TRANSLATION CHALLENGES WITH PHRASAL VERBS

Abstract

A phrasal verb could be composed of a verb and a preposition, a verb and an adverb or a verb with both a preposition and an adverb. Getting to the meaning of finding equivalence to phrasal verb can sometimes pose serious problem to the translator. This is as a result of the semantic variations or additions the accompanying prepositions bring about. The problem is further complicated as some of the phrasal verbs do not exist as phrasal verb in the target language or are translated by different word, or even a different parts of speech from the original. Consequently it becomes a herculean task for the translator who is now faced with the problem of finding the correct equivalents to carry the original meaning in the source language. This paper uses concrete examples of the different types of phrasal verbs to discuss the translation problems they pose and proffer possible solutions to surmount such problems.

Full text

TRANSLATION CHALLENGES WITH PHRASAL VERBS.
By
Felicia Oluchukwu ASADU
Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.
Anambra State, Nigeria
Abstract
A phrasal verb could be composed of a verb and a preposition, a verb and an adverb or a verb
with both a preposition and an adverb. Getting to the meaning of finding equivalence to phrasal
verb can sometimes pose serious problem to the translator. This is as a result of the semantic
variations or additions the accompanying prepositions bring about. The problem is further
complicated as some of the phrasal verbs do not exist as phrasal verb in the target language or
are translated by different word, or even a different parts of speech from the original.
Consequently it becomes a herculean task for the translator who is now faced with the problem
of finding the correct equivalents to carry the original meaning in the source language . This
paper uses concrete examples of the different types of phrasal verbs to discuss the translation
problems they pose and proffer possible solutions to surmount such problems.
Keywords: Translation challenges ,phrasal verbs ,fixed expressions, English, French

Introduction
Phrasal verbs exist in English language as well as in French language.The equivalent of English
phrasal verbs in French is known as locutions verbales or locutions figées. The fixed
expressions in French are not separable unlike some of English phrasal verbs which are
detachable . One of the challenges this phrasal verb pose to translators translating from either
English to French or vice versa is that of finding another phrasal verb that will belong to the
same grammatical category in order to bring out the exact meaning of the author’s message. In
this regard Baldwin & Kim{2010:267} said “The lexical syntactic and semantic idiosyncrasies
of multiword expressions are at the root of translation problems”.
A phrasal verb in English text may be translated in French with a simple verb or a fixed
expression without loss of meaning. While a simple verb can stand on its own to make
complete meaning the verb component of the phrasal verbs cannot because phrasal verbs are
not detachable, that is of adverb or the preposition distorts the of the whole. It is the addition of
the preposition or adverb to a verb that makes it a phrasal verb considered as one lexical unit.
1.1 Literature Review
According to Longman Dictionary Of Contemporary English, “Phrasal verb is a group of words
that is used like a verb and consists of a verb with an adverb or preposition after it”. E.G: set off,
look after, send out. According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary International Student
Edition, “Phrasal verb is a verb combined with an adverb or preposition or sometimes both to
give a new meaning .Examples go in for, win over, see to, etc. According to the American
Heritage Dictionary Of the English Language. “Phrasal verb is an English verb complex
consisting of a verb and one or more following particles and acting as a complete syntactic and
semantic unit”. Eg: look up in the sentence: she looked up the word in the dictionary Or she
looked the word up in the dictionary. From these definitions above one can say that phrasal
verb is a group of words that is made up of a verb and a preposition or an adverb or both to
form a new verb with a different meaning.
Generally, we can say that the term phrasal verb is commonly applied to two or three distinct but
related constructions in English where a verb co-occurs with an adverb and/or a preposition
with the entire construction forming a single semantic unit. This semantic unit cannot be
understood based upon the meaning of the individual parts in isolation but rather the unit must
be taken as a whole in other words the meaning is non-compositional and thus unpredictable.
Phrasal verbs are a class of idioms and inherit all the difficulties involved in processing and
translating idioms. The most frequent prepositions and adverbs that combine with verbs to form
the phrasal verb include on, off, in, out, back, over, about, round, up, forward, down, through,
away, along.
Example:
a) I ran into my teacher at the movies last night .RUN+INTO=MEET
b) He ran away when he was 15. RUN + AWAY=LEAVE HOME

