Vol 18, No 4 (2021): PARTS OF A WHOLE: TRANSLATION INTO RUSSIAN FROM THE LANGUAGES OF THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF RUSSIA

Articles

A Multitude of Languages - and One Country: Building up Communication among the Peoples of Russia through Translation

Alexeeva I.S.

Abstract

The article gives a survey of the problematics, historic and cultural practice of maintaining and developing the ethnic languages of Russia through translation; it retrospectively describes the history of polycultural co-existence (including the unified method of presentation for children’s folk lore in S. Marshak’s version) and outlines the ways of dealing with today’s urgent problems of preserving ethnic language. The article describes the models of reconstructing the lost texts and the strategies of translating the texts of small ethnic groups, as well as the models of maintaining the quality of translation from Russia’s ethnic languages into Russian. We especially stress the importance of the Russian language in its role of the cultural mediator. The article pays due attention to the need to develop specific practiceoriented theories of translation which would embrace the global experience in translatology and take into account the specificity of ethno-centric mentality and the ways to keep it in translation. The article is an introduction to the following materials in the volume.

Polylinguality and Transcultural Practices. 2021;18(4):332-346
pages 332-346 views

Culturological Aspect of Russian Interpretation of Avar Literary Works: Based On “My Daghestan” by R. Gamzatov

Mallaeva Z.M., Magomedov M.A., Khalidova R.S.

Abstract

The topic of this article is up-to-date due to the fact that the problems of adequate Russian interpretation of “My Daghestan” book by Rasul Gamzatov are not completely solved yet. Moreover, the urgency of further solvation of this problem is complicated by the fact that all translations of this book into other languages are done on the basis of its Russian version. Thus all the flops in the Russian interpretation are kept in the translations into other languages as well. The main objective of the article is to claim attention to the importance of original ethnic context for proper reflection of the cultural peculiarities. The source for research is taken from “My Daghestan” book by R. Gamzatov in the original (Avar), as well as from its Russian interpretation done by V. Soloukhin. The main approach in the research is the method of comparative analysis of the original text and its interpretation. The given research results in the conclusion that lack of ethnic cultural knowledge of the Avar language world picture as well as the differences between ethnic and cultural values led to some certain mistakes in Russian interpretation of the text. In some cases the interpreter doesn’t perform literary images corresponding to the original and to Daghestan mentality, instead leading to lack of original artistic and emotional impressions in the translation. The interpreter has also some difficulties with transmission of the original text by Rasul Gamzatov from one linguistic and cultural sphere into other, not though on the reason that it is unknown, but because it is strange for him. We should admit that while interpreting the text it is inevitable for the interpreter to use some of his individual thinking. But the best adequate interpretation needs maximum keeping to the characteristic features of the original. The individualism of the interpreter must not interfere.

Polylinguality and Transcultural Practices. 2021;18(4):347-357
pages 347-357 views

Translation in Yakutia as a Means of Preservation of the Sakha Language and Culture

Vasil’eva A.A.

Abstract

Translation as a means of cross-cultural communication serves two purposes: 1. making an additional recording of cultural works of a certain people by creating a copy of these works in a language with a higher number of speakers for further introduction of the culture to a wider public; 2. in a situation of widespread bilingualism, preserving a vulnerable language against assimilation by a dominant language by a bilingual translator’s conscious counteracting of negative interference and their educational activities in the field of ecolinguistics. In comparison with translation from/to foreign languages, these translational purposes acquire other, new aspects when applied to the languages of the different peoples in one country, depending on the language situation, politics, etc. The article examines the practices used in achieving the above-mentioned purposes of Russian-Yakut, Yakut-Russian translation in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), a constituent entity of the Russian Federation. The article also describes the role of translation in the spiritual culture of the Yakut people as a proxy of literary and artistic innovations capable of shaping and changing the artistic tastes of readers, as well as a means of integration into the world cultural space, enabling the Yakuts to look at their native culture from the point of view of native speakers of the Russian language and members of Russian (including Soviet) culture. Translation as a sphere of close interaction of languages is of interest to the language policy of this multinational constituent of the Russian Federation. With the adoption of federal and republican laws for language issues in the 1990s, the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) started to give more attention to the translation between the two official languages. As a result of years-long observation of bilingual Yakuts’ speech culture, it has become apparent that researching linguistical issues of translation, drawing up practical recommendations for translation based on scientific research, and then popularizing them among bilingual Yakuts may become a great help in the preservation of the native language. A review of the Sakha Republic’s (Yakutia) experience in translation development in a multinational constituent of the Russian Federation leads to a conclusion about the importance of the work of a translator (who translates from and to languages of Russia) in standardization of their native language. Such a translator can consciously regulate the mutual influence of the languages in society.

