Military Terms in The Modern War Films Translation

Proceedings of the 3rd International
Scientific and Practical Conference

«Concepts for the Development of No
Society’s Scientific Potential»
133
(November 19-20, 2022).
Prague, Czech Republic
PHILOLOGY AND LINGUISTICS
DOI 10.51582/interconf.19-20.11.2022.018
Military terms in the modern war films:

translation issues
Bondarenko Kateryna1,
Balan Sofiia2
1
Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor;
Department of Translation, Applied and General Linguistics
Central Ukrainian Volodymyr Vynnychenko State Pedagogical University; Ukraine
2
student of the 1st Year of «English Studies and Two Foreign Languages»;
Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University; Ukraine
Abstract.
The study explores the military lexicon used in the modern war movies, such as “1917”,
“Fury”, “Dunkirk”, “Hacksaw Ridge”, “Unbroken”, “Journey’s End” and “Midway”. The article
examines military terms of modern-day war films as well as specialized methods of the
interpretation of military lexicon into the translated language. The study discusses
military terms and phrases as a key element of the movies’ and suggests its own
classification of analysed material. According to their official definitions, their
conceptual and semantic meaning, military lexical units are sorted out into the following
lexical semantic groups: “Nominations of military way of living” (24%), “Nominations of
military professional terms” (31%), “Nominations of military positions, groupings and ranks”
(26%), “Military commands” (15%) and “Nominations of enemy’s army soldiers” (4%). The
translation of the military lexicon used in the films, which is implemented by Ukrainian
interpreting companies, requires thorough approach in the aspects of translating highly
specialized vocabulary of an audiovisual product and adapting it in accordance with the
context. The article reveals that 51% of the material analysed in the research is translated
with the use of complete equivalents – lexical units that coexist in both languages and
carry the same semantic meaning. The other part of the lexicon explored is interpreted with
the help of translation transformations such as modulation (25%), adaptation (8%),
generalization (3%), omission (1%), joining (2%), and transliteration (3%). Additionally,
the research determines another group of cases of the language units’ specific
interpretation, when jargon words and collocations are applied in the target language (7%).
The study’s discussion will contribute to improvements of the further studies of lexicology
and terminology of the military branch, thus defining semantic classification of the military
language units, dealing with the methods of translation transformations, and selecting the
most appropriate translational variations of a particular lexical unit with no accurate
equivalents. The material analysed in the article can be used for translating military
lexicon in the war films and military projects as well as for studying linguacultural and
sociolinguistics studies.
Keywords:
military lexicon
military term
lexical semantic group
translation transformation
audiovisual translation
This work is distributed under the terms of the Creative

Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).
189
133
(November 19-20, 2022).
Introduction. The article reveals the meaning of elements

of military sphere in the modern English-speaking
cinematography and highlights the features of the translation
of audiovisual products – modern films about the war in the
20th century. Today, units related to the military sphere
must be understood and distinguished, because the military
scope is an integral part of the modern socio-political
sphere, which is one of the main suppliers of new lexicon and
phraseology to English vocabulary, as modern conflicts, local
wars and the fight against terrorism are becoming the
society’s main focus [1].
The article covers a thorough study of the text part of
the popular English-speaking movies, which narrate about the
events of World War I (“1917”, 2019 and “Journey’s End”, 2017)
as well as World War II (“Fury”, 2014; “Dunkirk”, 2017;
“Hacksaw Ridge”, 2016; “Unbroken”, 2014 and “Midway”, 2019).
It is worth noting that the material of the particular
collection of war films has not been an object of scientific
researches yet, which makes the study even more relevant.
The study involves analysis of the previous research of
military lexicon. The article explores scientific works
implemented by I. Evanenko, O. Nikiphorova, O. Luchyk,
O. Petrenko, K. Kordonets, Y. Lukiyanchuk, O. Lemeshko, and
V. Slipetska. Peculiarities and interpretation of the
military lexicon attract a lot of attention of the researchers
who highlight its usage in the modern Ukrainian art [2],
analyse its lexical structure in the texts with a military-
poltical theme based on the method of lexical semantic groups’
reconstruction [3], explore the metaphorical units of
English-speaking military terminology [4], etc. Besides that,
it is important to analyse military terms in the aspect of
using lexical transformations during the units’ translation
[5] as well as classifying the terms by their meaning [6] and
identify efficient partial-language models of terms in the
modern military terminological systems of Great Britain, the
US and Canada [7].
The aim of the article is exploration of military
lexicon’s peculiarities and their translation into Ukrainian
in the movies “1917”, “Fury”, “Dunkirk”, “Hacksaw Ridge”,
“Journey’s end”, “Unbroken” and “Midway”. Achieving the aim

