Translating proper nouns and names from English to Belarusian language and vice versa

Translating proper nouns and names from English to Belarusian and vice versa

Plan 1.Translating proper nouns and names in general 2. Belarusian language and Romanization system 3. Translating proper nouns and names from Belarusian into English (examples and difficulties) 4. Translating PN from English into Belarusian

2

Proper nouns are used to refer to unique objects that can be identified thanks to such naming out of any context (=/=common nouns) A distinction is normally made in current linguistics between proper nouns and proper names Few proper names have only one possible referent: Jupiter may refer to a planet, a god, a ship, or a symphony; at least one person has been named Mata Hari, but so have a horse, a song, and three films; there are towns and people named Toyota, as well as the company.

Types

3

Techniques of translation 1. Transliteration representing words in the corresponding characters of another alphabet; based on the principle of graphic resemblance.

Melpomene /mɛlˈpɒmɨniː/ Kosciuszko /kɒziːˈɒskoʊ/

.

2. Transcription carried out according to phonetic resemblance. The task is to illustrate pronunciation of a name in its original form by means of the writing system of the target language.

Ivanhoe – Айвенга Rimbaud – Рэмбо

!! Practical transcription: Bill – Билл Texas, Quixote, Babylon 4

If a name is translated, the word becomes a kind of a borrowing, and it undergoes adaptation to phonetic and morphological rules of the language, for the purpose of convenience in speech. The degree of adaptation can vary, depending on the type of language, its structure, social traditions etc.

Saint Petersburg - San Petesburgo (Sp.) Sharon Stone - Šārona Stouna (Ltv.)

And before translating a name, make sure it is not really old:

München - Munich Köln - Cologne Warszawa – Warsaw The English channel –Ла-Манш 5

Note: PN with Common Nouns Lake Ontario – возера Антарыё Procter&Gamble – кампанія «Проктэр энд Гэмбл» Westminster Abbey – Вэстмінстэрскае абацтва The Times – газета «Таймс» Majlis – Меджыліс (парламент у некаторых усходніх дзяржавах Minsk City Executive Committee - Мінгарвыканкам ЖЭС PACE - ПАСЕ NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) - НАСА One should always be aware of the audience and purpose of the translation QUESTIONS

6

BELARUSIAN TO ENGLISH

7

WHAT YOU SEE IN YOUR PASSPORTS: BGN/PCGN romanization system for Belarusian Adopted in 1979 by United States Board on Geographic Names and by the Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British Official Use WHAT YOU SEE IN MODERN MAPS: Roman alphabet (lacinka), 1st draft compiled in 1998, officially adopted in 2000.

11 June, 2007 adopted by the State Committee on Property of Belarus.

The UNGEGN WG on Romanization Systems approved the system in 2012

8

UNGEGN Romanization system

9

Elements of BGN/PCGN 1979 System 10

Difficulties

11

1) Lack of uniformity causes variability in translation •

Palatalization of consonants is reflected through i or y:

Byalynichy or Bialynichy •

J is reflected through j or y:

Siarhey or Siarhej •

G is reflected through g, not h: Galina instead of Halina (compare: Vaclav Havel, Wolfgang Goethe) •

Apostrophe is not Romanized:

Мар’я – Marjia – Maryia •

Ў might be rendered through w or ŭ (the latter often loses the diacritic mark):

Mahilyow, also transliterated Mahilioŭ, Mahilou 12

Examples

Вілейка = Vilyeyka

Няміга = Nyamiha

Віцебск = Vitsyebsk

Наваградак = Navahradak

Гродна = Hrodna

Востраў = Vostraw

Брагін = Brahin

Рагачоў = Rahachow

Йосель = Yosyel’

Іўе = Iwye

Крапіўна = Krapiwna

Стоўбцы = Stowbtsy

Міхал = Mikhal

Шчара = Shchara

Хатынь = Khatyn’

Генадзь = Henadzi

Вільня = Vil’nya, Vilnius

Агата = Agatha 13

2) Soft consonants not always reflected; the mark ‘ confused apostrophe:

Кісель – Kisel / Kisel’, Ваньковіч – Vankovich / Van’kovich 3) Softening symbols i/y will be read by English-speaking people not together with a softened consonant, but with full reproduction of the vowel.

