The Logic Behind Mapping Solutions for Idiom Translation with examples in English, French, and Spanish.
If anything, translation is transient. The act of capturing the meaning of a text, be it written or spoken, is volatile, and as soon as finished it needs to be done all over again. Translators undertake their task like Sisyphus, aware that the summit of a perfect translation remains unattainable. But lucky for all the readers who live in only one language, every generation of translators tries to open the doors of all those languages we do not understand. In this presentation, we will explore the translation of expressions intertwined with the identity of a culture and its language, drawing examples from French and Spanish.
3. Breaking the ice… 1
French: AVOIR D’AUTRES
CHATS À FOUETTER
English: HAVE
BIGGER FISH TO FRY
Have more important
things to do
2
4. Breaking the ice… 2
French: QUAND LES POULES
AURONT DES DENTS
English:
WHEN PIGS FLY
Never!
3
5. Breaking the ice… 3
French: COUPER
L’HERBE SOUS LES
PIEDS DE QUELQU’UN
English: BEAT SB TO THE
PUNCH - PULL THE RUG OUT
FROM UNDERNEATH SB
Take somebody’s oportunity
4
6. Breaking the ice… 4
French: AVOIR UN CHAT
DANS LA GORGE
English: TO HAVE A FROG
IN ONE'S THROAT
Be hoarse or husky
5
7. Breaking the ice… 5
French: CELA ME FAIT
UNE BELLE JAMBE
English: A FAT LOT OF GOOD
THAT DOES ME
Be useless
6
12. Affirmative Stimulus Meaning
σ ∈ M(S) iff ∃ σ’ /
σ’ → D(k) & σ → A(k)
σ, σ’= Stimulations S = Sentence S
M = Affirmative stimulus meaning
A(k), D(k) = Speaker’s Assent/Disent
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13. Pragmatics
The study of language usage in
relation with our acting upon
others or in response of others’
acting upon ourselves
“How to do things with words”
John Austin
12
14. Pragmatics & Translation
As translators, we are called upon
the difficult task of unveiling what
other people are doing with their
words in order to let speakers of
other languages understand that
as well
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15. Historic Stimulus Meaning
Set of diachronic stimulations
—origin, ethimology, variations—
consciously or unconsciously present
which allow for a broader
understanding of the term in different
contexts with different connotations
14
16. Current Stimulus Meaning
Set of synchronic stimulations
—current usage, register, impact—
that prompt the speaker’s assent
allowing him to understand and
apply the term in specific contexts
with particular connotations
15
17. Danica Seleskovitch’s Approach
The more closely related two cultures
are, the more translatable their
languages will be
La saisie du sens hors langue
La réexpression de ce sens dans la langue
cible
16
18. Translation of Idioms
In order to evaluate the
translatability of an idiom, we need
to establish the proximity of the two
cultures regarding such idiom
17
19. Translatability of Idioms
If the literal translation of an idiom is
understood—with or without further
explanation—in the target language
culture, this means the two cultures are
related in the domain pertaining the
understanding of the idiom, and the idiom
may, indeed, be translated.
18
20. Translatability of Idioms A
If the literal translation of an idiom is
understood in the target language culture
without further explanation, this means the
two cultures are closely related in the
domain pertaining the idiom and the idiom
may, indeed, be translated by an expression
that will probably draw from the same or a
comparable experiential world.
19
21. Comparable Experiential World
Spanish: MORIRSE DE RISA
French literal: MOURIR DE RIRES
English literal: DIE OF LAUGHTER
20
laugh loud and long / laugh until you ache
23. Translatability of Idioms B
If the literal translation of an idiom needs
further explanation in the target language
culture to be understood, this means the two
cultures are not closely related in the domain
pertaining the idiom and the idiom may, or
may not, be translatable.
22
24. Translatability of Idioms B cont’d
If translatable, the target language rendering
will either resort to a semantic solution
(where the expression may be mentioned or
explained rather than used), or draw from an
experiential world different from that in the
source language.
