INSTITUTO UNIVERSITARIO DE TECNOLOGIA SUPERIOR DE ORIENTE

MINISTERIO DEL PODER POPULAR PARA LA EDUCACION SUPERIOR

REPUBLICA BOLIVARIANA DE VENEZUELA
NUCLEO ACADEMICO BARCELONA

Lexical semantic problems

in translation
Members: Teacher:
Isabella Covault CI:26.237.358 Anderson Vargas
Gabriela Idrogo CI:28.352.063
Gilary Acosta CI: 27.949.673
Frankeiber Contreras CI:27.840.698
Melanie Gomez CI:28.663.157
Mary Gonzalez CI:
ValeiaNederr CI:27.044.654
August 20th 2018
PROBLEM STATEMENT

Translation is an activity that includes the interpretation of the meaning of a text in a

language; and semantics refers to aspects of the meaning or interpretation of linguistic signs
such as symbols, words, expressions or formal representations. Good translators should be
able to adapt the message expressed in a text to a target language impregnated with the
features of a totally different culture. As a result of this process, the recipient should not
notice that he/she is faced with a translation. For this reason, the real success any translator
can be proud of consists of being invisible to the eyes of a reader who regards the final text
as a new construction and not as a product that has been under a transformation process, all
this procedure can get a little harder for students and even professional in some cases.
So In the present subject, the main problem is presented by students and their issues
while doing text translations owing to lexical and semantic problems.
There may be several drawbacks when carrying out a translation in English. In a general
level, students who are in the process of learning a foreign language have to deal with
semantic problems that differ according to the language; these problems include
terminological variations, synonymy and antonyms, polysemy of some terms, lack of
vocabulary and semantics in the writing.
Likewise, a problem has been identified that is due to the low performance of students in
the realization of translations because of these obstacles in the lexicon and semantics,
which are due to lack of knowledge of the vocabulary and variations in the distribution of
the meanings and semantics of the texts, in addition to the other obstacles mentioned above
It is necessary to establish strategies to improve this performance in students in order to
overcome the obstacles established by confusions and lack of knowledge of the language,
strategies that serve as a basis for students to overcome the obstacles posed.
It can expose as main causes to this problem, the lack of practice, reading and prior
research as well as the ignorance of topics and terms related to the text to be translated,
different distribution of the components of meaning, compound words with different
meanings, words that don’t count with an equivalent, different wording according to the
lexical choice as well as other reasons that complicate the translation process in the
students.
“The difficulties of translation are subjective, individual, and interrupt the process until
they are overcome through the appropriate tools" – Nord, 2009
JUSTIFICATION OF THE RESEARCHED PROBLEM

The compelling reasons for this research is to provide useful information for translators
who must resort to consulting dictionaries, glossaries, terminological banks and experts, in their
search to solve the lexical-semantic problems that may arise in this contact of languages that is
translation.
Although the translation can certainly not reproduce or be the original text, the duty of the
translator is to include it in order to transmit it in its entirety. The translator must try to capture the
voice that speaks to him from the text, to transmit the rhythm, the modulations, the cadence of the
style, the tone. There is much behind the words, such as irony, sadness, a whole host of
reverberations and subtleties. The translator must also transmit the silences, the spaces between the
words. Everything has semantic value. The language has a physical component, sensual, and
another mental, or ideal. We must try to keep both. Certainly understand these lexical-semantic
problems that include terminological alternances, neologisms, semantic gaps, contextual synonymy
and antonymy, semantic contiguity and lexical networksnot only benefit the reader and the
translator, but they bring peace of mind to the author who can be confident that his information will
be transmitted in the most optimal way.
In this way, this work will provide an understanding of a group of difficulties that includes
the lack of correspondence between most words and expressions, helping us with word formation
mechanisms such as derivation (suffixes and prefixes), composition, acronyms, and abbreviations
on thematic crowd; for example, 4 (for), BC (before Christ), NU (United Nations), VAT (value
added tax), B4 (before), OMG (oh my god), VIP (Very Important Person), USA (United States of
America), and also the diminutives. We must also include the massive influx of anglicisms,
neologisms, loans and transfers that come to us through new technologies and media (also by social
networks) and that undergo phonetic and graphic changes (shampoo - champú), keeping them
purely (software, pizza, croissant, sandwich), or adapted (hot dog - perritocaliente, football – fútbol,
leader – líder).
Ultimately this work is given because solving problems is the main job of a translator who
is respected, one who is motivated not only to evolve his technique but to himself.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

By teaching the student the social and ethical implications of the professional work of the
translator and the interpreter, including the resolution of their problems, we approach
certain objectives.

