Theme: problems of translation. Plan: Introduction

Theme: PROBLEMS OF TRANSLATION. PLAN:
1. Introduction
2. Problems of translation.
3. Grammatical problems of translation
3. Problems with IDIOMS

INTRODUCTION

In this theme we will consider some particular problems which the task of translationposes for the builder of MT systems — some of the reasons why MT is hard. It is useful tothink of these problems under two headings: (i) Problems of ambiguity, (ii) problems thatarise from structural and lexical differences between languages and (iii) multiword unitslike idioms and collocations. We will discuss typical problems of ambiguity in Section6.2, lexical and structural mismatches in Section 6.3, and multiword units in Section 6.4.Of course, these sorts of problem are not the only reasons why MT is hard. Other problemsinclude the sheer size of the undertaking, asindicated by the number of rules and dictionaryentries that a realistic system will need, and the fact that there are many constructionswhose grammar is poorly understood, in the sense that it is not clear how they shouldbe represented, or what rules should be used to describe them. This is the case even for English, which has been extensively studied, and for which there are detailed descriptions– both traditional ‘descriptive’ and theoretically sophisticated – some of which are writtenwith computational usability in mind. It is an even worse problem for other languages.Moreover, even where there is a reasonable description of a phenomenon or construction,producing a description which is sufficiently precise to be used by an automatic system raises non-trivial problems.
GRAMMATICAL PROBLEMS OF TRANSLATION

What is the grammar. Grammar is the system of a language which rule the sounds, words, sentence, and other elements. So I think grammar is important. Without knowledge of grammar we can't speak or we can't write correctly So grammar plays a vital role to teaching and learning any language.

The problems of translation diveded into many parts
1. Structure of the Language. The structure of the sentence in English and other language maybe different. For example In English the verb placed before the noun however in uzbek language verb came after the noun.
2. The next problem is with Idiom. It is also difficult to translate. And many Linguistics consider that idioms are the most difficult things to translate.
3. Phrasel verb. Phrasel verb is also difficult to translate.
Every language sits inside a defined structure with its own agreed upon rules. The complexity and singularity of this framework directly correlates to the difficulty of translation. A simple sentence in English has a subject, verb, and object — in that order. For example, “she eats pizza.” But not every language shares this structure. Farsi typically follows a sequence of subject, then object, then verb. And in Arabic, subject pronouns actually become part of the verb itself. As a result, translators frequently have to add, remove, and rearrange source words to effectively communicate in the target language. Idiomatic expressions explain something by way of unique examples or figures of speech. And most importantly, the meaning of these peculiar phrases cannot be predicted by the literal definitions of the words it contains.

PROBLEMS WITH IDIOMS

Many linguistic professionals insist that idioms are the most difficult items to translate. In fact, idioms are routinely cited as a problem machine translation engines will never fully solve.Ideally, publishers should try to limit the number of idiomatic expressions contained in content they hope to translate. But if they insist on keeping these potentially confusing phrases, cultural familiarity must be a priority in translator recruitment.

Compound words are formed by combining two or more words together, but the overall meaning of the compound word may not reflect the meaning of its component words. It’s usually best to think of them in terms of three separate groups.The first group of compound words mean exactly what they say. “Airport,” “crosswalk,” and “seashore,” are all familiar examples.The second group of compound words mean only half of what they say — at least in a literal sense. While a “bookworm” may enjoy burrowing into a good story, these avid readers don’t suddenly become an invertebrate species in the process.The third group of compound words have meanings that have nothing to do with the meanings of the individual words involved. For instance, the English “deadline” refers to the final acceptable time to receive or deliver something. It has nothing to do with death or a line. And a “butterfly” is neither a fly nor butter.
A language may not have an exact match for a certain action or object that exists in another language. In American English, for instance, some homeowners have what they describe as a “guest room.” It is simply a space where their invited guests can sleep for the night.This concept is common in other languages as well, but often expressed quite differently. Greeks describe it with the single word “ksnona” while their Italian neighbors employ a three-word phrase “camera per gliospiti” instead.
Think of this as a first step towards localization.Sarcasm is a sharp, bitter, or cutting style of expression that usually means the opposite of its literal phrasing. Sarcasm frequently loses its meaning when translated word-for-word into another language and can often cause unfortunate misunderstandings. Ideally, a publisher would remove sarcasm from the source text prior to translation. But in cases where that style is central to the content requirements, the publisher should explicitly underscore sarcastic passages. That way, translators will have a chance to avoid literal misunderstandings and suggest a local idiom that may work better in the target language.