TRANSLATIONS

STUDENT’S COURSEBOOK

Prof. Cosmina Almasan

Colegiul National Octavian Goga, Sibiu
2014
 TRANSLATIONS COURSE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Unit 1. INTRODUCTION TO TRANSLATION THEORY 1

1.1. LINGUISTIC EQUIVALENCE 2
1.2. EQUIVALENCE IN DIFFERENCE 2
1.3. FORMAL EQUIVALENCE VS DYNAMIC EQUIVALENCE 3
1.4. SHIFTS OF TRANSLATION 3
1.5. CULTURAL EQUIVALENCE 4

Unit 2. TRANSLATION PROCEDURES, STRATEGIES AND METHODS 6

TRANSLATION BLUNDERS 8

Unit 3. TRANSLATION PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT 10

3.1. JUVENES TRANSLATORES 10
A. Tourists can do their bit (2007) 10
B. Uniunea Europeană și instituțiile sale – cu adevărat aproape de cetățeni 11
(2009)
3.2. MAGAZINE ARTICLES 12
A. Cum să te integrezi într-un grup nou 12
B. Facebook launches new 'Places' feature, forever exposing just how boring our 13
lives really are
C. Praga - o capitală care îţi lărgeşte orizontul 14
D. Speed Plating: The New Dine & Dash Dating 15
3.3. NEWSPAPER ARTICLES 17
A. Russia will recognise outcome of Ukraine poll, says Vladimir Putin 17
B.Un primar spaniol prezintă scuze după ce a fost acuzat de rasism de către imigranţi 18
români
C. Şeful Pentagonului soseşte în România 18

Unit 4. THE LANGUAGE OF PERSUASION 19

4.1. PUBLIC SPEAKING 19
A. “The Gettysburg Address” – Abraham Lincoln 21
B. “I Have a Dream” – Martin Luther King 22
C. “Inima României” – Nicolae Titulescu 26
4.2. ADVERTISING 28

Unit 5. ESP – ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES 34

5.1. ENGLISH FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 34
A. Product Data Sheet SIKASIL WS 605-S 37
B. Fişa Tehnică SIKASIL FS-665 39
5.2. ENGLISH FOR BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS 41
A. Squaring the circle - Making sense of asset prices 43
B. Romania s-ar putea confrunta cu o criză a finanţării în luna noiembrie 45
C. Noi sancţiuni pentru statele europene care nu respectă disciplina fiscal 45
5.3. LEGAL ENGLISH 46
A. Regulamentul nr 1512/2007 al Comisiei Europene 49
B. Council Regulation 1560/2007 50
5.4. MEDICAL ENGLISH 51
A. Gastritis 52
B. Apendicita – cauze, simptome, tratament 54

Unit 6. LITERARY TRANSLATION

6.1. PROSE 56
A. Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway 57
B. The Moor’s Last Sigh, Salman Rushdie 59
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 C. Maytrei, Mircea Eliade 61
D. Viaţa ca o pradă, Marin Preda 62
6.2. POETRY 63
A. The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost 64
B. If I Can Stop One Heart from Breaking, Emily Dickinson 65
C. Pastel, George Bacovia 65
D. Îţi aduci aminte plaja, Ana Blandiana 66

Unit 7. TRANSLATING VS INTERPRETING 67

Unit 8. UNTRANSLATABILITY 71

Annex: Translation Resources 78

 Unit 1. INTRODUCTION TO TRANSLATION THEORY

“Without translation, we would be living in provinces bordering on silence.”

(George Steiner)

The word translation comes from the Latin translation, which, in its turn, comes from trans-
and fero, together meaning "to carry across" or "to bring across". It therefore refers to the transfer
of meaning from one language into another.

According to http://dictionary.reference.com
―translation‖ is:
1. the rendering of something into another
language or into one's own from another
language
2. a version of such a rendering: e.g.
a new translation of Plato
3. change or conversion to another form,
appearance, etc.; transformation

Translation is a process based on the theory that it is possible to abstract the meaning of a text
from its forms and reproduce that meaning with the very different forms of a second language.

Translation theory shares a number of concerns with what is commonly called

communication theory, as every act of communication has three dimensions: Speaker (or author),
Message, and Audience.

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 Match the characteristics of an ideal translation with their explanation/definition:

Accurate expressing all aspects of the meaning in a way that is

readily understandable to the intended audience
Communicative using natural forms of the receptor language in a way that
is appropriate to the kind of text being translated
Natural reproducing as exactly as possible the meaning of the
source text

1.1. LINGUISTIC EQUIVALENCE

The most ardent question in the field of translation has always been to what extent texts are
translatable into other languages. Equivalence is the central issue in translation, although many
different theories of the concept of equivalence have been elaborated.

The most widely accepted view is that translation equivalence is essentially a transfer of the
message from the source culture (SC) to the target culture (TC). Translation is therefore a
procedure which ―replicates the same situation as in the original, whilst using completely
different wording‖, according to Vinay and Darbelnet.

1.2. EQUIVALENCE IN DIFFERENCE

Roman Jakobson's study of equivalence introduced the notion of 'equivalence in difference'.

He suggests three kinds of translation:

 Intralingual (within one language, i.e. rewording or paraphrasing)

 Interlingual (between two languages)
 Intersemiotic (between sign systems)

Jakobson claims that, in the case of interlingual translation, the translator makes use of
synonyms in order to get the source text (ST) message across. This means that in interlingual
translations there is no full equivalence between code units. According to his theory, ―translation
involves two equivalent messages in two different codes‖. Jakobson claims that in cases where
there is no literal equivalent for a particular ST word or sentence, then it is up to the translator to
choose the most suitable way to render it in the TT (target text). His theory is that the translator has
to decode the ST message first and then s/he has to transmit it into an equivalent message in the TL
(target language).

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1.3. FORMAL EQUIVALENCE VS DYNAMIC EQUIVALENCE

According to the linguists Nida and Tabel

 Formal equivalence ―focuses attention on the message itself, in both form and content‖,
using the closest TL equivalent of a SL word or phrase.

The use of formal equivalents might at times have serious implications in the TT, since the
translation will not be easily understood by the target audience. This type of translation
distorts the grammar patterns of the TL and, therefore, distorts the message, causing
misunderstanding.

For example, Greek tends to have very long sentences; English, by contrast, is not so
comfortable with long sentences. If anyone attempts to reproduce, in English, sentences of
the same length as the Greek original, the audience will not be able to follow the translation.
 Dynamic equivalence is defined as a translation principle according to which a translator
seeks to translate the meaning of the original in such a way that the TL text will trigger the
same impact on the TC audience as the original wording did upon the ST audience. Thus,
the principle of ‗equivalent effect‟ is applied here.

There are problems, however, with dynamic equivalence translations. Since the translator is
"freer", he or she might interpret the text too much and and not achieve an accurate
translation, but an interpretation of the original text.

Which of the above methods of translstion do you consider to be more appropriate for a
legal text and which for a literary text? Justify your answer.

1.4. SHIFTS OF TRANSLATION

Catford's main contribution to the field of translation theory is the introduction of the concepts of
‗types‘ and ‗shifts of translation‘, defined as ―departures from formal correspondence in the process
of going from the SL to the TL‖. Catford argues that there are two main types of translation shifts,
namely

level shifts - where the SL item at one linguistic level (e.g. grammar) has a TL equivalent
a different level (e.g. lexis)

category shifts - which are divided into four types:

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 1. Structure-shifts, which involve a grammatical change between the structure of the ST and
that of the TT (e.g. clause structure – questions, articles)
2. Class-shifts, when a SL item is translated with a TL item which belongs to a different
grammatical class (e.g. a verb may be translated using a noun)
3. Unit-shifts, which involve changes in rank (e.g. a word translated as a phrase/clause or the
other way round)
4. Intra-system shifts, which occur when ―SL and TL possess systems which approximately
correspond formally as to their constitution, but when translation involves selection of a
non-corresponding term in the TL system‖ (e.g. when the SL singular becomes a TL plural)

Can you give one example for each of the above situations, based on your experience
translating from Romanian into English or the other way round?

1.5. CULTURAL EQUIVALENCE

Language is as part of culture and communication is conditioned by the constraints of the

situation-in-culture. Translation has always been perceived as a form of cross-cultural
communication. There is always a context in which translation takes place, always a history from
which a text emerges and into which a text is transposed.

Culture can be best defined as a complex ‗system of systems‘ composed of various

subsystems such as literature, science, and technology. An ideal translation is traditionally viewed
as ―a perfect integration of two different texts in two cultures‖. A good translator must, therefore,
be not only bilingual, but also bicultural.

Explain the following paragraph in your own words:

Communication in translation is simultaneous decontexualization

and recontextualization; hence it is productive, rather than
reproductive. Translation as a product communicates more and at
the same time less than the source text intended to.

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A translator‘s job is never easy, and the translator‘s knowledge has to be vast in more than one area.
Anyone who disregards these areas will end up creating substandard translations.

 target language (TL) knowledge – the best translators translate into their own mother
tongue!
 text-type knowledge – literary, technical etc
 source language (SL) knowledge
 subject area (‗real world‘) knowledge
 contrastive knowledge - the differences between the two languages and cultures

Explain the following cartoon in your own words:

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 Unit 2. TRANSLATION PROCEDURES, STRATEGIES AND METHODS

"Translation is that which transforms everything so that nothing changes."

(Grass Günter)

When attempting translation, a translator must

undergo the following:

 an analysis of the source and target

languages (SL ans TL)
 a thorough study of the SL text before
making attempts translate it
 a judgment of the semantic and syntactic
approximations

Newmark refers to the following methods of

translation:

 Word-for-word translation: the SL word order is preserved and the words translated
individually by their most common meanings, out of context
 Literal translation: the SL grammatical constructions are converted to their nearest TL
equivalents, but the lexical words are again translated singly, out of context
 Faithful translation: attempts to produce the precise contextual meaning of the original
within the constraints of the TL grammatical structures
 Adaptation: the freest form of translation, used mainly for literary texts; the themes,
characters, plots are usually preserved, the SL culture is converted to the TL culture and the
text is rewritten
 Free translation: produces the TL text without the style, form, or content of the original

Which type of method from the list above do you think „google translate‟ uses? What are
the consequences? Take as an example the following excerpt translated form English
into Romanian using „google translate‟:

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In my younger and more vulnerable years my În anii mei mai tineri și mai vulnerabile, tatăl
father gave me some advice that I‘ve been meu a dat mi un sfat pe care le-am fost de
turning over in my mind ever since. cotitură peste în mintea mea de atunci.

"Ori de câte ori te simți ca critici nici unul",

‗Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,‘
mi-a spus,"Doar amintiți-vă că toți oamenii din
he told me, ‗just remember that all the people această lume nu au avutavantajele pe care le-ați
in this world haven‘t had the advantages that avut. "
you‘ve had.‘

(The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald)

In cases where translation cannot be so straightforward, Newmark also proposes the following
translation procedures that can be seen as coping strategies, in that they solve a problem of
translation by some sort of approximation:

 Adaptation / cultural equivalent - something specific to SL culture is expressed in a totally

different way that is familiar or appropriate to the TL culture (advertising, measures, dates)
 Functional equivalent - the use of a culture-neutral word (‗flower‘ instead of ‗daisy‘)
 Descriptive equivalent/paraphrasing - the meaning of the source word is explained in
several words
 Synonymy - it is a "near TL equivalent."
 Through-translation: it is the literal translation of common collocations, names of
organizations and components of compounds. It can also be called: calque or loan
translation
 Borrowing - taking words straight into another language; borrowed terms often pass into
general usage
 Modulation - using a phrase that is different in the source and target languages to convey
the same idea - ―Take five.‖ ―Te las.‖
 Shifts or transpositions: it involves a change in the grammar from SL to TL (e.g. singular
to plural, noun to verb etc)
 Compensation – when loss of meaning in one part of a sentence is compensated in another
part (eg pronouns)
 Notes - additional explanatory information annexed to the translation (footnotes or
endnotes)

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TRANSLATION BLUNDERS

When care in not taken to take into account all the nuances of the two languages (SL and TL) and
of the two cultures (SC and TC), mistakes may occur that can have serious implications. Below are
some such situations that have made the headlines:

 The Dairy Association's huge success with the campaign 'Got Milk?' prompted them to
expand advertising to Mexico. It was soon brought to their attention the Spanish translation
read "Are you lactating?―

 Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux used the following in an American

campaign: 'Nothing sucks like an Electrolux'.

 Sport shoe maker Umbro tried to use the German word for 'cyclone' as a name for some
footwear. The German word 'Zyklon' is unfortunately synonymous with the gas used in
Nazi concentration camps.

 An American T-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market which promoted
the Pope's visit. Instead of 'I saw the Pope' (Vi al Papa), the shirts read 'I Saw the Potato' (Vi
la papa).

 The Coca-Cola name in China was first read as 'Kekoukela', meaning 'Bite the wax tadpole'
or 'female horse stuffed with wax', depending on the dialect. Coke then researched 40,000
characters to find a phonetic equivalent 'kokou kole', translating into 'happiness in the
mouth'.

 Pepsi's 'Come Alive with the Pepsi Generation' translated into 'Pepsi brings your ancestors
back from the dead' in Chinese.

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  When General Motors introduced the Chevy Nova in South America, it was apparently
unaware that "no va" means "it won't go.―

 KFC's famous 'finger lickin' good' strapline went terribly wrong in the Chinese market. It
was literally translated as 'eat your fingers off'.

For a bit of fun, try to understand the following texts translated into English from Chinese:

Notice in a Chinese hotel lounge: Urban transportation warning:

 Label on a bamboo cutting board:

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 Unit 3. TRANSLATION PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
"Translation is at best an echo."
(George Borrow)

3.1. JUVENES TRANSLATORES

Now try your hand at some general English/Romanian texts proposed as a translation task as part of
the Juvenes Translatores Competition. Juvenes Translatores, launched in 2007, is a translation
contest for secondary school pupils in the European Union (EU) organised by the European
Commission's Directorate-General for Translation (DGT). The objectives of the Juvenes
Translatores contest are to promote language learning, multilingualism as well as translation as a
career.

A. Tourists can do their bit (2007)

Mass tourism is a modern phenomenon brought about by developments in transport

technology and improved standards of living. From only 10 million tourists worldwide in
1950, it is estimated that by 2010 the figure will have reached one billion. Today millions
of people travel the world to experience natural and man-made wonders. This interest in
natural and cultural heritage is important for the economy, since tourism generates income
from direct spending and supports jobs in a variety of industries. But not everything in the
garden is rosy. If uncontrolled, tourism can cause irreversible physical and social damage,
not only to tourist destinations but to the local communities living there.

Many tourists are keen to travel to places known for their natural beauty, for example, yet
some of the most beautiful holiday destinations have fragile environments and local
communities that are coming under increasing pressure from the growth of tourism. This
can range from a fish-and-chip wrapping thrown away in the street to a caravan site near a
bird sanctuary. Fortunately, the impact which our travel has on the natural environment is
now being recognised. The travel industry has begun to offer trips which allow tourists to
make a positive contribution to conservation and to the economies of local communities
while minimising the negative effects that tourism can have. This is known as "responsible
tourism" or "eco-tourism". For example, local people may become genuinely involved in
tourism projects and tour operators can be encouraged to put revenue back into local
development.

The European Union too funds programmes in the field of rural development which
encourage young people to devote some of their holidays to activities that directly benefit
rural areas. By doing so, they have the chance not only to improve their knowledge and
skills but also to meet new people and discover new places, while at the same time they
can really make a difference to preserving the countryside!
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B. Uniunea Europeană și instituțiile sale – cu adevărat aproape de cetățeni
(2009)

Uniunea Europeană este o structură economică și politică unică, alcătuită din 27 de țări
democratice din Europa. Țările membre ale UE rămân națiuni suverane independente, care
au decis să împartă un destin comun, adoptând decizii la nivelul unor instituții special
create, care formează așa-numitul „triunghi instituțional‖.

Parlamentul European, vocea cetățenilor, este ales direct de către aceștia. Consiliul Uniunii
Europene, vocea statelor membre, reprezintă interesele naționale. Comisia Europeană,
gardianul tratatelor, promovează interesele Uniunii ca tot unitar. Curtea de Justiție este
arbitrul final în chestiunile legate de dreptul comunitar, iar Curtea de Conturi Europeană
veghează la apărarea intereselor financiare ale Uniunii. Deciziile instituțiilor modelează
permanent realitatea economică și socială europeană.

UE a devenit o prezență firească în viața noastră de zi cu zi. Din multe puncte de vedere,
Europa ne îmbunătățește nivelul de trai și ne oferă numeroase oportunități. Avem de
traversat mai puține frontiere, putem vorbi la telefon, naviga pe internet și călători cu
avionul la prețuri mai mici, iar moneda euro a înlocuit monedele naționale în 16 state
membre ale Uniunii.

În Europa de astăzi, Erasmus, Leonardo, Marie Curie au intrat în vocabularul curent,

devenind nume emblematice pentru oportunitățile oferite tinerilor de a învăța în străinătate
și de a se bucura de o experiență cu adevărat europeană, într-un mediu multicultural și
multilingv.

În același timp, conștientă că trebuie să acționeze acum ori niciodată, UE luptă active
împotriva încălzirii globale, propunând obiective ambițioase de reducere a emisiilor de
gaze cu efect de seră, nu numai la nivelul statelor sale membre, ci și pe plan mondial. Prin
eforturile sale susținute de a impulsiona negocierile internaționale în domeniu, UE crește
șansele cetățenilor săi de a trăi într-o lume mai puțin afectată de schimbările climatice.

