“CHRONIC PROBLEMS OF TRANSLATING IDIOMS VIA GOOGLE TRANSLATOR IN LITERARY WORKS”

TRANSLATOR IN LITERARY WORKS”

Ravshanova Sevinch Bahoqir qizi

Master’s Degree student,

Department of English Linguistics,

The National University of Uzbekistan

named after Mirzo Ulugbek

sevinchravshanova052@gmail.com

Scientific adviser:

Mukhtasar Abdullaeva

associate prof., PhD.

Annotation: This article explores the issues found in both human and machine translation such as direct translation, linguoculturological gap, but it also provides solutions with the assistance of the translation of the novel “The Prince and The Pauper”. Keywords: direct translation, google translate, idioms, linguoculturological gap, machine translation.

Аннотация: В этой статье исследуются проблемы такие как прямой перевод, линговокульторологический пробел, встречающиеся как при человеческом, так и при машинном переводе, но в ней также предлагаются решения с помощью перевода романа "Принц и нищий".

Ключевые слова: прямой перевод, google translate идиомы, лингвокультурологический пробел, машинный перевод.

Annotatsiya: Ushbu maqolada ham inson, ham mashina tarjimasida to’g’ridanto’g’ri tarjima, lingvokultorologik bo‘shliq kabi muammolari ko'rib chiqiladi, lekin yechimlar ham "Shahzoda va gado"romanining tarjimasiga yordamida taqdim etiladi. Kalit so’zlar: to'g'ridan-to'g'ri tarjima, google tarjima, iboralar. lingvokulturologik bo'shliq, mashina tarjimasi. Introduction. Idioms in literary works or literatures have always been considered to have artistic or intellectual value. This can include novels, poems, plays, essays, short stories, and other forms of written expression. Idioms in literature often explore themes of human experience, emotions, and ideas and can be a powerful way to communicate complex thoughts and feelings. It is an important part of culture and can provide insight into different perspectives and ways of thinking. Therefore, idioms in literary works require special translation methods in order to address the challenges resulting from the process of translating them. However, it is necessary to identify common issues with the translation of idioms in literature first before tackling them. Main part. There are many problems associated with translating idioms, and different scholars give various opinions about this challenging topic. According to Dang Thi Kim Chung, one of the initial challenges in translating idiomatic expressions is relying on the dictionary meaning of individual words [1]. He urges that translators must identify the figurative meaning of idioms rather than paying attention only to the surface-level meaning of individual words. Moreover, he underlines the importance of cultural and historical gaps that often go unnoticed by many translators, as some English idioms are deeply rooted in their historical origins. Another linguist, Gabriella Kovacs, highlights an evergreen challenge of translating idioms, which is the ability to measure undertranslation and overtranslation. She says that a translator must be capable of deciding whether it is acceptable or not to use it in a certain text, depending on its register or genre [2]. These theories proposed by scientists above can be summarized and made into one formula with practical solutions. However, the problems mentioned above were mostly found while using machine translation, namely Google Translate. 1) Direct translation occurs when the translated text matches the original text too closely. This usually occurs when sentences have been translated literally or directly, rather than when each sentence or the full text has been translated more comprehensively. Frequently, this leads to a translation that is difficult to understand and contains grammatical errors in the original language: But Hugo did not tarry for

the miracle. In a moment he was up and off like the

wind, the gentleman following after and raising the hue and cry, lustily as

he went [ 3, 117].

Ну Гуго не стал ждать

чуда. Через мгновение он

вскочил и помчался как

ветер, а джентльмен

последовал за ним и

поднял шум и крик,

когда он шел [7].

Ну Гуго не стал

дожидаться чуда. В один

миг он вскочил на ноги и

умчался, как ветер, а

прохожий – за ним, крича

во все горло [4,161]. As for Collins Dictionary, in British English, “hue and cry” defines two -* meanings: 1) (formerly) the pursuit of a suspected criminal with loud cries in order to raise the alarm; 2) any loud public outcry [5], and it needs to be translation other than word-for-word translation. It is noticeable that direct translation had a negative impact on both the grammar and semantics of the target language, which is Russian in this case. The translation of Nikolay Chukowski and Korney Chukowski of the idiom “raise the hue and cry” has been made with the method of finding equivalence as opposed to Google direct translation, which lacks taking into consideration the importance of meaning and grammar. 2) Undertranslation or overtranslation is the second common issue where the previous context is not taken into account during the translation of idioms. The reverse of undertranslation is the third widespread problem called overtranslation. In this case, the translator overreaches, typically accidentally. It merely translates the text's general ideas without including any extraneous information.

human Suddenly a great drunken

ruffian collared him and

said… The prince twisted himself

loose, unconsciously

brushed his profaned shoulder, and eagerly said

[3,17].

Принц вывернулся,

неосознанно коснулся

своего оскверненного

плеча и с нетерпением

сказал [7].

Принц вырвался из рук

пьяницы и брезгливо

потирая оскверненное его

прикосновением плечо,

вскричал [4,27].

There we can see a classic situation of undertranslation where machine translation is missing the context given before the idiom. The translation made by humans refers to previous information, providing full and clear meaning to the idiom “twist/turn oneself loose,” which means to free someone or to remove anything that limits the freedom of action of someone in terms of Cambridge Dictionary interpretation [6].

3) Linguocultural gap is the third issue of translating idioms into the target language. The translator misses either the source or target language's linguistic contrast related to culture at some point. Take me to the king my father, and he will make

thee rich beyond thy wildest dreams [3, 17].

Отведи меня к царю, моему

отцу, и он сделает тебя

богатым, превосходящим

твои самые смелые мечты

[7].

Отведи меня к моему

отцу, королю, и он

наградит тебя такими

богатствами, какие тебе

не снились и в самом

причудливом сне [4. 27].

When it comes to Cambridge Dictionary, this particular idiom, “beyond one’s wildest dreams,” has been provided a definition of having a degree or, in a way, someone had never thought possible [6]. The translation provided by the machine does not support the Russian linguocultural difference, so it only translates a part of the idiom “dream” as “мечта,” focusing only on the cultural aspects of the source language, which is English. On the other hand, the translation of idioms defined by humans paves the way for a more coherent and cohesive approach to translating the idiom with the guidance of language and culture differences in both languages.

Conclusion. It can be concluded that there are several major problems with translating idioms that never disappear in machine translation, let alone professional translators. There are three chief issues: 1) direct translation; 2) overtranslation or undertranslation; 3) ignoring the linguocultural gap. Despite this fact, the problematic situation of translating idioms can be overcome via translation strategies such as finding equivalence, referring to previous context, and replacing words with culturally appropriate vocabulary.

REFERENCES

1. Dang Thi Kim Chung. Challenges of Translating Idiomatic Expressions: AcrossLinguistic Analysis at a University in Hanoi, Vietnam. International Journal of Social Science and Human Research. 2024. 2. Gabriella Kovacs. An Evergreen Challenges for Translators – The Translation of Idioms. Acta Universitatis Sapientiae, Philologica. 2016. 3. Mark Twain. “The Prince and the Pauper”. Collins Classics. Harper Press. 2011. 4. Марк Твен. “Принц и нищий”. Переводчики: Корней Чуковский и Николай Чуковский. РОСМЭН. 2022. 5. https://www.collinsdictionary.com/ 6. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/ 7. Google Translate App. 2025.