The role of similes in Ukrainian dumas: problems and difficulties of their translation

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The role of similes in Ukrainian dumas: problems and difficulties of their translation

Turchyn Iryna Mykhaylivna, Associate Professor, Hunia Lesia Mykhaylivna Senior Lecturer, Bondarchuk Liudmyla Yosypivna Senior Lecturer of the Department of Foreign Languages, Lviv National Environmental University, the town of Dubliany

Abstract

The paper discusses the definition of a simile and the essence of similes in Ukrainian folklore. The study sets out to clarify the notion of similes as lexical devices, which are important to compare two diverse things. One has highlighted that Ukrainian Dumas narrate events of the history of our country, heroic deeds. Moreover, the poetic language and melodic cadence captivate people because they evoke a sense of pride and nostalgia as well as the feeling of cultural identity.

It has been reported that rendering original texts of Ukrainian Dumas into English is studied to be a difficult task taking into account the nuances of the source language and the target language, cultural differences, and poetic devices. So, the factors that determine the difficulties in rendering the source text are examined in the article. The term idiomatic similes is used to reflect cultural peculiarities to a high degree and render the sense or the use of a simile, divergent at a lexico-grammatical level, but pragmatically equivalent in the target culture. Furthermore, scientists alleged that simile through negation is particularly Ukrainian type that is why translators implemented some new structures in their translation. The strategies used by translators while rendering similes in the provided examples are observed in the article. The zoonimic character of the simile in Ukrainian Dumas is considered in the article.

The article offers certain crucial insights into word-for-word translation, literal translation, faithful translation, semantic translation with the emphasis on the source language as well as adaptation, free translation, idiomatic translation, communicative translation drawing attention to the target language.

The article contributes to the research concerning English translations of Ukrainian Dumas as bridges between diverse cultures, which allow foreigners to appreciate the significance of all heroic deeds and the beauty of our nation. Thus it makes source and target texts timeless in literature.

Keywords: Ukrainian Duma, simile, translation, source language, target language.

Анотація

Роль порівнянь в українських думах: проблеми та труднощі перекладу

Турчин Ірина Михайлівна кандидат педагогічних наук, доцент кафедри; Гуня Леся Михайлівна старший викладач кафедри; Бондарчук Людмила Йосипівна старший викладач кафедри іноземних мов, Львівський національний університет природокористування

У статті розглядається визначення поняття «порівняння» та сутність порівнянь в українському фольклорі. У дослідженні з'ясують поняття порівняння як лексичного засобу, який є важливим для порівняння двох різних речей. Підкреслено, що українські думи оповідають про події з історії нашої країни, героїчні вчинки. Крім того, поетична мова та каданс зачаровують людей, оскільки викликають почуття гордості та ностальгії, а також відчуття культурної ідентичності.

Переклад оригінальних текстів українських дум англійською мовою є складним завданням з огляду на нюанси мови оригіналу та мови перекладу, культурні відмінності та поетичні прийоми. У статті розглядаються фактори, які визначають труднощі у відтворенні вихідного тексту. Термін «ідіоматичні порівняння» використовується для того, щоб максимально відобразити культурні особливості та передати значення або вживання порівняння, відмінного на лексико-граматичному рівні, але прагматично еквівалентного в цільовій культурі. Крім того, науковці стверджують, що уподібнення через заперечення є специфічно українським типом, тому перекладачі впровадили деякі нові структури у своїх перекладах. У статті розглядаються стратегії, які використовували перекладачі при відтворенні силогізмів у наведених прикладах. Зоонімічні компоненти в українських думах розглянуто в статті.

У статті запропоновано ключові ідеї щодо дослівного (послівного) перекладу, буквального перекладу, адекватного перекладу, семантичного перекладу, наголошуючи на мову оригіналу (вихідну мову), а також адаптації, вільного перекладу, ідіоматичного перекладу, комунікативного перекладу, звертаючи увагу на мову перекладу (цільову мову).

Стаття сприяє дослідженню перекладу англійською мовою українських дум як містків між різними культурами, що дозволяють іноземцям оцінити всі героїчні подвиги і красу нашого народу. Таким чином, це робить вихідний і цільовий тексти позачасовими в літературі.

