Philology
Yemelyanova Olena Valerianivna, Ponomarenko Maryna
Victorivna
Sumy State University, Ukraine
Language means of expressing politeness strategies in the source text
and in the target text
Abstract.
The aim
of the article is to analyse language means of expressing politeness in the
source text and in the target text. The research focuses on the politeness
strategies and performs the comparison of means of their expression in two
languages. The article highlights the importance of politeness strategies in
English and Ukrainian.
Keywords: language means, politeness,
source text, target text, recipient.
I.
Introduction.
Politeness
as an ethical and linguistic category is a broad concept. Taking into account the
nature of this phenomenon, politeness is a quality that characterizes the
behaviour that focuses on the respect for other people. Politeness is an
elementary requirement of etiquette; it involves attention, the outward display
of solidarity with everyone, the willingness to do a favour for everyone who
needs it, delicacy and tact.
In
linguistics politeness is analyzed through the research of general behavioural
strategies or by clarifying the expression of positive attitude towards a
person on the material of speech acts in a particular language (apology,
gratitude, compliments, expression of sympathy, etc.).
II.
The aim of the
research.
The aim of this article is to analyze language means of
expressing politeness in the source text and in the target text. The object of the article is politeness
strategies. The subject of the
article is language means of their expression. The material of the article is the books of modern American authors
and their Russian and Ukrainian translations.
III.
Results.
There
are many strategies and tactics of politeness. Among them there are the
following: the expression of solidarity with someone, the attraction of addressee’s
attention, gratitude, requests, and so-called "cold" politeness.
The
strategy of expression of solidarity with the addressee is foregrounded through
such tactics as: attracting the person to cooperation, paying a compliment to
the recipient, as well as through addressing offers, appeals, orders,
implication of common attitudes/approaches, expressing indirect agreement with
the addressee.
To encourage
someone to talk one can ask a question: "Will you promise to tell me the truth from now on? I mean always?" [6]
In the
Russian translation we see the following: "Обещай говорить мне всегда только правду с этого момента?" [3; 126]
Implication
of common attitudes/approaches ("common ground") is one of the most
important tactics in terms of expression of solidarity with the recipient. It
is foregrounded through the use of such phrases as: most of us are aware of/that…; naturally; understandably; ironically; of course\needless to say; it does not take much imagination to …etc.
"Of course you
are. Not necessarily because it's in Anna's
best interests… but because it's in yours". [5]
It is translated in the following way: "Конечно.
И не потому, что это в интересах Анны… А потому, что это в твоих интересах".[1; 67]
The
tactics of paying the compliment to the recipient is maximally ethical:
"I think
you're good with people, and they'd respect what you have to say" [6].
Translation: "Я
считаю, что ты хорошо ладишь с людьми, и они уважали бы то, что ты скажешь"
[3; 64].
The
reliable way to implement the principle of politeness is the expression of
communicative intent in the form of request. There are different ways of expressing
the request: through separate expression, the part of expression and complex
sentences, for example:
"Do you mind if I ask you a
question?" [6]
The
translator tried to preserve the shade of politeness in the request: "Я могу задать тебе вопрос? " [3; 149]. But one can notice that it is more polite in the
source text.
A speaker can attract the recipient’s attention
with the help of direct appeal: "Listen, why don't you just go wait over there, in a chair? I'll be out in five minutes, tops" [5].
This
appeal is preserved in translation: "Послушай, может, ты посидишь там на стуле? Я приду максимум через пять минут " [1; 134].
The
term "cold" politeness can be interpreted in different ways. First of
all, the "cold" politeness can be understood as masking negative
thoughts.
A
speaker can hide their sharp refusal or negative attitude by using the
construction yes…but…:
"Then I don't
think that will be possible. But thank you for asking my permission first" [6].
This
construction is preserved in the translation: "Тогда я не думаю, что это будет возможным. Но спасибо, что спросил сначала мое разрешение" [3; 80].
The most
frequent syntactic form of the politeness expression is disjunctive questions.
They make statements sound non-categorical and problematic, they simultaneously
attract recipient to discussion, giving him the opportunity to express his
point of view, and the speaker has the time to weigh his statement.
"Because it's
hard to hear it hashed out again, isn't it?" [5]
The
translator does not preserve the disjunctive question: "Потому
что вам тяжело это слушать и вспоминать?" [1; 79]
IV.
Conclusions.
As we
have already mentioned the English language has an unlimited set of strategies
and tactics of politeness. Native speakers make the choice of means to express
politeness intuitively. They can use polite expressions in order to address
offers, appeals or orders, to bring someone into discussion or just to express
their gratitude.
Rules
of the usage of polite expressions vary according to the situation in which
communication takes place. Taking into account the analyzed translations we
came to the conclusion that the means of expressing politeness strategies have
almost identical equivalents in the target language. Only some aspects are
different in two languages.
The
results of the analysis show that politeness is a broad concept and that the
markers of politeness are an essential part of every language.
References
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Ангел для сестры / Д. Пиколт. – Изд.дом
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