Moscow University Translation Studies Bulletin. 2025. 3.

There are some common features between human languages, since the forms of thinking of different peoples are similar. The commonality of languages is the basis for the translation of different national cultures. There are still differences in human thinking patterns that lead to difficulties or even errors in translation. Translation errors are reflected in language transformation, and the ontological reasons for such errors are based on cultural and cognitive differences. The presence of translation errors shows that speakers of different languages have different worldviews. The value of studying incorrect translation in the aspect of a philosophical approach lies in the fact that in translation errors we discover that different peoples have their own philosophy of attitude towards the world, and translation errors show differences in the relations between different peoples, individuals and the world as a whole.

Shan Hai Jing (The Classic of Mountains and Seas), a cornerstone of Chinese literature renowned for its rich cultural imagery and fantastical mythological elements, has captivated Russian sinologists since the mid-20th century. The first complete Russian translation was published in 1977, with a revised edition following in 2004. Utilizing Pierre Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice, this article explores the key actors involved in the Russian translation of Shan Hai Jing — translator E.M. Yanshina, project initiator Professor L.D. Pozdneyeva, and the publishing houses responsible for its dissemination — and analyzes how their respective forms of capital and habitus collectively influenced the creation and circulation of the translated work. The study underscores that translation is a multifaceted endeavor embedded within broader social practices, where the dynamic interplay of individual capital, social habitus, and structural forces plays a pivotal and often underappreciated role.

Compound proper nouns, consisting of two components, present a challenge in Russian-to-Chinese translation due to their structural and semantic complexities. The conventional approach of transliteration-transcription oft en leads to mistranslations. These problematic compound names can be categorized into two types: 1) “anthroponym-derived modifier + headword” and 2) “headword + toponym-derived modifier.” Through an analysis of examples of mistranslations, we have demonstrated that the key to their accurate transfer lies in a thorough examination of the word-formation structure of the modifier and its cultural-semantic content. Practical recommendations are provided for Chinese translators: first translate the headword, then, based on word-formation and semantic analysis of the modifier, transfer the name through semantic translation, adhering to the general principles of “staying faithful to the source language” and “respecting established conventions.”

In recent decades, irony has become an integral part of Russian political discourse. It becomes abundantly clear that ironic retorts do not appear randomly in speech as a result of the speaker’s excessive emotionality but are used as a stimulus to provoke the desired reaction and form a particular attitude to certain issues, as part of a meticulously elaborated strategy. The units with ironic potential thus become a way of manifesting the speaker’s linguistic personality and a tool of manipulation. The present study is undertaken to explore vertical context elements as means of expressing irony in contemporary Russian political discourse and to examine the impact of their rendition on the quality of simultaneous interpretation. The findings further reveal that vertical context elements, such as allusions, quotations, realia and ideologemic combinations, are capable of producing and intensifying the ironic effect. As has been shown, the ways in which the ironic potential of the source utterance is realised, whether through elements of the vertical context or through traditional techniques and mechanisms, cause significant difficulties in simultaneous interpretation due to different language worldviews, cognitive baggage and dissimilar perception of the means of irony expression by representatives of Russian and English-speaking linguistic cultures. Among other mentally demanding tasks, the interpreter has to recognise irony and its components in time to make an appropriate interpreting decision that will help to recreate the communicative effect of the source utterance.

The article delves into the intricacies of translating Mikhail Zoshchenko’s short stories into Persian, with a particular focus on the successful transmission of irony. We examine five stories from his collection of works, specifically “A Dog’s Nose”, “Happiness”, “Dictation Machine”, “Actor”, and “Glass” all translated by Abtin Golkar. Our analysis draws upon the insightful theories of V.N. Komissarov, T.A. Kazakova, and V.S. Vinogradov to investigate the nuances of translation. Literary translation transcends the mere transfer of words; it involves conveying the author’s profound thoughts, concepts, and even the emotional undercurrents that reflect the very soul of their culture. 

Successful translation hinges on faithfully conveying not only the surface meaning but also the underlying stylistic nuances and the author’s intended effect. True literary translation demands a nuanced understanding of the source culture, enabling the translator to bridge the gap between cultures and foster cross-cultural artistic communication. In this process, the translator assumes the mantle of a “second author,” creatively reimagining the original work within the framework of the target language. 

This study aims to contribute significantly to our understanding of literary translation, particularly in the challenging domain of translating satirical and humorous works from Russian into Persian. By meticulously analyzing the translation choices made by Abtin Golkar, we investigate how effectively irony is conveyed in these translations. The article discusses the levels of equivalence of translations of Mikhail Zoshchenko’s satirical short stories and how the choice of equivalents of colloquial words and expressions affects the transmission of the irony of the original text. Through a detailed examination of various levels of equivalence, we aim to provide valuable insights for translators working with satirical literature.