Punând cetățenii pe primul loc, UE își propune, prin politicile sale, să răspundă la
chestiunile care ne afectează și ne preocupă, cum ar fi criza economică și financiară,
siguranța locurilor de muncă, schimbările climatice sau calitatea vieții.

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 3.2. MAGAZINE ARTICLES

A. Cum să te integrezi într-un grup nou

Ţi-ai schimbat serviciul, oraşul, şcoala, poate chiar grupul de prieteni? Nu te simţi străin, îţi
arătăm noi cum să devii un membru al comunităţii cât mai repede cu putinţă.

De fiecare dată când mă găsesc într-un grup de oameni pe care nu-i cunosc, mă duc cu gândul la
prima zi de liceu, când diriginta ne-a pus pe toţi să ne prezentăm în faţa clasei. Obrajii mi-au roşit,
palmele mi-au transpirat, inima mi s-a pregătit de infarct, capul mi-a vâjâit, piciorul mi-a bâţăit pe
podea, toate cele...

Daca atunci aveam o scuză - "frăgezimea" minţii şi a spiritului -, azi nu mai am niciuna. Trebuie să-
mi iau inima în dinţi şi să fac tot ce se poate pentru a mă prezenta oamenilor şi a-i face să mă placă
şi să mă considere "de-al lor", parte din comunitate.

Iată paşii de urmat pentru a scăpa cât mai repede de stânjeneala de început:

1. Ia pulsul locului
Înainte de a te repezi să dai mâna cu toată lumea, prezentându-te febril, rezervă-ţi câteva momente
pentru a-i observa pe oamenii care te înconjoara. Aşa îţi vei face o idee despre gusturile şi
personalităţile lor, şi-ţi vei putea mai apoi alege varianta potrivită pentru a-i aborda. Deschide bine
urechile şi ascultă cu atenţie pe toată lumea, pentru a acumula cât mai multe informaţii despre
fiecare.

2. Nu te grăbi cu concluziile
Fiecare are prejudecăţile sale, iar atunci când nu cunoaştem mediul în care ne aflăm, avem tendinţa
să ne lăsăm convinşi de primele impresii şi să emitem judecăţi de valoare mult prea repede. Evită
să-ţi cataloghezi prea repede colegii. Poate contabilul cu ochelari nu e doar un "creier", ci şi un tip
super de treabă, cu un bun simţ al umorului. Fii deschis şi nu critica pe nimeni în urma unor simple
impresii.

3. Un surâs pentru sedus

Chiar dacă faptul că eşti mai mult sau mai puţin în anonimat în noua comunitate nu prea te încântă,
fii mereu cu zâmbetul pe buze! Un surâs discret îi va face pe oameni să se apropie de tine şi să vrea
să te cunoască mai bine, pe când o faţă lungă şi o frunte pe care scrie DEPRIMARE te va îndepărta
şi mai mult de grup.

4. Fii tu însuţi
Lucrul cel mai important este să nu faci compromisuri doar de dragul de a fi pe placul celorlalţi.
Rămâi natural, aşa cum eşti tu, pentru că dacă te prefaci, într-un final, adevarata ta fire va ieşi la
iveală şi nu va fi prea plăcut. S-ar putea să pierzi tot ce ai obţinut până la momentul respectiv.

http://www.cosmopolitan.ro/tu-cu-tine/doar-tu/cum-sa-te-integrezi-intr-un-grup-nou.html
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 B. Facebook launches new 'Places' feature,
forever exposing just how boring our lives really are

Those impressively young kids who run Facebook announced today a brand new ―product‖
called Places, which essentially allows you to ―check in‖ at whatever place you‘re currently
occupying, see which of your friends are at that same place (or nearby), post updates about that
location to that location‘s Facebook page, and/or get a sense of all the cool things currently going
on around you. (While anyone can use the tagging features on Places, you can only check in via
your iPhone or ―advanced mobile device,‖ and only the iPhone version runs natively on the
Facebook app. All other touch-screen, web-enabled phones will have to make do with the touch
browser version of Places. And that‘s about as geeky as this post will get.) Intriguingly, location-
based social networking sites Gowalla, Foursquare, Yelp, and Booyah were all on hand at
Facebook‘s Palo Alto offices as official partners, announcing how their respective sites would
integrate their services with Places.

A few things immediately struck me about this announcement: The sociological ramifications of a
collective ―memory‖ of a location being posted in real time online; the privacy issues of having
friends be alerted when you‘re nearby (or, as one questioner at tonight‘s official announcement
pointedly noted, having a friend create your private party as a semi-public ―place,‖ and all you can
do is ―flag‖ that place and hope Facebook takes it down). But first and foremost, my life is
suddenly going to seem very, very boring. As Places rolls out to Facebook users over the next few
days, all of my hip and happening Facebook friends are going to see that ―Adam is home with his
boyfriend and dog,‖ ―Adam is at the local Greek place for lunch,‖ and ―Adam is at home, watching
HGTV.‖ I actually don‘t think that‘s how Places will exactly work, but you get the idea: Us
homebodies who spend inordinate amounts of time at home or at work updating our Facebook
statuses are going to be called out as the joyless shut-ins we clearly are.

What do you make of Facebook‘s latest foray into creating an engine for people to live their lives
online? Will you be avidly checking in via Places? Or will you make a beeline for the privacy
settings and opt out of Places placing you in your, er, place?

http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/08/18/facebook-launches-new-places-feature/

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 C. Praga - o capitală care îţi lărgeşte orizontul

Praga este plină de farmec, frumoasă, boemă, minunată, cu o arhitectură superbă. Este unul
din oraşele europene ce deţine un loc de top pe lista de destinaţii obligatorii. Praga
fascinează, Praga te face să visezi, Praga este un oraş de care te îndrăgosteşti. Capitala Cehiei este
un oraş numai bun de descoperit la pas. Pentru a te bucura pe îndelete de loc şi de atracţiile lui e
recomandat să petreci cel puţin trei zile cu oraşul. În orice sezon. Aici nu există perioadă nepotrivită
pentru vizită.

Praga a suferit pierderi minime în Al Doilea Război Mondial şi din fericire minunatele sale clădiri,
realizate în cele mai diverse stiluri - gotic, neogotic, renascentist, baroc, neoclasic, art nouveau şi
ultramodern - sunt încă intacte.

Principalele zone turistice ale capitalei sunt separate de râul Vlatva. Pe partea stângă a acestuia se
află Castelul Praga şi Cartierul Mic. Jumătate din cartier o constituie Parcul Petri, o colină înaltă
de 300 de metri pe care urci cu un mic trenuleţ care îţi oferă o privelişte superbă asupra întregului
oraş. Pe partea dreaptă se află Oraşul Vechi, Cartierul Evreiesc şi Orasul Nou, loc dedicat în
special cumpărăturilor, plin de bănci şi magazine, restaurante şi muzee.

Oraşul vechi, numit în cehă Stare Mesto, reprezintă zona spre care se îndreaptă cei mai mulţi
vizitatori. Aici, în partea sudică a fostei primării, se găseşte Ceasul Astronomic. Construit în Evul
Mediu, orologiul conţine trei părţi principale: cadranul astronomic, care redă poziţiile soarelui şi ale
lunii, dar indică şi alte evenimente cereşti, cadranul-calendar, cu medalioane care reprezintă lunile
anului şi în sfârşit partea de sus unde se găsesc cocoşul de aur şi figurinele celor 12 apostoli. În
jurul orei 12.00, mii de turişti se apropie de turnul care dă ora exactă încă de la 1410. 80 de ani mai
târziu, legendarul meşter Hanus a reconstruit ceasul, iar legenda spune că mai-marii oraşului l-au
orbit ca să nu mai poată crea vreodată un instrument mai măreţ decât Prazsky Orloj.

Podul Carol este un alt obiectiv interesant nu numai pentru că cele 30 de statui formează o
adevarată galerie de sculptură, dar şi pentru că aici poţi întâlni negustori de suveniruri, păpuşari,
pictori şi muzicanţi.

Un loc încărcat de mister este Vysegrad, Cetatea de Sus. Aici se spune că ar fi trăit legendara
prinţesă Libuse, cea care a rostit faimoasa profeţie referitoare la Praga şi la viitorul naţiunii sale:
"Văd un oraş întins a cărui glorie va ajunge la stele. [...] Un castel numit Praha va fi construit aici".

Indiferent pe unde te poartă paşii, trebuie să ajungi să vezi şi Castelul Praga - cel mai mare
complex medieval. Din cadrul complexului face parte şi Catedrala Sfântul Vitus, unul din cele
mai bune exemple de arhitectură gotică.

Dacă nu ai apucat să citeşti "Castelul" sau "Procesul" lui Kafka, profită de ocazie şi descoperă
atmosfera în care scriitorul a creat şi şi-a căutat inspiraţia. Pentru câţiva euro, ghizii te duc pe

14
străduţele colindate odinioară de Kafka, iar apoi îţi recomandă restaurante, hoteluri şi cafenele
marca Franz Kafka.

Mersul pe jos face piciorul frumos însă dacă vrei să stai comod, transportul în comun din Praga este
ieftin şi eficient, cu trei linii de metrou şi zeci de linii de tramvai. Metroul este apreciat ca unul din
cele mai de calitate din Europa Centrală. În ore de varf, trenurile sosesc din două în două minute.

Chiar dacă bucătăria cehă nu este reprezentată de cele mai sănătoase feluri de mâncare, cu
siguranţă vei găsi în meniul local măcar un fel pe care să îl iubeşti. Carnea este baza mâncărurilor
tradiţionale din Cehia. Îţi recomand să încerci papilele gustative fie cu şuncă fiartă cu sos de prune
uscate, miez de nucă şi vin sau carne de vită în sos de smântână (svickova pecene na smetane). Cu
toate că este apetisantă, mâncarea tradiţionala poate pica destul de greu aşa că cel mai indicat este
să o dregi cu renumita bere cehă (pivo). Dacă mai este loc şi pentru desert neaparat cere ştrudel cu
mere răsfăţat cu frişcă (jablkovy zavin).

Pentru Praga trebuie să te pregăteşti. Să ai atenţia distributivă şi să ştii să distilezi esenţialul din
masa de turişti care îi trec pragul. Să te plimbi prin Praga este ca şi cum te-ai plimba printr-o
poveste cu detalii foarte reuşite. Aici poti explora zile întregi, luni sau chiar o viaţă de om.

http://www.cosmopolitan.ro/cosmo-fun/travel/praga-o-capitala-care-iti-largeste-orizontul-
1764143

D. Speed Plating: The New Dine & Dash Dating

Speed dating may be efficient, but those few moments of conversation with a blind date
can get awkward before you rotate to the next person. Beyond "Hi, my name is...," what
else are you supposed to talk about during that five-minute session?

Enter celebrity chef Danny Boome and his new culinary twist on speed dating. At Speed Plating's
world premiere on Aug. 17 in New York City, Boome had a goal in mind for his first batch of 36
awkward attendees: "Talk about the food that is in front of you."

For $100, participants got a four-course meal at Tree, a quaint bistro in New York's East Village,
with 20 minutes per course to wine and dine a potential love match. Meal choices had been filed
online beforehand, eliminating the ordering onus. Still, the evening got off to a slow start. "You
shouldn't be standing around in the corner," the 35-year-old Boome, who also hosts of the Food
Network's Rescue Chef, said during a post-game analysis.

Before the first course began, Boome relayed one cardinal rule of etiquette: "No cell phones on the
table." I took my assigned seat across from an alluring Indian woman with big brown eyes and a
wide smile. Once she politely ignored me tripping over a floor divider, we began sharing a plate of
asparagus mated with artichoke hearts. The otherwise bland veggies took on an aphrodisiac edge
with the infusion of saffron aioli and horseradish mayo, tilting the taste buds in a romantic

15
direction. But before we could blink, the 20 minutes were up. I had learned that she was born in
Mumbai, on her way to a Ph.D. in African-American literature, and really disturbed by a former
date who wore incredibly tight jeans. She learned that I was a clutz.

For course No. 2, the organizers mixed things up a bit, handing each participant a new "card of
destiny" directing them to their next table and distributing a pink Zorro-esque mask to each new
couple. The menu mandate: feed your blindfolded date, then switch roles.

My date for this mystery dish was the first to take the mask, so I spoon-fed her what we later
discovered were spiced-wine pears, tequila-marinated lychees, pepper-crusted mozzarella and duck
pate on a thin crisp. This course would have been more exciting for me, had I not known what Girl
#2 looked like before I was blindfolded and started eating. But still, talking to a stranger for 10
minutes, without being able to see her face or your meal, left what? The two foci that most singles
can't seem to snag together: a meal to savor and a voice to listen to. Gone was any anxiety about
poor eye contact or stray food morsels. Along came deeper conversation, from our shared roots as
New Yorkers, to the role of Judaism in our childhood. Neither of us had a bar or bat mitzvah, and
we agreed that we didn't need it. Ding! Time to move on to the next round!

The main course was less dramatic. Our food (lamb cutlets with grilled zest polenta and hot fig jus)
was no mystery. Forks were dropped, the lamb became finger food, and Girl #3 dished about how
her Boy #2 had curbed her enthusiasm by hastily handing her his business card.

By the time dessert rolled around (lemon grass and ginger panna cotta, chili chocolate dipped
strawberries, baked figs and creme fresh), the focus on the food had given way to unfinished
business: making a match. Girl #4 was worldly and great to talk to, a PR account supervisor from
Munich, but Girl #1 was great — and off with another guy. How could I catch a moment alone with
her?

During the 30-minute post-meal cocktail session, lots of people were exchanging e-mails and phone
numbers and making Facebook-friend requests. Three couples kept the verbal vibe going,
continuing their conversations at the same tables where they started. Participants on the shy side
could opt to join partner site SpeedDate.com and pick up the talk from there.

All in all, Speed Plating struck me as a smart move. Boome plans to expand the concept to 12
restaurants by March, adding Chicago, Boston, Atlanta, Austin, San Francisco and Los Angeles to
the company's map. Part of his motivation to press on comes from his own experience with his
current mate. A night out with the girls during the summer of 2008 led Lauren Sohmer, now 31, to
the Bull's Head Tavern in New York's Gramercy Park neighborhood. After three shots of
Jägermeister, she and Boome were a match. "I dated half of Manhattan and he dated the other half,
and that's how we found each other," Sohmer said. "I'd like to hope that everyone here has some
possibility of something because of this," she said as she gestured around the booze-filled room.

: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2011668,00.html#ixzz0x2l71PoG

16
3.3. NEWSPAPER ARTICLES

Unlike magazine article language, the language used in newspapers is more formal and
impersonal, hence the use of passive voice and complex sentence structure. Try translating the
following text taken from online newspapers:

A. Russia will recognise outcome of Ukraine poll, says Vladimir Putin

Putin says Russia will 'respect the choice of Ukrainian people', but separatist authorities
vow to disrupt weekend's presidential election

Vladimir Putin has given the strongest indication yet that Russia is defusing its policy
towards Ukraine, saying that Moscow will "respect the choice of the Ukrainian people" and work
with the country's government after a new president is elected on Sunday. Previously, the Kremlin
had not made it clear whether it would recognise the vote amid the continuing violence in the east
of the country, where pro-Moscow separatists have declared two independent statelets after
questionable referendums held earlier this month. The separatist authorities have said they will do
everything possible to disrupt the elections, stating they do not plan to hold "the presidential
elections of a neighbouring state" on their territory, and there has been a campaign of terror and
intimidation against polling stations and election officials.

Putin blamed the west for provoking the Ukraine crisis and said the country was now experiencing
"full-blown civil war". However, he suggested on Friday that the Kremlin would recognise the vote.
Since former president Viktor Yanukovych fled Ukraine in February, Moscow has referred to the
interim government as a "junta" with no legitimacy. Russia has annexed the Crimea peninsula, and
Kiev has accused it of stirring up an armed revolt in the east of the country as well.
As Sunday's election approaches, violence in the east has continued, with Ukraine's defense
ministry saying up to 500 insurgents attacked government troops in one clash in eastern Ukraine
that left 20 insurgents dead. The ministry said in a statement the clash took place on Thursday as a
convoy of Ukrainian troops was attacked outside the eastern village of Rubizhne. Up to
16 Ukrainian soldiers also died on Thursday in an assault on a checkpoint by separatists. On Friday,
the Donbass paramilitary group, which operates with the tacit backing of Kiev, said it had been
ambushed by separatist forces, with at least one dead, and many injured or taken hostage.

Alexander Ivanov, of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine, a non-governmental group monitoring

election preparation, expected up to one-third of polling stations to open in Donetsk region. The
coordinating groups were meeting in secret, he said, and there were worries there could be attacks
on polling stations, or that groups of separatists might try to seize the official result papers at the
end of the day.
Most of the election officials who have been kidnapped have been released shortly afterwards, but
the intimidation has worked, said Ivanov, scaring off many others. Almost all the regional election

17
committees have been stormed by armed men, who in many cases have made away with voter lists
and the official electoral stamps.
Frontrunner Petro Poroshenko needs more than 50% to win the election in the first round, otherwise
there will be a run-off three weeks later. Pro-Kiev authorities in the east are hoping for a first-round
victory to avoid another period of political uncertainty. Poroshenko has said he would negotiate
with political forces from the east of the country, but not with armed separatists responsible for
attacks on official buildings and soldiers.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/23/russia-ukraine-vote-vladimir-putin-
president
B.Un primar spaniol prezintă scuze după ce a fost acuzat de rasism de către
imigranţi români
Un primar spaniol a prezentat scuze după ce a fost acuzat de rasism de către imigranţi
români ca urmare a unei tirade violente împotriva hoţilor, scrie thejakartapost.com. Primarul Jose
Bergara a fost înregistrat într-o şedinţă de anul trecut lăudându-se că va avea grijă 'să nu mai vină
gunoaie' în oraşul său, Sestao (Ţara Bascilor, nord).

