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Abstract
Glossary
INTRODUCTION………………………………………….………………….5
CHAPTER I- The collocation as a type of multiword unit……….………...8
1.1.1. Idioms……………………………………………………………………………. .8
1.1.2. Phrasesiological units……………………………………………………………... 9
1.1.3. Compound words…………………………………………………………………. 14
1.1.4. Phrases……………………………………………………………………………..15
1.2. Defining the collocations……………………………………………………….. 17
1.2.1. Defying the collocations……………………………………………………… 17
1.2.2. The problem of collocations ……………………………………………………22
1.2.3. The use of collocations………………………………………………………… 24
1.2.4. Types of collocations……………………………………………………………27
1.2.5. The importance of collocations………………………………………………… 28
CHAPTER II - Structural classification of collocations………………… 31
2.1.1. - Structural classification based on their types…………………………………32
2.1.2. Structural classification based on number of elements……………………… 32
2.1.3. Structural classification based on parts of speech…………………………… 37
2.1.4. The translation techniques’ analyzation. ……………………………………40
CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………65
Summary……………………………………………………………………..67
Bibliography…………………………………………………………………68
Appendices…………………………………………………………………...70
Abstract
The main purpose of this research paper is to distinguish the collocation from other word
groups’ like- phrases, idioms, compound words and phraseological units which make
difficulties in learning the collocation as a single word group. In addition, in this research are
made some analyses based on five types of collocations; these types of collocations will be
analyzed according to: number of elements, parts of speech and translation techniques in
order to have a better view of collocations.
Altogether, it is hoped that the result of this research has not only produced a usable on
line collocational aid, but also to demonstrate a simple and efficient way of understanding
better the collocations.
Glossary
1. Adverb- a word like tomorrow, once, badly, there, also to say, for example, when,
where, or how something happens .There are many kinds: adverb participle – words
like up, out, off, used as part of phrasal verb –clean up, sold out, tell off.
2. Adjective – a word like green, hungry, impossible, which is used to describe people,
things, events, etc, adjectives are used in connection with nouns or pronouns –a green
apple, she is hungry.
3. Article – a, an, and the, are called articles, a, an, are called the infinitive article, the-
is called the definite article.
4. Attribute – adjective placed before nouns are in attributive position, a green shirt, and
my noisy sun.
5. Compound words – a noun, an adjective etc, composed of two or more words, or parts
of words, written as one or more words or joined by a hyphen – armchair, living-
room, afternoon.
6. Conjunction – a word like and, but, although, because, when, if, can be used to join
clauses, together, example I rang because I was worried about you.
7. Idioms – a) the language or a dialect of a group of people or a country. b) a phrase or
sentence whose meaning is not clear from the meaning of its individual words and
which must be learned as a whole unit ,e.g. give way, a change of heart.
8. Noun – a word like, oil, memory, arm, which can be used with an article, nouns are
most often names of people or things, personal names e.g. George, and place, e.g.
Moldova, are called proper nouns, they are usually used without articles.
9. Number – the way in which differences between singular and plural are shown
grammatically. The difference between nose and noses, house and houses, this and
these are differences of number.
10. Phrases – two or more words that function together as a group or more words that
function together as a group, e.g. dead tired, the silly old woman, in the country.
11. Phrasal verb – a verb that is made up of two parts; a base verb followed by an adverb
particle e.g. fill up, run over, take in, go on.
12. Phraseology – the choice or arrangement of words; the wording, e.g. tried hard, could
do better.
13. Preposition – a word like, off, of, on, in, into, to, at, normally followed by a noun or
pronoun.
14. Pronoun – a word like it, yourself, their, my, his, her, which is used instead of a more
precise noun or noun phrase (like the cat, Peter, the family).The word pronoun can
also be used for a determiner when this includes the meaning of a following noun
which has been left out, which bottle would you like, I will take both, (both stands for
both bottles, and we can say that it is used as pronoun).
15. Verb – a word like – ask, wake, play, be, can, draw, which can be used with a subject
o form the basis of clause; most verbs refer to actions or states.
1. ADV.-Adverb
2. ADJ. – Adjective
3. N – Noun
4. V – Verb
5. PREP – Preposition
6. ART – Article
7. CONJ – Conjunction
8. PR – Pronoun
Introduction
This research paper deals with:” The problem of collocations in English language”.
Although many people consider that to know a language the most important is to learn words,
there has recently been an increasing awareness that the way of combining the words is the
important key of speaking, writing and understanding a language.
Words are our tools of expressing our ideas, thoughts, feelings, and reactions.
Sometimes it is difficult even in our mother language to find words that are precise enough to
render our exact message across to others. When we use English we are faced with a
language that deals with a lot of word-groups which can be hard distinguished among them
and also hard to understand their meaning. It can be said that English is a language full of
traps which are easy to fall into, for example word groups like phrases, idioms,
phraseological units, compound words and collocations.
Although there is a growing recognition of collocation in language teaching, there
seems to be a lack of understanding of its true significance. Linguists and teachers have
concentrated their attention on the extreme ends of the spectrum: free combinations and
idioms, giving learners the impression that there are two distinct models of construction: the
unfettered application of generative rules to lexis in free combinations, on the one hand, and
complete frozenness in idioms, on the other.
Although the term collocation is increasingly used by writers in a number of
languages – related fields, it has perhaps not yet achieved wide recognition in applied
linguistics, nor are the implications of research within the field fully understood or made
available to language teachers. This is partly the result of interest in the phenomenon of word
combination being developed independently in variety of disciplines, and few linguists have
attempted an overview. It is not possible within a scope of a single article to give an account
of whole field, and the focus of this paper is restricted to those aspects of the subject that
have to define the collocations as a single word unit.
That is why this research paper is based on the problem of collocations in order to
define and distinguish it as a single unit from other word groups mentioned above, to
analyze its classification structure and translation techniques.
This research paper “The problem of collocation in English language “, consists of two
chapters and subchapters. First chapter, “The collocation as a type of multiword unit”, is
focused on defining the other word groups: idioms, compound words, phraseological units
and phrases in order to understand better the collocation and not to have problems in
distinguishing it from these word groups because they have a lot of peculiarities which make
them to be wrong understood as a single unit. The second sub chapter is based on defying the
collocation and distinguishing it, after briefly presentation of the word groups which mix up
the understanding of collocation, here is presented largely the collocation as a single unit, its
importance and its use in English language. After defying the collocation and its importance
in learning a language, follows the second chapter: Structural classification of collocations
based on structural classification of collocations. The examples of collocations were taken
from Charlotte Bronte novels – Jane Eire-230 examples, and were analyzed according to five
types of collocations, adjective +noun, noun+verb, verb + noun, adverb + verb, adverb +
adjective. According to these types, there were made the structural analysis based on:
number of elements, (for example the collocation can be formed from two, three, four
elements); parts of speech, and the last one is based on translations techniques (literal
translation, enlargement, reduction, modulation, contextual synonym and word by word
translation).
For all types of classification were made up statistics and percentage in order to have a
better view of collocations’ structure and analysis.
The objectives of this research paper are:
- To define the collocation as a single unit.
- To distinguish it from other word groups.
- To classify the collocation.
- To translate 230 examples of collocations from English into Romanian
language
- To analyze the collocations according to:
-five types of collocations,
-number of its elements,
-parts of speech,
-translations techniques.
- To make percentage for all the classifications.
