A Translation Study Focusing on the Translation of Adjectives and Constructions with of

Abstract:

Abstract

This study analyzes the translation from English to Swedish of a text within the subject field of Women’s Studies, focusing on adjectives and constructions with of. The analyzed text is a chapter called Family Systems, Family Lives which can be found in the book Women’s Voices, Feminist Visions – Classic and Contemporary Readings, written by Susan M. Shaw and Janet Lee. In order to attain an idiomatically and grammatically correct TT, translation strategies put forth by Vinay and Darbelnet provided the basis for this study. Borrowing, calque, literal translation, transposition, modulation, equivalence and adaptation, are translation strategies that are presented by Vinay and Darbelnet. These are briefly discussed in the theoretical section of this study. However, they were not all employed in the translation of adjectives and constructions with of. In the translation of adjectives, literal translation proved to be the most common translation strategy, but also transposition and modulation proved to be functional strategies in some instances. In addition to these strategies, equivalence was also employed in the translation of attributive adjectives in particular. Concerning the translation of constructions with of, the very same translation strategies, as in the translation of adjectives, were employed.

Keywords: Direct translation, oblique translation, omission, adjectives.