Semantic Translation Research Articles

Applying Variational Translation Theory on Selected Riddles from English into Arabic: a Case Study

A riddle is a discourse type of an associative dual textual structure. It is a form of humor which is found as a word game in any culture. The resolution of incongruous meaning and surprise on the semantic, cultural or grammatical level are its most important aspects that cause humor. This paper aims to discuss how to translate riddles from English into Arabic in order to see whether the equivalent riddle acts in Arabic as the same in English. The paper also tries to show how riddles under discussion are realized in Arabic under the above mentioned theory and whether their realization are effective as those of the SL texts. In addition, it is an attempt to give some remedies to the problems that may arise from translating these riddles into Arabic due to the differences that exist between Arabic and English on different levels. It is hypothesized that riddles are translatable in spite of any linguistic or cultural divergences between the SL and TL. It is also assumed under this new theory (VTT) that using communicative translation is more effective than using semantic translation in rendering riddles. It has been found that semantic translation succeeds in reproducing the humorous effect in the case where there is an accidental culture or linguistic systematic correspondence between the two languages.

ТHE STRUCTURAL AND SEMANTIC FEATURES OF NATO OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS TERMINOLOGY FROM THE TRANSLATION PERSPECTIVE

The article focuses on the study of the English terminology used in the official documentation of NATO and seeks to investigate the specific nature of its translation into the Ukrainian language. It is determined that the NATO Standardization Agency administrates the dissemination of statutes, standards, and doctrines to facilitate effective interaction and cooperation among allies. A notable characteristic of official documents resides in their connection to international law, thereby necessitating imperative precision in translation, standardized recording, and legal implementation. The NATO terminology system comprises terms and abbreviations, along with data (comments, examples, cross-references), and metadata (acceptability rating, source, approval date). It is established that the successful use of such documentation in Ukraine is contingent upon the adaptation of military terminology to align with the linguistic and cultural nuances of the Ukrainian context. The structural-semantic analysis provided in the research reveals the main translation models for terms as well as the parts of speech forming the structural models. The conducted research demonstrates that multi-component military terms from NATO official documents tend to be translated with equivalent prepositional attributive phrases by rearranging components and employing functional substitution, namely through loan translation. The investigation uncovers that the translation of military terminology predominantly employs descriptive methods, word-for-word translation, transliteration, transcription, and semantic translation, aimed at conveying the content of English-language terms. It is worth noting that military-related texts comprise abbreviations and acronyms necessitating precise explication and even decryption, given their informational significance, which cannot be replicated verbatim in the translated language. The results confirm that the translation of military terminology in NATO official documents necessitates the utilization of specialized military terms and calls for advancements in the standardization and unification of the termbase for adequate translation.

Analysis of the Chinese Translation of The Art of Loving (Excerpt) from the Perspective of Newmark’s Translation Theory

Peter Newmark was a famous British translator and translation theorist. According to the type of text, he divided texts into expressive text, informative text, and vocative text in his first book Approaches to Translation, published in 1981 and formed the core concept of his translation thought, “semantic translation” and “communicative translation”. Based on semantic translation, communicative translation, and text typology, this paper tries to analyze the Chinese translation of the source text, The Art Of Loving(excerpts), written by Eric Fromm, a famous German-American psychologist, psychoanalyst and philosopher. Due to the psychology and critical thinking of the source text, the translator prefers to communicative translation and uses various translation methods and skills to reduce reading difficulties. This paper finds that any translation is a mixture of many theories, strategies, or methods. To some extent, in the process of translation, it inspires us to pay more attention to the use of translation theory, so that intuition and rationality can be combined, and closer to the essence of translation than the subconscious translation behaviors.

A Comparative Analysis of Eugene Nida's and Peter Newmark's Perspectives on Cultural Context in Translation

Translation, as a bridge between languages and cultures, is a complex and engaging field. The task of a translator goes beyond mere linguistic conversion; it involves the intricate process of transferring cultural contexts and meanings from one language to another. A review of Western translation history reveals a rich diversity of translation thoughts and a multitude of distinctive translators. Among them, two influential figures in the Western translation world, Eugene Nida and Peter Newmark, introduced renowned concepts such as functional equivalence, communicative translation, and semantic translation. These scholars have extensively studied translation theory, contributing significantly to the flourishing development of Western translation circles. This paper aims to comparatively analyze the thoughts of these two translation theorists from different dimensions, offering an analysis of the similarities and differences in perspectives on cultural context in translation and discussing implications for modern translation education. The following sections will provide a detailed discussion of this topic.

