Translation through grammar: A graded translation course, with explanatory notes and a contrastive grammar

319 Pages·1984·5.922 MB·English

by  P. J. E. Hyams, H. Chr. Wekker (auth.)

Translation through grammar
Versehenen bij Uitgeverij Martinus Nijhoff,
Herman Wekker, Theo Bongaerts en Peter Vermeer, Werkenmet Engelse teksten. Een
bundellees-en vertaalteksten met oefeningen, aantekeningen en modelvertalingen.
P.J. E. Hyams and H. Chr. Wekker
Translation through gran1n1ar
A graded translation course, with explanatory notes and a
contraslive grammar
Second edition
1984
Springer-Science+Business Media, B.V.
De uitgever heeft getracht met alle rechthebbenden op in dit boek opgenomen teksten
contact op te nemen. Dit is niet in alle gevallen gelukt. Degenen die menen op teksten
rechten te kunnen doen gelden, wordt verzocht contact op te nemen met de uitgever.
© 1984 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
Originally published by Martinus Nijhoff in 1984
First published (1978) by Educaboek, Culemborg.
Behoudens uitzondering door de W et gesteld mag zonder schriftelijke toestemming van
de rechthebbende(n) op het auteursrecht, c.q. de uitgeefster van deze uitgave, door de
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De uitgeefster is met uitsluiting van ieder ander gerechtigd de door derden verschuldig
de vergoedingen voor kopieren, als bedoeld in artikel ~7lid 2, Auteurswet 1912 en in het
K.B. van 2ojuni 1974 (Stb. 351) ex artikel 16b Auteurswet 1912, te innen en{of daartoe in
en buiten rechte op te treden.
No part ofthis book may be reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm or
any other means without written permission from the publisher.
ISBN 978-90-247-8056-3 ISBN 978-94-017-4697-7 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-4697-7
D/1984/2524/10
Contents
Introduction VII
Passages for translation XIII
Contrastive grammar 187
Index of notes 307
Bibliography and abbreviations 317
V
Introduction
Alltranslation is a compromise-the effort
to be literal and the e.ffort to be idiomatic
BenjaminJowett (1817-93)
This book is designed to provide intermediate and advanced students of English with
practice in the translation ofDutch texts into English. It contains fifty prose passages, most
of them taken from recent Dutch novels or journals, all of them tried out on several
generations of our own students in the 'pre-kandidaatsfase' of their studies at the English
Department of the University of Nijmegen. In these respects, it is not spectacularly
different from many other books ofits kind. We have, however, tried to offer the student
rather more support in his translation work than is usually clone: each text is provided with
a suggested translation of the first few lines and with notes containing information on
grammar and idiom, sometimes preceded by supplementary material from British or
American sources. The second part of the book comprises a short contrastive grammar
speciallywritten to meet theneeds oftheuser. In this way wehope to offer a self-contained
translation course which reinforces the interdependence of grammar, vocabulary, textual
interpretation and style.
Most ofthe texts in this book are reproduced in substantially the sameform and wording as
in the original sources. In some cases editing was necessary in order, for example, to reduce
long articles to more manageable proportions. In no cases, however, were we moved to
doctor the originals in order to disambiguate them or to make them easier to translate. Our
reasons for not rewriting the texts are several, but basically they are founded on the belief
that students should be confronted with their language as it is really used, in texts which
present a challenge and require them to show resourcefulness and initiative. It is our
conviction that students' ability to recognise and solve problems of interpretation and
expression is far too frequently underestimated. Indeed, it is our experience that students
often welcome this challenge.
The supplementary material, accompanying texts marked by an asterisk in the table of
contents, should be read carefully before translation ofthe passage is embarked on, as it will
in all cases contain useful information ofv arious kinds. This material is included in order to
enable the student, following the practice of the professional translator, to familiarise
hirnself with the specific idiom ofu nfamiliar subject-matter.
The notes are primarily designed to give quick solutions to grammatical and idiomatic
difficulties in cases where the current handbooks fail to supply the necessary information.
Sometimes, however, we have referred to these handbooks when their treatment of a
particular point is more detailed than would be possible within the confines oft his book. If
VII
the grammatical points are too complicated and important tobe dealt with in the short
textualnotes, the student may also be referred to the second part ofthe book, the grammar.
This grammar consists of over 160 sections (G-notes), which cover points known to cause
