1) „a ruler for measuring one yard” (Oxford Dictionary) [7]; 2) „a ruler (= a long flat
object used for measuring the length of things) that is one yard (= approximately 91.4
centimetres) long” (Cambridge Dictionary) [8]; 3) „a graduated measuring stick three
feet (0.9144 meter) long” (Merriam Webster Dictionary) [9].
Analyzing this fragment we can see that the realia word “cot” was rendered in
both TTs by cultural adaptation. Since a “cot” represents a rod with a length of 0.664
meters (in Muntenia) or 0.637 meters (in Moldova), and “measuring rod” – a length of
5.0292 meters and “yardstick” – a length of 0.9144 meters, comparing the latter two,
we can say that the translator of TT2 opted for a more semantically suitable realia word.
Regarding the option chosen by the translators of TT1, in our opinion, the difference
in length of a “cot” and a “measuring rod” is too large.
In our opinion, the translators could also use the phrase “a two-foot ruler”. “Ruler”
means “a straight narrow piece of wood, plastic or metal, marked in centimeters or inches,
used for measuring or for drawing straight lines”, and the word “foot” means “a unit for
measuring length equal to 12 inches or 30.48 centimeters” according to the Oxford
Dictionary [7]. So, the phrase “a two-foot ruler” would mean a ruler of about 61cm.
ST: Petre Todosiicăi, crâșmarul nostru, așă-i că ți-a mâncat nouă sute de lei
SCIENCE AND PRACTICE: IMPLEMENTATION TO MODERN SOCIETY
821
[4, p. 170]?
TT1: Hasn't Petre, son of Todosica, our publican, had nine hundred lei* off you,
and Vasile Roibu, in Bejeni, and many others of the same kidney, almost as many?
*leu, plural lei: the monetary unit of Romania [2].
TT2: Petre Todosică, down at the tavern, has taken hundreds of lei off you, hasn’t
he [3, p. 28]?
The Romanian word “leu” (plural: “lei”) has the meaning of an official monetary
unit of Romania since 1867 and of the Republic of Moldova since 1993, according to
the Explanatory Dictionary of the Romanian Language [5].
Regarding the word “leu”, we identified the following definition: „the basic
monetary unit of Moldova and Romania” (Merriam Webster Dictionary) [9].
The strategy used by the translators in TT1 was direct transfer, as well as, addition,
adding a footnote. In terms of TT2, the translator used only direct transfer. Comparing
these two translations, we can say that TT1 is a more successful one. Considering that
the target readers of this text are mostly children, which is why the translation should
be explicit, the TT2 translator should have used a footnote explaining the meaning of
the Romanian realia word, just as he did in the case of the monetary units such as:
sorocovăț, husăși, icusari etc., especially given the fact that leu is the basic monetary
unit of Romania.
In conclusion, we can say that in total we analyzed 5 examples of measurement units,
out of which: 1) TT1 (Ana Cartianu, R. C. Johnston Childhood Memories (1978)): cultural
adaptation – 3 examples, explicitation – 1 example, cultural adaptation + addition – 1
example; 2) TT2 (A. L. Lloyd Recollections from Childhood (1956)): cultural
adaptation – 3 examples, omission – 1 example, explicitation – 1 example.
We also analyzed 7 examples of monetary units, out of which: 1) TT1 (Ana
Cartianu, R. C. Johnston Childhood Memories (1978)): direct transfer + addition – 4
examples, superordinate term – 2 examples, direct transfer – 1 example; 2) TT2
(A. L. Lloyd Recollections from Childhood (1956)): direct transfer + addition – 3
examples, direct transfer – 2 examples, cultural adaptation – 1 example, superordinate
SCIENTIFIC COLLECTION «INTERCONF» | № 3(39)
822
term – 1 example.
In order to recreate the atmosphere of the time, Creangă uses realia words, which
are difficult to translate into English. However, the translators rendered the specifics
of the original text quite well.
Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: |