(d) The phrases "смотреть сквозь пальцы" and 'to look through one's fingers' (or. 'to wink at smth.') may be used in the function of 'to pretend (for some reason) not to see an error, piece of misconduct, etc'.
(e) And finally, "смотреть сквозь пальцы" may have the function of 'neglecting as being indifferent', that is, of 'not caring a damn (about smth.)' or simply 'not troubling'.
Thus, we can see that two phrases (in two different languages) that minim the same functions Бархударов Л.С., Рецкер Я.И., Курс лекций по теории перевода, 1-й МГПИИЯ, М., 1968, с. 6-13 can meet each other, shake hands and lake a junction as allies and brothers-in-arms.
Let us see now whether this rule is also good for sуnоnуms we to deal with.
It is common knowledge that two or more phrases are synonymous if and when some of their functions coincide. For instance, the Russian phrases "смотреть сквозь пальцы" and "закрывать глаза (на что-л.)" are synonyms, for they may perform the same functions, namely, functions "b" and "c". And consequently, it means that both of the phrases performing function "b" can be translated by the English phrase 'to shut one's eyes' as well as bоth of them performing function "c" can be translated by means of 'to turn a blind eye'.
The Russian language has a tendency of not letting a thought be expressed somewhat partially, for it hates preservations and hints. It prefers to dot the "i's" and cross the "i's". For instance, a Russian speaker would seldom use an idiom (e.g., "у меня зуб на зуб не попадает") without adding anything more specific (e.g., "я очень продрог") which is to explain what the speaker exactly means. If, on the other hand, the Russian speaker says "я очень продрог", he is often inclined to add "зуб на зуб не попадает" in order to draw the listener's attention to the significance of the fact.
The English language, on the contrary, has quite an opposite tendency. Just see the following example:
"Evidently," Mason said, "your detective is somewhat green at the game." (E. S, Gardner)
One can see that the English language does not insist that the speaker (Mr. Mason) should give an explanation of his idiom and say something like '[because] your detective doesn't know his work well.'
Conclusion: It is true that interpreters are normally expected to translate the information in detail. However they may, in cases of sуnonуmоus statements, translate only the idiomatic part of a pair of statements under the condition that the idea expressed in the idiom is 100% intelligible to the listener and the 'explanation' does not contain new information. Such a way of translation will suit the said requirements of the English language and, besides, will enable you to condense the-translated information in case you are interpreting it simultaneously.
2.1.4 Indices for Interpretation
Indices for interpretation: meaning and usage. Image as selected designation. Beware translating designations.
In physics, mathematics and other exact sciences, two or more phenomena are considered equivalent when they have authentic indices, that is, when all their indices coincide.
The same cam be said about two (Russian and English) idioms, except that interpreters are never able to deal only with absolute equivalents like "Привычка-- вторая натура" = 'Custom is second nature'. We have to deal with relative equivalents whose indices, not all, but at least the main ones do coincide.
Idiomatic phrases have four main indices to their equivalency which are, to us, indiсеs for interpretation (переводческие показатели). They are: meaning (mng), conditions of usage (use), emotive overtones (o-t) and style (sty).
You can see that meaning, as an index for interpretation, describes the essence of the action (or event) whereas usage shows the conditions under which a given idiom may be used altogether, that is, the forms of the action, its aims, etc. For instance, in the phrase 'to pull the wool over smb.'s eyes' (mng: to deceive, to fool; use: when a person wants to do it by not letting smb. know smth.) the obligatory condition under which the phrase may be altogether used by a speaker, is 'by not letting smb. know smth.' (the form of the action).
If one takes, say, a number of synonyms (e.g., 'to throw dust in smb.'s eyes', 'to draw a red herring', 'to pull smb.'s leg', etc.) whose meaning is, naturally, the same (e.g., to deceive, to fool), one can see that most of them, if not all, differ by conditions of their usage. It is, then, the condition of the usage, the core of the idiom, Кузьмин С., Употребление - главное звено механизма переводческих показателей (на примере фразеологизмов). Тетради переводчика, М., 1972 that may and, often, should be considered first.
Case 1
The easiest case is when an interpreter who deals with an idiom like “сводить концы с концами” finds, among its English synonyms (e.g., 'to live from hand to mouth', 'to keep the wolf from the door', 'to make both ends meet', etc.), one (e.g., 'to make both ends meet') whose main indices coincide with those of the Russian phrase. The job is done, then. The required English idiom is in the bag. Translation begins.
Case 2
In case both of the usage indices (the cores of the idioms!) coincide and meanings do not, one may try to alter the image of the English phrase and adjust its meaning to the requirements of the Russian meaning. Thus, "He так страшен черт, как его малюют" becomes practically equivalent to 'The devil is not as terrible (instead of 'so black') as he is painted'.
