Пословицы в русском, английском и испанском языках. Особенности перевода. (Проектная работа для школьной научно-практической конференции)

I. Introduction

The theme of the project is “Russian, English and Spanish proverbs. Peculiarities of translation”. It was chosen by me not by chance. I have been studying English at school since the second grade. It is the language of international communication. Those who know it are able to communicate with people all over the world.

I also like Spanish. It is an incredibly beautiful language. It captivates us with rich intonations, dynamism and bright individuality. It breathes into us the energy of the sun, a hot summer and the sea. It surrounds and carries us into the world of emotions and feelings.

Learning any language involves the knowledge of the culture of the people speaking it. Proverbs are a part of the cultural heritage of the country and are of great interest to study. Moreover, my attention was drawn to the fact that Russian, English and Spanish belong to different language groups: Russian – to Slavonic, English – to German, Spanish – to Romance. I was interested to know if there are any common features in English, Spanish and Russian proverbs, or whether cultural identity excludes such a possibility.

The main aim of my work: to study the proverbs of these languages and to identify the peculiarities of their translation into Russian.

Our objectives:

1. Find out the sources of Russian, English and Spanish proverbs.

2. Identify ways to translate them.

3. Classify English and Spanish proverbs by their coincidence with Russian equivalents.

The actuality of the project is that knowledge of foreign languages improves the cultural level of a person. The ability to understand the interlocutor speaking another language is the key to successful cooperation with people of different nationalities.

The hypothesis: Russian, English and Spanish proverbs have the same sources of origin, and possible differences appear due to the national characteristics of different peoples.

When I prepare my work, I followed such main methods as:

• collection of material;
• generalization of the material;
• comparison;
• systematization of material;
• analysis of the results.

II. Proverbs as a genre of oral folk art

1. The concept of a proverb

Proverbs are the oldest and the most popular genre of oral folk art. In them people reflected their attitude to the nature, especially when it comes to respect for native nature, its phenomena, social and historical experience of their ancestors. They expressed their worldview, moral norms and aesthetic ideals. Proverbs, as the part of the people’s culture, always remain relevant, despite the development of the economy, technology and scientific and technological progress. Not every saying became a proverb, but only one that was consistent with the thoughts, the way of life of many people.

The Oxford dictionary gives the following definition of a proverb.

A proverb is a sentence, a judgment, a statement passed down from generation to generation, used by people in certain situations. Proverb has an instructive function, teaches to live "on mistakes."

The Spanish explanatory dictionary defines the proverb as a short, included in the speech turnover and having an instructive meaning. It is rhythmically organized saying, in which the people generalized their social-historical experience for centuries.

Proverb is a short figurative complete saying, usually rhythmic in form, with instructive meaning. (D.P.Ushakov)

Summing up these definitions, we can say that a proverb is a complete semantic saying that teaches, educates, explains, claims or denies anything. Proverbs are a huge wealth of people created over the centuries.

2. Sources of origin of Russian, English and Spanish proverbs

In the course of my research, I have identified the following sources of Russian, English and Spanish proverbs.

Sources of Russian Proverbs [4]:

• Russian folk art (fairy tales): «Битый небитого везёт», «Слезами горю не поможешь»;
• the way of life (sayings that are composed of direct observations of the life, work and life of the people): «Что царь думает, то народ ведает», «Посла не секут, не рубят»;
• religious sources: «Бог дал, Бог взял», «Бог – старый чудотворец»;
• creative writing (sayings formed from literary works): «На всякого мудреца довольно простоты» (A.Н.Островский). 

Sources of English Proverbs [2]:

• folk art (sayings that stand out from folk works, from ancient mythology and ancient history): "The end justifies the means" («Цель оправдывает средства»), "The wish is father to the thought" («Желание начало дела»);
• the way of life (sayings that are composed from direct observations of the life, work and life of the people): "Make hay while the sun shines" («Коси сено, пока солнце светит»);
• religious sources (the Bible): "You cannot serve God and mammon" («Нельзя служить и Богу и богатству»), "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak" («Дух бодр, а плоть немощна»);
• creative writing (sayings formed from literary works): "Sweet are the uses of adversity" («Не было бы счастья, да несчастье помогло», У. Шекспир).