Ключові слова: українська дума, порівняння, переклад, мова оригіналу (вихідна мова), мова перекладу (цільова мова).

Formulation of the problem

Similes as lexical devices are important to compare two diverse things. Considering cultural differences and linguistic subtleties, translating similes from the Ukrainian language into English is a challenging task. The intended meaning may be lost due to a direct translation, which may sound awkward. Some similes can reveal cultural implications that may not have equivalents in the target language. In addition, certain grammatical structures require transformation concerning their differences. Furthermore, a special attention should be paid to the figurative meaning of some words to prevent readers from misinterpretation.

Ukrainian Dumas narrate events of the history of our country, heroic deeds that is vital for understanding Ukrainian culture. Patriotism, love, betrayal, friendship are depicted in dumas. Kobzars and lirnyks performed dumas in the past. What captivates people is the poetic language and melodic cadence because they evoke a sense of pride and nostalgia as well as the feeling of cultural identity.

Rendering original texts of Ukrainian Dumas into English is studied to be a difficult task taking into account the nuances of the source language and the target language, cultural differences, and poetic devices. The key issue is to provide the translated text, which is understandable for Englishspeaking people. Thus, translators should appreciate and be aware of both languages and cultures, historical events.

One problem is a cultural one as “idiomatic similes, like other phraseological units, reflect cultural peculiarities to a high degree, thus requiring the rendering of the sense or the use of a simile, divergent at a lexico-grammatical level, but pragmatically equivalent in the target culture [10, p. 41].

The aim of the paper is to explore similes in Ukrainian Dumas and their translation into English.

Analysis of recent scientific papers

A considerable amount of literature has been published on the issue of “similes” and ways of their translation. Such scholars as P. Newmark, P. Pierini, A. Gargani investigated the problem of a simile and provided their papers on it. Ukrainian scientists O. Ponomariv, A. Husieva also focused their attention on the research of a simile.

One study by P. Newmark examined the methods of translation concerning the source language and the target language. A significant analysis of stylistics is done by Ukrainian scientist O. Ponomariv who wrote about the use of similes in folklore.

Presenting the research material. A simile requires less of an imaginative leap than does a metaphor. A simile states that A is like B, whereas a metaphor suggests that A actually is B [8, p. 65].

In the article “Similes as poetic comparisons”, A. Gargani stated that similes communicate explicit comparisons. He added that it is not a right assumption to consider metaphors and similes in broadly the same way [6].

A famous scholar P. Newmark pointed out the following methods of translation, firstly, with the emphasis on the source language (word-for-word translation, literal translation, faithful translation, semantic translation), secondly, with the emphasis on the target language (adaptation, free translation, idiomatic translation, communicative translation) [9].

O. Ponomariv stipulates that everything can be compared - alive and dead, physical and psychological, concrete and abstract [4, p.42]. He also writes that similes through negation are widespread in folklore. Under influence of folklore such kind of similes is used also in belles-lettres style, particularly in poetic genres. [4, p.43]

V. Kononenko described the possibility of taking comparative values into account while examining synthesised imagery in the context of the processes leading to the revitalization of modern artistic discourse [3].

Similes are more precise, more restricted and usually less radical, less committed than metaphors, since they limit the resemblance of the `object' and its `image' (vehicle) to a single property (`cool as a cucumber'). Thus they are generally easier to translate than metaphor (simile is a `weaker' method of translating a metaphor), and the main problem is cultural, i.e. does one transfer or adapt the simile [8, p.125].

We can observe the strategies used by translators G.Tarnawsky and P. Kilina while rendering similes. Here are some examples provided for analyzing.

Example 1

• Каже: «Татарко! Я те бачу: в чистім полі не орел літає, -- То козак Голота добрим конем гуляє» [11, p.106].

• He said: “O Tatar woman, This is what I see: it is not an eagle flying over the open fields - It is Cossack Holota riding his fine horse! ” [11, p.107].

In example 1 there is simile through negation in the line “Я те бачу: в чистім полі не орел літає”. It is rendered as “This is what I see: it is not an eagle flying over the open fields”. In general, similes help to distinguish some feature of the subject through the relationship with the object, and the negation, on the one hand, somehow ruins it but, on the other hand, stimulates interest. In this sentence we can contemplate the image of an eagle flying over open fields in comparison to the image of Cossack Holota riding his horse. The negation in the image of an eagle presupposes that this technique in the simile adds vividness to the comparison.

