Moscow University Translation Studies Bulletin. 2023. 1.

The paper presents an attempt to explain the phenomenon of correspondence in translation through the notion of truth. The truth of translation is conceived as a complex category that manifests itself through a system of functional oppositions. The central object of this study, contrastively combining all the aspects of translation, is transformation. The paper stands against a unilateral structural linguistic view on the phenomenon of transformation, considering transformation as an interpretative means of translation combining invariable and variable sides. The paper equates transformation to interpretation in translation. In translation the interpretation is represented by transformation. Constructively any interpretation unfolds from its invariable side to its variable side. In the usual scenario of communication, interpretation represents a transition from the linguistic form to the sense where the sense is variable representing a common field of understanding shared between communicants. In translation, the sense is the invariable side; consequently, the interpretation unfolds from the sense to the linguistic form. The link between the invariable and variable sides in translation is treated in terms of inductive logic. The equivalence is seen through the category of transitivity (a potential substitutability of semantic elements on the basis of the same sense). The truth of translation is a binary category with the sense being its foundation and the referential semantic side being its boundary where semantic variability up to some limits is supposed. The interrelationship between the boundary and the foundation of the truth is the matter of analytical work of interpreter. The truth of translation is subject to the logical verification and falsification procedures. The logical procedures precede the translation forming the base of the subsequent decision the interpreter takes to choose an equivalent. The paper deals also with the function of style, sociocultural and figurative nuances in translation. From this perspective, categories of foreignization and domestication in their functional interconnection are taken into consideration. Their interconnection means that one category may result from the other. The paper presents a number of examples of English-Russian and Portuguese-Russian translation. The paper may be of interest to specialists in translation studies, contrastive linguistics and general linguistics.

Research methods include scientometric and content analysis, clustering. The research materials are represented by monographs, scientific papers and publications in periodicals on the topic of the communicative-functional translation theory by Chinese authors. The study sample consisted of 6209 scientific papers extracted from the CNKI database. They were divided into three clusters, viz. review, theoretical and applied research. In each cluster, the author identified the key words of the direction and carried out a quantitative assessment of the structure of publication activity with an assessment (a % share of the total sample size).

As a result, the predominance of applied research into the communicative-functional theory in the works of Chinese researchers over theoretical ones was found, which proves the author’s hypothesis about the emphasis Chinese scientists put on the pragmatic tasks of the development of translation studies. It is concluded that studies of the communicative-functional approach in Chinese translatology are generally characterized by the breadth and coverage of various areas of translation, but from the perspective of theoretical depth there is still room for their further development.

In this study, the author made an attempt to review the current state of the study of translation from the standpoint of the communicative-functional approach, but found that this approach still needs further theoretical understanding, further adaptation and integration with traditional ideas of Chinese translation studies. It was also revealed that it is promising to deepen the theoretical basis of the communicative-functional approach for applied research of the Russian-Chinese and Chinese-Russian approach and to develop didactic issues of teaching translators based on this approach in order to achieve better results in the translation of texts and improve Sino-Russian communication.

The interest in the study of the category of epistemic modality is associated with the allocation of their new classification and consideration of the means of their linguistic objectification. Among the little-studied problems are linguistic means of expressing epistemic modality of credibility, actualizing the denotative correlation with parts of speech and receiving an equivalent representation of their lexical meaning. The article deals with the semantic analysis of epistemic adverbs in the framework of logical analysis. The aim of the article is to study the semantics of epistemic adverbs in terms of the realization of the credibility of the contents in English. These lexemes are considered in the contexts of their functioning. The scientific innovativeness of the article is at the heart that this article examines the correlation of epistemic adverbs and verbs of mental activity: know, think, suppose, doubt, etc. The objectives of the study are to describe the classification of epistemic adverbs according to the degree of expression of credibility of the contents; to analyze epistemic adverbs of credibility of the contents in the texts of fiction; to identify the correlation of epistemic adverbs and verbs of mental activity: know, think, suppose, doubt, etc. The contexts where epistemic adverbs function in texts of fiction are identified and described. The article argues that epistemic adverbs have a denotative correlation with mental verbs and receive an equivalent representation of their lexical meaning. The author concludes that according to the contexts of their functioning, their lexical meanings inherent in epistemic verbs, namely mental verbs, are manifested.

This article discusses the history and some problematic aspects of teaching Russian in China — educational programs in universities, the level and number of teachers, textbooks, and the content of classes. The first three problems with the development of relations between China and Russia are being resolved, but the latter needs special attention.