Die vertaling van die teenwoordige deelwoord in Augustinus se Confessiones

Abstract

This study examines obstacles presented by the present participle when one is translating from an ancient inflected language (Latin) to a modern language (Afrikaans). It is based on Book I of the Confessiones by Augustine. To start with, Book I had to be translated into Afrikaans. The complete Latin text, together with the translation into Afrikaans, is provided in the Addendum. All present participles and their translations are underlined. In this study all present participles in the original Latin text are compared to the Afrikaans translation of the text. In the examination of the present participles in the Latin text, it was found that the vast majority of present participles had been lost in the Afrikaans version. This points to a much higher frequency of the use of the present participle in Latin, suggesting that the translator had to find other ways in which to represent those phrases originally represented by present participles. It transpired that there is a predictable preference regarding the translation of present participles. A grammatical rephrasing with an adjectival function was seen to have the highest frequency, closely followed by those with an adverbial function. The remaining cases were provided for by way of grammatical rephrasing with a substantival or verbal function. In a small number of cases (mostly stereotyped) present participles were available in Afrikaans, making it possible to retain the present participle in the translation. In the conclusion, a number of suggestions are made towards assisting translators dealing with source languages that contain grammatical structures that are unavailable to or less frequently applied by the target language.