LINGUISTIC AND CULTURAL MODELS OF LOCAL LORE TYPES OF TEXTS: PRE-TRANSLATION ANALYSIS

Abstract

In order to identify the linguistic and typological peculiarities of non-fiction culture-oriented types of texts’ construction in contrasted traditions, a translator has to get acquainted with the structure-compositional and lexico-semantic patterns of certain type of text’s construction within each contrasted linguistic and cultural tradition. In other words, a translator has to construct a model of certain type of text taking into consideration the text-typological expectations of the linguistic and cultural audience. It means that from a perspective of Translation and Interpretation studies it is the methodology of contextual analysis that forms the first stage of identification of the text-typological invariant and variable features of local lore texts within one linguistic and cultural tradition.

Apart from that, the recognition of these features on different contextual levels involves a number of methodologies. Thus, for example, in order to select realias and lexical units with symbolic meaning one should use thesaurus, distributive, definitive methods along with the methodology of symbolic interpretation. The specificity of functioning of verbalized constituents of a linguistic concept is based upon the usage of several text analyses’ methods and methodologies: a) method of distribution of lexico-semantic elements from structure-compositional text components according to such criteria as universal, specific and unique; b) frame analysis method.

The method of distribution of lexico-semantic elements from structure-compositional text components according to universal, specific and unique criteria allows to outline the set of obligatory characteristics for lexical units, core to local lore texts.

The methodology of frame analysis also indicates the types of transformations/transpositions, needed while rendering the analyzed lexical units within certain type of text. The absence of some slot in one type of text and appearance of this slot in another type of text, or vice versa, points onto the usage of addition or elimination. Qualitative increase of lexical units in some slot in different types of texts allows to recognize the usage of concretization in the form of descriptive paraphrase, semantic concretization or modulation. In any case, when talking about the semantic meaning of lexical units under analysis, new information is not just added, but becomes more concrete.

The identification of peculiarities of different types of local lore lexis realization depends on the place of their actualization in the text. In other words, it depends on the specificity of local lore lexis functioning on different structure-compositional levels. Thus, the results of pre-translation analysis allow to recognize a set of text-typological features, which preservation/omission effects the adequate recognition and identification of the local lore lexis status in the analyzed types of texts within different linguistic and cultural tradition. The equivalence of integral features in contrasted linguistic and cultural traditions indicates the correspondence of text-typological expectation stereotypes in contrasted traditions.

Within the zone of correspondence, a translator can use proper means of translation.

Differential features, in contrary, points onto the culture specificity of given type of text construction, which reproduction in the target language will demand involvement of creative means of translation.