Sources of Spanish Proverbs [8]:

• folk art (sayings that stand out from folklore works, from ancient mythology and ancient history): "Limpia los establos de Augias"(«Чистить авгиевы конюшни»), "Quien a mano ajena espera, mal yanta y peor cena" («На чужой каравай рта не разевай»);
• the way of life (sayings that are composed of direct observations of the life, work and life of the people): "Lo que siembres, recogerбs" («Что посеешь, то и пожнешь»);
• religious sources (the Bible): "Dios nos da, Dios nos quita" («Бог дал, Бог взял»);
• creative writing (sayings derived from literary works): "Poderoso caballero es don Dinero" («Могущественный рыцарь дон Деньги», Франсиско де Кеведо), "Las paredes oyen" («И стены имеют уши», Хуа́н Руи́с де Аларко́н-и-Мендо́са).

Thus, Russian, English and Spanish Proverbs have the same sources of origin. The difference is that these countries have different cultural, historical and living conditions. Every proverb has its own story.

3. Methods of translation of English and Spanish proverbs into Russian, their classification in accordance with Russian equivalents

The comparison of proverbs of different peoples shows how much these peoples have in common, which contributes to their mutual understanding and rapprochement. It should be noted that many proverbs are easily translated into Russian, while others need to be explained, because on the contrary, they have nothing to do with our Russian expressions [9.2]. Based on my work, I have divided all the English and Spanish proverbs into the following groups:

3.1. Proverbs that have an exact coincidence with the language of translation

Англ. «All that glitters is not gold».

Исп. «No todo lo que brilla es oro».

Русс. «He все то золото, что блестит».

Англ. «There is no smoke without fire».

Исп. «Donde fuego se hace, humo sale».

Русс. «Нет дыма без огня».

Англ. «Better late than never».

Исп. «Mбs vale tarde que nunca».

Русс. «Лучше поздно, чем никогда» [1,3,8].

3.2. Proverbs that have a partial coincidence with the language of translation

Англ. «Out of sight, out of mind». Дословный перевод: прочь из виду,  прочь из памяти.

Исп. «Ojo que no ve, corazуn que no siente». Дословный перевод: глаз не видит, сердце не чувствует.

Значение: мы забываем того, с кем не видимся и не общаемся.

Русс. «С глаз долой – из сердца вон».

Англ. «А bird in the hand is worth two in the bush». Дословный перевод: одна птица в руке лучше двух в кустах.

Исп. «Mбs vale pбjaro en mano que ciento volando». Дословный перевод: дороже птица в руке, чем сотня летающих.

Значение: человек должен ценить то, что у него уже есть, а не мечтать о воздушных замках, которые могут рухнуть в любой момент.

Русс. «Лучше синица в руках, чем журавль в небе».

Англ. «Tastesdiffer». Дословный перевод: вкусы различны.

Исп. «Sobre gustos no hay nada escrito». Дословный перевод: о вкусах ничего не написано.

Значение: у каждого человека свои предпочтения, и то, что нравится одному, может раздражать другого.

Русс. «О вкусах не спорят». «На вкус и цвет товарища нет» [3,6,7].

3.3. The original version does not correspond to the language of translation

Англ. «A close mouth catches no flies». Дословный перевод: закрытый рот не ловит мух.

Исп. «En boca cerrada no entran moscas». Дословный перевод: в закрытый рот не залетают мухи.

Значение: необходимо уметь молчать.

Русс. «Молчание – золото».

Англ. «In for a penny, in for a pound». Дословный перевод: сделано на пенни, можно сделать и на фунт.