Explanative Indicators of the Meanings of Russian Unknown Words in the Original Literary Text and in Its English Translation

Under the explanatory indicators of the meanings of unknown words, we mean such a way of revealing the meanings of words that are incomprehensible or obscure to readers, when the author accompanies these words with an explanatory comment. The purpose of this work is to analyze various ways of using explanatory indicators in the translation of F. Abramov’s novel “Two Winters and Three Summers” into English. In the course of the work, the following was established. Firstly, explanatory indicators are the most effective indicators of the meanings of unknown words, however, as a rule, they are used only in such literary texts that do not create the illusion of reflecting the events described by any of the characters and are clearly addressed to uninformed readers. Secondly, an effective way to translate Russian unknown words into English is practical transcription, it can preserve the phonetic features of the Russian language. Practical transcription is not used independently; explanatory indicators of meanings are often accompanied in translations by practical transcription. Thirdly, explanatory indicators can be used in the translated text in one of three ways: (1) replacing the Russian unknown words with a description of the meaning of the word in the translation (i.e., semantic translation); (2) replacement of the Russian unknown words in the translation with an approximate English equivalent, after which the meaning of the word is specified by means of a semantic translation; (3) replacement of the Russian unknown words with a practical transcription in the translation, followed by an explanatory commentary on the word.

The Analysis of Accuracy in Translating Abstract Journal by The Students of English Education Universitas Negeri Makassar

The goal of the study was to identify the best strategy to utilize and how effectively students could translate abstract journals. Students from Universitas Negeri Makassar studying English education participated in this descriptive quantitative study. There were 10 students in total that made up the study's subject. the information gathered by text analysis. The findings indicated that students' translations of abstract Journal were "Excellent" in accuracy, with a degree of mastery between 80 to 100%. It implies that a small amount of correction is still required. There, a total of nine students made progress toward a good level, while one student demonstrated excellent mastery. Additionally, literal translation and semantic translation were the two most often employed translation techniques. The researcher proposes that the teacher should focus more on the issues of the students in light of this research. Students should practice translating texts on their own more often, be guided in their efforts, and motivated to do so. They should also learn more grammar rules, expand their vocabulary by memorizing more words, and refrain from using Google Translate too frequently.Keywords: translation, accuracy, translation method

Graph-enabled cognitive digital twins for causal inference in maintenance processes

The increasing complexity of industrial systems demands more effective and intelligent maintenance approaches to address manufacturing defects arising from faults in multiple asset modules. Traditional digital twin (DT) systems, however, face limitations in interoperability, knowledge sharing, and causal inference. As such, cognitive digital twins (CDTs) can add value by managing a collaborative web of interconnected systems, facilitating advanced cross-domain analysis and dynamic context considerations. This paper introduces a CDT system that leverages industrial knowledge graphs (iKGs) to support maintenance planning and operations. By employing a design structure matrix (DSM) to model dependencies and relationships, a semantic translation approach maps the knowledge into a graph-based representation for reasoning and analysis. An automatic solution generation mechanism, utilising graph sequencing with Louvain and PageRank algorithms, derives feasible solutions, which can be validated via simulation to minimise production disruption impacts. The CDT system can also identify potential disruptions in new product designs, thus enabling preventive actions to be taken. A case study featuring a print production manufacturing line illustrates the CDT system's capabilities in causal inference and solution explainability. The study concludes with a discussion of limitations and future directions, providing valuable guidelines for manufacturers aiming to enhance reactive and predictive maintenance strategies.

Analysis of Fuzzy Semantic Translation in English Language and Literature Based on Bayesian Nonparametric Model

Abstract The development of machine learning provides a new path for translating fuzzy semantics into English and literature. In this paper, we propose translation points for fuzzy semantics based on the fuzziness of language by studying the linguistic features in English literature. The hierarchical PY process under the Bayesian nonparametric model is adopted to achieve word alignment in English translation, and the clustering process of English words is controlled by introducing discount and intensity parameters. Based on this, the parameter estimation of the word probability model is completed using Gibbs sampling, and the Moses decoder extracts the translation features. Based on monolingual word classification, this model reduces 6.85% in the average time consumed per sentence compared to the Beam algorithm and 9.57% compared to the A* algorithm.