23
28. Step 1: Literal Translation
Spanish: ME COSTÓ UN PERÚ
French: ÇA M’A COÛTÉ UN PÉROU
English: IT COST ME ONE PERU
27
29. From Colonial Times cont’d
Current stimulus meaning: great effort on the
part of the speaker, usually more than the
speaker reckoned necessary when he set out
to do a certain task
Historic stimulus meaning: Spain colonies
fighting for their independence, during the
first part of the 19th
century
28
30. Step 2: Adapted Translation
Spanish: ME COSTÓ UN PERÚ
French: ÇA M’A COÛTÉ
UN WATERLOO
English: IT COST ME A WATERLOO
29
31. Step 3: Semantic Translation
Spanish: ME COSTÓ UN PERÚ
French: J'AI DU FAIRE
BEAUCOUP D'EFFORT
English: IT TOOK ME
A GREAT EFFORT
30
32. Step 4: Idiomatic Translation
Spanish: ME COSTÓ UN PERÚ
French: ÇA M’A COÛTÉ TRÈS CHER
English: IT COST ME DEARLY
31
Note: to cost an armand a leg or
coûter la peau des fesses /les yeux de la tête
refer specifically to money
33. From the Times of Fables
French: NE VENDEZ PAS LA PEAU
DE L’OURS AVANT DE L’AVOIR TUÉ
32
34. Step 1: Literal Translation
French: NE VENDEZ PAS LA PEAU
DE L’OURS AVANT DE L’AVOIR TUÉ
English: DON’T SELL THE BEAR’S
FUR BEFORE YOU’VE KILLED IT
33
35. From the Times of Fables cont’d
Current stimulus meaning: This idiom
reminds you that you should not anticipate
the results of an action that has not yet
taken place
Historic stimulus meaning: Drawn from the
moral of the fable “The Bear and the Two
Friends” by Jean de La Fontaine (1621-1695)
34
36. From the Times of Fables cont’d
Il m ’a dit qu ’il ne faut
jamais
Vendre la peau de l'ours
qu'on ne l'ait mis par terre
35
37. From the Times of Fables cont’d
ÆSOP
“The bear and the two travelers”
→ image of the bear
whispering to the laying man
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38. From the Times of Fables cont’d
ABSTEMIUS
→ idea of the fur for sale
PHILIPPE DE COMMINES
→ entire story as historic event
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39. Step 2: Adapted Translation
38
French: NE VENDEZ PAS LA PEAU
DE L’OURS AVANT DE L’AVOIR TUÉ
English: DON’T SELL THE GOLD YOU
HAVEN’T YET FOUND
40. Step 3: Semantic Translation
39
French: NE VENDEZ PAS LA PEAU
DE L’OURS AVANT DE L’AVOIR TUÉ
English: DON’T DEPEND HEAVILY
ON PLANS YOU’RE NOT SURE OF
41. Step 4: Idiomatic Translation
40
French: NE VENDEZ PAS LA PEAU
DE L’OURS AVANT DE L’AVOIR TUÉ
English: DON’T COUNT
YOUR CHICKENS
BEFORE THEY'RE
HATCHED
42. Conclusions
41
Notion of historic and current stimulus
meaning
Determine both the driving force —
diachronic—and the manifest force —
synchronic— of the idiomatic
expressions
45. Conclusions cont’d
44
Translation sequence:
3. Semantic Translation
→ an explanation, rather than a
translation
- if adapted translation not satisfaying
- it may be the culmination of the process
46. Conclusions cont’d
45
Translation sequence:
4. Idiomatic Translation
→ drawing from a different experiential
world, in which case the historic
stimulus meaning of the idiom will
probably be lost, thus rescuing only its
current force
47. Conclusions cont’d
46
The more an idiom draws from peculiar
aspects within a culture, the less its literal
translation will be understood without
further explanation, making it necessary to
run through these different steps in order to
obtain—or come closer to—an idiomatic
translation that sounds right to the native
speaker
49. Epilogue cont’d
48
“Faced with a choice between [two words],
the translator does not put the words on trial
and engage attorneys to defend and accuse.
Most probably, he hears the words in some
corner of his mind, and likes the sound of
one better than the other.”
William Weaver
50. Epilogue cont’d
49
Not only is it important to resort to
our own ear in translation, but to
constantly remember the ear of the
audience
