You are on page 1of 13

Змістовий модуль 1. Жанрово-стилістичні засади художнього перекладу.

Специфіка перекладу
художніх і фольклорних текстів.
Тема 1. Поняття жанрово-стилістичної домінанти у перекладі.
1. The Influence of Genre on the Translator’s Choice
Translation occupies a special place in the process of literature formation. Each genre of literature is a certain
type of translation. In particular, the translation of fictional texts or translation of poetry. In fact, translation is the key
element of the national literary process, the formation of the national literary, since it acts as a mediator between
literature from different countries. According to Koptilov literary translation is a special kind of translation, which
does not represent an exact transfer of meaning, but it reflects the thoughts and feelings of the author with the help of
another language, and transfers its images in the context of another language. Literary translation deals not so much
with the communicative function of language, but with its aesthetic function.
Literary translation is divided into subtypes of translation depending on the genre of the work in the original
language. There we have the translation of poetry, translation of plays, translation of satirical works, translation of
fiction, translation of lyrics, etc. The choice of genre is quite important in the translation process. Most often, the
choice is due to the internal needs of literature, its ability to learn in a certain way the literary phenomenon of other
people, its ability to reproduce its artistic features. That is why the first thing that influences the choice of the
translator is the desire to bring something new to the literature. The vivid example of this can be Russian poet Vasily
Zhukovsky, who introduced to readers a new genre of literature - ballad, which he borrowed from German folklore.
The ballad "Ludmila" and "Svetlana" are free translations of Gottfried August Burger's well-known German ballad
"Lenore," although each renders the original in a completely different way.
Another crucial factor in choosing a genre for translation is the translator's ability to follow the requirements
dictated by the genres. This is especially true of the translation of poetry. Literary translation is an art, it needs talent.
In order to translate poetry, it is necessary to feel the rhythm of the verse and its poetics. Unfortunately, even
experienced translators are not always able to cope with this task.
Nevertheless, the division of translation into different genres is conditional, depending on how much the
specifics of this genre have a significant impact on the process of translation and the choice of translation techniques.
2. Genres and Subgenres: Various Theories of Genre Classification
Жанрова-стилістична домінанта - особливості якогось жанру. It can be choice of vocabulary, grammatical
structure, the matrix should be taken in consideration (what the original text is, who are participants of communicative
situation (author and readers), how the text is translated (translation techniques, methods, equivalent in the target
language),
Certain writers cling to certain stylistic markers or distinctions of certain period of time which indicates the
adherence of the text to convention of specific literary genre.
Literal genre is a category of literal composition
Three genres: poetry, drama, prose.
Poetry: lyric, epic and dramatic.
Drama: tragedy and comedy
Prose: fiction and non-fiction
Texts of fiction: science fiction (type of fiction the creation of which was influenced by industrial development
and process of evolution of the mankind), classic literature, comics, detective/crime, fable (had moral), fairytales, fan-
fiction, fantasy, folklore (some sort of experience in life of precious era), historical, horror (suspense effect), humor
(just laugh), magical realism (100 лет одиночества, type of the story in which some unreal, magical things perform
an important function in realistic environment of the story), legend (connected with historical period of time and some
events), women fiction, mystery (мистерия, revealing a secret), mythology, social drama, memoire, short stories, told
tales (may be subtype of folklore, небилиця) subgenre of folklore text which describes unreal events in funny manner
to amuse and entertain reader, linear type of narration.
Non-fiction: biography, autobiography, essays (expository (descriptive) , persuasive, analytical, argumentativ),
article reviews, manuals, lab reports, text books, references, science popular, speeches, philosophical texts.
3. The Influence of Style on the Translator’s Choice
Idiostyle and translation
Individual style of the author is unique combination of language usage expressive means the unique stylistic
devices peculiar to the thoughts of writer which makes that writer's works or even utterances easily recognizable
Functional style - system of interrelated language means serving a defining function of communication
Individual style of the speaker is a special manner of presentation the text or an utterance in order to achieve
adequate understanding of the speaker, adresser and addressee
The phenomenon of linguistic personality and the concept of the individual style of the author of the literary
text became the subject of extensive and profound research for many native and foreign scholars beginning from the
second half of the twentieth century, namely Ahmanova (1966), Bahtin (1986), Bloch (1948), Bloomfield (1973),
Drozdovskij (1972), Fowler (1977), Grigor’ev (1983), Larin (1974), Preobrazhenskiy (1991), Shhukin (1984),
Vinogradov (1961), Vinokur (1991). The conducted analytical review of modern scientific works devoted to the study
of the aforementioned notion indicates that in recent years interest to given issue has increased significantly.
We consider it worthwhile to note that the vast majority of researchers consider the terms “individual style” and
“idiostyle” synonymous, but some still state that notion of “idiostyle” is more modern than “individual style” since it
means new and broader, according to its content, linguistic phenomenon (Bolotnova 2007, Chernyk 2016). In
addition, recently we can observe the unfolded discussions on the delimitation of the concepts of “idiostyle” and
“idiolect” in academic circles. While in linguistic terminology dictionaries and in the works of single researchers
(Baranov 1997, Grigor’ev 1983, Kostecjka 2014) aforementioned definitions almost coincide, most modern linguists
come to the conclusion that idiolect of the author as a combination of only linguistic forms of individual speech is a
narrower concept than idiostyle and can be considered as a constituent of the latter.
The analysis of the scientific works devoted to the study of author’s individual speech indicates that most
researchers understand and interpret the concept of “idiostyle of the author” following Vinogradov as a complex,
multilevel, but structurally connected and internally linked system of specific language stylistic means and forms of
verbal creative expression inherent in the textual activity of a certain author when creating his own artistic world
(Vinogradov, 1971, p.105). The scientist himself, in particular, notes that individual style is the individual use of
various linguistic means in new functions depending on the linguistic taste of the writer, a peculiar selection of these
means, an individual synthesis of forms of speech expression and content plan (Vinogradov, 1971, p.107)
Two “fields” of idiostyle. Thus, one may conclude that the notion of authorʼs individual style is one of the
most important expression of the anthropological approach in translation studies. Accordingly, we propose to consider
the following two fields” of idiostyle: the idiostyle of an author and the idiostyle of a translator. Then, in our opinion,
the translation process can be seen as occurring in two stages:
a) the insight in the source text and its perception in the psyche and consciousness of the translator according to
his outlook and cognitive peculiarities;
b) the process of translation, that consists in a transfer of the information in such a way as it was perceived by
the author, using the following linguistic and stylistic features that are characteristic of his literary language.
Illustrations for the “two field” concept of idiostyle. The illustration of this point is provided in the example
from the novel “Oliver Twist” by Charles Dickens (translated by V. Cherniahivska):
“Lor bless her dear heart, when she has lived as long as I have, sir, and had thirteen children of her own, and
all on 'em dead except two, and them in the wurkus with me, she'll know better than to take on in that way, bless her
dear heart! Think what it is to be a mothe” [12]. – Хай вона, сердега, проживе стільки, як я, та приведе
тринадцятеро дітлахів, і всі вони їй помруть – тільки двійко лишиться, та й ті сидітимуть, як і мої, з
матір'ю в робітному домі, тоді вона іншої заспіває…Самі подумайте, серденятко моє, що то бути
матір'ю!” [5, р. 16-17].
