Biblical Lexicography and the Semantic Structure of the Target Language: The Case of ‮אַךְ‬‎

The article examines the semantic structure of the two Bulgarian verbs of misvaluation, подценявам ‘underestimate’ and надценявам ‘overestimate’. Attention is drawn to the ambivalence of their position in the semantic typology of predicates, notably their features/traits stemming from the presence of an interpretive component. With reference to the Bulgarian National Corpus, the article outlines the most common options for ﬁlling the positions of the participants and the main contexts in which the verbs occur. Some issues in translation into Russian are shown, which exist despite the availability of full equivalents in the target language.

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Approaching secondary term formation through the analysis of multiword units

Terminology ◽

10.1075/term.18.1.06san ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

pp. 105-127 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Lara Sanz Vicente

Keyword(s):

Remote Sensing ◽

Target Language ◽

Strong Preference ◽

Semantic Structure ◽

Research Papers ◽

Dominant Language ◽

Contrastive Study ◽

Multiword Units ◽

Noun Compounds

Secondary term formation is a process of undeniable importance in modern specialised communication due to the dominance of English. However, empirical works and methodologies to approach this issue on specialised neology are scarce. This paper describes a contrastive study that proposes to tackle secondary term formation by addressing the most productive units in term formation in the dominant language, syntagmatic noun compounds. It describes and compares these multiword units in an English-Spanish comparable corpus containing research papers in the field of remote sensing. The compounds originating in the language of primary term formation are analysed first and then compared to the resulting units in the target language, with special attention paid to their morphosyntactic and semantic structure. Finally, the influence of English in the Spanish equivalents is assessed through the identification of the transferring procedures used to import them. The results show a strong preference for loan translations in this process.

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Etymology and sememe analysis in translation

Babel ◽

10.1075/babel.55.2.04hu ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 55 (2) ◽

pp. 153-164

Author(s):

Hu Zhengmao

Keyword(s):

Qualitative Method ◽

English Word ◽

Target Language ◽

Semantic Structure ◽

Comprehensive Understanding ◽

Source Language ◽

Semantic Proximity ◽

Semantic Evolution ◽

Dictionary Definitions

It is common to see various Chinese translations of a single English word/phrase in practice. Etymological tracing attempts to diachronically study the origin and its historical successive changes in both form and meaning of a given word/phrase, the purpose of which is acquisition of a comprehensive understanding of its core information. Sememe analysis is atomization of semantic components and deep semantic structure of both source language and target language to examine the semantic proximity and possible affinity between the two. This paper takes “stakeholder” and its Chinese translations as a case in point, for which there occurred a diplomatic and linguistic stir between the U. S. and China. By studying its origin, semantic evolution and dictionary definitions, and conducting a contrastive sememe analysis upon its various Chinese versions against the original word, this paper expounds the operationality of the qualitative method of etymological tracing and the quantitative one of sememe analysis and concludes that both etymological tracing and sememe analysis are viable approaches to tackling similar issues as seen in the case of “stakeholder”.

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Chope dos Mortos – a tradução de jogos de palavras em um estudo direcionado pelo corpus / Beer Hall of the Dead – the translation of puns in a corpus-driven study

Texto Livre Linguagem e Tecnologia ◽

10.17851/1983-3652.11.1.24-42 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 24-42

Author(s):

Nilson Roberto Barros da Silva

Keyword(s):

