E. G. Voskresenskaya
Dostoevsky Omsk State University, Omsk, Russian Federation
Abstract:
The present paper examines the problem of proper names translation in T. Pratchett’s Discworld novel “Going Postal”. The article reviews major translation procedures / methods for proper nouns, in particular, descriptive or semantically loaded names. It is highlighted that descriptive or loaded names are used not only as a means of nomination of a unique object but as a means of characterization as well. Descriptive or loaded names can specify the character traits, appearance, origin and in some cases fate of a personage. This is especially relevant to such literary genres as fairy tales, parody, allegory and fantasy. Thus it is of utmost importance to keep the meaning and connotations of descriptive or loaded names in translation. The article aims to determine which methods of proper nouns translation are more effective in appropriately rendering the meaningand connotations of the above names as exemplified in T.Pratchett’s novel “Going Postal” and its translations.
T. Pratchett’s Discworld series novel “Going Postal” is analyzed using methods of Decoding Stylistics and stylistic analysis, definition analysis and analysis of translation transformation; it is a contextoriented case study.
The article summarizes approaches and methods of translation of proper names in general and descriptive or loaded names in fiction in particular. It is concluded that regardless of translator’s support of foreignization or domestication approach descriptive or loaded names should be translated. The key priority is to render the original connotations of a proper name. A special emphasis should be made on keeping the meaning of a proper name, not the form, taking into account the information about the character, their significance for the plot, and consistency of a proper name translation in the series or further screen adaptations. The article draws a conclusion that recreation method helps translators the most in achieving this result.
Keywords:
proper name, loaded name, descriptive name, foreignization, domestication, recreation, T. Pratchett.
Paper submitted:
July 9, 2020
For citation:
Voskresenskaya E. G. (2020). Translation of proper names in T. Pratchett’s novels. The Science of Person: Humanitarian Researches, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 42–51. DOI: 10.17238/issn1998-5320.2020.14.3.5.
