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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 obligatory 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 participle 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. However, 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 differences 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 + 200 +
