Semantic Problems ofIidioms Translation
In order to correctly make English Russian translation of a book, newspaper article or any type of creating writing one shall know how to translate correctly from English to Russian idiomatic expressions.
Wewill now take a close look at some aspects ofidioms. An important point which has to be stressed is that idioms are not only colloquial phrases, as a lot of people believe. They can appear in formal style and in slang. They can emerge in poetry or in the masterpieces of Dickens and the Bible.
Idioms are used widely, that is why an experienced Russian translator is simply obliged to master certain techniques for translation of idioms from English to Russian, and for their translation from Russian to English.
What, then, is an idiomatic expression? One can say that an idiom is a number of phrases which, if found together, mean something different from the individual phrases of the idiomatic expression when they are placed separately. The way in which the expressions are put together is in some cases funny, illogical or even grammatically incorrect. These are the special features of some idiomatic expressions. Other idiomatic expression are completely common and reasonable in their grammatical aspects and vocabulary. Due to the individual features of some idiomatic expressions, we have to study the idiom in general and we sometimes fail to amend any part of it (except perhaps, only the tense of the verb).
English language is very rich in idiomatic expressions. Actually, it is difficult to speak or write English language without using idioms. An English native speaker is very often not aware that he is using an idiom; maybe he does not even understand that an idiom which he applies is grammatically incorrect. A non-native learner makes the correct use of idiomatic English one of his main aims, and the fact that some idioms are illogical or grammatically wrong causes him trouble. Only careful study and exact learning will help.
It cannot be explained why a particular idiom has developed an unusual arrangement or choice of words. The idiom has been fixed by long usage as is often understood from the vocabulary.
Now, when you know what is an idiom you are ready to learn about methods for English to Russian Translation. English Russian translation is a skill hard to master but with due diligence anyone can do it.