1. Acquire the necessary knowledge to understand the complexity and dynamic nature of
the profession of translator and interpreter, attending in an integrated manner to all their
perspectives.

2. Apply the acquired theoretical and practical knowledge, using one or more working
languages, to various areas of translation and interpretation: exercise the profession of
professional or generalist translator, linguistic and cultural mediator in an appropriate
manner; link interpreter; editorial reader; editor and reviewer, lexicographer, terminologist;
language teacher.
3. Develop skills related to the preparation and defense of arguments and problem solving
within the area of study of translation and interpreting.
4. Develop skills aimed at transmitting information, ideas, problems, and solutions to a
specialized and non-specialized public.
5. Collect and interpret relevant data, within the field of study of Translation and
Interpretation, to make judgments that include a reflection on relevant issues of a social,
scientific or ethical nature.

6. Develop the necessary skills to undertake specialized further studies.

7. Apply information and communication technologies in their different areas of activity.
8. Begin a process of autonomous learning with new knowledge and techniques.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Lexical semantics could be defined as the ‘study of word meaning’, but in practice
it is often more specifically concerned with the study of lexical (i.e. content) word meaning,
as opposed to the meanings of grammatical (or function) words. This means that lexical
semanticists are most interested in the open classes of noun, verb and adjective and with
more ‘contentful’ members of the adverb and preposition classes (for instance over but not
of). Lexical semantics is thus mostly exempt from considering issues that arise from the use
of grammatical words, such as definiteness and modality.
Since translation main objective is “meaning", it is very important to study about theory of
meaning. Semantics is a branch of linguistics whichstudies it. Thus, we can see that
semantics plays a very important role in translation.
Moreover, lexemes are the main parts of speech that convey meaning: nouns, verbs,
adjectives, and so forth. Function words hold the lexemes together like mortar might
solidify the bricks in a wall. Lexemes express concepts; function words define grammatical
functions such as number and plurality, past, present, future, tense, etc. Grammatical
functions are often formed with prefixes and suffixes.
Lexemes with simple and singular meanings are a translator’s dream. Polysemous words,
lexemes with multiple meanings, not only cause confusion but can lead to improper
translation, erroneous information, and cultural gaffes. The most common of these words
are denoted as homophones, homographs, and polysemes.
However, it is well known that language translation involves more than semantic
correspondences. Social and cultural factors also play a role in (human) choices of
translation equivalents.
In translation there are some problems and mismatches associated with lexical semantic
structures that make the job of the translator difficult when translating some texts;
1. Words that doesn’t have an equivalent. This process is typical of English. The
verbal lexeme is always one of the elements to participate in this construction,
together with an adverb, an adjective, a preposition, etc. As we can see in the
following examples:
a. He ran out of the room. − Salió corriendo de la habitación.
b. He ran. − Corrió.

2. Compound words with difficult translation. It is not always easy to find an

equivalent Spanish translation. As we can see in the following examples:
a. John hammered the sculpture flat. − John aplanó la escultura con el martillo.
b. The baby cried himself to sleep. − El niño acabó durmiéndose de tanto llorar.
3. Verbs that express movement and contact. In this construction, these verbs
appear with the preposition at and they focus only on the movement, leaving aside
the contact information. In Spanish, this sort of structure is not possible and to
convey a similar meaning we must use a periphrasis. Thus, to express the same
meaning we must resort to syntactically more complex structures or else leave the
meaning incompletely expressed, like the following examples:
a. John hit his brother − John pegó a suhermano
b. John hit at his brother − John intentópegar a suhermano

4. Different distribution of meaning components.The resulting sentences in both

languages are semantically equivalent, but syntactically they realize the participants
in switched positions. There is more than one possible translation in the target
language. the components need to be switched in order to have sense in both
languages.in Spanish we have only one possibility to express this event whereas in
English we have two possibilities depending on the argument we are focalizing on.
For example:
a. Me duele mucho(object) la cabeza(subject)− I(subject) have a terrible
headache(object)− My head aches
b. He(subject) likes reading mystery books(object) −Le(object) gusta leer novelas
de misterio(subject)

5. Verbs that describe the same action but from different perspectives.Spanish
allows us to describe the cognitive scene from the two different perspectives by
using one verb or the other. In English, we must resort to two different syntactic
constructions (active versus passive) in order to adopt one perspective or the other:
a. ¿Cuánto cobras? − How much do you get paid?
b. ¿Cuántote pagan? − How much do they pay you?

