Divergences between languages

Abstract

Chapter 9 introduced a powerful grammatical framework for the definition of translation relations. The main topic of this and subsequent chapters will be how translation problems can be solved within this framework. As an introduction, this chapter will give an inventory of syntactic divergences between languages which cause translation problems (Section 12.2). A large number of these problems can be solved in a fairly straightforward way in the framework presented in Chapter 9, mainly thanks to the distinction between translation-relevant rules and syntactic transformations. The solutions to translation problems that fit easily within this framework, will be outlined in Section 12.3. For a number of problems a more creative use of the isomorphic method is needed. They will be discussed in the following chapters.