190 Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
133
(November 19-20, 2022).
requires completing the following tasks: identification of

the key features of the military lexicon; reconstruction of
lexical semantic groups of military vocabulary in the modern
movies about war; outlining of the peculiarities of
audiovisual translation made by the modern Ukrainian
translation studios.
The main research methods of the study are descriptive,
which is used for describing structural and semantic features
of the explored language units [8]; comparative, which is a
method for comparing the meaning, number and acceptance of
the analysed lexicon; method of component analysis, the
fundamental aim of which is division of the language unit’s
meaning into differential semantic features [9]; method of
formation of the lexical semantic groups – objects, which
represent total amount of paradigmatically related lexical
units that are united with the common content, and detect
conceptual, substantial and functional similarity of the
denoted features [10].
Military lexicon is a complex system, which includes
definitions related to the way of living of the military, as
well as the tasks they have to do on service. Military lexicon
is closely connected to the daily vocabulary, military lexical
units are getting to be more frequent in the lexicon of
ordinary speakers, therefore, systematization,
classification, study of processes, derivation and
dissemination of such particular language units would be
necessary and expedient [11]. V.Pohonets states that the
specific military lexicon is a set of words and word
collocations that correspond to the definitions and realias
of the military sphere and create appropriate group subsystem
[1]. Military lexicon directly represents military everyday
life and reflects the image, which is close to the reality.
Nevertheless, military lexicon differs from the military
terminology, which is also widespread in the war films. A
military term is either simple or complex structured language
unit (a word or a collocation) which indicates the
professional definition of the military scope (military
study, equipment, activities, etc.) and is created by
different methods, in particular, morphological,
morphological-syntactic and syntactic ones [4].

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Military terminology is a significant part of a language,

but its nature can vary in different languages [12]. The films
explored in the research consist of events which unfold in
the 20th century, thus some of the terms are mostly used in
the specialized military issues and may be unknown for the
general audience.
The study of 7 modern war films covers the analysis of
approximately 280 military-themed lexical units. The
collection of language units, which is formed as a result of
selection of the analysed audiovisual products’ text part, is
systematized and separated into different lexical semantic
groupings (lexical semantic groups and micro groups).
Every lexical semantic group has a core, which contains
of the group’s name (title), the specific name that is closely
related to it, the genitive name, synonyms and antonyms. On
the group’s periphery there are language units, content
features of which intersect with the words from the core with
the help of minimal semantic units [13]. As a result of the
analysis of the military lexicon’s semantic meaning, which is
used in the modern war films, lexical units are divided into
the following lexical semantic groups: “Nominations of
military way of living” (24% of the general number of lexical
units), “Nominations of military professional terms” (31% of
the total amount of the material researched), “Nominations of
military positions, groupings and ranks” (26% of the used
military lexicon), “Military commands” (15% of the material
analysed in the study) and there is also another separate
group of language units, which is outlined as a consequence
of a big difference in the semantic meaning between the units
of all the previously mentioned groups, and which is called
“Nominations of enemy’s army soldiers”, which takes 4% of the
material explored in the study.
In addition to this, the article examines lexical units
that are considered to be a means of emotional stylistic
colouring of a particular situation, dialogue or line in the
war films’ text part.
The first lexical semantic group represents military
daily character, which includes 63 military-themed lexical
units and consists of three micro groups that depict different
aspects of everyday life in the military. The first micro

