Difficulties in Translation of Publicistic Headlines and their Pragmatic Aspect

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1. Galperin I. “Stylistic”. Moscow, 1997.p.165
2. John Eastwood, Oxford Guide to English Grammar, Oxford University Press 1994.p.75
3. Yule George: Pragmatic Oxford University Press 1996.p.43
4. Узунова Л.М., “Учись писать газету на английском языке Москва”: Просвещение 1985.p.35
5. Verdonk P. “Stylistics” ‘Oxford University Press’2002.p.48-50
6. Practical English Usage, Michael Swan: International student’s Edition. 1996. p. 346-355
7. Oxford advanced learners Dictionary the six editions 2000.p.300
8. Chira G. ‘At the Crossroads’. Editura ATC 2005.p.88
9. Yule G. “Pragmatics” ‘Oxford University Press’1996.p.88
10. Geniuses A.: ‘Digest of Style’. Riga, 1972. p.68
11. Verdonk P. ‘Stylistic’. Oxford University Press 2002.p.41
12. Yule G.: Programmatic Oxford University Press 1996.p.
13. Galperin I. “Stylistic”. Moscow, 1997.p.159
14. The writers craft. Idea to Expression. Mc Dougal, Little and Company. Sheridan Blau. 1997, p.824
15. Geniuses A.: ‘Digest of Style’. Riga, 1972. p.27
16. www.adobe.com.
17. Yule George: Pragmatic Oxford University Press 1996.p.3

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Chapter II On the translability of publicistic headlines              

2.1 On the approaches of translation used in Newspaper Style

English newspaper style may be defined as a system of interrelated lexical, phraseological and grammatical means which is perceived by the community speaking the language as a separate unity that basically serves the purpose of informing and instructing the reader.

Since the primary function of newspaper style is to impart information, only printed matter serving this purpose comes under newspaper style proper. Such matter can be classed as:

1. brief news items and communiqués;

2. press reports (parliamentary, of court proceedings, etc.);

3. articles purely informational in character;

4. advertisements and announcements.

The most concise form of newspaper informational is the headline. The headlines of news items, apart from giving information about the subject-matter, also carry a considerable amount of appraisal (the size and arrangement of the headline, the use of emotionally colored words and elements of emotive syntax), thus indicating the interpretation of the facts in the news item that follows.

a) Brief news items

The function of a brief news item is to inform the reader. It states only facts without giving comments. Newspaper style has its specific vocabulary features and is characterized by an extensive use of:

1. special political and economic terms;

2. non-term political vocabulary;

3. newspaper cliché; 

4. abbreviations;

5. neologisms.

The following grammatical peculiarities of brief news items are of paramount importance, and may be regarded as grammatical parameters of newspaper style:

1. complex sentences with a developed system of clauses;

2. verbal constructions;

3. syntactical complexes;

4. attributive noun groups;

5. specific word order.

b) The headline

The headline is the title given to a news item of a newspaper article. The main function of the headline is to inform the reader briefly of what the news that follows is about.

Syntactically headlines are very short sentences or phrases of a variety of patterns:

1. full declarative sentences;

2. interrogative sentences;

3. nominative sentences;

4. elliptical sentences;

5. sentences with articles omitted;

6. phrases with verbals;

7. questions in the forms of statements;

8. complex sentences;

9. headlines including direct speech.

c) Advertisements and announcements

The function of advertisement and announcement is to inform the reader. There are 2 basic types of advertisements and announcements in the modern English newspaper: classified and non-classified(separate).

In classified advertisements and announcements various kinds of information are arranged according to subject-matter into sections, each bearing an appropriate name.

As for the separate advertisements and announcements, the variety of language form and subject-matter is so great that hardly any essential features common to all be pointed out.

d) The editorial

Editorials are an intermediate phenomenon bearing the stamp of both the newspaper style and the publistic style.

