METAPHOR IN UKRAINIAN TERMINOLOGY OF EU SECONDARY LAW

Abstract

Background. Some English-language terms of EU secondary law have metaphorical components. Their translation causes difficulties if such a metaphor does not exist in the language of translation, or if it exists but is not used as a term. In this field of special translation, the problem of metaphor transfer has not yet been addressed. The study offers a comparative analysis of the equivalents of metaphorical terms on the material of Ukrainian translations and official EU acts drafted in other languages.

Purpose:

1) To establish equivalents of metaphorical terms of EU secondary law in different languages;

2) To distinguish convergent and divergent methods of translation;

3) To determine the influence of metaphor on the emergence of terminological variability;

4) To increase interest in metaphor in legal terminology from the scientific community.

Methods. The research is conducted using the comparative method. Ukrainian terms used in translations of EU acts are compared with their counterparts, primarily in English, which is the working language of the EU, as well as in Italian, German, Polish, Slovak, and other languages. The comparative method is also used in the intralinguistic perspective: in the case of the coexistence of more than one counterpart in the Ukrainian language, a comparative analysis is conducted at the level of definitions and usage, including in the micro-diachronic aspect. The procedures of translation analysis and structural-semantic analysis are used.

Results. It is shown that compliance with the principle of multilingual concordance of EU terminology is often not possible due to the presence, on the one hand, of metaphorical terms in the English version of EU law and the absence, on the other hand, of their full equivalents in other languages. When searching for a successful equivalent, Ukrainian translators make different translation decisions: 1) preservation of the metaphor; 2) replacement with another metaphor; 3) demetaphorization; 4) additional metaphorization occur. In addition, direct borrowings, hybrid terms, and explanatory terms were recorded among the equivalents in the material of different languages. In the micro-diachronic perspective, significant variability in Ukrainian terminology was revealed.

Discussion.The translation of a metaphor in the field of law is a multifactorial decision process. The cognitive and culturally-determined patterns that can correlate with the translation methods identified in the article, require in-depth study. Metaphorical terminology should find a more significant place in the terminological verification during the Ukrainian translation of EU acts and be based on scientifically sound and standardized principles.