Handing Phraseological Units (перевод фразеологизмов)

Разделы: Иностранные языки


Курс Теории и практики перевода с английского языка является профильным предметом трудового и профессионального обучения учащихся 8 - 11 классов в Вятской гуманитарной гимназии и отвечает целям модернизации содержания образования. Его целью является не только подготовка специалистов перевода в области профессиональной коммуникации, но и обеспечить для учащихся возможность применять на практике умения и навыки, сформированные на уроках английского языка. На занятиях по Теории и практике перевода учащиеся учатся выполнять письменные переводы с английского языка на русский язык текстов широкого тематического диапазона, а также осуществлять их смысловую компрессию и делать аннотированный и реферативный переводы.

В данной статье рассматриваются проблемы обучения переводу на русский язык английских фразеологизмов, а именно проблема правильного понимания учащимися семантических аспектов английских идиом и выбора адекватных методов перевода идиом на русский язык.

Для решения этих задач мною был составлен авторский учебный модуль "Фразеология", который является дополнительным дидактическим материалом к Рабочей программе и учебнику "Теория и практика перевода" А. С. Козиной для 9-го класса. Модуль состоит из 10 занятий по 2 урока каждое (20 часов). В данной статье обзорно описывается содержание обучения фразеологии на уроках перевода.

На первом занятии учащиеся выполняют упражнения, направленные на понимание того, что слова могут употребляться как в прямом, так и в переносном значении, и что значение слова определяется контекстом, в котором это слово находится. Учащиеся читают памятку и серию коротких текстов рекламного характера (ниже приведены памятка и образец одного из текстов). Затем учащиеся выполняют упражнения к тексту. Например: Read the text and underline the words used figuratively. Give Russian contextual equivalents to the underlined words.

Памятка:

Reading Strategies: Dealing with Idiomatic Expressions

Look at the words in the idiomatic expression. Remember that the words do not mean exactly what they say.

Try to imagine the image created by the expression (e.g. smooth as honey).

If you can't work out the meaning like that, find the expression in the text. Read the sentence it is in and those around it. Use the context to make a guess.

Write down the expression in your notebook with an example and a translation in Russian. Choose an expression that is similar if there is no direct translation.

Образец текста:

Out-Of-This-World Experiences

We offer you the best holidays in the world with exclusive resorts in the Caribbean, Mediterranean and Indian Ocean. All our resorts are full of fun. We have tennis, golf, sailing, water skiing, snorkeling, scuba diving and extreme sports like parachuting and hang-gliding. And we give free, professional tuition.

You can choose from a wide range of accommodation, from standard rooms to our luxurious suites. And you can eat anywhere from a simple bar to a five-star restaurant. Our hotel staff will give you a warm welcome and do everything to make your holiday memorable.

We organize travel to and from the resorts and deal with any problems, so you don't have to worry about anything. Just sit back and enjoy yourself!

Book now for an out-of-the-world experience!

На втором занятии рассматривается определение идиомы. С этой целью учащиеся вначале анализируют предложенные учителем ситуации:

Compare the two situations:

I'm told they are inviting more American professors to Cambridge. Isn't it rather carrying coals to Newcastle?

This cargo ship is carrying coal to Liverpool.

In the first example, the word "coal" is used figuratively. "To carry coals to Newcastle" means "to take something to a place where it is already plentiful and not needed". Compare with the Russian "Ездить в Тулу со своим самоваром".

In the second sentence, the free word-group "to carry coal" is used in its direct (literal) sense.

The first context quite clearly has nothing to do either with coal or with transporting it, and the meaning of the whole word-group is something entirely new and far removed from the current meanings of its components. Besides, no word can be replaced by other words in the first example without destroying its sense. Затем учащиеся читают приведенную ниже статью, анализируют встречающиеся в ней идиомы, отвечая на вопросы.

Phraseological units, or idioms, represent what can be described as the most picturesque, colourful and expressive part of the language's vocabulary.

If synonyms can be figuratively described as the tints and colours of the vocabulary, then phraseology is a kind of picture gallery.

