CHARACTERISTICS OF TRANSLITERATION OF MACRO- CITY TOPONYMS

Authors

  • Uzbek state world languages university
CHARACTERISTICS OF TRANSLITERATION OF MACRO- CITY TOPONYMS

Abstract

Toponyms, which are the names of specific regions, have features specific to this language, in addition to geographical features. Toponyms reflect speech sounds and the semantic-structural word structure of each language. Therefore, within a certain language, there is also a standard pronunciation of a certain group of toponyms. If these toponyms are presented to another group of speakers of a different language, in many cases, representatives of this second group will have difficulty even listening to, let alone pronouncing, some of the sounds used. This fact gives rise to many problems in toponymy, and shows that a person can approach “unfamiliar” sounds at best by repeating them roughly, orally or in writing. In this respect, toponyms are words that belong to the category of realities.

Indroduction

Realities are a layer that is assimilated without translation or translated in a unique way. Even when they are translated, they are translated in a unique way through transliteration, transformation, and calculus methods.

As long as the sound system of the language is in the first place and the written form is in the second place, the phonetic form of the language should be close to the original. In other words, in order to give the original toponyms in the translated language, it is necessary to pay attention to the pronunciation of these toponyms first. This method is called transcription in science, and it is one of the modern methods of translating toponyms into Uzbek. For example, England-Angliya, Scotland- Shotlandiya, China-Xitoy, Spain-Ispaniya, Warsav-Varshava, Croatia-Xorvatiya, Czech-Chexiya and etc.

In order to give the original nouns and place names in the translated language, it is necessary to pay attention to the origin of the words. For example, the artist and realist Dali is Dalisque in English, which is difficult to pronounce in Uzbek. Countries are named according to the origin of their inhabitants, following the rule. For example, it is difficult to name the toponyms of Sri Lanka or Burkina Faso, because it is difficult to indicate the population from which part of these two countries. Newspaper articles refer to the inhabitants of these countries as Lankan and Burkini.

German reals with the soft letter H are pronounced as G and transliterated as written with the letter H since there is no such sound in Russian. For example, Hamburg-Gamburg, Hayne-Gayne.

In realia, in transliteration, the possibilities of the language are used to the maximum, and such changes can be allowed only in cases where the possibilities are insufficient. However, in most cases, place names are given based on the orthoepic standards of the language being translated, and this leads to cases of incorrect appropriation: China – Kitay - Xitoy, Buxoro – Buxara - Bukhara, Baki – Baku - Boku.

For example, when expressing geographical names like Oxfordshire, Middlesex, Cambridge in England, Oklahoma, Virginia in America, or Alberta, Manitoba, etc. in Canada, if they are not translated by adding the words county, state, province in front of them, these names representing geographical places the words will not be understandable to an Uzbek reader. The need to add explanatory and explanatory elements is also required when translating the names of institutions, companies, and press bodies. Because they also belong only to a certain region and may be incomprehensible to representatives of other peoples.

Transliteration has some advantages as well as some disadvantages. Its advantages are that the written version of the place name does not break, and its bearer has a universal, language-independent identity.

During transliteration, the acquired language acquires toponym pronunciation according to its own laws. Names of ancient and historical-mythological places are a clear example of this. For example Athína – Afina, Xenia – Kseniya, Saint Peterburg – Sankt Peterburg.

Copying place names directly in the Latin form is also not lacking in experience. When learning famous nouns and toponyms, their translation can be based on written (graphic) form. It is possible to transfer its graphic form from a text in one language to a text in another language without learning toponyms. This happens when languages share the same script. Many countries using Latin graphics follow this practice. In Western European languages, if a place name is transferred from one language to another, its spelling does not change. It is readily available in any written source that is reader-friendly. For example, if a Latin-based toponym occurs in an English text, it is unchanged. In this case, it is appropriate to pronounce the letters that are not in the English alphabet. Consider the following examples: Hampshire – Gempshir, Hants – Xents, Hampstead – Xempsted, Mahan – Mexen, Bantry – Bantri, Bangor – Bangor, Banf – Banf, Allan – Allan, Essex – Esseks, Enfield – Enfild, Elliot – Elliot, Coen – Koen, Hendon – Xendon, Betty – Betti, Helston – xelston, Buckley – Bakli, Humber – Xamber, Bundoran – Bandoran, Huntly – Xantli, Surbiton – Serbiton, Bernard – Bernard, Bermondsey – Bermondsi, Darwin – Darvin, Ford – Ford, Brown – Braun.

