Translation Universals.pdf - ymerleksi - home

102 Jarmo Harri Jantunen
Mauranen (2000) introduces a new candidate universal, namely untypical lexical
patterning in translations: “it can – be suggested that lexical patterning
which differs from that which is found in original target language texts might
be a universal feature in the language of translations” (ibid. 136). Mauranen has
reported that translations show both untypical frequencies of lexical items and
untypical lexical patterning in translations. The former is manifested, for example,
in the use of metatextual verbs (e.g. haluta ‘to want to’), which are used
more frequently in translations than in non-translations. The latter tendency
is illustrated by connector toisaalta (‘on the other hand’), whose lexical combinations
in translations differ from those in non-translations. Furthermore,
she notes (ibid. 128–129) that non-translated Finnish differs from translations
from both English and non-English sources, which she interprets to indicate
the independence of source language stimulus.
The aim of the present paper is twofold. First of all, it attempts to develop
further a methodology that could be used to analyse universal tendencies
and the influence of source language. The method utilised here will also be
linked to the relevant methods used earlier in the context of corpus-based
translation studies. Secondly, it aims to refine and test further the hypothesis of
untypical patterning in translations. Since lexis and grammar are interrelated
and indisputably dependent on each other (see e.g. Sinclair 1991, 1998; Hoey
1997), the present analysis concentrates not only on lexical strings, but also on
grammatical patterning, and attempts in this way to complement the picture
of the possible untypical patterns in translations. The hypothesis, based on
the earlier findings, is stated as follows: Compared to non-translated Finnish
texts, translations into Finnish show (1) untypical frequencies of lexical items and
(2) untypical lexical and grammatical combinations. The tendency takes place
irrespective of the source language stimulus.
This hypothesis is tested by studying the frequencies and lexico-grammatical
association patterns of three synonymous Finnish degree modifiers, namely
hyvin, kovin and oikein (all roughly meaning ‘very’). Synonymous words are
chosen, since in the field of translation studies, a consistent analysis of nearly
synonymous words is – to my knowledge – still missing. The present paper
is an attempt to bridge the gap between the investigation of synonyms and
corpus-based translation studies, and to link the method and results of this
study to the earlier findings on the use of synonyms in translated texts. The
choice of synonymous words in general and the degree modifiers in particular
is discussed in more detail in the next sections. Although a quantitative analysis
forms the basis for this investigation, a qualitative approach is also included in
order to give a comprehensive description for the question.