The article covers adequacy of the translation of poetics of the novel of F.M Dostoyevsky «The Idiot» into Kazakh which was highly appreciated by literary critics is considered. It is claimed that the translator deeply getting into an art method of the author actually realized depth of his poetics and kept art features of of the novel’s style of the novel in translation. Deep correlation between the components of the translation and the original text, preservation of stylistic and intonational features, rhythmic and intonational roll call of nuances and motives are observed as a result and it demonstrates the experience of N. Syzdykov in the field of literary translation. Adequate translation of N. Syzdykov are caused by his experience, skill deepened by the analysis of author’s poetics, an esthetics, philosophy of the translated work. The research shows that the translator considered structural semantic functionality of each word in the text F. M. Dostoyevsky, seeking for the most exact and his full reproduction in translation into Kazakh.
Introduction
As we know, the relationship between the creativity of F.M. Dostoyevsky with Kazakhstan is due to the special biographical factors (stay in exile). K.Sh. Kereyeva-Каnаfiyevа studying KazakhRussian literary relations of the late 19th and early 20th centuries notes that the creative relationship between Ch.Ch. Valikhanov and F.M. Dostoyevsky is the brightest page in the annals of the KazakhRussian literary relations (Kereyeva-Каnаfiyevа, 1976: 11).
The process of interrelation and interaction of literatures put forward new requirements for science to literary studies. Comparative literary studies, having become a separate science, studied the relations, similarities, contacts between literatures, writers, works, etc. For example, a well-known Slovak scientist D. Dyurishin in his work «Theory of the comparative study of literature» examines literary contacts as internal and external. If the translation is carried out as to get acquainted with works in another language, the translation in this case refers to the external literary contact and creative translation refers to internal literary contact (Dyurishin, 1980: 103).
Writers-translators, who have made a huge contribution to the translation studies, acquainted Kazakh readers with the novels of F.M. Dostoyevsky. 5 novels from the 19-volume collected works of F.M. Dostoyevsky were translated into the Kazakh language, such as «Poor Folk», «White Nights», «Crime and Punishment», «The Idiot» and «The Brothers Karamazov».
The novel «Poor Folk» (1845), one of the earliest works of F.M. Dostoyevsky, was the first one translated into the Kazakh language and was published under the name «Bisharalar (Бишаралар)» in 1956. This novel was translated by S. Talzhanov into the Kazakh language. The novel of F.M. Dostoyevsky «White nights» was published to the 150 anniversary since the birthday of F.M. Dostoyevsky in 1971 in the Zhalyn magazine. The novel was translated into the Kazakh language by the writer D. Isabekov. The novel «Crime and Punishment» was published in Kazakhstan in 1972 under the name «Qylmys pen zhaza (Қылмыс пен жаза)». Mukhtar Zhangalin worked over the translation into the Kazakh language. The novel «The Idiot» was published in the Kazakh language in 1983, and by the end of the year literary critics considered the translation of the novel «The Idiot» by N.S. Syzdykov as the best one. N. Syzdykov translated the novel «The Brothers Karamazov» during six years. It was published within a state program «Cultural heritage» in 2004. Literary critics gave appreciation to the translation of the novel «The Idiot» into the Kazakh language. The translator deeply getting into an art method of the author actually realized th e depth of his poetics and kept art features of the novel’s style in translation. Deep correlation between the components of the translation and the original text, preservation of stylistic and intonational features, rhythmic and intonational roll call of nuances and motives are observed as a result and it demonstrates the experience of N. Syzdykov in the field of literary translation. The translator skillfully recreates a landscape, a portrait, internal psychologism, shades of heroes’ feelings and strives for functional compliance of the translation to the original.
Experiment
We give the examples confirming our supervision.
Original text:
«Towards the end of November, during a thaw, at nine o’clock one morning, a train on the Warsaw and Petersburg railway was approaching the latter city at full speed. The morning was so damp and misty that it was only with great difficulty that the day succeeded in breaking; and it was impossible to distinguish anything more than a few yards away from the carriage windows. Some of the passengers by this particular train were returning from abroad; but the third-class carriages were the best filled, chiefly with insignificant persons of various occupations and degrees, picked up at the different stations nearer town. All of them seemed weary, and most of them had sleepy eyes and a shivering expression, while their complexions generally appeared to have taken on the colour of the fog outside.» (Dostoyevsky, 1955: 29).
