Poetry Translation Techniques as Exemplified by German and English Translation of Peter Yershov’s Tale «Конёк-Горубнок» («Das bucklige Pferdchen», «The Little Humpbacked Horse»)

Kostovskaya Ol'ga Anatol'evna ORCID: 0000-0001-8332-0488 Postgraduate, Assistant, Department of Foreign Languages № 2, Institute of Linguistics and Intercultural Communication, Irkutsk National Research Technical University 664074, Russia, Irkutsk region, Irkutsk, Lermontov str., 83, office B-305 koairk@mail.ru

Introduction

«”The Little Humpbacked Horse” tale by Peter Yershov is a popular work of literature of the XIX century. There are several translations of the tale in verse and prose. H. Egon Strassburger translated the poem into German in 1922. Later, in 1953, Martin Remané produced another translation of Yershov’s work (reprinted in 1974, 1977, 1980). Leonhard also translated the tale into German» ^[5] and L. Zelikoff – into English.

This work is absolutely unique in terms of style and content and is unlike any other works of literature. Perhaps this explains why the work still appeals to translators who want to convey not just the content of the tale, but also the vivid tones of this distinctive poem to the international readers.

Problem Statement

Cases of the translation of Yershov’s work into foreign languages serve to exemplify some techniques of poetic translation. However, there is no common classification of these techniques that include grammatical, stylistic and lexical devices. The choice of the device depends on a translator’s choice.

Research Methods

The paper employs several research approaches, logical semantic analysis, methods of definitions and comparison of Russian and German versions of Peter Yershov’s poem «The Little Humpbacked Horse»; «interpretation which implies, unlike passive perception of the original text, an active, analytical approach to the poem, as differences between the original and target languages make a linguistically accurate translation impossible, thus only providing for an explanatory (interpretative) translation». ^[3]

Research Questions

Professor Vyacheslav Ivanov emphasizes: «whereas the translation of common scientific and technical text must preserve the original meaning of the text, a poetic translation requires that the poetic model (or poetic meaning) of the poem remains unchanged». While «the poetic model of the text is understood as its poetic meaning, which extends beyond the word-for-word translation, since the poetic model includes more than just a direct content of the verse (subject, to certain extent, to prose retelling), but also the structure of the poem». «…As the meaning of a language unit is independent of the personal characteristics of individual speakers, so the poetic meaning of a verse is independent of the personal perception of the individual». ^[8]

«A French linguist Jules Marouzeau states in his paper «Traduction» that the translator must preserve the meaning of the poem, convey the structure, and reflect the original stylistics, without displacing the style.

Jules Marouzeau believes that the reader of the translated poem should be subject to the same state as the reader of the original, stating that this is nearly impossible. Marouzeau comes to the conclusion that the translator must retain the specifics of the original text and its structure». ^[6]

«Anderson says that translation and writing proper are logically so affiliated because translation is ultimately a process of re-writing, (see Anderson, 2002). Many professional translators outright state that they intend to relay both the informative as well as the pleasurable respects of the TLT once they initiate any professional translation enterprise». ^[1]

The author of the paper agrees, that the specifics of the source language must be preserved in the translation, however, retaining the original structure is not that easy, due to the fact that the structure of original and the target languages is different. If a translator focuses on preserving the structure, it may affect other aspects of the translation, resulting in a less understandable translation, while it must be as comprehensible as the original text.

Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of the article is to consider the techniques and methods used in the translation of the fairy tale of P. P. Yershov «The little Humpbacked Horse» from Russian into German and into English (the English translation is by Louis Zellikoff, 1957).

Findings

Below we shall review the translation methods exemplified by the German translation of Peter Yershov’s tale «The Little Humpbacked Horse» («Конёк-горбунок»).

Generalization – a substitution of a specific text unit of the source language by a text unit with a broader meaning of the target language. Generalization in translation is defined as a «conscious or subconscious semantic loss of one or more specific semes (notional or pragmatic), in a lexical unit [...] in contrast to corresponding units of the original or, quantitatively, to comparable original texts written in the same language». Conversely, specification is defined as the opposite tendency, i.e. as «conscious or subconscious semantic enrichment [...]». ^[9]

1) «Эхе-хе! Так вот какой

Наш воришко!.. Но, постой,

Я шутить ведь не умею,

Разом сяду те на шею.

Вишь, какая саранча!»

«Ach, so! –

meinte Ivan, – So ist das

unser kleiner Dieb! Aber warte!

Ich verstehe hier keinen Spaß.

Ich setze mich auf deinen Rücken.

Siehst du! Solch eine Heuschrecke!»

