ARTICLE
AND ITS TRANSLATED ACCURACY IN KAZAKH
LANGUAGE
Anasheva Dariga, senior teacher. Eurasian
National University, Astana
Kazakhstan
Translation is a process and the result of turning a
text from one language into another, which means expressing the same by the
signs of a different language. Bearing in mind that every sign has two planes
(plane of expression and plane of content) the essence of translation could be
described as changing the elements of the expression plane while the plane of
content remains constant.
One of the main difficulties of translating lies in the fact
that the meaning of the whole text is not exhausted by the sum of meanings of
its elements. The meaning of a text is made up by words, characterized by their
denotative and connotative meanings and stylistic reference, syntactic meaning
of sentences, suprasegmental elements and lexico-semantic connections between
words and phrases.
Every language is
characterized by a specific structure of its lexico-grammatical fields and has
its own lexical, morphological and syntactic systems. It may result in lack of
coincidence between the means of expressing the same content in SL (source language)
and TL (target language). Translation as an activity is a task which has been
performed for centuries. This is an activity whose main concern is to
facilitate the communication process. The professional translator reaches this
goal by translating the information received in a foreign language into the
language of the person who required his services, and vice versa. When this
complex process is carried out in a factual communicative situation, then it is
possible to say that translation has reached its ultimate goal: to ease
communication in advantage of the understanding of people from different
linguistic systems.
That is why good practical knowledge of the two languages is
quite necessary but not sufficient for translating. Besides this knowledge one
must possess a number of skills and be guided by a number of principles worked
out by the theory of translation.
Translation, the Italians say,
is a treachery. To a large extent, they are true. Few translations succeed in
conveying the meaning of the original with both accuracy and beauty. Certainly,
the translation of Kazakh literature into English and vice versa provides
plenty of pitfalls examples.
The two languages, and the two cultures are far apart. To
bring them closer together through the arduous act of translation requires a
series of finely-judged compromises.
Is there a problem in our
country (Kazakhstan) with translation from English to Kazakh?
We don’t deny that in
Kazakhstan such a problem exists. But how can it be resolved?
The essence of the problem is that in Kazakhstan for many
years the English language was taught not in Kazakh, but in Russian. In Kazakh
schools, whether located in a rural area or in the city, English was not taught
in the students’ native language. Education in foreign languages in a student’s
native Kazakh was a great rarity. For example, in our practice there was only
one English textbook in Kazakh language: English- Ағылшын Тілі (1981).
The same situation existed not
only at schools, but in higher institutions too.
By the end of the 1980-90s, however, the situation had begun
to change. As a result, today in Kazakh schools English is taught not in
Russian, but in Kazakh. In higher universities students now study English in
Kazakh. A significant factor is that the number of English- Kazakh – languages
students at higher universities is rapidly increasing and has reached 65%. If one considers that during the existance
of the Soviet Union lessons were conducted in Russian in higher universities
and specialized secondary education, except for pedagogical institutes, today
65% is a significant achievement. In his Letter to the People of Kazakhstan, “
A New Kazakhstan in a New World”, our president N.Nazarbaev emphasized: “ ... I
propose that the “Linguistic Triunity” cultural project be put into gradual
execution. Kazakhstan must be perceived throughout the world as a highly
educated country, whose population employs three languages...”
In this regard it is essential
to systematically conduct the development of Kazakh as the state language,
Russian as the language of international commerce, and English as the language
of the global economy, and to view this as one of the top priorities of state
liguistic policy.
Concerning our president’s words a very interesting point
of view is held by William Fierman, director of the Center for Central Asian
and Kazakh Studies of the University of Seattle (USA). Here is what he said in
response to the question on how he views the Kazakhstan president’s initiative
for implementing linguistic triunity in the country: “In my opinion, this idea
is a correct one, and will promote the development of the state. According to
the Constitution Kazakh is the state language. English, oddly enough, has very
quickly begun to occupy a significant place in Kazakhstan, which is a very
positive trend”.
In the matter of translation
from English to Kazakh specific challenges arise with regard to linguistic
particularities.
To translate English
grammatical forms and constructions one should not necessarily look for the same forms and constructions in Kazakh
language – there may be none. Nevertheless, it is always possible to translate
them adequately since it is not the form itself but its meaning and function in
the sentence that should be rendered in translation. That is why translation of
any such unit should begin with its semantic and functional analysis. It can be
illustrated with the problem of rendering the definite and indefinite articles.
Article (definite,
indefinite and “zero”) is a guide of a noun in English language.
Availability of an article is one of the typological characteristics of modern
English language. Unless articles have some special role in the sentence or
some additional meaning, they are not translated at all – they are merely
omitted. In Kazakh language an article,
in general, doesn’t exist. There are
only some correspondences. A translator should resort to some means of Kazakh
language- word-order, different parts
of speech.
E.g. At the theatre a girl
asked to change places. The girl wanted to sit next to her friend. - Театрда бір жас бойжеткен
орнымызбен ауысуды өтінді. Ол қыз өз құрбысымен
қатар отырғысы келді.
In this example it is obvious, that “бір” – the determinant of the
noun “girl”, but not the numeral “one”; this word is corresponded to the
indefinite article (a girl). A demonstrative pronoun “бұл, осы” is corresponded to the
definite article (the girl).
An article in the
translation is often omitted. However, some meanings of an article in English
language requires certain ways of transferance into Kazakh language.
