Grammatical errors made by students when translating phraseological units from Russian into Chinese.

Lo Zhimeng Postgraduate student; Department of Theory and Practice of Foreign Languages of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, Institute of Foreign Languages 117198, Russia, Moscow, Miklukho-Maklaya str., 9 tighj80@mail.ru

In today's world, where intercultural communication plays one of the main roles in establishing international contacts, translation skills are becoming especially relevant. Chinese, as one of the most sought-after languages in international practice, attracts an increasing number of students seeking to master it at a professional level. At the same time, the translation of phraseological units from Russian into Chinese is a complex and multifaceted process that requires not only a deep knowledge of languages, but also the cultural characteristics that they convey ^{[2; 9]}. Phraseological units, being an important part of each language system, display unique historical and national cultural codes ^[19], which makes their translation especially difficult (since it requires the translator, first of all, the ability to find equivalent units that will not only convey literal meanings, but also preserve national, cultural, etc. features of the language the original).

Many Russian phraseological units (due to the fact that they contain special national and cultural codes) may be incomprehensible to native Chinese speakers. For example, a number of phraseological units related to nature, everyday life, and everyday life have no analogues in the Chinese language, so a professional translator has to find unusual and creative solutions to convey the essence and mood of the original (Russian: wolf in sheep's clothing – Chinese: white dragon in fish scales); Russian: Trishkin's caftan – Chinese: 拆东西西 (English: to break down the wall in the east to repair in the west); Russian: crow in peacock feathers – Chinese: 沐猴而冠 (English: to wash the monkey and put a crown on her head), etc. ^[20]). However, such discrepancies in understanding certain aspects of the national and cultural life of Russians and Chinese, understood by professional translators, are not always correctly understood by students studying translation. This often leads to students making numerous mistakes, including grammatical ones (due to differences in grammatical systems, structural features of languages, etc.). This is especially true for sequential translation, when a student begins to translate after the speaker has finished the entire speech or some part of it (incorrect the use of cases, inconsistencies in word coordination, etc. when translating phraseological units in the context of the general flow of a speaker's speech may lead to a general distortion of the meaning of speech).

Various studies in the field of Russian-Chinese translation (including phraseological units) confirm the existence of significant difficulties faced by modern translation students. These difficulties include the different structure of sentences, the lack of grammatical gender and number in Chinese, a different semantic structure of phraseological units, etc. ^{[7; 14; 16]}. A number of authors in their works emphasize the need for a deep understanding of the cultural context when translating phraseological units and overcoming difficulties. Among other things, the works indicate that consistent translation is complicated not only by the discrepancy between the denotative and connotative meanings of many phraseological units, but also by differences in cultural context and national mentalities, so translators have to resort to various translation strategies (transcription, calculus, descriptive translation, etc.) ^{[2; 5; 9; 10; 17]}. Some important translation issues are addressed in the works of scientists who, to one degree or another, lead to an understanding of the general lexical and phraseological aspects of translation in the context of cultural and national peculiarities of the language. ^{[1; 3; 6; 8; 12]}. Russian Russian phraseological units However, despite the large number of works dealing with the problems and difficulties of translating phraseological units from Russian into Chinese, there are practically no typologies of grammatical errors committed by students in the process of consistent translation of Russian phraseological units into Chinese. Therefore, we consider it necessary to identify the specifics of the most common errors caused by the semantic, grammatical and structural characteristics of Russian phraseological units and their inconsistency with the grammatical norms of the Chinese language (which was the purpose of this study).

To identify grammatical errors and classify them, an empirical study was conducted at the Linguistic University (Moscow), where data on typical errors encountered during seminars, as well as independent (verification) work on sequential translation from Russian into Chinese, were collected through questionnaires, observations and interviews of students and teachers. The data was recorded in special tables, which indicated not only the types of errors, but also their frequency, the context of occurrence, as well as a specific example of the use of phraseology (see Table 1). A total of 76 students from different faculties and 15 teachers of philological disciplines participated in the study.

Table 1

An example of a table where key experimental data was recorded

Oral translations, audio recordings of translations, as well as written texts were used as the research material, on the basis of which the analysis of sequential translation strategies was carried out. Additionally, students' comments and their personal notes on the process of translating phraseological units were included, which made it possible, on the one hand, to better understand their approaches and principles of translation work, on the other, to identify and classify the most common grammatical errors made by students when consistently translating phraseological units from Russian into Chinese. Thus, the study found that the most common mistakes made by students in the process of consistently translating Russian phraseological units into Chinese are: errors in coordination (27.7%), incorrect use of cases and tenses (31.4%), problems with the translation of semantic and grammatical shades of phraseological units (19.9%), errors related to the choice of lexical correspondences and stylistic aspects of translation are least detected (11.4% and 7.3%, respectively) (see Figure 1).

