"В закрытый рот и муха не попадет".
One can see that this translation employs the colloquial phrase "(туда) и муха не попадет" whereas other linguistic means are neutral there.
It is common knowledge that English (and Russian) proverbs may be not only rhymed:
Birds of a feather flock together. (Рыбак рыбака видит издалека.)
Well begun is half done. (Доброе начало полдела откачало.)
but also arranged rhythmically:
God helps those who help themselves. (На бога надейся, а сам не плошай.)
Once bitten twice shy. (Пуганая ворона куста боится.)
Making our proverbs' translations arranged rhythmically or/and rhymed is also a productive method. Example:
-- И какая странная идея пришла в голову этому Привалову... Вот уж чего никак не ожидал. Какая-то филантропия...
-- Это нам на руку: чем бы дитя ни тешилось, лишь бы не плакало. (Мамин-Сибиряк)
"Besides, what has gotten into Privalov? Who would think of it? Philanthropy!"
"He" s playing into our hands. As the saying goes, whatever toy or play makes the baby gay..."
And such translations as "Leave the child its toy -- as long as it's amused" or "It does not matter what you do to humour your child as long as it does not cry" (etc.) speak for themselves. They do not sound proverbial.
The analysis of translators' works shows that this method is frequently neglected by or remains unknown to a number of translators. Here is just one example of how such 'difficult' proverbs happen to be translated. Let us see some of the published translations of the proverb "Это--цветочки, ягодки впереди":
(i) It was only the beginning, the rest was still to come. "The Newcomer" by G. Nikolayeva, F. L. P. H., Moscow, 1955, p. 45
(ii) That is mere blossoms, we'd like to show you the fruit and how it grows. "The Cause You Serve" by Y. German, F.L.P.H., Moscow, p. 105
(iii) This is only child's play to what is ahead of us. "Volokolamsk Highway" by A. Bek, F.L.P.H., Moscow, p. 91
We have to say (in all fairness) that the last (iii) translation compensates the lack of rhythm (and rhyme) in it considerably by using two English expressions: (1) "to be child's play" and (2) "to be (or: lie) ahead (of smb)". The phrase 'to be ahead' has a neutral colouring. Its synonym 'to be in store (for smb)' is a bit more idiomatic to suit our aims:
"This is only child's play to what is in store for us."
Now, if we ensure proper rhythm in it, the translation may sound proverbial:
"It's child's play to what's in store."
This translation seems almost satisfactory. Yet, we can do more. We can try to make it rhymed:
"It is child's play: it's not as bad compared to what lies ahead."
Stop! That won't do. The words 'compared to' are bookish. They spoil the beans. Let us make another try:
"It's child's play: it's not as bad as what lies ahead."
The stylistic means are correct here. But the rhythm leaves much to be desired, to put it mildly. Besides the translation is too long. Let us make still another try:
"It's-only child's play to what is on the way."
Now, we can call it a day. The translation is all right. In other words, we have managed to arrange rhythm and rhyme.
We wouldn't say that these translation variants are absolutely tiptop. Yet, they are better than those quoted above. And they can be an example of several methods of translating used in complex: rhythm and/or rhyme, colloquialisms and English phrases. All of these taken together help to provide our translation with the necessary idiomatic background, that is, to make it figurative.
A rhythmically arranged translation of a proverb might be still in need of a preliminary 'introduction' like "as the saying goes", "as we in Russia say", etc. (Such an 'introduction' is, in fact, an "appeal" to the listener or reader: "Please understand that this is said figuratively!"). And a rhymed translation may nоt need this at all.
Epigrams and translation.
"А ларчик просто открывался" (which is a quotation from the fable "Ларчик" И. А. Крылова) is a stylistic device termed an epigram. Such quotations from writers' works have become proverbs. Consequently, this permits us to treat epigrams as proverbs in the process of translation.
This means 1hat our translations of epigrams should be rhymed and have rhythm as proverbs often should (and be brief as proverbs should, too, because proverbs are used mostly in monologues and dialogues and not in author's narration). And this is why we have to foresee the possibility of translating epigrams in the form of two-line rhymed verses.
For instance, the translation
Нельзя ли для таких прогулок Подальше выбрать закоулок?
