2 nd INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF APPLIED LINGUISTICS Languages

2 nd INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF APPLIED LINGUISTICS Languages and people: dialogues and contacts 23 – 24 September 2010 Vilnius University TRANSLATION THEORY AND PRACTICE: SITUATION IN LATVIA AFTER WORLD WAR II Sintija Blumberga Ventspils University College

THE OVERALL SITUATION Role of translation in Latvia grows Companies providing translation services are being established Educational programmes for translators and interpreters are being offered Experienced faculty, dictionaries, specially equipped lecture-rooms and specific programmes as well as a theoretical basis is needed

DEVELOPMENT OF TRANSLATION THEORY AND PRACTICE IN LATVIA Few doctoral theses dedicated to some historical aspects of translations Some short reviews on translations covering a particular period Several studies of literary contacts Some translations and translators occasionally mentioned in publications on the history of Latvian literature ↓ There is no single bibliography covering translation theory and practice in Latvia

“TRANSLATION THEORY AND PRACTICE IN LATVIA: ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 1945 – 2006” Three sub-periods: 1) From the end of WW 2 to 1968 2) From 1969 to 1991 when Latvia regained its independence 3) From 1991 to the present Aims of the project: To find and study all publications in Latvia related to the problems of translation To classify the publications into groups according to definite principles To place the whole bibliography on the Internet

LATVIA – PART OF THE USSR Main area of translation – literary translations Translation is neither a private affair nor a fully domestic concern of Latvia Translation is an important part of ideological, administrative, and cultural integration Rapid development of translation science takes place Translation quality becomes an important issue

SITUATION AFTER REGAINING INDEPENDENCE IN 1991 Latvia faces unlimited access to information on translation theory and practice in the West Lack of information on translation theory and practice in Latvia in the past still remains a problem English becomes the dominant contact language Literal or word-for translation – one of the most alarming translation problems

MOST COMMON FEATURES OF LITERAL TRANSLATION 1) Foreign (English) syntactic constructions and punctuation. ENGLISH LATVIAN (influenced) LATVIAN (standard) However, they should not exist on the basis of stereotypes or some other things. Tomēr, tām nevajadzētu pastāvēt uz kaut kādu stereotipu vai citu lietu principiem. Tomēr tām nevajadzētu pastāvēt uz kaut kādu stereotipu vai citu lietu principiem. Farmers in Switzerland are controlled by environmental organizations. Zemnieki Šveicē tiek kontrolēti no organizācijām, kas rūpējas par vides aizsardzību. Zemniekus Šveicē kontrolē organizācijas, kas rūpējas par vides aizsardzību. Delivery of packages and small cargo to and from European countries. Paku un mazgabarīta kravu piegāde uz un no Eiropas valstīm. Paku un mazgabarīta kravu piegāde uz Eiropas valstīm un no tām.

MOST COMMON FEATURES OF LITERAL TRANSLATION 2) False friends of translator – pairs of words in two languages that look or sound similar, but partly or fully differ in meaning. WORD IN ENGLISH FALSE FRIEND WHERE IS THE MISTAKE? (in Latvian) ambitious ambiciozs In Latvian “ambiciozs” means “pushy”. carbon karbons In Latvian “karbons” means one of the geological time periods – “carboniferous period”. decade dekāde In Latvian “dekāde” is a period of ten days. factor faktors In Latvian “faktors” is an essential, necessary condition. philosophy filozofija In Latvian “filozofija” is a science and its object is everything that exists together with its content and essence. technology tehnoloģija In Latvian “tehnoloģija” is a scientific discipline that investigates changes of quality of raw materials, semimanufactured goods and products during the process of production. vision vīzija In Latvian “vīzija” is an image of phantasm or dream.

MOST COMMON FEATURES OF LITERAL TRANSLATION 3) Use of capital letters (in headlines, titles) and other graphical features (use of double brackets, colon, hyphen, & and other) ENGLISH LATVIAN (influenced) LATVIAN (standard) Warm & Sweet Silti & Saldi Silti un saldi Appendix 2 Pielikums 2 2. pielikums 1980 -ies/ 1980’ies/ 1980 ies 1980. -ie gadi 20. gadsimta 80. gadi Eastern- and Central Europe Austrum- un Centrāleiropa Austrumeiropa un Centrāleiropa European Investment Bank Eiropas Investīciju Banka Eiropas Investīciju banka Growth for 2. 9%. . . Pieaugums 2. 9% apmērā. . . Pieaugums 2, 9% apjomā. . .

CONCLUSIONS Word-for-word or literal translation has deep roots in Latvian Since the last quarter of the 19 th century standardisers have eliminated many undesirable contact-influenced features In recent 15 years increased outside pressure has left some new unacceptable footprints in Latvian Language specialists try to draw public attention to widespread deviations from Standard Latvian Small languages always feel pressure from large languages Most important thing is not to be indifferent or neglectful towards native language

Thank you! E-mail: blumberga@gmail. com Mobile phone: + 371 2 6566564