Cinci familii de români au depus o plângere împotriva sa în instanţă, acuzându-l că a refuzat în mod
ilegal să le înregistreze ca rezidenţi în oraşul său. Pentru a-şi susţine cauza, românii au prezentat o
înregistrare video cu declaraţiile sale drept dovadă a rasismului primarului, a afirmat organizaţia
SOS Racismo, care a ajutat familiile.

Bergara a prezentat scuze joi, după ce înregistrarea a fost difuzată de mass-media, care s-a ocupat
de caz. (Agerpres)

http://jurnalul.ro/stiri/externe/un-primar-spaniol-prezinta-scuze-dupa-ce-a-fost-acuzat-de-rasism-de-catre-imigranti-
romani-668917.html#

C. Şeful Pentagonului soseşte în RomâniaŞeful Pentagonului, Chuck Hagel, va începe

miercuri un turneu de 12 zile, urmând să se deplaseze în Singapore, Belgia, România şi
Franţa, relatează AFP. Acest turneu va începe cu o scurtă deplasare la baza militară
Elmendorf din Alaska, unde secretarul american al Apărării va evalua capacităţile de
apărare antirachetă.

În România, Hagel va vizita o navă americană, crucişătorul USS Vella Gulf, aflat în prezent în
Marea Neagră, informează Antena3.ro. După această vizită, el va participa, pe 3 şi 4 iunie, la
reuniunea miniştrilor Apărării din cadrul NATO, prima întâlnire de acest tip "după incursiunile
Rusiei în Ucraina".

http://jurnalul.ro/stiri/observator/seful-pentagonului-soseste-in-romania-668914.html#

18
 Unit 4. THE LANGUAGE OF PERSUASION
“The original is unfaithful to the translation.”
( Jorje Luis Borges)
4.1. PUBLIC SPEAKING
Effective public speaking involves many things, including stage
presence, articulation, eye contact, poise and volume. The content of
the speech is also important, and the way to make the content
memorable is to use effective language. Good public speakers use
language correctly and with style, and the principle of ‗equivalent
effect‟ is the one that should be followed when translating speeches,
as it is desirable that the persons who listen to or read the speech in
translation should be touched by it in much the same way as the
receiver of the speech in its original form.

Good speakers use simple language for two primary reasons. First, audiences can sense a fake.
When elevating language simply for the sake of using big words when small words will do,
audiences may perceive the speaker as insincere, and that perception might also transfer onto the
message. Second, using a long word when a short one will do inhibits the ability to communicate
clearly. A speaker‘s message should be to be clear. Using language that makes it more difficult for
the audience to understand the message can negatively impact their ability to get the message.

Word choice is of outmost importance for the speaker and, therefore, for the translator as well.
Speakers should use words with which they are comfortable. The most effective language is clear
and easy to understand, because if the speaker doesn't know the word, the audience may not either.

E. Michele Ramsey, Ph.D. and Penn State Berks, Reading, PA point to the following strategies that
need to be mastered by the speaker and, consequently, by the translator:

 Repetition is common, especially in persuasive speaking. Repetition shouldn't be redundant

or boring, but instead add a sense of importance to the repeated phrase, word, or idea. Dr.
Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream," speech repeats the rhetorical effect "I have a
dream." President Obama also used repetition in his victory speech in November 2008. The
line "but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining
moment, change has come to America" illustrates how repetition of a single word ("this")
can work well in a speech.
 Metaphors are comparisons made by speaking of one thing in terms of another. Similes
are similar to metaphors in how they function; however, similes make comparisons by using
the word ―like‖ or ―as,‖ whereas metaphors do not. The power of a metaphor is in its ability
to create an image that is linked to emotion in the mind of the audience. It is one thing to
talk about racial injustice, it is quite another for the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to
19
 note that people have been ―…battered by storms of persecution and staggered by the winds
of police brutality.‖ Throughout his ―I Have a Dream‖ speech the Reverend Dr. King uses
the metaphor of the checking account to make his point. He notes that the crowd has come
to the March on Washington to ―cash a check‖ and claims that America has ―defaulted on
this promissory note‖ by giving ―the Negro people a bad check, a check that has come back
―insufficient funds.‖ By using checking and bank account terms that most people are
familiar with, the Reverend Dr. King is able to more clearly communicate what he believes
has occurred. Similes also help make a message clearer by using ideas that are more
concrete for the audience. For example, to give the audience an idea of what a winter day
looked like it could be said that the ―snow looked as solid as pearls.‖ To communicate
sweltering heat one could say that ―the tar on the road looked like satin.‖
 Alliteration is the repetition of the initial sounds of words and is a useful tool for helping
people remember the message, and it‘s difficult to say, but very easy to remember. Tongue
twisters such as ―Sally sold seashells by the seashore‖ or ―Peter Piper picked a peck of
pickled peppers‖ are famous examples of alliteration, but the problem posed by alliteration
for translators is huge if they want to retain the phonetic effect in the target text.
 Antithesis allows the use of contrasting statements in order to make a rhetorical point.
Perhaps the most famous example of antithesis comes from the Inaugural Address of
President John F. Kennedy when he stated, ―And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what
your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.‖
 Parallel structure is the balance of two or more similar phrases or clauses, and parallel
wording is the balance of two or more similar words. The Reverend Dr. King‘s ―I Have a
Dream‖ speech exemplifies both strategies in action. Indeed, the section where he repeats ―I
Have a Dream‖ over and over again is an example of the use of both parallel structure and
language. The use of parallel structure and language helps the audience remember the
message, without beating them over the head with repetition.
 Personalized language refers to the use of language that directly connects the topic or
argument to the audience, who are easier persuaded that the subject matter is serious and
important to them if they are addressed directly. Using words like ―us,‖ ―you,‖ and ―we‖
can be a subtle means of getting the audience to pay attention to the speech, as most people
are most interested in things that they believe impact their lives directly. The translation of
the pronoun ‗you‘ poses a serious challenge, due to the various degrees of politeness
expressed by different pronouns into most other languages.
 Clichés are phrases or expressions that, because of overuse, have lost their rhetorical power.
Examples include sayings such as ―The early bird gets the worm‖ or ―Making a mountain
out of a molehill.‖ Phrases such as these were once powerful ways of communicating an
idea, but because of overuse these phrases just don‘t have the impact that they once had.
Using clichés in speeches is not advisable, but if this strategy is used, then the cliché must
be translated with a similar cliché if the effect is to stay the same.
(http://www.publicspeakingproject.org/PDF%20Files/Language%20Web%201.pdf)

20
Here are two examples of famous American speeches to analyse and translate:

A. The Gettysburg Address (Abraham Lincoln)

The Gettysburg Address is a speech by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, one of the best-
known in American history. It was delivered by Lincoln during the American Civil War, on the
afternoon of Thursday, November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National
Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, four and a half months after the Union armies defeated
those of the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg.
Lincoln's speech came to be regarded as one of the greatest speeches in American history. In just
over two minutes, Lincoln reiterated the principles of human equality espoused by the Declaration
of Independence and proclaimed the Civil War as a struggle for the preservation of the Union split
apart by the secession crisis, with "a new birth of freedom, that would bring true equality to all of
its citizens‖.

According to http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/gettysburg.htm, there are five

known copies of the speech in Lincoln's handwriting, each with a slightly different text, and named
for the people who first received them: Nicolay, Hay, Everett, Bancroft and Bliss. Two copies
apparently were written before delivering the speech; the remaining ones were produced months
later for soldier benefit events. Despite widely-circulated stories to the contrary, the president did
not dash off a copy aboard a train to Gettysburg. Lincoln carefully prepared his major speeches in
advance; his steady, even script in every manuscript is consistent with a firm writing surface, not
the notoriously bumpy Civil War-era trains. Additional versions of the speech appeared in
newspapers of the era, feeding modern-day confusion about the authoritative text.

Ever since Lincoln wrote it in 1864, the Bliss version has been the most often reproduced, notably
on the walls of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. It is named after Colonel Alexander Bliss,
stepson of historian George Bancroft. Bancroft asked President Lincoln for a copy to use as a
fundraiser for soldiers. However, because Lincoln wrote on both sides of the paper, the speech
could not be reprinted, so Lincoln made another copy at Bliss's request. It is the last known copy
written by Lincoln and the only
one signed and dated by him. Today
it is on display at the Lincoln Room of
the White House.

21
 Here is the full text of the speech:

Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation,
conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so
conceived and so dedicated can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that
war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting-place for those
who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper
that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this
ground. The brave men, living and dead who struggled here have consecrated it far
above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember
what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living rather
to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so
nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining
before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for
which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that
these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation under God shall have a new birth
of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not
perish from the earth.

B. “I Have a Dream” (Martin Luther King)

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered this speech on August 28, 1963, on the steps of the
Washington, D.C., Lincoln Memorial during the march on Washington for Jobs and
Freedom. Delivered to over 250,000 civil rights supporters, the speech was a defining moment of
the American Civil Rights Movement.

It synthesized portions of his previous sermons and speeches, with selected statements by other
prominent public figures. King had been drawing on material he used in the ―I Have a Dream‖
speech in his other speeches and sermons for many years. In September 1960, King began giving
speeches referring directly to the American Dream. In a speech given that month at a conference of
the North Carolina branches of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People,
King referred to the unexecuted clauses of the preamble to the U.S. Constitution and spoke of
America as ―a dream yet unfulfilled‖.

King continued to give versions of this speech throughout 1961 and 1962, then calling it ―The
American Dream.‖ Two months before the March on Washington, King stood before a crowd of
150,000 people at Cobo Hall in Detroit to present the need for making ―the American Dream a
reality‖ .
22
As King and his advisors prepared his speech for the conclusion of the 1963 march, he solicited
suggestions for the text. Clarence Jones offered a metaphor for the unfulfilled promise of
constitutional rights for African Americans, which King incorporated into the final text: ―America
has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned‖. King recalled
that he did not finish the complete text of the speech until 3:30 A.M. on the morning of August 28.
Later that day, King stood at the podium overlooking the gathering. Although a typescript version
of the speech was made available to the press on the morning of the march, King did not merely
read his prepared remarks. He later recalled: ―I started out reading the speech, and I read it down to
a point…the audience response was wonderful that day…. And all of a sudden this thing came to
me that…I‘d used many times before.... ‗I have a dream.‘ And I just felt that I wanted to use it
here…I used it, and at that point I just turned aside from the manuscript altogether. I didn‘t come
back to it‖ (King, 29 November 1963).

The following day, in the New York Times James Reston wrote: ―Dr. King touched all the themes of
the day, only better than anybody else. He was full of the symbolism of Lincoln and Gandhi, and
the cadences of the Bible. He was both militant and sad, and he sent the crowd away feeling that the
long journey had been worthwhile‖

(http://mlkkpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/encyclopedia/encyclopedia/enc_i_have_a_dream_2
8_august_1963/)

Here is an excerpt from the speech:

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest
demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed
the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of

23
hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice.
It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of
the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of
discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in
the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still
languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land.
And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our
republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of
Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall
heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be
guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is
obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens
of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the
Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that
there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've
come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and
the security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now.
This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of
gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to
rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice.
Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of
brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

………………………………………………………………………………………………
………

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It
is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its
creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

24
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the
sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat
of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of
freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not
be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor
having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day
right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little
white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain
shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be
made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it
together."

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With
this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful
symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray
together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together,
knowing that we will be free one day.

And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to
sing with new meaning:

My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.

Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,

From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.

25
 And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that:

Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every
village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that
day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants
and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

Free at last! Free at last!

Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

C. Inima României (Nicolae Titulescu)

This motivational speech was made on 1 May 3rd, 915, during a

national march in Ploieşti. Titulescu makes a plea for the
Romanian spirit seen as a national matrix which must and can
ensure us a leading position among world nations.

26
 Here is an excerpt:

Iubiţi cetăţeni,

Se apropie anul de când, brusc, fără pregătire, tragic, România a fost pusă în faţa clipei,
care trebuia să decidă de toate străduinţele trecutului ei întunecat şi vitreg şi de toate
făgăduielile viitorului ei luminos şi falnic: clipă supremă, pe care am întrezărit-o cu toţii
în visurile noastre de mărire, clipă pe care nu îndrăznea să spere a o vedea sosind
generaţiunea chemată s-o trăiască! Ce s-a întâmplat atunci, cum a fost împiedicată
făptuirea păcatului monstruos şi inept de a ne vărsa sângele pentru apărarea graniţelor
vrăjmaşilor noştri, a acelor graniţe, care de veacuri ne sufoca, a acelor graniţe, care sunt
ca nişte tăieturi adânci şi dureroase în corpul viu al naţiunii, a acelor graniţe, care dacă
nu vom reuşi să le spulberăm, ne vor încătuşa ca zidurile unei temniţe, la umbra cărora
viaţa se ofileşte şi se stinge, ce s-a întâmplat atunci o ştim cu toţii! Cum am fost feriţi
atunci să nu ajungem nenorociţi şi mici, nedreptăţiţi şi nedemni, asupriţi şi totuşi
dispreţuiţi, aceasta va fi o veşnică glorie pentru acei care au avut menirea să o
îndeplinească!

Instinctul neamului, prin aleşii lui, a vorbit la timp! Instinctul nu se poate însă opri aici,
instinctul nu poate să adoarmă, atunci când a trezit sufletul! Şi sufletul românesc,
răscolit de amintirile istorice, răscolit de destinul lui măreţ, pe care de-a pururea l-a
întrevăzut în zare răscolit de puterea momentului prin care trece, sufletul românesc, mai
treaz şi mai sus azi ca oricând, ordonă ca acţiunea să nu întârzie!

Problemul care se pune azi României e înfricoşător, dar simplu: sau România pricepe
datoria pe care i-au creat-o evenimentele în curs, şi atunci istoria ei abia începe, iar
viitorul ei va fi o răzbunare prelungită şi măreaţă a umilinţelor ei seculare; sau
România, mioapa la tot ce e „mâine―, cu ochii mari deschişi la tot ce e „azi― nu pricepe
şi înlemnită stă pe loc, şi atunci istoria ei va înfăţişa pentru vecie exemplul, unic şi
mizerabil, al unei sinucideri vieţuite! Din împrejurările de azi, România trebuie să iasă

27
 întreagă şi mare! România nu poate fi întreagă fără Ardeal; România nu poate fi mare
fără jertfă!

Ardealul e leagănul care i-a ocrotit copilăria, e şcoala care i-a făurit neamul, e farmecul
care i-a susţinut viaţa. Ardealul e scânteia care aprinde energia, e mutilarea care striga
răzbunare, e făţărnicia care cheamă pedeapsa, e sugrumarea care cere libertatea!
Ardealul e românismul în restrişte, e întărirea care depărtează vrăjmaşul, e viaţa care
cheamă viaţa! Ne trebuie Ardealul! Nu putem fără el! Vom şti să-l luăm şi, mai ales, să-
l merităm! Pentru Ardeal nu-i viaţă care să nu se stingă cu plăcere; pentru Ardeal nu-i
sforţare care să nu se ofere de la sine; pentru Ardeal totul se schimbă, totul se
înfrumuseţează, până şi moartea se schimbă: încetează de a fi hidoasă, devine
atrăgătoare!

(….)

4.2. ADVERTISING

The advertising text is a special type of discourse for

several reasons. The content of the text is conditioned by
the medium through which it is transmitted and by the
purpose which it serves, but there are also some stylistic
features that are specific to advertising texts. In an
advertising discourse words are not chosen only for their
meaning, but they must also bring the desired effect, thus
making the linguistic choice much more difficult.

 Length of text
Advertising texts have to be short and snappy and will therefore have to use the space they have at
their disposal wisely. The translator‘s job is not to interfere too much in the aspect of the text
length. For this reason, paraphrasing and explaining as translation strategies will be ruled out from
the start, leaving the translator with the option of inventing/creating texts that have the same effect
on the translated text receiver as on the original text receiver.