In case meaning indices coincide and usage indices do not, the job of the interpreter is not a bed of roses. One is expected to know the items (i.e., every condition) of the Russian phrase's usage and be prepared to translate them idiomatically. Then, a descriptive translation of the idiom's meaning can be added to our idiomatic translation of the usage and placed after it as an 'explanation' of the English idiom (like 'explanation' in a pair of cause-and-effect relation statements) if the meaning is not clear from the context itself.
For instance, the phrase "пускать пыль в глаза" (mng: to deceive, to hoodwink) has at least three permanent items of its usage.
We have not been able to avail ourselves, in this case, of the English phrase 'to throw dust in smb.'s eyes' though its dust-in-the-eyes image is similar to the "пыль в глаза" image of the Russian phrase. The usage of this English phrase differs from that of the Russian idiom:
'to throw dust in smb.'s eyes'
use: to deceive by preventing a person from seeing the true state of affairs (as if by impairing a person's vision so that he cannot see things clearly).
Had one translated the phrase "пускать пыль в глаза" by means of `to throw dust in smb.'s eyes' (tr.: сбивать кого-л. с толку) it would have been an error which can be generally considered typical of inexperienced interpreters and translators.
2.1.5 Proverbs Figurativeness and Its Means
Translators are faced with formidable problems. Many writers and poets thought it necessary to voice their opinion of how one should approach proverbs. V. A. Zhukovsky Жуковский В.А., Предисловие к «Дон Кихоту». М., 1805, с. 2 stressed that translators "should produce the effect of the original." Not a few writers likewise opposed literal, word-for-word translations of proverbs (and we know this to be true), the question however remains: how should they be translated? V. G. Belinsky said that "the internal life of the translated expression should correspond to the internal life of the original." Белинский В.Г., Собр. соч., СПБ, 1896, т. 1, с. 299 This is true again. It seems therefore that we should do this, that and the other. We agree to do this, that and the other... But, apparently, we must focus our attention on figurativeness when translating proverbs. Федоров А.В., Введение в теорию перевода, М., 1967, с.172, 174 Thus, our translation of a proverb must either be, in fact, an English proverb or an idiomatic sounding metaphor. And this seems to be the right answer to the question of what we must do above all, especially because "The corresponding image as well as the corresponding phrase do not always present a visible adequacy of words."
The translation difficulties usually arise in cases when (a) there happens to be no corresponding English proverb that we can use for our translation or (b) when the existing "ready-made" equivalent (e.g., an English proverb) cannot be used as it is because, for example, the Russian proverb is innovated in speeсh and, thus, may convey a specific additional meaning.
An analysis of translators' work shows that we may have the following means at our disposal in order to overcome these difficulties and to ensure the figurativeness of our translation: (1) use of rhymed and/or rhythmically arranged metaphors, (2) use of English phrases, proverbs and their components as a basis of one's translation, (3) utilization of the structures of English proverbs, (4) use of innovation as a means of adequacy, (5) use of colloquialisms and special introductions , etc. It is the соmplex use of these means which could guarantee the desired result.
Rhymed Metaphors
A rhyme alone is a supplementary means. For instance, the rhymed words "Winston tastes good like a cigarette should" have a meaning which is in no way metaphorical. These cigarettes are real, and one cannot say the same of the words "Либо дождик, либо снег--либо будет, либо нет". Both "дождик" and "снег" are metaphorical. This Russian saying was once translated as "Who knows -- maybe rain and maybe snow, maybe yes and maybe no."
And a rhymed metaphor made this sound proverbial.
Of course, it is hardly possible to make a satisfactory rhymed metaphor in the process of interpretation (not translation). However, it is good to know a number of rhymed metaphors by heart so that they could be used as "ready-made" equivalents of some of the 'difficult' and frequently used Russian proverbs.
Naturally translators must often translate Russian proverbs that do not have their "ready-made" English equivalents. Translations show that some of our colleagues seem to think that one should try to convey only the meaning of such proverbs. Thus, the proverb "Дело не медведь, в лес не убежит" was once translated as 'Business is no bear, to run away to the forest'. (And Prof. M. M. Morozov praised this particular translation. Морозов М.М., Пособие по переводу русской художественной прозы на английский язык. М., 1972, с. 9-10) Yet, the process of this translation was actually terminated at the stage of 'transposition'. It could have been continued: "Дело не медведь, в лес не убежит" -»- (Transposition:) 'Business is no bear, to run away to the forest' (Idiomatization by way of making the metaphor rhymed and by means of grammatical restructuring:) 'Business is no bear, it won't go nowhere'. One can see that we have excluded the word 'forest' as an obviously redundant detail, and used the grammatical colloquialism "won't go nowhere" (double negation).
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