Ambiguity matters in linguistics and translation
Ambiguity implies that there are at least two distinct senses ascribed to one sign. It is inherent to language and speech. In this article, I reflect on the types of ambiguity, its typology, production and effect and propose an algorithm for tackling ambiguity in translation. I posit that the choic...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University
2019-08-01
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| Series: | Слово.ру: балтийский акцент |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.kantiana.ru/slovo/4291/12708/ |
| _version_ | 1818177887513083904 |
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| author | Boyarskaya, E. |
| author_facet | Boyarskaya, E. |
| author_sort | Boyarskaya, E. |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Ambiguity implies that there are at least two distinct senses ascribed to one sign. It is inherent to language and speech. In this article, I reflect on the types of ambiguity, its typology, production and effect and propose an algorithm for tackling ambiguity in translation. I posit that the choice of a translation strategy and the need for disambiguation in general depend on the type of ambiguity, its sources and character, i. e. whether ambiguity is intended or not. Intended ambiguity occurs when the speaker intentionally does not follow the logic of conceptual clues (primes) and opts for a set of communicative strategies and linguistic means, which allow him/her to offer several possible interpretations of one event or even refer to several different events. I explore a rarely analyzed event-referential ambiguity, which requires additional conceptual information for disambiguation and, consequently, may pose a problem for translation. I argue that problems in disambiguation may occur for a variety of reasons: the translator and\or the recipient may have a wrong reference, have insufficient background knowledge to resolve the ambiguity or make wrong inferences since each recipient bears a different combination of cognitive, axiological, social, professional and gender attributes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T20:39:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9c840a38e9c84c94975e8212de07eb71 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2225-5346 2686-8989 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T20:39:13Z |
| publishDate | 2019-08-01 |
| publisher | Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Слово.ру: балтийский акцент |
| spelling | doaj.art-9c840a38e9c84c94975e8212de07eb712022-12-22T00:51:35ZengImmanuel Kant Baltic Federal UniversityСлово.ру: балтийский акцент2225-53462686-89892019-08-01103819310.5922/2225-5346-2019-3-6Ambiguity matters in linguistics and translationBoyarskaya, E.0Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal UniversityAmbiguity implies that there are at least two distinct senses ascribed to one sign. It is inherent to language and speech. In this article, I reflect on the types of ambiguity, its typology, production and effect and propose an algorithm for tackling ambiguity in translation. I posit that the choice of a translation strategy and the need for disambiguation in general depend on the type of ambiguity, its sources and character, i. e. whether ambiguity is intended or not. Intended ambiguity occurs when the speaker intentionally does not follow the logic of conceptual clues (primes) and opts for a set of communicative strategies and linguistic means, which allow him/her to offer several possible interpretations of one event or even refer to several different events. I explore a rarely analyzed event-referential ambiguity, which requires additional conceptual information for disambiguation and, consequently, may pose a problem for translation. I argue that problems in disambiguation may occur for a variety of reasons: the translator and\or the recipient may have a wrong reference, have insufficient background knowledge to resolve the ambiguity or make wrong inferences since each recipient bears a different combination of cognitive, axiological, social, professional and gender attributes.https://journals.kantiana.ru/slovo/4291/12708/ambiguitypolysemytranslationdecision-makingdisambiguation |
| spellingShingle | Boyarskaya, E. Ambiguity matters in linguistics and translation Слово.ру: балтийский акцент ambiguity polysemy translation decision-making disambiguation |
| title | Ambiguity matters in linguistics and translation |
| title_full | Ambiguity matters in linguistics and translation |
| title_fullStr | Ambiguity matters in linguistics and translation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ambiguity matters in linguistics and translation |
| title_short | Ambiguity matters in linguistics and translation |
| title_sort | ambiguity matters in linguistics and translation |
| topic | ambiguity polysemy translation decision-making disambiguation |
| url | https://journals.kantiana.ru/slovo/4291/12708/ |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT boyarskayae ambiguitymattersinlinguisticsandtranslation |