 Rhyme
The best way to ensure that the slogan stays in the mind of the potential buyer is to get him or her to
remember it easily and rhyme is the sure path. A very good strategy, which is also the most

28
challenging to the translator, is to include the brand name in the sequence of rhyming words.
Examples of such imaginative slogans are: Haig Scotch - ―Don’t be vague. Ask for Haig‖, ―Beanz
Meanz Heinz‖, ―The flavour of a Quaver is never known to waver‖ (Quavers crisps), ―Maybe she’s
born with it. Maybe it’s Maybelline‖ (Maybelline make-up brand), ―J’adore‖-Dior, ―Relax, it’s Fed
Ex‖, ―Today, tomorrow, Toyota‖. These types of slogans are particularly effective since they are
highly individualized and the special rhyming will be the identity of the slogan.
 Alliteration, assonance, consonanace
Alliteration is one of the main prosodic structures that the slogans draw on. It is fun to say and
enjoyable to read and can help slogans achieve the strong beating rhythm needed to make it a
repeatable sentence, easily remembered by the audience, while also achieving an emphatic effect of
the meaning. It is defined as representing the repetition of initial sounds in neighboring words,
especially in stressed ones. Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds, while consonance is the
repetition of consonant sounds. Some illustrative examples are ―Greyhound going great‖, ―Allied
Irish Bank: Britain’s Best Business Bank‖, ―Top people take the Times‖, ―You'll never put a better
bit of butter on your knife‖ (Country Life), ―The Passionate Pursuit of Perfection‖ (Lexus).
 Repetition
It is not only the sounds that are repeated in slogans. Following the proverb ―Repetition is the
mother of all learning‖, slogan writers often resort to word repetition in order to emphasize the
message and to force the prospective consumer into remembering it. It is a well known fact that
pattern depends upon repetition, not only of sounds, but also of words and structures. This is how a
break is identified with the product in ―Have a break. Have a Kit Kat‖. Sometimes a part of the
brand name is repeated in the slogan like in ―Double your pleasure. Double your fun. Doublemint
gum‖. Other words that might be repeated creating parallel structures may be determiners like in
―Her kiss. Her body. Her perfume.‖ (Chanel N◦5)

 Pronouns
The first and second person pronouns are generally used in order to create a relationship
between the advertiser and the target audience. Examples of slogans such as ―Fed ex; We live to
deliver‖, ―We never stop working for you‖ (Verizon Wireless), ―We really move our tail for you‖
(Continental Airlines) speak for themselves. A translation into Romanian will not make explicit use
of the pronoun as the subject need not be expressed in our language, since it can be inferred from
the form of the verb. The most pressing problem that arises with the translation of pronouns into
Romanian is that the Romanian language has a different system of reference as concerns the second
pronoun. It is difficult to translate the English ‗you‘ without serious consideration of the situation,
as the choice is at least between ‗tu‘, ‗voi‘ and ‗dumneavoastră‘, each pronoun expressing a
different degree of familiarity and politeness.

29
  Adverbs
A constant feature of advertising discourse is the use of adverbs such as ‗always‘, ‗every‘, ‗all‘
meant to indicate the universal application of the product (―Forever sport – Adidas‖, ―Live from
everywhere‖ – CNN International), to include as many potential customers as possible ( ―For all
walks of life – Allen-Edmonds shoes ‖ ), to emphasize the product‘s utility (―Trusted everywhere‖ –
Duracell Batteries) or the company‘s commitment (―Always Coca-Cola‖).

 Polysemy and puns

A word is judged to be polysemous if it has two senses whose meanings are related.
Homonyms are spelled the same, but have different meanings from totally separate etymologies.
A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a figure of speech which consists of a deliberate
confusion of similar words within a phrase or phrases, for rhetorical effect. Puns rely on an
assumed equivalent of similar words (homonyms), of different shades of meaning of one word
(polysemy), or of a literal meaning with a metaphor. Translating puns is one of the most
challenging aspects, as it requires high linguistic skills, sharp decision making, creativity to attempt
some sort of rewriting and broad cultural knowledge. Puns are generally considered to be
untranslatable.
Extremely imaginative pun slogans may be based on homophony ―I think, therefore IBM‖,
―Scent to bed‖ (French Connection) or polysemy ―Just plane smart‖ (Southwest Airlines), ―Sole
Survivor‖ (shoes) or just unexpected word associations: ―Fly with US‖ (US Airlines), ―Time to R-
Tire‖ (Fisk tires).

 Idioms and collocations

Idioms and collocations are so language-specific that they are, after puns, the most difficult part of
text to translate. The danger is that where there is no awareness that an expression is metaphorical
or idiomatic, a translator may give a literal version and, in so doing, create a completely different
meaning. The attempt to make sense of an idiomatic expression is often met with failure as the
overall meaning will not be derived from the sum of the parts.
When idioms also contain the name of the brand the task of the translator becomes very
difficult like is the case with the slogan ―A whole lot can happen, out of the Blue‖ (Labatt Blue –
Canadian beer brand) or with ―Easy as Dell‖ (Dell Computers), that is a parody for ―easy as hell‖.

 Portmanteau words
New words are sometimes created to fit special contexts. Portmanteau words are created by fusing
two or more words or parts of words to give a combined meaning. Typically, portmanteau words
become neologisms, which makes them difficult to translate. A good example is ―Burton
30
Menswear: Everywear‖, where a new word was formed by the juxtaposition of two words that
become a homonym of an already existing word, which is what ensures comprehension. Another
fusion is easily noticeable in Air Deccan‘s slogan ―Simplifly‖.

 Parallelism
Sentences that are part of a slogan can have parallel structures like in ―The future’s bright.
The future’s Orange‖. The parallel structure can be preserved even where there are no full
sentences, by the repetition of a determiner in front of different nouns; ‗Her kiss. Her body. Her
perfume‖ (Chanel N◦5). Sometimes parallelism is achieved by opposition as in the slogans ―You
Watch, We Listen‖ (British Satellite Broadcasting), ―It it’s on, it’s in‖ (Radio Times, MCBD) or
―Tough on grease. Soft on hands.‖ (Palmolive).

 Rhetorical questions
In advertising questions are often used to attract attention by mentioning the matter that concerns
the prospective buyers the most. They entice the customer to read on to find the solution to the
presented problem. This is why FedEx ask the addressee ―Why wait when you don’t have to?‖ and
Ford want to know ―Have you driven a Ford…lately?‖, while Calvin Klein also give an answer to
their question: ―Know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing‖ (Calvin Klein).

 Spelling
Since English is not a phonetic language, words can be misspelled in English without hindering
their understanding. Such a strategy of deviant spelling will aim at drawing the target public‘s
attention to the slogan. The form of the slogan thus becomes an integral part of the message and a
valuable element for the marketing strategy. Problems occur when trying to translate such slogans,
for not all the original features can be preserved in translation.
If we are to discuss Heinz‘s slogan ―Beanz Meanz Heinz‖ we will notice the deliberate
transformation of the indicative for the plural form –s and of the indicative for the third person
singular verb –s into –z to match the final consonant of the company brand name. What we are
dealing with here is, however, a situation of visual rhyme, difficult, if not impossible to render in
another language without losing the graphic and phonetic effect.

31
Now get in groups of four and try creating an equivalent slogan in Romanian that
would best transmit the message of the original slogan:

 Allied Irish Bank: Britain‟s Best Business Bank

 Top people take the Times (The Times)
 For all walks of life (Allen-Edmonds shoes)
 It it‟s on, it‟s in (Radio Times, MCBD)

 Today, Tomorrow, Toyota (Toyota)

 Beanz Meanz Heinz (Heinz)
 I think, therefore IBM (IBM)
 Connecting people ( Nokia)

 You'll never put a better bit of butter on your knife (Country Life)
 The Passionate Pursuit of Perfection (Lexus)
 Just plane smart (Southwest Airlines)
 Spend a night, not a fortune (Econo Lodge)

 Have a break. Have a Kit Kat (Kit Kat)

 Double your pleasure. Double your fun. Doublemint gum
 Sole Survivor (shoes)
 Before you make up your mind, open it (Irish Independent)

32
 Maybe she‟s born with it. Maybe it‟s Maybelline (Maybelline)
 Tuborg. BEer YOURSELF (Tuborg)
 Born to perform (Jaguar)
 Think small (Volkswagen Beetle)

 If anyone can, Canon can. (Canon)

 The flavour of a Quaver is never known to waver (Quaver chips)
 Just do it (Nike)
 The ultimate driving machine (BMW)

 Don‟t be vague, ask for Haig. (Haig beer)

 Jaguar.Grace, Space, Pace (Jaguar)
 Get the London look (Rimmel)
 Have it your way (Burger King)

33
 Unit 5. ESP – ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES
“When I think of this profession, I think of priestly,
tireless dedication to getting it right.”
(Emma Donoghue)

English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is a branch of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) that has
gained ground constantly since the 1960s. ESP is generally described as the teaching of English for
any purpose that could be specified. Evan Frendo defines ESP as ―a term often used to describe
language that is inaccessible to people who are not members of a particular language community‖.

The area of English for Academic and Occupational Purposes includes subtypes such as:
 English for Science and Technology
 English for Business and Economics
 Legal English
 English for Medical Purposes
 Vocational English (e.g. English for tourism, nursing, aviation, bricklaying, etc.).

The answer to the legitimate question 'What is the difference between the ESP and General English
approach?' is given by Hutchinson in brief : "in theory nothing, in practice a great deal".

5.1. ENGLISH FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

'Scientific English' is simply 'English used by scientists or
for the purposes of those engaged in science'. It has the
same grammar, pronunciation and spelling as are found in
all kinds of English; it includes much of the general
vocabulary of English, though with a large number of
specialized items or of familiar words used in specialized
ways; it also carries an array of linked symbols and visual
symbolizations which nevertheless can be verbalised by
those who know the rules for doing so.

34
 What is special about 'scientific English' is the particular mixture of grammatical and
vocabulary items. There is basically a high proportion of items of specialised vocabulary. Some
words may be used in both EST and basic English, but their meaning is indeed completely
different. Therefore, the actual meaning of words should be determined according to the context.

Some characteristics are highlighted by Jianfeng Wei and Qingdong Wang, Shibo Xing in their
paper ―Analysis of Linguistic Features of English for Science and Technology‖:

 Greek and Latin Morphemes - most EST glossary are derived from Greek and Latin.
Especially the affixes of Greek and Latin play a very important role in engineering
English, such as thermo-, hydro-, multi-, trans-, -wise, -able, -tude, - ator, de-, anti-, etc.

 Compound Words - to briefly and accurately describe concepts of the object, such as
characteristic, size, quantity, or extent, compound words are often used in EST

 Noun Groups - modify a noun with one or more words. Apparently, the last word in the
group is the core of a noun group. It tends to increase in scientific and technological
literature because science and technology workers pursue accurate and brief expression.
For example, it is common to say ‗high precision instrument‟, not ‗the instrument of
high precision‘, ‗heat recovery system‟, not ‗the system of recovering the heat‘,
‗transfer mode‟, „nuclear power plants‟, etc

 Formal style - basic English structures have their more formal EST correspondent, as in
the examples below:
- to put into/ to insert
- to use up / to consume
- to send / to transmit
- to get / to obtain
- enough / sufficient
- better / superior
- a lot of / appreciable

 Contraction Words - many contraction words have been used in some science and
technology fields, such as, cit., e.g., i.e., vs., etc.. whereas, a large quantity of them are
only used in special range, such as COP (Coefficient of Performance), dB (decibel),
CAD (Computer-Aided Design), CAM (Computer-Aided Manufacture), R&D (Research
and Development), SI unit (Standard International unit), etc.. If the contraction words are
not used in a special field, they must be explained. For example, HPFH（High-Pressure
Feedwater Heater）

35
 Basic Tenses - because the contents of scientific and technological articles do not have
special time relations, the verb tense mainly consists of three kinds: the present tense, the
past tense and the perfect tense.

 Passive Voice – EST needs to be objective, to describe objective things and carry
through logic meaning. In many occasions the passive voice is more concise, as the most
important information is placed at the head of a sentence. So, the passive voice is widely
used in narrate formula, principle, processes, technological report, etc.

 Gerund, Participle, Infinitive – tese structures also express meaning in a concise

manner, replacing full subordinate clauses, such as in the examples below:

- After introducing the above hypothesis, the governing idea …

- The research being carried out in power system, simulation is meaningful.
- We keep micrometers in the boxes to protect them from dust.
 Stating Sentences – in science and technology in documents describing experiments,
explaining phenomena, clear-cuting definitions, theorems, laws and principles the stating
sentence are more used, question sentence and interjection sentences being almost not
used

 Complex Sentences - there are two kinds of complex sentences, one expresses
coordinate relations, the other primary and secondary relations. The former is joined by
coordinate conjunctions (and, not only…but also…, therefore, nevertheless, etc. ) , the
latter is composed of one main clause and one or more subordinate clauses introduced by
linkers such as which, that, since, if, as long as, etc.

 “It be + adj. ( gerund ) + that……” structures - in order to balance sentence structure

and strengthen sentence objectivity, ‗it‘ is always used as subject. For example, ―It may
be concluded that the behavior of a fluid flowing pipe is affected by many factors,
including the viscosity of the fluid and the velocity at which it is pumped.‖

 Sentences introduced by “As” –‗As stated above‘, ‗As shown in Fig. 2‘, ‗As the
discussion shows‘, ‗As follows‘, etc..

( http://www.computer.org/csdl/proceedings/kese/2009/3916/00/3916a098.pdf)

Now try your hand at translating some Technical English texts:

36
Product Data Sheet
Version 2 (07 / 2014)

Sikasil® WS-605 S
High performance weatherproofing sealant

Technical Product Data

Chemical base 1-C silicone

1 2
Color (CQP 001-1) Various colors available
Cure mechanism Moisture-curing
Cure type Neutral
Density (uncured) (CQP 006-4) transparent / aluminum color 1.03 kg/l approx.
all other colors 1.49 kg/l approx.
Non-sag properties (CQP 061-4 / ISO 7390) < 2 mm approx.
Application temperature 5 - 40 °C (40 - 105 °F)
3
Skin time (CQP 019-2) 25 min approx.
3
Tack-free time (CQP 019-1) 120 min approx.
Curing speed (CQP 049-1) See diagram 1
Shore A-hardness (CQP 023-1 / ISO 868) 20 approx.
2
Tensile strength (CQP 036-1 / ISO 37) 1.0 N/mm approx.
Elongation at break (CQP 036-1 / ISO 37) 800 % approx.
Tear propagation resistance (CQP 045-1 / ISO 34) 4.0 N/mm approx.
2
100% modulus (CQP 036-1 / ISO 37) 0.3 N/mm approx.
Movement accommodation capability (ASTM C 719)  50 %
Thermal resistance (CQP 513-1) 180 °C (355 °F) approx.
Short term 4 hours 200 °C (390 °F) approx.
1 hour 220 °C (430 °F) approx.
Service temperature -40 - 150 °C (-40 - 300 °F)
Shelf life (storage below 25 °C) (CQP 016-1) 12 months
1) 2) 3)
CQP = Corporate Quality Procedure See “Specification Guide” for more details 23 °C (73 °F) / 50 % r.h.

Description Product Benefits Areas of Application

®
- Meets requirements of ISO 11600 25 LM F & G,
®
Sikasil WS-605 S is a ASTM C 920 (class 50), ASTM C 1248, TT- Sikasil WS-605 S can be used for
durable, neutral-curing S00230C, TT-S001543A, DIN 18540, DIN 18545 weatherproofing and sealing appli-
silicone sealant with a high (group E) cations where durability under severe
movement capability and - Outstanding UV and weathering resistance conditions is required. It is particularly
excellent adhesion to a wide - Does not stain areas adjacent to the joint suited as a weather seal for structural
range of substrates. glazing, curtain walling and windows.
- Adheres well to glass, metals, coated / painted
metals, plastics and wood
® - Provided with CE-mark according to EN 15651-
Sikasil WS-605 S is This product is suitable for pro-
1:2012, F EXT-INT CC 25LM, (F EXT-INT 25LM
manufactured in accordance fessional experienced users only.
with ISO 9001 / 14001 quality for transparent), EN 15651-2:2012, G CC 25LM,
Tests with actual substrates and
assurance system and the certified by Control Body 1119
conditions have to be performed to
responsible care program ensure adhesion and material
compatibility

37
Cure Mechanism Method of Application Overpainting
® ®
Sikasil WS-605 S cures by reac- Surface preparation Sikasil WS-605 S cannot be over-
tion with atmospheric moisture. Surfaces must be clean, dry and painted.
The reaction thus starts at the free from oil, grease and dust.
surface and proceeds to the core Advice on specific applications and Further Information
of the joint. The curing speed de- surface pretreatment methods is Copies of the following publications
pends on the relative humidity and available from the Technical are available on request:
the temperature (see diagram 1 Department of Sika Industry. - Safety Data Sheet
below). Heating above 50 °C to Application
speed-up the vulcanization is not After suitable joint and substrate Packaging Information
advisable as it may lead to bubble preparation, Sikasil ® WS-605 S is Cartridge 300 ml
formation. At low temperatures the
gunned into place. Joints must be Unipack 600 ml
water content of the air is lower properly dimensioned as changes
and the curing reaction proceeds Pail trans / other 18 / 26 kg
are no longer possible after con-
more slowly. struction. For optimum perfor- Drum trans / other 195 / 280 kg
mance the joint width needs to be
10 50°C 35°C 23°C designed according to the move- Value Bases
m]
[m

8 ment capability of the sealant All technical data stated in this

8°C based on the actual expected Product Data Sheet are based on
Curin spe

6
ed

movement. The minimum joint laboratory tests. Actual measured

4 depth is 6 mm and a width / depth data may vary due to circumstan-
50°C / 95% r.h.
35°C / 90% r.h. ratio of 2:1 must be respected. For ces beyond our control.
2
g

23°C / 50% r.h. backfilling it is recommended to

8°C / 30% r.h.
use closed cell, sealant compatible Health and Safety Information
00 2 4 6 8 10 foam backer rods e.g. high resil- For information and advice re-
Time [days]
ience polyethylene foam rod. If garding transportation, handling,
®
Diagram 1: Curing speed 1C-Sikasil joints are too shallow for backing storage and disposal of chemical
material to be employed, we products, users shall refer to the
Application Limits recommend using a polyethylene actual Safety Data Sheets
®
Most Sikasil WS, FS, SG, IG, WT, tape. This acts as a release film containing physical, ecological,
AS and other engineering silicone (bond breaker), allowing the joint to toxicological and other safety-
sealants manufactured by Sika are move and the silicone to stretch related data.
compatible with each other and freely.
®
with SikaGlaze IG sealants. For For more information please con- Legal Notes
specific information regarding tact the Technical Department of The information, and, in particular, the
compatibility between various Sika Industry. recommendations relating to the appli-
® ®
Sikasil and SikaGlaze products cation and end-use of Sika products,
please contact the Technical Tooling and finishing are given in good faith based on Sika's
Department of Sika Industry. All Tooling and finishing must be current knowledge and experience of
other sealants have to be the products when properly stored,
ap- carried out within the skin time of
handled and applied under normal
proved by Sika before using them ®
the adhesive. conditions in accordance with Sika's
in combination with Sikasil WS- When tooling freshly applied
recommendations. In practice, the
®
605 S. Where two or more different Sikasil WS-605 S press the adhe- differences in materials, substrates and
reactive sealants are used, allow sive to the joint flanks to get a
actual site conditions are such that no
the first to cure completely before good wet ability of the bonding warranty in respect of merchantability
applying the next. surface. or of fitness for a particular purpose,
Do not use Sikasil ® WS-605 S on Removal nor any liability arising out of any legal
®
relationship whatsoever, can be in-
pre-stressed polyacrylate and Uncured Sikasil WS-605 S may
ferred either from this information, or
polycarbonate elements as it may be removed from tools and equip-
from any written recommendations, or
®
cause environmental stress crack- ment with Sika Remover-208 or
from any other advice offered. The user
ing (crazing). another suitable solvent. of the product must test the product’s
Once
The compatibility of gaskets, cured, the material can only be suitability for the intended application
backer rods and other ®accessory and purpose. Sika reserves the right to
materials with Sikasil WS-605 S removed mechanically. change the properties of its products.
Hands and exposed skin should be
® The proprietary rights of third parties
must be tested in advance. Joints washed immediately using Sika must be observed. All orders are ac-
deeper than 15 mm have to be Handclean towels or a suitable cepted subject to our current terms of
avoided.
industrial hand cleaner and water. sale and delivery. Users must always
The above information is offered Do not use solvents! refer to the most recent issue of the
for general guidance only. Advice local Product Data Sheet for the pro-
on specific applications will be duct concerned, copies of which will be
given on request. supplied on request.

