IS RHYTHMIZATION NECESSARY IN THE SCIENTIFIC TRANSLATION OF THE FOLK EPOS

Abstract

The article considers one of the issues of the practice of folklore translation – the possibility and necessity of rhythmization in the translation of folk epics. In the works on the theory of translation of folklore, this issue is not studied, since traditionally, when translating folk samples, we focus on the transfer of the meaning, and the form of the text always plays a subordinate role. Without challenging this approach, we propose in the article to expand it somehow, using the flexibility of the Russian language to give even a certain rhythmic uniformity to the text of the translation. An epic text is always a poetic text, and a rough heterogeneity, a disparity in the length and rhythm of the lines of translation makes it difficult to convey even an approximate aesthetic impression from the monument of folk poetry.

The volumes of the series “Epos of the Peoples of the USSR” and “Monuments of Folklore of the Peoples of Siberia and the Far East” serve as a material for the study, and the source of the examples is the translation of the Buryat heroic epic OsoodorMergen, which is being prepared for publication in the volume “Buryat heroic epos. OsoodorMergen. TonohoynHansaTolay” of the series “Monuments of Folklore of the Peoples of Siberia and the Far Eas”. The author of the article is the translation editor of this volume; therefore, the examples are taken from the real practice of translation and editing.

Several techniques for achievingthe rhythmic uniformity of the translated text are described. The rearrangement of words in a line, though very simple, makes it possible to achieve a smooth, rhythmic sounding of the line, exclude the confluence of unstressed syllables and inconvenient combinations of sounds at the junctions of words. Varying the word forms, without changing the meaning of the line, helps to add missing syllables or exclude extra ones. The selection of synonyms for the words in the line allows achieving greater accuracy in the transmission of parallel constructions and organizes a common rhythm in the blocks of lines. The addition of personal pronouns, necessary in the Russian language for any forms of past tense and almost all forms of other tenses, helps to add missing syllables to the line.The method of comparative analysis is used in the work.The undertaken study shows that some (not in all cases) rhythmization of the lines in the translation of the epic is achievable and necessary.

References

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