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group called “Nominations of places, positions and

fortifications” comprises 29 lexical units such as e.g. no-
mans’-land ‘an area or strip of land that no one owns or
controls, such as a strip of land between two countries’
borders, especially in a war’ [14], trench ‘a narrow hole
that is dug into the ground’ [15], dugout ‘a shelter, usually
for soldiers, made by digging a hole in the ground and
covering it’ [16], battle stations ‘the places to which
soldiers, sailors, warships, etc. are assigned for a battle
or an emergency’ [17], front line ‘a place where opposing
armies face each other in war and where fighting happens’
[18] etc.: “He's holding the line at the shortest span of no-
man's-land.” (“1917”). The second micro group consists of 16
language units and is called “Food and medical lexicon”, since
nutrition and medicine are the elements that are also present
at war: mess tent ‘a tent used to shelter people eating in a
group, especially in a military or working setting’ [19],
rations ‘the food given to someone at one time, esp. to
soldiers’ [20], casualty clearing station ‘a medical
installation in a combat area where casualties are received
from collecting stations, given additional treatment,
classified, and if necessary evacuated’ [21], stretcher
bearer ‘someone who carries a stretcher, with another person
at its other end, especially in a war or emergency’ [22] and
so on: “Grady, restock ammo and rations.” (“Fury”). The third
group features “Nominations of the elements of a fighting”
and includes 18 lexical units such as, for example, relief
‘military assistance to an endangered post or force’ [23],
evasive action ‘moving away from someone or something in order
to avoid meeting them or being hit by them’ [24], smokescreen
‘an artificial cloud of smoke that is used to hide the
movements or positions of soldiers from the enemy’ [25] and
others: “Tomorrow afternoon under a smokescreen. Two
officers, ten men.” (“Journey’s End”).
The second lexical semantic group contains the lexicon of
the military professional terms, in the other words, the
military terminology, which encompasses 81 military terms and
is divided into three micro groups. The first micro group is
called “Nominations of ammunition, projectiles and combat

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weapon”, and includes 34 military terms such as, for instance,

rifle ‘a type of gun with a long barrel (= part shaped like
a tube), fired from the shoulder and designed to be accurate
at long distances’ [26], Mills bombs ‘a type of high-explosive
hand grenade’ [27], machine gun ‘a gun which fires
a lot of bullets one after the other very quickly’ [28],
tracer ‘a bullet that leaves a line of flame or smoke behind
it when it is fired, so that you can see the direction it has
taken’ [29] and so on: “A standard issue U.S. rifle,
caliber.30, M1, a clip-fed, shoulder-fired, semi-automatic
weapon.” (“Hacksaw Ridge”). The second micro group is called
“Nominations of fighting situations” and consists of 13
military terms such as e.g. shelling ‘the act of firing shells
(= containers full of explosives) at something’ [30], combat
mission ‘a mission to capture or defend something’ [31],
withdrawal ‘the process or action of a military force moving
out of an area’ [32] etc.: “Not a combat mission. Rescue.”
(“Unbroken”). The third micro group characterizes
“Nominations of military equipment” and includes 34 lexical
units such as, for example, U-boat ‘a German submarine, used
especially in World Wars I and II’ [33], fighters ‘a small,
fast military aircraft used for chasing and destroying enemy
aircraft’ [34], torpedo bombers ‘a military airplane designed
to carry torpedoes’ [35], battleship ‘very large military
ship with big guns’ [36], aircraft carriers ‘large ships that
carry military aircraft and have a long, flat surface where
they take off and land’ [37] and others: “I'm counting maybe
30 bombers and heavy fighter cover.” (“Midway”).
The third lexical semantic group, which is also divided
into three separate micro groups, comprises the names of
military groupings, titles and ranks and has 67 lexical units
in total. The first micro group represents “Nominations of
military titles and positions”, which contains 29 semantic
units such as Sarge ‘informal for seargant
(= a soldier of middle rank’ [38], Brigadier General ‘an
officer in the US Army, Air Force, or Marines whose rank is
above a colonel and below a major general’ [39], Bombardier
‘a soldier with a low rank in the artillery of some armies;
a military person who aims and often releases bombs from an
aircraft’ [40], Rear Admiral ‘an officer of very high rank in

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the navy’ [41] and others: “I wish to speak to Brigadier

