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HUNGARIAN-ENGLISH LINGUISTIC CONTRASTS. A PRACTICAL APPROACH
translated. And, as a rule, there are several transfer operations that can be
used to solve a given translation problem.
11.6.1 Obligatory and optional transfer operations
Linguistic contrasts between SL and TL make some operations obligatory: if
they are not performed, the translation will violate TL norms, i.e., it will be
ill-formed:
Helen is a student. — "Helen van egy diák.
Here omission of the verb is is obligatory. Some transfer operations are ob¬
ligatory in the sense that the SL structure/word must be changed, but there
are several operations that can be used:
Can you see that man standing by the fountain?
a) Látod azt a szökőkút mellett álló embert? (rearrangement — change of
word order)
b) Látod azt az embert, aki a szökőkút mellett áll? (replacement of partici¬
ple by clause)
Optional transfer operations are mostly operations that are performed for
stylistic, pragmatic or cultural reasons. It is up to the translator to judge
whether to perform them or not: if they are not performed, the translation
may still be grammatically well-formed, but may prove stylistically inadequate
or it may not convey some of the meanings of the SL text to the TL reader, or
it may be more difficult to understand. Let us look at this example:
They crossed the Severn.
Atmentek a Severn-en.
This is a perfectly correct literal translation, and it may be appropriate if the
target reader can be expected to know that Severn is the name ofa river. How¬
ever, if the reader is unlikely to have this information, it is best to carry out
the transfer operation of addition: Atmentek a Severn folyón.
Failure to carry out optional transfer operations may also result in differ¬
ences in distribution (see 11.2.2).
Experienced translators perform most transfer operations automatically.
For less experienced translators it may be useful to consciously pay attention
to the need to carry out certain transfer operations. Under the influence of the
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