Realia and commentary on them in academic translations of heroic epics

Abstract

The paper explores the presentation of realia in the translation of the heroic epics of the peoples of Siberia into Russian. Using the comparative and classification-typological methods, thematic groups of realities found in the heroic epic were identified, the types of comments to realia were described, the types of errors and inaccuracies in identifying and commenting realia were studied. The study is based on the texts of heroic epics published in the bilingual academic series “Monuments of Folklore of the Peoples of Siberia and the Far East” and the scholarly apparatus of these volumes.

The folklore text is always saturated with realia, in the heroic epics they carry a great meaning, defining the historical, ethnographic and cultural background on which the plot develops. Most of the realia that can be found in the heroic epic belong to three thematic groups: geographical (names of natural objects and various types of human settlements), ethnographic (household, economic, folk art, beliefs and cults) and socio-political (names of chiefs of tribal alliances, titles and ranks).

Often, due to insufficient acquaintance with the theory of translation, errors occur in the distinguishing of realia. Realia are not all words of void vocabulary: interjections, onomatopeia, although they have no translation, are not realia. Sometimes the obsolete words of the source language (archaisms) are mistakenly considered as realia, although they have a vocabulary translation into other languages. Finally, adjectives and verbs formed from the words of the source language according to word-formation models of the receiving language are not realia.

The types of commentary on realia are based on the same principles as the types of commentary on the translation of a folklore text in general. Comments are divided by function into historical-ethnographic, philological, folkloristic and textual. Often a full-fledged commentary on the realia is a combination of these types.

The disadvantages of the comments on the realia are the incompleteness, fragmentary character of the reported information and commenting on unimportant aspects of the meaning of realia to the detriment of more important ones.

