Cultural words in the Yakut heroic epic and methods of their translation into Russian and English

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the cultural worlds (realia) in the Yakut heroic epics of olonkho and their translation into Russian and English. In the theory of linguistic sciences, realities occupy a special place. Realias are a complex and peculiar object in terms of translation and the language itself; when they are transferred to other languages, they adapt to a different culture and language structure with the condition of preserving national characteristics. Yakut cultural worlds represent the uniqueness of the Yakut culture, history and worldview of the Yakut people, an in-depth study of the linguistic reflection of which in the olonkho is an integral and important part of the study of the Yakut heroic epic as a whole and remains relevant to this day. Being words with bright specifics, realia create difficulties in translating national-cultural texts into other languages. The study of ways of translating realia is one of the topical areas of modern linguistics in the field of translation with the national languages of the Russian Federation. Olonkho with translations into Russian and English were selected as the material of the study: Nyurgun Bootur the Swift by Platon Oyunsky, Eles Bootur by Pyotr Ogotoev, and Bogatyrka Kyys Kylaabynai by Daria Tomskaya. The purpose of this work is to analyze the groups of realias of the Yakut heroic epics of olonkho and the ways of their translation into Russian and English. The study used the method of continuous sampling in the collection of material; a descriptive method for highlighting specific linguistic phenomena, typical features of linguistic forms, studying the realia of olonkho and translating them into Russian and English; structural method to study the functioning of realia in the epic text, their translated forms; comparative-comparative in identifying common and distinctive properties and features between the Yakut and Russian language forms, translation correspondences. The analysis of the studied material led to the conclusion that the main methods of translating realias are the transcription of words and the use of descriptive translation as a commentary on the realias, in most cases, these methods are used together, national realias have a specific sound and carry a special meaning, embodying the spirit and culture of the Sakha people, therefore, the method of transcription in this case is a preserving aspect of the cultural image of the work, and the method of description is a complementary factor that allows a foreign reader to understand the meaning of the realia. Translation of realia is a complex process regardless of the language; therefore, the transfer of each unit requires a special approach and understanding of the culture and language of the translated work.

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