The notion of loan translation refers to the literal translation of words from one language into another and has a variety of synonymous words such as ‘calque’. According to Haugen (1953: 459), it is a special kind of borrowing whereby a language learner transfers an item from one language to the other and translates each of its elements literally unaware that they belong to the other language.
The linguistic studies on bilingualism include discussions of loan translations and all theoretical works on language contact make use of the concept of ‘loan translation’ to describe certain transfer phenomena of previously learned languages in the production of the additionally learned language. Works on language contact use the term ‘loan translation’ to refer to systematic changes occurring in the structure of the impacted language. Linguistic studies on bilingual settings include discussions of loan translation, for example, in Weinreich (1953), Thomson- Kaufman (1988).
The concept of ‘loan translation’ is difficult to apply, however, in that it is hard to identify defining criteria for this construct and especially to distinguish it from ‘semantic extension’. Weinreich (1953) defined semantic extensions as contact-induced changes in the meaning of individual words. This definition seems workable in principle, since the locus of contact is squarely within the linguistic system, in this case within lexical semantics. But Weinreich then defined loan translations as an ‘unusual combinations of words’ (1974: 51), giving rise to uncertainty as to whether the combination was unusual for cultural or linguistic reasons. Similar difficulties attend definitions of loan translations as ‘word-for- word’ substitutions or ‘literal translations’. Generally, the question must be raised whether it makes sense to think that there can be such a thing as word- for word substitution. Presumably, a word- for –word substitution would require the existence, prior to contact, of words in the impacted language that are ‘direct counterparts’ in another (Culler 1976).
If the vocabularies of languages provide perfectly equivalent cross linguistic pairs for word-for-word substitution purposes, then speakers of contact varieties would show no effort to make meanings more congruent, for the simple reason that
they would already be so. An example for this is the word ‘skytoucher’, a compound that has been substituted for the English word ‘skyscraper’, which is literally translated from L1 Albanian ‘rokaqiell’. Or from the L2 Macedonian ‘сок’ /sok/, a word that has been substituted for the English word ‘juice’.
This analysis explores the nature of calques in third language production when translating from the L1 to the L3.
6.6.1 Methods
The third part of the data collection involved a text translation task. A text in the students’ native language Albanian was designed and participants were asked to translate it into the target L3 English. The translation was approximately 200 words long. The time allowed for the translation task was 30 minutes. Due to the short time given for the task, I suspected the outcome of the translated texts might vary a great deal from student to student, as some would require more time to think about the storyline than others. Previous research has also shown that translation tasks tend to result in more cross-linguistic influence than tasks that call for free composition (Ringbom 1987).
This translation task is given to construct data from spontaneous productions, with little control and proofreading. The analysis of the English production was carried out with the help of a visiting lecturer, a native speaker of English, in order to guarantee correct apprehension of the calqued effect.
6.6.2 Results:
All calque items of lexical nature were noted and matched according to the definition of calque or loan translation. There were lexical inventions found, i.e. “lexemes which are morphologically adapted to the target language but which are never used by native speakers” (Dewaele 1998: 471). I ignored instances of incomprehensible English mistranslations of the students (e.g. grandmother coming through school). This task was not difficult for the students as translation tasks are often practiced as an in-class activity. However, it appeared to be difficult for me to
identify calques from the Albanian and the Macedonian languages, which caused me many dilemmas and much confusion. In such situations, I consulted a visiting American professor at the State University of Tetovo, Albanian and Macedonian language professors who confirmed some of my assumptions. The counts of calques or loan translation in English production which are basis of this analysis are displayed in Table 6.13.
Low Bilinguals High Bilinguals
Type of transfer L1 Albanian L2 Macedonian L1 Albanian L2 Macedonian
Calques Influence index 49 1.02 6 0.12 42 0.62 8 0.11 Total number Influence index 55 1.14 50 0.74
Table 6.13 Quantitative overview of calques
The results obtained from the analysis make an interesting comparison about the influence of L1 and L2. The native language-L1 of both bilingual learners was ranked as a leading language in influencing L3 production. The influence index (ii) of L1 in Low Bilinguals resulted in 1.02, while in High Bilinguals it appeared to be 0.62. In contrast, L2 influence was found to be very weak in both bilingual groups resulting in slight deference, Low bilinguals’ L2 ii> 0.12, while High Bilinguals’ L2 ii > 0.11.
The results display another interesting finding in regard to the proportion of two bilingual groups (6:4). The influence index in Low Bilinguals is 1.14 while in High Bilinguals is 0.74, indicationg an aproximate ratio 2 to 1. In this view, the differences are more pronounced and show that High Bilinguals transferred fewer items in L3 production.
6.6.3 Findings and discussions
To illustrate the quantitative results, a selection of interlingual transfer of calques in bilingual Albanian learners’ written English is presented in the following tables.
Table 6.14 Qualitative overview of transfer from L1 to L3 production
Some examples found in the analysis:
(1) L1> me kërkesë të; L3> ‘at the request of’ E.g.: L1: Shkova në konsultime me kërkesë të profesorit
L3: I went to consultations with the requirement of the professor L3: I went to the office houres at the request of the teacher. (2) L1> nga larg; L3> ‘at a distance’ E.g.:
L1: Fotografia dukej më bukur nga larg.
L3: The picture looked more beautiful from far. L3: The picture looked more beautiful at a distance.