This example shows that Dickens’ literary language is colorful and has many different features of the author's
style, among them – imagery (landscape, situational, emotional). From the given example, we see that the translator
has retained this feature of the author's style, but by means of changing the imagery. It is evident that the author
deliberately repeats “Lor bless her dear heart”. The equivalent variant will be “Боже, помилуй її (душу)”, “Помилуй
її Бог”. The word combination “dear heart” is used to describe a nice person and has a positive connotation (“серце
моє”, “душа моя”), in addition it can also be translated as “Боже мій!” The translator totally withdraws the religious
motive that could have served as a definite feature of the character , and instead uses the noun “сердега”, the appeal
“серденятко моє”, while they are absent in the original.
All these translation solutions are based only on the translator’s perception of the novel , the translator
understood words of the character with a faint of regret, sorrow, and in the second case – the affectionate reference to
another character. The same can be said about the phraseological unit “заспівати іншої” that is also introduced by the
translator herself. But this phraseological unit has a clear negative semantic coloring that doesn’t correlate with the
previous noun “сердега”, where the treatment to the character is rather good. Thus, we see that the translator took
charge to change figurative meanings, to withdraw something, and to add something – the translator felt the author’s
idiostyle and its semantic dominant according to his own worldview, and delivered it by the linguistic means typical
for his style of language.
Another example is Hemingway's economical writing style which often seems simple and almost childlike,
but his method is calculated and used to complex effect. In his writing Hemingway provided detached descriptions of
action, using simple nouns and verbs to capture scenes precisely. By doing so he avoided describing his characters'
emotions and thoughts directly. Instead, in providing the reader with the raw material of an experience and eliminating
the authorial viewpoint, Hemingway made the reading of a text approximate the actual experience as closely as
possible.
When translating Hemingway into Ukrainian, it is advisable for the translator to stick to the above-mentioned
style . This stylistic distinction calls for accommodation, by which writer’s style is well-preserved. If the translator, for
the sake of the readership, wants to make his/her version more acceptable and appealing, I suggest that they must
always bear in mind the central principle---style.
4. Adequacy in Rendering Genre and Style Specifics into the Target Language
It is important not only to translate the idea raised by the original document in another language, but also to
ensure that the translation has a writing style and genre in order to facilitate reading and understanding of the idea.
The translation of genre and style is an art of reproduction and re-creation.
A genre is a category of literature or other form of art or entertainment based on certain defining criteria. Genres
change over time. Some become unpopular and go away while new ones spring up as trends emerge.
Genre analysis helps to make translators become aware that different professional genres require different steps of
restructuring. During the genre translation translators should keep in mind the macrostructure of both the source text
and target text, to be aware of the context of situation, that helps to form the target text and to notice the role played by
the "generic [dʒɪˈnɛrɪk| общая structure". With the generic features of the target text in mind, the translator can
organize its structure and select the appropriate words and expressions in a more efficient and effective manner.
Text style is commonly defined as an abstract notion closely related to the personal emotional response of the writer
and the reader, which can differ significantly. The style of anything can be described as “the general way in which it is
done or presented, which often shows the attitudes of the people involved”
The translation process consists of two steps. First, the translator should carefully appreciate the tone and spirit of the
whole original work through words, sentences and paragraphs it is made up of and determine what kind of style it
reflects from both the literary and linguistic points of view. Then he starts translating it sentence by sentence and
paragraph by paragraph from beginning to the end, with the reproduction of the original style kept in mind.Faced with
a passage in the original language, the translator must take into account:
• What the author says
• What he means
• How he says it.
Meanwhile, a translator should pay attention to the three aspects of an utterance, i.e., the verbal, syntactic, and
semantic aspects. The verbal aspect is reflected by the sentences in the work. The syntactic aspect involves the
interrelation of the parts of the text. The semantic aspect involves the global sense of the utterance, the theme it
evokes.
SEMINAR 2
1Fiction Translators as Interlingual Intermediaries
Fiction translation is the result of the combination of knowledge in psycholinguistics, culture, history,
translation competence and source language understanding. The primary task is to show the reality of another
language. Translators with super background information create the wonder in the target language, similar to the
source language. When you read the book in the original and translation, you understand that they are equivalent, just
like two sides of the same coin.
Let’s think about a translation. Is it identical to the original text? Or does it distort the original version? Is it a
translator's guilt? How can we understand, that a book, which we read, is translated correctly? Is it so important to
know, that the translation is adequate? Linguists say that the text should be equivalent and adequate. Does it go
without saying, that all literary adaptations are equivalent and adequate? How can an average person learn, if he is
reading a good translation?
In fact, all these questions are rather significant for a reader, when he is reading a book. He may suspect that the
translation is not good, because some words can stand out of the context or break the text unity, or there are too many
references with the explanations.
It is easier to make a translator redo his work when you have to do a technical translation. Whom do you claim
for a fiction translation discrepancies? In fact, have you ever noted if the translated book sounds good or bad? In the
majority of cases, we write it off as the author's style.
We can say that each translator understands the book in his way. It is true. On the other side, a translator’s
primary task is to show the author's reality with the possible means of the target language. Translation shows the
author's style, his reflections on life. Therefore, the translator should pick such idiomatic expressions, which
demonstrate the author’s intentions with maximum precision to produce the effect upon the reader. Comparing several
translations, we can come to conclusion, that in general, they are very similar, though the words are different. Do these
words reflect the writer’s intentions? We know that words have connotative meanings; sometimes the choice of the
word is determined with this meaning in the native language of the translator. However, it can produce a reverse effect
instead. When a translator chooses a specific lexical unit depending on his preferences, it will lead to the appearance
of some discrepancies in the target text. Sometimes the translator may make mistakes when there is some lack of
background information or misunderstanding of the source text.
Another point a translator should take into account is the difference between the structure and stylistics of the
languages. Source language should be translated with the usual means of the target language. That is why it is so
important to follow the rules of the target languages to create the proper target text. When a translator keeps the source
language stylistics the same in the target language, it will create some difficulty for a foreign reader to understand.
First, the author’s style will seem clumsy in the target language.
When a translator does his work, he is encountered with various difficulties in how to preserve the idiomaticity
of the source text in the target text. Only a little part of the source text can be translated into the target text without
changes. It is connected with the different structure of the languages, different grammar, different stylistics and norms
of the languages. Translators use many techniques to transfer the image into the target text. Substitution of the lexical
units is connected with the differences of the meanings in the languages. Grammar structure, word order can be
replaced with the verbal or noun forms. Stylistically the translator should keep the image the same in the target
language, understanding its meaning in the source language. He may produce that effect with the means of the
generalization, specification, omittance of the image if it is required with the text. Generally speaking, these
peculiarities form the entire piece of work. Therefore, a translator should pay attention to the context to understand the
details and how the context influences upon details. These interconnections show the true meaning of the author’s
intentions. Another difficulty is the translation of cross-cultural concepts. Some words and realia can be unknown for
the target language.
