7.1 Word Collocation

a) Connotative Meaning

In the last lesson we studied the literal meaning of words, the type of meaning that we can find when looking a word up in the dictionary. We learned that the range of literal meaning for a given word is not always the same between two different languages, and that sometimes our best option is to translate using a word that has a more general literal meaning (hypernym) or more specific literal meaning  (hyponym) than the word in the source text.

In this lesson we’re going to focus on connotative meaning, which refers to the associations or feelings attached to words, and relates to how words are used together. This type of meaning cannot always be found in a dictionary and requires deep knowledge of both the source and target languages in order to translate well. We’ll focus on two areas of connotative meaning: word collocation - which is how words are often used together, and idioms - which are expressions in which meaning cannot be derived from the literal meaning of each word.

b) Collocation

Collocation is a concept that deals with the likelihood of words occurring together. Unlike grammar which deals with parts of language and rules, collocation describes tendencies in language. For example, in English heavy rain are two words that collocate, while in Spanish we would say lluvia fuerte. Using strong rain in English or lluvia pesada in Spanish would not sound right in either language. Since the way in which words are used together can vary between languages, it is common for collocations to differ when referring to the same concept in the source and target languages. Translating collocations with the words used in the SL, when those words do not normally collocate in the TL, results in a translation that at best, sounds unnatural, and at worst, distorts or confuses the meaning.

Collocations can occur between words in any part of speech, but the most common collocations are verb + noun (to pay child support), adjective + noun (late payment), and verb + adverb (to pay promptly). While some words will share collocations in both Spanish and English, others will differ. In the following example we can observe collocations that do not coincide in Spanish and English in each of the above-mentioned grammatical categories.

Example 7.1

It is important to learn these differences in order to create target texts that sound natural in the target language. Many bilingual people know intuitively when a word is being used naturally or not, yet when we approach translation, sometimes the form of the source text influences us to fall into the trap of translating each word in a collocation from the ST, without questioning whether that is the right choice for the TL. Therefore, improving this in our translations is primarily a question of methodology: the goal is to become more analytical as we translate and to distinguish how words are being used together and if they would be expressed in the same way or differently in the TL.

The following are examples of collocations that are not shared in Spanish and English:

Resource List 7.1

Likewise, some collocations in English that shouldn’t be translated literally to Spanish would be:

Resource List 7.2

Notice also how the same word in one language can be translated several ways in another language. For example, the verb “to keep” in English.

Resource List 7.3

These are all examples of collocations, words that have a tendency to be used together in a language. With the example of the verb “to keep”, when we examine the many uses of the verb we can understand why it might be translated into Spanish using a wide range of different verbs. There are many words for which this could be the case, and sometimes dictionary definitions can be misleading and cause us to translate a word incorrectly. It is necessary to consider the context in which a word is being used in order to decide which is the best translation.

Following are some examples of collocations in Spanish and English that you might use frequently at DCS:

Resource List 7.4

Using collocations correctly is key to achieving natural expression in translation. If a collocation is translated incorrectly, it might or might not cause confusion in the message or cause the grammar in the TL to be incorrect, but it will almost always cause the TT to lack natural expression. For example:

Example 7.2

Source Text

Literal Translation

Translation with improved collocation

While in Spanish “mantener” collocates with “una familia” in relation to the concept of financially providing for a family, in English the verb “support” collocates more strongly with “a family” in this context.

Here is an additional example in which we can appreciate the importance of translating words with those they collocate with most naturally.

Source Text

Literal Translation

Translation with improved collocation

This is a case which demonstrates well that collocation describes the tendency of words to be used together, but not rigid rules. In Spanish “violar” collocates frequently with “la ley”. In English, the corresponding phrase which collocates equally as frequently would be “to break the law”. However, it is also correct to say “to violate the law”. The difference is, “to violate” collocates with “the law” less frequently than “to break” and also has a higher tone or level of formality. Therefore, translating “violar la ley” as “to violate the law”, while not incorrect, is less natural than using “to break the law” and changes the register of the source text.

To avoid making mistakes when translating collocations, it is especially useful to follow the Five Steps in the translation process that we studied in Lesson Three. Making a first draft (Step 3) and then re-reading the first draft without referring to the source text (Step 4) offers a great opportunity to identify phrases and passages that do not sound natural and to edit them.