L1 Albanian L3 English production Correct English form
Ndaj një dhomë I live together with X in a room share a room
ftohem get cold catch a cold
thërras me telefon call with a telephone make a (phone) call
jap propozim give a proposal make a proposal
zë vend reserve place take a seat
dëgjoj mësim listen to the lessons take lessons
(3) L1> nga sa shihet; L3> ‘as things go E.g.: L1: Nga sa shihet, duhet te mesojme me shume. L3: From what is seen we have to learn much more L3: As things go we have to learn much more.
(4) L1> sa më shpejtë; L3> ‘as soon as possible’ E.g.: L1: Dëshitoj të shkoj në Angli sa më shpejtë
L3: I want to go to England as fast.
L3: I would like to go to England as soon as possible.
(5) L1> me çdo kusht; L3> ‘at all costs’ E.g.: L1: Unë duhet ta mësoj anglishten me çdo kusht. L3: I should learn English with every condition. L3: I should learn English at all costs.
(6) L1> merr fund; L3> ‘all over E.g.: L1: Puna jonë mori fund.
L3: Our job took the finish. L3: Our job is done.
(6) L1> qortoi; L3> ‘call down E.g.: L1: Mësuesi e qortoi.
L3: The teacher sad cruel words to him. L3: The teacher put him down.
(7) L1> drejt për drejt; L3> ‘first hand’ E.g.:
L1: I morra lajmet drejt për drejt, prandaj u paraqita. L3: I got the news directly and I applied
L3: I got the news first hand and I applied.
L1 Standard Albanian L2 Macedonian L2 influence in Albanian L3 English production with L2 influence Correct English form ky konstatim eshte i paqendrueshe m Ова констатација не држи /Ova konstatacija ne drzhi/ ky konstatim nuk mban This conclusion doesn’t hold unsustainable conclusion mesnate полноќ /polnok/ gjysmenate halfnight midnight me pak ze Со полаглас /so polaglas/ me gjysme ze
with half voice
low voice i pashtepi
бездомник /bezdomnik/
pashtepiak people without
home homeless shfaqje terheqese атракција /atrakcija/ atrakci atrakcion capture zyre биро /biro/ biro biro bureau veture автомобил /avtomobil/ automobile automobile car mantel мантил /mantil/ mantil mantil coat Table 6.15 Qualitative overview of transfer from L2 to L3 production Some examples found in the analysis:
(1) L1> ‘me pak ze’;L2> со полаглас so polaglas L3> ‘low voice’ E.g.: L1: ’I pershendeta me gjysme ze’.
L2: ’Ја поздравив со полаглас’ /Ja pozdraviv so polaglas/ L3: I greeted her with half voice.
L3: I greeted her with low voice.
(2) L1> ‘nuk mban’;L2> ne drzhi; L3> ‘unsustainable’ E.g.: L1: ’Ky konstatim nuk mban’
L2: ’ Ова констатација не држи ’ /Ova konstatacija ne drzhi/ L3: This conclusion is unsustainable.
All the above examples of calque are examples of translation from the second language. To use the classic diagram, the students used the L2 unconsciously and went over the L1 standard Albanian as a result of contact phenomena, the L2 item has found its way into L1 spoken Albanian, schematized thus:
Figure 6.2 The operation of L2 transfer in L3 production
As shown in the above figure the influence of the second language is indirect, as it had previously influenced the first language, so that no direct influences from the second language were found.
These results show that calques are used when the search for a lexical item in the L3 activates a compound, phrasal verb or an idiom in the L1 or L2. It is used unconsciously by the learners and they are not at all aware that they belong to another language. This evidence supports Haugen’s theory (1953:459) that when calques are used the “learners may not be conscious of it, unaware that they belong to the other language.”
6.6.4 Conclusion
This analysis has presented the results of the nature of calques in third language production when translating from the L1 to the L3. Based on the results obtained from the data analysis it can be suggested that most calques are used due to a lack of knowledge of the English language. The learners seem to imitate the construction of their L1 and L2 so the English production resembles the construction of the previously learned languages
In this study, both groups seemed to make more use of their native Albanian language and less of their L2. The production in the translated text was quite complex and difficult to understand.
L 1 Standard Albanian L 2 Macedonian L 1 Spoken Albanian L 3 English productio n
During the analysis it was interesting to have access to characteristics of the learners’ L1 and L2 in long segments of words in a sentence. The lexical calques occurred when a form, which is specific to the L1 or L2, is used. Some calques did indeed influence the participants’ control over their third language production negatively, so that production was less accurate and did not have any meaning in English.
The learners with high L2 proficiency were able to control their production in the L3 better and to minimize CLI. The overall performance of the participants in their additional language was very similar in indicating that the effects of translating word for word from L1 or L2 seem to have had the same influence on control and the participants were less able to prevent CLI.
The work presented here is essentially an analysis of the calque effect on third language production .The analysis of calques by bilingual learners of English is of interest at several different levels:
1. it highlights contrasting features in the three languages;
2. it throws light on how students translate during the learning process; 3. it shows the nature of students’ competence in either language
The calque approach is seen as helpful at this level of English learning since calques basically allow communicating much of the intended meaning. Calquing, or loan translation, in general fulfills the communicative needs of the learner.
These results show that at early stages of L3 learning, students try to identify the meaning of words in English by translating from their L1 and L2. Since learning is a gradual process which takes quite some time, using loan translations might help the learners to arrive at the exact English words as their proficiency improves.