Evaluating the Semantic Equivalence of a Poetic Text
https://doi.org/10.25205/1818-7919-2023-22-9-53-63
Abstract
Purpose. Some texts have been translated into another language multiple times. There are various reasons to compile a new translation of a previously translated text: some translators are not satisfied with the accuracy of the existing translations, while others try to create new interpretations. The study presents a comparative evaluation of translation equivalence on the base of one of Horace's odes, namely Ad Leuconoën (I:XI), and its 55 translations into Russian.
Results. Detailed study of the problem revealed the impossibility of postulating a single scale of translation equivalence; at least for translations of a Latin poetic text, metrical, cultural, and semantic equivalence should be considered separately. The article describes the semantic equivalence.
Our method is divided into two steps - semantic analysis and arithmetic calculations. First, in Horace's poem, we select 30 keywords, and then we define the actual semes for each of them in the original text and in the translations. Then we compare the semes and register the differences. At last, we determine the coefficient of semantic equivalence for every translation using the arithmetic means.
Conclusion. High semantic equivalence does not always correlate with aesthetic perception. Moreover, earlier translations tend to have lesser equivalence.
About the Authors
P. A. Sikatskaya
Novosibirsk State University; Novosibirsk State Medical University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Polina A. Sikatskaya, Postgraduate Student (Philology)
Novosibirsk
I. A. Remorov
Novosibirsk State University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Ivan A. Remorov, Candidate of Sciences (Philology)
Novosibirsk
References
1. Alekseeva I. S. Vvedenie v perevodovedenie [Introduction to translation studies]. A manual for philology and linguistics students]. St. Petersburg, SPbSU Press; Moskow, Akademiya, 2004, 352 p. (in Russ.)
2. Barkhudarov L. S. Urovni yazykovoi ierarkhii i perevod [Levels of the language hierarchy and translation] In: Tetradi perevodchika [Textbooks of a translator]. Moscow, Vysshaya shkola, 1969, iss. 6, pp. 3–12. (in Russ.)
3. Chaikovsky R. R. Osnovy khudozhestvennogo perevoda (vvodnaya chast') [Fundamentals of literary translation (introductory part)]. A manual. Magadan, NESU Press, 2008, 182 p. (in Russ.)
4. Chanysheva Z. Z. Ponyatie ekvivalentnosti s ehtnokul'turnykh pozitsii [The concept of equivalence from an ethnocultural perspective]. Vestnik Bashkirskogo universiteta [Bulletin of Bashkir University]. 2005, vol. 10, iss. 2, pp. 63–66. (in Russ.)
5. Gak V. G. Yazykovye preobrazovaniya [Language transformations]. Moscow, 1998, 763 p. (in Russ.)
6. Komissarov V. N. Teoriya perevoda (lingvisticheskie aspekty) [Theory of translation (linguistic aspects)]. Textbook. Moscow, Vysshaya shkola Publ., 1990, 253 p. (in Russ.)
7. Karapets V. V. Perevodnaya mnozhestvennost': zaimstvovaniya ili sluchainye sovpadeniya perevodcheskikh reshenii (na primere perevodov “Madame Bovary” na russkii yazyk) [Translation multiplicity: borrowings or coincidences of translation solutions (on the example of translations of Madame Bovary into Russian)] Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Series 9: Filologiya [The Moscow University Bulletin. Series 9. Philology], 2017, no. 5, pp. 143–153. (in Russ.)
8. Latyshev L. K. Kurs perevoda (ekvivalentnost' i sposoby ee dostizheniya) [Course of translation (equivalence and ways to achieve it)]. Moscow, Mezhdunar. otnosheniya Publ., 1981, 248 p. (in Russ.)
9. Naida E. A., Waard J. de. Na novykh yazykakh zagovoryat (Funktsional'naya ekvivalentnost' v bibleiskikh perevodakh). [New languages will be spoken (Functional equivalence in biblical translations)]. Transl. by E. L. Alekseeva, E. D. Savenkova. St. Petersburg, 1998, 272 p. (in Russ.)
10. Sobolevsky S. I. Grammatika latinskogo yazyka. Chast' teoreticheskaya. Morfologiya i sintaksis. [Grammar of the Latin language. The theoretical part. Morphology and syntax]. Moscow: Izd-vo literatury na inostrannykh yazykakh, 1953, 430 p. (in Russ.)
11. Sherstneva E. S. Perevodnaya mnozhestvennost' kak kategoriya perevodovedeniya: istoriya, status, tendentsii [Translation multiplicity as a category of translation studies: history, status, trends] Izvestiya Rossijskogo gosudarstvennogo pedagogicheskogo universiteta im. A. I. Gercena [Izvestia: Herzen University Journal of Humanities & Sciences], 2008, no. 73-1, pp. 526–532 (in Russ).
12. Vinogradov V. S. Vvedenie v perevodovedenie (obshchie i leksicheskie voprosy). [Introduction to translation studies (general and lexical issues)]. Moscow, 2001, 224 p. (in Russ.)
Review
For citations:
Sikatskaya P.A., Remorov I.A. Evaluating the Semantic Equivalence of a Poetic Text. Vestnik NSU. Series: History and Philology. 2023;22(9):53-63. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.25205/1818-7919-2023-22-9-53-63
Views:
205
Email this article 