Polylinguality and Transcultural Practices. 2021;18(4):358-367
pages 358-367 views

Strategies of the Texts Translation Published on the Languages of the Indiginous Peoples of the Russian Far East

Osipova M.V.

Abstract

Lately more and more articles are published, in which the problem of translation the works written in the native languages of the indigenous peoples of Russia are touched upon. Their authors (Yu.V. Limorenko, A.M. Kotorova, N.Ya. Bulatova etc.) emphasize the importance of such translation in popularization the cultural heritage of these peoples. However there isn’t any research that highlights the questions of creation of the corpus of translated texts, what kind of methods and strategies were used by translators. It should be mentioned that that the corpus of translated texts can be divided into two types. The first type includes texts written and translated by scientists, missionaries and historians. To the second type belong texts translated by amateur and professional writers. That is why the aim of this article is to answer the question about the stages of the creating of the corpus of the translated from the native languages texts, to determine the most productive methods of translation and to find out what strategies of translation were used by the translators - whether they used their own knowledge of the native languages or interlinear translation, or processed the translation made by the author himself. To achieve this aim the comparative-historical and hermeneutic approaches are used.

Polylinguality and Transcultural Practices. 2021;18(4):368-392
pages 368-392 views

Translation in the Context of Preserving Languages and Cultures of the Siberian Indigenous Population

Valkova Y.E., Razumovskaya V.A.

Abstract

In this article we’ve focused on the topical problem of preserving the languages and cultures of indigenous peoples of Siberia, which can be solved through the translation of ethnic texts (as an important category of Siberian texts) into Russian and other languages, and translation of texts of great cultural and religious significance from Russian and other languages into languages of Siberian peoples. We aim to study initiatives of individual scholars and enthusiasts who have been translating both “strong” texts from indigenous languages of Siberian peoples and “strong” texts of Russian literature (mostly religious ones) into these languages. The ethnic literature of the peoples of the Krasnoyarsk Krai is considered in historical and comparative perspective, taking into account the national and cultural conditions of these peoples. The conclusion concerns the importance of ethnic translation with the cultural information and memory as the key unit of translation and the saving of the unique languages and cultures of Siberia as its main task.

Polylinguality and Transcultural Practices. 2021;18(4):393-404
pages 393-404 views

The Problems Of Translating Cultural Concepts into Another Language: On The Example Of Tuvan Cultural Concepts

Kuzhuget S.Y., Suvandii N.D., Lamazhaa C.K.

Abstract

The article presents an analysis of the problems of cultural transfer in the translation of two editions of M.B. Kenin-Lopsan’s monograph devoted to the description of Tuvan traditions in the Tuvan language “Tyva chanchyl. Tyva chonnun ydyktyg chanchyldary” [“Tuvan traditions. Tuvan folk sacred traditions”] 1994 and 1999, in the publication in Russian “Tuvan folk traditions” 2006. The authors note that cultural transfer causes changes in meanings, adaptations of information not only due to the fact that the translator does not have sufficient linguistic culture. The translator can be a natural bilingual who has been fluent in two languages since childhood, both linguistic cultures can be equivalent. Thus, the translated edition was prepared by two bilingual translators under the editorship of two Tuvan-Russian bilingual writers. But, nevertheless, the linguistic means of Russian culture cannot convey a number of Tuvan terms and expressions, and this imposes restrictions on translations. The authors show these examples by grouping the transformations of cultural transfer into four types of problems: distortion of meanings; incomplete transmission of information; disappearance of semantic constructions; inability to translate non-equivalent vocabulary. Phrases from the Tuvan text of M.B. Kenin-Lopsan, versions of the translated edition are given, and in some cases a more successful translation, according to the authors of the article, is proposed.

