Abstract
This study looks at how the Norwegian adverb egentlig and its closest equivalents in Norwegian and English, i.e. faktisk, actually and really, are translated in the English–Norwegian Parallel Corpus (ENPC). The aim is to investigate how adverbs that also can be considered pragmatic markers are translated, and whether and how the markers’ functions are preserved in the translation process. The English adverbs actually and really have in previous research been found to have pragmatic functions in some uses, but no studies have been preformed on the Norwegian adverbs yet. By analysing data from two corpora, this thesis answers 1) whether egentlig and faktisk can have pragmatic functions as well; 2) how the four adverbs under investigation are translated; 3) whether pragmatic function has been preserved in the translation; and 4) whether there is a correlation between the adverb’s function and the translation solution chosen by the translator. An analysis of material from Norsk Talemålskorpus (NoTa) shows that egentlig and faktisk indeed can have pragmatic functions. A quantitative analysis of the material from the ENPC shows that the four adverbs are translated with a wide range of correspondences, both in types, i.e. the different items used, and types of constructions. The findings reveal that although mutual correspondence is generally low, there is a pattern of mutual correspondence between egentlig and really, and faktisk and actually. The findings also indicate that translators tend to choose the most obvious translation solutions, such as cognates, while the adverbs are used as translation for forms that are not necessarily considered equivalent when translating them. A qualitative analysis of the instances where the adverbs have pragmatic function suggests that functions are preserved in varying degrees and only in just over half of the occurrences. There are no major patterns, but findings indicate that position is important for preserving function.