Contrastive analysis of the syntactical

structures in the English and Albanian

variants of the Harry Potter saga

Aida Alla, PhD.

Aida.Alla@universitetiaab.com

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INTRODUCTION
 The objectives of this study are:

 To discuss the concept of equivalence in translation;

 To cast some light on the differences and similarities between language

systems in terms of syntax;
 To showcase such similarities and differences at phrase, clause and sentence
level

The first three HP books constitute the corpus of the study.

The notion of equivalence
Since 1960, when Eugene Nida proposed the term for
the fist time, different scholars such as Vinay &
Darbelnet, Jakobson, Catford, House, Newmark,
Baker etc. studied the term further.
Nida: formal & dynamic equivalence (similar effect)
Werner Koller: denotative & connotative equivalence
Newmark: semantic & communicative equivalence
(linguistic &functional equivalence)
Baker: contextual equivalence (eg. Man of the Match)
Translation Strategies
Transposition: (Vinay and Darbelnet) It operates at the
grammatical level and it consists of the replacement of a
word class by another word class without changing the
meaning.  
Transposition can be:
–  Free: when the transposition that we use is mainly
dependent on the context and particularly on the desired
effect.   
–  Compulsory: when only a transposition is acceptable, thus
it is absolutely necessary in a particular context. (Eg.
language norms do not allow otherwise)
Translation Strategies
Modulation: (Vinay and Darbelnet) It basically means using a
phrase that is different in the source and target languages to
convey the same idea.

Eg: “Well, we’ll manage,” said Mrs. Weasley.

Epo do bëjmë si do bëjmë, - tha mëma Uezli.

Transposition from a participle
adjective into a relative ind. CL
 The vanishing glass Xhamat që zhduken

 The sorting hat Kapela që flet

 ...a burning pain një dhimbje që i përvëlonte ballin.

 …Mrs. Figg's cabbage-smelling living room.

 ...apo salloni i zonjës Fig ku të mbyste era e lakrës.

 A bundle of walking sticks was floating in midair ahead of them…

 Një tufë shkopijsh, nga ata që përdoren për shëtitje, po luhatej në

gjysmë lartësie...(HPGF, fq. 106)
Transposition from an adj. into
an adverbial CL. of time
 Then, cold, wet, and gasping for breath, they returned to
the fire in the Gryffindor common room. (HPPS p.219)
 Pastaj, kur filluan të ndienin të ftohtin, të lagur dhe pa
frymë, u futën brenda që të ngroheshin pranë zjarrit në
sallën e çlodhjes së Grifartit. (HPGF, fq. 166)
Transposition from a simple verb
into phraseological unit (a fixed
lexical composition)
 I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but
the spell didn’t work. (HPPS, p. 111)
 Dje dhashë e mora ta bëja të verdhë për ta bërë pak më tërheqës, por
nuk më ndezi magjia. (HPGF, fq. 87)
 “She deserved it,” Harry said, breathing very fast. “She deserved what
she got. (HPPA, P. 32)
 E bëri hak, i tha duke marrë frymë më vështirësi. E bëri me të vërtetë
hak. (HPBA, fq. 28)
 He did seem eager for the job. (HPPA, p. 460) (nominal P+SC)

 Dukej se s’e zinte vendi derisa ta përballonte misionin. (HPBA, fq.

322)
Transposition from a simple VP into
a complex VP (v+ NP/PP, acting as
adv. of manner)
 Mallfoy swaggered forward when his name was called.
(HPPS, p. 129)
 Mallfoi u paraqit tërë fodullëk kur i thirrën emrin. (HPGF,
fq. 100)

 "All right then." Uncle Vernon chuckled.

 "Atëherë në rregull". Xhaxha Vernon qeshi nën hundë.

(PHGF, fq. 22)
Transfer from Intransitive Verbs
into Transitive Verbs
 "MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!"

 Dudley and Piers sniggered. - I know they don't," said

Harry. "It was only a dream." (HPPS, p. 27)
 MOTO-ÇIKLETAT NUK FLUTOROJNË!

 Dadli dhe Pirsi mezi e mbajtën gazin. (v+DO)

 E di që nuk fluturojnë, - tha Harri. – Ishte një ëndërr.

(HPGF, fq. 26)
Transposition from an adverb into a
PP or NP, acting as adjuncts of
manner
 What came next happened so fast no one saw how it
happened .
 Çka ndodhi pastaj u zhvillua aq me vërtik sa askush s'e
kuptoi si e qysh.