A.V. Fedorov shows three different ways of reflecting realities.

  1. Transliteration (full or partial), direct phonetic adaptation of the actual word or adding suffixes of one's own language to the base of the word.
  2. Forming a new word or phrase using elements that are actually present in the language or by morphological attachment to express the subject.
  3. Translating words expressing place names in another language using words that are close in function (though not exactly) to that meaning[1].

Basically, every graphic character in the source letter, be it an alphabet or a syllable, is replaced by the corresponding character in the target letter. However, although different scripts often represent different sounds, certain characters or combinations of characters in the source script are not represented or replaced by a combination of letters in transliterationfor example, two letters (digraph), three (trigraph) or even four (tetragraph). Transliteration can be used between different alphabets and syllabic scripts, where, as a rule, a given graphic symbol always represents the same sound. It cannot be strictly applied to logographic scripts, such as Chinese and Japanese kanji, where the graphic character represents a meaning rather than a sound.

Transliteration transfers a name from one script to another. Transcription, from the Latin scriber - "to write", is the written transfer of the endonymic form of a toponym from one language to another using only the script of the receiving language, as in transliteration. Usually, additional or special letters, diacritical marks, or other characters are changed in transcription. Perhaps the biggest advantage of transcription is that a target language reader trying to pronounce a foreign name can read it. Although the title sounds strange to the ear and unfamiliar to the reader's articulatory system, by reading it in transcription, he can at least approach its spoken form without any external help, for example, in the form of a transliteration key.

Thus, transcription, which is the second method of assimilation of geographical names into languages, represents a purely phonetic change of the term from one language to another. In ancient times, this method was used by explorers and explorers, as well as by travelers who tried to preserve the sound of foreign names that they heard and learned from local residents. They are able to do this not only for personal use, but also for future navigators and travelers, mainly due to the work of cartographers who constantly record and publish these names.

Transcription is usually an irreversible process. Therefore, after a toponym has been transferred from one language to another, its re-transcription into the original source language does not produce its original name. This is a clear disadvantage from the point of view of those who wish to reconstruct the name form in the original writing system from the transcription form in the map or text. For example, this can be clarified in the following examples.

The German transcription of the English name Chichester produces the form Tschitschester, which best matches the sounds of the original source language.

Due to its adaptability to the host language, transcription can be perceived as a "popular" rather than a "professional" way of transferring names. It is mainly used to create general atlases of the world in any language, but in the field of translation, transcription performs a different function.

Translation can be used as a method of translating toponyms if the original toponym has full or partial semantic or lexical meaning. This excludes the possibility of translating many toponymic names, such as London, Pretoriya, Sidney, Kasel va Nan (London, Pretoria, Sydney, Kassel and Nantes), unless it goes back to the historical or linguistic roots of the name in a diachronic (historical) process and its meaning if he doesn't learn his name. In this case Cassel should be replaced by Latin Castellum, which should be translated into English Castle, French Château, Arabic Qasr, Greek Kastélli, Spanish Castillo, or some other language equivalent. Or such a situation can be compared to the ancient roots of the term Tashkent [Tashkent] - the terms Shosh, Choch. These roots require reconsideration of the meaning of Tashkent - stone city and are not close to the transcription option.

Translation is a means of transferring a toponym from one language to another, requiring direct or indirect indication of the recipient language.

The above phrase "in full or in part" is used in relation to a toponym that has a semantic or lexical meaning. The parts of a compound noun are:

  1. a common element, which is a word that always has a lexical meaning, such as a river, hill, city, bridge, or new,
  2. an individual element, which can be any word with or without lexical meaning, for example, a related term and even a place name, for example, "Victoria" - "Lake Victoria", "York ”–“New York” and “Swansea” in Swansea Bay. In some languages, both elements are often combined into one word, such as Cambridge, Newport, Villeneuve, and Rheinbischofsheim, while in other languages, such as Arabic and Hebrew, this is not possible.