The methods of investigation are:
- Investigation, based on 230 examples of collocations from Jane Eire novel.
- Analysis, based on five types of collocations, parts of speech, number of
elements and translation techniques.
- Comparison, based on translation of 230 examples from English into
Romanian language
This theme is an actual one and it is studied now by many linguists because it had been
neglected in the past. Now, the problem of collocations is studied by linguists in order to be
understood better, by translators in order to translate the words correctly, by teachers in order
to teach others about this language feature, and also by lexicographers in making dictionaries.
Studying the collocation it can be see its importance in learning English language in order to
understand it and speak fluently like a native one.
Chapter I
The collocation as a type of Multiword Unit
Words put together make phrases or word groups. It will be recalled that lexicology deals
with words, word –forming and word groups’ it can be said that the word is the basic lexical
unit .The smallest two facet unit to be found the word is the morpheme. The largest two facet
lexical unit comprising more than one word is the word –group observed on the systematic
level of analysis ,E.g. in the analysis of various the words are joined together to inseparable
.such word groups are usually described as phrases ,idioms parasitological units ,compound
words and collocations which are traditionally regarded as the branch of lexicological
science .
The component members in other word groups e.g. a week ago, man of wisdom, take
place, take lessons kind to people, seem to posses greater semantic and structural
independence .Word groups of this type make up single self contained lexical units.
The degree of structural and semantic cohesion of words-groups may vary .Some word
groups, e g. at least, point of view, by means, take place, seem to be functionally and
semantically are defined as free word groups or phrases.
Here, however, it can proceed from the assumption that before on the problem of
collocation it is essential to briefly outline the features common and uncommon to various
word groups.
To get a better insight into the essentials of structure and meaning of word groups we must
begin with a brief survey of the main factors active in uniting words into word groups as-
phrases, idioms, phrasiological units compound words and our main pattern collocations. The
two main linguistic factors to be considered in this connection are the lexical and
grammatical valency of words.
§1.1.1 Idioms
In order to have a better understanding of collocation firstly it will discussed its
common and uncommon features with idioms. The definition from oxford dictionary says
that an idiom is
1) “The Language or dialect of a group of people or a country, e.g.: have an ear
for Irish idiom”
2) “A phrase or sentence whose meaning is not clear from the meaning of its
individual words and which must be learnt as a whole unit, e.g. – give way, a change
of heart, be hard to put it.”
When used in a broad sense, the term idiom will not denote the “language peculiar to a
people, community or district”, as it is frequently done, because for this notion there is
another term which is appropriate: Dialect. The wealth of idioms of English is a reflection of
the many sources, cultural and linguistic that have fed into the mainstream of the language,
e.g.: Military (spike someone’s guns), Naval (know the ropes), Sporting (saved by the bell),
Musical (run the gamut) and many others technical vocabularies have all contributed vivid
forms of words to the rich mix. By idiom in a broad sense is a form of expression,
construction or phrase peculiar to a language and approved by the usage of that language and
it often has a signification other than its grammatical or logical one. In practical terms this
includes a wide range of expression that has become in a sense fossilized within the language
and is used in a fixed or semi-fixed way without any reference to the literal meaning of their
component word.
Idioms are those elements in a language that are often the most difficult to translation –
that’s way they cause most difficulty to foreign learners.
Idiom in the narrow sense consist of proverbs and sayings that reflect the thought patterns
of the English people and their folk wisdom, also idiom in a broad sense can also include
collocations, phrases, e.g.: airbus industry, a man of letters, be a delicate procedure, etc., as
these words also collocate, that is they can be put side by side.
There are different combinations of words. Some of them are free, e. g. to read books
(newspapers, a letter, etc.), others are fixed, limited in their combinative power, e. g. to go to
bed, to make a report. The combinations of words which are fixed (s e t -e x p r e s s i o n s)
are called phraseological units.
A free combination is a syntactical unit, which consists of notional and form words, and in
which notional words have the function of independent parts of the sentence. In a
phraseological unit words are not independent. They form set-expressions, in which neither
words nor the order of words can be changed. Free combinations are created by the speaker.
Phraseological units are used by one speaker in a ready form, without any changes. The
whole phraseological unit has a-meaning which may be quite different form the meanings of
its components, and therefore the whole unit and not separate words, has the function of a
part of the sentence.
Phraseological units consist of separate words and therefore they are different from
words, even from compounds. Word's have several structural forms, but in phraseological
units only one of the components has all the forms of the paradigm of the part of speech it
belongs to, e. g. to go to bed, goes to bed, went to bed, gone to bed, going to bed etc., the
rest of the components do not change their form.
By the classification of V.Vinogradov some phraseological units are divided into
three units logically for the combination of particular words. It can be explained only
on the basis of tradition, e. g. to deliver a lecture (but not to read a lecture).
In phraseological combinations words retain their full semantic independence
although they are limited in their combinative, power, e. g. to wage war (but not to lead
war), to render assistance, to render services (but not to render pleasure).
Phraseological combination is the least idiomatic of all the kinds of phraseological units.
In other words, in phraseological combinations the meaning of the whole can be inferred
from the meaning of the components, e. g.
To draw a conclusion
To lend assistance
To make money
To pay attention to
In phraseological combinations one of the components (generally the component
which is used figuratively) can be combined with different words, e. g. to talk sports,
politics, business (but to speak about life), leading worker, leading article (but the main
problem), deadly enemy, deadly shot (but a mortal wound), keen interest, keen
curiosity, keen sense of humour (but great surprise).
Words of wide meaning, as to make, to take, to do, to give, etc. Form many
phraseological units, e. g. to take an examination to take a trip, to take a chance, to
take interest, to make fun of, to make inquiries, to make a statement, to make friends.
Sometimes traditional combination are synonyms of words e. g. to make
inquiries=to inquire, to make haste=to hurry.
Some traditional combination is equivalents in propositions e. g. by means of, in
connection with.
Free word combinations can never be polysynaptic, while there are polysemantic
phraseological units, e. g. to be on the go, to be busy and active, to be leaving, to be tipsy, to
be near one's end
Have done with make an end of, give up, reach the end of
Two types of synonymy are typical of phraseological units:
1. Synonymy of phraseological units that do not contain any synonymous words and are
based on different images, e. g.
to leave no stone unturned=to move, heaven and earth
to haul down colors=to ground arms
In free word combinations synonymy is based on the synonymy of particular words (an
old man—an elderly man}.
2. Phraseological units have word synonym
to make up one's mind=to decide
to haul down colors—to surrender
There is a lot of dispute going on about the nature of such expressions as to take a look,
to have a look, to have a fall, to get a glance, etc. Such expressions may form an
intermediate group between phraseological units and free combinations.
Another difficult question to decide is whether such combinations as to give up, to give
in, to' take off, to come round are phraseological units or compound verbs. As there are two
words in the combinations and they lack the unity or the inseparability of form which is
characteristic of words, we prefer to regard them as a special group of phraseological units
which for the absence of a better name we may call v e r b-a d v e r b (or v e r b-p o s t-
position) combinations.
Sometimes a phraseological verb-adverb combination can be distinguished from a free
combination only by the context, e. g.
He put on his coat (ph.) and went out (free).
He put the book on the table (free).
The difference between a phraseological verb-adverb combination and free verb-adverb
combinations may be seen in the impossibility of inversion in phraseological units. It is
possible to say the boy ran in or in ran the boy, the prices went up or up went the prices, but
it is quite impossible to invert the order of words in the phraseological verb-adverb
combination / gave it up (up gave I it — is impossible).