Polylinguality and Transcultural Practices. 2021;18(4):405-420
pages 405-420 views

Oriental Ethnic Mind: Ways to Represent It in Translation from Buryat into Russian

Dashinimaeva P.P.

Abstract

The urgency and topicality of the research is due to an insufficient study of zoom-investigating into a pre- and post-translation mental stage, and of ways to identify or forecast the author’s mind ethno-centered content. Hereby the objective of the study is to describe ways of representing the oriental ethnic mind in translation from Buryat into Russian. To implement it, the following tasks are solved: to prove the conceptual difference of the Buryat mind within three dimensions the experimental axiological data on the semantic space of three generations of modern Buryats are presented, the main vectors of oriental Buryat mind are determined, the given axiological observations are confirmed on the basis of a literary text material, the author being a conservatively orientally-minded author by himself, and a number of ways to represent the Buryat ethnic mind in translation into Russian are discussed, and their correlated correspondences (ir)relevance issue is respectively raised. The materials are as follows: the semantic differential experiment data and Dambinima Tsyrendashiev’s story “Һuhlshyn uulzalga” ‘Last meeting’. The research methods are a psycholinguistic experiment, a posttranslation analysis of the target text in Russian, an algorithm presentation of the source text ethnocentered semantics explication at the pre-translation stage which is presented in the conclusion.

Polylinguality and Transcultural Practices. 2021;18(4):421-432
pages 421-432 views

Vepsian Literature as an Aspiration to the Revival of the People (“Up the Stairs Leading Down”?)

Zaytseva N.G.

Abstract

The article is devoted to the development of the literature of the Vepsians of the early written people of Russia, whose language is included in the “Red Book of the Languages of the Peoples of Russia” (the number of people in 2010 was 5936 people). Despite the negative forecasts, the Vepsianlanguage literature is currently successfully developing. The most popular is poetry, represented by the poems of the national writer of Karelia Nikolai Abramov, known in the Finno-Ugric world and beyond. The first generation of authors developed the forms of Vepsian poetry, its rhyme and style, and young authors, first of all Olga Zhukova, Galina Baburova, proved that in urban conditions it is possible to find opportunities for poetry in their native language. The article shows the connection with oral folk art, mythology, philosophy of Vepsian life, which manifested itself in the Vepsian epic “Virantanaz” by Nina Zaitseva, in the verses of Alevtina Andreeva, reminiscent of a kind of conspiracies or prayers, and in the prose of Valentina Lebedeva. Creating in close collaboration with scientists who claim that the Vepsian language has perfectly preserved both its grammar and vocabulary, which is easily replenished thanks to the rich word-formation system of the Vepsian language, they strive, without discouragement, to go “up the stairs leading down”.

Polylinguality and Transcultural Practices. 2021;18(4):433-441
pages 433-441 views

Heritage of Tatar Literature from the Aspect of Translation

Nurtdinova G.M., Tahtarova S.S., Khabibullina E.K.

Abstract

The article presents the review of Tatar literature works and their translations into Russian and some other world languages. The Tatar literature has rich heritage, the first works of it (manuscripts) are dated back to the Middle Ages. The first printed works were published in the XVIII century as that time the Tatar language was the diplomatic language used in the communication between western and eastern countries. The time of XIX-XX centuries is considered to be the rise of the Tatar literature. Since that time the Tatar writers started writing their works in Russian that was caused by “natural bilingualism” established on the land of Tatarstan due to historical development. In the Soviet times the works of Tatar writers and poets written in Tatar were translated into Russian which is the intermediate language in the Russian Federation. After the collapse of the USSR Russia opened its boundaries and the number of translations of the Tatar writers’ works into Western and Eastern languages have been growing dramatically. Modern Tatar literature is continuing the traditions of the Tatar literature, the works of Tatar writers have been translating into foreign languages in order to present them to world community.

