The role of extralinguistic factors in translation of the kyrgyz poetry

Reading and analyzing literary texts and poetry are becoming one of the actual problems nowadays. They also provide students with valuable experiences that would otherwise not be introduced into their lives. Through analyzing any poetry or text, which is a transaction between the text and the reader, they search for and construct meaning based on what they bring to the text and what the text brings to them. The growth and development of Kyrgyz literature was closely linked to the method of socialist realism, but interpreted in a simplified manner, so that this method limited the full blooming of artistic imagination and thinking.

During post-Soviet period the Kyrgyz poetry and literary texts evoke much more attention of foreign readers and translators as well. They began to introduce Kyrgyz poetry and literature to English speaking and other countries. Actually, local students who are in the field of translation also prefer to analyze and compare the texts with their translations which help them to gain background knowledge about this or that topic on literature which they can use to build their own ideas. We think the students can really gain new insights into literary texts if they manage to combine their own ideas with this background knowledge in the form of historical, social, psychological, pragmatic and cognitive relevancy.

Two languages Kyrgyz and English that require different approaches to analyze not only their grammatical structure but their poetic understanding due to cognitive aspects of the languages as well. Because every language has own literary point of view, history, special events that are expressed through metaphorical expressions and other devises which can be accepted variously by the readers from different society. All these issues we mentioned above concern correct translation from one language into another because it is an intercultural act and is one of the means of communication and needs to be discussed within the framework of both language and cultural studies, such as folklore, literature, and so on. Like all specialized fields, literature can be divided into categories, which are referred to as genres. A genre can be identified by its particular features or conventions. So in our case the poetry will be the topic of our discussion. Poetry is primarily characterized by its extensive use of connotative language, imagery, allusions, figures of speech, symbols, sound, meter, and rhythm. There is no doubt that in both languages metaphor is one of the more popular objects of research as well as in other subjects of humanity. The main elements that distinguish poem from prose are the tone of feeling and its way of expressing. (1, p. 675). There are books named “Words that shine like a candle” selected poems by T. Adysheva (Z. Karayeva, K.Kaliyeva) (2008) “Kyzdar ay” (Kyrgyz Women Poetry) (2007) (K. Kaliyeva). We can see the results of fruitful work of the translators who know the Kyrgyz traditions and culture and who have been working with American scholars for many years. According to the notes of the editor of the books “the important work was done for English – speaking people, they have opened a window into another culture, another sensibility.” (3) (p6.)

It is difficult to say that every translation achieves its aim. According to the translations mentioned above we can see some peculiarities during the translation process like substitution, addition, omission and other compensatory techniques. It is important to know that the social and cultural matters become crucial in the process of translation. Due to all the principles of semiotics which includes of all above mentioned techniques we can see the real result of the translation analysis results. Because all the signs in the poetry according to almost all the researchers who deal with semiotics can be analyzed semiotically. We accept it as a way that helps us to understand the meanings of all things great and small. We think it is important to tell about the founders of semiotics, Ferdinand de Saussure (8) pointed that the sign is a combination of a concept and a sound-image, a combination that cannot be separated. American philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce (5) divided three types of signs: icon, index and symbol. Charles Morris connected the object of his research with linguistic semiotics which includes of semantics, pragmatics and syntax (4).

Pragmatical units demand big effort to make the meaning understandable for foreigners. “A pragmatical background is a special knowledge of a people’s history, culture, art, customs and traditions, the psychology of the people and their social peculiarities, and even how they associate or accept the realities of life. The interpreter or the translator should have an excellent pragmatical background of both the source and the target languages to make an adequate translation”. (1. p.34) Referring to this citation we can say that the national coloring is considered to be the main point to understand another people’s tradition and history.

As an example we’d like to introduce some analyses of the well-known A. Osmonov’s poetry translated by W. May’s.

The collection of verses “Waves of the Lake” (“Kol Tolkunu”) was introduced to the English speaking community in 1995. “I offer these translation which should be read aloud to reveal the full music in them, to English-speaking readers, especially young ones, and hope that they will find what I found in him-a real universalist and deeply gifted young Kirghiz poet”. (4) W.May wanted English readers to feel the idea expressed in each Osmonov’s lyrical verse who raised the level of artistic and aesthetic perception of the Kyrgyz poetry. Was he able to give the main meaning of each verse to the English reader from the cultural point of view? We are interested in that point if the English speaking reader was introduced to a different historical or geographical setting. This question will be discussed with some examples in our article.

The poem “Don’t laugh at me” («Мага кулбо») written in 1944 (4)

Кой антип кыт-кыт кулбо эркетайым.

Жан шоолам, жарык кунум, бак-таалайым. Сен учун буркоо акындын ачык ыры

Ай нурлуу, жузундон айланайын.

In this extract we can see the author’s address to a close person expressing his inner attitude, love. The words “Жан шоолам, жарык кунум, бактаалайым.” (jan shoolam, bak taalaim) are the images of endearment to a beloved person.