Phraseological units are formed from free word combinations. Word combinations
become set expressions and come to be used with a figurative meaning. Their origin may
be different. Some phraseological units are connected with some historical events, e. g. to
burn one's boats (some commanders burned their ships after the landing of the troops, so that
there should be no possibility of retreat), to bury the hatchet (Indians in America buried a
hatchet when they made peace). Often phraseological units are expressions taken from some
literary work, e. g. much ado about nothing" (Shakespeare). .Many phraseological
units are professional expressions, e. g. to put the finishing touches (used by artists), to
feel one’s pulse (medical), to be in chancery (sport),to have all the trumps in one's hand
(gambling), to see rocks ahead (used by
sailors), to die in the last ditch (used by soldiers). Many phraseological units are
translated from foreign languages, e. g. the apple of discord -(from Greek).
Sometimes phraseological units are formed as a result of shortening proverbs, e.
g.
To catch at a straw (from a drowning man will catch at a straw);
To cry over spilt milk (from there is no use crying over' spilt milk).
P r o v e r b s is considered by some linguists to be a kind of phraseological units.
Proverbs are not equivalents of words, but of sentences, e. g.
All is not gold that glitters.
A friend in need is a friend indeed. .
§ 1.1.4. Phrases
Other pattern which make us wrongly define and understanding the collocation are
phrases. Its definition says that -From the strictly grammatical point of view, a phrase is a
word combination standing for a part of speech those grammatical functions it discharges. It
must necessarily contain a noun, a verb a modifying adjective or adverb in its structure e.g.
One or more words of full lexical value, e.g. In the middle of (prepositional-phrase) to do
ones utmost (verbal phrase), in the distance (adverbial phrase), no matter how (conjunctional
phrase) etc.
In lexicology there is no such category as “complex words” and the term “phrase” has
another meaning than it has in grammar, including all the word combinations that are not
compounds, which they, however, resemble in that they imply a more or less marked unity of
meaning. Complex verbs are sometimes referred to us “compound words” and sometimes as
phrases; though it seems more adequate to call compounds only complex verbs formed with
the help of adverbial particles.
Consequently a lexical phrase may be expressed even by a whole sentence, provided
the latter is a phraseological unit enjoying structural stability, as are proverbs, conversational
formulas, etc. e.g. No news is good news, how do you do? Etc.
Phrases may be classified as stable (or fixed) and unstable.
They are said to be stable when no change of the component elements is possible. Thus,
in the proverb quoted above “no news is good news”, not one word can be changed in point
of form e.g. (of case, tense,) or replaced by a synonym.
On the contrary, an unstable phrase is liable to change of form or partial replacement.
Thus, the verb in to play a trick on somebody can be used in various tenses (I played a trick
on him, he thought he would play a trick on us ), The order of words can be changed (to play
somebody a trick); at the some time to put and to serve are apt to be used as connotatational
synonyms for to pay (to put a trick on somebody, to serve somebody a trick) in as toll as a
maypole, only the replacement of maypole is possible, (as toll as a steeple).
In to have all the time in the world, it is only the verb that is apt to change (in point of
tense). (I have or had etc. all the time in the world).
The interpretation of the term phrase in various works by English authors is far from
unitary, e.g. An idiomatic expression, small group of words usually without predicate,
especially preposition with the word it governs, equivalent a finite verb forming part of a
sentence.
Phrases have some important classification-
Semantically, phrases may be roughly divided into two:
A) those which are used in a direct meaning;
B) Those which, partly or whole express figurative meanings.
The phrase “to have a rare fun time” belongs to type:
a) For all the verbs of which it is made up are used in a direct meaning: to have rare, fun
time-with the connotation (of good excellent, merry etc.)
As to the meaning of the phrase as a whole, it is the sum of the meanings of the component
elements. Other examples: to set at liberty, in other words, to be of good cheer, safe and
sound, to come in to view, silence gives consent.
As to the meaning of the phrase as a whole, it is the sum of the meanings of the component
elements. Other examples: to set at liberty, in other words, to be of good cheer, safe and
sound to come into view, silence give consent.
Phrases of the:
b) Type is, partly or wholly, based on figures of speech chiefly on metaphors, whose role
in the semantic development of a language is very active. In to give somebody a
lesson all the words are used in the direct meaning, but the whole, meaning of the
phrase is metaphorical. The same may be said about to carry coals to Newcastle, the
cat in the gloves catches no mice, to put a spoke in somebody’s wheel, make hay while
the sun shines and strike the iron while it is hot, to give somebody the needle.
On the other hand, in to break the silence as a result of its association with silence, to
break assumes a figurative metaphorical meaning, though, owing to the frequent use of
the phrase, the metaphor is of the fading or degraded, not of the live type. Other examples
of metaphoric words in phrases: to pay in to pay one’s addresses to, to lose one’s temper,
depth in the depth of the forest, to cut in to cut one’s teeth stress in under the stress of
circumstances.
Many phrases are built on similes:
Ex: - As red as a rose, to run like a deer, on hyperboles
- A thousand thanks, to be o shadow on of one’s former self.
Sometimes it is difficult enough to establish whether this or that word in a phrase has
a direct or a figurative meaning. Language is permanently on the run and what was new
yesterday may be trite and today. The problem is all the more complicated as even big
sized dictionaries do not clearly discriminate between direct and figurative meanings of
words, to say nothing of words in phrases.
There are phrases connected with trades -
-To bring grist to the mill,
- To have too many irons in the fire,
-Between hammer and anvil in,
- Full blast a chip of the old block,
-One nail drives another.
Also there are phrases connected with medicine-
-To swallow the pill,
-To take the temperature,
-A dose of one’s own medicine,
-A fly in the ointment.
Also there are phrases connected with rivers, etc
-To shiver on the drink,
-To go at the deep end,
-To make a splash,
-On thin ice,
Phrases are also monosemantic and polysemantic. In full blast is a monsemantic phrase,
but to be in abeyance is polysemantic for it has more meaning than one.
Diagramme
V.P.
PART V PART
To climb up
Though most phrasal verbs may be replaced by one word synonyms , e.g. to get out-meaning
to leave , to give up – to surrender, to ring up – to telephone. Not all of them have an
adequate substitute. They are not always interchangeable with a synonym: e.g. to put out – to
begin a voyage, to put up – provide lodgings. This is to a great extent a matter of idiomatic
usage.
If compound words can not be separated, complex verbs often can. Of course, only a pan
of them is separable. Phrasal verbs may be both transitive and intransitive.
E.g. take in the wash
Take the wash in
In such cases, the pattern is verb + particle + noun or verb + noun + particle.
One may say that in the former pattern the emphasis falls on the noun, while in the latter the
emphases is put on the action. When personal pronouns are introduced in the pattern, they are
usually placed between the verb and the adverbial particle, according to the pattern verb +
pronoun + adverbial particle.
E.g. put it on
To blow up
Collocations may be met in other parts of speech too.
Examples of complex adverbs are all alone – not in the company of others, all along – for
the whole length of.
Examples of complex conjunctions are as if, as for, as to, so as to.
Such collocation constitutes lexical and grammatical clichés provided by language. Though
their use is not a proof of originality in speech, they are extremely important in
communication. They have an important part in language structure.