Corpus Linguistics ◽

English Language ◽

Methodological Approach ◽

Formal Structure ◽

Target Language ◽

Semantic Structure ◽

The Novel ◽

Translation Strategies ◽

The Dead ◽

Beer Hall

RESUMO: Este trabalho discute a tradução de jogos de palavras (JPs) na direção português-inglês, mais especificamente o JP intitulado ‘Chope dos Mortos’, que faz parte do romance O xangô de Baker Street (SOARES, 1995). O artigo é o recorte de nossa tese de doutorado, e tem como objetivo analisar a tradução do JP citado para a língua inglesa. Utiliza-se da abordagem teórico-metodológica da Linguística de Corpus para selecionar o JP como dado a ser analisado na pesquisa e identifica-se como um estudo direcionado pelo corpus, conforme discutido por Tognini-Bonelli (2001). A análise baseia-se principalmente nas estratégias de tradução de JPs apresentadas por Delabastita (1996) e considera, dentre outras, as postulações de Raskin (1985) e Attardo (1994). Como resultado, verifica-se que as estratégias de tradução usadas para recriar (traduzir) o JP em inglês são compatíveis com a estratégia JP → JP, em que um JP é traduzido por outro na língua-alvo, sendo permitidas diferenças em termos de estrutura formal, estrutura semântica ou função textual.PALAVRAS-CHAVE: tradução; jogos de palavras; Linguística de Corpus. ABSTRACT: This study discusses the translation of puns in the Portuguese-English direction, more specifically the pun 'Beer hall of the dead', which is part of the novel O xangô de Baker Street (SOARES, 1995), translated into English as 'A samba for Sherlock'. The article derives from our doctoral thesis, and aims to analyze the translation of the pun into the English language. It uses the theoretical-methodological approach of Corpus Linguistics to select puns as data to be analyzed and is characterized as a 'corpus-driven approach' as discussed by Tognini-Bonelli (2001). The analysis is based mainly on the strategies of pun translation presented by Delabastita (1996) and takes into account theoretical conceptions of Raskin (1985) and Attardo (1994). As a result, it verifies that the translation strategies used to recreate the pun in English are compatible with the PUN → PUN strategy, in which a pun is translated by another one in the target language, being allowed differences in terms of formal structure, semantic structure, or textual function.KEYWORDS: translation; puns; Corpus Linguistics.

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The Lexical Transfer of Arabic Non-core Lexicon: Sura 113 of the Qur'an – al-Falaq (The Splitting)1

Journal of Qur anic Studies ◽

10.3366/jqs.2002.4.2.61 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 61-81 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Afnan H. Fatani

Keyword(s):

Target Language ◽

Semantic Structure ◽

Arabic Linguistics ◽

Wide Range ◽

Multi Level ◽

Semantic Errors ◽

Core Lexicon ◽

Linguistic Approach ◽

Lexical Transfer ◽

Theories Of Meaning

This paper is an attempt to stimulate a more scientific and linguistic approach to Qur'an-translation than has hitherto been undertaken. Various theories of meaning widely employed in semantics are mobilised to illustrate the referential versatility of Arabic non-core lexemes and to highlight the semantic errors of transfer that this versatility generates. Recent advances in the field of descriptive semantics have greatly enhanced our interlingual ability to translate texts, especially the more difficult texts that rely heavily on ‘non-core lexicon’, the formal, learned and less familiar lexemes of a language-system. However, it is clear from a reading of recent research in Arabic linguistics that serious problems still remain for researchers interested in transferring the non-core lexicon of Arabic into English, basically because of the wide range of referential meanings that Arabic non-core lexemes can exhibit. My approach is based on the premise that the referential versatility of Arabic non-core lexicon can be better appreciated when the hidden errors of lexical transfer inscribed in existing target language (TL) texts are exposed and clearly explicated. In order to expose the semantic gaps between source language (SL) and TL lexicon, this study adopts a multi-level or glossed procedure of translation that would more faithfully reproduce the morpho-semantic structure of the SL text.

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Equivalent Culture-Anchored Units Translation? The Phraseological Units Issue

Cognitive Studies | Études cognitives ◽

10.11649/cs.2016.006 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 57-64

Author(s):

Maciej Paweł Jaskot

Keyword(s):

