SECTION V 

 TECHNIQUES OF TRANSLATION 



Preparation of Aids 



The chief aids to translation will be the dictionary or dictionaries and this man- 

 ual. Both the student's personal dictionary and the manual should be tabbed( equipped 

 with projecting indices) for ready reference. 



Translation 



Out of an experience of observing many American scientists enter upon the task 

 of Russian translation the following procedure for approaching a Russian sentence has 

 been developed by the author. 



1) Is a teniae form(present, past, future) of the verb expressed? 



2) If no tense form of the verb appears, the "is/are" can be indicated by: 



a) an adverb, e.g. mokho "it is possible (to)" 



b) a question word, e.g. Kto - oh? "vmo is he?" 



c) 3T0 "it is, that is, they are" 



d) BOT "there is, there are" 



e) the equation of two nouns, e.g. BMOjiorMH - HayKa. "Biology is a science'.' 



f) the equation of noun and adjective, e.g. Ctommoctb - BucoHa. "The cost is high'.' 



flBJieHMB HSyueHO. . . "The phenomenon 



3) If there is a verb, is it: is studied..." 



a) singular or plural? 



b) 1st. , 2nd. or 3rd. person? (The 3rd. person is the one in predominant use in 



scientific texts . ) 



c) present, future or past tense? (Remember that perfective verbs have future 



meaning in "present" forms.) 



4) If a verb is expressed in the singular, for example, look for a possible singular 

 subject, that is, a singular noun, adjective or pronoun in the nominative case. 



5) With the verb and subject determined, look for a possible object in the accusative 

 case. 



6) When a preposition occurs, determine the noun which terminates the prepositional 

 phrase. If a phrase is complicated, isolate the core: preposition and terminal 

 noun, then work back from the noun, adjective by adjective, towards the prep. 



7) In constructions which students refer to as the "on-the-corner-standing-man" type, 

 that is, where one or more phrases are enclosed withing a phrase, translate the 

 basic phrase first, then the enclosed phrase or phrases. Often a "who" or "which" 

 clause will be needed for rendering an unwieldy phrase into acceptable English. 



Some Examples 



Ho 3T0 - TOJIbKO nOJIOBHHa SaflaUM. "But that is_ only half of the task." 



BoT BaM MHTepeCHHM npWMep. "There _]_s an interesting example for you." 



nemeXOflOB najO JHoShTB. "One must love[lit. it is necessary to 



love] pedestrians." 

 B KaKMX CJiyiiaflX 6yji;eT Hymna "in what cases will the transmission of 



nepefia^a OHeprWH 6eS npOBOflOB? energy without wires be necessary." 



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