Names Translation

NAMES – TRANSCRIBE, TRANSLITERATE OR TRANSLATE?
What’s in a name?
Names are a category in their own right because:
they are written with capital letters
as a rule, they are no translated from one language into another.
Some names have no other meaning than the referential one, i.e. they designate objects in the real world (e.g. London, Pleven, etc.). But there is a great number of names (nicknames, as well) that are motivated, that is, they have additional socio-cultural markers and connotations. Most names have both a grammatical meaning – can function as subject or object or may occupy some other position in the sentence – and a pragmatic meaning (they communicate thoughts and emotions and evoke different associations). Pragmatic meaning is commonly manifested by names and for that reason they present a problem in translation.
Ways of rendering names from one language into another
Transliteration – rendering the graphic form of the SL (Source language) name with the available letters of the TL (Target language) alphabet – e.g. London > Лондон
Transcription – the phonetic form of the SL name is substituted with the available letters of the TL alphabet – e.g. Manchester > Манчестър
Translation – names which are semantically motivated are likely to be translated
Full translation – e.g. Cape Good Hope > Нос Добра Надежда
Partial translation – e.g. Brooklyn bridge > Бруклински мост
Direct transference – e.g. „И наистина в това направление се показва една тясна ивица от Long Island. Излязохме на Broadway.”
These are names which are well known to the general public.
Transfer + Transcription – e.g. „Отвред ти предлагат фотографиите на Niagara Falls (Найагара Фоол, както го изговарят американците).”
Naturalization – the name is additionally shaped according to the grammatical rules of the TL – e.g. Вашингтонския, Сенатът
Types of names and their transference into another language
People’s names
As a rule, people’s first names and surnames are transcribed – e.g. Claire > Клер
Exceptions:
Names of saints, monarchs, prominent figures of classical Greece and Rome, as well as names of biblical and mythological origin – they can be lexically translated – e.g. Saint Paul > Свети Павел (≠ Пол Нюман), Joseph > Йосиф (≠ Джоузеф Конрад), Apollo > Аполон (≠ космически кораб Аполо);
Diminutives and other terms of endearment have national colour – e.g. Андрей, Андрюша, Андрюшечка, Андропка – there is a danger to consider them as different names. The authors suggest reducing the number of names in order to avoid ambiguities. Defining diminutive epithets are added – e.g. pleasant, little Ruth.
Nicknames and meaningful names – they are very often translated because they characterize their owner – e.g. Whitie > Белчо, Бързобежко > Quickfoot
Sometimes these names are transcribed and their effect is lost – e.g. The Smurfs – Brainy, Greedy, Hefty > Брейни, Грийди, Хефти
Symbolic names – if they are internationally known, they are transcribed or their well-known traditional forms are used – e.g. “He is a true Apollo.” > „Той е истински Аполон.”
These names are not substitutable because they add a specific national colour – e.g. *Крали Марко > Jack the Giant Killer
Names of objects as proper names
These are trademarks, brands or proprietaries – they are normally transcribed and are often coupled with a classifier if they are not likely to be understood by TL reader – e.g. “Аз избрах бойлер ТЕСИ.”, Форд, Хонда. There is no possibility of translation.
The name (trademark) can be written in Latin letters while the product itself is described in the TL – e.g. Toshiba лаптоп, LG аудиосистема.
Geographical names
Formally and semantically this is an extremely variable group of names. It includes the names of countries, towns, mountains, rivers, streets, buildings, etc. We can distinguish:
Toponyms as names in an address which are transcribed – e.g. Leicester House > Лестър Хаус;
Toponyms as cultural scenery (e.g. in an advertising brochure) which need the addition of classifiers, such as river, plain, mountain, church or street – e.g. The Thames > река Темза, Родопите > Rhodope Mountains.
This procedure is reader-oriented since a source place name may not be equally known to TT readers. Some geographical names are likely to be translated. Two types of translation can be distinguished depending on the internal form of the name:
Partial translation – e.g. New Orleans > Нови Орлеан, West Florida > Западна Флорида
Full transaltion – e.g. Golden Gate Bridge > Мост Златните Врата
But this is not an obligatory procedure. There are numerous examples where names are only transcribed while others are either transcribed or translated or both – e.g. Long Island > Лонг Айлънд, New South Wales > Ню Саут Уелс (Нов Южен Уелс), Слънчев бряг > Sunny Beach (Slanchev Bryag). With the translated variants the foreign visitors will not only hear how the name sounds, but will also be able to understand its meaning.
Names of buildings, museums, theatres, opera houses are likely to be transcribed as well as translated since they form part of street plans and addresses. But streets as a rule are transcribed – e.g. Main Street > Мейн Стрийт, Leicester Square > Лестър Скуеър, but sometimes two forms can be found – e.g. Piccadilly Circus > Пикадили Съркъс [площад Пикадили (Съркъс)]
The names of cultural institutions
These names can also be viewed with relation to the two approaches transcription/transliteration and translation.
When a public body has a transparent name it is usually translated literally – e.g. State Department > Държавен Департамент, Народно събрание > National Assembly;
With less transparent names – there are several approaches:
the name is transcribed for an educated readership – e.g. Bundestag > Бундестаг;
the name is glossed for a general readership – e.g. Bundestag > парламнетът на Федерална Република Германия;
the name is both transcribed and glossed, especially in official documents – e.g. Bundestag > Бундестаг, парламнетът на Федерална Република Германия;
the name is replaced by a cultural equivalent in an informal setting – e.g. The Treasury > Ministry of Finance, Les Postes et Telecommunications > The Postal Services
International institutional terms are more widely known and they already have their accepted translations – e.g. BBC > Би Би Си, NATO > НАТО, FBI > ФБР, European Community > Европейска Общност.
Factors determining the choice between transcription or translation
The reasons for choosing one or another approach are pragmatic. They can be summed up as follows:
the readers – their cultural competence. There are three reader types: the “expert”, the “educated generalist” and the “uninformed”. Translations most often concern the average and the uninformed reader.
the setting – the extralinguistic context – the context in which the name appears.
tradition – if names are traditionally transcribed, transliterated or translated, and this tradition is firm enough, it is observed. Thus the names are no longer changed – e.g. Вашингтон, Нова Зенландия, Шекспир.
But translation is subject to renovation and development – e.g. Плимут > Плимът, Ливерпул > Ливърпул.
the name itself – its characteristic features;
how the name relates with the objects described – its pragmatic meaning;
the cultural competence of the translator
acceptability and ease of pronunciation are important when the name is transcribed – e.g. Elizabeth > Илизъбът > Елизабет – the first form which is transcribed will be considered unacceptable.
Sources used:
Kursheva-Stanimirova 2004: A. Kursheva-Stanimirova. The Foreign Element in Translation: English/Bulgarian. Astarta. Veliko Turnovo.
Exercises 1: Transcribe the following proper names:

Abigel >
Badsworth >
Bathurst >
Cadbury >
Camberley >

Jacoby >
Jarrow >
Malcolm >
Marion >
Ackerley >

Phonological correspondences between English and Bulgarian
Based on the research conducted in this field, the optimal correspondences between English and Bulgarian can be summed up as follows (Danchev 2010: 56-57):

The tables above should be used as a kind of filter when rendering English names into Bulgarian.