Could you not choose, When forth you sally, Some more remote And proper alley?
...is the translation of the epigram made as a verse and not proverb-like. (It is too long in space to be used in one's interpreting, say, a conversation or speech without difficulty.) We have to make it sound brief and, thus, proverbial. For instance, the variant:
"It's no place for your parades. It's no place for promenades."
...may satisfy us because the epigram really means "Never choose this place for your promenades" or "It's net a proper place for your promenades," or the like. However, this epigram sounds sarcastic ("Нельзя ли...") and this effect should be reproduced in our translation:
"It's no place for your parades, nor for Sunday promenades."
Another specific point in translating epigrams is that 'transposition' itself may not convey the idea of the epigram in full for the reason that a Russian listener takes in not merely what an epigram says but what is behind it, what it means being a small part of a bigger context.
One of K. S. Stanislavsky's ideas was that an actor (i.e. a translator, in our case) should know well not only the words he had to say (i.e. the meaning of the epigram's components,, in our case) but also what events had taken place behind the stage (i.e. the situation that had given life to the epigram) prior to the moment he started acting accordingly. And this may be applicable to our translating epigrams more often than not.
Hence, our proverb-like translation should better convey the highlights of the general situation in which the epigram gets its specific meaning. For instance, life shows that one might translate the epigram:
"Раззудись, плечо! Размахнись, рука!"
...as (a) "Don't hustle, don't bustle, But strain every muscle!"
This is sure to convey the idea of the epigram's components, of the words ("Strain every muscle") neglecting the situation of 'cutting hay' as is actually described in the whole verse (and which the English listener, unlike the Russian one, will never presuppose nor understand upon hearing the epigram's words only). This is why we suggest the variant:
(b) "Swing and sway -- Cut the hay!"
We could not ignore the bigger context ('hay-cutting') which is always presupposed by the Russian people when they use this epigram.
Classification of translations
As far as the results of our translation process are concerned, they can be classified as follows.
(1) Translation by an English absolute monoequivalent. Галперин И.Р., Информативность единиц языка. М., 1974, с. 85
Example:
время -- деньги - time's money
(2) Translation by an English relative equivalent.
семь бед -- один ответ - we might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb
(3) Translation by a synonymous equivalent.
In the original: выносить сор из избы.
In translation: to tell tales out of school;
(4) Translation by a translator's equivalent.
(a) being an innovated English proverb, example:
Ларчик открывается просто.
It's easy to open this poke and see the pig.
(b) based on English phrases or/and their components; example:
-- Молодец! -- сказал Цветков.-- Люблю парня за ухватку. Сразу видно, что молодец среди овец. (Ю. Герман, Я отвечаю за все)
"Good chap," Tsvetkov said. "I like a good chap for his brave ways. I can tell right away that you'd be brave as a lion with a lamb."
(c) based on an English proverb's structure; example:"
Всяк кулик свое болото хвалит.
Every snipe praises its own bog.
(d) arranged rhythmically or/and rhymed; example:
На войне, чтобы обмануть врага, чтобы нанести ему неожиданный удар, придется совершать марши подлиннее и потяжелее, чем этот. Это -- цветочки, а ягодки будут впереди. (А. Бек, Волоколамское шоссе)
In war, to surprise the enemy, and to deal him a blow from an unexpected quarter, we will have to make much longer and more difficult marches than this one. It's only child's play to what is on the way.
(e) by metaphorical explanation; example:
Вот уж воистину голодной лисе всё куры снятся!
This is really a case оf a hungry fox dreaming about chickens.
Translating by English equivalents
Translating by English equivalents (being relative more often than riot) seems to be the most productive way of making our proverbs' translations figurative.
When using this method, translators and interpreters have to observe that an equivalent is properly selected from the dictionary, that is, the chosen equivalent:
(a) should be able to convey the Russian proverb's indices for interpretation: meaning, usage, overtones and style;
(b) it should particularly answer the obligatory requirement that its meaning could be understood even by those who hear the English proverb for the first time.
(c) Besides, it is preferable that the equivalent itself should not be archaic,
(d) and its image should be as close to that of the Russian proverb as possible.
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