Pragmatic Issues ofIidioms Interpretation
In order to correctly make English Russian translation of a book, newspaper article or any type of creating writing one shall know how to translate correctly from English to Russian idiomatic expressions.
Wewill now have a close look at some aspects ofphrasal expressions. An important point that has to be underlined is that idioms are not only colloquial phrases, as a lot of people believe. They can be found in formal style and in slang. They may be found in verse or in the masterpieces of Shakespeare and business letters.
Idioms are used widely, that is why an experienced English Russian translator is simply obliged to master certain techniques for translation of idioms from English to Russian, and for their translation from Russian to English.
What, then, is an idiom? We may say that an idiom is a collocation of elements which, if found together, mean something special from the separate expressions of the idiom when they are found alone. The way in which the words are combined is in some cases odd, illogical or in some cases grammatically wrong. These are the individual properties of some idioms. Other idioms are absolutely ordinary and reasonable in their grammar and vocabulary. Because of the special features of certains idiomatic expressions, we shall learn the idiomatic expressions in general and we occasionally fail to amend any part of it (except perhaps, only the tense of the verb).
English is very rich in idioms. Actually, it is difficult to speak or write English without using idioms. An English native speaker is sometomes not aware that he is using an idiom; perhaps he does not even realize that an idiom which he uses is grammatically incorrect. A non-native learner makes the correct use of idiomatic English one of his main aims, and the fact that some idioms are illogical or grammatically incorrect causes him difficulty. Only careful study and exact learning will help.
It cannot be explained why a particular idiom has developed an unusual arrangement or choice of words. The idiom has been fixed by long usage as is sometimes seen from the vocabulary.
Now, when you know what is an idiom you are ready to learn about methods for English-Russian Translation. English Russian translation is a skill hard to master but with due diligence anyone can do it.