Figure 1 – Identified groups of grammatical errors made by students when consistently translating phraseological units from Russian into Chinese

1. Errors in approval (27.7%). This category of errors is one of the most common: it includes violations of grammatical consistency between the words of the text and the components of phraseological units, expressed in the absence of consistency of the verb with the subject, adjective with noun, determinative words, etc.

In modern Chinese, unlike Russian, the word order is relatively fixed, and violation of this order often leads to a distortion of meaning in phraseological units and cultural connotations. This can be especially noticeable when translating units such as shadow on a fence fence or as a bath leaf stuck, which in Russian have their own stable meanings, but if the word order is incorrect, it distorts the transmitted meaning in Chinese, and errors in coordination occur. Thus, to cast a shadow on a fence in the Russian language means to intentionally introduce ambiguity into the matter, trying to confuse ^[15]. When translating into Chinese, many students do not maintain the correct word order and semantic and grammatical structure, and therefore the meaning of phraseology is distorted, in particular: to cast a shadow on a fence. Literally translated, this phraseological unit with a broken word order and structure not only sounds ridiculous, but also does not convey the original meaning. In this case the translation is missing approval of the idiom with the rest of the text: whale: 當涉及到我們的成功時, 沒有必要在柵欄上投下陰影 (literally.: When it comes to our success, do not cast a shadow on the fence) – rus.: Do not cast a shadow on the fence when it comes to our successes. The coordination of the subject and predicate with the phraseological turnover is lost. This leads to the fact that the holistic perception of the text is disrupted, and the reader may not understand the true meaning of what is said.

Since phraseological units are an integral part of the language, they often carry cultural and historical connotations that cannot be conveyed verbatim. To achieve a more accurate transmission of the meaning and emotional load of the original, the translator should look for equivalents that are not only grammatically correct, but also reflect the cultural and national characteristics of the original expression and correctly fit them into the main text. For example, in the case of the phraseological unit to cast a shadow on a fence, you can use stable expressions similar in meaning in Chinese that convey the same idea without distorting the meaning and violating coordination, for example: the expression 莫名其妙 (meaning: to confuse) ^[21], which will not only ensure the coordination of the subject and predicate with the phraseological unit., but also take into account the context in which it is used. At the same time, it is important to understand that phraseological units can not only change the meaning of a statement, but also give it an emotional coloring, so the choice of an equivalent should be reasonable. So, if the phrase in the original text is used to indicate the ambiguity of the situation or an attempt to mislead someone, the translator can consider other expressions that will more accurately convey this idea in Chinese. These can be expressions that indicate uncertainty or confusion (Chinese: 七上下下 (English: seven up and eight down), Chinese: 乱七八糟 (English: complete confusion), etc. ^[18]), while preserving the structural, semantic, and national-cultural aspects of the source text.

Another example in which students often make mistakes in coordination is a phraseological unit like a bath sheet stuck, meaning annoying, annoying ^[13]. When translating sequentially, students often misinterpret this unit, trying to translate it literally: 像浴葉一樣卡住 (literally: stuck like a bath leaf), while not taking into account its semantic and grammatical features. This leads to the fact that the use of this phrase in a sentence sounds inappropriate unless the context implies a situation where someone is really annoying: 他像一子子子一子子在 (上 (literally: he clung to me like a leaf). The correct use of this phraseological unit requires students to understand its meaning and emotional coloring, which can be difficult for those who are not familiar with the cultural and national characteristics of the Russian language. In Chinese language, there are similar expressions (老是纠缠不休 (literally.: to be Intrusive), in (lit.: to be thorough)) that can be used in consecutive interpretation, including in the context of the main text (subject to approval of subject, predicate and attributive words): whale: 他老是纠缠不休 地问我要钱, 真是烦死人了 (literally.: he continues to pester me, asking about the money that I'm very annoyed with) – Rus.: he stuck to me like a limpet with a request for money that would make me very angry. However, students should keep in mind that not all expressions can fully convey the semantics of Russian phraseology.: Some cultural codes may be specific to Chinese and have no direct analogues in the Chinese language ^[11]. All this underlines the importance of the national cultural context in the translation of Russian phraseological units.