This lexical device is frequently used in the dumy especially its type - simile through negation. To clarify these notions some information is given. So, simile is the intensification of some feature of the concept is realized in a device. Similes set one object against another regardless of the fact that they may be completely alien to each other.

Example 2

• “Якби отець або мати видали, -

Білу кошулю на смерть би твою прислали,

То в неділю б рано-раненько уставала,

Жалібненько оплакала,

Так, як би зозуля окувала” [11, p.104].

• If your father or mother knew,

In example 2 there is the example of the simile “так, як би зозуля окувала” which is translated as “she would coo like a cuckoo”. The translators introduced the pronoun “she” and created rhyming in it. The comparison of the sister's mourning with the sound of a cuckoo's call shows the melancholic character. The zoonimic character of the simile lies in applying animal-related imagery so as to express emotions.

Example 3

• На татарських полях Та на козацьких шляхах То ж не вовки-сіроманці Квилять та проквиляють,

Не орли-чорнокрильці клекочуть,

Голосно-жалібно співа [11, p.100].

• On the Tatar fields

And singing loudly and sorrowfully [11, p.101].

Here we have two examples of such lexical device as simile through negation. They are: “то ж не вовки-сіроманці квилять та проквиляють” and “не орли-чорнокрильці клекочуть, попід небесами літають”. As for the meaning of the word “орли-чорнокрильці ” and its translation “blackwinged eagles'". The translators, rendering them, added such words as “it is not” in the first one. Concerning the second one, they formed the negative statement with the help of the particle “nor”.

There is the description of the Cossack with the help of the simile. Diminutive suffixes in this device “як голубонько сивесенький ” are peculiarities only of Ukrainian. This lexical device is rendered with the help of “like”, so it is natural in both languages.

A. Husieva mentions usual application of a specific group of comparisons with a zoonimic component used by writers to depict the character of the characters [1].

Example 4

• У святу неділю не сизі орли заклекотали

Як то бідні невольники у тяжкій неволі заплакали

Угору руки підоймали, кайданами забряжчали [11, p.22].

• On the holy day of Sunday, it wasn't the grey eagles screaming

Raising their arms, shaking their chains [1, p.23].

In this example, we can encounter different methods used by translators to adapt source text to target culture.

In the source text we can contemplate the perfect tense but in translation it is substituted with the introductory it and past continuous tense. To explain the usage of it we need to mention the main components of the actual division of the sentence such as the theme and the rheme.

Here we can also talk about simile through negation, which is peculiar in the dumy. As for the lexical layer than the near-equivalent target word is used in translation of “не сизі орли заклекотали” as “ it wasn't the grey eagles screaming”.

In translation of the phrase “угору руки підоймали” the translators opted for “raising their arms”. The adverb is omitted without any loss in the target text because if the person raises his hands, he does it upwards. We can encounter the case of the concretization in rendering of such part of the body as “рука.”

In English there are two nouns corresponding to one Ukrainian. They are “hand” and “arm.” In the translated text a word “arms” was used, however, there is a difference between them and it is more naturally to use the word “hand” in collocation with the verb “raise”. According to the exaplanatiom in the dictionary, there are differentiation of the meaning of the word “hand” and “arm”. So “hand” means “the end part of the human arm beyond the wrist” [7, p.368] and “arm ” means “each of the two upper limbs of the human body from the shoulder to the hand” [7, p.51].

We do not have such concretization of meanings in Ukrainian language. The only meaning of the word “рука” is “кожна з двох верхніх кінцівок людини від плечового суглоба до кінчиків пальців” [2, p.1278].

Ukrainian collocation “кайданами забряжчали ” is much more emphatic than English “shaking their chains” because of peculiar sound “жч”. The English explanation of “chains” as “if prisoners are in chains, they have thick rings of metal round their wrists or ankles to prevent them from escaping” [5, p.239] corresponds to the translation.