38
Fisa Tehnica
Versiunea nr. 11 / 2006
Sikasil® FS-665
Sigilant cu clasificare la foc

Informatii tehnice
Silicon
Compozitie chimica
monocomponent
1
Culoare (CQP 001-1) Gri, Negru
La umiditatea
Mecanism de intarire
armosferica
Tip de intarire Neutru
Densitate (neintarit) (CQP 006-4) 1,47 kg/l aprox.
Stabilitate mecanica (CQP 061-4 / ISO 7390) < 2 mm aprox.
Temperatura de aplicare 5 - 40°C (41 - 104°F)
2
Timp de lucru (CQP 019-2) 15 min aprox.
2
Timp de peliculizare (CQP 019-1) 120 min aprox.
Viteza de intarire (CQP 049-1) Vezi fig. nr. 1
Duritate Shore A (CQP 023-1 / ISO 868) 25 aprox.
2
Rezistenta la intindere (CQP 036-1 / ISO 37) 1,2 N/mm aprox.
Elongatia la rupere (CQP 036-1 / ISO 37) 700% aprox.
Rezistenta la forfecare (CQP 045-1 / ISO 34) 4 N/mm aprox.
2
Modul de elasticitate la 100% (CQP 036-1 / ISO 37) 0,4 N/mm aprox.
Capacitatea de deplasare a rostului (ASTM C 719)  25%
Rezistenta la temperatura (CQP 513-1) termen lung 180°C (356°F) aprox.
Termen scurt 4 ore 200°C (392°F) aprox.
1 ora 220°C (428°F) aprox.
-40 - 150°C aprox.
Temperatura de lucru
(-40 - 302°F)
Termen de garantie (depozitare la sub 25°C) (CQP 016-1) 12 luni
1) 2)
CQP = Procedura de Calitate Corporatista 23°C (73°F) / 50% u.r.

Descriere Beneficii Domenii de aplicare

® ®
Sikasil FS-665 este un sigilant
siliconic cu clasificare la foc,
neutru, cu modul de elasticitate
scazut, avand adeziune excelenta
pe o diversitate de materiale
poroase sau neporoase.
®
Sikasil FS-665 este fabricat in
conformitatea cu standardele de
calitate ISO 9001 si cu programul
de responsabilitate sociala
- Clasificare la foc conform: EN
11925-2 / DIN 4102-B1; pana la
4 ore izolarea si intergritatea
produsului (BS 476, partea 20)
- Indeplineste standardele ISO
11600 25 LM F & G, ASTM C
920 (clasa 25), TT-S00230C, TT-
S001543A
- Rezistenta deosebita la la
intemperii si la radiatia UV.
Sikasil FS-665 este ideal pentru
protejarea impotriva intemperiilor,
a peretilor cortina si fatadelor unde
este necesara protectia la foc. Se
recomanda indeosebi pentru
sigilarea rosturilor de expansiune,
traselor de cablu si conducte la
constructii cu specificatii pentru
utilizarea sigilantilor cu clasificare
la foc.
Acest produs se recomanda a fi
utilizat de pentru a se asigura o
adeziune corespunzatoare si o
compatibilitate intre materiale este
necesara efectuarea de teste
preliminare.

39
 Mecanism de intarire Metoda de aplicare Supravopsirea
® ®
Sikasil FS-665 se intareste prin Pregatirea suprafetelor Sikasil FS-665 nu poate fi
reactie cu umiditatea atmosferica. Suprafetele trebuiesc curatate, supravopsit.
Reactia incepe de la suprafata uscate, fara urme de ulei, grasime
catre interiorul cordonului de sau praf. Informatii suplimentare
adeziv. Viteza de intarire depinde Recomandari cu privire la pre- Urmatoarele documente sunt
de umiditatea atmosferica si de tratarea substratului vor fi oferite disponibile la cerere:
temperatura (vezi graficul de mai de Departamentul Tehnic al Sika - Fisa tehnica a produslui
jos). Temperatura de peste 50°C, Industry. - Fisa de siguranta a produsului
care va accelera foarte mult viteza Aplicare
de intarire a adezivului, nu este Dupa dimensionarea rostului si Ambalare
recomandata intrucat duce la pregatirea substratului se va Cartus 300 ml
formarea de goluri de aer in ®
cordonul de adeziv. La temperaturi introduce Sikasil FS-665 intr-un Unipac 600 ml
mai joase continutul de apa din aer pistol de aplicare. Rosturile
este mai scazut si de aceea, trebuiesc dimensionate corect Valori oferite
reactia de intarire este mai lenta. intrucat nu pot fi facute modificari Toate datele tehnice continute in
ulterioare constructiei. Pentru aceasta fisa tehnica sunt
10 50°C 35°C 23°C
obtiner
ea performantelor recomanda
te in urm
a testelor de
superioare rostul trebuie laborator. Valorile pot varia in
e intarire [mm]

8
dimensionat avand in vedere functie de diversele circumstante.
6 8°C deplasarea acestuia. Dimensiunea
minima a rostului de 6 mm trebuie Transportul si manipularea
4
50°C / 95% r.h. respectata, precum si raportul Pentru informatii suplimentare cu
35°C / 90% r.h.
2 latime/adancime de 2:1. privire la transportul si manipularea
Vitez d

23°C / 50% r.h .

8°C / 30% r.h. Clasificarea la foc se face in acestor produse chimice, va rugam
0
functie de dimensiunea rostului. sa consultati cea mai recenta fisa
a

0 2 4 6 8 10
Timp[zile] Toate materialele auxiliare care vor de siguranta a produsului care
®
Fig 1:Viteza de intarire a sigilantilor Sikasil fi utilizate pentru rost: cordoane de contine datele fizice, toxice si
monocomponenti fund de rost cu celule inchise,cum ecologice, precum si alte date de
ar fi spuma de polietilena, benzi siguranta.
Limite de aplicare® ceramice sau vata minerala trebuie
Toti adezivii Sikasil WS, FS, SG, testate inainte de utilizare. Retineti:
IG, WT precum si alti sigilanti si Pentru mai multe informatii va Datele care apar in aceasta fisa tehnica
adezivi siliconici sunt compatibili rugam sa contactatii Departmentul se bazeaza pe cunostintele si pe
®
unii cu altii. Sigilantii Sikasil WS si Sika Industry. experientele noastre actuale. Acestea
FS sunt compatibili cu sigilantii insa nu il absolva pe utilizator de
® Aplicarea si Finisarea propriile verificari si experimente
SikaGlaze IG. Orice alt sigilanti Finisarea trebuie facuta inainte ca datorita multitudinii de posibile influente
trebuie sa fie testati de Sika inainte® adezivul sa peliculizeze. Atunci in timpul utilizarii si aplicarii produselor
®
de a-i utiliza impreuna cu Sikasil cand finisati Sikasil FS-665 S noastre, ele reprezentand doar linii
FS-665. In situatia in care sunt presati adezivul pe marginea directoare generale. O asigurare
utilizati doi sau mai multi sigilanti, rostului pentru o mai buna obligatorie legala a anumitor proprietati
permiteti primului sigilant sa se adeziune pe suprafetele utile. sau aprobarea pentru un anumit scop
intareasca complet inainte de a-l practic nu poate fi exclusa. Eventuale
aplica pe cel de-al doilea.® Indepartarea resturilor
®
de silicon drepturi de protectie ca si legile si
Nu utilizati adezivul Sikasil FS-665 Sigilantul Sikasil FS-665 neintarit hotararile in vigoare trebuiesc
pe materiale din poliacrilat si poate fi indepartat de pe respectate de catre utilizator pe propria
®
policarbonat pre-tensionat echipament cu Sika Remover-208 raspundere.
deoarece pot aparea fisuri. sau alta solutie pe baza de solvent
Compatibilitatea garniturilor, corespunzatoare. Odata intarit,
fundului de rost si a altor accesorii resturile de sigilant pot fi
®
care intra in contact cu Sikasil indepartate numai mecanic.
FS-665 trebuie testata. Nu se Mainile si pielea care au intrat in
recomanda realizarea de rosturi contact cu sigilantul trebuie
®
mai adanci de 15 mm. curatate cu n servetele Sika
40
3.2. ENGLISH FOR BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS
Business English is a variety of language very close to general English, but with a marked
practical style. Business English expressions are highly targeted, thus requiring a very formal
English style, a rigorous and concise language, without deliberately seeking expressions of artictic
beauty. Compared with narrative texts, business documents do not use many modifiers, the key
being to transmit the information effectively and clearly.

Business English is used in a variety of international business communication situations, and it is

imperative that good relations of cooperation are maintained, therefore it is necessary to ensure that
the terms used are appropriate, being not be too colloquial, too informal. Thus, overly simplistic,
colloquial prepositions and adverbs, such as because, about, if, like, for, such as will be replaced
by prepositional phrases, such as on the grounds that, with reference to, in the event / case of, in
the nature of, for the purpose of and so on.

Here are some characteristics of Business English language:

 use of abbreviations, such as
- A / C = Account (account)
- Reps = sales reps (sales representative)
- B2 = business to business (business to business ecommerce)
- B / L = bill of landing (bill of lading)
- L / C = Letter of credit (LC)
- FAQ = fair average quality (good average quality)
- Mt = metrication (tones)
- CIF = cost, insurance & freight (price terms, refers to the price of the premium c
ost plus transportation)
- ETA = estimated time of arrival (pre-arrival period), and so on.
41
  precise, concise language characteristics,with particular attention to data accuracy and
rigorous terms – limited to no use of rhetorical devices, which might lead to
misunderstandings
 emphasis on the predicate, expressed by verbs in the active voice, so that the information
is retained directly and correctly, facilitating a clear response
 terms of politeness. In oral communication, the interlocutors need to be aware of the other
party‘s cultural practices/background and address each other with deference. In the case of
exchange of letters, polite terms are used as part of specific formulae, such as
- ―We shall appreciate your ... ... if ... we will be very grateful‖,
- ―Please accept my sincere appreciation for ...‖,
- ―Thank you in advance for ..‖,
- ―We tender you our apologies for/ hereby apologize for …‖
 business jargon/specialized vocabulary -
for example, the dynamic performance of macroeconomic terms includes "Gross National P
roduct" (GNP gross national product), "GDP" (GDP gross domestic product)

Clearly, the Business English translator should understand well not only the source language and
target language, but also have cultural knowledge of the customs of the nation, so as not to cause
offense in any way. This is particularly relevant in the case of interpreting oral interaction, as the
interpreter must have good knowledge of the country‘s culture and customs, laws and regulations as
well as of the various cultural expressions in order to establish a good ground for international
relations.

The translator must fully understand the specific business context, because the same commercial
terms in different business contexts may have different meanings. The text must be translated
accurately, or else the consequences might be damaging. Special care must be taken in the case of
the translation of business contracts, although that is a grey area between Business English and
Legal English.

42
Here is your chance to practice Business English translation:

A. Squaring the circle - Making sense of asset prices

GAMBLERS dream of achieving a trifecta: picking the first three horses, in the right order,
in a given race. The payout is huge but so are the odds against success.

The same could be said, in financial markets, of a strategy that backed equities, gold and
government bonds. The three asset classes do not tend to perform well at the same time.
Both gold and equities can be classed as inflation hedges but government bonds are hard hit
by higher consumer prices. Both gold and government bonds could be bracketed as havens
for risk-averse investors but equities are definitely classed as risky assets.

The bet has paid off this year, however. According to Dhaval Joshi of RAB Capital, a fund-
management firm, the three asset classes have all produced double-digit returns over the
past three months. That has occurred only twice before in the past 50 years.

So what can explain this odd combination? One possibility could be that investor opinion is
divided, with those who fear deflation buying government bonds and those who fear
inflation buying gold.

But while opinion has veered away from believing in efficient markets, can they really be
that inefficient? After all, the inflation camp should not just be buying gold, it should be
shorting government bonds (ie, betting on a falling price). Either the deflationists or the
inflationists should win the argument and force the other asset class into line.

A more plausible version of this theory is that bond yields are being held down by central
banks, which are buying their own governments' debt as part of quantitative-easing
programmes. In other words the market is being distorted and yields do not reflect the views
of private-sector investors.

An alternative explanation is based on tolerance for risk. Last year stockmarkets fell and the
dollar rose as risk-averse (often dollar-based) investors moved out of paper assets and into
cash. Now investors realise the Depression will not be repeated. They are buying equities
and selling the dollar again. Since gold is seen as an alternative currency, it tends to rise
when the greenback falls.

All this fundamental analysis may, however, be missing the point. The real reason why all
three asset classes have been rising is simply down to liquidity. Low interest rates are
driving investors out of cash and into anything that offers either the prospect of capital gain

43
or a yield that is higher than zero. Investors used to talk about a "Greenspan put" that
supported the stockmarket. This time there is a "Bernanke put" supporting all asset prices.

How long can this last? The authorities are inflating the value of "financial wealth" relative
to "real wealth"—goods, services and the businesses that produce them. Real wealth has
undoubtedly taken a hit. Industrial production in most OECD countries is still showing a
double-digit percentage decline year on year.

A policy of bolstering asset prices can work for a while but eventually it leads to tensions
and distortions. The problem could show up in the currency markets, where America has
been getting a free ride, running a big fiscal deficit with zero interest rates and a
depreciating currency. Other countries are feeling the pressure. Brazil is imposing a 2% tax
on portfolio inflows in an effort to slow the real's rise. An adviser to the French president
describes a rate of $1.50 to the euro as a "disaster".

Another possibility is that the authorities see the market rally as evidence of success and
withdraw their fiscal-stimulus packages too quickly. The shift is already under way in
Europe.

If the trifecta does break down, then the consensus favours government bonds as the asset
class to suffer. But is that the right call? After all, 20 years into their crisis, and with gross
government debt heading for 200% of GDP, Japanese bonds yield just 1.3%. Perhaps ten-
year Treasury bond yields of 3.4% are reasonable after all. Headline inflation is still
negative, so in real terms yields are strongly positive. In addition bond yields can be seen as
the weighted average expectation for the future level of short rates. Since the Federal
Reserve has made it clear that short rates will be kept low for a considerable period, that
drags bond yields down. Market expectations for bond yields in five years' time are around
4.5%, within the range in which bonds traded for much of this decade.

The only other times the three-way bet worked were back in the early 1980s. On each
occasion when it broke down, the casualties were equities and the gold price as the economy
slipped into a double-dip recession. It could happen again.

(The Economist)
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-210239189.html)

44
 B. Romania s-ar putea confrunta cu o criză a finanţării în luna noiembrie
Din cauză că guvernul refuză să vândă titluri de stat la randamente mai mari de 7%,
Romania s-ar putea confrunta cu o criză a finanţării în noiembrie, reiese dintr-o analiză a
Reuters. Totuşi, ţara noastră nu va avea probleme în a gasi fondurile necesare în acest an,
atât timp cât rămâne în relatii bune cu FMI, chiar dacă ar putea ajunge să plătească
semnificativ mai mult. Romania trebuie să rostogolească datorii în valoare de şapte miliarde
de lei, în moneda locala şi euro, în luna noiembrie, dar şi să acopere un deficit bugetar lunar
de trei miliarde de lei. Dacă Ministerul Finanţelor continuă să se concentreze asupra
emisiunilor cu maturităţi de până la şase luni, ar putea ajunge într-o situaţie financiară chiar
mai dificilă, necesarul lunar de fonduri putând ajunge la opt miliarde de lei lunar la
începutul lui 2011, de la 4-5 miliarde de lei în prezent, a afirmat Lars Christensen, analist la
Danske Bank.

