# Free translation



## dePrades

How do you say in Russian "free translation", meaning not literally? Thanks in advance!


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## Natalisha

Вольный перевод.


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## morzh

COntext is needed.

Free of what? Free of charge?

If it is, then it is "бесплатный перевод". May be "свободный/вольный" if it is otherwise.


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## Natalisha

morzh said:


> Free of what? Free of charge?





dePrades said:


> meaning not literally


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## morzh

I am not sure what "not literally" means here.


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## dePrades

For example if you translate a poem no word by word... Thanks to both!


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## Niops

It would be like translating "У меня есть стол" as "I have a table" instead of it's literal translation of something like "By me exists table."  You keep the semantic meaning, but not necessarily each word.


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## morzh

Well....here's my problem then with qualifying it as "вольный перевод".
Because there are no such thing in real practice of translation or interpreting, (except when explaining the org. wording for educational or etymological purposes), as "word-for-word" translation, then every translation whatsoever will qualify as "free translation" (that is "вольный перевод").

We will have to call every single book of Shakespeare, or Jorge Amado, or Dumas, or by whoever else, ever translated in any language, "a free translation", as obviously, none of them is "word-for-word".

If it still qualifies as "free translation" - just say so, and then I will accept Natalisha's suggestion, as that indeed would be "вольный / свободный перевод".

But somehow I am not sure it is.


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## dePrades

Ok. I understand your problems... What I tried to ask was how do I express that I translated a poem taking priority over the result in the target language, not over the loyalty to the original language? I know that usually translation is not word-by-word, but I did like to remark the fact that the translation goal was not to be accurate to the original but that I, as translator, did "whatever I wanted" ;-)


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## Slavianophil

In that case, it's "вольный перевод".


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## morzh

Slavianophil said:


> In that case, it's "вольный перевод".



  Agreed


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## morzh

dePrades said:


> Ok. I understand your problems... What I tried to ask was how do I express that I translated a poem taking priority over the result in the target language, not over the loyalty to the original language? I know that usually translation is not word-by-word, but I did like to remark the fact that the translation goal was not to be accurate to the original but that I, as translator, did "whatever I wanted" ;-)



Understood.

This is something akin to Lermontov's poem "На севере диком стоит одиноко" written after Heine's *Ein Fichtenbaum steht einsam. It is called "вольный перевод из Гейне"*.


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## Rosett

Можно сказать "свободный перевод".


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## Saluton

Rosett said:


> Можно сказать "свободный перевод".


Нельзя.


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## Rosett

Saluton said:


> Нельзя.


А что не так?


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## dePrades

Got it! Thanks to everybody for your help!


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## Deem-A

Вообще-то ,свободный перевод и вольный перевод,по большому счету,означают то же самое


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## morzh

Saluton said:


> Нельзя.



1) http://www.classes.ru/grammar/137.Retsker/worddocuments/4.htm

>>>§  4. *Свободный,  - или вольный, перевод* применяется в особых случаях,...

2) http://www.classes.ru/grammar/43.Te...ye_aspekty/extfile/help2/html/unnamed_68.html

Для общей характе­ристики результатов переводческого процесса  используются термины «адекватный перевод», «эквивалентный перевод»,  «точный перевод», «буквальный перевод» и* «свободный (воль­ный) перевод»*.

3)  *Вольный перевод*  -  не  буквальный,*свободный*. 
(Словарь Ожегова).

---


Так, еще раз - что же не так со свободным переводом?


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## Ptak

morzh said:


> Так, еще раз - что же не так со свободным переводом?


Не идиоматично. Ухо режет.


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## morzh

ptak said:


> Не идиоматично. Ухо режет.



Человек не может говорить сплошь идиомами. Вдобавок, "свободный/вольный перевод" - вообще не идиома, и даже, я думаю, не фразеологический оборот.

А само выражение достаточно популярно - встречается часто. И не просто часто, а в особенности у профессионалов, когда речь идет о таком переводе.


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## Ptak

morzh said:


> Человек не может говорить сплошь идиомами.



*idiom*: _a form of expression natural to a language_, person, or group.


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## morzh

No, idiom is not what you said.

An idiom is a phrase, which is, first, what you said, AND (a necessary condition) when the meaning of that phrase CANNOT be understood from the individual meanings of its member words.

"Rains cats and dogs" is an idiom.
"It's not all it's cracked up to be" - an idiom.
"I am keeping my tabs on you" - an idiom.
"Bucket of bolts" - an idiom.

"Rosy cheeks" - not an idiom. It is a cliche.
"As white as snow", "as cold as ice" - cliche.

In the same way 

"Крепкое телосложение", "Красив как Бог", "Вольный перевод" - фразеологические устойчивые словосочетания.
"Бить баклуши" - идиома.


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## Ptak

morzh said:


> No, idiom is not what you said.



I know perfectly well what "idiom" means.

But the word also has another meaning I gave above. That's the meaning I meant when I wrote that "свободный перевод" is not idiomatic.


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## ingilizce

Бесплатный перевод


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## Maroseika

ingilizce said:


> Бесплатный перевод


Hi, ingilizce. 
I wonder have you read the thread before having placed your translation here? Unfortunately, it is completely wrong in this context.


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