The article is devoted to the analysis of the features of translation of jargon. Jargonisation is a process that is relevant for modern speech production; translators are forced to solve the problem of translating this kind of language units. For translation practice, the issues of adequate transmission of jargonized text from the original language to the target language, the choice of a strategy for translating jargon, and the compliance of the translation solution with the usual norms of the target language are relevant. In the article jargon is understood traditionally for Russian studies as the speech of a socially limited circle of people. The material for the analysis was jargon that belongs to the general jargon, due to the fact that it is frequent, comprises the “linguistic base” of the jargon of the national language, and is part of the system of stylistic means of reduced expression. The language material for analysis was collected on the basis of the National Corpus of the Russian Language. To analyze the collected language material, methods of comparative analysis and linguistic description were used. There are two directions in finding a translation solution when translating jargon into another language: select jargon in the target language with similar meaning, with an adequate degree of emotionality and expressiveness, or apply translation transformations: look for a literary equivalent for replacement, use a euphemism or descriptive phrase; replace jargon with a pronoun. Translation of jargon requires special attention of translators in the case when in the original language or in the target language the transcribed (or transliterated), calque word does not belong to the register of reduced vocabulary. Specific strategy for translating jargon includes euphemistic translation, which is used when vulgarisms and obscene language are found in the original text. The choice of translation strategy largely depends on the cultural and linguistic preferences of the translator, on his willingness to violate the usual norms of the target language.

Political terminology represents a system of symbols, knowledge, and values that carry the political culture and ideological orientations of a state. According to the theory of trans-knowledge, translation is a process of “crossing borders” of knowledge. Therefore, the translation of political terminology becomes particularly important. Chinese political terminology, rooted in the longstanding Chinese culture and history, poses a significant challenge for those who lack the Chinese cultural context. Consequently, translation becomes a process that allows the manifestation of implicit knowledge underlying Chinese political terminology. Chinese political terminology, containing conceptual frameworks, is extensive and rich in content. The rich political philosophy of China is a particularly important aspect in the transmission of knowledge during translation. This study employs a corpus-based research method to create a corpus of Chinese political terminology with concepts in English, Chinese, and Russian, aiming to analyze the differences and similarities in knowledge transmission in English and Russian translations and draw conclusions about the framework structure of translating political terminology considering knowledge explication. Finally, a comparative analysis is conducted on the translations of “holistic approach to national security” into English and Russian to examine the structure. The results of this research can be applied to develop a methodology for translating political discourse in intercultural communication, be used in the training of professional translators, and serve as theoretical and empirical material for optimizing machine translation systems based on large language models.

Political terminology represents a system of symbols, knowledge, and values that carry the political culture and ideological orientations of a state. According to the theory of trans-knowledge, translation is a process of “crossing borders” of knowledge. Therefore, the translation of political terminology becomes particularly important. Chinese political terminology, rooted in the longstanding Chinese culture and history, poses a significant challenge for those who lack the Chinese cultural context. Consequently, translation becomes a process that allows the manifestation of implicit knowledge underlying Chinese political terminology. Chinese political terminology, containing conceptual frameworks, is extensive and rich in content. The rich political philosophy of China is a particularly important aspect in the transmission of knowledge during translation. This study employs a corpus-based research method to create a corpus of Chinese political terminology with concepts in English, Chinese, and Russian, aiming to analyze the differences and similarities in knowledge transmission in English and Russian translations and draw conclusions about the framework structure of translating political terminology considering knowledge explication. Finally, a comparative analysis is conducted on the translations of “holistic approach to national security” into English and Russian to examine the structure. The results of this research can be applied to develop a methodology for translating political discourse in intercultural communication, be used in the training of professional translators, and serve as theoretical and empirical material for optimizing machine translation systems based on large language models.

The subject of the current article is the specifics of the Russian translation of Macbeth’s monologue “To-morrow, and to-morrow, and tomorrow” from the final act of Macbeth by William Shakespeare. The article presents a translation of the piece into Russian, based on a motif analysis of the monologue and a versification analysis of the first three lines. The structural understanding of motif suggested by B.M. Gasparov and I.A. Paperno is used: the motifs are elements that represent different aspects of the general theme of the text. The findings: 1) the monologue is a structure of motifs corresponding with the theme of the vanity of (dramatic) art, which is a reference to the fine art vanitas genre. The subtheme of dramatic art is represented by the motifs of declamation (the first line), stage performance, acting, and the playwright’s work. The subtheme of vanity is presented by the motifs related to the allegorical image of Chronos/Saturn: mortality, madness, and limping (the last one refers to the medieval images of Saturn and emerges on a rhythmic level in the first line); 2) the monologue is a metatext about this particular recited text, actor, playwright, and this particular performance; 3) the versification analysis shows that the first three lines (especially the last syllable of recorded time) refer to the Greek and Latin metrics, which smallest unit was a short syllable called χρόνος πρῶτος (“the first time”) or mora; 4) the associations of the term mora include the Latin mors, mortis and the Greek μοῖρα, which was the name of the three goddesses of fate; 5) Shakespeare’s choice of the particular word to-morrow has rhythmic and phonic reasons, while the meaning of the word is synonymic for to-day; 6) the rhythm of the first line is necessary to be reproduced in Russian to support the original structure of the monologue and the reference to the image of the limping Saturn/passing Time. The offered translation of the monologue is accompanied by a commentary and analysis of previous translations. The translation of the two lines about Lady Macbeth’s death is also provided.