And what a variety of strange and grotesque images, figures and personalities one finds in this amazing picture gallery: dark horses, white elephants, bulls in china shops, green-eyed monsters and dogs barking up the wrong tree.

Sometimes this parade of funny animals and strange human beings looks more like a fancy dress ball (маскарад) than a peaceful picture gallery.

So, a dark horse mentioned above is actually not a horse but a person about whom no one knows anything definite, and so one is not sure what can be expected from him.

A bull in a china shop describes a clumsy person.

A white elephant, however, is not even a person but a valuable object which makes a lot of troubles for its owner and which is also difficult to dispose of.

The green-eyed monster is jealousy, the image being drawn from Othello (Iago's words from Act III, Scene 3).

To let the cat out of the bag has actually nothing to do with cats, but means simply "to let some secret become known".

To bark up the wrong tree creates a picture of a foolish dog barking at the tree while the cat or the squirrel has long since escaped. But the actual meaning of the idiom is "to look for somebody or something in a wrong place".

Answer the questions.

What expressive means are all the highlighted expressions based on?

Can we replace the words or change the word-order in these expressions?

Can we always deduce the meaning of the whole expression from the meanings of the words they consist of?

В итоге выводится следующее определение:

The idiom is a figurative set expression characterized by a completely or partially transferred meaning.

= based on a metaphor;

= we can't replace or change the words inside these expressions;

= the meaning of the whole expression can't be deduced from the meanings of its components

На третьем и четвертом занятиях мы более подробно рассматривает особенности семантики идиом. Сначала мы рассматривает две ситуации:

Compare the following examples:

Ann is on the fence about going to Mexico. I wouldn't be on the fence. I'd like to go.

Isn't our Kate a marvel! I wish you could have seen her at the party last night. She dropped the bricks all over the place.

Answer the questions:

Are the words "fence" and "brick" used figuratively or literally?

Can we deduce the meaning of the idiom from the meanings of its components?

What do we mean when we say that an idiom has a 'double' meaning?

What is the idiom?

Анализируя в форме беседы с учителем некоторые английские идиомы в ситуациях, учащиеся приходят к выводу о том, что одно и то же слово в зависимости от контекста может употребляться как в прямом, так и переносном смысле. Кроме того, они отмечают и другие семантические особенности идиом, а именно: стилистическая принадлежность, эмоциональная оценка и национальный колорит.

После этого учащиеся выполняют Placement Test:

Translate the sentences into Russian.

  1. Betty saved Tim's skin by typing his report for him.
  2. The children got out of hand while their parents were away.
  3. People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
  4. Make hay while the sun shines.
  5. He is Jack of all trades.
  6. He showed the white feather.

Далее, анализирую переводы предложений, мы приходим к выводу, что для правильного предпереводческого анализа идиомы необходимо учитывать все пять аспектов ее семантики, а именно:

Figurative meaning (1) which is the basic element of the idiom's semantics and it is based on the literal sense (2).

Besides, idioms can have negative, positive or neutral emotive characteristics (3).

They can belong to different stylistic registers (4), i.e. colloquial, bookish, or slang.

Idioms can include some words such as "the Thames", "samovar", etc which make them nationally (5) coloured.

Переводя на русский язык предложения, содержащие английские идиомы, учащиеся должны увидеть переводческую проблему. Затем, анализируя с учителем выполненный тест, учащиеся узнают, какие есть способы перевода идиом и о целесообразности применения то или иного способа, в зависимости от семантики идиомы.

Учитывая все особенности семантики идиомы, мы выбираем наиболее адекватный метод перевода:

Absolute equivalent;

Approximate equivalent;

Word-for-word translation;

Description

В качестве практического задания можно предложить работу с текстом:

Read the text and underline words with figurative meaning.

Analyse the underlined idioms according to the five aspects of their semantics.

Give Russian equivalents to the idioms in the text. What methods of translation do you choose in this context?

Translate the text into Russian.