6. Different expression of possession.This type of mismatch can be found in those

constructions that imply the expression of the concept of possession. As basic
meaning components we have an object or person that can be viewed as a whole
made up of parts (properties, qualities or characteristics). The expression of
possession in Spanish implies possessive pronouns and in English doesn`t. For
example:
a. Me lo he dejadoen el coche− I have left it in my car.
b. Le he peinado (el pelo) − I have combed his hair.

7. Different drafting according to the lexical choice. In the source language (English)
there are different equivalencesto express an action that only have one single
equivalent in Spanish and more terms has to be used to express the different
connotations of words. As this examples:
a. He hit John − Dio un golpe a John
b. He struck John − Golpeó a John
 c. He beat John – Estuvo golpeando a John

8. Equivalent words with different meanings. It arises when the natural translation
of one language into another results in a very different form than that of the original.
a. I stabbed John−Yo le di puñaladas a Juan −I gave knife-wounds to John
Here, English uses the single word stab for the two Spanish words dar (give)
and puñaladas (knife-wounds).

9. Societal or culturally-dependent sentences or words. The sentences can be

completely changed depending on the connotation that is given on the source
language. Some of this are slang words, buzz words and idioms. Some examples
can be:
a. That song sounds sick – Esacancionsuenamuybien
b. Hey, I dig your new hairstyle! – Hey me encantatunuevopeinado

One of the greatest difficulties in learning a new language is mastering the idiosyncrasies of
the vocabulary. This happens because a word in one language rarely means exactly the
same thing as its closest counterpart in a different language. In other words, the "semantic
space" of each word in a natural language is arbitrary - the result of centuries of evolution
and accident. In effect, each word of a natural language has built-in irregularities that the
student must learn.
Overcoming Lexical Challenges
When a source text is clean, clear, and unambiguous, and the target language is an
excellent lexical match, then the translation process is quick and painless. When things are
not quite so perfect, there are three essential skills your translator must have.
The translator must be able to see the document as a whole and create the
translation clarity that was missing in the source text. When many denotations of a
polyseme are used, the translator must be able to identify the correct usages and ensure the
translation is accurate. A foundational element of clarity is native-level fluency in the
source and target language.
Cultural Awareness. Ensure you know more than the language. Properly used
lexemes that are not culturally relevant lead to “Nova” situation, or worse. Getting lunch
may seem simple enough, but lunch in Spanish is almuerzo and almuerzo usually connotes
more of a brunch. If you really wanted “lunch” you would ask for la comida. Unless, of
course, you were in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Colombia, or Peru where la comida means supper.
Subject-area Expertise. Since buzzwords, acronyms, and the like are a major
source of lexical challenges, you need a translator who is an expert in the specific field for
which the document is being translated.
Lexical-semantic problems can be resolved by consulting dictionaries, glossaries,
terminology banks and experts. These problems include terminology alternatives,
neologisms, semantic gaps, contextual synonyms and antonyms (these affect polysemic
units: synonyms and antonyms are only aimed at an acceptance which depends on the
context to determine which meaning is correct), semantic contiguity (a consistency
procedure which works by identifying semantic features common to two or more terms)
and lexical networks.
In addition, lexical semantics is also very necessary to be learned in translationstudy. It
deals with synonymy, antonym, polisemy and hyponymy. Lexical semanticanalyses
necessarily involve more or less explicit considerations concerning the number of
interpretational variants of a word form, i.e. identifying the lexical items associatedwith a
lexeme.
In an experimental laboratory setting, when words are presented without supporting context,
any one of the translations constitutes a satisfactory response. Billinguals are able to
provide second and third translations for some words, when requested to do so under these
circumstances, translation choice seems to be sensitive to the lexical properties of
theoptionaltranslationsinthetargetlanguage:bilingualsaremorelikelytochoose translations
that are rated as being more imageable. Bilinguals are also sensitive to the degree of form
overlap between the translation equivalents in the two languages, and show a preference
toward producingacognatetranslation,ifoneexists.Finally,theprobabilityofselectinga specific
translation, namely, its conditional probability given the ambiguous word
inthesourcelanguage,isrelatedtotheoveralllexical frequency ofthewordinthe
targetlanguage.Higherfrequencyitemstendtobehigherprobabilitytranslations. These lexical
variables are also known to influence the speed and accuracy of translating unambiguous
words.
Linguistic context can act to reduce lexical ambiguity. As a result, fewer translations may
remain appropriate in a given context. This might be the case when multiple translations are
a result of homonymy or polysemy, that is, when the word in the source language has more
than one meaning. So, in the context of the sentence “John finished drinking and placed his
glass on the table,” it is clear that the appropriate translation in Spanish is vaso, which
denotes the drinking vessel and not vidrio, which denotes the substance.However, when
translation ambiguity is a result of synonymy in one of the languages, context might not
necessarily act to determine a single correct translation.
The transfer of the untranslatable words and their transcription in the target language
provide a local colour to the translation. Thus, translation is a creative process at every
level of which the translator makes a choice. The choice of the translator is political as well
as aesthetic, though they are more or less synonymous. In the matter of equivalence, the
translator’s choice is not between alternative yet exact equivalents, but between equivalents
more or less inexact. So the choice depends on the ideology of the translator and the
aesthetic that he follows. As any literary text is a synthesis of politics and aesthetics of the
writer, the translator’s choice of equivalents depends on the requirements of his textual
politics.
Since language is a cultural construct, certain amount of cultural untranslatability is implied
in any process of translation. A word is a cultural symbol which can suggest a particular
image or dimension of meaning in the mind of the reader of the SL. The difficulty with the
TL readers is that they react to such cultural items only in the context of their own cultural
environment. The translator is, therefore, forced to identify himself with the cultural
context of the original work in order to make his readers understand the cultural elements in
the work. For this, sometimes the translator has to use appropriate techniques of
adjustments like loan translations, explanations and indications to suggest the cultural
dimension of the meaning.
HYPOTHESIS
METHODOLOGY

