Dostoevsky: Translation Problems

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Author: Tatiana A. Kasatkina
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D.Sc. in Philology, Leading Researcher, Head of the “Dostoevsky and World Culture” Research Institute, A.M. Gorky Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Povarskaya st., 25A, 121069, Moscow, Russia, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0875-067X.

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Author 2: Arina B. Kuznetsova
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researcher in contemporary French literature, translator.

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For citation:

Kasatkina, T.A. and Kuznetsova, A.V. “Dostoevsky: Translation Problems”. Dostoevsky and World Culture. Philological journal, no. 4 (12), pp. 117-133. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.22455/2619-0311-2020-4-117-133
Received: 24.11.2020
Published: 25.12.2020
Issue: 2020 no. 4 (12)
Department: DOSTOEVSKY: TRANSLATION PROBLEMS
Pages: 117-133
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22455/2619-0311-2020-4-117-133
UDK: 821.161.1.0+81`25
BBK: 83.3(2Рос=Рус)
Keywords: translation problems, profound text, writer’s theory of art, Dostoevsky in French, André Markowicz, The Adolescent, The Brothers Karamazov
Abstract: The translation of Dostoevsky’s works presents numerous problems, and their analysis can be a most efficient way for the creation of a translation theory and methodology for profound texts characterized by the fact that words link on different levels and each time activate distinct elements of their semantic range. The discrepancy between semantic ranges in different languages leads to the high possibility of losing one or more correlations between words in translation. For the reader of the translation, the consequence is the disappearance of one or more threads of meaning running through the original text. Authorial transversal concepts and hidden quotes suffer the most from this situation, as the reduction or the change of the initial valence of the word causes that the translated word, even if perfectly fitted for the narrow context of the concrete sentence, completely loses its reference to the cited text or the thread the concept waves in the text. The article offers concrete examples of and possible solutions to the problems occurring during the process of translation. This kind of problem usually helps to reveal the strategy and the attitude of the author of the text.

References

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