General Musgrove.” (“Hacksaw Ridge”). The second micro group
is called “Nominations of military groupings and ranks of
troops” and includes 32 lexical units such as, for instance,
Platoon ‘a small group of soldiers, usually one which is
commanded by a lieutenant’ [42], grenadiers ‘soldiers trained
to throw grenades’ [43], rear guard ‘a military detachment to
protect the rear of a main force or body’ [44], gunners
‘members of the armed forces who are trained to use artillery
(= very large guns)’ [45] and so on: “But between our rear
guard and the French, we're holding the line.” (“Dunkirk”).
The third micro group is called “Nominations of military
awards and ranks” that consists of 6 military lexical units
such as Medal of Honor ‘the highest military honor in the US’
[46], Navy Cross ‘a U.S. military decoration awarded to
members of the Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard for
extraordinary heroism in action’ [47] etc.: “James H.
Doolittle received the Medal of Honor from President Roosevelt
upon his return to America.” (“Midway”).
It is also important to conduct a thorough analysis on
different military commands and exclamations, which are also
an inseparable part of life in the military. These commands,
which are used in the war films, create another lexical
semantic group that comprises 38 lexical units such as e.g.
Steady! ‘used as a warning to someone to keep calm or take
care’, Dismissed! ‘ordered or allowed to leave; sent away’,
Cease fire! ‘an order or signal to stop fighting’, Fall in!
‘take one’s place in a line or formation’, Quick march! ‘a
command to begin marching quickly’ [48], At ease! ‘an order
given to a group of soldiers to stand with their feet apart
and their hands behind their backs’ [49] and others: “Cease
fire. Target destroyed.” (“Fury”).
During World War I and World War II the main enemy of
Great Britain and the US (countries where the films researched
in the study were mostly produced in) was Germany.
Consequently, after the complete analysis of the everyday
speech of the military, the study exudes another lexical
semantic group that is called “Nominations of enemy’s army
soldiers”, which includes such language units as Boche,
Germans, Krauts, Nazi, Jerry, and Hun. Being translated into

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Ukrainian, these semantic units are represented as боші,

фріци, ганці, нацики, гуни, німчура etc.: “The Hun are up to
something.” (“1917”) – “Схоже, фріци щось задумали”.
Moreover, when the main characters of the “Fury” movie talk
about German as a language, Ukrainian translation studios
interpret this language unit as собача (мова): “You talk
German! I can't talk Spanish?” (“Fury”) – “Ти говориш собачою,
а я не можу іспанською?”. In some of the explored war movies
a lot of events are connected to Japan, which fought alongside
the Germans during the World War II. Despite the fact that
the United States were fierce enemies with Japan, the modern
war films have a smaller range of semantic units that are
used for referring to the Japanese army. In some films
Japanese are also called Japs and Nips, which are mainly
translated as японці and япошки. The absence of the wide range
of translation analogues for the referring to the Japanese in
Ukrainian is due to the fact that the Japan’s troops didn’t
use to fight on the Ukrainian territories, because their
state’s warfare took place mostly in the Pacific and Asian
regions: “Nips put a premium on shooting medics. The white is
a bull's-eye.” (“Hacksaw Ridge”) – “Япошки вважають лікарів
важливим активом. Ми в них головна мішень.”
Translation transformation is a means of interpreting
lexical units and language structures that are implemented
with the adherence to the principles of reflecting the
stylistic, grammatical and semantic content of a particular
language unit, phrase, or complete text in the original
language. Translation transformations can be classified into
the following categories: syntactic assimilation (which means
literal translation, or a kind of a so-called “zero”
transformation), rearrangement (changing of the language
elements’ position), replacement (that could change the
syntactic structure of a sentence), sentence combining
(transformation of the original syntactic structure as a
result of combining two or more simple sentences), omission
(reduction of semantically excessive words) and addition
(using additional words, which do not have an original
language equivalent while translating) [50]. It is also
presumed that the translation transformations can be divided
into transliteration and transcription, calking,

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generalization, concretization, modulation, explication,