Their idiomatic character makes sometimes life difficult for translators, who must find other
language equivalents which have sometimes nothing to do with the words of the translated, or
have very little in common with it.
In e.g. Jane has been often asked out during this summer holiday.
The Romanian translation is not “a fost adesea invitata sa iasa afara “, but “a fost adesea
invitata in oras “.
One can also talk about collocation range, which implies certain restrictions concerning the
verbs which are used and the particles respectively. Thus we can expect verbs of movement
to be used approximately with the same set of particles, though sometimes the equivalence is
not perfect. for example “to go ,to come ,to walk ,to run ,to get “, are usually followed by the
adverbial particles, ‘ahead ,along, away, back , in ,off, out, up, round’, but we would not
expect some other verbs to be accompanied by the some adverbial particles , e.g.” to beat to
die ,to laugh ,etc.
References:
1
Bauer Laurie, English word formation ,Cambridge 1984 ,pg 115-120.
2
Levitchi Leon, Limba engleza contemporan, Lexicology, 1970, pg 25-37
3
Olga Achmanava, Linguistic terminology , Moscow university press ,1977,pg 161-165.
4
Galina Salapina, Limba engleza contemporana, Lexicologie, editia II-a, Timisoara, pg 14-21.
5.Olga Achmanova, The chair of English ,Lexicology, Theory and Method, edited by Moscow state
university,1972, pg 76-85.
6.English for advanced students ,with a special chapter in English lexicology, Institutul Europei
,Iasi,1993, pg 190-195.
7.R.S.Girbuz,A course in modern English lexicology, Higher School Published House, Moscow
1996,pg 86-105.
8.Seminars in Modern English Lexicology, Part II, Chisinau ,Moldova State University,2000, pg
161-163 .
9. N .Raevska, English lexicology, second edition revised, edited by Радянска Школа, 1961, pg 25-
37.
10. N.M.Raenska, English lexicology, Kiev, 1971, pg 86-90.
11.Peter Roach, Third Edition, English Phonetics and Phonology, A practical course, Cambridge,
University Press,1999, pg 63-65.
12. James. R. Natting, S. Dacerio, Oxford Applied Linguistic, Lexical Phrases and Language
Technique, Oxford University Press,1992, pg 23-53.
13.A.P Cowie, Oxford Linguistic Phraseology, Theory and Analyses, 1998, pg 21-23, 145-153.
14.Oxford Collocations Dictionary For Students, Oxford University Press.
15.Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary.
16.Johnatan Orauther,Catherym Cavanaugh, Oxford Guide to British and American Culture, Oxford
University Press,1999, pg 58-73.
Chapter II
Structural classification of collocations
§ 2.1. 2. Structural classification of collocation based on their types.
There are more criteria of classifying the collocations but for this research paper the
classification will be done according to collocations’ structure.
For the purpose of the investigation, this chapter is focused on five types of collocation:
Table 1
N= TYPE OF PATTERN NUMBER PERCENTAGE
1 Adjective + noun 121 52.6%
2 Verb + adverb 49 21.3%
3 Verb + noun 35 15.2%
4 Noun + verb 21 9.3%
5 Adverb + adjective 4 1.7%
As can be observed the first type –adjective +noun has the big number of collocations
-52.6% from all the collocations studied in this research. The second type verb +adverb has
21.3% this means that it do not constitute even a half of the first type. Verb +noun type has
15.2% from all the collocations. The noun +verb type has 9.3 %collocations, and the less
number has adverb +adjective type 1.7%, this can be understood that adverb +adjective
collocations are not so used like other types.
Analyzing all the types of collocations it can be concluded that adjective +noun type
constitute the largest number of collocations and the adverb +adjective type constitute the
smallest number of collocations used in a language and in communication.
Analyzing the whole label it can be observed that the big number of percentage has
collocations with two elements - 56.9%, and the smallest number has those with for elements
- 13.4%.
For a better view of this analyze the structure will be according to all types of collocations.
The first type analyzed is adjective + noun, the total number of its elements is 121 from
230.
The collocations created from two elements constitute 81 examples of collocations
e.g. chilly afternoons, delicate health, young master, death bed, terrible experience, beautiful
house, hard work, angry voice, strange idea, wicked heart, narrow corridors, dirty habits,
wide shoulders, exciting life, evil influence, kind word, heavy sleeper, right path, wrong way,
ordinary child.
The collocations produced from three elements have 23 examples of collocations e.g.
cold winter wind, sad lonely existence, freezing cold rooms, pretty cheerful child, narrow
front door, strange inhuman sound, pure young thing, small piece of biscuit, strange ghostly
laugh, hard physical conditions .
The collocations formed from four or more elements have 4 examples e.g. dark hair and
eyes, ice cold fingers and toes, beautiful long curly hair, fair master to his servants.
Table 1
As can be observed the large numbers of collocations are those with two elements
consisting 66.9% from the total percentage, the type of three elements has 29%, and the last
type with four elements constitute the smallest percentage 3.3%.
Analyzing the obtained results it can be said that, adjective +noun collocations formed from
two elements constitute the largest number of this type and the smallest number are those
with four elements.
The first type has the largest number of collocations, this means that collocations formed
from two elements constitutes 63.3% from all number of collocations, the type of three
elements have 18.35, and the last one has 20.4%. As can be observed the type with four
elements has one more element than those with three and also a big number than collocations
from adjective +noun type of four elements. Analyzing the obtained results it can be said that
collocations formed from two elements have the largest number of examples, this means that
it is more used group than others.
As can be observed the second type has the largest number of collocations - 45.7%from
all the number, the third type has 37.1 % of collocations and the first type has the smallest
number of collocations 8.57%. Analyzing this table it can be said that here the big number of
collocations has the type with four elements although before in others tables it has the
smallest number of collocation. It can be said that in verb +noun type the most frequent
collocations are those with three elements and the smallest number used are those with two
elements.
The table 4
As can be observed the big number of collocations have the third type of collocations -
42.8%, the second type have 33.3%, and the first type have 23%. Analyzing this table it can
be said that more useful collocations from this type are those with four elements and less used
are those with two elements.
The table 5
N= TYPE OF PATTERN NUMBER PERCENTAGE
ADVERB + ADJECTIVE 4 100%
1 Two elements 3 75%
2 Three elements 4 25%
It can be observed that the first type has 75% this means that it is more used than the second
who has only one example.
Analyzing the whole types it can be said that the most used collocations are those with two
and three elements but also depends on the type of collocation for example the adjective
+noun type has more examples with two elements but verb +noun type has more examples
with three elements, this means that the structure of collocation depends on its type.
Table 1.
N= TYPE OF PATTERN NUMBER PERCENTGE
121 100%
1 Adjective +noun 78 64.4%
2 Noun + noun 10 8.26%
3 Adjective + adjective + noun 15 12.3%
4 Noun +adjective + noun 3 2.4%
5 Adjective + noun + noun 7 5.7%
6 Past part. + noun 5 4.13%
7 Number + adjective + noun 2 2.4%
Analyzing the whole chart it can be observed that adjective can change in other parts of
speech, and vice versa, other parts of speech can change in adjectives, for example in
collocation-window seat the first part of speech is noun but was conversed into adjective.
Also it can be observed that most examples remain unchangeable.
The second type studied is: verb + adverb - 49 e.g.