Further examples of phrasal verbs:
1.2 The structure of phrasal verbs:
Two main types of phrasal verbs have been identified depending upon whether the verb
combines with a preposition, an adverb or both.
1. Phrasal verb (verb +preposition)
a) Who is looking after the kids? (the kids here is the object of phrasal verb look after)
b) They pick on Joseph. “on” is a preposition that introduces the prepositional phrase “ on
Joseph”
(verb + Particle)
a) You should not give in so quickly. (Although a preposition in its form, “in” is actually an
adverb particle insofar as it functions as an adverb.)
b) Where do they want to hang out? (Although a preposition in its form, “out” is actually
an adverb particle insofar as it functions as an adverb.)
2. Prepositional phrasal verb (verb + Particle +
preposition)
a) Who can put up with that? (Although a preposition in its form, “up” is actually an
adverb particle in so far as it functions as an adverb.)
b) She is looking forward to a rest. (Although a preposition in its form, “forward ” is
actually an adverb particle insofar as it functions as an adverb.)
Phrasal verb
Meaning
Example
act on
perform something with
action or gesture
They acted out the story on stage.
ask for
to provoke a negative
reaction
You are asking for trouble.
back away
retreat or go backward
The crowd backed away when the man pulled a
knife
A knife.
back out
fail to keep an agreement or
promise
He backed out two days before the holiday so we
gave the ticket to his sister.
call round
visit
I called round on my way home but no one
was in.
egg on
encourage
The other student egged him on when
he started arguing with the teacher.
end up with
get as result of something
He tried but ended up with a poor result

As a class, particle phrasal verbs belong to the same category as separable verbs of the
Germanic languages. They are commonly found in everyday informal speech as opposed to
more formal English Latinate verb s. Examples:
I) (to get together rather than to congregate.)
II) (to put off rather than to postpone.)
III) (to do up rather than to fasten).
Phrasal verb can take a direct object or cannot take a direct object .Those that take direct
object are called transitive verbs while those that do not take direct object are called
intransitive verbs. With transitive phrasal verbs some particles can be separated from the
verb so that a noun or a pronoun can be inserted between them while in intransitive phrasal
verbs some particles cannot be separated from the verb.
Separable;
Example: add up meaning to add.
a) She added up the total in her calculator.(correct)
b) She added it up in her calculator.(correct)
c)Ada sent out a circular.
d) Ada sent a circular out.
Inseparable;
Example: catch on meaning to understand.
a) After I explained the maths problem, she began to catch on.(correct)
b) She began to catch on the maths problem.(“catch on” cannot take the direct object in
this meaning) therefore, this sentence is incorrect.
c) She began to catch on to the maths problem. ( The Word “to” makes the maths problem
an indirect object which is acceptable in this meaning) Therefore it is correct.
1.3 How phrasal verbs affect translation
English phrasal verbs have semantic and structural features which make their translation into
other languages a difficult task. Translating phrasal verbs in French can be difficult because
the semantics of the phrasal verb cannot be approached through the analysis of the
individual parts in isolation, its meaning of the unit is non-compositional and therefore
therefore non-analysable. English makes use of phrasal verbs in which a preposition or an
adverb is fused to a verb. In some cases, they consist of a verb which indicates a manner of
movement plus a preposition that indicates What is conveyed in English with a phrasal verb
is translated with one verb in French.
Examples:

TABLE 2: Verbs difficult to translate
English
French
Phrasal verb
Ordinary verb
1
fly in
entrer
2
fly out
sortir
3
fly back
retourner
4
break away
se séparer
5
break up
se briser
6
brush up
rafraichir
7
cut off
couper
8
take over
reprendre
9
bring back
rapporter
10
pick up
ramasser
11
add up
additionner
12
make up
inventer
13
make up for
compenser
14
miss out for
omettre
15
move out
déménager
16
note down
noter
17
run over
renverser
18
look up to
admirer
19
write – back
répondre

Sentence examples
In example 2 the idea of flying out in English is conveyed by a simple verb sortir while in
French, in Example 3 the phrasal verb flew back is translated with the verb rentrer.
In example 4 what is phrasal verb in English is translated with a reflexive verb in French. All
these and many more are some of the challenges translators face while working from English
to French.
1.4 Difficulties associated with phrasal verbs
In many cases the meaning of a phrasal verb cannot be deduced from its elements especially
when it is used idiomatically. For example, a learner who knows that to kick off is to make a
checkmark may have difficulty in understanding the sentence, the teacher kicked off the
students ass for being late. Here, the phrasal verb to kick off means to reprimand or to express
disapproval and to translate this idiomatic idea of kick off which does not mean to start, a
translator has to understand contextually the meaning before translating . He is not only faced
with the problem of understanding what kick off stands for in this context but he will also look
for the best verb in French that will translate the action of reprimanding which is le professeur a
reprimandé les élèves en retard.
1.4.1. Semantic problems.
Many phrasal verbs are polysemous, that is they have more than one meaning which could be as
a result of the usage, context or the environment. The phrasal verb to put down has the literal
meaning of putting something down and the idiomatic meanings;
a) To make someone feel small, to criticize and humiliate them.
b) To kill as in the sentence, I had to have my cat put down.
English
French
Remarks
1
Emeka flew in
today
Emeka est arrivé
aujourd’hui
Whereas the idea of arriving in
was expressed in English using a
phrasal verb (to fly in) in French
it is expressed with a simple verb
(arriver)
2
She flies out
regularly
Elle voyage
régulièrement
3
I flew back
yesterday
Je suis rentré hier
4
He broke away
from a group
Il s’est sépare d’un
groupe
5
They broke up
IIls se sont séparé