It is not difficult to be clear about the perfect transfer of conceptual landscape descriptions comparing the translation with the original text. For example, the translator translates the word «thaw» into the Kazakh language «zhylymyq kunderdіng bіrіnde (жылымық күндердің бірінде)», i.e. «one of the tepid days». It is obvious here the use of specification technique by the translator, firstly, it shows the break-down forms of natural presentation of similar natural phenomena in the Kazakh language, and secondly, thereby makes itself felt the awareness of the narrator that the weather of this season is not always warm, i.e. «one of the warm days», which are occasionally. This conceptuality is significant for the translation; it slightly opens to the Kazakh reader the role of the narrator who is deeply guided in the topos of the Russian nature. The translator finds equivalents in the Kazakh language, uses the method of description and rhythmically, in intonational compliance states the idea at translation of the sentence «The morning was so damp and misty that it was only with great difficulty that the day succeeded in breaking» with matching words «silbiregen qoiyu tumannan tang areng bilingendei (сілбіреген қою тұманнан таң әрең білінгендей)». Thus, the translator correctly uses a rich lexical stock of the Kazakh language. The sentence «Some of the passengers by this particular train were returning from abroad; but the third -class carriages were the best filled, chiefly with insignificant persons of various occupations and degrees, picked up at the differ ent stations nearer town» is translated into the Kazakh language «Zholaushylar arasynda shetelden oralushylar da bar edi, asirese ushinshi klasty vagondarda khalyk ygy-zhygy, mundagylar usak-tuiek kasippen zhurgen kileng osy mangnyng mozhan tompailary (Жолаушылар арасында шетелден оралушылар да бар еді, әсіресе үшінші класты вагондарда халық ығы-жығы, мұндағылар ұсақтүйек кәсіппен жүрген кілең осы маңның можан томпайлары)» (Dostoyevsky, 1983: 34). The translator skillfully translates into the Kazakh language socially significant and conceptually painted marker that is peculiar to F.M. Dostoyevsky («insignificant persons of various occupations and degrees» – «osy mangnyng mozhan tompailary (осы маңның можан томпайлары)», interprets separate words («as usual»), using speech forms of the national Kazakh language. The structure of sentences, artistic content of the original text, and stylistic coloring are kept in translation.
F.M. Dostoyevsky pays special attention to the appearance of a hero, seeks to emphasize his characteristic features caused by poetics and philosophy of the novel in his own works. For example, he describes Prince Myshkin in the following way at the beginning of the novel.
Original text:
«One of them was a young fellow of about twenty-seven, not tall, with black curling hair, and small, grey, fiery eyes. His nose was broad and flat, and he had high cheek bones; his thin lips were constantly compressed into an impudent, ironical – it might almost be called a malicious – smile; but his forehead was high and well formed, and atoned for a good deal of the ugliness of the lower part of his face. A special feature of this physiognomy was its death-like pallor, which gave to the whole man an indescribably emaciated appearance in spite of his hard look, and at the same tim e a sort of passionate and suffering expression which did not harmonize with his impudent, sarcastic smile and keen, selfsatisfied bearing. He wore a large fur – or rather astrakhan – overcoat, which had kept him warm all night, while his neighbor had been obliged to bear the full severity of a Russian November night entirely unprepared» (Dostoyevsky, 1955: 30).
N. Syzdykovkeepsawordorderatreconstruction of this portrait, transfers their meanings with the equivalents of the Kazakh language. The expression
«he wore a large fur – or rather astrakhan – overcoat» is given by a combination «zhalbagaily plashtyng iesi (жалбағайлы плащтың иесі)», i.e. at translation of the word «overcoat (with a hood)» he uses the obsolete word designating in the Kazakh language a type of men’s headwear. The meaning of the word
«zhalbagai (жалбағай)» in the defining dictionary of the Kazakh language: 1. «Men’s headwear». 2.
«A type of headwear sewn to a collar of outwear, for the Kazakh language: 1. «Men’s headwear». 2.
«A type of headwear sewn to a collar of outwear, for protection against rain, heat and dust». The theorist
A. Satybaldiyev notes the necessity of the appeal for obsolete words at translation of classical works.
«The majority of «archaisms» – obsolete words, which one is often frightened by, are the means used by writers and journalists in the moments of inspiration, exaggeration, and underlining. We should not allow the eradication of obsolete words from the lexis making liberal use of such words » (Satybaldiyev, 2008: 267). According to the opinion of a scientist, it is possible to offer the word «zhalbagaily (жалбағайлы)» as one of the variants of translation of the word «hood» to which there is no analog in the Kazakh language.
Experienced and famous writers worked in the translation of Dostoyevsky’s works into the Kazakh language. Personal experience of a translator and his esthetic strategy are very important against this background. A. Satybaldiyev emphasizes the role of translation in the formation of creativity of
I. Altynsarin, A. Kunanbayev 4, 13 . Translators of Dostoyevsky’s works into the Kazakh language pursued the quality of translation, because the creation of a great literary artist is the result of outstanding creative work. Writers honed their own skills and translation methods through translations. Translation of F.M. Dostoyevsky’s works into the Kazakh language became a creative school for the whole group of Kazakh writers. Dostoyevsky’s experience in creating the image of «internally split», reflective hero turned out to be important for Kazakh writers.