The peculiarities of the definite article
translation:
1. The definite
article in front of a proper name can be transfered to Kazakh language by
demonstrative pronouns or other words as: сол, ол, анау, осы, бәрі, барлығі, бүкіл, бұл
E.g. a/ It was the Michael I
knew very well – Бұл сол Майкл еді
2. In the translation of the definite article in
front of a name of a country, city, an event
or phenomenon, can be used the means of lexical transformations as
addition. Besides in different contexts the content of these additions is
changed: thus, a noun “war” with the definite article depending on context can
denote 2 дүниежүзілік соғыс және Соғыс Афганистанда. The Depression can be translated
as “ Үлкен
дағдарыс”
b/ England is grey
industrial cities – Leeds and Bradford, Newcastle and Birmingham – That’s the
England that counts. – Лидс, Брэдфорд, Ньюкасл және Бирмингем
Англияның өнеркәсіп қалалары. Бұл Англияның
шынайы бет бейнесі.
c/ The allies took big political
risks at home by agreeing to base the new missiles in their countries. – Өз
мемлекетінің территориясына осы жаңа ракеталарды
орналастыруға келісіп Европалық одақтастар өте
үлкен саяси бәс тікті.
d/ She is the right person to
speak to on this matter - Ол осы жайында сөйлесуге болатын дәл сол
адам.
e/ I’m sure you’ll like the place
– Соған осы орын
ұнайтынына мен сенімдімі f/ He is no longer the Johnson we used to know
- Ол енді біз білетін Джонсон емес
The peculiarities of the
indefinite article translation:
1.
Pointing out the object
belonging to
different classes and its quality sign, article is usually translated to Kazakh
language by following words: осындай, осы, мұндай, мынадай, біреу, бір, жаңа, таныс, атақты, белгілі,
әр, қайсысы, әрқайсы және басқа, деген.
E.g. a/ The only sensible solution in this area is a peace which would
withdraw military troops – Осы аймақтағы сұрақтың
бірден-бір дұрыс шешімі әскерді шығаруды қамтамасыз ете
алатын бейбітшілік.
b/ They have an interest
in exaggerations – Олардың асыра
айтуға танымал қызығушылықтары бар.
с/ He was introduced to a Mr.
Smith. – Ол Смит деген біреумен
таныстырылды.
d/A passenger was looking for a
place to put his bag - Бір жолаушы өз
сөмкелерін қоятын орын іздеді.
e/ A Mr.
Brown has left a message for you - Сізге Браун деген мырза хабарлама тастап кетті.
f/ I have found a fellow
student who agreed to help me – Мен
маған көмек беруге келіскен бір курстасымды таптым.
g/ This is an
approach not everybody will agree to - Бұл бәрі келісе бермейтін сондай бір
әдіс.
For words combination norm
adherence in Kazakh language the means of addition is used in cases when a noun
with the indefinite article are preceded by the following verbs: to call for,
to announce, to seek, to favour, to propose, to drive, to plan, to wage, etc,
or nouns with the same meaning: proposal, appeal, etc.
E.g. The Prime
Minister called for a top-level conference on disarmament. – Премьер-министр жоғары деңгейде
қарусыздандыруға байланысты конференция өткізуге
шақырды.
3. When the article takes part
in determination of utterance core, in Kazakh language this meaning is often
tranfered by inversion (word-order change):
E.g. A plan of action
was worked out, thoroughly and in great detail.- Іс-әрекет жоспары
тыңғылықты және егжей-тегжейлі етіп
құрылды.
4. In some cases the use or the indefinite article absence
changes a word meaning:
E.g. He has a few
objections, but they are unimportant. – Оның бірнеше қарсылығы бар,
бірақ олар жарамсыз.
Peculiar cases of article
transference:
The sooner you do it, the better – Сіз мұны қанша тез жасасаңыз,
соншалықты жақсы.
The process of adaptation proceeds
the quicker the sooner international students start their program – Ортаға
үйрену үдерісі шет елдік студенттер қаншалықты тез
бастаса, соншалықты тез өтеді.
He is a most interesting
person - Ол ең қызық адам
To sum up, having contemplated
the necessity and importance of English language in our developng country, an
arduous objective of its realization, the different aspects of translation
especially the problem of articles translation from English to Kazakh
(mentioned above), we can confidently respond to the question: How can the
problem of translation be resolved? It can be resolved only in extensive
discussion all over the world.
Reference:
1.
Бархударов Я.С., Рецкер
Я.И. Курс лекций по теории перевода. М., Изд-во МГПИПЯ, 1968
2.
Комиссаров В.Н. Слово о
переводе. М., «Международные отношения»
3.
Петрова О.В. Введение в
теорию и практику перевода. М., Восток-запад 2006
4.
Дмитриева ЛФ., Кунцевич
С.Е. Курс перевода. Изд-во «МарТ»
5. A new Kazakhstan in
a new world. Letter from the President to the People of Kazakhstan. Astana,
April 28, 2008
6. “Linguistic
Triunity”, Arken Seitov, Baiterek magazine
7. On the State
Program for Linguistic Functioning and Development for 2001-2010. Order No. 550
of the Republic of Kazakhstan President dated February 7, 2001
Мои данные:
Anasheva Dariga
Eurasian National University,
senior teacher
Astana, Republic avenue 30
(66) flat 63
Phone number 33-33-82
Mobile – 87013771796
E-mail: Dariga_kz@list.ru