Lexical and stylistic characteristics of the novel "A Tale of Two Cities" by Ch. Dickens in the aspect of multiple translations / Лексико-стилистические характеристики романа Ч. Диккенса «Повесть о двух городах» в аспекте множественного перевода
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Introduction 5
Chapter 1 Specificity of translation of literary texts 8
1.1 Literary style of speech and its features 8
1.2 Linguistic and stylistic features of a literary text 10
1.3 The notion and features of literary translation
11
1.4 Types of lexical and stylistic means in literary texts 13
1.4.1 Metaphor 15
1.4.2 Metonymy and synecdoche 17
1.4.3 Irony 18
1.4.4 Epithet 19
1.4.5 Oxymoron 20
1.4.6 Hyperbole 21
1.4.7 Litotes 21
1.4.8 Simile 22
1.4.9 Personification 23
1.4.10 Realia 24
1.5 Methods of translating lexical and stylistic means 27
1.5.1 Methods of translating realia 31
1.6 Translation strategies 34
Conclusions on Chapter 1 37
Chapter 2 Linguistic and stylistic features of the works of Charles Dickens 38
2.1 Analysis of the lexical and stylistic features of the novel by Charles Dickens
“A Tale of Two Cities” in the aspect of multiple translations 38
2.1.1 Simile 40
2.1.2 Metaphor 46
2.1.3 Epithet 53
2.1.4 Personification 59
2.1.5 Metonymy 65
2.1.6 Irony 71
2.1.7 Hyperbole 77
2.1.8 Realia 82
Conclusions on Chapter 2 91
Conclusion 93
References 95
References of examples 99
Chapter 1 Specificity of translation of literary texts 8
1.1 Literary style of speech and its features 8
1.2 Linguistic and stylistic features of a literary text 10
1.3 The notion and features of literary translation
11
1.4 Types of lexical and stylistic means in literary texts 13
1.4.1 Metaphor 15
1.4.2 Metonymy and synecdoche 17
1.4.3 Irony 18
1.4.4 Epithet 19
1.4.5 Oxymoron 20
1.4.6 Hyperbole 21
1.4.7 Litotes 21
1.4.8 Simile 22
1.4.9 Personification 23
1.4.10 Realia 24
1.5 Methods of translating lexical and stylistic means 27
1.5.1 Methods of translating realia 31
1.6 Translation strategies 34
Conclusions on Chapter 1 37
Chapter 2 Linguistic and stylistic features of the works of Charles Dickens 38
2.1 Analysis of the lexical and stylistic features of the novel by Charles Dickens
“A Tale of Two Cities” in the aspect of multiple translations 38
2.1.1 Simile 40
2.1.2 Metaphor 46
2.1.3 Epithet 53
2.1.4 Personification 59
2.1.5 Metonymy 65
2.1.6 Irony 71
2.1.7 Hyperbole 77
2.1.8 Realia 82
Conclusions on Chapter 2 91
Conclusion 93
References 95
References of examples 99
For a long period of time, translators have been asking questions: what is literary translation and what is its main difficulty? Why do translations of the same text differ from each other? All these and many other questions concern all translators, linguists and other specialists who are in one way or another connected with translation and translation studies.
The whole difficulty in finding answers to these questions lies in the fact that the translation of literary texts, and indeed translation in general, is a rather complex concept that is connected with solving problems of a creative and intercultural nature, which imply that the translator has the competence to solve problems, predetermined by the literary text, criteria of imagery, boundaries between the literary and non-literary and a number of other features.
Any literary text is created according to certain rules that reflect the cultural, aesthetic and moral norms of the time period of which it is a contemporary. Literary works that have managed to win the attention and recognition of more than one generation of readers have something more than their historical relevance; they carry a huge charge of universal human problems and meanings that a thoughtful reader must understand and experience in order to become better and smarter after reading the book , be able to understand themselves and others.
