translation theory and practice: situation in latvia after world war ii sintija blumberga ventspils...
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TRANSLATION THEORY AND PRACTICE: SITUATION IN LATVIA AFTER WORLD
WAR II
Sintija BlumbergaVentspils University College
2nd INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF APPLIED LINGUISTICSLanguages and people: dialogues and contacts
23 – 24 September 2010Vilnius University
THE OVERALL SITUATION
Role of translation in Latvia grows
Companies providing translation services are being established
Educational programmes for translators and interpreters are being offered
Experienced faculty, dictionaries, specially equipped lecture-rooms and specific programmes as well as a theoretical basis is needed
DEVELOPMENT OF TRANSLATION THEORY AND PRACTICE IN
LATVIA
Few doctoral theses dedicated to some historical aspects of translations
Some short reviews on translations covering a particular period
Several studies of literary contacts
Some translations and translators occasionally mentioned in publications on the history of Latvian literature
↓There is no single bibliography covering translation
theory and practice in Latvia
“TRANSLATION THEORY AND PRACTICE IN LATVIA: ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 1945 – 2006”
Three sub-periods:1) From the end of WW2 to 19682) From 1969 to 1991 when Latvia regained its
independence3) From 1991 to the present
Aims of the project:To find and study all publications in Latvia related to the
problems of translationTo classify the publications into groups according to
definite principlesTo place the whole bibliography on the Internet
LATVIA – PART OF THE USSR
Main area of translation – literary translations
Translation is neither a private affair nor a fully domestic concern of Latvia
Translation is an important part of ideological, administrative, and cultural integration
Rapid development of translation science takes place
Translation quality becomes an important issue
SITUATION AFTER REGAINING INDEPENDENCE IN 1991
Latvia faces unlimited access to information on translation theory and practice in the West
Lack of information on translation theory and practice in Latvia in the past still remains a problem
English becomes the dominant contact language
Literal or word-for-for translation – one of the most alarming translation problems
MOST COMMON FEATURES OF LITERAL TRANSLATION
1) Foreign (English) syntactic constructions and punctuation.
ENGLISH LATVIAN (influenced) LATVIAN (standard)
However, they should not exist on the basis of stereotypes or some other things.
Tomēr, tām nevajadzētu pastāvēt uz kaut kādu stereotipu vai citu lietu principiem.
Tomēr tām nevajadzētu pastāvēt uz kaut kādu stereotipu vai citu lietu principiem.
Farmers in Switzerland are controlled by environmental organizations.
Zemnieki Šveicē tiek kontrolēti no organizācijām, kas rūpējas par vides aizsardzību.
Zemniekus Šveicē kontrolē organizācijas, kas rūpējas par vides aizsardzību.
Delivery of packages and small cargo to and from European countries.
Paku un mazgabarīta kravu piegāde uz un no Eiropas valstīm.
Paku un mazgabarīta kravu piegāde uz Eiropas valstīm un no tām.
MOST COMMON FEATURES OF LITERAL TRANSLATION
2) False friends of translator – pairs of words in two languages that look or sound similar, but partly or fully differ in meaning.WORD IN ENGLISH
FALSE FRIEND (in Latvian)
WHERE IS THE MISTAKE?
ambitious ambiciozs In Latvian “ambiciozs” means “pushy”.
carbon karbons In Latvian “karbons” means one of the geological time periods – “carboniferous period”.
decade dekāde In Latvian “dekāde” is a period of ten days.
factor faktors In Latvian “faktors” is an essential, necessary condition.
philosophy filozofija In Latvian “filozofija” is a science and its object is everything that exists together with its content and essence.
technology tehnoloģija In Latvian “tehnoloģija” is a scientific discipline that investigates changes of quality of raw materials, semi-manufactured goods and products during the process of production.
vision vīzija In Latvian “vīzija” is an image of phantasm or dream.
MOST COMMON FEATURES OF LITERAL TRANSLATION
3) Use of capital letters (in headlines, titles) and other graphical features (use of double brackets, colon, hyphen, & and other)ENGLISH LATVIAN (influenced) LATVIAN (standard)
Warm & Sweet Silti & Saldi Silti un saldi
Appendix 2 Pielikums 2 2. pielikums
1980-ies/ 1980’ies/ 1980s/ 1980ies
1980.-ie gadi 20. gadsimta 80. gadi
Eastern- and Central Europe
Austrum- un Centrāleiropa
Austrumeiropa un Centrāleiropa
European Investment Bank
Eiropas Investīciju Banka Eiropas Investīciju banka
Growth for 2.9%... Pieaugums 2.9% apmērā... Pieaugums 2,9% apjomā...
CONCLUSIONS
Word-for-word or literal translation has deep roots in Latvian
Since the last quarter of the 19th century standardisers have eliminated many undesirable contact-influenced features
In recent 15 years increased outside pressure has left some new unacceptable footprints in Latvian
Language specialists try to draw public attention to widespread deviations from Standard Latvian
Small languages always feel pressure from large languages
Most important thing is not to be indifferent or neglectful towards native language
