Cultural reality as a phenomenon of language and artistic text.

Pavlova Tatyana Alexandrovna ORCID: 0000-0002-8033-3272 Senior Lecturer, Department of Foreign Languages, Sevastopol State University 299053, Sevastopol, Universitetskaya str., 33, Russia, Sevastopol, Crimea, Rudneva str., 26/5 tatyana_bokhan@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Potovskaya Kseniya Sergeevna Senior Lecturer, Department of Foreign Languages, Sevastopol State University 299053, Russia, Sevastopol, Crimea, Rudneva str., 26/5 xevia25@mail.ru Other publications by this author

     In translation studies, as in other philological sciences, attempts have been repeatedly made to highlight the problem of cultural realities and give a clear definition of this concept. Many translation theorists have dealt with this area to one degree or another, from one point of view or another, supporters of untranslatability drew their arguments from it, they were refuted by realist theorists, proving the possibility of transferring color by departing or translating the "letter". In modern linguistics, there are many definitions of the concept of "reality". A.V. Fedorov speaks of "national-specific realities" - words denoting "a purely local phenomenon that has no correspondence in the everyday life and concepts of another people." ^[5]

J.I. Retsker writes about non-equivalent vocabulary, which is "primarily a designation of realities characteristic of a country and alien to another language and another reality." ^[3]

In the same spirit, the realities of G.V. Chernov ^[6] and A.D. Schweitzer ^[7] are interpreted, the first as exotic, the second as non–equivalent vocabulary. Western authors, for example, Newmark, do not have a term for realities in our understanding. Newmark identifies "national institutional terms", which to some extent corresponds to "socio-political" realities, whereas "cultural terms" refer to all other realities.^[8]

In comparison with other units of language, reality has a number of distinctive features:

· The reality is peculiar to only one language group, and in another it is absent (amer. bread and butter letter).

· The reality may be present in both language groups, but in one of them it is not specifically noted (amer. clover leaf – Russian road junction in the form of a clover leaf).

· The reality is in close connection with the national culture of a certain country, on the one hand, and with the historical period of time, on the other. It follows that the realities have an appropriate national (local) and historical flavor. As a linguistic phenomenon most closely related to culture, these lexical units react quickly to all changes in the development of society. Among them, one can always distinguish realities – neologisms, historicisms, archaisms. For example, the rebellion of the younger generation in the USA of the 50s and 60s was reflected in the language by the appearance of such realities as beatnik, beat generation - Beatniks; a tired, broken, disappointed generation.

The word "reality" itself is a Latin adjective of the neuter plural (realis, -e, mn. Realia - "real, real"), which turned into a feminine noun under the influence of similar lexical categories. This term is used to refer to:

firstly, the objects of material culture that serve as the basis for the nominative meaning of the word,

secondly, abstract entities related to the spiritual values and customs of the people, the socio-political structure and cultural and social traditions of the country, that is, all the real facts concerning everyday life, culture, and the history of a given language.

According to dictionary definitions, realities are "objects of material culture". ^[1]

In translation studies, the term "reality" mostly refers to words naming objects, that is, the names of realities.

Thus, there is a twofold understanding of reality:

1) as an object, concept, phenomenon characteristic of the history, culture, way of life, way of life of a particular people, country and not found among other peoples;

2) as a word denoting such an object, concept, phenomenon, as well as as a phrase (usually a phraseological unit, proverb, saying), including such words.

Based on all of the above, it is possible to characterize realities as words or phrases naming objects characteristic of the life (way of life, culture, social and historical development) of one people and alien to another. Being native speakers of national and historical color, they, as a rule, do not have exact correspondences in other languages, and, therefore, cannot be translated "on a general basis", requiring a special approach.

Many researchers mention the types of realities and their division by one or another feature, but a systematic approach can be traced in the classifications of only a few authors.

The most detailed coverage of the realities was obtained in the classification of S. Vlakhov and S. Florin ^[2], who divide realities according to their connotative meanings, that is, depending on local (national, regional) and temporary (historical) color. Along with this, the authors took into account such indicators as language, degree of familiarity, prevalence, and form. The classification of the realities of S. Vlakhov and S. Florin has the following form:  

1. Subject division

2. Local division (depending on national and linguistic affiliation)

3. Time division (in synchronic and diachronic terms, on the basis of "familiarity")

4. Translation division

The general classification of realities includes:

1. Onomastic realities

1) toponyms (geographical names), especially those with cultural and historical associations. For example: amer. Plymouth Rock – Plymouth Rock (the landing place of the Puritan settlers in North America in 1620).

2) anthroponyms are the names of historical figures, public figures, scientists, writers, artists, characters of fiction and folklore. For example: amer. Paul Bunyan – Paul Bunyan (legendary giant lumberjack, hero of American folklore).

3) the names of works of literature and art, historical facts and events from the life of the country, the names of state and public institutions and many others.  For example: English House of Commons – House of Commons.

2. Ethnographic realities (ethnonyms)

1) geographical terms denoting the features of the natural geographical environment, flora and fauna. For example: amer. canyon – canyon, coyote – coyote, Douglas fir - Douglas pine

2) words related to the state structure, socio-political life of the country, military affairs, art, education system, everyday life, folklore, customs, traditions and others. For example: amer. college – college; ranch – ranch.  

         Onomastic realities, which include anthroponyms and toponyms, are always nationally colored. Proper names, as units of the language, act as carriers of a certain national flavor. Despite the openness and interpenetrability of anthropological systems, the phonetic and graphic image of the name in each language is different. When borrowing a name, it undergoes a complex process of assimilation, completely turning into a unit of the anthroponymic system of the new language.