The relevance of this research lies in the fact that the literary text and the study of its significant parameters are in the sphere of attention of a number of philological disciplines and are interdisciplinary in nature. A literary text is capable of enriching the spiritual, moral and intellectual space of an individual and culture as a whole. In modern English literature, the image of Charles Dickens and his unique and original texts is still relevant. It is reinterpreted and changed under the influence of modern culture, adapting to the current cultural environment. The legacy of Charles Dickens was not consigned to oblivion, and the very image of Charles Dickens and his works are reflected in the modern cultural context.
The purpose of the study is to identify the lexical and stylistic characteristics of Charles Dickens’s novel “A Tale of Two Cities” as well as determine the translation strategies and methods of translation of these lexical and stylistic characteristics in translations of different periods.
Achieving this purpose involves solving the following series of tasks:
– to define the concept of literary translation and its features;
– to analyse lexical and stylistic means in the theory of literary text;
– to classify lexical and stylistic expressive means, determine methods of their translation;
– to characterise the features of conveying expressive means when translating from English into Russian in Charles Dickens’s novel “A Tale of Two Cities.”
The object of the study is the lexical and stylistic means in Charles Dickens’s novel “A Tale of Two Cities”.
The subject of the study is the strategies and methods of translating the lexical and stylistic means in a literary text when translating from English into Russian in a diachronic aspect.
The research material is Charles Dickens’s novel “A Tale of Two Cities” in English and its Russian translations: translation by E. Beketova, 1893, translation by M. Bogoslovskaya and S. Bobrov, 1960. 48 examples of stylistic and lexical means were selected for analysis in our research using the continuous sampling method.
The following research methods were used in this work:
– methods of analysis and synthesis, due to which the theoretical material was selected and the results of the study were analyzed;
– a continuous sampling method, necessary for the selection of lexical and stylistic means;
– a comparative method, based on which the figures of speech of the literary text and the translation strategies by which they were translated from English into Russian were compared;
– a method of linguistic and stylistic analysis, to identify a set of stylistically significant units within a specific functional and genre variety of speech.
The scientific novelty of the work is determined by the interdisciplinary approach of the research and lies in the analysis of lexical and stylistic means in Charles Dickens’s novel “A Tale of Two Cities”, in determining the methods of translating the units under study during translation, as well as in the analysis and comparison of selected translations in a diachronic perspective. The scientific novelty also lies in the fact that there has not yet been a study of strategies for translating lexical and stylistic characteristics within the framework of multiple translation on the specified material.
The theoretical framework of this study is the works of such famous scholars as T.A. Kazakova, V.N. Komissarov, I.R. Galperin, A.V. Fedorov, I.V. Arnold, Y.M. Skrebnev, N.V. Banina, M.D. Kuznets, V.V. Vinogradov, S. I. Vlakhov, S. P. Florin, V. V. Sdobnikov, P. Newmark, L. Venuti, G. Lakoff.
The theoretical significance of this work lies in the fact that it is of interest to specialists, teachers and students of language universities, as well as to a wide range of people interested not only in the problems of literary translation, but also in translation in general.
The practical significance of the study is determined by the possibility of using its theoretical principles and practical material in the process of teaching stylistic analysis of literary texts, in practical translation courses, in courses on translation theory, stylistics and interpretation of literary texts.
The structure of the work includes an introduction, two chapters, conclusion, and references.
The whole difficulty in finding answers to these questions lies in the fact that the translation of literary texts, and indeed translation in general, is a rather complex concept that is connected with solving problems of a creative and intercultural nature, which imply that the translator has the competence to solve problems, predetermined by the literary text, criteria of imagery, boundaries between the literary and non-literary and a number of other features.
Any literary text is created according to certain rules that reflect the cultural, aesthetic and moral norms of the time period of which it is a contemporary. Literary works that have managed to win the attention and recognition of more than one generation of readers have something more than their historical relevance; they carry a huge charge of universal human problems and meanings that a thoughtful reader must understand and experience in order to become better and smarter after reading the book , be able to understand themselves and others.