Undecided

Eustacia always wanted her life to be a bed of roses. She wanted everything to be easy and comfortable. But when she had a choice or decision to make, she could not do it. When you asked her what she was going to do, she always beat around the bush. She never gave a direct answer. And when she did decide something, she usually made a mistake. She was always barking up the wrong tree. So, she decided to turn over a new leaf and change her life. But when she finally made up her mind to change, she couldn't decide what to do. That was the last straw. She realized that she would never change. In a nutshell, if you want to describe Eustacia, you could say that she isn't good at making decisions.

На пятом занятии особое внимание уделяется стилю, а именно стилистическому регистру переводимой идиомы. С этой целью мы рассматриваем такой стилистический регистр как сленг на примере текста, приведенного ниже.

Lemon

The used car I bought for three hundred dollars was a lemon. My friend said I was nuts to believe the baloney the seller gave. The seller said that the car was like new with only ten thousand miles on it. She called it reliable transportation at a very low price. She said she was really selling it for peanuts.

Starting the engine of the car was a piece of cake. I just turned the key - no problem.

However, soon I was in a pickle: the brakes didn't work! The owner of the Cadillac I hit went bananas when he saw the damage to the front of his car. He started shouting at me and wouldn't stop. Now I have to pay him two thousand dollars to repair his car. But my friend Nina was a peach. She took my car to the garbage dump so that I didn't have to see it again.

Алгоритм работы следующий:

  1. Read the text and underline words used figuratively.
  2. What stylistic register they belong to?
  3. Why do people use slang?
  4. What is slang? Look up the definition in your dictionary.
  5. Translate the text into Russian. Apply the method of compensation if necessary.

Шестое занятие посвящено особому виду образного сравнения - Simile. Следует обратить особое внимание учащихся на то, что для создания образности в разных языках часто используются разные предметы. В качестве иллюстрации, например, можно предложить следующее упражнение:

Complete the following sentences, using the words from the list. Translate the sentences into Russian.

Ice, Beetroot, Mule, Feather, Sheet, Toast, Clockwork, Bee, Rail, Peacock.

  1. She was so embarrassed that she went as red as a ______.
  2. I can carry the suitcase easily; it's as light as a ____.
  3. The room is as warm as ____.
  4. My sister does so many things that she's always as busy as a _____.
  5. He is as proud as a ______ of his new car.
  6. It's as cold as _____ in that office.
  7. Once he's made up his mind, he'll never change it, he's as stubborn as a ______.
  8. She was so frightened that her face went as white as a ______.
  9. The postman always calls at 8 o'clock; he's as regular as _______.
  10. However much he eats, he's always as thin as a ______.

На седьмом занятии рассматривается, пожалуй, самое сложное явление в переводческой практике - каламбур или игра слов. С каламбуром учащиеся познакомились еще в 8 классе, когда изучали омонимы и многозначные слова. Мы разбирает это явление, анализируя несколько переводов одного и того же юмористического рассказа, и выбираем самый лучший вариант перевода, мотивируя свой выбор. В 9 классе мы говорим также о понятии переводческой доминанты, т.е. о соотношении формы и содержания высказывания.

It's not easy to translate the pun because the translator should render not only the meaning of the original text but its form as well. Otherwise, the humorous effect is lost in the translation.

Read the text and its translations. Which is the best one?

One day a painter, looking out of the window, saw an old countryman going by and thought the man would make a good subject for a picture. So he sent out his servant to tell the man that her master would like to paint him.

The old man hesitated and asked what the painter would pay him. She said he would give him a pound. The man still hesitated. "Come on," she said, "it's easy way to earn a pound."

"Oh, I know that," he answered, "I was only wondering how I should get the paint off afterwards."

Художник увидел в окно старика, лицо которого показалось ему выразительным. Он велел служанке позвать прохожего, и, когда тот пришёл, сказал:

"Я пишу картину "Иродиада с головой Иоанна на блюде". Ваша голова - как раз то, что мне нужно".

Старик задрожал.

"Да вы не волнуйтесь, я вам хорошо заплачу", - успокоил его художник.

"Это само собой, - ответил старик. - Только как вы мне её обратно-то приделаете?"

Художник послал служанку за прохожим, чтобы предложить ему позировать.

- Мой хозяин хочет нарисовать на вас карикатуру.

