CONSTRAINTS ON LITERAL TRANSLATION

I am not suggesting that any more or less context-free SL word must always be translated one-to-one or literally by its 'usual' TL equivalent. The SL word may: (a) be used more frequently (within the register); (b) have a wider semantic range than the corresponding TL word. Thus hardiesse may translate as 'effrontery' (pejorative) as well as 'daring' (positive, honorific) depending on the context. But la plaine which appears almost to coincide in frequency and semantic range with 'the plain' will always translate as 'plain', unless it is the alternative spelling of la plane ('plane').

If a perfectly natural SL unit produces a clumsy literal translation, e.g. il ne parvenait pas a se degager de sa surprise as 'he wasn't succeeding in freeing himself from his surprise', then the translation is 'wrong', however expressive the rest of the SL text ('he was unable to rid himself of his feeling of surprise', 'he couldn't overcome his surprise').

'Ordinary language', which in English is usually descriptive language, not colloquial but neutral, is equally appropriate in written and spoken language, marked by phrasal verbs, familiar alternatives (such as 'bloke', 'kids', 'cash', 'job',

'make love'), empty verbs and verb-nouns ('make his way to'), and can hardly ever be translated literally.