2History of Fiction Translation in Ukraine
Cicerone was father of literary translation. He supported adequate translation, but not literal one.
History of Ukrainian translation is 1000 ago, in X century. First translations were secular text. After declare of
Kiev Rus the development of translation slowed down and revived 1662, foundation of Kiev Mohila Academy. Had
enormous impact on education and science. Famous translators: Brankovskiy (Heorhiy Branko), Petro Veluchkovskiy,
Andriy Hohol-Yanovskyi, Victor Zolotnutzky, Ivan Maximovich from Polish to old Slavonic.
The Ukrainian translation tradition has existed since the ancient times. Monks of Kievan Rus monasteries, who
copied Old Slavic translations of the Bible, introduced some phonetic and morphologic features of the Ukrainian
language in their copies. Also, Ukrainian elements penetrated in Old Slavic translations of secular literature: historical
chronicles, geographical descriptions, and fiction. "The Bee", a collection of aphorisms and parables compiled in
Byzantium and translated into Old Slavic in the 12th century, was copied in Ukraine many times during several
centuries and gradually absorbed the Ukrainian vernacular vocabulary and phraseology.
In the Middle Ages, the history of Ukrainian fiction translation goes its own way. Translation of poems was in
significant progress.
Translation of secular literature had freer and creative approach. The monks knew Latin very well and from the
14th century people wanted to know the translation from Latin.
Fiction translations (had the sense of rewriting) were more like paraphrased texts (переспіви) at that time. A
good example is the poetic adaptation (as a poem) by Kulish of one of the Decameron’s short stories.
Literature was translated through the Polish language into Ukrainian.
Peter 1 forbid Ukrainian literature
Harlequin literature - бурлеск. It is connected with popular and colloquial speech, curses, proverbs.
In 16th example - List to Turkey Sultan
In the 17th-18th centuries, tales of chivalry ("Bova the King's Son"), literary works about moral values ("The
Story about the Seven Sages"), and novellas from Boccaccio's "The Decameron" proliferated in Ukraine in
translations from Latin, Italian and Polish. They underwent essential remakes in the Ukrainian cultural environment.
In 18th revival of translation, Ukrainianka, Fedkovich, Franko.
Many translations into Ukrainian made in the first decades of the 19th century were characterized by the
influence of I. Kotliarevsky's "Eneida". They included loose poetic translations of Horace's odes ("Harasko songs",
"Гараськові пісні") by P. Hulak-Artemovsky, translation of Pushkin's "Poltava" by Ye. Hrebinka, and other
translations that brimmed over with the vernacular language and vulgarisms.With his "David psalms", T. Shevchenko
gave examples of high-standard translation of solemn and passionate biblical texts. At that time, "The Tale of Igor's
Campaign" was translated from Old Slavic into Ukrainian. I. Franko (1856-1916) was the first in the Ukrainian
literature to demonstrate the unparalleled translation professionalism. He was a master of all stylistic registers of the
Ukrainian language and approached translations using the scientific analysis and artistic flair. Franko was the first to
translate Eastern authors One should mention the following prominent masters of literary translation, who worked at
the end of the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century: Lesia Ukrainka (translated Heine's lyrics, extracts
from Homer and Dante, and Hauptmann's "The Weavers"), A. Krymsky (translated works of Hafez, Saadi and other
Eastern poets). In the Soviet period, the art of Ukrainian literary translation reached its fullest flower under the hands
of M. Rylsky, whose translations conveyed subtle shades of meaning of the original in combination with the
distinguishing features of its art form. M. Rylsky translated Mickiewicz's "Mister Thaddeus", Voltaire's "The Maiden
of Orleans", Pushkin's "Eugene Onegin", and many lyric works of European poets.
Ukrainka and Franko outlined the conceptual approach of convain the purity of the language and the author's
poetic concept. But at the same time they implemented into Ukrainian translation new poetic images, rhysmes(?) to
produce the same authentic impact in the Ukrainian people as the original text does.
In the national theatre in Lviv was created and it needed translated repertoire . Such Magazins as Slovo and
Niva added a lot to this repertoire
It was slight decline in development in the 19 century
After war 60s: Lukash, Zerov,
Ten, Todos-Osmachka, Slitluchniy, Kobiv, Tereshenko, Kochur, Sodomora, Lisnyak, Palamarchuk, Pavlichko
Dmytro and Solomia Rulskiy,

M.Lukash (1919-1988), a polyglot and an equally brilliant prose and poetry translator from eleven languages
began to be published after World War II. He contributed greatly to the enrichment of Ukrainian literature with
exemplary versions of many masterpieces of world literature such as FaustofGôthe, Decameronof Boccaccio, Madame
Bovary of Flaubert, The Fate of Manby Imre Madac, Don Quixote of Cervantes (in co-authorship with A.Perepadya)
and several other important works by West European classics. M.Lukash was also a prolific translator of mainly
French poets(Verlaine, Rimbaud,Valéry, Apollinaire, etc.) as well of Spanish(Lorca, Cervantes, Lopede Vega,
Calderon), German(Gôthe, Schiller, etc.), English (R.Burns), Polish (Mickiewicz), Hungarian (E.Adi, I.Madach) and
several others. His translations are distinguished by a rich and versatile Ukrainian lexicon, accurate idiomatic
equivalents, high expressiveness and ease corresponding to those of the originals.
Lukash wanted to create a vocabulary of Ukrainian curses. He was first who used domestication in Ukrainian
translation. Idiomaticity, figurativeness of speech. Popular speech vocabulary, colloquial words, Paronims, curses,
oaths, set expressions fixed in colloquial speech.
Kochur. Syntactic pattern, grammatical and lexical transformation.
Kochur and Lukash consistently demonstrated the principle of unimpeded use of all the riches within the
Ukrainian lexicon in their translated versions of foreign belles-lettres.
The 18th century was distinguished by the translation tradition associated with the Aeneid of Virgil.
Also thanks to Kotlyarevsky, the first Ukrainian fable (байка) appeared when he firstly translated French
fabulist Jean de La Fontaine.
At that time German ballads inspired Zhukovsky and they were written in the folk language.
As Kotlyarevsky began the tradition of rewriting, it significantly influenced the translation into the Ukrainian
language and Zerov described it as “Kotlyarevshchina”.
Gulak-Artemovsky translated Rousseau, Goethe, Horace and his translations are considered rather free
variations, rather than translations as such. They are too far from the original.
The only ballad Artemovsky translated well was “Fisherman” by Goethe. It was already moving away from the
rewrites based on its motives. Another example is the psalms.
T. Shevchenko gave examples of high-standard translation of passionate biblical texts. At that time, "The Tale
of Igor's Campaign" was translated from Old Slavic into Ukrainian.
In conclusion: the translator’s translation was too far from the author’s idea. The less the translator translated,
the closer this text was to the translation.