Probing the Meaning Loss in the Translation of Arabic Qur’ānic Connotative Words Into English: A Linguistic Semantic Perspective

Linguistic, cultural, and lexical knowledge is essential when rendering the Arabic Qur’ānic connotative words into English. The existing renderings show that the translation of Arabic Qur’ānic connotative meaning is an arduous task and presents sometimes insurmountable challenges. This study endeavored to probe the meaning loss in the translation of some selected Arabic Qur’ānic connotative words into English that is from linguistic and semantic perspectives by examining three notable translations of the Noble Qur’ān which have been extracted from The Qur’ānic Arabic Corpus. They are the works of Abdelhaleem (2004), Al- Hilali and Khan (1996) and Pickthall (1930). This study, which is qualitative descriptive in nature, utilized Nord's (2005) model of text analysis in translation. Findings showed that a literal or word-for-word rendering is not the appropriate method to use when translating the Arabic Qur’ānic connotative words into English. The semantic translation method may be more useful in conveying the connotations of The Noble Qur’ān into English and in coping with this phenomenon that is commonly met in the translations of the Arabic Qur’ānic connotative words, due to causes such as the dearth of equivalence of some connotative words in English language.

Targeted Adversarial Attack Against Deep Cross-Modal Hashing Retrieval

Deep cross-modal hashing has achieved excellent retrieval performance with the powerful representation capability of deep neural networks. Regrettably, current methods are inevitably vulnerable to adversarial attacks, especially well-designed subtle perturbations that can easily fool deep cross-modal hashing models into returning irrelevant or the attacker’s specified results. Although adversarial attacks have attracted increasing attention, there are few studies on specialized attacks against deep cross-modal hashing. To solve these issues, we propose a targeted adversarial attack method against deep cross-modal hashing retrieval in this paper. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work in this research field. Concretely, we first build a progressive fusion module to extract fine-grained target semantics through a progressive attention mechanism. Meanwhile, we design a semantic adaptation network to generate the target prototype code and reconstruct the category label, thus realizing the semantic interaction between the target semantics and the implicit semantics of the attacked model. To bridge modality gaps and preserve local example details, a semantic translator seamlessly translates the target semantics and then embeds them into benign examples in collaboration with a U-Net framework. Moreover, we construct a discriminator for adversarial training, which enhances the visual realism and category discrimination of adversarial examples, thus improving their targeted attack performance. Extensive experiments on widely tested cross-modal retrieval datasets demonstrate the superiority of our proposed method. Also, transferable attacks show that our generated adversarial examples have well generalization capability on targeted attacks. The source codes and datasets are available at https://github.com/tswang0116/TA-DCH.

Feature Extraction of English Semantic Translation Relying on Graph Regular Knowledge Recognition Algorithm

Feature Extraction of English Semantic Translation Relying on Graph Regular Knowledge Recognition Algorithm

Artificial Intelligence Method for Accurate Translation of Fuzzy Semantics in English Language and Literature

In order to address the drawbacks of semantic ambiguity, inaccurate quantifiers, and low translation accuracy in traditional grammar-based translation methods, this paper proposes an artificial intelligence translation method based on semantic analysis for English fuzzy semantics. Firstly, a comprehensive analysis of English language semantics was carried out from different semantic levels such as language, knowledge, and pragmatics, and the key points of fuzzy semantics were identified. Then, key feature quantities for accurate translation of fuzzy semantics in English vocabulary and literature were constructed, and artificial intelligence methods were used to optimize fuzzy semantics. The experimental results show that the proposed method can avoid semantic understanding ambiguity and improve the accuracy of English language translation.

Transferring problems of speech characteristics to character translation (on the image of Kabanbai Batyr in K.Zhumadilov‘s dilogy Daraboz)

The article deals with the problems of translating the speech characteristics of the main character Kabanbai Batyr in K.Zhumadilov’s dilogy Daraboz in Russian and English. The transfer of speech characteristics to the main character in the historical novel Daraboz is one of the main translation difficulties, since readers recognize the hero of the novel through his speech. The main speech characteristics of Kabanbai Batyr include: use of proverbs and sayings, as well as use of individual stylistic techniques such as comparison, phraseological units, and metaphors. The purpose of this article is to identify the type of translation transformation in Kabanbai Batyr’s replicas, to preserve in translation the author’s image in the statement of the main character of Daraboz dilogy. In the practical part, a comparative analysis of the original and the translation was used, identifying the causes of semantic shifts leading to the transformation of the speech image. Conclusion of the experimental work is a minimal overload of the translated text with lexical additions and explanations, as well as an unacceptable semantic distance from the original, since the preservation of the historical image of speech is important. The translator needs to preserve the integrity of the images and the emotional attitude of the main character to others, to convey the features of speech that indicate the social status of the characters, their educational level and personal characteristics. As a result, when translating speech characteristics, such translation transformations as literal translation and semantic translation were used. When translating phraseology, sometimes a change of imagery was made. The problems of translating the historical novel seem to us very interesting and worthy of further study.