Each language is distinguished by the structural and word-formation originality of its proper names. However, this does not exhaust the content of the national-cultural component of names. It is determined not only by the functional status in the anthroponymic or toponymic systems, but also by the peculiarities of the connotations that arose on the basis of the cultural and historical development of the name. In other words, the semantics of a name is not limited only to pointing to an object, but contains additional information and associations, that is, a lexical background. 

The most important function of proper names is that they participate in the creation of a national-linguistic picture of the world. Names in different cultures are carriers of different cognitive concepts. As Yu.A. Rylov notes, on the basis of proper names, "vivid nationally determined cognitive concepts can arise, which is explained in the traditions and culture of peoples." ^[4]

The sociocultural character of anthroponyms can be traced by the example of proper names that exist in folklore. The names of folklore characters form a national cultural background, known since childhood to all native speakers. Such anthroponyms "live" in society and are an essential component of the culture of any nation.

In fiction, onomastic units are distinguished, which indicate the qualities of the character, the place of action of the work, and even the duration of the action. First of all, "etymological" names should be included here, which are also called "speaking", "significant", "characterizing". This class of literary anthroponyms directly characterizes the characters. Such names can be found in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien: Goodbodies, Wormtongue, Grubb.Grubbes & Burrowes, etc.

Thus, anthroponyms in works of art, unlike ordinary proper names, are objectified units of language (in anthroponymy it is customary to speak of "personified names") and are among the "well-known", "significant" proper names.

In fiction, anthroponyms often play a certain role, being an additional means of embodying the author's ideas. A successful name does not just characterize the hero, it shows how the author achieves an organic unity of form and meaning, strengthens the emotional impression of the work in which the name is included. The plan of expressing a name, its sound form, turns out to be weighty and significant in fiction.

Toponyms form an integral part of the background knowledge of native speakers of a given language and culture. They reflect the history of the people, the history of settlement and development of the territory.  Even when entering another language, the toponym is transformed in accordance with the laws of this language and acquires associations peculiar to the object designated by it in the new culture.

The question of what to understand by the meaning of toponyms is very complicated. Pointing to an object is a natural function of any toponym, but in addition, many names have additional meanings associated with the characteristics of the object, ideology and emotional coloring of the name. The nomination, that is, the naming of an object, can be carried out only because the word used as a name has its own signification. In addition, in the very process of naming, not only denotation, an indication of the object, but also connotation is carried out – the introduction of additional meanings. Thus, the toponym, while remaining the name of a single object, turns out to be loaded with connotations.

The problem of the meaning of toponyms is further complicated by the fact that different plans of meaning can be perceived differently. Only the direct, address-indicative meaning of the toponym is directly perceived. As for the etymological meaning, conventionally called "dotonymic", it does not affect the functioning of the toponym.  The main point, therefore, remains the third plan of the meaning of the name, which is called "post-toponymic", that is, the perception of those diverse and numerous meanings that are superimposed on the usual toponymic meaning of the name.

Summarizing the above, we can briefly formulate the following conclusion: toponyms are realities associated with any events in the life of a native speaker of a language and culture and performing in the language, in addition to their main function – the name of a geographical object, a number of additional functions:

· characteristics of the connotations attached to this toponym;

· disclosure of the socio-historical essence of the name;

· the anthropological orientation of the name.

The specificity of toponyms makes it possible to use them as an expressive stylistic means in speech and fiction. The emotionally expressive use of geographical names can be based on the clarity of the internal form of the "speaking" names, that is, the connotations that they contain, as well as on the new content that toponyms acquire in the process of functioning.

The group of ethnographic realities includes words denoting objects of everyday life and culture, names of customs, rituals, objects characteristic only of a certain cultural environment.

In ethnographic realities (ethnonyms), the cultural component is most fully revealed, since these nationally specific words denote phenomena inherent in one culture and alien to another. In addition, ethnonyms are carriers of national color, that is, those connotative meanings, semantic and stylistic shades that overlap with the main meaning of the word. The connotative coloring of reality is acquired due to the belonging of its referent to a given people, a certain culture, a specific historical epoch.

In fiction, ethnographic realities are purposefully used to give a work a certain flavor, local and/or historical. They are used to describe the spiritual culture of the people, their customs, mores, to reflect the unique history of a country at a certain stage of development. Also, the author introduces ethnonyms when describing a certain national and cultural reality to create a special atmosphere in the work.

Cultural reality is a phenomenon of language and literary text, which has its own specifics in the context of the national and cultural component of meaning. There are many definitions of the term "reality", including "national-specific realities", "non-equivalent vocabulary", etc. Realities have a number of distinctive features, their use and translation into the target language depend on the national culture and historical period of time. The word "reality" is used to refer to objects of material culture and abstract entities associated with the spiritual values and customs of the people. Realities can be both objects, concepts, phenomena characteristic of the history, culture, way of life and way of life of a certain people, as well as words or phrases denoting these objects.

There is a non-systematic approach to the classification of realities, but the most detailed study was conducted by S. Vlakhov and S. Florin. They classify realities according to their connotative meanings, taking into account the local and temporal flavor, language, degree of development and prevalence of reality.

Thus, cultural realities are an important linguistic phenomenon closely related to the national culture and history of a particular country. The study and understanding of realities plays an important role in translation studies and literary text, requiring a special approach when transferring them to another language.