References

1. Vlakhov S. I., Florin S. P. Neperevodimoe v perevode [The intranslatable in Translation]. Moscow, Mezhdunar. otnoshenija, 1980, 343 p.
2. Anikin A. E. Etimologicheskii slovar' russkikh dialektov Sibiri. Zaimstvovaniia iz ural'skikh, altaiskikh i paleoaziatskikh iazykov [Etymological Dictionary of Russian Dialects in Siberia: Loan words from Uralic, Altai and Paleo-Asiatic Languages]. Novosibirsk, Nauka, 2000, 772 p.
3. Yakutskij geroicheskij epos “Moguchii Er Sogotokh” [Yakut heroic epic “The Mighty Er Sogotokh”]. Novosibirsk, Nauka. Sibirskaja izdatel'skaja firma RAN, 1996, 440 p. (Pamjatniki fol'klora narodov Sibiri i Dal'nego Vostoka; T. 10 [Monuments of Folklore of the Peoples of Siberia and the Far East; Vol. 10]). (In Yakut and Russ. lang.)
4. Tuvinskie geroicheskie skazaniia [Tuvinian heroic epics]. Sost. S. M. Orus-ool. Novosibirsk: Nauka. Sibirskoe izdatel'sko-poligraficheskoe i knigotorgovoe predpriiatie RAN, 1997, 584 p. (Pamjatniki fol'klora narodov Sibiri i Dal'nego Vostoka; T. 12 [Monuments of Folklore of the Peoples of Siberia and the Far East; Vol. 12]) (In Tuvinian and Russ. lang.)
5. Altaiskie geroicheskie skazaniia: Ochi-Bala. Kan-Altyn [Altai heroic epics: Ochi-Bala. Kan-Altyn]. Novosibirsk: Nauka. Sibirskoe izdatel'sko-poligraficheskoe i knigotorgovoe predpriiatie RAN, 1997, 668 p. (Pamjatniki fol'klora narodov Sibiri i Dal'nego Vostoka; T. 15 [Monuments of Folklore of the Peoples of Siberia and the Far East; Vol. 15]) (In Altaian and Russ. lang.)
6. Evenkiiskie geroicheskie skazaniia [Evenki heroic epics]. Sost. by A. N. Myreeva. Novosibirsk: Nauka. Sib. otd-nie, 1990, 392 p. (Pamjatniki fol'klora narodov Sibiri i Dal'nego Vostoka [Monuments of Folklore of the Peoples of Siberia and the Far East]) (In Evenki and Russ. lang.)
7. Shorskie geroicheskie skazaniia [Shor heroic epics]. Moscow; Novosibirsk: Nauka, 1998, 463 p. (Pamjatniki fol'klora narodov Sibiri i Dal'nego Vostoka; T. 17 [Monuments of Folklore of the Peoples of Siberia and the Far East; Vol. 17]) (In Shor and Russ. lang.)
8. Khakasskij geroicheskij epos: Ai-Khuuchin [Khakass heroic epic: Ai-Khuuchin]. Novosibirsk: Nauka. Sibirskoe izdatel'sko-poligraficheskoe i knigotorgovoe predpriiatie RAN, 1997, 479 p. (Pamjatniki fol'klora narodov Sibiri i Dal'nego Vostoka; T. 16 [Monuments of Folklore of the Peoples of Siberia and the Far East; Vol. 16]) (In Khakass and Russ. lang.)
9. Obriadovaia poeziia i pesni evenkov [Ritual poetry and songs of Evenki]. Sost. G. I. Varlamova, Yu. I. Sheikin. Novosibirsk: Akademicheskoe izdatel'stvo “Geo”, 2014, 487 p. (Pamjatniki fol'klora narodov Sibiri i Dal'nego Vostoka; T. 32 [Monuments of Folklore of the Peoples of Siberia and the Far East; Vol. 32]) (In Evenki and Russ. lang.)
10. Kuz'mina E. N. Ukazatel' tipicheskih mest geroicheskogo eposa narodov Sibiri (altaitsev, buriat, tuvintsev, khakasov, shortsev, yakutov): Eksperim. izd. [Index of loci communi of the heroic epic of the peoples of Siberia (Altaians, Buryats, Tuvans, Khakasses, Shors, Yakuts). Experimental edition]. Novosibirsk: Izd-vo SO RAN, 2005, 1383 p. (In Altaian, Buryat, Tuvinian, Shor, Khakass, Yakut and Russ. lang.)
11. Buriatskij geroicheskij epos [Khakass heroic epic]. Sost. M. I. Tulokhonov. Novosibirsk: Nauka. Sib. otd-nie, 1991, 312 p. (Pamjatniki fol'klora narodov Sibiri i Dal'nego Vostoka [Monuments of Folklore of the Peoples of Siberia and the Far East]). (In Buryat and Russ. lang.)
12. Yakutskij geroicheskij epos: Kyys Debiliye [Yakut heroic epic: Kyys Debiliye]. Novosibirsk: VO «Nauka», 1993. 330 p. (Pamjatniki fol'klora narodov Sibiri i Dal'nego Vostoka [Monuments of Folklore of the Peoples of Siberia and the Far East]). (In Yakut and Russ. lang.)
13. Samoilova E. V. Opisatel'nyi perevod pri peredache slov-realii russkikh skazok na angliiskii iazyk [Descriptional translation of realia of Russian folktales into English]. In: Mezhdunarodnyi nauchnyi zhurnal “Innovatsionnaia nauka” [International scientific journal “Innovation science”]. 2017, No. 03-2, pp. 85-87.
14. Kazakova T. A. Khudozhestvennyi perevod: Teoriia i praktika [Literary translation: Theory and practice]. Saint Petersburg, Inyazizdat, 2006, 544 p.
15. Karasik V. I. Kommentarii kak zhanr germenevticheskogo diskursa [Commentary as a genre of hermeneutic discource]. In: Iazyk, kommunikatsiia i sotsial'naia sreda: sb. nauch. tr. [Language, communication and social sphere. Coll. of studies] Iss. 7. Voronezh, 2009, pp. 32-47.
16. Limorenko Yu. V. Problemy perevoda fol'klornykh tekstov v nauchnom izdanii [Problems of translation of folklore text in a scientific publication]. In: Zhivaia starina [Living Old Times]. 2011, No. 4, pp. 17-20.
17. Moiseev V. M. Problema tipologii i tochnosti kommentariev k perevodu khudozhestvennogo teksta [Problem of typology and accuracy of commentary on a literary text]. In: Vestnik Omskogo universiteta [Herald of the Omsk University]. 2014, No. 3, pp. 132-135.
18. Printsipy i poriadok podgotovki tomov serii “Pamiatniki fol'klora narodov Sibiri i Dal'nego Vostoka” [Principles and procedures of editing the volumes of the series “Monuments of Folklore of the Peoples of Siberia and the Far East”]. 2-e izd., pererab. i dop. Novosibirsk, Institute of Philology of SB RAS, 2003, 21 p.
19. Mify narodov mira. Entsiklopediia [Myths of the Peoples of the World. Encyclopedia]. Vol. 2. Moscow, 1988, 720 p.
20. Neskazochnaia proza altaitsev [Non-fairytale prose of Atlaians]. Sost. N. R. Oinotkinova, I. B. Shinzhin, K. V. Yadanova, E. E. Yamaeva. Novosibirsk: Nauka, 2011, 576 p. (Pamjatniki fol'klora narodov Sibiri i Dal'nego Vostoka; T. 30 [Monuments of Folklore of the Peoples of Siberia and the Far East; Vol. 30]). (In Altaian and Russ. lang.)
21. Vasil'eva A. A. Osnovnye priemy russko-iakutskogo perevoda (na materialakh perevoda olonkho) [The basic methods of the Yakut-Russian translation (based on the Olonkho translation)]. In: Vestnik SVFU [Herald of the North-Eastern Federal University], 2001, vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 105-112.
22. Dal' V. I. Tolkovyi slovar' zhivago velikorusskago iazyka [Explanatory Dictionary of the Live Great Russian Language] [Web source]. URL: https://www.slovardalja.net/word.php?wordid=40368 (accessed July 17, 2019).