Reviewing Translation Technique in Niki’s La La Lost You: A Case Study

Techniques for translating a song are very varied. This is because the native language (TL) can be culturally different from the target language (TL). Translation does not only shift the source language to the target language, but translation is also closely related to socio-cultural influences and the formation of cultural identity between the two languages. Based on Newmark’s (1988) theory, this research aims to find the translation method used by translator Cyntia Maharani in translating a song entitled La La Lost You by Indonesian singer Niki. the research results explain that the translator used the semantic translation, literal and free translation, and aesthetic consideration. All the techniques are more oriented towards the target language (TL).

O tłumaczeniu piosenki Toss a coin to your witcher na język polski i niemiecki. Analiza porównawcza.

The subject of this paper is a translation analysis of the song "Toss a coin to your witcher". The song was translated into Polish and German and is a part of the first season of "The Witcher", a screen adaptation of Andrzej Sapkowski's prose. The film was developed by the streaming platform Netflix. In the theoretical part of his paper, the author focuses on the description of the textual-melodic level of source texts and, among others, on the ways of creating rhyme and rhythmic systems in the song lyrics. The analytical part consists of a description of the translation of the song into Polish and German, as well as an analysis of the strategies and techniques used to translate the melodic aspects and intertextual elements in the translation. The analysis leads to the conclusion that in order to reflect the rhyme structure of the original text it may be helpful to use strictly defined grammatical and syntactic features of the target language (in the German translation these were the sentence structure with modal verbs and typical grammatical features of separable verbs). Moreover, it is crucial to use the so-called semantic translation techniques such as generalisation or concretisation. The study of the rhythmic levels of translations confirmed the use of a rarely used technique in the translation of melodic texts, i.e. rhythmic exoticisation of the target text. Intertextual elements were generally translated in a pragmatically adequate manner.

SCIENTIFIC & TECHNICAL TEXTS TRANSLATION PROBLEM: FEATURES AND TRANSLATION STRATEGIES

This article dwells upon the scientific & technical texts translation problem based on the oil & gas industry related texts. The article is focused on the basics of scientific & technical translation, as well as the importance to reach the translation adequacy and equivalence. Lexical and semantic translation features pertaining to scientific & technical texts highlighted, causing difficulties when translated from English into Russian. These include terms, general scientific and commonly used lexis. In addition, the attempts are made to identify the main strategies to translate these types of lexis in scientific & technical oil and gas-related texts from English into Russian.

Translation Method of Metaphorical Speech in Dead Poets Society Movie: A Qualitative Analysis

This study aims to explore the method of translating metaphorical utterances in the Dead Poets Society movie, given the challenges metaphors pose in conveying meanings through comparisons. The research design adopts a qualitative approach, with data collected through direct observation, including watching, understanding, classifying, and analyzing 26 randomly selected metaphorical samples. The study reveals that semantic translation dominates the transmission of metaphorical meaning, with translators oriented towards the semantic and syntactic structure of the source language. Translators tend to employ word-for-word, literal, semantic, and faithful translation techniques. The implications of the findings suggest that semantic translation is more prevalent than communicative translation in conveying messages and meanings, with literal translation being the most widely used method. However, some sentences were left untranslated in the target language. This study provides valuable insights for translation studies, contributing to a better understanding of metaphor translation and its impact on communication in movie contexts. Highlight: Methodological Approach: The study adopts a qualitative research design to explore translation methods used in metaphorical utterances in the Dead Poets Society movie. Dominance of Semantic Translation: The analysis reveals that semantic translation is the primary approach employed by translators in conveying metaphorical meaning, emphasizing the importance of semantic and syntactic structure of the source language. Implications for Translation: The study highlights the prevalence of word-for-word, literal, semantic, and faithful translation methods, shedding light on the challenges of translating metaphors and their impact on conveying messages and meanings. Keyword: Translation Methods, Metaphorical Utterances, Dead Poets Society Movie, Semantic Translation, Qualitative Research