Kh might be read as aspirated K, not as х: Pukhavichy 4) Lacinka with diacritic marks: Štefan – Stefan, Mahilioŭ –

Mahilou 5) Knowledge of stress: Русіно, Стоўбцы

14

5) Transposition and variance in naming

Transposition

a principle of etymological correspondence.

Dnieper/Dniapro, Brest/Bierascie Chaussy, Chavusy, Chausy - Чавусы; Чаусы; Čavusy Helena, Alena, Helen – Гелена, Елена, Ален Yauheniya – Evgeniya Grigoriy – Ryhor Olga – Volha Alexander – Ales Igor – Ihar QUESTIONS 15

ENGLISH TO BELARUSIAN

16

Specific of Belarusian pronunciation that should be taken into consideration • Цеканне і дзеканне : Капулеці, Бакардзі • Цвёрдыя і зацвярдзелыя зычныя: affricates /tʃ /, /dʒ/ and fricatives /ʃ/, /ʒ/; also /rʲ/ has hardened and merged with /r/: Рыга,

Рэйкв’яік, Гай Рычы • Аканне: Francois Hollande - Франсуа Аланд, Токіа,

Ватэрлоа • Фінальны Ў [w] замест /v/ і /l/ ? Abraham Maslow,

Nemiroff • Выбухны і фрыкатыўны Г • /ɡ/ and /ɡʲ/ (ганак [ˈɡanak], гузік [ˈɡuzik], гандаль [ˈɡandalʲ]), fricative pronunciation: геаграфія [ɣʲeaˈɣrafʲija] Agata/Ahata • Падвоеныя зычныя (germination) ччи, жжи etc: Белучы,

Гучы Geminated consonants = historic consonants + j: Natallia – Наталля 17 ***

Difficult cases

Reform of Belarusian orthography and punctuation (2008)

18

RULES • toponyms with particles на, дэ, сюр: Растоў-на-Доне, Франкфурт-на-Майне, Па-дэ-Кале, Булонь-сюр-Мэр !!! small letters: Рыа-дэ-Жанэйра, Па-дэ-Кале, Булонь-сэр-Мэр, Сьера-дэ-лас-Мінас, Дар-эс-Салам, Салам-і-Гомес • personal names with -хан, -шах, -паша, -бей, -бай, -задэ, -аглы, -кызы, -бек • personal names, toponyms with Ван-, Мак-, Нью-, Сан-, Санкт-, Сен-, Сент• toponyms with Усць-, Верх-, Соль• toponyms with parts of the world Усходне-, Заходне-, Паўднёва-, Паўночна-, Цэнтральна• particles and articles in personal names да, дэ, ла, ле, ля etc. and дэр, дон, фон, ван written separately, with small letter and without a hyphen: Леанарда да Вінчы, Шарль дэ Кастэр, Анарэ дэ Бальзак, ла Валета, ла Мот, ле Шапелье, ля Крэзо, Ван дэр Мейлен, фон дэр Гольц, дон Хуан, Людвіг ван Бетховен.

• parts of personal compound names of Eastern origin (Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Birma, Indonesian, Tai, Sri-Lankan and Japanese people) are capitalized and not hyphenated: Лі Бо, Ду Фу, Ай Вэй Вэй, Сунь Ятсен (Кітай); Пан Гі Мун (Карэя); Нгуен Фук Ань, Нгуен Чай (В’етнам) 19

STRANGE RULES •Letters д, т, дз, ц written according to the literary pronunciation in proper names: Дэфо, Дэтройт, Тэкерэй, Целяханы, Цюмень, Гаіці, Палесціна, Церак ??? “Палестына” •At the end of proper names у is never shortened: Ландау, Дахау, Шоу •Й at the beginning and intervocalic position: Нью-Ёрк, Мая, Ёфе, but Іаркшыр, Іакагама, Іаган •Аbsence of sounds or sound combinations in the target language Jonas Bergström (NO) – Ёнас Бергстром /Austin-Bergstrom – Остын Бергстром (аэрапорт) •Stress and akannye: Claude Monet - Клод Моне – Клод Манэ Édouard Manet – Эдуард Мане – Эдуард Манэ Sometimes one letter might be gender-differentiating: Антоніа – Антонія •The origin of the name: Hugo – Х’юга, Уга; Hercules – Гуркулес, Эркюль 20

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION

21