- А что это такое?

- это картинка такая. За это вам денег дадут.

- Это хорошо, а только смыть-то я её с себя сумею?

Художник послал служанку-хохлушку позвать прохожего в качестве модели.

- Мой хозяин хочет тебя трошки помалевать.

- Пусть сам себя помалюет!

- Чудак. Тебе за это денег дадут!

- Это другое дело, а отмыться-то я сумею?

Художник пригласил прохожего в качестве натурщика и сказал: "Я хотел бы написать ваш портрет".

"Написать?! Да кто же его читать-то станет?" - удивился приглашённый.

Восьмое и девятое занятия носят обобщающий характер (Consolidation lessons). На нем учащиеся выполняют упражнения по лексикологии и лексикографии, а также практикуются в переводе предложений и текстов, содержащих различные образные выражения. Например:

Supply the missing colours in these expressions and translate the sentences into Russia.

  1. A _______-letter day = an especially happy day that will be remembered.
  2. March 10th was a _________-letter day for me; I was made office manager.
  3. ________ fingers = natural skill in making plants grow well.
  4. My wife has ________ fingers.
  5. A ______ lie = a lie told so as not to hurt someone else, and there fore not thought of a bad action.
  6. I told him that his photographs were very good, but it was a ___________ lie.
  7. Out of the _______ = unexpectedly.
  8. Out of the ________ she announced that she was immigrating to Canada.
  9. To be in a ____ study = to deep in thought.
  10. I found him sitting at the desk in a _____ study, and he did not hear me when I spoke to him.
  11. _______ market = the unlawful buying and selling of goods when such trade is controlled, especially during or after a war.
  12. At that time, good quality clothes and shoes could only be found on the _____ market.
  13. _______-collar workers = people who work in clerical jobs; not manual workers.
  14. A _____-collar job is not necessarily better paid than a blue-collar one.
  15. _______ list = a list of people, group, countries, etc., about whom something unfavorable is known, or who have done something wrong, or who are to be punished.
  16. Messrs. Filch and Wangle are on our _____ list of bad debts.

There are many idioms which contain words denoting plants. Complete each of the sentences below with the correct idiom. Translate the sentences into Russian. Do Russian equivalents contain words denoting plants?

the grass grow under your feet

nip it in the bud

the top of the tree

the pick of the bunch

a bed of roses

beat about the bush

put down roots

bear fruit

get to the root of the matter

up the garden path

  1. Sometimes things are very difficult. Life is not all ____.
  2. Mary led Sam ____. She kept promising to marry him, but in the end she left him for John.
  3. Susan's ready to ___. She's travelled all over the world, but now she wants to settle in one place.
  4. The police were determined to ____. It took them several weeks but they finally discovered the cause of the fire.
  5. Don't ___. Tell me exactly what it is you want to say.
  6. John's ___. He's much nicer than any of his brothers.
  7. Sally's done very well in her job. She's at ____ in her profession.
  8. You should act quickly. Don't let ____.
  9. I feel as if all our hard work is beginning to ____. The results are really worth the effort we put in!
  10. The teacher realized that the class might cause trouble, but managed to ____.

Translate the sentences into English using the idioms of the previous lessons.

  1. Он не умеет танцевать и чувствует себя как корова на льду.
  2. Моя бабушка слепая как крот. Она едва может читать газету.
  3. Дети пели и танцевали, беззаботные как пташки.
  4. Она всегда приходит в свой офис каждый день в 9:00, точная как часы.
  5. Том, Мэри и Джек очень спелись. Они ходят повсюду вместе.
  6. Бесполезно просить его изменить свое решение. Он упрямый как осел.
  7. Затем, как гром среди ясного неба, он заявил, что уезжает.
  8. Джерри такой высокомерный (arrogant), ходит надутый как индюк.
  9. Давай перестанем ходить вокруг да около и обсудим это дело.
  10. Если ты думаешь, что я виноват, то ты не на того бочку катишь

На последнем занятии по данной теме осуществляется итоговый контроль в виде Achievement Test. Текущий контроль осуществляется на всех занятиях в виде Progress Tests.