Modern translations: Korunets, Androhovych, Zavyshko, Zhadan, Lybko -Deresh, Matios, Poderevjanskiy,
Rozdobud'ko, Mysyk, Vynnychuk, Shevchuk, Malkovych, Popovych, Synuk, Morozov, Striha, Romana Franko,
Marko Pavlyshin, Skandriy, Kylyna, Askold Medvechuk, Paolo Galvani, Lorenzo Pompelo, Anna-Galyna Horbach,
Anetta Kalynskya, Bogdan Zadura, Cherednichenko, Karaban, Koptilov, Radchuk, Roman Becha.
(Итог: переводчик отходил от автора. Чем меньше переводчика тем ближе этот текст к переводу.)
4 Differences in Fiction Translation Approaches throughout History
Translation of fiction is much more complicated than the translation of other genres, as it deals not only with
bilingual, but also bi-cultural and bi-social transference, including the entire complex of emotions, associations, and
ideas, which intricately relate different nations' languages to their lifestyles and traditions.
THE SOCIOLINGUISTIC APPROACH
According to the sociolinguistic approach to translation, the social context defines what is and is not translatable and
what is or is not acceptable through selection, filtering and even censorship. According to this perspective, a translator
is inevitably the product of his or her society: our own sociocultural background is present in everything we translate.
This approach is associated with the School of Tel Aviv and figures such as Annie Brisset, Even Zohar and Guideon
Toury.
The Anthropocentric approach The anthropological factor in translation theory emphasizes also a psycholinguistic
approach to the text. According to that, each individual (in our case – the translator) perceives the text depending on
his own multi-faceted experience, world-view, picture of the world and so on [6, p. 65]. In this way, if the vision of
the text is individual, so is its translation. One may notice that this statement has something in common with the
definition of individual author’s style.Each individual not only perceives the language and the information transmitted
by means of language differently, but also uses it in an individual way. A translator is to deal with an important task –
to feel the imagery of the text, to transfer it by means of the native language, to distinguish the author’s linguistic
phenomena and to manage to pass them in translation.
THE HERMENEUTIC APPROACH
The hermeneutic approach is mainly based on the work of George Steiner, who believes that any human
communication is a translation. In his book After Babel he explains that translation is not a science but an “exact art”:
a true translator should be capable of becoming a writer in order to capture what the author of the original text “means
to say.”
THE LINGUISTIC APPROACH
Linguists like Vinay, Darbelnet, Austin, Vegliante, and Mounin, interested in language text, structuralism, and
pragmatics, also examined the process of translating. According to this perspective, any translation (whether it’s a
marketing translation, a medical translation, a legal translation or another type of text) should be considered from the
point of view of its fundamental units; that is, the word, the syntagm and the sentence.
THE LITERARY APPROACH
According to the literary approach, a translation should not be considered a linguistic endeavor but a literary one.
Language has an “energy”: this is manifested through words, which are the result of experiencing a culture. This
charge is what gives it strength and ultimately, meaning: this is what the translation-writer should translate.
THE SEMIOTIC APPROACH
Semiotics is the science that studies signs and signification. Accordingly, in order for there to be meaning there must
be a collaboration between a sign, an object and an interpreter. Thus, from the perspective of semiotics, translation is
thought of as a way of interpreting texts in which encyclopedic content varies and each sociocultural context is
unique.
Тема 3. Художній текст як об’єкт перекладу
1 Fictional Text Translation: Specifics and Problems
Fictional translation is the kind of translation activity, the main task of which is to create a work of fiction in the
target language which is capable to have the same artistic and aesthetic impact on the reader as the text of the original.
Translation of fiction is a complex process that is affected by many variables, such as a reference to the source
or target language, or the use of adaptation to accomplish certain pragmatic goals. Ukrainian fiction and English
fiction are not only written in different languages, but also represent different cultures, varying greatly in terms of
linguistic, literary, cultural and social characteristics. Translation of fiction is complicated by the fact that it is
necessary not only to convey the linguistic, but also the cultural and social component of the original, including the
whole complex of emotions, associations and ideas related to the national way of life and traditions described in the
original work.
Translation of fiction depends largely on various factors, including:
• aesthetic features
• historical and cultural-social circumstances
• author's individualism
• author's worldview
• author's style
Communication by translation is more complex than intra-language, because the message is not transmitted
directly, but through an intermediary, making the translator a reader and co-author at the same time. As a reader, the
translator analyzes and interprets the semantic and lexical-grammatical structures of the original text in accordance
with his own perception and what Kaller calls “literary competence”, that is, the reader’s understanding of the internal
elements of a literary work as literary genres, themes, themes and symbolism. The choice of a adequate equivalent
depends on the sociolinguistic, sociopragmatic and grammatical competence of the translator in both languages.
Just as different readers may react differently to the same text, the translator’s vision is just one of the possible
interpretations.
When translating a literary text, a translator can apply one of the three translation strategies proposed by
Kazakova, namely the strategy of an observer, assistant or educator.
The main feature of the observer strategy is the impersonality of choice and indifference to the preferences of
the potential reader. Translating fiction with the help of such a strategy, the translator usually seeks to neutralize the
stylistic features of the source text, among which are also the personal preferences of the author. The translation uses
primarily standard equivalents proposed by a bilingual dictionary, even if they provide only formal equality, not
functional equality. Conservatism is also manifested in the transliteration of realities, while grammatical forms and
structures, such as word order, remain unchanged, although they sometimes violate the norms of the target language.
According to the assistant's strategy, the translator, as a rule, protects the reader from interlanguage and
intercultural complications and more often uses analogs or a descriptive translation, rather than transliteration; and
also seeks to make the translated text syntax more readable. The translator may even use some linguistic units from
the text, if they seem to him incomprehensible or too specific. Applying this strategy you need to be careful not to
change the emotional or estimated color of the statement.
The Enlightenment Strategy is used to educate the reader by adding additional information and expanding the
text in translation. This is manifested in a large number of notes and comments, because the translator-educator is
convinced that the reader does not have the necessary knowledge. This strategy is most effective when translating
historical or fantastically scientific novels.
A skilled translator, as a rule, uses all three strategies simultaneously, preferring one of them if necessary.
2 Genre-Specific Challenges in Translation of Fiction
Nowadays, definitions of literature tend to be functional and contingent rather than formal or ontological, as illustrated
by Eagleton (2008: 9) who argues in his influential textbook Literary Theory that literature is best defined as “a highly
valued kind of writing”. Literary text comes into existence as a subjectively transformed reflection of the objective
reality in tune with the aesthetic-emotional intent of the author: he/she endeavours to convey his/her ideas, thoughts
and emotions, which is enabled by his/her orientation towards experience. From the point of view of the language
resources choice, an immense lexical variability coupled with the uniqueness of expression comes to the fore here.
Another crucial feature of literary text is connected with the release of the polysemy of words for an adequate
understanding of the text is achieved only “through a careful mapping of its entire denotative and connotative
dimension” (Hermans, 2007: 82). Besides, it is claimed that the principal feature of literary text rests on its focus on
the message, not on content (Landers, 2001: 7; Burkhanov, 2003: 139; Hermans, 2007: 78-79; Sánchez 2009: 123).