2. Incorrect use of cases and tenses (31.4%): This category of errors is also one of the most common: It is generally related to the peculiarities of the grammatical systems of the Russian and Chinese languages. Thus, in Russian, cases are used to denote various grammatical and syntactic functions (including subjectivity, objectness, direction of action, etc.). While in Chinese, such functions are expressed through word order, particles, and context ^[7], which leads, as the analysis of experimental data shows, to confusion among students who consistently translate phraseological units from Russian into Chinese. It is advisable to include errors in the transmission of case relations in this category of errors (incorrect use of prepositions, mismatch of the noun case with the governing verb or adjective) and errors in the use of tenses of verbs due to the discrepancy between the tenses of the Russian and Chinese languages (for example, incorrect choice of the aspect of action (perfect / imperfect) or incorrect transmission of the past, present or future tense).

There are often cases when students transfer cases and tenses from the Russian text, without taking into account the semantic, grammatical, structural and stylistic features of the Chinese language. So: the Russian phraseology to beat the bugger, meaning to loaf, waste time, do nothing ^[15], is usually translated by students literally as 打木头 (literally: to beat a tree), however, this translation does not convey the true meaning of the phrase to beat the bugger and may cause students to misunderstand (including because that there is no direct equivalent in Chinese that combines a literal meaning and a figurative meaning). This often reveals the incorrect use of cases and tenses, for example, kit.: 我整天发呆, 直到工作等着我 (English: I beat a tree all day while waiting for work) – Rus.: All day I sat and beat my ears while waiting for work). Probably, the reason for this kind of mistake is that students do not always understand the context and cultural features associated with the use of phraseological units. The literal translation of the phrase does not reflect the idea of idleness or idleness. Instead, it creates an image of a physical action, which is completely inconsistent with the context in which the original phrase is used, resulting in incorrect use of case and tense forms. Here it is advisable to use a similar expression 发呆 (literally: to loaf, it is pointless to think) ^{[18; 20]}, in order to describe a state when a person is not busy with anything, when someone is sitting and staring at one point, not doing any activity. However, in Chinese, this expression can also mean that a person is distracted and not focused on something important.

Similar examples of incorrect use of cases and tenses include such phraseological units as:

– English: to grab alive (possible equivalent translation: 触动心 ( (English: to touch the strings of the heart); erroneous translation: 抓住活的 (English: to catch alive) - (the literal translation does not convey the metaphorical meaning);

– English: the cat cried (possible equivalent translation: 微不足道 (English: a little, insignificant); erroneous translation: 猫哭了(English: the cat cried) - (the literal translation does not convey the essence of the expression);

– English: skim the cream (possible equivalent translation: 获取利益 (English: to benefit); erroneous translation: 拿掉奶油 (English: to remove the cream) - (the literal translation does not have a similar meaning in Chinese).

Russian Russian translation In the above examples, when students consistently translate phraseological units from Russian into Chinese, they often do not take into account that Russian uses cases to convey different meanings and functions of words, while in Chinese this is achieved through word order and context. All this leads to the incorrect use of prepositions or particles in Chinese to convey the case meanings of Russian phraseology (incorrect use of prepositions corresponding to the dative, genitive or creative cases) ^[17]. In addition, students do not take into account the rules for choosing tenses, for example, if the past tense is used in Russian, students can use it in Chinese, not taking into account that in Chinese the context and time indicators ("yesterday", "last month") are key to conveying the temporal aspect of the action. In this case, there is an inaccurate reflection of temporal relations, manifested in the use of the incorrect verb tense, type, or pledge. This leads to a number of difficulties concerning both the grammatical structure and the general meaning of sentences. In general, the analysis of experimental research data shows an insufficient level of understanding of the differences between the grammatical systems of the Russian and Chinese languages among students, which leads to systematic errors in translation and interpretation of phraseological units and other linguistic constructions.

3. Problems with the translation of semantic and grammatical shades of phraseological units (19.9%). Phraseological units are a class of idiomatic expressions, the meaning (and shades of meaning) of which are often difficult to deduce from the meanings of their constituent words. The transfer of these semantic and grammatical nuances is a difficult task that requires a deep understanding of both Russian and Chinese languages. Accordingly, the following error groups were identified within this group:

