimesmorelikelytohavetowearglassesforshortsight
inlaterlife.Theresearchmayalsohavesolvedthemysteryofwhy
shortsightednesshasbecomesowidespreadoverthepasttwocenturies.The

increaseinartificiallightingthataccompaniesurbandevelopmentmaybethe
answer.Doctorsquestionedtheparentsof480childrenagedbetweentwoand
16.Ofthosechildrenwhohadsleptindarknessbeforetheyweretwo,10per
centwereshortsighted;athirdofthosewhohadhadanightlightbecameshort
sighted.Butthefigureforshortsightednessamongthosewhohadsleptwitha
fullroomlighton
was55percent.
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Theresearchers,whopublishedtheirfindingsinthejournalNature,emphasized
thattheyhavedemonstratedonlyalink,notacause.Butexperimentswith
chickenhaveshownthattheproportionsoflightanddarknesstowhichtheyare
exposedgreatlyaffectsthegrowthoftheireyesandthedevelopmentof
focusing.ProfessorRichardStone,oftheScheieEyeInstituteatPennsylvania
University,Philadelphia,said:"Itwouldseemadvisableforinfantsandyoung
childrentosleepatnightwithoutartificiallightinginthebedroomuntilfurther
researchcanevaluatealltheimplicationsofourresults."GillAdams,a
consultantophthalmicsurgeonatMoorfieldsEyeHospital,London,urged
parentsnottoworryaboutnightlights."Themostimportantfactorinachild
laterbecomingshortsightediswhethertheparentsareshortsighted,"shesaid.
"Environmentalfactorsmayplayanadditionalrole.Inthemeantime,Iwould
notdenyanychildwhoisfrightenedofthedarkthecomfortofalow
luminescencenightlight."
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