Grammatical transformations refer to the changes that a sentence undergoes when it is translated from one language to another. In the case of English to Russian translations, there are numerous grammatical transformations that need to be made to ensure the correct grammatical structure and meaning of the sentence is maintained. In this term paper, I will elaborate on some of the most commonly used grammatical transformations when translating from English into Russian, using scientific data and precise criteria.
1. Word Order:
Word order plays a crucial role in English to Russian translations in order to convey the correct meaning of the sentence. In English, the Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) word order is used, whereas in Russian, the word order is Subject-Object-Verb (SOV). Therefore, the sentence structure needs to be changed to maintain the sentence's meaning. For example, the English sentence "The student reads a book" would be expressed in Russian as "Студент читает книгу," with "Студент" (student) as the subject, "книгу" (book) as the object, and "читает" (reads) as the verb.
2. Gender and Number Agreement:
Russian is an inflected language, which means that words change their endings depending on the gender and number of the noun. Therefore, when translating from English to Russian, the gender and number agreement of the noun and adjective must be maintained. For example, the English sentence "The blue car is driving on the street" would be translated into Russian as "Голубая машина едет по улице" where "голубая" (blue) corresponds to "машина" (car) being feminine, singular and nominative.
3. Infinitive to the Verb:
In English, infinitive verbs are used as the base form of the verb. In Russian, however, verbs are conjugated and take different endings depending on the tense and person. Therefore, when translating an English sentence that uses an infinitive verb, it needs to be transformed into an appropriate conjugated verb in Russian. For example, "I want to go to the park" would be translated as "Я хочу идти в парк" in Russian. "Идти" (go) is the conjugated verb in the infinitive form, in this case for the first person singular.
4. Articles:
Articles are not used in Russian, so when translating from English to Russian, the articles "a", "an", and "the" need to be eliminated or replaced with appropriate words. For example, the English sentence "I have a pen" would be translated into Russian as "У меня есть ручка" without "a" which represents the indefinite singular article, as it is not used in Russian.
5. Prepositions:
Prepositions play a critical role in linking words and indicating relationships between nouns, pronouns, or phrases. In English, prepositions are used differently than in Russian. For example, "on" and "in" in English can be translated into multiple prepositions in Russian, depending on the context of the sentence. Therefore, when translating from English to Russian, the appropriate preposition must be chosen to retain the correct meaning. For example, the English sentence "The book is on the table" would be translated as "Книга лежит на столе" in Russian, using the preposition "на" (on), instead of "в" (in).
In conclusion, grammatical transformations from English into Russian are essential to ensure that the translated sentence retains its intended meaning and follows the correct structure and grammar rules in Russian. The examples provided above highlight some of the most significant transformations that need to be made when translating from English into Russian, with a focus on maintaining word order, gender and number agreement, adapting infinitive verbs into conjugated verbs, eliminating articles, and choosing the right prepositions. By understanding these grammar rules and proper transformations, translators can effectively convey the original intended meaning in the translated sentence without losing any information.