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HUNGARIAN-ENGLISH LINGUISTIC CONTRASTS. A PRACTICAL APPROACH
Látlak. — Ican see you.
Kerestelek. — I have been looking for you.
This is obligatory distribution of meaning. In the opposite direction, there will
be obligatory contraction:
I can see you. o Látlak.
I have been looking for you. — Kerestelek.
Distribution and contraction may be necessary with lexical items, too:
Sokan húztak hasznot ebből a vállalkozásból. — Many benefited from this
enterprise.
Many benefited from this enterprise. - Sokan hüztak hasznot ebből a vál¬
lalkozäsbôl.
Distribution may be necessary in translating culture-specific items or words
denoting new objects or phenomena:
jet lag - a gyorsjaratu transzkontinentális repülőgépek közlekedéséből követ¬
kező időeltolódás élettani hatásai
baby boomers - a (háború után született) nagylétszámú korosztályok tagjai
However, such distribution is optional: the translator may choose a different
solution, e.g., borrowing the SL word (jetlag, baby boomer), or shortening the
paraphrase (időeltolódás).
REARRANGEMENT (WORD ORDER CHANGES)
In many cases changes in word order are obligatory and are carried out auto¬
matically, even by less experienced translators, as in the Hungarian translation
of the following phrases:
under the influence of alcohol; according to this report; in a minute; the day
of the jackal; director general; the day after; the countries concerned; our
ambassador to Rome; heir to the throne; US President Donald Trump/Joe
Biden; 90% of the votes cast; going home; all is not lost; all that glitters is
not gold, etc.
Some typical, less trivial word order changes in English-Hungarian translation
are the following:
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