2) Что ж он видит? - Прекрасивых Двух коней золотогривых Да игрушечку-конька Ростом только в три вершка, На спине с двумя горбами Да с аршинными ушами. «Хм! Теперь-то я узнал, Для чего здесь дурень спал!» - Говорит себе Данило... Чудо – разомхмельпосбило.

Was aber sieht er dort: 2 sehr schöne

Pferde mit den goldenen Mähnen

und dazu stand das Spielzeugpferdchen,

aber er war kleingewachsen

mit 2 Buckeln auf dem Rücken

und mit extra langen Ohren.

«Hm! Ich erkenne jetzt warum

hier der Dummkopf schlief so oft» –

sagte für sich selbst Danilo,

und er wurde sofort nüchtern.

Namely, generalization is used when there are no analogues to some original text concepts in the target language, e. g. «да с аршинными ушами» (with arshin-long ears) – «mit extra langen Ohren».

Specification – (opposite of generalization) a substitution of a text unit with a broader meaning of the source language by a more specific text unit of the target language.

«Specification and generalisation are good examples of how a simple difference in the grammatical system of languages may have far-reaching consequences for translation». ^[4]

1) среднийсын – нетак, несяк

der Mittlere war nicht so klug

2) Вот, как стало лишь смеркаться,

Началстаршийбратсбираться.

Nun, die Sonne ging bald runter,

Der älteste Sohn stand auf munter.

3) Ночьненастнаянастала

In der Nacht brach der Donner aus

4) Ночь проходит, день приходит;

С сенника дозорный сходит

И, облив себя водой,

Стал стучаться под избой.

Nach der Nacht erschien die Sonne,

so verließ er dann die Scheune,

goss das Wasser auf den Kopf,

machte bei der Tür klopf-klopf.

5) Вьётся кругом над полями,

Виснет пластью надо рвами,

Мчится скоком по горам,

Ходит дыбом по лесам,

Хочет силой аль обманом,

Лишь бы справиться с Иваном.

Sie wirbelt hastig über Feldern

und schwebt auch über Schluchten,

fegt sie eilig durch die Berge,

ging und lief noch in den Wäldern.

Sie möchte Ivan abwerfen

und setzte daran alle Kräfte.

6) Там пшеницу продавали,

Деньги счётом принимали,

И с набитою сумой

Возвращалися домой.

There they sold their golden grain,

counted carefully their gain.

And with well-filled money bags

home again would turn their nags.

7) Стали думать, да гадать,

Как бы вора соглядать.

Day and night they sat and thought

how the villain could be caught.

Compensation – a substitution of a non-translatable element of the source language by another mean that conveys the same content, not necessarily in the same place as in the original work. Thus, the translator compensates for lost meaning and, on the whole, reproduces the original meaning with more accuracy.

1) Кобылица та была

Вся, как зимний снег, бела,

Грива в землю, золотая,

В мелки кольца завитая…

Sie war so schön, mitderMähne,

die gelockt, goldfarbig und

bis zum Fuß lang war.

2) Наконец себе смекнули,

Чтоб стоять на карауле,

Хлеб ночами поберечь,

Злого вора подстеречь.

Sie besprachen so die Sachen

und beschlossen zu bewachen.

Es bedeutet die ganze Nacht

Wache stehen. Was danach?

3) Жутко было молодцу!

What a dreadful night he passed!

4) Стало сызнова смеркаться;

Средний брат пошёл сбираться:

Взял и вилы, и топор

И отправился в дозор.

As next day drew near its close,

up the second brother rose

and, with pitchfork, axe in hand,

also went his watch to stand.

Meaning extension – using a word or phrase in the translation, the meaning of which is logically developed from the meaning of the text unit in the source language. One may say that, when using the meaning extension method, some volume of a concept is transferred to the volume of another concept.

1) Ночь ненастная настала,

На него боязнь напала…

In der Nacht brach der Donner aus

«Am besten, - dachte er -, wäre es zu Haus!»

2) Похвалил его отец:

«Ты, Данило, молодец!

Ты вот, так сказать, примерно,

Сослужил мне службу верно,

То есть, будучи при всём,

Не ударил в грязь лицом».

…Und ihn lobte so der Vater:

«Du, Danilo, bist ein guter Junge!

Du hast alles gut erledigt,

auch mir den Dienst erwiesen».

In this example of meaning extension, two lines of the original work are missing in the translated version.

3) У старинушки три сына,

Старший – умный был детина.

… of his sons – and he had three,

the oldest sharp was as could be.

Holistic transformationis used, when it is impossible to base the translation on the vocabulary correlations or contextual meanings of the units of the source language. The translator must grasp the meaning of the translated piece as a whole and express it in the target language with the words that sometimes may greatly differ from the words of the original.

1) Там пшеницу продавали,

Деньги счётом принимали.

Der Weizen wurde dort verkauft

und viel Geld wurde dadurch gesammelt.

