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Трудности перевода текста

Банарцева Арина Владимировна
старший преподаватель кафедры иностранных языков, Самарский государственный технический университет, РФ, г.Самара, agnetha@bk.ru

Аннотация: В данной статье мы пытались ответить на вопрос, что можно считать критерием хорошего перевода. И почему даже в наш век развития компьютерных технологий, когда с помощью вычислительной техники решаются практически любые задачи, невозможен качественный машинный перевод. У компьютера умолчание может иметь только один вариант, а у человека — множество. Человек мыслит ассоциативно и может из нескольких вариантов выбрать именно тот, который в данном случае уместен. Именно выбор правильного варианта и является основной сложностью в работе переводчика. Исследуя вопрос – помогает или мешает электронный переводчик студентам при переводе текста с английского языка на русский – мы провели эксперимент, и результаты этого эксперимента представлены в данной статье.
Ключевые слова: электронный переводчик, компьютерные технологии, технический перевод, адекватный перевод, смешенное обучение

Banartseva Arina Vladimirovna
senior lecturer, Department of Foreign Languages, Samara State Technical University 244 Molodogvardeiskaya str., 443100

Abstract: In this article we try to answer the question - what is the criterion for a good translation. And why even in our age of computer technologies, when virtually any tasks can be solved with the help of computers, it is impossible to achieve high-quality machine translation. The fact is that with a computer, default can have only one option, and in a person - a lot. A person thinks associatively and can choose from several options the one that is appropriate in this case. It is the choice of the right option that is the main difficulty in the work of a translator. Studying the question whether an electronic translator helps or hinders students in translating texts from English into Russian, we conducted an experiment, and the results of this experiment are presented in this article.
Keywords: electronic translator, computer technology, technical translation, adequate translation, blended learning

While working on a translation, every translator tries to answer a question- what is the criterion for a good translation? First of all, it is necessary to determine the most common difficulties. It is no secret that our students actively use electronic (machine) translators. But the question is if they really help them. Any, even the most powerful, electronic translator gives out texts not only extremely low in terms of literary qualities, but sometimes completely meaningless. The fact is that the translator must have a soul, emotions and associative thinking. That is the reason why no artificial intelligence will ever be able to perform a quality translation [1]. Therefore, we can say that the profession of a translator will always be in demand. Let's analyze why the above qualities are so necessary for qualified translation of texts.

The answer is that all human languages, unlike machine languages, have one feature in common - the polysemy of words. The same word, depending on the context, can mean completely different things. The reason for this phenomenon is rooted in the fact that people to a much greater extent than computers use a system of so-called defaults. For example, if you ask a colleague at work where he lives, he will never answer that he lives in the solar system, on planet Earth, in the country of Russia, etc. He doesn’t need all these details because his colleague also lives in Russia, and this superfluous unnecessary information, starting with the solar system, can be omitted [2]. The default system implies that the one who receives the message has some basic information to reduce unnecessary details. However, the same system is used in computers. Then what prevents the computer from normally translating texts?

The fact is that with a computer, default can have only one option, and in a person - a lot. A person thinks associatively and can choose from several options the one that is appropriate in this case. It is the choice of the right option that is the main difficulty in the work of a translator. In each language, a large percentage of words has several meanings [4]. We all know about homonyms, that is, words spelled the same way, but having slightly different meanings. But there are ambiguous words that have shades of meanings, although close in meaning, but still different. Take, for example, the word pig. This word can have several meanings: 1. Animal swine 2. Untidy, dirty man. 3. Various types of scrapers and inspection tools.

The meanings are somewhere close (swine – untidy person), but still they mean completely different things. And there are a huge number of such words in any language.

The best way to overcome this difficulty is to develop a flair or insight for semantic inconsistencies in the translation. The translator should try to “sense” the text. And, probably, we can say in this context if a translator is good or bad. There are people who easily and naturally feel the most subtle semantic shades, but there are those who find it difficult. If something causes discomfort for the translator, a feeling of some semantic inconsistency, it means the wrong word has been chosen. Thus, it is necessary to study the text more carefully, trying on all translation options for a given context [3]. The best help in solving this type of problem is a large and detailed dictionary, where extensive articles are devoted to words, listing not only all its meanings, but also citing numerous examples of its use in various contexts. Another difficult aspect of the translation is the phenomenon of using ordinary words in a highly specialized meaning. This is precisely the case that the electronic translator does not do well, and which “entertains” students and teachers during classes (we can take as an example the same word “pig” in the meaning of “scrapers and inspection tools”).

The only effective way to solve this problem, which is especially common in technical, scientific and other special translations, is to have a special dictionary on the subject. If a translator has the slightest sensation that the "puzzle" is not adding up, he/she must immediately turn to the dictionary to identify special meanings of the "drop-down" common word.

Another big challenge is translation of phraseological units. The masters of linguistics state that a person is proficient in a language when he masters most of its phraseological units. In the classroom with our regular full-time students, we do not pay special attention to the translation of phraseological units, but we try to include them in the exercises with advanced students. A way to solve the problem of phraseological units in translation is to study them in detail and to be attentive to the context, especially if the text is humorous. If the words in the text do not fit well with each other, do not fit the given context in meaning, this is a sure sign of phraseologism [6]. Particular attention should be paid to the translation if the text mentions that someone said the phrase that caused general laughter, but there seems to be nothing funny in the translation of this phrase into Russian.

Jokes based on pun (wordplay) can generally remain beyond the understanding of the translator if he does not speak the language at a sufficient level. For example, the phrase “I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. I just can't put it down” can be understood by both a Russian-speaking and an English-speaking listener. It seems more difficult to translate into Russian such jokes as: “Broken pencils are pointless”, “Why were the Indians here first? They had reservations” or “I used to be a banker, but then I lost interest”. The fact is that in most cases it is not possible to translate the phraseological pun, it is only possible to find a more or less adequate equivalent in the language of translation, and this requires a remarkable imagination and sharpness of mind from the translator. By the way, the Russian phraseology “English humor”, which means flat wit, came precisely from the fact that the British were always great lovers of using the pun in their jokes, and only real masters can adequately convey it in translation [5]. Concluding this short review, I want to emphasize again that the translator must learn to sense the text, to feel those semantic inconsistencies, roughnesses that are caused by the wrong choice of word or lack of knowledge of the phraseological meaning of the phrase in question. It is this ability to feel and sense is the clue to qualified and adequate translation, a skill that no machine can ever boast of.

Studying the question of whether an electronic translator helps or hinders students in translating texts from English into Russian, we conducted the following experiment. The group of students was divided into two parts, one of them was recommended to translate the text using a machine translator, and the other was allowed to use only the electronic dictionary (Multitran). The abilities and capabilities of students were studied for the purity of the experiment along with technical capabilities. The results of the study showed that a group of students using only an electronic dictionary handled translation better than the group that had to edit machine translation. The reason for the lack of translation of most of the students in the second group (it should be noted that in the first and second groups there were students who did the job brilliantly) was that they were afraid to tear themselves away from the English sentence structure (place “subject-rem”, the predominance of the passive voice in the English text, etc.), did not always understand the meanings of the words proposed by the electronic translator, and in some cases there was a problem with understanding the subject of the text (It was a scientific and journalistic text on Spirit landing on Mars). In our study, most factors such as grades for the material studied, emotional factors, intrinsic motivation can also be indicators of learning outcomes.

The study also showed that less motivated students showed a low level of translation. It can also be noted that the interest of students, as a motivation factor, contributes to their involvement in the educational process and leads to high efficiency in translation of foreign texts.

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