Results and discussion
It seems that Niyaz Syzdykov considered Dostoyevsky as his mentor and teacher in literature. Translator began translating the novel «The Brothers Karamazov» after having trained and amassed wide enough artistic experience. One may fully realize it keeping watch over the translation technique of portraits, landscapes, monologues and dialogues of Dostoyevsky that bear the imprint of his poetics and portraits, landscapes, monologues and dialogues of Dostoyevsky that bear the imprint of his poetics and aesthetics. Translator correctly used such techniques as interpretation, addition, omission, conversion, loose translation, generalization, semantic substitution, and pragmatic adaptation to display the portrait and landscape features in the original.
Monologues and dialogues in Dostoyevsky’s novel reveal the complex characters, the dialectics of the inner world of restless heroes and psychological process. Skillful intoning and individualization of heroes’ voices with different worldview and ideological tendency reinforce the narrative rhythm dynamics. However, the tragic split of consciousness and thinking of heroes, who experience the state of spiritual dualization, leads to aesthetic activity of so-called polyphony. It is characteristic of that translator takes into account the functionality of polyphony in the structure of Dostoyevsky’s texts and skillfully conveys it with relevant dialogic language discourse. Tense functionality of monologues and dialogues that solve the strategic philosophical and conceptual issues of an author, sometimes sense-pauses (lacunae) and interrupted syntax, incompleteness of conversational turns constitute the characteristic stylistic features of Dostoyevsky’s narration. Author gives conceptual meaning to monologues and dialogues, seeking to reveal the inner world and living position of a heroideologist, who stands against the world, and loving and hating he wants to change. Observations show that the author often digresses from the objective delineation of Ivan Karamazov’s figure and he focuses on the internal monologues and dialogues creating his psychological image.
Moreover, the internal image of a hero turns out to be more informative from the perspective of novel’s philosophy. Such forms of psychological portrayal as letters and diaries are used to open the inner image of a hero. However, it is not enough for a nar rator. He introduces a number of new literary devices into his works that have had great influence on the development of modernism in world literature. His characters find themselves in such situations as deep depression, psychological splitting, existential defamiliarization and these texts are characterized by active night fantasy of heroes, delirious states, mystical experiences, multidimensional allusions, spiritual revelations, and visions. Translator finds himself in some kind of extreme aesthetic situation at translation of complex monologues and dialogues that are stylistically multifaceted phenomenon that transmits spiritual catharsis of a hero who tragically undergoes his crime and through repentance comes to the truth in terms of strategy. Much intellectual work on the analysis of poetics of F.M. Dostoyevsky, penetration into the deep semantic levels of his texts’ structures, spider-work on translation reconstruction of multidimensional interrelation of the general and the particular in the architectonics of works helped the translator to get out of this situation and successfully cope with his task.
Religious vocabulary of the novel that reflects the spiritual world perception of a hero is translated into the Kazakh language in the frame work of pragmaticadaptive method. Religious, lexical relevant units in the novel «The Brothers Karamazov» that carry philosophical and psychological stress retain the conceptual meaning of the original in target text. Translator mainly relied on pragmatic -adaptive method and the method of loose translation at translation of some similar phrases. There are texts where the deviation of translation from ideological and artistic content of the original is noticeable as a result.
Conclusion
The translation of the novel «The Idiot» into the Kazakh language is a manifestation of their reception in Kazakh literature, as well as a vivid example of the external literary contact , the model of fruitful relations in Kazakh-Russian literary relations and, also, it is a school of creative achievements in the history of native literary translation.
References
- Dostoyevsky F.М. (1955.) Idiot [The Idiot]. Novel in four parts. М.: Fiction publisher, 661 p. (In Russian).
- Dostoyevsky F.М. (1983). Naqurys [The Idiot]. Novel in four parts / translation of N. Syzdykov. Аlmaty: Zhazushy, 616 p. (In Kazakh).
- Dyurishin D. (1980). Teorya sravnitelnogo izucheniya literatury [Theory of the comparative study of literature]. М.: Progress, 320 p. (transl.from the Slovak).
- Kereyeva-Каnаfiyevа К.Sh. (1976). Russko-kazakhskiye literaturnye svyazi [Russian-Kazakh literary relations]. Аlmaty: Каzakhstan, 276 p. (In Russian).
- Satybaldiyev A. (2008). Soz qazynasynyn kenishi [Word treasure]. Аstana: Аudarma, 328 p. (In Kazakh).