English version is:

Please stop, don’t laugh at me again, my dear, Light of my soul, my happiness, my sun.

For you your poet writes verses so sincere

For you, bright moon, my white-faced darling one. (4)

Author’s friend is assimilated to the sunrise, moon’s light as it is typical for Kyrgyz culture. Here the translator transmitted signs’ translations like Light of my soul, my sun, bright moon. Love is given by means of the attributive combinations of signs with the form N+N, or Adj+N

Specific character of Kyrgyz culture defines that love or soft sense to someone is expresses with the help of poetic address and words such as «айланайын» (aylanain) with its variants as «секетим» (seketim), «кагылайын» (kagilain), «тегеренейин» (tegerenein) (9) which mean (I’m ready to become a sacrifice for you) have specific “shade” of national color. They can be used for expressing personal sympathy with not only beloved but any person. And it is impossible to translate correctly this connotation. In our case the word «айланайын» (aylanain) has a wide connotation with its national color. And only context prompts us that it is the address to beloved and the dearest woman for the author.

Another interesting caseis that there are 7 couplets in the poem “To a beauty” («Сулууга») (suluuga) but we can notice that the third couplet is omitted in the English version.

Сен бир кептер боз шумкарын туноткон. Унутулган учар замат туноктон.

Суйуу деген –суйуу эмес бетинден, Суйуу деген-от чачышуу журоктон Hrer the word “кептер” (kepter) is also one of the assimilation of beloved to the beautiful girl. In Kyrgyz culture the words «кептерим» (kepterim) the same as «когучконум» (koguchkonum) (9) are used for endearments which is not available to understand for English culture. “кептер” stands for “pigeon” and usually in English culture it is associated with the symbol of peace but not a girl. But we can not find the version that the translator would transmit this sign. We can just guess may be these signs could be transmitted with the help of metaphorical expressions like “my rose”, “my star” or “my love bird”, “honey”.

In the process of translation, as it is mentioned above, we must take into consideration as well as connotative meaning of the words as the peculiarities of the cultures and the different images that are used in English and Kyrgyz languages.

Сен бир жузум бышып турган мына бу, Арманда эмес бирок сенден кур калуу. Суйуу деген ырдоо эмес бал ууртап, Суйуу деген суйуу уусуна уулануу. (1945) (4)

In this case the author compares “love” with bitter aloes and poison and love affection is expressed by means of word combination like “bunch of grapes, both ripe and tender” that is typical for Kyrgyz culture.

English version is:

You are a bunch of grapes, both ripe and tender Don’t pity me what I didn’t pluck from you.

This love means not a honeyed song to render, This loves means bitter aloes and poison too.

It seems that in this extract the translation is done word for word.

Let’s look another case:

Сен бир бакча миваларын келишкен, Мен жургунчу ооз тийген жемиштен, Суйуу деген-суйуу эмес бетинден, Суйуу деген-сузуп отуу денизден.(4) English version:

You’re a lovely orchard, with fruit and auspicious, And I-a wanderer, trying out such fruit This love means not a kiss on your cheek delicious,

This love means sailing the seas in an open boat. (4)

Kyrgyz metaphor “бакча” (bakcha) is translated directly “orchard” it doesn’t give the same effect like in Kyrgyz as words and word combinations “миваларын келишкен” expresses the beauty of the lady as a mother, a woman. Because the meaning of the word stands just for a piece of land planted with fruit trees (5) that can’t express the same idea the author wanted to say. Instead of the word “orchard” for English speaker it would be better to give the word with its social cultural background that corresponds functionally.

We have found that poetic translation is not just a matter of lexical, grammatical, and functional issues. It can be concluded that in verses translation cultural and historical backgrounds, cultural values and social peculiarities of people involved in translation play very significant role.

As a conclusion we can say that 1) Semantic features of the words are important in translation as well as different national peculiarities; 2) the problem of poetry translation needs to be discussed within the framework of both language and cultural studies, such as literature, folklore, and sociology.

1. Karaeva Z. Grammatical and Pragmatical Difficulties in Translation.
2. Karaeva Z.K. Kalieva K.A. Words that shine like a Candle. Bishkek 2008
3. Morris, Ch. Foundations of the Theory of Signs. Chicago, 1938 p. 182
4. Osmonov A. Waves of the Lake. Translated by W. May. B., Detay-Kamex LTD. 1995 p.33, 62.
5. Peirce Ch. Логические основания теории знаков. 2000
6. The The Hodges Harbrace Handbook. USA, 17th Edition. Central Washington University. p. 236
7. Oxford American College Dictionary. 2002
8. Saussure, F.de. Course in general linguistics. Ed. By Roy Harris.Lnd., Duckworth.1983.p 118
9. Udahin K. Киргизско-русский словарь.«Советская энциклопедия».М.:-1965.-p.31