Latvian Diminutives in English Translations of Prose: Overview of Phd Research

Abstract

This article aims to demonstrate that the connotations conveyed by morphological diminutives in Latvian source texts can be rendered into English through a range of various linguistic devices, despite the differences between the two languages. In order to achieve this aim, an overview of the PhD research “Semantic and Pragmatic Aspects of Rendering Diminutives in English Translations of Latvian Prose” is offered in this article.

The aim of the PhD research was twofold: firstly, to study and contrast Latvian diminutives and their English counterparts in the context of translation studies and, secondly, to develop guidelines for translators enabling them to apply the results of contrastive analysis in the translation skills acquisition and translation process, and for developing similar support tools to overcome challenges caused by language and cultural differences.

In view of the fact that the rendering of meanings and connotations of diminutives constitutes a complex research problem, as the objects involved are varied and multifaceted, and their resolution emerges through a creative interplay among multiple factors, consequently, the study employs a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods and instruments: descriptive analysis of the theoretical literature, contrastive and comparative qualitative and quantitative analysis of the excerpted language material, translation experiment, Think Aloud Protocols and Dialogue Think Aloud Protocols, questionnaires of translation experiment participants and experts of the translation field.

One of the outputs of the PhD research is the first comprehensive contrastive analysis of Latvian morphologically derived diminutives and the corresponding morphological and analytic means used to convey equivalent connotations in English. This analysis integrates data from multiple levels of practice, comparing source texts with translations produced both by students and practising translators. Interpreting these findings within the framework of translation studies enabled the creation of another output of this PhD research – a support tool for translators grounded in findings from analysing the theoretical literature of linguistics and translation studies and actual translation practice. The insight into the three PhD research stages, key findings and results described in this article demonstrate that the connotations implied by Latvian morphological diminutives can be rendered into English by combining various translation solutions and a wide range of linguistic devices, mainly analytical means. The chosen translation solutions and linguistic means depend on the specifics of the literary work to be translated and the context of the diminutive use.