The relevance of this research lies in the fact that the literary text and the study of its significant parameters are in the sphere of attention of a number of philological disciplines and are interdisciplinary in nature. A literary text is capable of enriching the spiritual, moral and intellectual space of an individual and culture as a whole. In modern English literature, the image of Charles Dickens and his unique and original texts is still relevant. It is reinterpreted and changed under the influence of modern culture, adapting to the current cultural environment. The legacy of Charles Dickens was not consigned to oblivion, and the very image of Charles Dickens and his works are reflected in the modern cultural context.
The purpose of the study is to identify the lexical and stylistic characteristics of Charles Dickens’s novel “A Tale of Two Cities” as well as determine the translation strategies and methods of translation of these lexical and stylistic characteristics in translations of different periods.
Achieving this purpose involves solving the following series of tasks:
– to define the concept of literary translation and its features;
– to analyse lexical and stylistic means in the theory of literary text;
– to classify lexical and stylistic expressive means, determine methods of their translation;
– to characterise the features of conveying expressive means when translating from English into Russian in Charles Dickens’s novel “A Tale of Two Cities.”
The object of the study is the lexical and stylistic means in Charles Dickens’s novel “A Tale of Two Cities”.
The subject of the study is the strategies and methods of translating the lexical and stylistic means in a literary text when translating from English into Russian in a diachronic aspect.
The research material is Charles Dickens’s novel “A Tale of Two Cities” in English and its Russian translations: translation by E. Beketova, 1893, translation by M. Bogoslovskaya and S. Bobrov, 1960. 48 examples of stylistic and lexical means were selected for analysis in our research using the continuous sampling method.
The following research methods were used in this work:
– methods of analysis and synthesis, due to which the theoretical material was selected and the results of the study were analyzed;
– a continuous sampling method, necessary for the selection of lexical and stylistic means;
– a comparative method, based on which the figures of speech of the literary text and the translation strategies by which they were translated from English into Russian were compared;
– a method of linguistic and stylistic analysis, to identify a set of stylistically significant units within a specific functional and genre variety of speech.
The scientific novelty of the work is determined by the interdisciplinary approach of the research and lies in the analysis of lexical and stylistic means in Charles Dickens’s novel “A Tale of Two Cities”, in determining the methods of translating the units under study during translation, as well as in the analysis and comparison of selected translations in a diachronic perspective. The scientific novelty also lies in the fact that there has not yet been a study of strategies for translating lexical and stylistic characteristics within the framework of multiple translation on the specified material.
The theoretical framework of this study is the works of such famous scholars as T.A. Kazakova, V.N. Komissarov, I.R. Galperin, A.V. Fedorov, I.V. Arnold, Y.M. Skrebnev, N.V. Banina, M.D. Kuznets, V.V. Vinogradov, S. I. Vlakhov, S. P. Florin, V. V. Sdobnikov, P. Newmark, L. Venuti, G. Lakoff.
The theoretical significance of this work lies in the fact that it is of interest to specialists, teachers and students of language universities, as well as to a wide range of people interested not only in the problems of literary translation, but also in translation in general.
The practical significance of the study is determined by the possibility of using its theoretical principles and practical material in the process of teaching stylistic analysis of literary texts, in practical translation courses, in courses on translation theory, stylistics and interpretation of literary texts.
The structure of the work includes an introduction, two chapters, conclusion, and references.
The difficulty of translating literary texts lies in the need to convey the unique and individual author’s style, stylistic and lexical means, the mood of the narrative, as well as the expression and emotional and evaluative position of the author. The translation of literary texts is very different from other types of translation, as it has an important property – pragmatics, for the transmission of which it is impossible to do without imagination, high professionalism and extensive knowledge in the field of translation and translation studies.
In this study, the lexical and stylistic characteristics of Charles Dickens’ novel “A Tale of Two Cities” were examined and analysed in detail in the aspect of multiple translation and the following conclusions were made:
Literary translation is a sphere of problem solving for which the translator must have certain knowledge, be able to apply various techniques and strategies, carry out the necessary transformations in order to achieve equivalence and adequacy of the text of the original and the translation.