compensation and amplification [51]. A similar classification
model is one of the most relevant for the particular research,
the main task of which is to analyse peculiarities of military
lexicon and terminology.
Approximately half of the entire amount of military-
themed lexicon, which is explored in the study, is translated
with the help of a full equivalents – lexical units, which
have the same semantic meaning as the ones in the original
text. For example, lexical unit flank was interpreted with
its analogue фланг: “Enemy fire from our right flank.”
(“Fury”) – “Ворог з правого флангу від нас.”; the language
unit ambush had a corresponding analogue засідка: “Right side,
ambush!” (“Fury”) – “Засідка з правого флангу!”; the semantic
unit dogfight was interpreted as ближній бій: “Looks like it.
Dogfight.” (“1917”) – “Схоже що так. Ближній бій.”; the
lexical unit flagship was translated with the equivalent
флагман: “Now, why the hell would Nagumo leave his flagship?”
(“Midway”) – “Навіщо Нагумо покидати свій флагман?”; and the
language unit flare was interpreted as сигнальна ракета: “And
if by some f*cking miracle you do make it, send up a flare.”
(“1917”) – “Якщо якимось бл*ха дивом доберетеся, пустіть
сигнальну ракету”. The great number of full equivalents and
military terms with exactly the same semantic meaning can be
explained by the fact that Ukraine has been before and even
now is the country that faces war, where the fighting and
resistance is ongoing. As a result, in the vocabulary of the
military sphere there is a constant flow of new terms and
definitions.
The second most frequent type of translating military
lexicon in the modern war films is translational modulation,
or semantic adjustment, – one of the types of translation
transformation, which is implemented with the help of lexical
units that may not be an interpreted unit’s full equivalent,
but still have semantic or logical connection either with the
context, or a translated unit’s initial definition. Such a
specific semantic adjustment to the context can be observed
in the example with the lexical unit wire, which is
interpreted as укріплення, without the usual translation
variation such as дріт or провід: “Our wire’s a mess, but

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there is a path through of sorts.” (“Fury”) – “Укріплення

розбиті, але пройти можна.”; a languge unit sides is
translated as фланги (even though the ordinary variant сторони
is also possible, however, the context where the particular
unit is applied, is used at the front line, thus фланги would
be more expedient translation variation): “When they've done
all along the front, I want them putting a belt down both
sides.” (“Journey’s End”) – “Коли вони встановлять її вздовж
лінії, хай укріплюють наші позиції з флангів.”; a phrase
rations box is represented as аварійний комплект, although
its literal translation would sound like ящик з пайками or
коробка з провізією; but Ukrainian translation studios
decided to rely on the context more, where there is an
emergent crash-landing of the plane: “Waist gunner! Get the
rations box.” (“Unbroken”) – “Напарнику, візьми аварійний
комплект!”; also, a lexical unit cavalry is interpreted as
підмога despite the fact that this language unit has a meaning
of a type of troops that mainly uses riding horses at war,
and can be translated as кавалерія or кіннота, but still,
such common translation variants would not be the most
appropriate for the particular dialogue, where the army needs
to wait for some assistance: “But this is our job, and we’re
the guys who have to hold the fort till the cavalry arrives.”
(“Midway”) – “Але це наша робота, і ми маємо тримати оборону
допоки не прибуде підмога”.
The analysis of the military lexicon’s interpreting shows
that another translation transformation is translational
adaptation, which is a phenomenon when the lexical unit’s
structure, and sometimes even its semantic meaning, can be
completely changed as a consequence of a drastic changing of
the audience’s acceptance of the context where this word or
phrase is used. For instance, a phrase in range and in line
of sight is adapted with the help of Ukrainian analogue в
зоні досяжності: “And once we cross this hedgerow, we will be
in range and in their line of sight, so be alert.” (“Fury”)
– “Тільки сунемось на поле, ми будемо в зоні досяжності, тож
будьте уважні.”; a collocation stand down, which is used for
expressing a military command, in different war films, which
are researched in the study, is translated with adaptive
variations such as скасувати атаку, всі назад, відставити

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готовність: “Stand them down” (“1917”) – “Скасувати атаку.”;

