Peculiarities of transmitting realia-words in translating Kazakh folk tales

The present article explores techniques of translating realia-words found in Kazakh folk tales into Russian and English. Since there are few translations of Kazakh folk tales into English and the available translations contain only a few realia-words, the authors propose their own variants of translation of certain Kazakh realia-words into English.

Keywords: translation, folk tale, translation problems, non-equivalent words, realia-words.

The specifics of people's lifestyle and paradigm of thinking are conveyed in a language by lexical units which are known as realia-words.

In linguistics, realia-words are considered «various factors studied by external linguistics, such as the state structure of the country, history and culture of the people, linguistics ties between speakers of the language, etc. in terms of their reflection in the language», as well as objects of material culture themselves [1, p.381]. Realia-words include objects, concepts and phenomena characteristic of history, nation’s lifestyle and traditions, that are not found in other nations [2, p. 47].

Texts of folk tales abound with realia-words, which in turn create difficulties for translators. On the one hand, there is a danger of not finding the necessary folklore equivalent in the target language; on the other hand, to preserve the national uniqueness of the original text, a translator should look for expressive means in the target language, which can represent elements of a different culture. These features are the reason for the main difficulties that arise when translating Kazakh folk tales into Russian and English.

The analysed texts of folk tales contain national-specific lexical units — realia-words, reflecting centuries-old traditions of Kazakhs and the distinctive flavour of the Kazakh people. Realia-words normally require special attention and conscious use of translation techniques on the part of a translator. Many methods and techniques are used to transfer realia-words in translation practice. Let us consider the most common techniques based on the classification of S. Vlakhov and S. Florin.

1. Transcription/transliteration. Transcription and transliteration are techniques of translating a source lexical unit by recreating its form with the help of the letters of a foreign language. Transcription reproduces the sound form of a foreign language word, while transliteration reproduces its graphic form (alphabetic composition) [3, p. 210].

In Russian collection of Kazakh folk tales compiled by F. Zhanuzakova in 1983 a translator has transferred such realia-words as қымыз «sour milk drink made of mare milk» by using the techniques of transcription and transliteration. This realia-words are known to a wide range of recipients of the Russian-language translation, perhaps that is why the translator has chosen these techniques:

However, a translator should be vigilant and carefully use transcription and transliteration techniques without descriptions, as a recipient's background knowledge may not be sufficient to decipher the cultural information contained in the realia-words. For this reason, the word жұт (natural disaster when cattle cannot has been translated by using transliteration technique with an explanatory footnote:

2. Description, explanation, interpretation techniques. These techniques are usually used when there is no other way to translate the realia. They explain a concept that, for one reason or another, was not rendered by a transcription. This type of translation is close to generic substitution. For example:

In the above example, the realia қозышы, which literally translates as «shepherd of lambs» is transferred through descriptive translation. According to the traditions of the Kazakh steppe, adult men normally herded camels, horses and other cattle species, while young boys were entrusted with herding lambs. In the above example, the realia "қозышы” refers to young boys aged 6–10 years. The translator, to emphasise that Qazanqap is not a shepherd in common parlance, explains to a reader through description techniques that Qazanqap is just a boy and that he is herding lambs. This method is also suitable for translating the mentioned realia-word into English.

3. Generic substitution technique . Being a type of non-literal translation, the generic substitution technique «allows transferring the approximate meaning of realia-words using a unit with a broader meaning. This technique is more commonly known as generalization technique, which is widely known in the theory of translation [3, p.98].

The Kazakh-Russian online dictionary gives the word «селебе» the following interpretation: a sabre-shaped large combat knife with a double-sided blade [7]. In other words, it is not a knife in the general sense, but a type of edged weapon used in combat.

4. Functional analogue technique . A. D. Schweitzer described this technique as «an element of a finite statement, causing a similar reaction in a Russian reader» [8, p.251].

5. The technique of introduction into the text of the translation of foreign realia-words that are not present in the original text. This method contributes to preserving the character of the original text and is the most commonly used. For example:

The following patterns have been identified in the analysis of Russian-language translations of Kazakh folk tales. The most commonly used techniques is transliteration technique, as well as description, explanation and interpretation methods. Such methods as functional analogue and generic substitution are not widely used. In other words, translators prefer to stick to the original text and follow the author's intent. Characteristically, the frequency of use of a particular method of translation of realia-words does not mean its effectiveness. For example, transcription and transliteration, as a rule, only convey the sound or graphic form of a word, contributing to the preservation of colour, but do not give the non-Kazakh reader an idea of the inner form of the lexeme.

References:

1. Akhmanova O. S. (2013) Slovar lingvisticheskih terminov. [The Dictionary of Linguistic Terms] (Moscow, 614 p.) [in Russian]
2. Vlakhov S., Florin S. (1980) Neperevodimoye v perevode. [Unrendarable in Translation] (Moscow, Mezhdunarodnye otnosheniya, 343 p.) [in Russian]
3. Komissarov V. N. (1990) Teoriya perevoda (lingvisticheskie aspekty) [Translation theory (linguistic aspects)] (Moscow, Vysshaya shkola, 253 p.) [in Russian]
4. Qazaqtyn 1001 ertegisi. Qazaq halqynyn halyq ertegileri toptamasy 2022 [Kazakh folk tales. Collection of Kazakh folk tales]. Available at: https://ru.scribd.com/document/337671804 (Accessed at: 14.01.2022)
5. Kazakhskiye narodnye skazki (1983) [Kazakh folk tales: translated from Kazakh (Compiled by F. Zhanuzakova)] (Alma-Ata, Zhazushy, 256 p.) [in Russian]
6. Bozingen. Kazakhskiye narodnye skazki (1985) [Bozingen. Kazakh folk tales] (Alma-Ata, Zhalyn, 207 p.) [in Russian]
7. Kazakh- Russian dictionary 2003. Available at: https://sozdik.kz/ru/dictionary/translate/kk/ru (Accessed at: 07.02.2022)
8. Schweitzer A. D. Perevod I lingvistika (1973) [Translation and Linguistics] (Moscow, Voenizdat, 280 p.)