ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES

continued from No. 1, 3/2007

Translation of Official Documents: Grammatical Aspects

Translation of legal, economic, diplomatic and official business papers not only requires sufficient knowledge of terms, phrases and expressions, but also depends on the clear comprehension of the structure of a sentence and some specific grammar and syntactical patterns, which are characteristic of this style.

Coming across an unknown term in the text, a translator can consult a dictionary. Coming across such a phenomenon as the Nominative Absolute Construction, for instance, a translator can find it time-consuming to search for an equivalent conveying its meaning, unless he or she already knows the corresponding pattern.

This Manual is intended for students who are already aware of the basics and peculiarities of the grammar and syntax of the English language. That is why it offers below only some instructions in translation of certain English constructions, which can cause special difficulties while translating.

INFINITIVE

Depending on the function the Infinitive plays in the sentence it can be translated in the following ways:

as an adverbial modifier of purpose the Infinitive can express an independent idea that adds new information about its subject; the adverb only is omitted in translation, e.g.:

The president announced his resignation only after the failure of his drive to push through the merger of the two countries last summer.
Президент объявил о своей отставке только после того, как прошлым летом закончилась неудачей его попытка объединить две страны.

After the adjectives the last, the only and ordinal numerals the Infinitive is translated as the predicate of an attributive subordinate clause. Its tense form is determined by the context, e.g.:

He was the first high official to be admitted to the inner council of government, to the cabinet.
Он был первым чиновником высокого ранга, который был допущен на закрытые заседания Кабинета.

If + noun + be + Infinitive can be translated as для того чтобы, e.g.:

In any event, members of the association should be prepared to put aside partisan interests if consensus on the abovementioned principles is to be achieved.
В любом случае, чтобы достичь согласия по вышеуказанным принципам, члены ассоциации должны быть готовы пожертвовать своими узкопартийными интересами.

The Complex Object with the Infinitive is translated as an object subordinate clause, e.g.:

Both experiments revealed the rated dimensions to be interrelated.
Оба эксперимента показали, что оценочные параметры тесно связаны между собой.

The Complex Subject with passive forms of the verbs say, think, expect, show, see, find, argue, know, mean, consider, regard, report, believe, hold, suppose, note, presume, claim, admit, interpret, etc. is translated as a complex sentence with an object subordinate clause. Care should be taken about non-perfect forms of the Infinitive (which are translated in the Present time) and perfect forms (which are translated in the Past time), e.g.:

Still they can hardly be said to have formulated a true scientific theory.
И всё же вряд ли можно утверждать, что они сформулировали действительно научную теорию.

The term model is held to have important normative significance.
Считается, что термин модель имеет большое нормативное значение.

The Complex Subject with active forms of the verbs happen, appear, see, prove, turn out, be likely, be certain, be sure, etc. is translated in two possible ways:

a) The English finite form is transformed into a Russian parenthesis and the English Infinitive into a Russian predicate, e.g.:

So, there appear to be two choices.
Таким образом, оказывается, что выбор есть.

b) The English finite form is transformed into a Russian main clause (маловероятно, кажется, etc.) and the English Infinitive into a Russian predicate in an object subordinate clause, e.g.:

Neither proposal is likely to work.
Маловероятно, что какое-либо из этих предложений окажется действенным.

If the English predicate has an object by somebody, such predicate-object clusters are translated as a parenthesis по мнению, согласно данным, как показал (установил, описал, etc.), e.g.:

The results were interpreted by Brown (1989) to be insufficient to draw any substantial conclusions.
По мнению Брауна (1989), этих данных не достаточно для каких-либо существенных выводов.

GERUND

Depending on the function the Gerund plays in the sentence, it can be translated as:

a noun

Banking on a loss of nerve within the board of trustees may turn out to be misguided.
Расчёт на то, что у членов опекунского совета сдадут нервы, может оказаться неверным.

an infinitive

Under the pressure of national campaign, he showed a positive gift for saying the wrong things in the wrong words at the wrong time.
В условиях напряжённой кампании в масштабе всей страны он определённо показал способность говорить не то, что надо, не так, как следовало, и не там, где следовало.

a participle

In Washington there is quiet satisfaction that the French by joining the float have indirectly acknowledged that the U.S. was right all along.
Вашингтон выразил удовлетворение по поводу того, что Франция, присоединившись к странам с плавающим курсом валют, косвенно признала правоту США.

