Phrase Frames as an Exploratory Tool for Studying English-to-Polish Translation Patterns: A Descriptive Corpus-Based Study

Abstract

Designed as a proof-of-concept, this descriptive corpus-based study focuses on the concept of phrase frame, defined as a contiguous sequence of n words identical except for one (Fletcher 2002). Although phrase frames were already used as a means of exploring pattern variability across and within different text types or registers written in English, they have been rarely, if ever, employed so far as a unit of analysis in descriptive research on translation. In this study, we use the English‒Polish parallel corpus Paralela (Pęzik 2016) to identify and describe Polish translation patterns that emerge from two functionally-defined English phrase frames (it is * clear that, it is * difficult to ). The findings provided insights into language in use in English-to-Polish translation, which revealed that the Polish equivalents are realized with a high degree of regularity and can be generalized into syntagmatic patterns similar to phrase frames. We also obtained valuable cross-linguistic insights into corresponding syntagmatic structures in English and Polish.