Consequently, literary translation must be approached as “a kind of aesthetically-oriented mediated bilingual
communication, which aims at producing a target text intended to communicate its own form, correspondent with the
source text, and accordant with contemporary literary and translational norms of the receptor culture” (Burkhanov,
2003: 139). In the ambit of literary translation, the translator delves in the aesthetic pleasures of working with great
pieces of literature, of recreating in a TL a work that would otherwise remain beyond reach or effectively encrypted.
One of the exasperatingly difficult things about literary translation in general is the translator’s ability to capture and
render the style of the original composition. Notably, in literary translation how one says something may be as
significant, sometimes even more significant, than what one says. In technical translation, for instance, style is not a
consideration as long as the informational content makes its way unaltered from SL to TL. Landers illustrates this
issue by using a vivid freight-train analogy: In technical translation the order of the cars is inconsequential if all cargo
arrives intact. In literary translation, however, the order of the cars – which is to say the style – can make the
difference between a lively, highly readable translation and stilted, rigid, artificial rendering that strips the original of
its artistic and aesthetic essence, even its very soul (Landers, 2001: 7). Ideally, the translator should take pains to have
no style at all and endeavour to disappear into and become indistinguishable from the style of the author he/she
translates – “now terse, now rambling, sometimes abstruse but always as faithful to the original as circumstances
permit” (ibid.: 90). However, all literary translators have their individual styles, i.e. characteristic modes of
expressions, which they more or less consciously or unconsciously display. More specifically, literary translation
traditionally splits into translation of poetry, translation of prose (fiction) and translation of drama, reflecting three
major strands of literary texts. While in the translation of poetry, achievement of the same emotional effect on the TT
recipient is intended, in drama the relationship between text and performance, or readability and performability comes
under focus (see Hrehovčík, 2006: 53-55). Translating prose is of special interest to us since the literary text under
investigation represents a sample of fiction. Compared to other genres of literary translation, poetry in particular, far
fewer works have been devoted to the specific problems of translating literary prose. One explanation for this could be
the higher status that poetry usually holds, but this is more probably due to the proliferated erroneous assumption that
a novel is usually supposed to have a simpler structure than a poem and is therefore more straightforward to translate
(Bassnett, 2002: 114). Since two prose texts differ not only in languages entering the process of translation but also in
terms of cultures and social conventions, fiction translation must be thought of as not only interlingual transfer but
also cross-cultural and cross-social transference. Unlike other literary genres, fiction translation is not endowed with
an insignificant social influence because translated novels or short stories (being the most common genres of prose
fiction) may be read by millions of voracious readers and sometimes successful novels may adapted into movies. All
in all, the yardstick by which quality of fiction translation is measured is the correspondence in meaning, similarity in
style (both authorial and text style) and function (Hrehovčík, 2006: 54). Turning our attention to the selected literary
text subject to analysis, it should be said that the novel pertains to expressive text type within the framework of Reiss’
text typology because the author foregrounds the aesthetic dimension of language (Reiss, 1981/2000: 63). Drawing on
a well-known Barthes-inspired dichotomy employed for literary texts classification, the analyzed novel belongs to so-
called ‘readerly’ texts. These texts have a fairly smooth narrative structure and commonplace language, with
narratives and characters presented to the reader by the text allowing him to be a ‘consumer’ of the meanings, as
opposed to ‘writerly texts’, challenging the reading process in some way and making the reader work much harder to
produce meanings from a range of possibilities (see Thornborrow and Wareing, 1998: 148-149 for more detail). From
a translatological angle, the literary text corresponds to Nord’s ‘instrumental translation’, which 24 serves as an
independent message-transmitting instrument in a new communicative action in the target culture, and is intended to
fulfil its communicative purpose without the receiver being aware of reading or hearing a text which, in a different
form, was used before in a different communicative action (Nord, 2005: 81). In order to flesh out the explanation
above, it should be added that TT receivers read the TT as if it were a ST written in their own language. What is more,
Nord’s instrumental translation can be put on a par with Newmark’s ‘communicative translation’ whose essence rests
on producing on its readers “an effect as close as possible to that obtained on the readers of the original”, being
smoother, simpler, clearer, more direct and tending to undertranslate (Newmark, 1981: 39). Last but not least, literary
texts may brim with culture-specific terms, in contrast to non-literary texts, which supports the idea that literary
translation champions rendering as an instrument of cultural transmission and negotiation.
3 Period-Specific Challenges in Translation of Fiction
Translation always represents a shift not only between two languages but also between two cultures. A translator must
take into account factors that are linguistic or semantic as well as, broadly speaking, cultural.1 Every translation is, to
a greater or lesser extent, also an interpretation.
Translations, as much as the original work in question, rely on a common field of reference between the writer and the
reader. This obviously becomes more difficult as we cross not only geographical and linguistic frontiers but also
temporal ones; the past is indeed a foreign country.
It seems evident that early translators of historical texts would have had an easier time of it than we twenty-first-
century translators do. Across the literate world of seventeenth-century Italy, members of the educated class tended to
share the same classical education. Therefore quotations and echoes of these “classic” texts (which would have been
common grazing ground for them) would also have been recognizable, and translations heavy with a multiplicity of
meanings and poetic ambivalence would have been prized in a way that is not characteristic of our times.
We have presented elsewhere some of the challenges of translating a text written more than three hundred years ago,
the result of a linguistic and cultural environment very different from our own, and composed by a mediocre writer.2
Here is another telling example: in the sixth stanza on folio 1 verso of the manuscript, Pietro describes the
“tribulations of the Prodigal Son” as depicted in a painting by Jacopo Bassano the Elder. He uses the words “aspre
vicende” (literally, “harsh events”), which to the members of his social class (and to anyone who is familiar with
Dante’s Divine Comedy in the original Italian), would have evoked the “selva selvaggia e aspra” (“wild, harsh forest”)
in which Dante had lost his way in the opening Canto of the Inferno. And it is probably not coincidental that Pietro
chose the rhyme scheme of the Divine Comedy—terza rima—for his humble poem.3 We might even say that the
character of Dante in what is arguably the greatest poem in the Italian language is the ultimate prodigal son, traveling
on the harsh, sometimes brutal road to redemption. These are the kind of cultural resonances that Pietro’s choice of
words, and even his choice of rhyme schemes, would have evoked in contemporary readers of his poetic inventory.4
The translator cannot help but bring to the translation a certain degree of the cultural “feel” of the times in which he or
she lives; thus a translation carried out, say, in the 1920s will be recognizable as such in its use of words and cadences
common to the era. If it strays too far from the tone of the original, however, it may provide a very different
experience for the reader than was intended by the author.5 The challenge is to put across to the reader the culture and
context of the time in which the original text was written (in the case of Pietro Mellini’s poem, Rome in the late
seventeenth century), retaining as much as possible the original “flavor” of the era while making it intelligible to a
reader who may know little either of the times, the subject matter, or the cultural context. Working in a digital
environment, with the ability to annotate both texts and images, has helped us in our task of conveying the many
meanings of Pietro’s poem to our contemporary readers.