In this way, the Research Methods used in this problem is the Qualitative research because
this one seeks to explore a specific phenomenon, in this case is the issue while doing text
translation owing to lexical and semantic problem. Qualitative methodologies use
interviews, focus groups and observations to collect data. Qualitative methods provide rich,
contextual explorations of the topic that are often personally or culturally meaningful.
Our population in this project is the group of 3rd trimester because we have observed and
identified that thanks to the low performance of students in the realization of translations
they suffered an increasingly lack of vocabulary and variations in the distribution of the
meaning and semantics of the texts.
Data collection instrument: Our idea is to start making interviews to the whole group
because is known that interviews is one of the most flexible and widely used methods for
gaining qualitative information about people’s experiences, views and feelings and the
questionnaires because these are particularly well suited for research seeking to measure
some parameters for a group of people (e.g., average age, percentage agreeing with a
proposition, level of awareness of an issue)
DEFINITION OF BASIC TERMS

Semantics: is the branch of linguistics that deals with the meanings of words and sentences.
Lexical: of or relating to words or the vocabulary of a language as distinguished from its
grammar and construction.
Lexicon: The vocabulary of a person, language, or branch of knowledge.
Translation: The process of translating words or text from one language into another.
Synonym: a word having the same or nearly the same meaning as another in the language,
as happy, joyful, elated.
Antonym: a word that means the opposite of another word.
Polysemy: Polysemy is the association of one word with two or more distinct meanings. A
polyseme is a word or phrase with multiple meanings. The word "polysemy" comes from
the Greek for "many signs." The adjective forms of the word include polysemous or
polysemic.
Subjective: Something that is subjective is based on personal opinions and feelings rather
than on facts.
Rhythm: an ordered recurrent alternation of strong and weak elements in the flow of sound
and silence in speech.
Modulation: Variation in the strength, tone, or pitch of one's voice.
Style: a distinctive manner of expression (as in writing or speech).
Tone: accent or inflection expressive of a mood or emotion.
Reverberating: to continue in or as if in a series of echoes.
Alternation: occurring by turns or in succession.
Neologism: is a new word or expression in a language, or a new meaning for an existing
word or expression.
Semantic gap: The semantic gap characterizes the difference between two descriptions of
an object by different linguistic representations, for instance languages or symbols.
Prefixes: Prefixes are letters which we add to the beginning of a word to make a new word
with a different meaning.
Suffix: A suffix is a letter or group of letters, for example '-ly' or '-ness', which is added to
the end of a word in order to form a different word, often of a different word class.
Composition: When you talk about the composition of something, you are referring to the
way in which its various parts are put together and arranged.
Acronym: An acronym is a word composed of the first letters of the words in a phrase,
especially when this is used as a name.
Abbreviation: a shortened form of a written word or phrase used in place of the whole
word or phrase.
Anglicism: A word or phrase that is peculiar to British English.
Lexicographer: a person whose job is to write dictionaries.
Terminologist: (translation studies) A person who studies and uses terminology, especially
in professional translation project management.