Lexical Gaps Abstract in English The general assumption among most language users is that every single concept in our world can be labeled by a proper lexical item, i.e. there is a name for all of the physical or abstract entities we live with and situations we experience. It has been suggested by several studies, and we will concentrate on these, that there are usually several conceptual structures in the studied languages which are in fact not lexicalized. This linguistic phenomenon is called a lexical gap, and there is more than one type of lexical gap observable in languages. Recent studies of the occurrence of a lexical gap show various approaches to the subject with various results. The study of lexical gaps can be approached from the point of view of lexical fields, as suggested by Alan Cruse and Adrienne Lehrer among others. In this approach different fields: taxonomies, hierarchies, clusters, grids, linear structures and matrixes help to organize the lexicon into conceptual structures where the missing structural part is then best observable and studied with relation to the other units in the field. Other approaches, Bentivogli and Pianta for example, favour contrastive lexicological studies where a lexical gap is identified as a missing translational equivalent in a target language to a lexical...

The purpose of this essay is to analyze the translation of the specific technical language of railway transport from Swedish into German. The analysis is based on a self-conducted translation of selected passages of rules and regulations issued by the Swedish government agency Trafikverket (The Swedish Transport Administration). The following questions serve as a starting point: Which factors influence the final choice of a translation equivalent when several options are available? Which translation strategies can be used to close a lexical gap in the target language? And, furthermore, how can ”false friends” be identified so that terminological errors can be avoided in the target text? The essay is divided into two parts. The first part introduces major concepts such as equivalence, denotative equivalence and false friends. The second part consists of an analysis which discusses a selection of representative examples from the translation. The first part of the analysis focuses on cases where the target language provides several translation equivalents. By analyzing the semantics and comparing the related meanings of these equivalents, it was possible to pin down the most suitable term in the target language. In most cases the final term choice was confirmed by parallel texts. The second part discusses cases where the target language lacks an equivalent technical term. In most cases the lexical gaps could be closed by loaning the source-language term and adding a short explanation in the target text. The final section is devoted to false friends. By consulting parallel texts, several false friends in the target language were identified and also removed from an earlier version of the target text.

<p><strong>Abstract</strong></p><p>The aim of this study was twofold. On the one hand, the aim was to discuss how lexical gaps can be solved or dealt with when a text about wildlife and nature different from that of the target culture is translated. On the other hand, the aim was also to discuss how the style and tone of such a text can be preserved and transferred into the target text. The study was qualitative and based on a translation into Swedish of short chapters of the book <em>Spirit of the Bush</em> by Peter Borchert, describing the South African wildlife and nature. The intended target reader of the translation is anyone with an interest in nature, wildlife and animals, as well as anyone with an interest in the history and culture of South Africa. Despite the fact that the terminology used in both the source text and the target text may require some previous knowledge on behalf of the reader, both texts could, nevertheless, very well be appreciated by a complete “wildlife-novice”. In order to create a theoretical base and a framework for the analysis, relevant research made in translation theory and stylistics was presented and discussed. Regarding lexical gaps, all the different strategies, apart from omission, proved to be of great help when the source text was translated into Swedish. Several examples of metaphors were discussed, such as how the wilderness is described as a <em>stage</em>, the animals as <em>actors</em>, and the visitors as making a <em>pilgrimage</em>. The metaphors in combination with the similes and the personifications in the source text, such as <em>bold</em> clouds and <em>confident</em> rivulets, fire the readers’ imagination and create a very vivid and capturing text. This is also something that supports the claim made that <em>Spirit of the Bush</em> is more than an ordinary informative text.</p><p> </p><p>Keywords: translation, lexical gaps, style, tone, stylistics, wildlife, bush.</p><p> </p>

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Abstract The aim of this study was twofold. On the one hand, the aim was to discuss how lexical gaps can be solved or dealt with when a text about wildlife and nature different from that of the target culture is translated. On the other hand, the aim was also to discuss how the style and tone of such a text can be preserved and transferred into the target text. The study was qualitative and based on a translation into Swedish of short chapters of the book Spirit of the Bush by Peter Borchert, describing the South African wildlife and nature. The intended target reader of the translation is anyone with an interest in nature, wildlife and animals, as well as anyone with an interest in the history and culture of South Africa. Despite the fact that the terminology used in both the source text and the target text may require some previous knowledge on behalf of the reader, both texts could, nevertheless, very well be appreciated by a complete “wildlife-novice”. In order to create a theoretical base and a framework for the analysis, relevant research made in translation theory and stylistics was presented and discussed. Regarding lexical gaps, all the different strategies, apart from omission, proved to be of great help when the source text was translated into Swedish. Several examples of metaphors were discussed, such as how the wilderness is described as a stage, the animals as actors, and the visitors as making a pilgrimage. The metaphors in combination with the similes and the personifications in the source text, such as bold clouds and confident rivulets, fire the readers’ imagination and create a very vivid and capturing text. This is also something that supports the claim made that Spirit of the Bush is more than an ordinary informative text.   Keywords: translation, lexical gaps, style, tone, stylistics, wildlife, bush.