4 Style-Specific Challenges in Translation of Fiction
Literary translation faces the same tasks as other types of translation: it is intended to reproduce everything that is said
in the original language by means of the target language. From a linguistic point of view, genres have many common
features in different languages, because they are based on the same criteria. A translator must be familiar with the
peculiarities of genres of speech in the English and Ukrainian languages and to be familiar with the principles of
transmission of these features in the translation. The problem of translation equivalence is closely connected with the
stylistic aspect of translation - one cannot reach the required level of equivalence if the stylistic peculiarities of the
source text are neglected. Full translation adequacy includes as an obligatory component the ade quacy of style, i. e.
the right choice of stylistic means and devices of the target language to substitute for those observed in the source text.
This means that in translation one is to find proper stylistic variations of the original meaning rather than only
meaning itself.
Special attention is to be paid by a translator to overt and covert quotations. Whereas the former require only correct
rendering of the source quotation in the target language (Never suggest your own homemade translation for a
quotation of a popular author!), the latter usually takes the shape of an allusion and the pragmatic equivalence seems
the most appropriate for the case. For example, «the Trojan horse raid» one may translate as напад, підступний, як
кінь троянців (i.e. preserving the allusion) or as підступний напад (loosing the meaning of the original quotation).
A translator is to be ready to render dialect forms and illiterate speech in the target language forms. It goes without
saying that one can hardly render, say, cockney dialect using the Western Ukrainian dialect forms. There is no
universal recipe for this translation problem. In some cases the distortions in the target grammar are used to render the
dialect forms but then again it is not 'a cure-all' and each such case requires an individual approach.
Thus, any good translation should be fulfilled with due regard of the stylistic peculiarities of the source text and this
recommendation applies to all text types rather than only to fiction
There is the following classification which the translator should take into account when choosing the style and genre
of translation.
1) The genre of the source language has an equivalent genre in the target language that performs the same
adequate function.
2) The genre of source language is absent in the target language, but another genre or genres performs its
function.
3) The genre of the target language performs only some functions of the genre of source language.
4) The genre of source language is presented in the target language, but they perform different function. This is
the biggest challenge for the translator, as the original text and the translated text will have different stylistic
features.
The vivid example is comparison of Russian and German ballad. The German ballad refers to the folk genre. It
characterized by use of colloquial language (archaisms), any extra details about the surroundings, atmosphere or
environment, dialogues, repetitions, invasion of grammatical rules.
While in Russian literature we can find Literary Ballad. Usually the literary ballad is more elaborate and complex; the
poet may retain only some of the devices and conventions of the older verse narrative.
Seminar 4
1 Translation of Belles-Lettres Texts: From Classics to Modern Times
Les Belles Lettres offers the world's most extensive library of classical works. Since 1919, this French publisher has
enabled readers to access the literary heritage of ancient civilizations, thanks to its meticulous editing and translation
of often previously unpublished texts, further enhanced by in-depth introductions and annotations.
Today, our unique catalogue encompasses more than one thousand Greek, Latin, Chinese and Sanskrit texts, featured
in bilingual reference volumes derived from the diverse fields of study which have marked the progression of our
knowledge: philosophy, religions, philology, sciences, medicine, history, poetry and theatre.
In keeping with the rigorous principles involved in publishing ancient texts, Les Belles Lettres works in association
with the most respected experts in France, as well as abroad. This painstaking work, carried out in the Renaissance
Humanist tradition, has produced a direct line of sources stretching from Antiquity to the Renaissance, and from the
West to the East.
Also featured are the works of contemporary thinkers and historians whose books delve into all fields of learning
(history, science, philosophy and art) and whose knowledge and ideas deserve to be shared.
Our catalogue exemplifies how strongly our world still resonates with that of the ancients and strives to ensure that the
future will not be lost. As long as there is a world, our books will be a part of it
2 The Influence of the Author’s Idiostyle on the Translator’s Choice
Idiostyle and translation
Individual style of the author is unique combination of language usage expressive means the unique stylistic
devices peculiar to the thoughts of writer which makes that writer's works or even utterances easily recognizable
Functional style - system of interrelated language means serving a defining function of communication
Individual style of the speaker is a special manner of presentation the text or an utterance in order to achieve
adequate understanding of the speaker, adresser and addressee

The phenomenon of linguistic personality and the concept of the individual style of the author of the literary
text became the subject of extensive and profound research for many native and foreign scholars beginning from the
second half of the twentieth century, namely Ahmanova (1966), Bahtin (1986), Bloch (1948), Bloomfield (1973),
Drozdovskij (1972), Fowler (1977), Grigor’ev (1983), Larin (1974), Preobrazhenskiy (1991), Shhukin (1984),
Vinogradov (1961), Vinokur (1991). The conducted analytical review of modern scientific works devoted to the study
of the aforementioned notion indicates that in recent years interest to given issue has increased significantly.
We consider it worthwhile to note that the vast majority of researchers consider the terms “individual style” and
“idiostyle” synonymous, but some still state that notion of “idiostyle” is more modern than “individual style” since it
means new and broader, according to its content, linguistic phenomenon (Bolotnova 2007, Chernyk 2016). In
addition, recently we can observe the unfolded discussions on the delimitation of the concepts of “idiostyle” and
“idiolect” in academic circles. While in linguistic terminology dictionaries and in the works of single researchers
(Baranov 1997, Grigor’ev 1983, Kostecjka 2014) aforementioned definitions almost coincide, most modern linguists
come to the conclusion that idiolect of the author as a combination of only linguistic forms of individual speech is a
narrower concept than idiostyle and can be considered as a constituent of the latter.
The analysis of the scientific works devoted to the study of author’s individual speech indicates that most
researchers understand and interpret the concept of “idiostyle of the author” following Vinogradov as a complex,
multilevel, but structurally connected and internally linked system of specific language stylistic means and forms of
verbal creative expression inherent in the textual activity of a certain author when creating his own artistic world
(Vinogradov, 1971, p.105). The scientist himself, in particular, notes that individual style is the individual use of
various linguistic means in new functions depending on the linguistic taste of the writer, a peculiar selection of these
means, an individual synthesis of forms of speech expression and content plan (Vinogradov, 1971, p.107)
Two “fields” of idiostyle. Thus, one may conclude that the notion of authorʼs individual style is one of the
most important expression of the anthropological approach in translation studies. Accordingly, we propose to consider
the following two fields” of idiostyle: the idiostyle of an author and the idiostyle of a translator. Then, in our opinion,
the translation process can be seen as occurring in two stages:
a) the insight in the source text and its perception in the psyche and consciousness of the translator according to
his outlook and cognitive peculiarities;
b) the process of translation, that consists in a transfer of the information in such a way as it was perceived by
the author, using the following linguistic and stylistic features that are characteristic of his literary language.
Illustrations for the “two field” concept of idiostyle. The illustration of this point is provided in the example
from the novel “Oliver Twist” by Charles Dickens (translated by V. Cherniahivska):
“Lor bless her dear heart, when she has lived as long as I have, sir, and had thirteen children of her own, and
all on 'em dead except two, and them in the wurkus with me, she'll know better than to take on in that way, bless her
dear heart! Think what it is to be a mothe” [12]. – Хай вона, сердега, проживе стільки, як я, та приведе
тринадцятеро дітлахів, і всі вони їй помруть – тільки двійко лишиться, та й ті сидітимуть, як і мої, з
матір'ю в робітному домі, тоді вона іншої заспіває…Самі подумайте, серденятко моє, що то бути
матір'ю!” [5, р. 16-17].
