Translation of nonce words in science fiction and fantasy genres in the comparative aspect (based on modern English novels) / Перевод окказионализмов в жанрах научной фантастики и фэнтези в сопоставительном аспекте (на материале современных англоязычных произведений)

This research, dedicated to the peculiarities of nonce words, their creation in original English literary works and translation into Russian, was performed on a selection of nonce words from a vast array of books of science fiction and fantasy genres, allowing for a variety of research material that can only be achieved by studying different authors with unique writing styles.
Following a close study of thematically relevant classifications, certain authors and their respective classifications were selected for further study and application to the research material. Thus, the work follows nonce word classifications by N. G. Babenko and Stockwell, focusing on derivation, degrees of occasionality and contexts of use, as well as a classification of translation transformations comprised from particular translation strategies suggested by various scholars, following the paradigm of lexical, grammatical and lexico-grammatical transformations. These former classifications were applied to the original nonce words and their Russian translations, and then the latter classification was applied to determine the likely translation transformations utilised by the translator on the basis of a thorough analysis of formation of both the original and the translated nonce word.
A comparative analysis performed on the material showed patterns of similarities and differences between the nonce word classifications themselves, classes of original and translated nonce words and the dependence of shifts and correlations between classifications of the original nonce words and their translation on the translation transformations utilised. There are cases of both notable shifts in nonce word types in translation due to the differences in lexical and grammatical systems of both languages under study, and their complete correlation due to the nature of nonce word formation and translation; besides, there are cases of complete loss of occasionality. Regardless of the type of the original English nonce word, transcription and transliteration tend to yield nonce words of the phonetic type in translation. Translation via semantic neologism can create nonce words of any type based on the decisions made by the translator and the degree of derivational standard to which the translator chooses to adhere in creating such a neologism. Part of speech substitution, addition, modulation, contextual and descriptive translation might lead to the creation of an occasional word-combination due to the grammatical peculiarities of the target language which necessitate such lexico-grammatical changes. Generalisation, functional analogy and the use of a dictionary equivalent create semantic nonce words in translation, even if the original nonce word belonged to the lexical category. Functional analogy, along with calque, can be used to translate occasional word-combinations if the target language has a notion or expression that can be considered close to it in meaning. Loss of occasionality has been seen in a few cases of lexical nonce words being translated with the use of descriptive translation.
In terms of correlations between Babenko's classification of nonce words and Stockwell's nonce word formation classification, lexical nonce words are often formed by means of derivation, compounding and shortening, semantic nonce words are largely formed through recontextualisation, phonetic nonce words are mostly formed by means of creation and borrowing, while occasional word-combinations are primarily formed through compounding, as their creation involves combining words.
As for grammatical nonce words, no notable cases have been found in the research material.
The use of translation transformations in nonce word translation and the patterns of their formation do not seem to be linked directly to the genre peculiarities of science fiction and fantasy and are more dictated by the choices made by the original author and then the translator and vary accordingly. The context of a particular literary work, however, may influence the choice of translation transformations and word-formation strategies, as the role each nonce word plays in the story may differ from word to word (such as certain nonce words denoting reoccurring characters or notions central to the plot of the story, while others may denote mere singular passing mentions of a place or a term). Thus, as the context plays a major role in nonce word formation and the realisation of its meaning, the role the genre plays in nonce word creation becomes evident. Nonce words in both science fiction and fantasy share the categories of character names and geographic locations, as well as terms of scientific and magical nature respectively, occasional word-combinations of non-idiomatic nature and physical objects. The category of nonce words denoting hypothetical technological advancements is largely characteristic of science fiction, but can also feature in fantasy stories set in modern times as opposed to classical more historic fantasy setting, but such cases are few, as it is science fiction that, by definition, deals with scientific advancements. Occasional word-combinations of phraseological and idiomatic nature seem to be more or less characteristic not of a certain genre but rather the author. The use of shortening, more specifically abbreviation and acronymy, is more prominent in science fiction works, where it often denotes new concepts named with a peculiar combination of familiar words. As opposed to meaningful conceptual nomenclature, creation is often used in both genres to form proper names, names for unique species, places and concepts to stress the lack of any similar concepts outside the literary world of a particular story.


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