Proper names in translation

Proper names tend to have 1-to-1 correspondences in the languages that come in contact. The paradox of rendering proper names is that the word “translation” in its most commonplace meaning is not applicable if we apply in proper names traditional principle of equivalence. The primary function of proper names unlike that of the common nouns is not to suggest the general idea of an object or a living being or an abstract notion but to identify it among the others which belong to the same class. This linguistic peculiarity makes proper names a very specific translation unit.

Rendering proper names is not just the matter of technicality, applying certain methods… It requires profound understanding of translation principles and norms, meticulous analysis of the context, good knowledge of encyclopedic data. It requires the understanding of the linguistic nature of proper nouns as a specific class of lexis with its particular subclasses.

The ways of rendering proper nouns:

• Transcription/transliteration – phonetic imitation of the original word by means of target language sources, a number of phonemes do not coincide. It’s used in the absolute majority of cases with place names.

e.g. Scotland Yard, Queen Elisabeth;

In some cases the preference is given to transliteration:

e.g. Joahn Rolling, Dublin.

• Loaned/direct translation – the literal translation of the proper nouns components. This type mostly applies to the compound geographical names whose first element is an adjective denoting seize (great, small), age (old, new), direction (north, east), numerals…

e.g. Great Solt Lake, New England, East Anglia.

It’s not a rule but rather attendance. Some names of the above mentioned type are transcribed:

e.g. West End, New Jersey.

The bi-names/metaphorical names of the monarchs and famous historical persons are rendered by way of loaned translation: e.g. Iron Lady

In some cases the word order is of special significance in translation and is chiefly determined by category to which the given name refers: e.g. Bloody Mary.

Special attention deserves the translation of interlingual homonyms / names of towns and cities in different countries that have the same origin: e.g. ancient Troy, St. Petersburg

• Traditional lexical correspondence comprise a relatively small group of remaining:

e.g. Middle East – Scotland, England, Palm Sunday

Choosing the method. Choice of method lacks uniformity. The proper nouns of different classes may be rendered in different ways even if they are spelled in the same ways

e.g. New York, New Scotland Yard, Milky Way – Чумацький шлях

When Milky Way is the name of constellation as used in astronomy it’s rendered as чумацький шлях або молочний шлях. But if it’s a trade mark of chocolate bars it becomes Мілкі Уей.

The trademarks and brand names are transcribed in all of their components even though they may be numerous. Even the title of books may be transcribed: e.g. “Kobzar”

In some cases it is not only the proper noun itself that’s transcribed but the accompanying words itself:

e.g. Dawning Street, Oxford Street, Soltlake City, Майдан незалежності

To make the text more intelligible to the target language recipient it’s sometimes important to explain certain proper noun by introducing the appropriate nomenclature words that are missing in the original:

e.g. Warner Brothers The Bahamas.

The nomenclature words making part of the proper noun may be sometimes misleading and therefore should be treated with caution: e.g. Medison Square Park / Garden

Some examples of the names that may be tricky:

e.g. Mantigo Bay – a city and port in Jamaica; Red Lake – a town in the USA

The names of animals consisting of more than one component are often translated on the word for word basis: e.g. the rabbit long ears.

Some proper names have variant renderings. Both transliterated and translated versions:

e.g. amnesty International; Silicon Valley

Some proper nouns can be used figuratively in the sense of general meaning. The explanatory translation is often a solution in the cases like that:

e.g. Fleed Street can make or break a politician

Rendering proper names in belles-lettres style has its distinctive features. There is a whole subclass of talking names used by writers for specific expressive purposes. Occasionally the original pronunciation of the source language name is modified for pragmatic reasons. The choice of methods depends on:

• Linguistic sub classification: proper or geographical;

• Frequency of occurrence: famous names tend to have traditional lexical correspondences

• Lexic-sentactic structure: single or compound names tend to be translated differently;

• Genre of the text count especially with the talking names in the belles-lettres and newspaper style;

• Linguistic and cultural tradition;

• Linguistic function – identification of objects or metaphoric denotation of the whole class of objects.