Lexical and stylistic means are ubiquitous in literary texts and pose a great difficulty in translation. In the translation of literary texts, lexical and stylistic means play one of the most important role, because they reflect the author’s idea and unique style.
Based on the analysis of the examples, it was found out that despite the fact that various transformations were used, most of the stylistic and lexical characteristics of the original text were conveyed in the translations without great losses and errors. Also according to the analysed examples, we were able to establish that E. Beketova, when translating similes, in most cases adhered to a complete translation using various transformations; when translating metaphors – complete translation and/or structural transformation; when translating epithets – grammatical and/or lexical substitutions and/or full translation; when translating personifications – grammatical and/or lexical replacements and/or replacements of figure images; when translating metonymies – structural and/or semantic transformation; when translating ironies – expanding the original phrase and adding semantic units; when translating hyperboles – various substitutions and additions. The main strategy of E. Beketova’s translation was to preserve the communicative equivalence and semantic completeness of the original text.
In compliance with the analysed examples, we were able to establish that M. Bogoslovskaya and S. Bobrov, when translating similes, in most cases adhered to the use of lexical substitutions and additions/omissions; when translating metaphors – additions and lexical substitutions or complete translation; when translating epithets – lexical and/or grammatical substitutions; when translating personifications – lexical and/or grammatical replacements or full translation; when translating metonymies – semantic and/or complete transformation; when translating ironies – literal translation with minimal transformations; when translating hyperboles – literal translation or substitutions. The main strategy of M. Bogoslovskaya and S. Bobrov was to convey the formal and stylistic features of the original text.
When translating realia, E. Beketova in most cases used a literal translation and adhered to the strategy of foreignisation, while M. Bogoslovskaya and S. Bobrov more often tried to adapt foreign realia, that is, they followed the strategy of domestication.
Thus, in the process of our work the purpose of the research was fully achieved.
In this study, the lexical and stylistic characteristics of Charles Dickens’ novel “A Tale of Two Cities” were examined and analysed in detail in the aspect of multiple translation and the following conclusions were made:
Literary translation is a sphere of problem solving for which the translator must have certain knowledge, be able to apply various techniques and strategies, carry out the necessary transformations in order to achieve equivalence and adequacy of the text of the original and the translation.
Lexical and stylistic means are ubiquitous in literary texts and pose a great difficulty in translation. In the translation of literary texts, lexical and stylistic means play one of the most important role, because they reflect the author’s idea and unique style.
Based on the analysis of the examples, it was found out that despite the fact that various transformations were used, most of the stylistic and lexical characteristics of the original text were conveyed in the translations without great losses and errors. Also according to the analysed examples, we were able to establish that E. Beketova, when translating similes, in most cases adhered to a complete translation using various transformations; when translating metaphors – complete translation and/or structural transformation; when translating epithets – grammatical and/or lexical substitutions and/or full translation; when translating personifications – grammatical and/or lexical replacements and/or replacements of figure images; when translating metonymies – structural and/or semantic transformation; when translating ironies – expanding the original phrase and adding semantic units; when translating hyperboles – various substitutions and additions. The main strategy of E. Beketova’s translation was to preserve the communicative equivalence and semantic completeness of the original text.
In compliance with the analysed examples, we were able to establish that M. Bogoslovskaya and S. Bobrov, when translating similes, in most cases adhered to the use of lexical substitutions and additions/omissions; when translating metaphors – additions and lexical substitutions or complete translation; when translating epithets – lexical and/or grammatical substitutions; when translating personifications – lexical and/or grammatical replacements or full translation; when translating metonymies – semantic and/or complete transformation; when translating ironies – literal translation with minimal transformations; when translating hyperboles – literal translation or substitutions. The main strategy of M. Bogoslovskaya and S. Bobrov was to convey the formal and stylistic features of the original text.
When translating realia, E. Beketova in most cases used a literal translation and adhered to the strategy of foreignisation, while M. Bogoslovskaya and S. Bobrov more often tried to adapt foreign realia, that is, they followed the strategy of domestication.
Thus, in the process of our work the purpose of the research was fully achieved.