The verb + adverb type has the following structure: verb + adverb -36 ex., looked straight,
speak heavily, scream loudly, and cry bitterly, verb + adverb + prep. + noun -3 ex., hold
tightly on hands, verb + adverb + adverb -3 ex., lay fast asleep, verb + adverb + noun -2 ex.,
speak hardly English, pronoun + verb + adverb -2 ex., I feel asleep, verb + prep + verb +
adverb -2 ex., laugh and speak freely,
Table 2
Looking carefully at this table it can be observed that there are not big changes like the first
table
Table 3
Table 4.
N= TYPE OF PATTERN NUMBER PRCENTAGE
NOUN + VERB 21 100%
1 Noun + verb + advreb 9 42.8%
2 Noun + verb 3 14.25
3 Noun + past simple 3 14.2%
4 Adj. + noun + verb 2 9.52%
5 Noun + verb + prep + art. + noun 2 9.52%
6 Art. + noun + verb + adverb 2 9.52%
7 Noun + verb + prep. + verb + pron. 1 4.76%
Analyzing this label it can be observed that noun + verb type is formed from more parts of
speech.
The last type analyzed is adverb + adjective, this type has no changes at all, its
structure remains the same: adverb + adjective, e.g. completely hidden, closely related.
Translating all the collocations according to translations techniques it can be observed that
the most collocations are translated according to literal translation – 77 examples,
enlargement – 38examples,contextual synonym -36 examples, modulation -22 examples,
reduction -13
examples, word for word -12 examples, the smallest number has transposition -10
examples.
Table 1
N= TYPE OF TECHNIQUES NUMBER PERCENTAGE
230 100%
1 Literal translation 77 33.4%
2 Enlargement 38 16.5%
3 Contextual synonym 36 15.6%
4 Modulation 22 9.5%
5 Reduction 13 5.6%
6 Word for word 12 5.2%
7 Transposition 10 4.3%
Analyzing the whole label it can be noticed that literal translation has -33.4%, enlargement –
16.5%, contextual synonym -15.6%, modulation – 9.5%, reduction – 5.65, word for word
-5.2% and transposition – 4.3
For a better view of translation process of collocation, they were translated according to their
number of elements. For this purpose the investigation will be based on five types of
collocations, adjective + noun, adverb + verb, verb +noun, noun +verb and adverb + adjective
and their number elements: two elements, three elements and four elements
The first type analyzed is adjective + noun type. The large numbers of collocations here
were translated according to literal translation, for a good observation the example is
analyzed together with its sentence, for example:
e.g. What a strange feeling to be leaving Ggatehead, my home for the whole of my
childhood.
The collocation under analyses is – strange feeling- simtamint straniu it has two parts of
speech -adjective + noun.In Romanian it also has two parts of speech – noun + adjective.
Here the noun is placed before the adjective and the adjective after the noun.
e.g. Sometimes he hit me, sometimes, he just threatened me, and I lived in terrible
fear of him.
In this sentence the collocation under analysis is –terrible fear – spaima grozava .
This collocation is formed from two parts of speech – adjective + noun.
In Romanian it is formed also from noun + adjective, here is used the conversion, the
noun was changed with the adjective and vice versa, the adjective was changed with the verb.
e.g. Lost in the world of imagination, I forgot my sad lonely existence, for a
while, and was happy.
The collocation under analysis is–sad lonely existence –trairea trista si singuratica .
This example of collocation is formed from three parts of speech- adjective + adjective +
noun .In Romanian it has the same structure but the parts of speech are changed – noun +
adjective + adjective.
e.g. What a strange feeling to be leaving gateshead , my home for the whole of
my childhood.
The collocation under analyses is – strange feeling- simtamint straniu.
It has two parts of speech -adjective + noun.
In Romanian it also has two parts of speech – noun + adjective. Here the noun is placed
before the adjective and the adjective after the noun.
e.g. Well I hope you will be a good child at school, she said toughing my cheeks
gently with her fingers.
The collocations are:
Good child
Toughing my cheeks gently
The first example – good child- fetita cuminte .
It has two parts of speech – adjective + noun. In Romanian it also has two parts of speech
noun + adjective; here are the same changes as in the example before.
The second example is – toughing my cheeks gently – m-a netezit blind pe obraji.
It has four parts of speech- verb + pronoun + noun + adverb.
In Romanian it has five parts of speech – pronoun + verb + adverb +preposition +noun.
Transposition technique, examples:
e.g. I was good to be back to my familiar bedroom, with a warm fire and
a candle light.
In this sentence there are three collocations
Familiar bedroom
Warm fire
Candle light
The first example of collocations is familiar bed room - odaia copiilor . It is formed from two
parts of speech- noun + noun, but the first noun suffered a conversion changing into an
adjective. And now it is adjective + noun
In Romanian it is also formed from two parts of speech- noun + noun, but here the noun
remains unchanged.
The second collocation from this sentence is warm fire- foc din simeneu
It is formed from two parts of speech- noun + noun, where the noun suffered a conversion
like the example before.
In Romanian it has three parts of speech- noun + preposition + noun.
The third example of collocations is –candle light-luminare aprinsa.
It is formed from two parts of speech –noun + noun where the one noun suffered a
conversion like the examples before.
In Romanian it has also two parts of speech- noun + adjective. Here is used transposition
technique, because the noun was changed in adjectives, in order to give the appropriate
meaning of the context into Romanian.
e.g. I wanted to join the family circle, but Mrs. Reed, my out, refused.
e.g. On his death bed he had made his wife , aunt reed promise to look
after me like her own children.
In this sentence the collocation analyzed is – death bed – cu limba de moarte.
This example of collocation is formed from two parts of speech – noun + noun, but the
noun was changed in an adjective and now the collocation is formed from adjective + noun.
In Romanian it has four parts of speech –preposition + noun + preposition + noun.
e.g. They pulled us a part and I heard the say, what a wicked girl.
The collocation under analysis is -wicked girl- fiinta disperata.
This example of collocation is formed two parts of speech –adjective + noun.
In Romanian it also is formed from two parts of speech- noun + adjective and has the
same structure like the example before.
e.g. They pulled us a part and I heard the say, what a wicked girl.
The collocation under analysis is -wicked girl- fiinta disperata.
This example of collocation is formed two parts of speech –adjective + noun.
In Romanian it also is formed from two parts of speech- noun + adjective and has the
same structure like the example before.
e.g. It was also a great relief to recognize Dr Lloyd, who Mrs. Reed called in
for her servants (she always called a specialist for her self and the children).
In this sentence the collocation analyzed is –great relief- usurare neinchipuita .
This example of collocation is formed from two parts of speech – adjective + noun. In
Romanian it is also formed from two parts of speech – noun + adjective, but here the noun
stands before the noun,
Reduction technique
e.g. The red room was a cold, silent room, hardly ever used, although it was
one of the largest bedroom in the house.
The collocation under analysis is – cold silent room- camera nelocuita.
This example of collocation is formed from three parts of speech- adjective + adjective +
noun.
In Romanian it has two parts of speech –noun + adjective. Translating this collocation
was reduced one part of speech – one adjective.
e.g. He should have been at boarding school, but his mother, who loved him very
much had ought hibrom home for a month or two, because she though his health was
delicate.
In these sentences the collocation is: Boarding school -orfelinat
The first example of collocation is formed from two parts of speech – adjective + noun, but
in Romanian language it is formed from one part of speech – noun, here was used again
the reduction technique and this collocation was translated –orfelinat, because in Romanian
one word is used to name this object.
