Pragmatic Problems ofIidioms Interpretation
In order to correctly make English Russian translation of a book, newspaper article or any type of creating writing one shall know how to translate correctly from English to Russian idiomatic expressions.
Weshall now take a close look at some aspects ofidiomatic expressions. An crucial point which has to be stressed is that idioms are not only colloquial words, as many people think. They can emerge in formal style and in slang. They may emerge in poetry or in the masterpieces of Dickens and the Bible.
Idioms are used widely, that is why an experienced English Russian translator is simply obliged to master certain techniques for translation of idioms from English to Russian, and for their translation from Russian to English.
What, then, is an idiom? One may say that an idiomatic expression is some collocation of elements which, if found together, mean something different from the separate expressions of the idiomatic expression when they are placed alone. The way in which the phrases are combined is often weird, illogical or even grammatically wrong. These are the special features of some idiomatic expressions. Other idioms are totally regular and logical in their grammar and vocabulary. Due to the individual features of certains idioms, we shall learn the idiom in general and we occasionally cannot amend any part of it (except maybe, only the tense of the verb).
English language is very rich in idiomatic expressions. In fact, it is hard to speak or write English without using idiomatic expressions. An English native speaker is sometomes not aware that he is using an idiom; perhaps he does not even understand that an idiom which he uses is grammatically wrong. A non-native learner makes the correct use of idiomatic English one of his main goals, and the fact that some idioms are illogical or grammatically incorrect causes him difficulty. Only careful study and exact learning will help.
It cannot be explained why a particular idiom has developed an unusual arrangement or choice of words. The idiom has been fixed by long usage as is sometimes seen from the vocabulary.
Now, when you know what is an idiom you are ready to learn about methods for English-Russian Translation. English Russian translation is a skill hard to master but with due diligence anyone can do it.