(http://www.financiarul.com/articol_50787/romania-poate-ajunge-la-o-criza-a-finantarii-in-noiembrie.html)

C. Noi sancţiuni pentru statele europene care nu respectă disciplina fiscală

Dupa 11 ore de negocieri, miniştrii de finanţe ai UE au ajuns la un acord privind cea mai
ambiţioasă reformă a Pactului de stabilitate şi de creştere de la crearea monedei unice, în
1999. Concomitent, practic, Germania şi Franţa au gasit un compromis în privinţa
sancţiunilor care vor fi aplicate în caz de indisciplină bugetară, astfel încât preşedintele
Consiliului european, Herman Van Rompuy, să poată finaliza raportul său asupra
guvernanţei economice.

(http://www.financiarul.com/articol_52194/ministrii-de-finante-ai-ue-au-convenit-pachetul-de-sanctiuni-
pentru-statele-care-nu-respecta-disciplina-fiscala.html)

45
 5.3. LEGAL ENGLISH

Legal language is a distinct language easy to some

extent to those familiar with it, but extremely difficult
for those who are unfamiliar with it, as it is
characterised by specific terminology.

 Terms of Latin and French origin:

One of many noticeable features of English legal

lexicon is the existence of Latinisms (Latin terms) in its terminology. This is due to the incredible
power of the Roman law, which was a coherent written system, and had strength of an institution
over a considerable area of Europe. Here are some Latin phrases and words in common use:
- Bona fide (good faith or in good faith)
- Res judicata (an issue adjucated)
- Bes nova ( a new thing; an undecided question of law)
- Actus reus (guilty act)
- Alibi (elsewhere; the fact or state of having been elsewhere when an offence was
committed)

Like in the case of Latinisms, the existence of legal French terms within English legal language is
also apparent. After the Norman Conquest in 1066, the language of the invaders gained an
undeniable position in the legal sphere of England, bringing with it a wealth of legal French
terminology. As a case of illustration, the following terms are originally French: contract, proposal,
schedule, terms, conditions, policy, alias, quash and so on.

 Archaic terms

Legal English lexicon is considerably made of archaic legal terms, as it has a high degree of
formality. Some lawyers prefer to use antique terms instead of new ones. For example, they use
„inquire‟ rather than ‗ask‘, ‗peruse‘ instead of ‗read‘, ‗forthwith‘ as a substitution of ‗right away‘
or ‗at once‟ and so on.

It is generally considered that the more conservative legal terms are, the safer a legal document will
be. There exist also some archaic adverbs, they are actually a mixture of deictic elements: ‗here‘
‗there‘ and ‗where‘ with certain prepositions: of, after, by, under, as exemplified in the following
contexts:
- The parties hereto agree as follow.
- Hereinafter referred to as wife.
- The total rent for the term hereof is the sum of________.

Certain outdated terms and constructions are truly a handicap for better understanding, as they
make legal language inaccessible for public readers. So, it is essential for translators to seek advice
46
from lawyers when attempting to translate legal texts and to become familiar with legal texts in the
Target Language.

 Unusual use of the words „the same‟, „such‟ and „said‟:

Using such words in legal language is quite different from using them in ordinary one. The word
‗the same‘ usually implies comparison to a similar object or person, but in legal use it refers to
sameness of reference. For example:

- The tenant shall pay all the taxes regularly levied and assessed against Premises and
keep the same in repair.

In this example, ‗the same‘ refers to the word ‗Premises‘.

Also, the word ‗such‘ means normally ‗that sort‘ or ‗this sort‘. Now, observe its use in a legal
context:

- We conclude that the trial court’s order constituted an abuse of discretion in the
procedural posture of this case which compels us to set aside such order.

Apparently, the phrase ‗such order‘ signifies ‗this order‘. So, here, such acts in the same way as the
demonstrative pronoun ‗this‘.

Concerning the function of the word said in legal drafting, it is used as an article or a demonstrative
pronoun, as in the following example:

- Lessee promises to pay a deposit. Said deposit shall accrue interest at a rate of five
percent per annum.

Here, the word ‗said‘ could be substituted by the article ‗the‘ or the demonstrative pronoun ‗this‘
with no loss of meaning.

 Frequent use of doublets

There is common use of collocations in which synonyms or near - synonyms are combined in pair
―doublets‖. Such words can be either nouns, verbs, adjectives or even prepositions. For example:

- made and enter

- by and between
- lying and situated
- terms and conditions
- covenants and obligations
- null and void
- in good order and repair
47
 - represents and warrants
- any and all

 technical terminology

A technical term is an unshared term used exclusively by a specific trade or profession. Alcaraz &
Brian present a classification of technical vocabulary: purely technical terms and semi-technical
terms.

- Purely technical terms: are those that are only applicable in the legal sphere
and nowhere else. For example, decree, mortgage, sub-letting, deem, tenant,
lease, hereinafter
- Semi-technical terms: words and phrases of this group belong to everyday
lexicon but have gained extra-meaning in the legal context. Terms of this type
are polysemic, their meaning depending highly on the context in which they
occur. The following examples are terms of this type: assignment, maintenance,
consideration, title.

So, it is recommended for translators to consult specialized dictionaries whenever something in

the context alerts them to a usage distinct from standard or everyday usage.

(http://www.translationdirectory.com/articles/article1763.php)

Try translating the following sentences first:

1. Curtea de Justiţie rezolvă cazuri litigioase în Europa.

2. Dreptul european devine din ce în ce mai operant datorită acestei Curţi de Justiţie.
3. Toţi membri CEE respectă judecăţile curţii începând din 1957.
4. În timp ce Anglia prelungea momentul aplicării deciziei Curţii cu privire la importurile de lapte,
francezii se impacientau din ce în ce mai tare.
5. În timp ce Franţa încerca să urmeze politica protecţionistă cu privire la importurile de carne de
oaie din Marea Britanie, mulţi detractori considerau că – Curtea ar fi trebuit să impună sancţiuni.
6. Tribunalul Primei Instanţe, care va trata cazurile minore, nu există decât de câteva luni.
7. Guvernele verifică deja legislaţia europeană şi sunt suspicioase cu privire la modul de scrutin.
8. La începutul anilor 80 Curtea îşi exagera puterile dar devenea mai prudentă sub preşedinţia unui
judecător scoţian între 1984 şi 1988.
9. Parlamentul va vota luna viitoare amendamentele la Actul din 1987.
10. Până în anul 2000 Curtea de Justiţie va trata cea mai mare parte a cazurilor litigioase importante
din Europa.

Now try your hand at a full document:

48
49
50
5.4. MEDICAL ENGLISH

Without a doubt, over the last decades English has

become the language par excellence of the medical
science, displacing other languages, such as
French or German. Medical language is a special
language used by experts. One of its characteristics
is writing research papers in English. The writing,
therefore, has to be clear, precise, exact and
objective. One problem is the use of specific
expressions for introducing a research, presenting
results and methods used, developing discussion
and stating conclusions.

Here are some features of Medical English, as highlighted by Lucía Ruiz Rosendo:
 Acronyms
Medical language is no exception to specialized languages as to the abusive use of acronyms. They
are most difficult to translate, especially in those cases when the original meaning of the acronym
has been forgotten, as in laser, which comes from the term light amplification by stimulated
emission of radiation. The phenomena of linguistic economy are more used in some medicine
branches, especially in endocrinology, immunology or virology. Some examples are:
- ADP (adenosi diphosphate)
- ECG (electrocardiogram)
- VD (respiratory dead space)
- DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)
- ACD (absolute cardiac dullness)
- WBC (white blood count)
One problem with translating acronyms is that an acronym can be interpreted in a different way
depending on the doctor‘s speciality or the lack of international equivalence. One example is ME,
which may have a multitude of meanings in different medical branches, ranging from Macular
Edema, Meningoencephalitis to Myalgic encephalomyelitis and many others.
 Passive Voice
As in most ESP variants, Medical English uses Passive Voice structures a lot in order to emphasise
the action over the doer, especially when reporting results of research or study:
The samples obtained from 16 randomly selected patients, monitored for up to 5 years,
were studied by qualitative and semiquantitative rt-pcr-nah and by real-time rt-pc r to
detect the hcv rna positive strand
 Gerund forms
. Evidence supporting a possible role for BKV in human cancer has accumulated slowly in
recent years
The incidence and risk factors of malignancy were studied in 187 consecutive liver transplant
recipients surviving more than 3 months

51
  Compound nouns
There is a clear preference in Medical English for the union by hyphens of affixes and nouns in
order to create compounds, in examples such as:
- Anti-endothelial, Anti-inflammatory
- Colorectal cancer
- Radioresistance
- Cephalgia (from the affix cefal, which means head)
- Osteoarticular system (from the affix ost, which means bones)
- Nephrologist (from the affix nephr,which means kidney).

English has a peculiarity in that for a great deal of terms it has an erudite Greco-Latin term and a
more popular name which is more common. The origin of term-coupling can be found in English
medical language history. Popular medical languages have always existed in the oral tradition in the
regions absorbed by the Roman Empire. When it fell, Latin continued to be the only language for
scientific communication all over Western Europe, which was exclusive in religious schools, but
doctors communicated with people through vernacular English. Consequently, English has two
terms for a concept: the erudite word (from a Greek or Latin root) and the vernacular one. See

coagulation (erudite) clotting (popular)

cicatrization (erudite) scarring (popular
lordosis (erudite), hollow back, saddle back (popular)
myopia (erudite), shortsightedness (popular)

 Foreign words, borrowings and calques

There is an infinite list of Anglicisms in most other languages in terms of Medical jargon, which are
commonly used because of their concision and brevity: test, shock, stress, screening are a few
examples of words widely adopted in many other languages instead of being translated.

(http://www.trans.uma.es/pdf/Trans_12/t12_231-246_LRuiz.pdf)

Now try translating some medical texts:

A. Gastritis

Gastritis is an inflammation of the lining of the stomach, and has many possible causes. The
main acute causes are excessive alcohol consumption or prolonged use of nonsteroidal anti-
inflammatory drugs (also known as NSAIDs) such as aspirin or ibuprofen. Sometimes gastritis
develops after major surgery, traumatic injury, burns, or severe infections. Gastritis may also occur
in those who have had weight loss surgery resulting in the banding or reconstruction of the
digestive tract. Chronic causes are infection with bacteria, primarily Helicobacter pylori. Certain
52
diseases, such as pernicious anemia, chronic bile reflux, stress and certain autoimmune disorders
can cause gastritis as well. The most common symptom is abdominal upset or pain. Other
symptoms are indigestion, abdominal bloating, nausea, and vomiting. Some may have a feeling of
fullness or burning in the upper abdomen. A gastroscopy, blood test, complete blood count test, or
a stool test may be used to diagnose gastritis. Treatment includes taking antacids or other
medicines, such as proton pump inhibitors or antibiotics, and avoiding hot or spicy foods. For those
with pernicious anemia, B12 injections are given.

Symptoms

Many people with gastritis experience no symptoms at all. However, upper central abdominal pain
is the most common symptom; the pain may be dull, vague, burning, aching, gnawing, sore, or
sharp. Pain is usually located in the upper central portion of the abdomen, but it may occur
anywhere from the upper left portion of the abdomen around to the back. Other signs and
symptoms may include:

 Nausea
 Vomiting (if present, may be clear, green or yellow, blood-streaked, or completely bloody,
depending on the severity of the stomach inflammation)
 Belching (if present, usually does not relieve the pain much)
 Bloating
 Feeling full after only a few bites of food
 Loss of appetite
 Unexplained weight loss

Diagnosis

Often, a diagnosis can be made based on the patient's description of his or her symptoms, but other
methods may be used to verify:

 Blood tests:
o Blood cell count
o Presence of H. pylori
o Pregnancy
o Liver, kidney, gallbladder, or pancreas functions
 Urinalysis
 Stool sample, to look for blood in the stool
 X-rays
 ECGs
53
  Endoscopy, to check for stomach lining inflammation and mucous erosion
 Stomach biopsy, to test for gastritis and other conditions

Treatment

Over-the-counter antacids in liquid or tablet form are a common treatment for mild gastritis.
Antacids neutralize stomach acid and can provide fast pain relief. When antacids don't provide
enough relief, medications such as cimetidine, ranitidine, nizatidine or famotidine that help reduce
the amount of acid the stomach produces are often prescribed. An even more effective way to limit
stomach acid production is to shut down the acid "pumps" within acid-secreting stomach cells.
Proton pump inhibitors reduce acid by blocking the action of these small pumps. This class of
medications includes omeprazole, lansoprazole, rabeprazole, and esomeprazole. Proton pump
inhibitors also appear to inhibit H. pylori activity. Cytoprotective agents are designed to help
protect the tissues that line the stomach and small intestine. They include the medications sucralfate
and misoprostol. If NSAIDs are being taken regularly, one of these medications to protect the
stomach may also be taken. Another cytoprotective agent is bismuth subsalicylate. In addition to
protecting the lining of stomach and intestines, bismuth preparations appear to inhibit H. pylori
activity as well. Several regimens are used to treat H. pylori infection. Most use a combination of
two antibiotics and a proton pump inhibitor. Sometimes bismuth is also added to the regimen. The
antibiotic aids in destroying the bacteria, and the acid blocker or proton pump inhibitor relieves
pain and nausea, heals inflammation, and may increase the antibiotic's effectiveness.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastritis)

B. Apendicita – cauze, simptome, tratament

Apendicita este cea mai frecventă urgenţă chirurgicală abdominală, şi constă în inflamaţia
apendicelui. Această afecţiune apare frecvent la vârste cuprinse între 10 şi 30 de ani, dar poate fi
posibilă la orice vârstă, fiind cunoscute şi cazuri cu manifestări particulare la bolnavii vârstnici.
Odata pornit procesul inflamator al apendicelui, acesta nu poate fi stopat medicamentos,
tratamentul acestei afecţiuni fiind de natură chirurgicală. Cu cât se intervine mai rapede, cu atât
suferinta pacientului este mai redusă şi intervenţia mai usor de realizat, cu complicaţii cât mai
reduse.

Cauza acestei afecţiuni poate fi, în multe dintre situaţii, obstrucţia cavităţii organului din cauza unei
proliferări limfatice stimulate bacterian sau din cauza unui mic corp străin (sâmburi, seminţe).
Aceasta provoacă o creştere a presiunii din interiorul organului, o tulburare a circulaţiei sângelui

54
din pereţii organului şi inflamaţia acestuia ce poate evolua în lipsa tratamentului corespunzător până
la perforaţie (peritonita).

Simptomele clasice includ:

- durere surdă aproape de centrul sau partea superioara a abdomenului ce devine mai apoi ascuţită şi
se deplasează spre partea din dreapta jos a abdomenului. Acesta este, de obicei, primul semn;
- pierderea apetitului;
- greaţă şi/sau vărsături imediat după ce încep durerile abdominale;
- umflarea abdomenului;
- febră nu foarte ridicată;
- durere surdă sau ascuţită oriunde în partea superioara sau inferioară a abdomenului, spatelui sau în
zona rectului;
- urinări dureroase;
- crampe severe;
- constipaţie sau diaree.

Tratamentul standard al apendicitei este chirurgical şi constă în operaţia numită apendicectomie.

Înaintea operaţiei sunt administrate antibiotice care ajută organismul să lupte împotriva peritonitei.
În general, se face anestezie generală, iar apendicele este eliminat printr-o incizie de câţiva
centimetri sau prin laparoscopie. În termen de 12 ore de la intervenţie pacientul se poate ridica şi
deplasa. De obicei, revine la activităţile normale după doua sau trei săptămâni. În cazul în care
intervenţia se face cu ajutorul laparoscopiei, incizia este mai mică, iar timpul de recupereare mai
scurt.

(http://www.csid.ro/health/sanatate/apendicita-cauze-simptome-tratament-3825721/)

55
 Unit 6. LITERARY TRANSLATION

“Writers make national literature, while translators make universal literature.”

(José Saramago)

Literary translation is an art involving the transposing and interpreting of creative works such as
novels, short prose, poetry, drama, comic strips, and film scripts
from one language and culture into another. It bridges the delicate
emotional connections between cultures and languages and
furthers the understanding of human beings across national
borders. In the act of literary translation the soul of another culture
becomes transparent, and the translator recreates the refined
sensibilities of foreign countries and their people through the
linguistic, musical, rhythmic, and visual possibilities of the new
language. Without literary translation, human thought and art would be devoid of the souls of great
minds.

Read the list of tips on How to Translate Literary Works by Jacob De Camillis et al and
fill in the blanks with the words given below:

research risks
perfect avid
intimate education
practice master

1. Become an ________ and ________ reader in each of your languages. Translating

creative works requires the ability to read between the lines. You have to love reading in the
genre(s) you're translating and be both intimate with the writer and the nuances of language,
culture, thought, and message. If, for instance, you translate prose you have to read as many
prose poems as possible, in both the SL and the TL to grasp the styles, the subtleties, the
contexts, and soul of prose poetry.