Modulation technique
The collocation under analyses is –poor vicar –pastor sarac .It is formed from two parts
of speech –adjective +noun. In Romanian it also has the some structure, but the noun is
placed before the adjective .and the adjective after the noun –noun +adjective.
In translation of this collocation it can be observed that between “vicar “ and “astor “it
has no any link ,”vicar means –priest», while “pastor means shepherd “.this means that in
translation was used the modulation technique –the word vicar was translated in pastor . Was
used this translation technique in order to respect the norms of the target language.
E.g. Each child could have a drink of water out of the shared cup and
could take a small piece of biscuit.
The collocations from this sentence are:
Shared cup
Small piece of biscuit
The first example of collocation is –shared cup –cana ce servea tuturor .It is formed from
tow parts of speech-verb +noun ,but here is an conversion the verb “ shere” was changed in
adjective “shared “and now it is –adjective +noun. In Romanian it has four parts of
speech=noun +preposition +verb +adverb.
In this collocation was used the explanation technique because the ‘shared cup was explained
as –cana ce servea tuturor .
The second example is –small piece of biscuit-o bucata de prajitura .
It is formed from four parts of speech –adjective +noun +pre position +noun.
In Romanian it has also four parts of speech –article +noun + preposition +noun.
e.g. But the only y food served to us was porridge, which was burnt ,it
was so disgusting that we could not eat it so we left the dining room with empty stomachs .
The collocation under analyses is –empty stomachs –flaminde de moarte . It is formed from
two parts of speech –adjective + noun. In Romanian it has three parts of speech –adjective +
preposition +noun. Although it was translated with this technique the equivalent respect the
norms of the Romanian language, it was changed the form but the concept re main the same.
e.g. We believe in hard work, plain food, simple clothes and no luxury
of any kind.
The collocations in these sentences are:
Hard work
Plain food
Simple clothes
The first collocation from this sentences –hard work – munca grea
It is formed from two parts of speech - adjective + noun.
In Romanian it is also formed from tow parts of speech – noun + adjective, but here the noun
is placed before the adjective, and the adjective in place of noun, because in Romanian
language the adjective stands after the noun. That’s why there is need the change of place of
the parts of speech.
The second example of collocation – plain food- translated cumpatata.
It is formed from two parts of speech – adjective + noun.
In Romanian it is also formed from two parts of speech – noun+ adjective. Here is the same
change as in the example before.
The third example is –simple clothes- imbracaminte modesta.
It is formed from two parts of speech – adjective + noun.
In Romanian it also has two parts of speech –noun + adjective. Here is the same change as in
the examples before..
e.g. I was put in the bottom class.
The collocation under analyses is-the bottom class-capatul sirului .
It is formed from three parts of speech – article +noun +noun, here was used a conversion
the noun “bottom “was changed in adjective and now is adjective + noun.
In Romanian it has two parts of speech –noun +noun ,where the noun “capatul “was changed
in adjective .as can be observed here this example was the same structure
Enlargement technique
e.g. He was a tall, thin man dressed all in black, with a cold stony face
at the top of the column.
The collocations from these sentences are
Tall, thin man
Cold stony face.
The first example of collocation from this sentence – tall, thin man – cu o infatisare de
adevarata prajina uscativa
It is formed from threee parts of speech- adjective + adjective + noun.
In Romanian it has a large number of parts of speech, seven – preposition + article + noun +
preposition + adjective + noun + adjective.
In translation this collocation in Romanian it was used more words, in order to give an
original meaning to the Romanian context. Although it has more parts of speech the meaning
remain the same..
The second example of collocation from this sentence – with a cold stony face – chipul
lui aducea a masca taiata din piatra
This collocation is formed from five parts of speech – preposition + article + adjective +
adjective + noun.
In Romanian it has more parts of speech – noun + pronoun + verb + noun + verb +
preposition + noun.
As can be observed in Romanian translation there are more words because was used the
enlargement technique, in order to give an appropriate translation of Romanian language
.Although there was used more words in translation the meaning was kept
e.g. Well I hope you will be a good child at school, she said toughing my
cheeks gently with her fingers.
The collocations are:
Good child
Toughing my cheeks gently
The first example – good child- fetita cuminte .
It has two parts of speech – adjective + noun. In Romanian it also has two parts of speech
noun + adjective; here are the same changes as in the example before.
The second example is – toughing my cheeks gently – m-a netezit blind pe obraji.
It has four parts of speech- verb + pronoun + noun + adverb.
In Romanian it has five parts of speech – pronoun + verb + adverb +preposition +noun.
Analyzing all the collocation of this type it can be observed that: literal translation technique
has the large number of collocations -30 examples, contextual synonym -24 examples,
enlargement –20examples, reduction -10examples, transposition -10examples, modulation
-9examples and word for word -18 examples.
Table 2
N= TYPE OF PATTER NUMBER PERCENTAGE
121 100
1 Literal translation 30 24.7%
2 Contextual synonym 24 19.8%
3 Enlargement 20 16.5%
4 Word for word 18 14.8%
5 Reduction 10 8.2%
6 Transposition 10 8.2%
7 Modulation 9 7.4%
As can be observed the literal translation has 24.7%, contextual synonym has 19.8%,
enlargement has 16.5%,Word for word 14.8%,Reduction 8.2%,Transposition 8.2%
Modulation 7.4%.
For being able to have a complete view of translation analyze it is better to have also a label
with translation technique according to the number of elements.
Table 3
N= TYPE OF TECHNIQUE TWO THREE FOUR
ADJECTIVE + NOUN ELEMENTS ELEMENTS ELEMENTS
1 Literal translation 15 -18.5% 4 -17.3% 2 -50%
2 Contextual synonym 13 -16.4% 7 -33.3% 1 -25%
3 Enlargement 14 -17.2% 5 -21.7% 1 -25%
4 Word for word 18 -22.5%
5 Reduction 6 -7.4% 4 -17.3%
6 Transposition 10 -12.3%
7 Modulation 6 -7.4% 2 -8.6%
The most frequent translation techniques in collocations with two elements is literal
translation having 18.5%, and for three elements is contextual synonym -33.3%, the less used
technique is modulation and reduction for both. Word for word and transposition technique
are missing from collocations with three elements, the collocations with four elements were
translated only through literal, context syn., and enlargement.
The next type analyzed is adverb +verb, also like adjective + noun type, the large number
of collocations were translated through literal translation, for example:
Literal translation
e.g. Bessie kissed me for the last time as I held tightly to her.
The collocation under analyses is – I held tightly to her- am cuprins-o strins.
It is formed from five parts of speech – pronoun + verb + adverb + preposition + pronoun.
In Romanian it has three parts of speech – pronoun + verb + adverb As can be observed the
two parts of speech was reduced. Although was reduced two elements the meaning remain
unchanged.
e.g. She screamed so loudly ma’am said Bessie softly .
The collocation under analysis is – screamed so loudly – racnea foarte tare .
This example of collocation is formed from three parts of speech –verb + conjunction +
adverb.
In Romanian it has also the some structure of three parts of speech – verb + adverb +
adverb. There is no need of any changes only the English conjunction was translated in
Romanian – as adverb .
Enlargement technique
e.g. Until I hear from Bessie, or see for myself, that you are a really trying to
behave better, you can not be treated as a good, happy child, like my children.
