The Ways of Semiotical Means Realization in Literary Translation

It is a well-known fact that a language is closely related to the culture of the

people who speak this language. And the primary task of the translator is to preserve
this unique national authenticity of any text.

The cycle of stories “Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka” by N. Gogol

(«Вечера на хуторе близ Диканьки») is a vivid example of a work with national
originality because it presents a colorful picture of Ukrainian life of the 17-18
centuries in all its glory. The connection of the “Evenings” cycle with folk traditions
has already been the subject of studies at the level of peculiarities of artistic
consciousness, individual motives and literary techniques.

In the book, N. Gogol opened the previously undiscovered Ukraine to us – not

only as part of Russian history, but also as a land with its own national identity,
mythology, folklore, traditions and customs.

Getting acquainted with this work, it is impossible not to pay attention to the
plentifulness of exoticisms and barbarisms – the names of details of Ukrainian life
and culture: бандура, батог, жупан, каганец, галушки, гопак, макитра, плахта,
сопилка, etc.

N. Gogol also included names indicating national identity. For instance, кацап
is a Russian man with a beard; чумаки are Little Russians which going to get salt and
fish, usually in the Crimea; дивчина, парубок, козак.

“Evenings” cycle also contains a large number of pieces of national clothing:

1. outerwear: видлога, жупан, кобеняк, кунтуш, свитка, тулуп, подбитый

черными смушка, шуба из решетиловских смушек;

2. midlayer: запаска, плахта, сукня;

3. head-dress: капелюх, намитка, очипок, хустка, шапка решетиловских смушек.

To translate non-equivalent vocabulary inherent in the culture of a particular

nation, transliteration and descriptive translation are usually used. Sometimes at the
end of a book there can be a whole dictionary of similar words, as it was in N.
Gogol’s “Evenings”: there he explained that смушка is ram’s fur.

In conclusion, I would like to note that N. Gogol wanted his stories to be

perceived as truly folk, and that’s how we can explain the countless amount of lexis
that reflects the cultural characteristics of the Ukrainian people. The use of elements
of Ukrainian folklore and folk mythology contributed to the creation of a national
image of the world in the Gogol’s work.