The Perfect Gerund denotes an action which is prior to the action expressed by the finite form of the verb, e.g.:

After having been colonies for a long time, many Asian and African countries have now become independent states.
Многие страны Азии и Африки, которые долго были колониями, стали теперь независимыми государствами.

PARTICIPLE

Participle I can be translated as:

an attributive clause, e.g.:

The States concluding this Treaty hereinafter refer to as the “Parties to the Treaty”.
Государства, заключающие настоящий договор, именуются ниже «Участниками Договора».

an adverbial clause, e.g.:

Heavy artillery and mortal fire broke out again in the city last night, virtually putting the whole population of the city under a state of siege.
Вчера вечером город снова подвергся интенсивному артиллерийскому и миномётному обстрелу, и все его жители фактически оказались в осаде.

a separate sentence, e.g.:

The treasury announced that in August the sterling area had a gold and dollar deficit of 44 million dollars bringing the gold and dollar reserve down to the lowest level reached this year.
Министерство финансов объявило, что в августе стерлинговая зона имела золотой и долларовый дефицит в 44 миллиона долларов. Таким образом, золотые и долларовые резервы достигли минимального годового уровня.

Participle II at the beginning of the sentence can be translated as:

a subordinate clause, e.g.:

Asked if the United States is rendering military aid to the forces opposing the lawful government in that country, the senator gave an evasive reply.
На вопрос о том, оказывают ли Соединённые Штаты военную помощь силам, противостоящим законному правительству страны, сенатор ответил уклончиво.

As a part of the Complex Object construction, Participle I and Participle II can be translated as:

an object clause, e.g. :

The country would like to see its proposals approved by the General Assembly.
Страна хотела бы, чтобы Генеральная Ассамблея одобрила её предложения.

The Nominative Absolute Construction with Participle I and II can be translated in different ways depending on the form of the Participle and the position of the construction in the sentence:

in postposition the Nominative Absolute Construction with Participle I performs the function of an adverbial modifier of attending circumstances:

The Prime Minister and the African National Council promptly lapsed into mutual recrimination, seeking to blame the other for deadlock.
Премьер-министр и Африканский национальный совет тут же перешли ко взаимным обвинениям, причём каждая сторона пыталась переложить на другую вину за то, что они оказались в безвыходном положении.

in preposition the Nominative Absolute Construction with Participle I and II performs the function of an adverbial modifier of cause or time:

That done with, the two statesmen had subsided into long and profitable talks about other subjects.
После того как с этим было покончено, оба государственных мужа приступили к долгому и плодотворному обсуждению других тем.

It being too late for further discussion, the session was adjourned.
Заседание закончилось, так как было слишком поздно, чтобы продолжать обсуждение.

sometimes Participles may be omitted, but the subject-predicate relations in the Construction are still preserved:

The first conference a failure, another meeting at a ministerial level was decided upon.
В связи с неудачей первой конференции было принято решение о проведении ещё одной встречи на уровне министров.

The debate over, the meeting was adjourned.
По окончании дебатов заседание было объявлено закрытым.

The second element of the Nominative Absolute Construction can also be expressed by an infinitive. It can be related to a future action:

With the Congress still to be elected, the Republican leadership was already moving to team up with the Southern Democrats, as it did in the palmy days of the New Deal.
Хотя выборы в Конгресс ещё впереди, руководство Республиканской партии уже предпринимает шаги по объединению с Демократами Юга, как в славные времена «Нового курса».

INVERSION

The order of words in which the subject is placed after the predicate is called inverted word order, or inversion. While translating, the target sentence retains the word order of the source sentence in many cases:

Of special interest should be the first article in Chapter I.
Особый интерес вызывает первая статья в главе I.

Also treated are such matters as theory construction and methodology.
Рассматриваются также такие вопросы, как создание теории и методология.

Had this material been examined from this viewpoint, the rules that he discovered would probably have gone unnoted.
Если бы этот материал был изучен под таким углом зрения, закономерности, установленные на его основе, возможно, и остались бы не замеченными.

Subordinate clauses of concession with an inverted predicate often serve emphatic purposes and can be translated with the help of Russian combinations хотя; какой бы ни был:

Such a principle, strange as it may seem, is championed in one form or another by certain scholars.
Такой принцип, хотя это и может показаться странным, в том или ином виде отстаивают некоторые учёные.

Useful as it is, the book has two general shortcomings.
Какой бы полезной не была эта книга, в ней есть два существенных недостатка.