This example shows that Dickens’ literary language is colorful and has many different features of the author's
style, among them – imagery (landscape, situational, emotional). From the given example, we see that the translator
has retained this feature of the author's style, but by means of changing the imagery. It is evident that the author
deliberately repeats “Lor bless her dear heart”. The equivalent variant will be “Боже, помилуй її (душу)”, “Помилуй
її Бог”. The word combination “dear heart” is used to describe a nice person and has a positive connotation (“серце
моє”, “душа моя”), in addition it can also be translated as “Боже мій!” The translator totally withdraws the religious
motive that could have served as a definite feature of the character , and instead uses the noun “сердега”, the appeal
“серденятко моє”, while they are absent in the original.
All these translation solutions are based only on the translator’s perception of the novel , the translator
understood words of the character with a faint of regret, sorrow, and in the second case – the affectionate reference to
another character. The same can be said about the phraseological unit “заспівати іншої” that is also introduced by the
translator herself. But this phraseological unit has a clear negative semantic coloring that doesn’t correlate with the
previous noun “сердега”, where the treatment to the character is rather good. Thus, we see that the translator took
charge to change figurative meanings, to withdraw something, and to add something – the translator felt the author’s
idiostyle and its semantic dominant according to his own worldview, and delivered it by the linguistic means typical
for his style of language.
Another example is Hemingway's economical writing style which often seems simple and almost childlike,
but his method is calculated and used to complex effect. In his writing Hemingway provided detached descriptions of
action, using simple nouns and verbs to capture scenes precisely. By doing so he avoided describing his characters'
emotions and thoughts directly. Instead, in providing the reader with the raw material of an experience and eliminating
the authorial viewpoint, Hemingway made the reading of a text approximate the actual experience as closely as
possible.
When translating Hemingway into Ukrainian, it is advisable for the translator to stick to the above-mentioned
style . This stylistic distinction calls for accommodation, by which writer’s style is well-preserved. If the translator, for
the sake of the readership, wants to make his/her version more acceptable and appealing, I suggest that they must
always bear in mind the central principle---style.
3 Specifics of Poetic Translation
Translating literary works is, perhaps, always more difficult than translating other types of text because literary works
have specific values called the aesthetic and expressive values. The aesthetic function of the work shall emphasize the
beauty of the words (diction), figurative language, metaphors, etc. While the expressive functions shall put forwards
the writer's thought (or process of thought), emotion, etc. And the translator should try, at his best, to transfer these
specific values into the target language (TL). As one genre of literature, poetry has something special compared to the
others. In a poem, the beauty is not only achieved with the choice of words and figurative language like in novels and
short stories, but also with the creation of rhythm, rhyme, meter, and specific expressions and structures that may not
conform to the ones of the daily language. In short, the translation of poetry needs 'something more' than translating
other genres of literature.
Poetry translation may be defined as relaying poetry into another language. Poetry's features can be sound-based,
syntactic or structural or pragmatic in nature. Apart from transforming text, poetry translation also involves cognition,
discourse, and action by and between human and textual actors in a physical and social setting. A poetry translation
project usually aims to publicize a poet or poets. Poetry translation is typically overt. Poetry translators are concerned
to interpret a source poem's layers of meaning, to relay this interpretation reliably, and/or to ‘create a poem in the
target language which is readable and enjoyable as an independent, literary text.
The main task of poetry translators is to translate. I first examine this as what might be termed ‘cognitive habitus’ (a
cluster of socially defined information-processing practices), then in terms of cognitive challenges and processes, and
end by discussing affective (emotional) factors.
Translators spend most time tackling problems of lexis: words and fixed expressions. They are also strongly
concerned with underlying poetic image: exploring the source poem's use of imagery, and attempting to recreate this
in the translation. Less translating time is typically spent on sound (rhyme, rhythm, assonance, etc.), unless translators
are trying to recreate formal rhyme and rhythm.
In general, there are a lot of methods in translating a text, but not all of them are appropriate to use in translating a
poem. Andre Lafevere noted seven methods adopted by English translators in translating Catullus's poems: phonemic
translation, literal translation, metrical translation, verse-to-prose translation, rhymed translation, free verse
translation, and interpretation.
Phonemic translation attempts to recreate the sounds of the source language (SL) in the target language (TL). And at
the same time the translator tries to transfer the meaning.
Literal translation means word-for-word translation. This method will not be able to transfer the original meaning;
while the phrase and sentence structures tend to fall by the wayside in the TL.
The metrical translation emphasizes the reproduction of the original meter into the TL. And because each language
has its own specific stressing and pronunciation system, this method will result in the inappropriate translation in
terms of meaning and structure.
Verse-to-prose translation has also some weaknesses. The outstanding weakness is the loss of the beauty of the
original poem.
The next method is rhymed translation which emphasizes the transferring of the rhyme of the original poem into the
translation in TL. The result will be appropriate physically but tend to be semantically inappropriate.
The sixth method is free verse translation. With this method the translator may be able to get the accurate equivalents
in the TL with a sound literary value of the result. On the other hand, the rhyme and meter tend to be ignored.
The last method noted by Lafevere is interpretation. According to him there are two types: version and imitation. A
version of a poem in the TL will semantically be exactly the same with the original, but physically totally different.
Further, an imitation is exactly a different poem, but the title, topic, and starting point are the same with the original
poem.
4 Specifics of Prose Translation
Specifics of prose translation
Novels, short stories and Essays are written in prose. General opinion is that prose is a simple structure and hence it is
easy to translate. This is not so, if the prose is classical in it style, descriptive in its details and symbolic in its purport,
it is going to be equally difficult. Few novelists and even essayists create satirical and mocking tone in their prose-
style. Bringing them into a TL is a tough task. But efforts can be made to create a readable translation, instead of
closely following the SL text. General rules of translation, elsewhere referred to, for poetry may also be followed,
wherever applicable.
Hilaire Belloc, an English essayist, has laid down the following rules for prose-translation:
* Consider the prose - work as an integral unit and translate in sections, keeping in mind the tenor and sense of the
work, undertaken. In other words, it is not desirable that any translator attempts translating sentence by sentence or
paragraph by paragraph without relating to the overall work. Every prose text is constituted of a series of units and
divisions. These items function in relation to the whole text. The translator must be aware of this inter-relatedness
before undertaking his work.
* To the extent possible, emphasis, irony, implication etc., may be so transferred as to be in consonance with the
stylistic and syntactical exigencies of the TL.
* Idioms, allusions and references belonging to an alien tongue may be individually replaced. This doesn't mean that
the translator is at liberty to indulge in a total description or portrayal of a scene or a context in the TL, such an
attempt may result altogether in a variant text.In the translation of essays and prose, it is always better to maintain a
readable style. The translator can take liberties, to some extent especially in replacing foreign idioms, foreign names
etc., with equivalent local terms. Similes, metaphors and cluster of exotic images may be made simpler and
understandable. What is essential in the translation of prose is that, on no account the theme and content of the original
should suffer.