56
 2. ________ your writing skills in your mother tongue. Most literary translators translate
exclusively into their mother tongue, the language within which they best express
themselves. To translate a book, you have to write a book, and this is a skill that has to be
developed and perfected.
3. Get an ________. Academic institutions worldwide offer courses in literary and academic
translation. Literary translation specifically is often offered through creative writing
programs.
4. ________ the writer and work you are translating. In order to interpret what you‘re
reading, you have to know everything about the person behind the words.
5. Know the ________ behind what you‟re translating. The translation of books has
sparked revolutions and wars. Know your audience and choose your texts carefully.
6. Remember that no translation is ________. The minute you begin to render your first
sentence, the original is already lost in translation. It is your job not to find an equivalent,
but rather reconstruct the original, as though it was written in the target language. Cultural
concepts, shades of meaning and even history can and will be lost.
7. ________, ________, ________ (same word repeated). Find yourself a comfortable place
and know that you can only get better by working hard and maintaining a regular schedule.

(http://www.wikihow.com/Translate-Literary-Works)

6.1. Prose
Many people think that the translation of
literary works is one of the highest forms of
rendition because it is more than simply the
translation of text. A literary translator must
also be skilled enough to translate feelings,
cultural nuances, humour and other delicate
elements of a piece of work. In fact, the
translators do not translate meanings, but the
messages. That is why the text must be
considered in its totality.

Translation is a challenging activity and there are few difficulties that emerge throughout the
translation process since every language portrays the world in diverse way and has its own
57
grammar structure, grammar rules and syntax variance. For example, Greek has separate words
for ‗light blue‘ and ‗dark blue‘, while other languages, such as Welsh and Japanese, have words
that can denote ‗blue‘ or ‗green‘, or something in between.

The narrative style is particularly important, as it it this style that distinguishes authors from one
another, and missing this element in translation might be detrimental. Figures of style pose the
biggest problem, because they do not have clear equivalents in the TL, and therefore require re-
creation.

According to Md. Ziaul Haque, a translator must adhere to the following principles:
1. a great understanding of the language, written and verbal, from which he is translating i.e. the
source language;
2. an excellent control of the language into which he is translating i.e. the target language;
3. awareness of the subject matter of the book being translated;
4. a deep knowledge of the etymological and idiomatic correlates between the two languages;
5. a delicate common sense of when to metaphrase or ‗translate literally‘ and when to
paraphrase, in order to guarantee exact rather than fake equivalents between the source- and
target-language texts.

The relationship between the original text and the re-created text (aka the translation) is best
illustrated in the figure made by Md. Ziaul Haque, with reference to how the original text is de-
constructed in order to be re-constructed.

(http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v2n6p97)

Explain the chart above in your own words.

58
 Read the six rules for the translation of prose put forth by Hillaire Belloc (1930) and
then rewrite each of them in your own words in the form of a short TO DO list:

1. The translator should avoid translating his work word by word or sentence by sentence, but
should instead tackle the work as an overall unit and keep in mind the whole sense of the
work when carrying out his translation.
2. The translator should translate the S.L. idiom by an equivalent T.L. idiom which will
naturally differ in form e.g.: The Greek exclamation 'By the dog' if translated literally into
English would seem comic, and should therefore be translated as ' By God'. S.L
grammatical systems should also be rendered by their equivalent T.L. grammatical systems.
(e.g. English Present Perfect will be translated as Perfect Compus or Prezent into Romanian
3. An S.L. intention should be rendered into an equivalent T.L. intention; and as the weight
that a given S.L. expression may have is often different from the weight of its counterpart in
the T.L. ( stronger or weaker) if translated literally, the translator might find it necessary to
add words to make up for the difference.
4. The translator should avoid the pitfall of similar words in different languages (false friends
– see eventually, accommodation etc)
5. The translator should not be slavish to the S.L. text since languages differ in form; he
should bring about such changes that he thinks to be necessary for the reproduction of the
equivalent effect in the T.L.
6. The translator should not add elements that are not in the S.L.

)faculty.ksu.edu.sa/.../Literary%20Translation/.../The%20Translation%20)

Now try your hand at translating some excerpts from celebrated Romanian and English novels:

A. A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Miller Hemingway (1899 –1961) was an American author and journalist. His economical
and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and
his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954
and many of his works are considered classics of American literature.

A Farewell to Arms is a novel written by Ernest Hemingway set during the Italian
campaign of World War I. The book, published in 1929, is a first-person
account of American Frederic Henry, serving as a Lieutenant in the ambulance
corps of the Italian Army and his love affair with a nurse, set against the backdrop
of the First World War, cynical soldiers, fighting and the displacement of
populations. The book became his first best-seller, and is described by biographer
Michael Reynolds as "the premier American war novel from that debacle World War I.”

59
 Here is an excerpt for you to translate:

In the late summer of that year we lived in a house in a village that looked
across the river and the plain to the mountains. In the bed of the river there were pebbles and
boulders, dry and white in the sun, and the water was clear and swiftly moving and blue in the
channels. Troops went by the house and down the road and the dust they raised powdered the
leaves of the trees. Thetrunks of the trees too were dusty and the leaves fell early that year and we
saw the troops marching along the road and the dust rising and leaves, stirred by the breeze, falling
and the soldiers marching and afterward the road bare and white except for the leaves.

The plain was rich with crops; there were many orchards of fruit trees and beyond the
plain the mountains were brown and bare. There was fighting in the mountains and at night we
could see the flashes from the artillery. In the dark it was like summer lightning, but the nights were
cool and there was not the feeling of a storm coming.

Sometimes in the dark we heard the troops marching under the window and guns going
past pulled by motortractors. There was much traffic at night and many mules on the roads with
boxes of ammunition on each side of their pack-saddles and gray motor-trucks that carried men,
and other trucks with loads covered with canvas that moved slower in the traffic. There were big
guns too that passed in the day drawn by tractors, the long barrels of the guns covered with green
branches and green leafy branches and vines laid over the tractors. To the north we could look
across a valley and see a forest of chestnut trees and behind it another mountain on this side of the
river. There was fighting for that mountain too, but it was not successful, and in the fall when the
rains came the leaves all fell from the chestnut trees and the branches were bare and the trunks
black with rain. The vineyards were thin and barebranched too and all the country wet and brown
and dead with the autumn. There were mists over the river and clouds on the mountain and the
trucks splashed mud on the road and the troops were muddy and wet in their capes; their rifles were
wet and under their capes the two leather cartridge-boxes on the front of the belts, gray leather
boxes heavy with the packs of clips of thin, long 6.5 mm. cartridges, bulged forward under the
capes so that the men, passing on the road, marched as though they were six months gone with
child.

B. The Moor‟s Last Sigh, Salman Rushdie

Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (born 1947) is a British novelist and essayist. Much of
his fiction is set on the Indian subcontinent. He is said to combine magical
realism with historical fiction; his work is concerned with the many connections,
disruptions and migrations between East and West. In June 2007 Queen Elizabeth
II knighted him for his services to literature. In 2008, The Times ranked him 13th on
its list of the fifty greatest British writers since 1945.

60
The Moor's Last Sigh is the fifth novel by Salman Rushdie, published in 1995. It is set in the Indian cities
of Bombay and Cochin. The title is taken from the story of Boabdil (Abu Abdullah Muhammed), the
last Moorish king of Granada. The Moor's Last Sigh traces four generations of the narrator's family and the
ultimate effects upon the narrator.

Here is an excerpt for you to translate:

'Your art-shart, Francisco,' she told her husband venomously, 'it will blindofy
me with ugliness.' But he was immune to her poisons. 'Old beauty is not enough,' he told her.
'Old palaces, old behaviour, old gods. These days the world is full of questions, and there are
new ways to be beautiful.'

Francisco was hero material from the day he was born, destined for questions and quests, as
ill-at-ease with domesticity as Quixote. He was handsome as sin but twice as virtuous, and on the
coir-matting cricket-pitches of the time he proved, when young, a devilish slow left arm tweaker
and elegant number four bat. At college he was the most brilliant student physicist of his year,
but was orphaned early and chose, after much reflection, to forgo the academic life, do his duty,
and enter the family business. He grew up, becoming an adept of the age-old da Gama art turning
spice and nuts into gold. He could smell money on the wind, could sniff the weather and tell you if
it was bringing in profit or loss; but he was also a philanthropist, funding orphanages, opening free
health clinics, building schools for the villages lining the back-waterways, setting up institutes
researching coco-palm blight, initiating elephant conservation schemes in the mountains beyond
his spice-fields, and sponsoring annual contests at the time of the Onam flower festival to find
and crown the finest oral storytellers in the region: so free with his philanthropy, in fact, that
Epifania was driven to wailing (uselessly): 'And then, when funds are frittered, and children are
cap-in-hand? Then can we eatofy your thisthing, your anthropology?‘

C. Maitreyi, Mircea Eliade

Am avut o noapte sălbatecă. De cum am rămas singur (umblasem mult pe străzi,

fumând în neştire şi căutând tot mahalalele indigene, a căror larmă şi forfot, şi limbă îmi
aminteau de zilele mele cu Maitreyi) şi m-am dezbrăcat, chinul, pe care oboseala îl
adormise oarecum, mă năvăli iar, de data aceasta fără să-i mai pot întâmpina nici o
rezistenţă. Zadarnic muşcam perna, zadarnic mă loveam să nu ţip.

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 Spuneam într-una: "Maitreyi, Maitreyi, Mai-treyi"...
până ce nu mai înţelegeam nimic din acest nume de fată,
sunetele lui nu-mi mai evocau nimic şi rămâneam năuc, cu
faţa între perne, fără să ştiu ce s-a întâmplat cu mine, ce s-a
rupt înlăuntrul meu, ce se petrece. Gândurile îmi alergau de
la un fapt la altul fără nici o legătură, revedeam Tamlukul,
Sadyia, alte nenumărate
locuri, pe care le cunoscusem, fără să înţeleg nimic. Îmi era
numai spaimă să mă
gândesc la orice îmi putea evoca figura Maitreyiei în seara despărţirii sau glasul d-lui Sen
spunându-mi: "Good-bye, Allan!, sau privirile d-nei Sen stăruind: "Ia-ţi ceaiul!"'...
De câte ori scenele acestea încercau să reînvie în minte, mă zbăteam. Îl auzeam pe Harold
cum sforăie, din odaia cealaltă, auzeam la răstimpuri ceasul de la biserica protestantă cum
numără în noapte. Ca să mă liniştesc, mă gândeam la moarte. Să mă înec în Gange şi să
afle Sen cât de curat o iubeam pe Maitreyi.
A doua zi, ziarele ar fi vorbit de acest tânăr european, sinucis fără motiv, prins în marginea
oraşului de barcagiii care se întorc scara. Maitreyi ar fi leşinat auzind, d-na Sen s-ar fi căit, căci ar fi
înţeles şi ea atunci cât de sincer, de total, o iubisem pe Maitreyi. Gândul morţii era singura alinare.
Intârziam cu voluptate asupra fiecărei imagini, asupra fiecărui gest: cum scriu scrisoarea d-lui Sen,
cum mă îndrept spre pod şi acolo plâng puţin, dar numai puţin, câteva lacrimi, şi apoi, pe
balustradă, privesc în jos cum curg apele galbene, cu mâl mult, ameţesc şi gata...Reluam filmul,
mereu de la început. Aşa am adormit în zori.

D. Viaţa ca o pradă, Marin Preda

Aventura conştiinţei mele a început într-o zi de iarnă când o

anumită întâmplare m-a făcut să înţeleg deodată că exist. Era
multă lume în casă, fiinţe mari, aşezate în cerc pe scaune mici şi care se
uitau la mine cu priviri de recunoaştere, dar parcă îmi spuneau cu
ostilitate, te vedem, eşti de-al nostru, dar ce faci? Atunci am auzit o
voce: "Lăsaţi-l în pace! Na, mă, şi pe-asta!" Şi cel ce rostise aceste
cuvinte a luat de undeva de pe sobă o pâine mare şi rotundă şi mi-a
întins-o. Atunci mi-am dat seama că ţineam strâns ceva în braţe, tot o
pâine, şi că asta era cauza privirilor rele îndreptate asupra mea. Pusesem
mâna pe pâinea de pe masă care era a tuturor şi nu mai vroiam să dau la nimeni din ea. Iar acel om,
de care ascultau toţi, în loc să mi-o ia cu forţa, cum furioşi se pare că vroiau ceilalţi, făcându-mă să
scot răcnete, îmi mai dăduse una: "Ia-o, mă, şi pe-asta!" Parcă m-am trezit dintr-un somn. M-am

62
uitat la toţi liniştit şi am pus cuminte pâinea din braţe pe masă. Nimeni nu mai m-a luat după aceea
în seamă, au început să rupă din ea şi să mănânce.

Din această întâmplare ar reieşi că instinctele de acaparare m-au dus departe de viaţă, ceea
ce nu s-a dovedit. Totuşi aventurile vieţii noastre sunt ale conştiinţei, deşi viaţa ei adevărată nu e
niciodată liberă de instincte şi nu o data e neputincioasă în faţa lor, în rău, dar şi în bine.

N-aş putea să spun cui datorez faptul că deşi am fost dat la şcoală la opt ani, cu scopul
mărturisit de tatăl meu să învăţ doar sa mă iscălesc şi pe urmă, asemeni fraţilor mei mai mari, să ar
pământul şi să cresc vite, totuşi întreaga familie a renunţat mai pe urmă la această idee. Fiindcă în
primul an abia am trecut clasa, deşi m-am trezit cu uimire citind.

6.2. Poetry

The difficulty of translating poetry is twofold: the

words and the meaning on the one hand, the flow
and rhythm (or rhyme) on the other. If many
translations are rather bad, that is because the
translator knows his or her own language too
poorly.

According to the definition of Robert Frost, ―Poetry is what gets lost in translation.‖ This
statement could be considered as a truthful one to a certain extent because there is no one-to-one
equivalent when comparing two languages. Even if the translators obtain a profound knowledge in
the source language (SL) they would not be able to create a replica of the original text. What should
be preserved when translating poetry are the emotions, the invisible message of the poet, the
uniqueness of the style in order to obtain the same effect in the target language as it is in the source.

Poetry by its very nature is untranslatable. Ideas can be translated from language to language, but
poetry is the idea touched with the magic of phrase and incantatory music.

The words and meaning embody certain issues related to the images, similes, metaphors, culture-
specific words, phrasal verbs, idioms, punned expressions, enjambment and grammar of both the
TL text and the SL text. According to Ezra Pound, ―an ‗image‘ is that which presents an intellectual
and emotional complex in an instant of time.‖ This is a great challenge for a translator, as s/he has
to put the same sensory effect in the translated form as well.

Another problem in translating poems is regarding the figures of style, which create analogies
between things or ideas. Some such figures of style (metaphors, similes, puns) are highly-culture
bound, and when the cultures are very different, it is often difficult to find equivalent lexical items.

63
Flow and rhythm cause another problem in translation. As the rhyme, rhythm, alliteration,
assonance, consonance, etc, produce musicality in any poem, hence their existence becomes
important. But most of the time it is observed that these musical elements, that are the beauty of the
poems, are somewhat lost in translation. The translator should balance where the beauty of a poem
really lies. If the beauty lies more in the sounds rather than in the meaning (semantic), the translator
cannot ignore the sound factor.

Words or expressions that contain culturally bound word(s) create certain problems. The
translator may find the cultural equivalent word of the SL or, if s/he cannot find one, neutralize or
generalize the SL word to result in ―functional equivalents‖. Sometimes a translator provides a
generic or super ordinate term for a TL word and the result in the TL is called classifier. And when
the translator just supplies the near TL equivalent for the SL word, s/he uses synonymy.

(http://www.academia.edu/1496072/Problems_in_Translating_Poetry_Some_Structural_Textural_and_Cultural_Issue#)

A. The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
64
B. If I Can Stop One Heart from Breaking, Emily Dickinson

If I can stop one heart from breaking,

I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.

C. Pastel, George Bacovia

- Adio, pică frunza

Şi-i galbenă ca tine, -
Adio, nu mai plânge,
Şi uită-mă pe mine.

Şi s-a pornit iubita

Şi s-a pierdut în zare -
Iar eu în golul toamnei
Chemam în aiurare...

-Mai stai de mă alintă

Cu mâna ta cea mică,
Şi spune-mi de ce-i toamnă
Şi frunza de ce pïcă...

65
D. Îţi aduci aminte plaja, Ana Blandiana

Îţi aduci aminte plaja

Acoperită cu cioburi amare
Pe care
Nu puteam merge desculţi?
Felul în care
Te uitai la mare
Şi spuneai că m-asculţi?
Îţi aminteşti
Pescăruşii isterici
Rotindu-se-n dangătul
Clopotelor unor nevăzute biserici
Cu hramuri de peşti,
Felul în care
Te îndepărtai alergând
Înspre mare
Şi-mi strigai că ai nevoie
De depărtare
Ca să mă priveşti?
Ninsoarea
Se stingea
Amestecată cu păsări
În apă,
Cu o aproape bucuroasă disperare
Priveam
Urmele tălpilor tale pe mare
Şi marea
Se-nchidea ca o pleoapă
Peste ochiul în care-aşteptam.

66
 Unit 7. TRANSLATING VS INTERPRETING

"All meanings, we know, depend on the key of interpretation"

(George Eliot)

The key difference between translation and interpretation lies within the choice of communication
channel. Simply put, translation deals with written communication, while interpreting is all about
the spoken word.