Activities

Questions:

1. What are the principles of official documents translation?

2. What is peculiar about the text(s) of official documents?

3. What are the English constructions which cause special difficulties in translation of official documents?

4. List the syntactical functions the Infinitive can perform in the sentence. Give examples.

5. What type of subordinate clause in the Russian language should the predicative English construction Complex Object be translated into?

6. Describe the possible patterns of the Complex Subject translation. How does the form of the verb-predicate influence the choice of the form?

7. Which form of the Gerund denotes an action prior to the action expressed by the finite form of the verb? Give examples.

8. What syntactical functions do Participles usually perform in the sentence?

9. How does the translation of the Nominative Absolute Construction depend on its location in the sentence? Give examples.

10. What is inversion? What purpose does it serve? Give examples.

Exercises

Exercise 1. Translate the following sentences, paying attention to the infinitive and infinitive constructions.

1. The United Nations’ principle function is to maintain peace and prevent war. The decision of the Yalta and Potsdam conferences pointed out the threat of militarism and aggression to the course of peace and security and provided a system of measures to eliminate sources of war and aggression.

2. Other areas of major concern relate to the seabed and ocean floor and mean to ensure their reservation for peaceful use.

3. Disputes are to be settled by peaceful means. Member states undertake not to use force or the threat of force in contraventions of the purposes of the UN.

4. States not-members of the UN are required to act in accordance with these principles so far as may be necessary for the maintenance of international peace and security.

5. The General Assembly is expressly authorized to deal with specific disputes and situations brought before it and to undertake studies and make recommendations for promoting international co-operation in political, social, cultural and educational matters for encouraging the development of international law and for assisting in the realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Exercise 2. Translate the following sentences, paying attention to the gerund and gerundial constructions.

1. Polls keep indicating that a majority of Americans hold strong doubts about the candidate’s ability to handle his job.

2. Each side insists on withholding its part of the bargain until the other has acted.

3. The situation in the country is a lesson in the dangers of upsetting the delicate balance of neutralist politics.

4. The impossibility of disregarding established diplomatic rules does not, however, preclude suspicious host governments from keeping a watchful eye on diplomatic missions and diplomats suspected of abusing their privileges and immunities.

5. All this, however, has not prevented the head of the delegation and his colleagues from keeping up their end of a dialogue, which reflects a practical approach and a real willingness to consider serious proposals.

6. They are terrified of being drawn into taking over responsibility for their own security.

7. Amnesty, often granted to student troublemakers last year, is to be a thing of the past at many colleges. Instead of being forgiven for their misconduct, more students are to be suspended or expelled.

8. No sign exists of the president having concerned himself with the substance of these two important questions.

Exercise 3. Translate the following sentences, paying attention to the participles and participial constructions.

1. But most (98%) of the businesses in the United States are small businesses – independently owned and operated and having fewer than twenty employees.

2. Whether a business has one employee working at home, 100 working in retail store, 10,000 working at a plant or factory or 100,000 working in branch offices nation-wide, all businesses share the same definition and are organized for the same purpose: to earn profits.

3. Government legislation leads a company to change its hiring practices; technological advances convince a company to change its manufacturing processes; changes in consumer tastes tell a company to alter its marketing strategies.

4. A tactical plan is specific, detailed, and current, focusing on present operations.

5. Managers’ decisions range from minor and relatively unimportant, to major and potentially life-threatening to the organization.

6. The 18 riparian countries have began research and monitoring of the conditions of the sea, most have signed the Barcelona Convention agreeing to control pollution and over-fishing, and they have began plans for joint development of that sea.

7. The intellectual attractions of the law regulating literary and artistic property account only in small part for the rise of copyright law.

8. Duly certified copies of this Treaty shall be transmitted by the Depositary Governments to the Governments of the signatory and acceding States.

9. In witness whereof the undersigned, duly authorized, have signed this Treaty.

10. Done in triplicate, at the cities of Washington, London and Moscow, this first day of July one thousand nine hundred sixty-eight.

Exercise 4. Translate the following sentences, paying attention to the Nominative Absolute Constructions.

1. With the new countries in the United Nations will for the first time include Britain’s allies and associates.

2. The ratification debate should take place as quickly as possible, it being understood that the president of the republic should not sign the treaty until the “preconditions” are fulfilled.

3. Objectives and plans established, the organizing function comes into play.

4. There being no survivors, the exact causes which led to the accident will never be known.

5. All other things being equal, one would assume that the latter solution is more plausible.

to be continued

By Galina Goumovskaya