The collocation under analysis is - traing to behave better stradania de a fi mai prietenoasa
si mai blinda .
This example of collocation is formed from four parts of speech- verb +preposition
+verb+ adverb. But in Romanian translation the same pattern has nine parts of speech,
which are –noun +preposition+ verb + adjective +noun + conjunction+ adjective + noun.
The difference in translation is that the same pattern in English needs few words but
translating in Romanian it needs more words, in order to give the same meaning. The
techniques used here are enlargement and contextual synonyms translation.
Reduction technique
e.g .In fact she was so kind to me that I become brave enough to ask a
question.
The collocation under analyses is –become brave enough –a capata curaj .
This collocation is formed from three parts of speech – verb + adverb +adverb .In
Romanian it has two parts of speech –verb + adverb. In Romanian one adverb was reduced
in order to give the originality and importance of the Romanian equivalent translation.
e.g. I had to share Miss Miller ‘s ,but I was so tired that I fell asleep
Immediately .
The collocation under analyses is –I fell asleep immediately –am adormit imediat .
It is formed from three parts of speech – pronoun +verb +adverb.
In Romanian it is formed from three parts of speech –pronoun +verb +adverb .as can be
observed this collocation has the same parts of speech – pronoun +verb +adverb, which
mean that there are no changes.
e.g. I sow a light and I thought it was a ghost, I cried holding tightly on to
Bessie hand.
The collocation under analysis is – holding tightly on hand – a tine strins de mina.
This collocation is formed from four parts of speech – verb + adverb +preposition
+noun.
In Romanian it has also four parts of speech- verb + adverb + preposition + noun. As
can be observed this collocation has the same grammatical structure.
Modulation technique
e.g. Then we all went quietly upstairs to the long crowded bedroom, where
two children shared every bed.
The collocation under analyses is –all went quietly upstairs –in perecche ne urcam sus .
It is formed from four parts of speech – adverb +verb +adverb +noun.
In Romanian it has five parts of speech - preposition + noun +pronoun +verb +adverb.
As can be observed there is no link in their grammatical structure because the technique used
here is modulation, it was used an equivalent in order to translate this collocation, an
equivalent which respect the norms of the target language.
Studding the translation according to their techniques, it can be observed that from the total
number of collocations, the majority were translated through literal translation -21 examples,
contextual synonym -5 examples, enlargement 8 examples, modulation -7 examples, word for
word -3 examples, reduction -1 example, and through transposition technique nothing were
translated. It can be understand batter through next two labels, the first represents the whole
type translation and the second show translations according to their number of elements.
Table 4
N= TYPE OF TECHNIQUE NUMBER PERCENTAGE
ADVERB+ VERB 49 100%
1 Literal translation 21 42.8%
2 Contextual synonym 5 10.2%
3 Enlargement 7 14.2%
4 Word for word 3 6.12%
5 Reduction 1 2.0%
6 Transposition
7 Modulation 7 14.2%
As has been pointed out literal translation is the most frequent technique having -42.8%, and
the less used here is reduction -2.0%. In translating this type the transposition wasn’t used at
all.
The second label is according to their number of elements:
Table 5
N= TYPE OF TECHNIQUE TWO THREE FOUR
ELEMENTS ELEMENTS ELEMENTS
1 Literal translation 16 -51.6% 6 -66.6% 5 -83.3%
2 Contextual synonym 3 -9.6% 1 -22.0%
3 Enlargement 5 -10.2% 1 -22.0% 1 -16.6%
4 Word for word 3 -9.6%
5 Reduction 1 -2.0%
6 Transposition
7 Modulation
Analyzing the techniques it can be observed that literal and enlargement are more frequent in
this type 16.51%, 66.6% for literal and 10.2%, 22.0% for enlargement, in the collocation with
two elements the transposition and modulation, and in collocation with three elements the
word for word, reduction, transposition and modulation techniques were not used at all, in
translating the collocation with four elements only literal and enlargement techniques were
used.
The third type analyzed is verb + noun here the large number also was translated through
literal translation, for example:
e.g. I climbed on to the window seat and drew the curtains, so that
I was completely hidden.
The collocations under analysis are:
Climbed on to the window seat,
Drew the curtains,
The first example of collocation from this sentence- climbed on to the window seat- cocotat
pe prichiciul lat .This collocation is formed from six parts of speech-verb +preposition
+preposition + article + noun +noun . In Romanian it has only four parts of speech –verb +
preposition +noun + adjective.
The second example of collocation from this sentence is –drew the curtains,–tragind
draperiile. This collocation is formed from three parts of speech –verb+article +noun , in
Romanian it has two parts of speech –verb +noun.
e.g. put away the lesson –book and fetch the super –trays ,called Miss Miller .
In this sentence the collocation under analyses is –fetch the super trays –a cara tava cu
mincare.
This example is formed from four parts of speech –verb +article +noun +noun.
In Romanian it has also four parts of speech – verb +noun +preposition +noun.
e.g. will madam, I hope she will be grateful for this opportunity to improve
her character.
The collocation under nalyses is– a-– improve her character erfectiona caracterul .
It is formed from three parts of speech – verb + pronoun + noun.
In Romanian it has also three and the same parts of speech – pronoun + verb + noun, but the
word order is not the same.
e.g.I began to fear that his ghost ,light come back to punish his wife for not
keeping the promise .
The collocation under analysis is – keep her promise– a se tine de cuvint.
This example of collocation is formed from three parts of speech- verb + pronoun +
noun.
In Romanian it is also formed from three parts of speech – verb + preposition + noun.
Here was used the contextual synonym translation technique in order to emphases the filings
of the reader and to give a more natural meaning in Romanian language
Enlargement
e.g. I treed to make no mistake but they colled naughty every moment of the
day.
The collocation under analyisis is – make no mistake– a face fata tuturor indatoririlor.
The collocation is formed from three parts of speech – verb + conjunction + noun.
In Romanian it is formed from four parts of speech – verb + noun + adverb + noun. In
this translation of collocation was used the enlargement and, in order to remain the same
meaning of the context.
Analyzing this type and its translations techniques it can be observed that literal translation
is more used having 20 examples form the total number – 35, and the less used modulation,
word for word, reduction all having 2 examples.
Reduction technique
e.g.The rain was still beating on the windows, and I could hear the wind in the
street.
The collocation under analysis is – the rain was still beating on the window–ploaia rapaia
in fereastra .
The collocation is formed from eight parts of speech – article + noun +verb +
conjunction + verb + preposition + article + noun.
In Romanian it has four parts of speech – noun + verb + preposition + noun.
Translating this collocation was reduced four parts of speech. The Romanian word
“rapaia” with an old connotation was used here, in order to give an appropriate meaning of
the context and also to correspond with the vocabulary of that time.
Table 6
N= TYPE OF TECHNIQUE NUMBER PERCENTAGE
VERB +NOUN 35 100%
1 Literal translation 20 57.1%
2 Contextual synonym 5 14.2%
3 Enlargement 4 11/4%
4 Word for word 2 5.7%
5 Reduction 2 5.7%
6 Transposition
7 Modulation 2 5.7%
The big percentage has literal translation -57.1%, contextual synonym -14.2%, enlargement
-11.4% and word for word, modulation, reduction all has 5.7%
Table 7
N= TYPEOF TWOELEMENTS THREE FOUR
TRANSLATION ELEMENTS ELEMENTS
1 Literal translation 1 -33.3% 12 -75% 5 -38.4%
2 Contextual synonym 1 -6.2% 2 -15.3%
3 Enlargement 1 -6.2% 4-25.5%
4 Word for word 2-13.2% 2 15.3%
5 Reduction 2 -66.6%
6 Transposition
7 Modulation 2 -13.3% 2 -15.3%
As can be observed in translating the collocation with two elements only the literal translation
and reduction were used. In collocation with three and four elements the reduction and
transposition were not used. It means that in translation the collocation different techniques
are used.