– incomplete translation of the meaning (a translation of a phraseological unit that conveys only part of its semantic content, omitting important nuances and connotations). For example, the expression Russian: to keep a stone in your bosom, was translated by students as 隱藏石頭 (English: to hide a stone, to hide a stone). This phraseology means hiding a grudge or plotting something evil ^[13]. The Chinese translation uses the image of a stone that hides, but in this case the full connotation of the expression is not conveyed, while the translation of the students does not reflect the emotional coloring and subtleties of the Russian language, characterizing betrayal, resentment, treachery. At the same time, based on the national and cultural specifics of the expression, it is important to take into account that holding a stone in your bosom also embodies the inner struggle of a person who at first glance looks peaceful, but in fact harbors anger or discontent. The translation of this expression only as 隱藏石頭 (literally: hide a stone, hide a stone) simplifies its meaning and does not reflect the depth of emotions and cultural roots that are inherent in it. The lack of a complete context can lead to misunderstanding and distortion of not only the phraseological unit, but also the culture as a whole. In particular, Chinese culture interprets attitudes towards conflicts and betrayals in a different way ^[4], and thus phraseology can sound completely different. As a result, when translating, it is important not only to preserve the literal meaning of words, but also to convey their cultural associations and emotional component.;

– distortion of the meaning (translation, which leads to a misunderstanding of phraseology in general). Here, as an example, we should cite the expression in Russian: not all that glitters is gold, which was translated by students as: everything sparkles with gold. In Russian, this expression indicates that appearance can deceive ^[13]. Translation, in turn, does not convey the meaning of the expression, while distorting the cultural context in which it is used. Probably, the reason for such mistakes among students may be not only an insufficient level of knowledge of the national and cultural characteristics of Russians, but also the specifics of the cultural characteristics of the Chinese, for whom glitter and gold are often associated with luck, wealth and positive emotions ^[20]. Thus, the translation not only distorts the meaning, but also denotes students' own ideas about the philosophical and moral values of Chinese culture, and puts them into the translation of phraseology. All this underlines the importance of taking into account the cultural context when translating these types of units.;

– inappropriate use of synonyms (selection of synonyms that do not convey the specific meaning of the original phraseology). For example, the phraseological unit Rus.: on the same wave was translated by students as 處於同一平平 (English: at the same level), 在一一道道 (English: on the same channel). This phraseological unit, which means that people understand each other and think alike ^[15], acquired the image of a level or channel when translated by students, which generally distorts the original meaning of the expression and ignores its deep interpersonal nature. Russian Russian phraseology implies harmonious mutual understanding and unity of thought between people, which can be considered as a reflection of the peculiarities of Russian culture, where the emphasis on communication and mutual understanding plays an important role. However, the selected synonyms in the translation of students (Chinese: 处於同一平平 and 在一一道道道) focus on level measurements or technical aspects that do not convey emotional intensity and interconnectedness. All this highlights the problem of inappropriate use of synonyms, when semantic nuances may be lost during translation, etc.

Separately, it is necessary to identify groups of errors related to the choice of lexical correspondences (11.4%), stylistic aspects (7.3%), as well as a group of various other grammatical errors (2.3%). These groups make up a smaller part of the grammatical errors identified during the experimental study, which are made by students when consistently translating phraseological units from Russian into Chinese. In particular, the first of these groups of errors is caused by the selection of Chinese lexemes that do not accurately or fully correspond to the lexical composition of Russian phraseology. Errors here may be caused by incorrect selection of synonyms (choosing a synonym that does not accurately reflect the meaning of a word or phraseological unit as a whole). In addition, students may encounter problems related to the lack of direct analogues in Chinese for individual Russian phraseological units, with various stylistic aspects, etc., which can also lead to translation errors (in some cases, students using a literal translation may lead to the loss of the original meaning or the creation of unnatural constructions).

Thus, having identified the main grammatical errors made by students when consistently translating phraseological units from Russian into Chinese (in particular, errors in coordination, incorrect use of cases and tenses, and problems with translating semantic and grammatical shades of phraseological units, etc.), we can conclude that these errors not only complicate the process of translating phraseological units. but they can also distort the transmission of national and cultural codes embedded in these units. Incorrect understanding and use of grammatical structures can lead to the loss of features of the text (speech), which are an important part of the cultural context of the original. In this regard, in order to improve the quality of translation of phraseological units, it is necessary to pay attention not only to grammatical aspects, but also to the cultural peculiarities associated with the use of these expressions in the original language, which includes the study of not only grammar and vocabulary, but also the socio-cultural context in which phraseological units are used, as well as their semanticgrammatical and structural functions. Accordingly, the revealed grammatical errors made by students when translating phraseological units serve not only as an indicator of the level of language training of students, but also as a signal of the need to integrate a cultural approach into the translation learning process, which, in turn, will contribute to a better and more accurate interpretation of phraseological units and their meanings in the context of translation from Russian into Chinese..