The function of the editorial is to influence the reader by giving an interpretation of certain facts. Emotional coloring in editorial articles is also achieved with the help of various stylistic devices(especially metaphors and epithets), both lexical and syntactical, the use of which is largely traditional.

e) Scientific prose style

The language of science is governed by the aim of the functional style of scientific prose, which is to prove a hypothesis, to create new concepts, to disclose the internal laws of existence, development, relations between different phenomena, etc. There are following characteristic features of scientific style:

1. the logical sequence of utterances;

2. the use of terms specific to each given branch of science;

3. so-called sentence-patterns. They are of 3 types: postulatory, argumentative and formulative.

4. the use of quotations and references;

5. the frequent use of foot-note, of the reference kind, but digressive in character.

The impersonality of scientific writings can also be considered a typical feature of this style.

f) The style of official documents

In standard literary English this is the style of official documents. It is not homogeneous and is represented by the following substyles or variants:

1. the language of business documents;

2. the language of legal documents;

3. that of diplomacy;

4. that of military documents.

The main aim of this type of communication is to state the conditions binding two parties in an undertaking. The most general function of the style of official documents predetermines the peculiarities of the style. The most noticeable of all syntactical features are the compositional patterns of the variants of this style.

The over-all code of the official style falls into a system of subcodes, each characterized by its own terminological nomenclature, its own compositional form, its own variety of syntactical arrangements. But the integrating features of all these subcodes emanating from the general aim of agreement between parties, remain the following:

1. conventionality of expression;

2. absence of any emotiveness;

3. the encoded character of language; symbols and

4. a general syntactical mode of combining several pronouncements into one sentence.[1, Stylistics]

On the approaches of translation used in Newspaper Style are pragmatic value of publicistic headlines and difficulties of their translation it is grammatical features in English and Russian Headlines. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

2.2 On the ways of translation the publicistic headlines

   The second half of the 20^th century has seen the in-depth study of translation, which is sometimes called Theory of Translation, Science of Translation,  Translation Linguistics, or even Translatology.

   It has been claimed abroad that translation studies began in 1972 with Holmes’s paper presented at the Third International Congress of Applied Linguistics, “The Name and Nature of Translation Studies”.¹ However, unfortunately, European and American scholars seemed to have been unaware of the achievements of the Russian school of translation studies. Works by V. Komissarov, A. Shveitser, A. Fedorov and many others confirmed the status of translation studies as a discipline of its own even in the 1950s.[2, p.507]

   The main concern of translation theory is to determine appropriate translation methods for the widest possible range of texts and to give insight into the translation process, into the relations between thought and language, culture and speech.

   There are several aspects of this branch of linguistics:

• General theory of translation, whose object is general notions typical of translation from any language.
• Specific (or partial, in terms of Holmes) theory of translation that deals with the regularities of translation characteristic of particular languages - for example, translation from English into Russian and vice versa.
• Special (partial) theory of translation that pays attention to texts of various registers and genres.

      There are two terms corresponding to the Russian word “перевод”: translation and interpretation. Those who discriminate between the terms refer the term ‘translation’ to the written text, and the term ‘interpretation’ to oral speech. However, the terms are polysemantic: to interpret might mean “to render or discuss the meaning of the text” – an outstanding British translation theorist P.Newmark, for example, states that “when a part of a text is important to the writer’s intention, but insufficiently determined semantically, the translator has to interpret”.⁴ The term to translate is often referred to any (written or oral) manner of expression in another language.

      We should also differentiate the terms translating and rendering. When we translate, we express in another language not only what is conveyed in the source text but also how it is done. In rendering, we only convey the ideas (the what) of the source text.

Several approaches are used for defining translation: in Newspaper Style with pragmatic value of publicistic headlines and difficulties of their translation it is grammatical features in English and Russian Headlines. [3, p.45-52] 

2.3. On the difficulties in translation the publicistic headlines

Often enough headings of newspapers or news on the Internet in English are difficult enough for understanding. First, they have the grammatical nuances. Secondly, in headlines use the words which are not so often used in colloquial speech. In this post we will stop on grammatical features of headlines. [4]

1) As a rule, headlines represent incomplete sentences, that is, they consist only of keywords, without articles, auxiliary verbs etc.