Translation Methods of Mangupa Text from Mandailing Language into Indonesian

Mangupa text can be regarded as a cultural text because the text is a text or written material that reflects a way of life that is owned by a group of people. This research is qualitative research and the method is document (text) analysis, data analysis uses translation theory by Newmark. This theory divides translation into eight methods: Word for Word Translation, Literal Translation, Free Translation, Adaptation Translation, Idiomatic Translation, Faithful Translation, Semantic Translation, and Communicative Translation. The findings of the research showed 23 text in a Mangupa Text from Mandailing Language Into Indonesian that is exactly divisible for by the use of Newmark’s theory that the translation method which is the most frequently used by the translator is semantic translation and word for word translation.

Use of Culture-Specific Items and their Translation from Lithuanian into English and French in Ričardas Gavelis’s Vilnius Poker

Summary From the beginnings of translation studies to the present day, the theoretical and practical paradigm of translation has come a long way. Although it was closely associated with linguistics and the solution of linguistic problems of translation until the early 1980s, it was the first translation theories that drew attention to the cultural phenomena of texts and the challenges of translation. Translation scholars Susan Bassnett and André Lefevre (1990) wrote that translation's shift to cultural phenomena represented a significant cultural turn. This led to a paradigm shift in translation and a new view that translation is an intercultural act and a dialogue between cultures. Given the importance and relevance of research on cultural meanings in translation, this paper focuses on one type of cultural meanings – culture-specific items that sometimes become a cultural stumbling block for translators. The aim of the research described in the article is to analyse the peculiarities of the use of culture-specific items in Ričardas Gavelis's novel Vilnius Poker, to conduct a comparative study of the translation of culture-specific items from Lithuanian into English and French, and to determine the translation techniques, strategies and trends of cultural transposition used by translators. The methods used to achieve the aim of the study include synthesis of scientific literature, comparative, descriptive and quantitative analysis. The use and translation of culture-specific items does not raise the issue of equivalence and linguistic deficit. Culture-specific items are analysed not as a separate unit of the text, but as part of a holistic whole that is organically integrated into the text and contributes to its meaning. The use of culture-specific items in the research material has led to the identification of four thematic groups: social, political, and historical; folkloric and mythological; domestic; and geographical. The data obtained in the quantitative use of culture-specific items suggest that two-fifths of all the culture-specific items analysed belong to the social, political, and historical thematic group reflecting the social life, deformations, Soviet experiences, and worldview of the people in the Soviet period in Vilnius and Lithuania as a whole, as portrayed by R. Gavelis. In a comparative study of translating culture-specific items from Lithuanian into English and French, based on the translation techniques and strategies described by Andrew Chesterman, nine translation techniques and three strategies were identified: from the semantic translation strategy, synonymy, abstraction change, trope change, and paraphrase were used; from the pragmatic translation strategy, the techniques of translation were: explicitness change and omission; from the syntactic or change of form translation, the translation techniques were: literal translation, loan, and transposition. The evaluation of the different translation techniques chosen by the English and French translators to translate culture-specific items showed that the English translation adopted the tendency of foreignization in order to “bring the reader to the author”, i.e. to provide the readers of the translation with as much systematic cultural information as possible about Soviet and postwar Lithuania. In contrast, French translation showed the opposite tendency toward domestication, i.e. the abandonment, omission, or replacement of certain cultural meanings with French cultural meanings. In this, the translator's cultural transposition was shown to “bring the author to the reader”.

Enumerator-Arguments as a Language tool for Defining Loops

The new syntactic construction for defining processing loops of collections and series of values in the form of expressions is proposed as part of the development of new programming languages and the improvement of existing languages. Its essence is to use index enumerators as arguments to operators and collection processing functions. Such enumerator-arguments allow you to express operators and functions for processing a slice/entire collection. Translational semantics of enumerator-arguments for indexed and referenced collections is given. A number of examples of using enumerator-arguments for comparison with higher-order functions and list comprehension operators are shown. It is concluded that enumerator-arguments surpass second-order functions in conciseness and readability of the source code, and are not inferior to list comprehensions operators. Further research is aimed at constructing enumerator-arguments of binary trees nodes using a parameter that is expressed as a number. Its binary digits are link ranks and uniquely position a node in the tree.