Seminar 5
1. Folklore Text Translation: Specifics and Problems
2. Translation Challenges in Folklore Texts
The relationship between folklore, culture and language is based on the fact that folklore is expressed by means of
language and that both language and folklore are set in the culture of the people who speak the former and produce the
latter. In addition, both reflect the culture they are set in. In particular, translating folklore, which is believed to reflect
the deepest aspects of the culture that produces it, requires a special consideration of culture.
Folklore is the traditional art, literature, knowledge, and practice that is disseminated largely through oral
communication and behavioral example.
The folk text carries the inscriptions of cultural coding in the form of myths, legends, symbols, fantasy and dreams of
the source culture. The problem of understanding the folk text or (folklore text) lies in the sphere of understanding
cultural identity of a certain nation. Thus the folk text carries the inscriptions of cultural coding in the form of myths,
legends, symbols, fantasy and dreams of the source culture. The main problems the translator of the folklore text
overcomes are generally connected with the translation of the lacunae or culturally marked lexical units.
The specific ways of such culturally marked lexical units translation can be reviewed through figurative categories
used in folk vocabulary (metaphor, simile, connotation).
In case of translation with the absence of translation equivalents, i.e. when in the target lingvo-culture the
corresponding concept or linguistic sign with a similar tradition of use doesn’t exist, it is practically impossible to
establish the relationship between the folklore nomination and its translation equivalents.
As to the translation techniques we may consider the follows:
1) the replacement of the source word (phrase) by the corresponding equivalent of the target language;
2) the interpretation, in which in addition to the equivalent in the target language translators give the information
about the coincidence (or divergence) in the cultural component of meaning.
The translation of the great amount of the lacuna lexicon is frequently based on the methods of
transcription/transliteration as well as by means of the semantic translation or modeling words and constructions after
foreign patterns (e.g. personal, geographical names, mythological concepts so on).
This very often results in appearance of the target language words having just similar sound-graphic form, but not
correlating neither to the source language notion, nor to the concept.
Everyday Life, Like Food and Beverage, Meal Hours, Etiquette; Chores
The folk food and beverage names are not translated but transcribed into English. Though sometimes occur the cases
of mistranslation due to the attempt of the translator to substitute the specific cultural fragments with the familiar to
the target language users images. We’ve noticed rather funny fragments with the use of traditional Ukrainian foods
and beverages. For example Traditional Ukrainian spirit горілка is rendered into English by means of the lexeme
brandy.
Горілка (sometimes popularly used the word горівка) (from the burning taste) or оковита (lat. Aqua vita – the water
of life, living water) – a strong alcoholic drink from cleaned alcohol. Beyond Ukraine the word Горілка is used to
name the Ukrainian bitter pepper drink. Горілка, made at home, is called самогон or самогонка. The main raw
material for the manufacture of самогон is sugar beet or beet sugar.
Living Conditions, Such As: Living Conditions in the City and in the the Countryside; Living Standards
(Regional, Social and Ethnic Group Variants)
Ukrainian lexeme шинок is for some reason translated as a tavern. Though the nature of the words as well as their
etymology is quite different. According to the Etymological Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language the word шинок is
an old word to denote the institution for selling and drinking alcohol. The word is borrowed from German through
Polish: g. Schenke «шинок», svl. schenk(e) «the sale of the strong drinks» connected with the word schenken «give;
present wine in the korchma (another Ukrainian name for a drinking place)», the word is close to the English skink «to
pore (wine, bier)»; germ.*skankian «to hold awry» produced from the adjective *skanka – «awry».
Traditions, Customs, Superstitions, Mythology
For example the Ukrainian Ох is transcribed as Oh, Oh is an ancient Slavonic mythical creature, the ruler of the Forest
Kingdom. Appears in the tale called "Oh"and is described as the short old man all green with a long beard. Appears
out of nowhere on a stump after someone sitting on a tree stump exclaims the word "oh".
In the English version of the tale Ох is described “as a little little old man, all so wrinkled and puckered, and his beard
was quite green and reached right down to his knee”. In Ukrainian Ох is an exclamation used for the expression of
physical pain, suffering, fear, a feeling of relief and so on. In English oh is an exclamation used to express a range of
emotions including surprise, anger, disappointment, or joy, or when reacting to a remark. The target language notion is
corresponding the source language word not only in the form but is very close to the base concept. But the Ukrainian
word мавки is translated as water-nixies: “А за наймичок у Оха мавки – такі зелені, як рута!”. “And Oh had water-
nixies for serving-maids, and they were all as green as rue." Мавка is Fairy forest creature in the image of a beautiful
naked girl with long flowing hair, the closest British image is the wood nymph. The Neck, Nicor, or Nixie or are
shapeshifting water spirits in Germanic mythology and folklore, who usually appeared in forms of other creatures.
The word чорт is generally rendered by “demon” or “devil”, чорт is considered to be a demon of total evil, with
horns, hoofs, skinny tail, and a pig-face in Slavic mythology (demonology). He is the son of the Slavic god Chernobog
and the goddess Mara. In Ukraine, he is also known as гаспид, дідько, ірод і куций (haspyd, didko, irod, and kutsyi).
In folk Christianity, he is considered a minion of Satan
It seems possible to conclude that the translation of the folk text concerning its style high frequency of outdated
vocabulary and a large number of realities peculiar to a source folklore language also shows a difficulty of transferring
the historical and cultural coloring. When translating it often occurs that some background cultural information, of a
native speaker (source language speaker) does not correspond to the information contained in the target language.
Thus the problem of rendering culturally marked lexicon in the folk text depends on the level of the translator’s
background knowledge.

Translation of poetry. Expression of matrix


(Вимоги до адекватного достовірного перекладу поетичних творів.
Відтворення складових поетичної матриці.)

In the translations of poetry works, it is important to reproduce the external and internal elements of the poetic matrix
such as rhythm, size, rhyme, euphonic structure of the poem, stylistics, figurative and emotional content of words and
phrases.
The translator seems to turn into an author, taking his style and language, intonation and rhythm, establish functional
equivalence between the structure of the original and the translation, reproduce in translation the unity of the form and
content, which refers to the artistic whole, that is, to convey to the reader the subtle nuances of the creative idea of the
author.
The internal matrix of a poetic composition consists of the following components:

1. the content of a single line (stanzas).


2. the author's collection of various stylistic means - tropes (metaphor, metonymy, euphemism, synecdoche,
irony, etc.).
3. syntactic features of the stanza.
4. the euphonic (sound) structure of the work. A poem can be with a musical (melodic) sound, it can be with
asonsans (consonants of consonant sounds) or with dissonances (inaccurate) rhyming, incomplete rhyme
5. the pragmatic subtext - the intention of the author to cause the reader the same feelings - a reaction to the
image depicted in the event, a social or other problem, as in the original.
6. the author's images of the work, on the basis of which the main storyline conflict and the development of the
topic in the work
Other no less frequently used in fiction stylistic means are anaphora (repetition of the initial word or phrase of the
component component sentence), the epiphora - the repetition of the final component in the line, and parallelism (the
repetition of the same structure in the line).

You might also like