Conclusions

Therefore, similes are lexical devices, which are important to compare two diverse things. However, similes are more precise than metaphors, since they limit the resemblance of the `object' and its `image') to a single property similes and it is possible to render them without particular problems, however, simile through negation is particularly Ukrainian type that is why translators implemented some new structures in their translation. In addition, the zoonimic character of the simile in Ukrainian Dumas often involves the use of animal imagery to convey traits such as nobility, bravery and others. Diminutive suffixes are peculiarities only of Ukrainian and that is why it cannot be rendered into English. These suffixes, which modify nouns to convey smallness or affection, are embedded in Ukrainian linguistic practice.

In conclusion, the paper contributes to the study of English translations of Ukrainian Dumas as bridges between diverse cultures, which allow foreigners to appreciate the significance of all heroic deeds and the beauty of our nation. It makes source and target texts timeless in literature. The translation of Ukrainian Dumas into English done by G. Tarnawsky and P. Kilina represent significant milestones in the cross-cultural exchange. The work preserves the cultural essence of the source texts, making them accessible to a broader audience.

heroic duma translator syllogism english

1. Husieva A. (2015). Problemy perekladu anhliiskyh porivnian ukraiinskoiu movoiu [The Problem of the Translation of English Similes into Ukrainian]. Magisterium. № 2 (41). P. 96-101 [in Ukrainian].

2. Velykyi tlumachnyi slovnyk suchasnoii ukraiinskoii movy [A Large Explanatory Dictionary of the Modern Ukrainian Language] / [compiled by chief editor V. Bussel]. K.: Irpin: VTF “Perun”, 2009. 1719 p [in Ukrainian].

3. Kononenko V. (2019). Katehoriia porivniannia v linhvokohnityvnomu vymiri: postmodernistskyi hudozhnii dyskurs [The Category of Simile in the Linguistic and Cognitive Dimension: Postmodern Artistic Discourse]. The Ukrainian Language. №3(71). P. 17-28 [in Ukrainian].

4. Ponomariv O. (1992). Stylistyka suchasnoii ukraiinskoii movy [Stylistics of the Modern Ukrainian Language]: a textbook. K.: Lybid. 248 p. [in Ukrainian].

5. Collins Cobuild English Dictionary for Advanced Learners. HarperCollins Publishers, 2001. 1824 p [in English].

6. Gargani A. (2016). Similes as poetic comparisons. Lingua. P. 54-68 [in English].

7. Illustrated Oxford Dictionary. DK Publishing, 2003. 008 p [in English].

8. Newmark P. (1988). Approaches to Translation. Hertfordshire: Prentice Hall. 199 p [in English].

9. Newmark P.A. (1988). Textbook of Translation. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press [in English].

10. Pierini P. (2007). Simile in English: from description to translation. Clac Clrculo. Vol. 29. P. 29-43 [in English].

11. Tarnawsky G., Kilina P. (1979). Ukrainian dumy: original texts translations. Toronto: Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies. 217 p [in English].

Література

1. Гусєва А.Г. Проблема перекладу англійських порівнянь українською мовою. Магістеріум. 2015. № 2 (41). С. 96-101.

2. Великий тлумачний словник сучасної української мови / [уклад. голов. ред. В.Т. Бусел]. К.: Ірпінь: ВТФ “Перун”, 2009. 1719 с.

3. Кононенко В.І. Категорія порівняння в лінгвокогнітивному вимірі: постмодерністський художній дискурс. Українська мова. 2019. № 3(71). С. 17-28.

4. Пономарів О. Стилістика сучасної української мови : підручник, 1992. К.: Либідь. 248 с.

5. Collins Cobuild English Dictionary for Advanced Learners. HarperCollins Publishers, 2001. 1824 p.

6. Gargani A. Similes as poetic comparisons. Lingua. 2016. P. 54-68.

7. Illustrated Oxford Dictionary. DK Publishing, 2003. 008 p.

8. Newmark P. Approaches to Translation. Hertfordshire: Prentice Hall, 1988. 199 p.

9. Newmark P.A. Textbook of Translation. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education, 1998.

10. Pierini P. Simile in English: from description to translation. Clac Clrculo. 2007. Vol. 29. P. 29-43.

11. Tarnawsky G., Kilina P. Ukrainian dumy: original texts translations. Toronto: Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, 1979. 217 p.

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