c) To stop, quash, put an end to. As in the sentence, the police put down the riot with
unnecessary brutality.
1.4.2. Syntactic problems
There are difficulties with the syntax of phrasal verbs, particularly with the position of the
particles.
Examples:
a) She put down the baby. ( correct)
She put the baby down. (correct)
b) The student put her bad grade down to tiredness. ( correct)
The student put down her bad grade to tiredness. (incorrect)
1.4.3 Phrasal verbs in English and French
Phrasal verbs can be intransitive or transitive. However a problem arises when it is used
transitively in English whereas its French equivalent is an intransitive verb as we can see
below:
A He takes off his shoes (intransitive)
Il se déchausse (transitive)
Here the French pronominal verb se déchausser is intransitive.
B. My mind is being made up – intransitive
J’ai décidé de faire quelque chose – transitive
English phrasal verbs
French fixed expressions
1
break into
entrer par effraction
2
bump into
rencontrer par hazard
3
call on
rendre visite à
4
care about
se soucier de
5
care for
s’ occuper de
6
face up to
faire face à
7
help out
venir en aide
8
know about
être au courant de
9
let in
faire entrer/ laisser entrer
10
look forward to
attendre avec impatience
11
move off
se mettre en route
12
pass for
se faire passer pour
13
Read out
lire à haute voix
14
set out
se mettre en route
15
sleep in
faire la grasse matinée
16
sleep over
passer la nuit chez quelqu’un
17
throw out
mettre à la porte/mettre dehors
18
turn back
faire demi – tour

1.4.4 Phrasal verbs confused with prepositional verbs
When a particle phrasal verb is transitive, it can look just like a prepositional phrasal verb. When
the object of a particle verb is a definite pronoun, it can and does often precede the particle. In
contrast, the object of a preposition can never precede the preposition.
Examples with prepositional phrasal verbs:
a) You can bank on Susan. “On” is a preposition. (correct)
b) You can bank her on. The object of the preposition cannot precede the preposition.(
incorrect)
Examples with particle phrasal verbs:
a) He is thinking over the situation. “Over” is a particle.
b) He is thinking it over. ( The object of the particle verb can precede the particle

Solutions
 The semantic problem of phrasal verbs can be surmounted by using theory of meaning
propounded by Lederer and Seleskovitch which recommends the understanding of the
totality of the text or sentence before translating it. The authors argue that translation is
neither a work on language nor on words but a work on the message and meaning. The
translator should first of all understand the message before rendering it in another
language.
 The syntactic problem of phrasal verbs could be overcome using equivalents. The
translator should see the phrasal verbs as an entity and try to look for its equivalence in
the target language.Also he /she should take note of the surrounding words and the
context in which they are used.
 The phrasal verb is non-compositional and non-analysable and therefore not amenable to
word for word translation.
 English and French phrasal verbs must not have the same form but they manifest similar
characteristics that is group of words,or phrase fixed by tradition in which their meaning
is metaphorical. Both are inseparable in the sense that phrasal verbs are made up of verb+
particle,verb+preposition but fixed expression in French are made up of verbs with
different parts of speech, sometimes you have verbs+ det+nom as in (pousser un cri).
Verb+ verb as in( laisser entrer) ,verb+nom+det as in (avoir envie de), any attempt to
consider the constituents separately can lead to a different meaning.
 Voracious reading of grammar text books in French and English should be encouraged
as this will make the translator to to be familiar with English phrasal verbs and French
fixed expressions and know that because one cannot approach their constituents without
interfering with their meaning.

Conclusion
This paper studied the problem of translating phrasal verb from English to French or vise versa
and found out that English and French phrasal verbs perform the same function; both English
and French phrasal verbs are expression without literal translation. Going by the analyses of the
composition English phrasal one noticed that most of French phrasal verbs are not made of
verbs and preposition, nor verb + adverb nor verb + particle, their word formation is a pole apart
from English phrasal verb and should be noted by translators. Some possible solutions have been
proffered which when strictly applied will resolve the challenges associated with translation
of phrasal verbs from English – French or vice versa.

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