Исп. «A lo hecho, pecho». Дословный перевод: тому, что сделано (подставляй) грудь.

Значение: смело иди навстречу опасности.

Русс. «Назвался груздем, полезай в кузов».

Англ. «Can the leopard change his spots?» Дословный перевод: может ли леопард сменить свои пятна?

Исп. «Moro viejo nunca serб buen Cristiano». Дословный перевод: старый мавр никогда не будет хорошим христианином.

Значение: люди не меняются.

Русс. «Горбатогомогилаисправит».

Англ. «As the baker so the bun, as the father so the son». Дословный перевод: какой пекарь, такая и булка, каков отец, таков и сын.

Исп. «De tal palo tal astilla». Дословный перевод: от такой палки такая щепка.

Значение: дети похожи на родителей.

Русс. «Яблоко от яблони недалеко падает» [3,6,7,8].

III. Conclusion

Proverbs, being a part of the culture of any nation, have always remained and will remain relevant, despite the development of economy and technology, the development of scientific and technological progress. Despite the originality and uniqueness of the culture of each nation (Russian, English, Spanish), the organization of life, economy, relationships of people in the process of life have many common features [5,9.1,9.2,9.6].

As a result of the research work, the hypothesis that Russian, English and Spanish proverbs have the same sources of origin was confirmed, while differences are characterized by national characteristics (cultural, historical and mode of life).

During the study, I made the following conclusions:

1. Proverbs are polysemantic and bright. They cover all spheres of life and are used by all segments of the population.

2. Both English and Spanish proverbs can be classified into three groups:
- the exact coincidence with the language of translation;
- the partial coincidence with the language of translation;
- the original version does not correspond to the language of translation.

3. When translating proverbs from one language to another, it is necessary to know the national characteristics of the studied language and the selection of appropriate equivalents within the meaning.

4. Frequent use of proverbs gives speech a special flavor, and knowledge of foreign proverbs improves the communicative function of the language.

The practical significance of the work lies in the fact that it can be used as a guide for the study of proverbs in the course of Russian, English or Spanish. Activities of this kind will help students to expand their vocabulary, to remember some grammatical phenomena easily, to develop spoken language.

References:

1. Английские и русские пословицы и поговорки в иллюстрациях, М.И.Дубровин. Москва: Просвещение, 1993.
2. Английский язык в пословицах и поговорках, Г.А.Стефанович, Л.И.Швыдкая и др. Москва: Просвещение, 1989.
3. Бодрова Ю.В. Русские пословицы и поговорки и их английские аналоги.- Издательство «Сова», 2007.
4. Даль В.И. Пословицы русского народа. Москва: Эксмо, 2000.
5. Лексикология испанского языка, В.С.Виноградов. Москва: Наука, 1994.
6. Русско-английский словарь пословиц и поговорок, С.С.Кузьмин, Н.Л.Шадрин. Москва. Русский язык, 1989.
7. Словарь пословиц. Испанско-русский и русско-испанский, Г.Я.Туровер. Москва: Рус. яз.—Медиа; Дрофа, 2009.
8. 1500 русских и 1500 испанских идиом, фразеологизмов и устойчивых словосочетаний, В.А. Филиппова, Москва: АСТ, 2012.

Internet-resources:

1. http://nsportal.ru/ap/library/drugoe/2012/10/09/issledovatelskiy-referat-v-chyom-trudnosti-perevoda-angliyskikh-poslovits-i
2. http://infourok.ru/statya-problemi-perevoda-poslovic-i-pogovorok-405292.html
3. http://saying.ru\world\english-English
4. http://english-proverbs
5. https://dic.academic.ru
6. https://proverbs_es_ru.academic.ru

Appendix №1

English and Spanish proverbs that have an exact coincidence with Russian

Appendix №2

English and Spanish proverbs that have a partial coincidence with Russian equivalents

Appendix №3

English and Spanish proverbs that do not correspond to the Russian equivalents