However, it should be added that the common element can be true or false. Lake Victoria is indeed a lake, so the generic element of the name is valid here. At the same time, Lake Placid ("Lake Placid") in the state of New York is not a lake at all, but a settlement, just as In al-Sultan is not a spring, but a settlement. Thus, in these cases, "lake" and "spring" are false common elements.

In such cases, a reasonable question arises as to when to turn to translation when transferring terms. Our answer is this: it mainly refers to the inclusion of the general term "translated" in the toponym. Of course, toponyms are often translated when talking about topographical objects located outside the language region. Often this cartographic editor is needed when preparing a general atlas in a particular language. He, of course, translates some of the names located "abroad" in order to better convey to the reader the essence of the named object. The translation of geographical names in general geographical or other texts is also often accelerated.

After deciding to translate a toponym, it is necessary to check its meaning and "separate" the components to be translated. It should be noted that there are 4 possibilities for translation:

  1. Simple systematic terms should not be For example, London, Pretoria, etc.
  2. When translating joint toponyms:
    1. only the common element (stem) is translated. Examples: Sliabh Speirin (Ireland) - Sperrin Mountains (English), Simonstad (Afrikaans) – Simon's Town (English),
    2. the translation applies only to a separate element or elements of the name: Sierra del Sur (Spanish) - Southern Sierra (English), Pacific ocean – Stiller Ozean (German),
    3. both individual and general elemental are translated: Tafelberg (Afrikaans) – Table Mountain (English), Suomenlahti (Finnish) – Finskaviken (Swedish).

It seems that 3 processes of translation of geographical names - transliteration, transcription and translation - require multifaceted skills from the toponymist. Transliteration and transcription are related to writing systems, on the one hand, and pronunciation, on the other hand, and require knowledge of the languages being translated. A good toponymist combines these aspects.

In fact, the method of giving a foreign term in its original graphics in texts is convenient, because it immediately highlights the relevant name in the context and shows the difficulty and impossibility of transferring individual foreign sounds and letters. A compromise solution is possible for scientific and technical literature - a combination of the foreign language form included in the text with transcription, but this option cannot be used for artistic texts.

The following conclusions can be drawn from the above:

  • names and geographical names must be given in original with the help of transcription,
  • atlases, dictionaries and encyclopedias can serve as a reliable reference for copying famous geographical names,
  • sometimes it is necessary to add defining words to the translation (province, city, sea, etc.) to establish a connection between the name and the identified These methods help the translator to better navigate the transfer of foreign names and titles in the process of translation from foreign languages to Uzbek.

 

[1] Федоров А. В. Основы общей теории перевода / А. В. Федоров. – М.: Высшая школа, 1953. – C. 108.

References

Gelling M, Ann Cole. The Landscape Of Place-Names. 2000. – 391 p.

George R. Stewart. Names on the Land: A Historical Account of Place-Naming in the United States. NYRB Classics, Illustrated edition, July 1, 2008 – 560 p.

Gerych G. Transliteration of Cyrillic Alphabets. Ottawa: Ottawa University, April 1965. – 126 p.

Hasanov H. Geografik nomlar imlosi. – T.: Fan, 1962. – 135 b.

Hasanov H.Geografik nomlar siri. – T.: Sayyoh olimlar, 1985. – 220 b.

Федоров А. В. Основы общей теории перевода / А. В. Федоров. – М.: Высшая школа, 1953. – 303 с.

Published

Downloads

Author Biography

Totiyo Abulfayz kizi SAYIDKHOSHIMOVA,
Uzbek state world languages university

Teacher

How to Cite

SAYIDKHOSHIMOVA, T. A. kizi. (2025). CHARACTERISTICS OF TRANSLITERATION OF MACRO- CITY TOPONYMS. The Lingua Spectrum, 12(2), 878–882. Retrieved from https://lingvospektr.uz/index.php/lngsp/article/view/1391