Polylinguality and Transcultural Practices. 2021;18(4):442-450
pages 442-450 views

Stylistic Contrast in the Organization of Literary Texts in the Aspect of Translation: Based on the Material of the Lezghin and Russian Languages

Barannikova T.B., Suleymanova F.N.

Abstract

The topicality and novelty of this article, devoted to the device of stylistic contrast, are predetermined by its rather poor study, as well as by the approach to its investigation from the angle of translation theory and comparative linguistics. The material of the research includes the examples of stylistic contrast selected from literary texts in the Lezghin language and their translations into Russian, Russian-language literary texts and their translations into the Lezghin language. The work is based on the semantico-stylistic and comparative methods, the method of linguistic description of a literary text, elements of linguoculturological and conceptual analysis, as well as the specific methods of translation studies (comparison of the translation and the original, comparison of various translations, questionnaire of informants, educational translation, an experiment). The results of the research consist in clarifying the proceeding interpretation of stylistic contrast, as well as in identifying the difficulties that translators face when transmitting it in a literary text, and indicating the algorithm for overcoming them. They can be used in the courses of Stylistics, Text Linguistics, Translation Theory and Practice, etc., as well as in the development of the translation direction in the Dagestani linguistics, which needs practical developments and theoretical generalizations.

Polylinguality and Transcultural Practices. 2021;18(4):451-459
pages 451-459 views

The Cliché of the Official Business Style and its Transfer from Russian into the Yakut Language

Burtseva A.A., Sobakina I.V.

Abstract

At present, the official business style of the Yakut language is more developed in comparison with the translations of the twentieth century, when this style was just beginning to be practiced. Along with this, the translation of official-business style texts is also developing. As state and municipal services are an integral part of our life and understanding the strengths and merits, which adds the translation to society, it is very important to translate the Yakut language information, regulatory documents of the population of our Republic and members of the institutions, namely the Standard of applicants to the State autonomous institution “Multifunctional center for the provision of state and municipal services in the Republic of Sakha” (Yakutia) Rules of applicants. The aim of this work is to analyze the difficulties of transmission cliché official-business style of Russian into Yakut language and the search approach solutions to these difficulties. The methodological basis of this study is the comparative and descriptive methods based on the data obtained by the continuous sampling method. As a result of the analysis, we identified lexical and grammatical difficulties in translating official-business style cliches from Russian into Yakut. Lexical words include borrowing words, words without equivalent correspondence and abbreviations in the cliche, where the first ones are most often transmitted to the Yakut language by transcription or remain by themselves, the second ones are translated by an adequate replacement, paraphrasing or description, and the third ones with the Russian version in a bracket. Grammatical difficulties include complex sentences with passive constructions and participial turns, which directly affect how the cliche will be translated into them. Cliches in complex sentences occur frequently, sometimes several times in the same sentence.

Polylinguality and Transcultural Practices. 2021;18(4):460-467
pages 460-467 views

Poetry by Louise Glück, translated by Ekaterina Dies: “Wanderer Persephone” from the Poetry Collection “Averno”

Markova E.A.

Abstract

In this paper we’ve tried to analyze the translation of L. Glück poem about Persephone (poetry collection “Averno”), carried out by Ekaterina Dais. A brief outline of literary work of Louise Glück is given. Using the method of hermeneutic commentary, the leitmotifs of her poetic and prose works are characterized. Understanding these motives is an important stage in the pre-text work, since the complex codes (often implicative) presented in poems about Persephone cannot be adequately deciphered without prior knowledge, and, therefore, it is not possible to evaluate the efforts of the translator, the tactics chosen by her. The material for the analysis is the poem “Wanderer Persephone” from the poetry collection “Averno”. Another goal of the article is to acquaint the Russian-speaking reader with the work of the original American poetess, which is currently reflected in the Russian scientific discourse.

Polylinguality and Transcultural Practices. 2021;18(4):468-480
pages 468-480 views

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