2) И со страхов наш мужик

Закопался под сенник.

und die Scheune war nicht weit,

schnarchte er dort ruhig bald.

3) Братья сеяли пшеницу,

Да, возили в град-столицу.

Now, these brothers planted wheat,

brought it to the royal seat.

4) Похвалил его отец:

«Ты, Данило, молодец!

Ты вот, так сказать, примерно,

Сослужил мне службу верно,

То есть, будучи при всём,

Не ударил в грязь лицом».

Father praised his son with pleasure,

said: «Danilo, you’re a treasure!

You have served me well, my son,

I can only say, well done!

You have proved, that you are a man

and have not disgraced me, Dan!»

Descriptive translation is very often employed when dealing with the notions of specific national lexicon.

1) старший­–умныйбылдетина

der älteste war kluger, als die Anderen

2) Кто-то в поле стал ходить,

Дапшеницушевелить.

Jemand ging im Feld spazieren.

Durch den Weizen wurde viel marschiert.

7) Мужички такой печали

Отродяся не слыхали.

Never had suchgriefbefore

come to visit at their door.

Literal translation means word-for-word translation. This method will not be able to transfer the original meaning; while the phrase and sentence structures tend to fall by the wayside in the TL.

Взял он вилы и топор

И отправился в дозор.

Die Heugabel und das Beil

nahm er mit. Das Feld war nicht weit.

«Phonemic translation attempts to recreate the sounds of the source language (SL) in the target language (TL). And at the same time the translator tries to transfer the meaning. According to Lafevere, in general the result sounds awkward and sometimes leaves some parts of the original meaning behind». ^[7] The differences between the original and target languages sometimes make it impossible to preserve the poetic rhythm. In this case, the translators employ verse-to-prose translation. «It is also called auxiliary and is defined as the translation of a poetic text by means of fiction prose». ^[2] «Verse-to-prose translation has also some weaknesses. The outstanding weakness is the loss of the beauty of the original poem». ^[7] A combination of rhyming and non-rhyming translation is used as well. A non-rhyming translation may still allow to retain the meter.

1) Стали спрашивать его: Не видал ли он чего? Караульщик помолился, Вправо, влево поклонился И, прокашлявшись, сказал: «Я всю ноченьку не спал; На мое ж притом несчастье, Было страшное ненастье:

Дождь вот так ливмя и лил, Рубашонку всю смочил. Уж куда как было скучно!.. Впрочем, все благополучно». Похвалил его отец: «Ты, Данило, молодец! Ты вот, так сказать, примерно, Сослужил мне службу верно, То есть, будучи при всем, Не ударил в грязь лицом».

Sie begannen ihn zu fragen,

ob ihm etwas in die Augen

fiel. Das Gebet sprach er erst aus,

und sich nach rechts und links verbeugt

«Ich, - sagte er nach dem Husten,-

hab‘ die Nacht über nicht geschlafen

und dazu noch ein Unglück –

es war ein schreckliches Unwetter.

Hört ihr, es goss in Strömen,

mein Hemd war wie einen Waschlappen.

Es war auch so langweilig!..

aber es ist alles glimpflich».

Und ihn lobte so der Vater:

«Du, Danilo, bist ein guter Junge!

Du hast alles gut erledigt,

auch mir den Dienst erwiesen».

2) Тут Иван с печи слезает,

Малахай свой надевает,

Хлеб за пазуху кладёт,

Караулдержатьидёт.

Ivan stieg von dem Ofen herab,

zog schnell den Mantel an,

nahm das Stückchen Brot mit,

ging die Wache zu übernehmen auch dahin.

Substitution of one type of sentence with another (in this case — a declarative clause in the source language is substituted with an interrogative sentence in the target language):

1) Там пшеницу продавали,

Деньги счётом принимали

и с набитою сумой

возвращалися домой.

Der Weizen wurde dort verkauft

und viel Geld wurde dadurch gesammelt.

So, die Tasche war schon voll.

Auf nach Hause? Jawohl!

The following examples use vocatives not found in the original text to preserve the meter:

1) …Под дождём я весь промок

С головы до самых ног.

…Seht ihr nicht, ich bin so nass

von dem Kopf und bis zum Fuß.

2) Дождь вот так ливмя и лил,

Рубашонкувсюсмочил.

Hört ihr, es goss in Strömen,

mein Hemd war wie einen Waschlappen.

Conclusion

The poetic translation of the tale includes various substitutions with different methods. Translation is a diversified phenomenon, too complex to fit completely within the framework of a single theoretical pattern. In translation of poetry the first and foremost task is to retain the poetic form of the original, even if some of the original elements are lost in the course of the translation. It explains the fact why there is often a number of translations of a single work, each being unique and distinctive.