The next type analyzed is noun + verb, in spite of those types which the large number
were literal translation, in this type enlargement technique constitute the large number,7
examples, literal translation 5 examples, modulation 3 examples word for word 1example,
contextual synonym 3 examples.
Examples of translations of collocations and their analysis:
Modulation technique
e.g. And so I was carried upstairs, arms waving and legs kicking .
The collocation under analysis is – arms waving and legs kicking – m-am impotrivit din
rasputeri.
This collocation is formed from five parts of speech- noun + verb + conjunction + noun
+ verb.
In Romanian it has four parts of speech – pronoun + verb + preposition + noun. Here
was used the modulation technique because in Romanian it has no the direct equivalent of
such collocation,
e.g. The door was closed and the coach rolled off.
The collocation under analyses is – the coach rolled off- diligenta se urni greoi din loc.
It has five parts of speech article + noun + verb + preposition.
In Romanian it has five parts of speech – noun + verb + adverb + preposition + noun.
Although it has the same number of parts of speech they has no the same in grammatical
structure. In this example there is a phrase- rolled off – a se urni .
e.g. Is your book interesting, I asked, Here, have a look at it, I glanced
quickly at it but find difficult to understand ,so I gave it back.
The collocation under analyses is-I glanced quickly at it- am rasfoit cartea .
It is formed from five parts of speech –pronoun +verb +adverb +preposition + pronoun.
In Romanian it has three parts speech – pronoun + verb +noun
Enlargement technique
e.g. So two servants slept in my room, while I lay awake all night
trembling with fear and eyes wide open in horror imaging ghosts in every corner.
The collocations from this sentence are
–trembling with fear
-eyes wide open.
The first collocation –trembled with fear –tremurind de frica .
This collocation is formed from three parts of speech – verb +preposition + noun. In
Romanian also it has three parts of speech – verb+ preposition + noun .AS it can be
observed this example has the some structure –verb+ preposition + noun, which means that
here was used the word by word translation technique.
The second example of collocation is formed from three parts of speech – noun+
adjective + verb. In Romanian it also has three parts of speech and also has the some
structure –noun +adjective + verb.
According to this type the more frequent technique is enlargement 7 ex, literal translation 5
examples, contextual synonym 3 examples, word for word only one example.
Reduction and transposition was not used at all.
Table 8
N= TYPES OF TECHNIQUE NUMBER PERCENTAGE
NOUN +VERB 21 100%
1 Literal translation 5 23.8%
2 Contextual synonym 3 14.2%
3 Enlargement 7 33.3%
4 Word for word 1 4.7%
5 Reduction
6 Transposition
Table 9
N= TYPE OF TOW THREE FOUR FIVE
TRANSLATION ELEMENTS ELEMENTS ELEMENTS ELEMENTS
1 Literal translation 1 -20% 2 -28.5% 2 -50%
2 Contextual synonym 1 -20% 2 -28.5%
3 Enlargement 1 -20% 1 -4.28% 4 - 1OO% 1 -25%
4 Word for word 1 -20%
5 Reduction
6 Transposition
7 Modulation 2 -28.5% 1 -25%
As have been pointed out the most used technique is enlargement for all types, having the big
percentage 33.3%, the reduction, transposition, modulation in translation of
collocation with two and three elements were not used and the collocation formed
from four elements was translated only through enlargement technique,
The last type analyzed is adverb + adjective translation. This type has the less number of
collocations -4 and are translated though contextual syn.-1-25% and literal translation 3
-75%.
Table 10
N= TYPE OF TECHNIQUE TWO ELEMENTS
ADVERB + ADJECTIVE
1 Contextual synonym 1 -25%
2 Literal translation 3 75%
Translating this collocation were used only contextual synonym and literal translation
techniques
Examine the whole translations it can be said that, literal translation is more used in all types
of collocations and the less used are reduction, modulation, and word for word translation.
The transposition technique was used only in adjective + noun type.
Conclusion
This research paper “The problem of collocations in English language” adds to the few
studies so far conducted in the area of defying and understanding it as a single unit.
Investigating this topic it can be concluded that collocations constitute an area of
difficulty in learning English because it is misunderstood with other word groups, which have
in common some peculiarities. That is why in the first chapter we tired to distinguish the
collocations from word groups like: phrases, idioms, compound words and phraseologic
units. Firstly we defined these word groups in order to understand and defining better the
collocations and their importance in learning how to speak, write, and think like a native
speaker of English language.
The second chapter is based only on the practice of analyses of collocations according to
their five types:
Adjective + noun, verb + noun, adverb + verb, noun + verb, and adverb + adjective. On
the basis of these types was made analysis and statistics according to: types of collocations,
number of elements, parts of speech. Studying this language feature it can be said that the
most frequent type of collocations is adjective + noun and the smallest number of
collocations are adverb + adjective type, this means that the most used collocations are those
formed from adjective + noun type. The same can be said bout the number of elements but
here are some differences according to the type of collocations, for example in adjective
+noun type the collocation with two elements constitute the biggest number and with four
elements constitutes the smallest number, but in verb + adverb type the collocations with
three elements constitute the biggest number and those with two elements constitutes the
smallest number of collocations. In noun +verb type the biggest number constitutes
collocations with four elements and the smallest number constitutes collocations with two
elements this means that collocations are not the same for the all types or have not the same
structure for all types.
Studying these language elements based on parts of speech it can be said that their
structure based on parts of speech is not the same, for example in adjective + noun type
almost all collocations are formed from adjective + noun, but in verb + noun type almost all
collocations are formed from verb + article (prepositions) + noun, as it is observed this type
needs one more part of speech.
An important aspect from this paper is the translation of collocations from English into
Romanian language, using 230 examples from Charlotte Bronte novels –Jane Eyre.
In translating these collocations were used some translation techniques like: word for
word, literal translation, enlargement, reduction, modulation, transposition and contextual
synonym.
Analyzing the translations it can be said that the most used technique is literal
translation and the less used technique is transposition. This can be said that in all types of
collocations the literal translation is the most used, this being followed by the contextual
synonym and enlargement then word for word, reduction, modulation and transposition.
Although there was used a great number of techniques, the meaning and the context was kept.
Analyzing and studying the whole research paper it can be observed that collocations can
be learnt, understood and spoken without any problems and difficulties if we will keep their
basic features.
This is an actual theme and it is studied by linguists, lexicographers in making
dictionaries, in translation problems, and terminology. To finish on a more cheerful note, it
can be said that collocations are the way in which the words are combined and spoken by us
in every day life. In order to understand, speak, think and write as a native English person, we
must study the collocations.
Summary
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Appendices
1 The hair must be arranged Parul trebuia aranjat modest Literal translation
modestly and plainly si lins
2 Fog lying constantly in the Leaganul acelor neguri rele modulation
valley
3 The sun shone on the flowers Razele soarelui dulce se enlargement
revarsau asupra pamintului