 After asking Harry furiously if he knew the man, Aunt

Petunia had rushed them out of the shop without buying
anything. (HPPS, p. 31)
 Tërë xhind, mbasi e pyeti në e njihte ate njeri, teta Petunia i
kishte zvarritur jashtë dyqanit pa blerë asgjë. (HPGF,FQ.
29)
Transfer from a PP into a relative
Cl
 Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were
proud to say that they were perfectly normal. (HPPS, p. 2)
 Zoti dhe Zonja Dërsli, që banonin në numrin 4 të rrugës
Privet Drajv, e thoshin me krenari se ishin njerëz krejt
normalë. (HPGF, fq. 7)
Contrastive analysis at the clause level
Equal syntactical stuctures in
both variants
 He couldn’t see why Ron and Hermione would be in there
again, but after making sure that neither Filch nor any
prefects were around, he opened the door and heard their
voices. (HPCS, p. 193)

 Nuk e kuptonte pse duhej të ndodheshin përsëri aty Roni

me Hermionën, por mbasi u sigurua se aty pari nuk
ndodhej as Laraska dhe as ndonjë Prefekt, e hapi derën dhe
dëgjoi zërat e tyre. (HPDS, fq. 149)
Partially equal syntactical
structures
 Percy, who was sitting a few seats down from Harry, puffed out his
chest again and stared around impressively.

 (PHPA, p. 97)

 Persi, që ishte ulur pak më tej se Harri, nxorri përsëri gjoksin përpara,
(∅) duke vështruar gjithë autoritet majtas e djathtas. (PHBA, fq. 73)
 Harry forced a laugh, watched Percy walk out of sight, and then
headed straight for Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom.

 (HPCS, p. 193)

 Harri u detyrua të qeshte, priti sa u largua Persi dhe pastaj shkoi drejt
e te banjoja e Mërsina Ankaçes. (HPDS, fq. 195)
Reversed word order in TL
 A ray of moonlight lay across its staring face.
(Subject+Predicator+Adjunct)

 Mbi fytyrën e saj të palëvizur binte një rreze hëne.

(Adjunct+Predicator+Subject)

 Harry woke up early the next morning. (HPPS, p. 66)

 Të nesërmen në mëngjes Harri u zgjua herët. (HPGF, fq. 54)

 Lessons started again next day. (HPPA, p. 249)

 Të nesërmen filluan përsëri mësimet. (HPBA, fq. 177)

Active Voice in ST into Passive
Voice in TT
 Harry, shaking from head to foot, walked inside. He was
standing at the end of a very long, dimly lit chamber.
(HPCS, p.323)
 Duke u dridhur nga maja e kokës dëri në fund të këmbëve,
Harri hyri brenda. U gjend në hyrje të një salle shumë të
gjatë, të driçuar dobtas. (HPDF, fq. 245)
Asyndetic sentences in ST into
Syndetic sentences in TT
 “You knew (∅) Sirius was going to break out of Azkaban?”
“When nobody has ever done it before?” (HPPA, p. 390)
 E dije se Siriusi do të arratisej nga Azgabani, kur s’kishte
mundur ta bënte askush? (HPBA, fq. 273)
 I look to the Prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, (∅)
to make sure that no student runs foul of the Dementors,” he
said. (HPPA, p. 97)
 Kam besim se Prefektët dhe Kryeshkollaret e
Kryeshkollarët do të bëjnë çmos që askush të mos u
kundërvihet Marrosësve, - tha ai. (HPBA, fq. 73)
Syndetic sentences in ST into
Asyndetic sentences in TT
 ...his head hit the ground as he fainted. (HPPA, p. 409)

 ...përplasi kokën përtokë: i kishte rënë të fikët. (HPBA, fq.

288)
 She had a very stern face and Harry's first thought was that
this was not someone to cross. (HPCS, p. 122)
 Ishte shumë e ngrysur në fytyrë dhe gjëja më e parë që i
shkoi ndër mend Harrit qe kjo: është një njeri që nuk do
kundërshtuar. (HPGF, fq. 94)
Complex sentence in ST into a
Simple one in TT
 Harry dressed as quickly as he could…(HPCS, p. 192)

 Harri u vesh me nxitim…(HPDS, fq. 149)

 Aunt Petunia looked as though she'd just swallowed a

lemon. (HPPS, p. 24)
 Teze Petunia u thartua në fytyrë. (HPGF, fq. 23)
Total restructuring

He’s got thirty-three bones to regrow.

Duhet t’i rriten tridhjetëetre kocka.
It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first
sign of something peculiar -- a cat reading a map. (Cleft
Sentence)
Aty te cepi i rrugës vuri re shenjat e para të diçkaje të
çuditshme: një mace ishte duke shqyrtuar një hartë.
Harry’s stomach gave a horrible lurch.
Harrit iu duk sikur ia kishin këputur me grusht në stomak.
Conclusions & Recommendations
 Every language represents different realities, cultures and
mentalities which are reflected lexically and syntactically;
 A good translator should abide by the syntactical norms of
TL and avoid calques (word-for-word translations)

 At syntactical level, the translator should be as invisible as

possible so that sentences sound natural and in line with TL
conventions.
Bibliography
Baker, Mona. In other Words: A Coursebook on
Translation. London and New York. 2011.
Nida, E. Towards a Science of Translating. Leiden. 1964.
Newmark, Peter. A Textbook of translation. New York,
London, Toronto, Sydney, Tokyo. Prentice Hall. 1988.
Newmark, Peter. Approaches to Translations. Oxford.
Pergamon 1981.
Munday, J. Introducing Translation Studies: Theories and
Applications. London and New York: Routledge, 2001
Thank you for your attention!

Aida ALLA
Aida.alla@universiteiaab.com