In the process of exchanging scientific and technical information, various genres of scientific literature have been historically developed. They are characterised by specific content, purpose, and linguistic means by which the cognitive aspect is created. Moreover, scientific and technical style represents the space in which scientific and technical texts function. The characteristic features of scientific and technical style include: informativeness (substantiveness), logicality (established sequence, clear connection between the main idea and details), clarity, objectivity, accessibility. It should be noted that some texts of this style may be characterised by the above mentioned features to a greater or lesser extent. However, scientific and technical texts predominantly use linguistic means that meet the needs of this sphere of communication.
This primarily involves the use of scientific and technical terminology and specialised vocabulary. The function of a term in a scientific and technical text is to provide clear and accurate meanings for real objects, phenomena, devices, equipment, etc. A term must «establish unambiguity» in the process of understanding information being conveyed by authors. It should be emphasised that the meaning of terms with special connotation depends both on the narrow field of their application and on the analysis of the context. For example: the meaning of the term «tie» in automation – «any piece of string, plastic, metal, etc. that is used to fasten or hold together something»; in architecture – «a structural element that connects two or more components of a building or structure together»; in engineering – «suspension cables, or wire ropes, that are examples of linear structural components designed to resist tension»; in railway – «a rectangular support for the rails in railroad tracks». Comparing the terms with other words it should be underlined that former have such peculiarities as follows: accuracy, unambiguity, independence from the context. An important feature of a term especially in scientific-technical literature is absence of emotional issue. But it is emphasized that the linguistic style of the English scientific-technical literature accepts some «imagery» which we do not have in the Ukrainian texts [1].
Today, terminology researchers propose various ways of systematising terms, for example, by the field of their application. All technical specialized dictionaries are compiled according to this principle. However, we cannot but agree with some researchers who point out that if an interpreter does not have sufficient knowledge of a scientific or technical field, or if new terms appear in the text they are not included in the dictionary, then philological education, knowledge of the root connections of words, and analysis of the possible meanings in a context are the things needed for proper translation.
When it comes to single-word terms-lexemes formed by compounding, abbreviation of the full form of a word, prefixation and suffixation means, it can be noted that in many fields, special rules have been developed for forming terms for concepts and objects of a certain class. For example, the names of various types of specialised technical devices containing the element -graph (kymograph, pantograph, zincograph). A large number of terms are formed by combining several words to form so-called phrases. Such terms are ‘collapsed’ definitions, where concepts that carry specifying features are added to a term denoting a generic concept in order to obtain a specific concept that will be directly related to the original term. For example, the English term «network» – circuit; net; diagram; chain – is used as the basis for a number of terms that specify the nature of the network, diagram, or chain: delta network, electric network, multiport network, integrating network. Vlasenko G.M. points out that the translation of English derivative terms characterised by the polysemy of both the root and the suffix is associated with certain difficulties. «To find an equivalent, the translator must use the broader context, the illustrations available in the original, and seek the help of a specialist. At the same time, translating such terms is very simple if they are used as a generic concept together with limiting or differentiating elements: ball bearing, sliding bearing, antifriction bearing , thrust bearing, thin-shell bearing» [1, p.36-37].
At the translation stage, it is necessary to fundamentally resolve the issue of equivalence, i.e. to choose the most appropriate option from several possible ones. Unlike the logic of translation, the solution to terminological problems lies not in developing a strategy to ensure equivalence, but in choosing an equivalent term. The translation equivalent is chosen based on the correspondence between the lexical and grammatical meanings of the words in the languages involved in the translation, taking into account the context, situation and background knowledge [2, p.41].
In addition to terms, scientific and technical literature often contains specialised vocabulary, which is also one of the specific features of scientific and technical style. English scientific and technical materials also have specific grammatical features. Thus, the scientific and technical style is characterised by the definition of concepts and descriptions of real objects by emphasising their properties. This, in turn, leads to the widespread use of simple, two-part sentences with complex predicates (linking verb and noun phrase). For example: The surface is iron. Another feature is the use of the predicate as a general indicator of processuality; the meaning of verbs (e.g. to effect, to provide, to give, to involve, to obtain, to imply, etc.) in scientific and technical style sentences depends entirely on the nouns that carry the main meaning in the sentence.
Thus, the linguistic features of the terms as the main components of the scientific style of the English language have their own specific character, which should be taken into account when translating. The technology for translating multicomponent terms involves first of all an appeal to the determining component (main word), which is a generic concept in relation to the whole term and often expresses the main meaning of the term. Often, a kind of stylistic adaptation takes place, when specific means of presenting the material in the original are replaced by linguistic means that meet the requirements of the given style in the target language. It should be noted that the difference between languages is manifested not only and not so much in the nomenclature of units as in their correspondence, which is often the result of a partial or complete mismatch in the range of meanings of equivalent words and forms.
References
1. Власенко Г. М. Технічний переклад. Спецкурс. Х.: Вид. група «Основа». 2013. 126с.
2. Кияк Т. Р., Науменко А. М., Огуй О. Д. Теорія та практика перекладу (німецька мова). Підручник для студентів вищих навчальних закладів. Вiнниця: Нова книга. 2006. 592 с.
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