Moscow University Translation Studies Bulletin. 2024. 2.

The distortion of culture is an inevitable issue in the field of crosscultural communication, and the use of suitable translation strategies can enhance the degree of cultural facsimile to some extent. However, there is still a lack of literature on strategies for addressing cultural distortion and promoting cultural facsimile in the context of Chinese-Russian cultural communication, particularly in the field of translation from Chinese into Russian. This article aims to study two common manifestations of cultural distortion and explore the reasons behind them, and based on this, discuss strategies for achieving cultural facsimile. The article points out two specific manifestations of cultural distortion: 1) a certain referent is well known in culture A, but completely unknown to culture B; 2) a certain referent exists in both nations, but the cultural connotations of this referent do not coincide. A more detailed description of the two cultural distortion manifestations is also given in certain sentences from Chinese literature such as “A Dream in Red Mansions”, “Outlaws of the Marsh”, “Fortress Besieged” and their Russian translations. By analyzing and summarizing the causes of cultural distortion, this article advocates that translators should follow the “culture should not be domesticated” principle when translating. Under this principle, the article proposes translation methods such as direct translation, direct translation with annotations, and phonetic translation with annotations, which are of reference value for promoting cultural exchanges between the Chinese and Russian peoples.

A metaphor in diplomatic discourse is a figure of speech or expression that transfers meaning from one context to another, usually to enhance the impact of a message or make complex ideas easier to understand. In diplomacy, metaphors are oft en used to make communication more visual and memorable, as well as to covertly convey intentions and positions without directly expressing them. This article explores the complexities and subtleties of translating metaphorical expressions that play an important role in diplomatic communication. The author analyzes metaphors used in diplomatic discourse in three different linguistic and cultural contexts: Russian, Chinese and English, highlighting three categories of equivalence: complete, partial and no equivalence. The choice of translation method (literal, descriptive or free) depends on the degree of equivalence of the metaphor in the source and target languages. The study highlights the importance of adequate translation of metaphors for accurate and effective intercultural communication, suggesting translation strategies for each category. The work contributes to translation theory and practice by emphasizing the need to consider cultural and contextual factors to achieve intercultural understanding in diplomacy.

This article analyzes the creative heritage of the American writer Stephen King who has become famous for his works in the genres of horror literature and dark fantasy. In the course of the study, the authors study semantic, functional, structural metaphors, their stylistic and linguocultural features using the example of Stephen King’s stories “The Apt Pupil” and “Rainy Season”. The research methodology is based on a comparative analysis of the original works and translations by Russian linguists S.E. Task, M.V. Opaleva, V.V. Antonov, I.G. Pochitalin, B.G. Lyubartsev, V.A. Weber. The chronological framework of the study covers the period of the conceptualization of Stephen King’s work (translations by S.E. Task and I.G. Pochitalin) from 1991 to the latest experiments in the linguocultural rethinking of the comparative method (translation by V.V. Antonov) in 2012–2013. The main course of the study directed at analyzing the characteristic features of original metaphors and their translation forms, which lose and gain unique cultural features in comparison with the context in English. This approach clearly demonstrates not only the diversity of the author’s idiostyle, which touches on both the mystical-religious and personal feelings of the modern man, but also the acute social problems of modern society. It allows us to trace the emergence of new meanings in translated forms of metaphors. The results of the study show that quite often translators of Stephen King, trying to adapt the text, lose flexibility.