In search of the optimal translation of polysemous verbs - comparing methods of formal analysis of parallel texts
Abstract
Our goal is to identify factors that influence the choice of equivalents of 'psych' verbs when translating between typologically close languages such as Polish and Czech. Using the example of the Czech verb toužit 'to yearn, to desire' we show that these verbs may be perceived differently by native speakers of Polish and Czech - as ambiguous or unambiguous.
Translation of such verbs is equally challenging. We start with the hypothesis that the choice of an equivalent is determined primarily by syntactico-semantic properties of the source lexeme, especially by its valency.
Based on the analysis of lexemes and their arguments in parallel texts we identify regularities and preferences for the choice of an equivalent. Manual analysis is complemented by an automatically extracted bilingual glossary with frequencies.
The results show that valency is an important, but not the only factor.