Target Language ◽

Semantic Structure ◽

Form Parameter ◽

Source Language ◽

Translational Equivalence

Equivalent Culture-Anchored Units Translation? The Phraseological Units IssueThis article examines a question that has been of long-standing interest to linguists working in the fields of cross-linguistic phraseology and the translation of idiosyncratic language units, such as phraseological units (PUs). The challenge of translating PUs, which are understood as "patterns sanctioned by a given culture", involves the translation of culturemes. Therefore, a good translator must be able to assess the importance of the elements containing cultural references in the source language while "moving" them to the target language. When translating PUs, it is desirable that interlingual (cross-linguistic) equivalence be achieved. The fact that translations of a PU can be very different (the translator can paraphrase the text, creatively change it, or simply eliminate the PU) implies that the translational equivalence of PUs must be functional. While a cross-linguistic comparison (and the achievement of translational equivalence) of PUs can be made by omitting the form parameter, it is desirable to preserve the extension and semantic structure, the connotative-pragmatic component, and the phrase combinatorics. Ekwiwalencja jedostek "kulturowo zakotwiczonych"? Kwestia jednostek frazeologicznychArtykuł porusza zagadnienie, które od kilkudziesięciu lat cieszy się zainteresowaniem językoznawców zajmujących się konfrontacją językową frazeologii oraz tłumaczeniem idiosynkratycznych jednostek językowych, takich jak jednostki frazeologiczne (JF). Wyzwaniem podczas tłumaczenia JF, rozumianych jako "wzorce sankcjonowane przez daną kulturę", jawi się konieczność tłumaczenia kulturemów. Tłumacz zatem stoi w obliczu konieczności prawidłowej oceny danego elementu pod względem jego odniesień kulturowych w języku źródłowym podczas przekładania JF na język docelowy. Podczas tłumaczenia JF pożądane jest osiągnięcie międzyjęzykowej (cross-linguistic) ekwiwalencji. Fakt, że tłumaczenie JF może być wielorakie (tłumacz może parafrazować tekst, twórczo go zmienić lub po prostu wyeliminować JF), oznacza, że ekwiwalencja przekładu JF musi być funkcjonalna. Chociaż podczas międzyjęzykowego porównania (mającego na celu osiągnięcie translacyjnej równoważności) JF ich forma jest rzeczą drugorzędną, to wskazane jest, aby zachować ich rozszerzenie znaczeniowe i strukturę semantyczną, aspekt konotacyjno-pragmatyczny oraz łączliwość.

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Vocabulary acquisition by advanced learners

Australian Review of Applied Linguistics Series S ◽

10.1075/aralss.15.11yos ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 15 ◽

pp. 169-182 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Mariko Yoshikawa

Keyword(s):

Confounding Factor ◽

Semantic Knowledge ◽

Target Language ◽

Semantic Structure ◽

Single Word ◽

Advanced Learners ◽

Advanced Level ◽

Five Factors ◽

English Speaking ◽

Lexical Errors

AbstractThis paper looks at the acquisition of the vocabulary used in daily conversation by advanced level English speaking learners of Japanese language. Five factors which were found to affect learners’ acquisition are discussed. The aim of this paper is to discuss lexical errors made by advanced learners of Japanese and identify the factors which hinder their lexical acquisition by focusing on intralexical factors and interlexical factors. The data was obtained from interviews with fourteen advanced level students. The findings of the study reveal that interlexical divergence of semantic structure is the most common reason for advanced learners failure to acquire vocabulary in the target language. This finding highlights the difficulty learners face in comprehending the lexical semantic structure in the target language and maintaining all the lexical items which correspond to single word in their native language. Intralexical phonological similarity is also a confounding factor for learners. These findings are relevant in the context of vocabulary teaching from the aspect of facilitating learners’ semantic knowledge.

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Thoughts on Grammar Intervention in AAC

Perspectives on Augmentative and Alternative Communication ◽

10.1044/aac17.2.43 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 17 (2) ◽

pp. 43-49 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Marc Fey

Keyword(s):

Language Impairment ◽

Specific Language Impairment ◽

Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽

Communication Systems ◽

Target Language ◽

Alternative Communication ◽

Physical Limitations ◽

Communication Needs ◽

Communication Interventions ◽

Planning Intervention

Abstract In this article, I propose that, for several reasons, grammar should be an early focus of communication interventions for young children using augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems. The basic goals for such programs should be to facilitate the child's comprehension of the language of the community, or the target language, thus leading the way to literacy, and to foster the child's use of symbol combinations that mirror the grammatical patterns of speaking children acquiring the target language, even if they cannot be fully grammatically complete. I introduce five principles that underlie most successful approaches to grammar interventions with children with specific language impairment. My initial attempts to apply these principles to interventions with children with complex communication needs indicate that they may be of considerable value to clinicians planning intervention programs. On the other hand, the challenges posed by the intellectual and physical limitations of many AAC users and their communication systems make it necessary to modify at least Principle 5 if the basic goals of intervention are to be met.

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