Re: RT list: Re: Translating BUT

  It is well-known that several languages have separate words for denial/contrast but and for correction but [nhung and mà in Vietnamese, aber and sondern in German, pero and sino in Spanish, and Swedish, Finnish, and Hebrew as reported in Iten (2005: 123 book)]. Fraser (2006) also reports a similar observation with Arabic, Catalan, Danish, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Korean, Sinhala, Spanish, and Vietnamese. Let me take Vietnamese as a case study.
   
   
  B = but; N = nhung; M = mà
   
   
  
  1. It is true that denial B is/must be translated in Vietnamese as N.
  
  (a)
  - He’s rich but very stingy.
  - Ông ta giàu nhung rất bủn xỉn.
  
  2. It follows from (1) that encoded in denial B and N is one and the same procedure. Otherwise it would be a bad/unacceptable or even impossible translation.
   
  
  3. It’s true that correction B is/must be translated into Vietnamese as M (not N).
  
  (b)
  - John is not my father but my uncle.
  - John không phải là bố tôi mà là chú tôi.
  
  4. It follows from (3) that encoded in correction B and M is one and the same procedure. Otherwise the translation would be bad or unacceptable or even impossible.
   
  
  5. It is true that RT claims that denial B and correction B encode one and the same procedure, that RT does not distinguish between the two.
   
  
  6. It follows from (2, 4 and 5) that encoded in N and M and B is one and the same procedure. This does not seem to be right, since it is true that N and M cannot be intersubstituted.
   
  
  7. It follows from (6) that B seems to be procedurally ambiguous. This is not to mention other special uses of but as in (c-d) below.
   
  
  (c) Every one but John was there.
  But must be translated as trừ (except)
  Mọi nguời ðều có mặt ở ðó trừ John
  Mọi nguời trừ John ðều có mặt ở ðó.
   
  
  (d) You can’t expect much from him. He is but a three year old boy.
  This but must be translated as chỉ (only/ just)
  

       
---------------------------------
Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now.
Received on Wed Jan 30 12:31:12 2008