a phrase gain ground is adapted as переходити в наступ,
because the particular situation tells about the troops’
activity: “The US have invaded the Marshall Islands. Allies
are gaining ground.” (“Unbroken”) – “Наші взяли Маршалові
острови. Союзники перейшли в наступ”.
The study of the war films’ text part also explores some
cases with such a translation transformation as translational
omission, which can be used for removing or skipping semantic
units in the translation language, when a phrase or an entire
sentence does not lose any of its semantic meaning. Therefore,
a phrase field fortifications is translated as укріплення,
although the translation variant польові укріплення is also
suitable, however it would not change the general perception
of the line, in which this phrase is used: “Three miles deep,
field fortifications, defenses, artillery the like of which
we’ve never seen before.” (“1917”) – “На три милі вглиб, там
укріплення, оборонні споруди, артилерія надпотужної вогневої
сили.”; during the interpretation of the military command
return to your sections, instead of using the literal
translation such as e.g. поверніться на свої позиції, the
command is played back as усі по позиціях, but in this
situation the omission of the equivalent for the lexical unit
return is efficient, because the time limit plays a key role
in the scene: “Back! Return to your sections!” (“1917”) –
“Назад! Усі по позиціях!”; a military term twin-engine bombers
is simply translated as бомбардувальники (that are usually
interpreted as bombers), which means that the Ukrainian
translators found it possible to skip the detail that the
type of the particular aircraft belongs to the twin-engine
ones (which is translated as двомоторні), and still the
omission does not change the whole image of the scene, where
this term is used: “Twin-engine bombers, five o'clock.”
(“Midway”) – “Бомбардувальники на п’яту годину”.
The exploration of the translational strategies of
military lexicon’s interpretation in the modern war films
reveals another translation transformation that is called
translational joining, which is a transformation of a few
separate semantic units into one phrase or collocation. For
example, a phrase regimental brothers is united into one

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lexical unit of the translation language – однополчани: “We're

regimental brothers, mate.” (“Dunkirk”) – “Хай там як, ми –
однополчани.”; a collocation scouting flight is interpreted
as розвідполіт, which is united as another translation
variation of the particular language unit and derives from
the literal meaning розвідувальний політ: “Now go suit up for
a scouting flight.” (“Midway”) – “Зараз іди готуйся до
розвідпольоту.”; during the translation, a phrase full gear
turns into one lexical unit обмундирування: “Right now,
everybody in full gear for a 20-mile hike.” (“Hacksaw Ridge”)
– “А зараз, усі в обмундируванні, на 20-мильний марш!”.
Translating the military lexicon and terminology,
Ukrainian interpreters use the method of translational
generalization, which means translating lexical units with
the help of general names of the type, species or class, to
which these units logically belong. For example, a military
term dive bombers is translated without using its full
equivalent such as e.g. пікіруючі бомбардувальники, or
винищувачі, but this term is represented as літаки, which
generalizes the definition of the particular lexical unit:
“Did it help you against the dive bombers and the U-boats?”
(“Dunkirk”) – “Вона була ефективна проти літаків і субмарин?”;
the method of translational generalization also concerns the
interpretation of different military-themed abbreviations
such as, for instance, NCO (that stands for non-commissioned
officer), which is simply translated as сержант, which
generalizes the particular abbreviation’s meaning: “NCOs
collect flares and signal flags.” (“1917”) – “Сержантам
одержати прапорці і ракетниці”; an abbreviation RAF stands
for Royal Air Force and is literally translated as
Королівський Повітряний Флот, however, in this case the
abbreviation’s interpretation is generalized and is
represented simply as авіація: “You’re RAF?” (“Dunkirk”) –
“Ти з авіації?”.
The research of peculiarities of the military lexicon’s
translation discovers another method of interpretation, which
is called transliteration – a translating method that is
mostly applied in cases when original language units do not
have a complete, or even closely related equivalent in the
target language, and as a result, this interpretation is

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implemented according to the principles of translational