the Dutch leamer ofEnglish difficulty. They are elucidated in reasonably non-technical
langnage and illustrated by numerous examples, a great many ofw hich are drawn directly
from the translation passages themselves. It should be clear that a pedagogically-oriented
contrastive grammar of this kind cannot be exhaustive: our intention has been to offer a
grammar which, in combination with one or two good reference grammars, will give the
user practical information to assist him in his work. In addition, however, this grammar
can be studied independently, despite its limitations, and might indeed serve as a concise
introduction to the study ofEnglish grammar, especially for first-year students.
The textual notes and the grammar arenot meant to replace the standard reference books,
but to supplement them and make the information contained in them more easily
accessible. The regular use of reference books (see Bibliography below) is a habit to be
stimulated from the first, not only because it is essential for translation work, but also
because it will support students' work in other aspects of their studies.
Note Jor the student
Translation is a complex skill, which some people find fascinating and others sheer hell. But
in langnage courses it 1s one of the few opportunities you have of putting into practice the
sometimes seemingly irrelevant 'theoretical' information you are presented with in such
langnage courses. Translation is an exercise in which you are forced to interpret the source
langnage and to make decisions of a sophisticated nature regarding the syntax and the
choice ofw ords in the target language. Whereas in free composition and conversation you
can largely keep within the limits of your own knowledge, translation compels you to go
beyond these limits and venture into unknown territory. You have dictionaries and
numerous other reference books to help you, it is true, but it would be a mistake to rely too
heavily on them. Remernher that dictionaries have their limitations, too; if you look up a
word in your Dutch-English dictionary and find translations ofit that are unfamiliar, don't
just put down the first one given, cast about in the COD or OALD or, failing these, a good
dictionary of synonyms, until you have a good idea ofhow these unfamiliar words are
actually used in English. Finally, don't assume that the translations supplied in the notes are
necessarily the only ones possible. Translation may be a rigorous dicipline, but it rarely
occurs that there is just one 'right answer' - that would take the enjoyment out of it
completely-it's just that in certain contexts some renderings are righter than others.
In writing Translation through Grammar we have always been able to turn to many of our
colleagues and make calls on their knowledge and time. However, we owe special debts of
VIII
gratitude to Louis Grooten for his wise and informed comments on many of the textual
notes; Ton Broeders for his insight into English grammar; Ger Peerbooms and Theo
Bongaerts for their many suggestions made during endless marking sessions;Jaap Hofma
for his useful comments on the texts;John Marshall ofVolvo Car bv for permission to use
his translation of our first text; Maria Smolders and V era Kleerekoper for the willingness
and accuracy with which they typed the various versions of our work; and our assistant
Marianjanssen, who did much ofthe donkey-work associated with the production ofthe
book. Finally, we should like to thank our students, whose mistakes and questions inspired
and helped us to write this book. To them it is fondly dedicated.
Nijmegen, February 1978 PH HW
IX
Preface to the second edition
In this second edition we have attempted to respond to objections raised by our colleagues
that some ofthe texts were rather too lavishly annotated, and that one or two ofthe texts,
especially at the beginning of the book, were too difficult for students. In the light of these
and other more specific criticisms, we have subjected Translation through Grammar to a
thorough revision, which has resulted, we hope, in a more adequate grading of the texts,
andin a better balance between what we offer in the way ofn otes and suggested translations
and what students have to find out for themselves. Our experience in the past six years lends
even greater weight to our conviction that students' ingenuity in problem-cracking should
not be underestimated.
W e are grateful to our new publishers for allowing us to do all this and to increase the
number oftexts from fifty to sixty.
This edition has benefited from the many suggestions and criticisms we have received
from our colleagues in Nijmegen, in particular Theo Bongaerts and Ger Peerbooms, and
from our colleagues Cor Kosterand Mike Hannay ofthe Free University of Amsterdam.
None ofthem can of course be held responsible for the decisions, right or wrong, that we
have ultimately taken (for this use ofthe present perfect, see G-notes 13 and 14).
Nijmegen,]anuary 1984 PH HW
XI