Indirect or Oblique Translation Techniques

Bastia, Gabriel. 27.204.099

Transposition

Examples:

 The President thinks that ⇒ Selon le Président

 The gerund in the English expression ’terrorizing civilians…’ can be translated into French
in two different ways: The subordinate clause: ’si vous terroriser les civils…’ or the verb-
noun: ’le terrorisme contre les civils…’
 ST: D’une façon cruelle.  TT: Cruelly.
 J’ai parlé au parlement hier  I gave a speech in the parliament yesterday.
 ST: Après sa sortie.  TT: After he’d gone out.
 English Hand knitted (noun + participle) becomes Spanish Tejido a mano (participle +
adverbial phrase).
 No tardaré  – I won’t be late
 English The White House becomes Spanish La casa blanca
 English He likes listening to music becomes Spanish Le gusta escuchar música
 ‘the Mexican border´ is translated into ‘La frontera con México´

Modulation

Examples:

 Maybe you’re right.  ‘Tu n’as peut-être pas tort.’

 He is said to be serious.  ‘On dit qu’il est sérieux.’
 ’it is difficult’  ’ce n’est pas facile’
 ’he never lies’  ’il est honnête’
 ’remember to pay the taxe’  ’n’oublier pas de payer la taxe’
 In French, a person may say dernier étage – literally the “last stage” of a building. To an
English speaker, the expectation would be for the phrase to say “top floor”.
 In German, a sign might claim Lebensgefahr – literally “Danger to life”. An English
speaker might understand this, but it would be more natural for them to see “Danger of
death”
 Te lo dejo becomes You can have it
 es fácil de entender (it is easy to understand)
 no es complicado de entender (it is not complicated to understand) 
Equivalence or Reformulation

Examples:

 Chat échaudé craint l’eau froide. ⇒ Once burned, twice shy.

 The Italian phrase “fuori come un balcone” – literally, “outside like a balcony” – is closely
equivalent to the English “you’re out of your tree” or “out of your mind”, meaning crazy.
But it would never be understood by an English reader unless it was reformed.
 Another excellent Italian phrase is “come il cacio sui maccheroni” – “like sheep’s cheese on
the macaroni.” It would fulfil a similar role to the English phrase “just what the doctor
ordered” (meaning the perfect item for the job), but look incredibly strange to an English
reader if translated literally.
 The Sound of Music into Spanish as La novicia rebelde
 Llueve a cántaros – It’s raining cats and dogs
 Pigs may fly - Quand les poules auront des dents
 It’s better to be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big pond – más vale ser
cabeza de ratón que cola de león.
 Comme un chien dans un jeu de quilles – Like a bull in a China shop
 Stop splitting hairs – non guardare il pelo nell’uovo
 To be straightforward – no tener pelos en la lengua

Compensation

Examples:

 Tu and vous in French

 Tú and usted in Spanish
 Du and sie in German
 A ticket to London – Un boleto con destino a Londres
 He esperado más que suficiente – I have waited long enough
 It is driving me crazy without a reason – Me está volviendo loco sin razón alguna
 I would like to take back that moment – Me gustaría volver a ese momento
 She wants to eat a lot – Ella tiene mucha hambre
 Don’t give up once again - No te rindas esta vez
 I’d rather live abroad than staying one year more in my parents’ house – Prefiero vivir en el
extranjero que pasar un año más en casa con mis padres.