transcription. Therefore, a semantic unit Sarge, which is a
widespread lexical unit in the English-speaking military
sphere, is transliterated by Ukrainian translation studios as
сарж: “I am not “Sir”! I am Sergeant Howell or Sarge. “Sir”
you save for useless people.” (“Hacksaw Ridge”) – “Я не “Сер”!
Я сержант Гаувелл чи сарж! “Сер” – для непотреба звертання.”;
the name of a troops’ grouping Devons (which is a shortened
variant for the name of the Devonshire Regiment, a sub-unit
of the British Army) is directly transliterated as девонці:
“Have to find the Devons.” (“1917”) – “Я маю знайти девонців”;
and although in one of the cases an abbreviation SBD is
translated as винищувач, in the other dialogue Ukrainian
translation studios decided to interpret this military term
while using transliteration principles, thus the abbreviation
is represented as ЕсБіДі: “Well, I guess you're gonna have to
learn to fly an SBD. ” (“Midway”) – “Схоже, доведеться вчитись
літати на ЕсБіДі”.
The profound analysis of the modern war films, the
military lexicon and terminology as well as some of the
detailed features of their translation in these movies pushes
forward to discovering another group of lexical semantic
units, which are worthy from the aspect of translation
studies. These are the language units that serve for making
a scene, a dialogue, or a line more emotionally expressive in
the target language. Most of these units can be considered as
professional jargonisms, idiomatic collocations or slang
words. For example, the “1917” movie contains a dialogue
between two soldiers, one of which tells the line “Tastes
like an old shoe”, where the semantic unit shoe is not
translated with the usual equivalent such as e.g. туфля or
черевик, but with a unit that has a colloquial and more
emotional shade – калоша: “На смак як стара калоша.”; during
the translation, a semantic unit message is transformed into
депеша, which is quite an outdated variation of the translated
unit, however in this way Ukrainian interpreters emphasize
the fact that the movie’s events happened a long time ago:
“We have a message from General Erinmore.” (“1917”) – “У нас
депеша від генерала Ерінмора”; in the scenes of “1917” and
“Fury” lexical units meat and chow are interpreted as їдло,

201
133
(November 19-20, 2022).
which gives the conversation more informal style: “Boyd, get

some chow and do what you can about the mechanical issues.”
(“Fury”) – “Бойд, дістань їдла і полагодь усе, наскільки це
можливо.”; a phrase bathing facilities is translated as
мильне-рильне, which is a jargonism that reflects a complete
absence of formality in the speech of the military: “And he
was moaning about the lack of bathing facilities when he wrote
to her.” (“1917”) – “А він постійно бідкався, що в нас мильно-
рильного бракує, коли писав їй.”; a lexical unit gasoline is
translated as солярка, which is an extremely rare translation
variation, since gasoline has a meaning of бензин, паливо,
etc. Meanwhile, солярка can be translated as diesel or diesel
fuel, but it cannot mean gasoline: “Taste like gasoline?”
(“Fury”) – “Солярка кажеш?”; a semantic unit bawl is turned
into a collocation розпускати нюні, which adds some
humiliation in the speech of the main character: “Turn your
goddamn intercom off if you’re gonna bawl like that” (“Fury”)
– “Вимикай рацію, коли хочеш нюні розпустити.”; and a phrasal
verb take care is interpreted with the jargonistic variation
рятувати шкуру: “Boys, take care of yourselves. Get to that
tree line.” (“Fury”) – “Хлопці, рятуйте свої шкури. Ідіть до
лісу”.
In conclusion, it is worth noting that military lexicon
and terminology is a pivotal element of the text part of the
up-to-date war films, military-themed lexical units and terms
depict the atmosphere of life and war in the 20th century, and
enables the audience to comprehend the circumstances, events
and consequences of war and military actions. The research
detects a great amount of the military lexicon, which is
connected to different aspects of military scope: way of
living in the military, military professional terms, names of
ranks and groupings, military commands, military
abbreviations and jargonisms. The interpretation of the war
movies, which is done by the Ukrainian translation studios,
attracts a lot of attention in terms of studying peculiarities
of translating military lexicon, since Ukrainian interpreters
were trying to convey semantic meaning of every military term
and lexical unit accurately, to express every phrase and line
precisely, and to represent the characters’ opinion
correctly. As a result of the analysis, it is discovered that

133
(November 19-20, 2022).
the most frequent method of translating military lexicon in

the modern war films is the equivalent translation that helped
to interpret 141 lexical semantic units, which is 51% of the
material researched in the study; the second frequent
translating method is translational modulation that is used
in approximately 25% of cases, which means 70 lexical units;
the translation of the military lexicon involves
translational adaptation, which helped to interpret 21
semantic units (that means 8% of the entire amount of the
material). Additionally, Ukrainian translators used such
methods as generalization (3%), omission (1%), joining (2%),
and transliteration (3%). Also, the study explores the
specific interpretation of language units with the use of
emotionally coloured lexicon that consists of 19 lexical
semantic units, which is 7% of the material analysed in the
article. Practical significance of the particular research
can be used for translating the military-themed content, for
the audiovisual translation of war films, as well as for
studying linguacultural peculiarities.
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Military Terms in The Modern War Films Translation

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PHILOLOGY AND LINGUISTICS