4 found guilty in London bomb plot – то есть - four people have been found guilty in London bomb plot (четырех человек объявили виновными в подготовке взрывов в Лондоне);

Heavy fighting at Lebanese camp ( горячий бой произошел в ливанском лагере)

Steegmans too strong for Boonen - Steegmans is too strong for Boonen (Стигменс слишком силен для Бунена) [5]

2) In headlines simple times are used: Present Simple used, when event has already occurred or occurs. It can sometimes be used Present Continuous to underline process or change of the present situation. But, besides, it will be used without an auxiliary verb. If in headline says that will occur in future, may be it is the infinitive will be used. (A verb + a participle to) [6]

Pakistani soldiers storm mosque (солдаты Пакистана взяли штурмом мечеть);

Strong earthquake strikes Mexico - Strong earthquake has struck Mexico (сильное землетрясение обрушилось на Мексику);

NASA robot to dig on Mars ( робот НАСА будет раскапывать почву Марса);

Actress Collette expecting child – Actress Collette is expecting child (актриса Колетт ждет ребенка) [5]

3) the translation must retain the same communicative function as the source text. The description and enumeration of speech functions can be found in the work by R. Jakobson, who pointed out the following:

• informative function, i.e. conveying information: Лавры моего конкурента не дают мне спать. – I am green with envy because of the success of my competitor.
• emotive function, i.e. expressing the speaker’s emotions: На кой леший мне такой друг? – What on earth do I need such a friend for?
• poetic function, i.e. aesthetic impact: 

Tiger, Tiger, burning bright,

In the forests of the night;

What immortal hand or eye,

Could frame thy fearful symmetry? (W.Blake)

            Тигр, Тигр, в лесу ночном

            Мрачный взгляд горит огнем.

            Чья бессмертная рука

            Жизнь влила в твои бока? (Пер. К.Филатовой) [7, p.59-70]

      These sentences have only one thing in common: general intent of communication, communication aim, or function. At first glance, the source and target texts have no obvious logical connection; they usually designate different situations, have no common semes (i.e. smallest components of meaning), and have different grammar structures. [8]

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1. http://www.durov.com/study/STYLISTICS-826.doc..
2. Левицкая Т.Р. «Теория и практика перевода с английского языка на русский». М: издательство литература на иностранных языках,1963 год – p.507.
3. Левицкая Т. Р. Фитерман А. М. «Проблемы перевода, на материале современного английского языка» М; международные отношения,1976 год – p.45-52.
4. www.guardian.co.uk.. 
5. www.lingvoda.ru/forum/actualforum.aspx..
6. www.nstockdale.blogspot.com/2006/05/express-news-bans-puns-in-headlines.html 
7. К о м и с с а р о в  В. Н.  Лингвистика… - p.59-70.
8. www.punch.co.uk.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Chapter III

Establishing pragmatic value of publicistic headlines and difficulties of their translation from English into Russian  

  3.1. Pragmatic functions of publicistic headlines

This research paper is based on studying 100 headlines, 50 of publicistic headlines analyzing in pragmatic functions and 50 headlines difficulties of their translation from English into Russian.

The selected headlines have been divided according to pragmatic functions. Here is given the analysis of Russian and English headlines on the syntactical levels.

Metaphor. transference of names based on the associated likeness between two objects, on the similarity of one feature common to two different entities, on possessing one common characteristic, on linguistic semantic nearness, on a common component in their semantic structures.

Examples:

• “COSMIC DANCE”

(Daily Nation, 01.02.10, p.12)

The metaphor “Cosmic Dance” implies unusual dances. The redactor compares “cosmic” and “dance”, because in “Lime club” the dances were unusual, like a cosmic movement.