Translators work on written documents, including books, essays, legal documents, medical records,
websites, instruction manuals, subtitles for film or TV, or any other form of information in written
form. Interpreters, on the other hand, are involved in projects that require live translation; for
example conferences and business meetings, medical appointments and legal proceedings

Both translators and interpreters have a deep linguistic and cultural knowledge of their working
languages, as well as the ability to communicate clearly and succinctly. It is, however, important to
highlight the distinctive features of these two professions.

Translators generally work from their home computers, and tend to specialize in a particular field.
Good translators have excellent writing skills and are usually perfectionists by nature, paying
particular attention to the style of the source documents, as well as to the accuracy and significance
of the terms used within their translations. The key skill of a good translator is the ability to write
well and express oneself clearly in the target language. That is why professional translators almost
always work in only one direction, translating only into their native language. Even bilingual
individuals rarely can express themselves in a given subject equally well in two languages, and
many excellent translators are far from being bilingual. The key skills of the translator are the
ability to understand the source language and the culture of the country where the text originated,
and, using a good library of dictionaries and reference materials, render that material into the target
language.

Unlike translators, interpreters do not provide a word-for-word translation; instead, they transpose
spoken messages from one language into another, instantly and accurately. Interpreters work in
real-time situations, in direct contact with both the speaker and the audience. They rely primarily on
their linguistic expertise acquired through training and experience - a sentence in one language may
be rendered an entirely different way in another. Good interpreters are endowed with very quick
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reflexes, as well as a good memory and speaking voice. An interpreter is often more than an on-
demand translator, however - they also act as a facilitator between speaker and listener, both
linguistically and diplomatically. An interpreter has to be able to translate in both directions,
without the use of any dictionaries, on the spot.
(http://www.translationcentral.com/translation_vs_interpretation.php)

In spite of the vast differences in the skills of translators and interpreters, besides deep knowledge
of both languages, it is crucial that they also understand the subject matter of the text or speech they
are translating. Translation and interpretation are not a matter of substituting words in one language
for words in another. It is a matter of understanding the thought expressed in one language and then
explaining it using the resources and cultural nuances of another language.
(http://www.notatranslators.org/whatsthedifference.aspx)

Using the information above, try to sum up the specific skills and responsibilities of the
translator and interpreter:

The translator The interpreter

How Interpretation Works

It‘s not uncommon for people to think that interpretation

is a word-for-word translation of spoken words.
However, if this were the case, the end result would be
an unintelligible mess of words to the target audience.

68
Interpreters must rephrase as needed to properly convey the concepts a speaker presents to the
listening audience.

Even if you only speak English, you can better understand how challenging interpretation is by
trying this: paraphrase someone‘s speech, with a half-sentence delay, while making sure you also
understand and can paraphrase the next sentence.

There are five types of interpretation:

1. Simultaneous: The interpreter sits in a booth, listens
to the spoken content through headphones, and speaks
the translated words into a microphone. As soon as the
interpreter understands the general meaning of the
sentence, he or she begins the interpretation. In
simultaneous interpreting, the interpreter can't start
interpreting until s/he understands the general meaning
of the sentence. Depending on where the subject and
the verb are located in the sentence, the interpreter may not be able to utter a single word
until s/he heard the very end of the sentence in the source language. This should make it
evident how hard the task of the interpreter really is: s/he needs to translate the sentence into
the target language while simultaneously listening to and comprehending the next sentence.
The task is so demanding that interpreters work in pairs and must switch off every 20
minutes or so to prevent mental fatigue
2. Consecutive: The speaker stops frequently, typically
every one to five minutes, to allow the interpreter to
render what was said into the target language. The
speaker‘s pauses come at the end of a paragraph or
topic. While waiting, the interpreter sits or stands
beside the speaker, listening and taking notes as the
speaker progresses through the message.
3. Whispered: The interpreter sits or stands next to a
small target-language audience and whispers a simultaneous interpretation. This method is
generally used only when a few audience members do not speak the source language.
4. Relay: A source-language interpreter expresses the
message to a group of interpreters who have a language
in common and each speaks another language as well. In
turn, these interpreters convey the message to their
respective target audiences. For example, a German
speech is first interpreted in English to a group of
69
 interpreters, and is then interpreted by each into French, Japanese, Spanish, and Italian.
5. Liaison: An interpreter translates into and out of the source and target languages as a
conversation takes place. This is typically used for small, informal situations such as
meetings.

Here is a list of the qualities of an effective interpreter:

- Familiar with the general subject of the spoken language
that is to be interpreted.
- Intimately familiar with the cultures of both the original
language and the target language.
- Extensive vocabulary in the original language and the
target language.
- Expresses thoughts clearly and accurately in the target
language.
- Excellent note-taking skills (when consecutive
interpreting).
- Quick decision making skills (generally there is no time to assess which variant is best).

To conclude, it must be stressed that translators and interpreters are

not interchangeable, as the skills and tasks required are different for
the two jobs. Interpretation is used at live, in-person events, such as
in courtrooms, police stations, hospitals, and government forums,
while translation typically only involves a translator and a
computer.

(http://blog.lionbridge.com/travel-
hospitality/files/2012/07/Lionbridge-FAQ-Interp-vs-Translation.pdf)

70
 Unit 8. UNTRANSLATABILITY

"Translation is one of the few human activities in which

the impossible occurs by principle.”
(Mariano Antolín Rato)

The notion of equivalence is closely connected to another aspect that has puzzled theoreticians and
linguists for a long time: that of untranslatability. Von Humboldt's words exemplify this concept:

―All translation seems to me simply an attempt to solve an impossible task.

Every translator is doomed to be done in by one of two stumbling blocks: he
will either stay too close to the original, at the cost of taste and the language of
his nation, or he will adhere too closely to the characteristics peculiar to his
nation, at the cost of the original. The medium between the two is not only
difficult, but downright impossible‖.

This hypothesis was elaborated, through the 1930's and 1940's, into a theory according to which the
fact that each linguistic community has its own perception of the world, which differs from that of
other linguistic communities, implies the existence of different worlds determined by language.
However, seen from a more moderate point of view, the hypothesis helps explain the existence of
certain ―gaps‖ between languages which may seem to make translation impossible at times.

Catford distinguished between two types of untranslatability:

 Linguistic untranslatability: failure to find a TL equivalent is due entirely to differences
between the source language and the target language. Some examples of this type of
untranslatability would be ambiguity, plays on words, etc.
 Cultural untranslatability arises when a situational feature, functionally relevant for the
SL text, is completely absent from the culture of which the TL is a part (for instance, the
names of some institutions, clothes, foods and abstract concepts, amongst others)

What seems undeniable is that some texts are more easily translatable than others. In general, it can
be asserted that a text with an aesthetic function will contain elements which will make its
reproduction in a different language difficult, whereas a text with a merely informative function
will be easier to translate.

A practical approach to translation must accept that, since not everything that appears in the source
text can be reproduced in the target text, an evaluation of potential losses has to be carried out in
order to be able to make an informed and responsible decision. And since translation is a

71
communicative event involving the use of verbal signs, the chance of untranslatability in practical
translating tasks may be minimized if the communicative situation is taken into account.

Huffington Post have narrowed down a list of untranslatable vocabulary items to just a handful,
illustrating 11 of those wonderful, untranslatable, if slightly
elusive, words.

1 | German: Waldeinsamkeit

A feeling of solitude, being alone in the woods and a

connectedness to nature. Ralph Waldo Emerson even wrote a
whole poem about it.

2 | Italian: Culaccino

The mark left on a table by a cold glass. Who knew

condensation could sound so poetic?

3 | Inuit: Iktsuarpok

The feeling of anticipation that leads you to go outside and

check if anyone is coming, and probably also indicates an
element of impatience.

4 | Japanese: Komorebi
This is the word the Japanese have for when sunlight filters
through the trees -- the interplay between the light and the
leaves.

5 | Russian: Pochemuchka

Someone who asks a lot of questions. In fact, probably too

many questions. We all know a few of these.

72
6 | Spanish: Sobremesa

Spaniards tend to be a sociable bunch, and this word describes

the period of time after a meal when you have food-induced
conversations with the people you have shared the meal with.

7 | Indonesian: Jayus
Their slang for someone who tells a joke so badly, that is so
unfunny you cannot help but laugh out loud.

8 | Hawaiian: Pana Poʻo

You know when you forget where you've put the keys, and you
scratch your head because it somehow seems to help your
remember? This is the word for it.

9 | French: Dépaysement

The feeling that comes from not being in one's home country --
of being a foreigner, or an immigrant, of being somewhat
displaced from your origin.

10 | Urdu: Goya
Urdu is the national language of Pakistan, but is also an official
language in 5 of the Indian states. This particular Urdu word
conveys a contemplative 'as-if' that nonetheless feels like reality,
and describes the suspension of disbelief that can occur, often
through good storytelling.

11 | Swedish: Mångata

The word for the glimmering, roadlike reflection that the moon
creates on water.
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ella-frances-sanders/11-untranslatable-words-
f_b_3817711.html)

73
Here are 10 English words that are hard to translate:
1. PIMP – the transitive verb which roughly means ‗to
decorate‘ or ‗to gussy up‘. This verb was made popular by
TV shows like ―Pimp My Ride‘. Although this term
wants to pay homage to hip-hop culture and its
connection to street culture, it has now entered common
and even mainstream commercial use.
2. AUTO-TUNED – this adjective describes a ‗singer‘ whose off-key inaccuracies and out-of-
tune mistakes have been digitally disguised so that it appears to perform perfectly.
3. TRADE-OFF – this term describes a situation in which one
must lose some quality in exchange for another quality. It
involves a decision in which a person fully understands the
advantages and disadvantages of
each choice.
4. SPAM – the use of electronic
messaging systems to send
unsolicited bulk messages indiscriminately. No other language
has a single, non-derivative word for this concept. In fact, the
word spam itself is in common use in most languages as a
loanword. Spam is, of course, also a term for canned meat.
5. BROMANCE - here is a retro-term that is no longer in common
use. Coined in the 90‘s, this term describes a very intimate but
non-sexual relationship between two (or more) men. In many cultures, including American,
bromance is mistaken for homosexuality and therefore no other culture has coined a term to
describe this unusual relationship. Although the word can be described in most languages,
no language other than English has a word for it.
6. FACEPALM – this popular term decribes nteh
gesture of slapping the palm of one‘s hand to the
face, in a show of exasperation. The term is
commonly used in the English language but,
surprisingly, no other language seems to have an
original term for this fairly
common act.
7. KITSCH – kitsch defines any art that is considered an inferior copy of
an existing style. The term is also used in a more free manner when
referring to any art that is pretentious, outdated or in bad taste. With
the single exception of German (from where it comes to English), the
term is untranslatable in any language.
74
 8. GOBBLEDYGOOK – the word is defines as any text containing jargon, or especially
convoluted English, that results in it being excessively hard to understand, or even
incomprehensible. The term was coined in 1944, by former US Representative Maury
Maverick.
9. SERENDIPITY – serendipity is any discovery that is unexpected, yet unfortunate. You can
also call it lucky find, coincidence or accident. The word has been voted as one of the 10
English words that were hardest to translate in June 2004, by a British translation company.
However, due to its sociological use, the word has been exported into many other
languages.
10. GOOGLY - a googly (a term in the game of cricket) is a type of
delivery bowled by a right-arm leg spin bowler. The googly is a
major weapon in the arsenal of a leg spin bowler, and can be one of
the bowler‘s most effective wicket-taking balls. It is used
infrequently, because its effectiveness comes mostly from its
surprise value. The term is so exclusive to the English
language that the Wikipedia article about it is not available in
any other language. If it were to be translated into a language like, perhaps, Spanish,
the word would come out like ―tiro de cricket curvado hecho por un tirador con la
derecha‖, or curved cricket shot made by a bowler with its right hand.
(http://listverse.com/2011/07/13/10-hard-to-translate-english-words/)

Did you know?

 Finnish has over 40 different words for snow
 there is no specific verb that means ―to have‖ in Hewbrew, Arabic, Finnish or Irish
 Chinese has no tenses per se, only three "aspects―
 concepts like brother, sister, grandmother and grandfather don't really exist in Chinese,
where they are always more specific: the words for brother and sister always specify
whether it is the older or younger sibling, and the words for a specific grandparent specify
whether it is the paternal or maternal one
 in Pormpuraaw, a remote Aboriginal community in Australia, the indigenous languages
don't use terms like "left" and "right." Instead, everything is talked about in terms of
absolute cardinal directions (north, south, east, west), which means you say things like,
"There's an ant on your southwest leg." To say hello in Pormpuraaw, one asks, "Where are
you going?", and an appropriate response might be, "A long way to the south-southwest.
How about you?" If you don't know which way is which, you literally can't get past hello
 languages also shape how we understand causality. For example, English likes to describe
events in terms of agents doing things. English speakers tend to say things like "John broke

75
 the vase" even for accidents. Speakers of Spanish or Japanese would be more likely to say
"the vase broke itself."

One special category of text that might be hard to translate due to the cultural implications
are proverbs. Here is a list of English proverbs. Read through it and tick the ones that
have a clear correspondent in Romanian. Then try to find the Romanian correspondent
for the ones which cannot be translated so easily:

 A bird in the hand is worth two in the
bush
 A dog is a man's best friend
 A drowning man will clutch at a straw
 A fish always rots from the head down
 A friend in need is a friend indeed
 A leopard cannot change its spots
 A miss is as good as a mile
 A penny saved is a penny earned
 A picture paints a thousand words
 A place for everything and everything
in its place
 A rolling stone gathers no moss
 A stitch in time saves nine
 A woman's work is never done
 Absence makes the heart grow fonder
 All that glisters is not gold
 All's well that ends well
 An apple a day keeps the doctor away
 An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth
 As you make your bed, so you must lie
upon it
 As you sow so shall you reap
 Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
 Beggars should not be choosers
 Better late than never
 Better safe than sorry
 Beware of Greeks bearing gifts
 Birds of a feather flock together
76
 Blood is thicker than water
 Do unto others as you would have
them do to you
 Don't bite the hand that feeds you
 Don't count your chickens before they
are hatched
 Don't put all your eggs in one basket
 Don't put the cart before the horse
 Don't put new wine into old bottles
 Don't throw the baby out with the
bathwater
 Early to bed and early to rise, makes a
man healthy, wealthy and wise
 Every cloud has a silver lining
 First come, first served
 Fish always stink from the head down
 Forewarned is forearmed
 Give a man a fish and you will feed
him for a day...
 Give a man enough rope and he will
hang himself
 Haste makes waste
 He who pays the piper calls the tune
 If the mountain won't come to
Mohammed, then Mohammed must go
to the mountain
 If you can't stand the heat get out of
the kitchen
 If you lie down with dogs, you will get
up with fleas
 In the kingdom of the blind the one
eyed man is king
 It never rains but it pours
 It's no use crying over spilt milk
 It's the early bird that catches the
worm
 Let sleeping dogs lie
 Look before you leap
 Love of money is the root of all evil
 Love is blind
 Love makes the world go round
 Make hay while the sun shines
 Many hands make light work
 Never judge a book by its cover
 Never look a gift horse in the mouth
 No man is an island
 Once bitten, twice shy
 One hand washes the other
 One swallow does not make a summer
 Out of sight, out of mind
 Penny wise and pound foolish
 People who live in glass houses
shouldn't throw stones
 Practice makes perfect
 Seek and ye shall find
 Set a thief to catch a thief
 Still waters run deep
 Strike while the iron is hot
 Talk of the Devil, and he is bound to
appear
77
 The apple never falls far from the tree
 The customer is always right
 The darkest hour is just before the
dawn
 The grass is always greener on the
other side of the fence
 The more the merrier
 The pen is mightier than sword
 The proof of the pudding is in the
eating
 The road to hell is paved with good
intentions
 The shoemaker's son always goes
barefoot
 The squeaking wheel gets the grease
 There are none so blind as those, that
will not see
 There's no smoke without fire
 Time and tide wait for no man
 To every thing there is a season
 To the victor go the spoils
 Too many cooks spoil the broth
 Two heads are better than one
 When the cat's away the mice will
play
 When the going gets tough, the tough
get going
 You can lead a horse to water, but you
can't make it drink
 You can't have your cake and eat it
Here‟s a useful set of links for resources any translator could/should use:

Bilingual General Dictionaries

 http://www.ro-en.ro/
 http://www.ectaco.co.uk/Romanian-English-Dictionary/
 http://www.dictionare.com/english/dictionaries.htm
 http://www.dictionarromanenglez.ro
 http://hallo.ro/

Bilingual Specific Dictionaries

 http://www.dictionaronline.ro/dictionar_tehnic_roman_englez.aspx
 http://dictionar.netflash.ro/roman-englez/
 http://www.scribd.com/doc/4628423/English-Romanian-technical-dictionary
 http://www.scribd.com/doc/26181189/Dictionar-Economic-Roman-Englez-Roman

English Dictionaries - General and specific

 http://www.wordsmyth.net/
 http://www.thefreedictionary.com/
 http://www.translegal.com/legal-english-dictionary
 http://www.techterms.com/technical.php
 http://www.investorwords.com/
 http://www.investopedia.com/

Thesaurus

 http://thesaurus.com/
 http://dictionary.reference.com/
 http://www.visualthesaurus.com/

78
One last look at a translator‟s job:

79