Peculiarities of fantasy translation on J.K. Rowling’s series about Harry Potter

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Peculiarities of fantasy translation on J.K. Rowling's series about Harry Potter

Yablochnikova V.O., Assistant Lecturer at the Department of Foreign Philology and Translation Vinnytsia Institute of Trade and Economics of Kyiv National University of Trade and Economics

Summary

The article is devoted to the comparative analysis of the translation of proper names of characters from a series of novels by J. Rowling about Harry Potter in Ukrainian and Russian language. The article analyzes the transfer of both natural names and names borrowed from ancient culture and mythology, and semantic or spoken names by transcription, transliteration, approximate or descriptive translation. The relevance of fantasy as a phenomenon of modern literature is due to its relative "youth" and is of growing interest among modern readers to fantasy works, as well as film adaptations of such literature. Today, fantasy literature does not only reflect the features of modern culture, but also has a great impact on the development of society as a whole. Translators use many methods and techniques to convey the artistic image conceived by the author accurately, among them the most common techniques are transcription, transliteration, semantic substitution, "domestication" of the name.

The peculiarity of the Harry Potter series of novels is that the genres of fairy tales, detective stories and fantasy are intertwined in them. The translator is faced with the question of choosing the method of transmission of a particular author's token, taking into account the peculiarities of the author's language, culture and genre. In particular, the translation of proper names becomes difficult for translators, as they play a very important role in fiction. The name can characterize the social background of the character, convey the cultural and local flavor, and even describe the appearance.

Some names and titles have a double meaning and evoke associations, such names are called "spoken" names. Therefore, the translator must choose the methods of transmission of such names carefully, because they convey the idea of the author.

While analyzing we find out that scientists point out many more stylistic irregularities and language simplification as well as a number of discrepancies regarding the original text in the translations into Russian, whereas the translations into Ukrainian are done more professionally and adequately.

Key words: translation, fantasy, transliteration, transcription, approximate translation, descriptive translation.

Анотація

Особливості перекладу творів фентезі на прикладі романів Дж.К. Роулінг про Гаррі Поттера

Яблочнікова В. О.

Стаття присвячена порівняльному аналізу перекладу власних імен персонажів із циклу романів Дж. К. Роулінг про Гаррі Поттера українською та російською мовами. У статті аналізується передача як природних назв та імен, запозичених із античної культури та міфології, так і семантичних назв шляхом транскрипції, транслітерації, наближеного чи описового перекладу. Актуальність фентезі як явища сучасної літератури зумовлена його відносною «молодістю» і викликає все більший інтерес у сучасних читачів до фантастичних творів, а також екранізації такої літератури. Сьогодні література фентезі не лише відображає особливості сучасної культури, а й має великий вплив на розвиток суспільства в цілому. Для точної передачі задуманого автором художнього образу перекладачі використовують багато прийомів, серед них найпоширенішими є транскрипція, транслітерація, семантична заміна, «одомашнення» імені.

Особливістю серії романів про Гаррі Поттера є те, що в них переплітаються жанри казки, детективу та фентезі. Перед перекладачем постає питання вибору способу передачі конкретної авторської лексеми з урахуванням особливостей авторської мови, культури та жанру. Зокрема, переклад власних імен стає ще тим випробуванням для перекладачів, оскільки вони відіграють дуже важливу роль у художній літературі. Ім'я може охарактеризувати соціальне походження персонажа, передати культурний та місцевий колорит і навіть описати зовнішність.

Деякі імена та назви мають подвійне значення і викликають асоціації, такі імена називаються «розмовними». Тому перекладач повинен ретельно вибирати способи передачі таких назв, оскільки вони несуть ідею автора.

В ході дослідження було з'ясовано, що в перекладах російською мовою вчені відзначають набагато більше стилістичних порушень і спрощення мови, а також ряд розбіжностей щодо оригінального тексту, тоді як український переклад є більш професійним та влучним.

Ключові слова: переклад, фентезі, транслітерація, транскрипція, приблизний переклад, описовий переклад.

Introducing the problem

Translation occupies an important place in the literary process, because each type of literature uses a certain type of translation. For example, fiction uses literary translation. Artistic text is an embodiment of a creative idea; the work of art has a high information content, presents the reader with different types of information - content-factual, emotional- motivating, conceptual. Artistic texts reflect the linguistic and national picture of the world.

The process of translating text from one language to another is diverse and ambiguous, involving many components, such as the text-message to be transmitted, the language of the original and the language of translation, and the transmitter, recipient, mediator. The original text and the translated text are two forms of existence of one message, between which it is necessary to establish a relationship of communicative equivalence through translation.

Analysis of the previous literature

The translation of a literary work requires a literary translation, which has its own specifics and issues. It is considered to be the most studied (by Alekseeva L., Bannikov I., Golubtsov S., Drobysheva T., etc.), as well as the most mobile. Such a translation is especially characterized by novelty and originality [1]. One of the most pronounced features of literary translation is the constant use of various figures of language - tools that are used for maximum disclosure of the text. In artistic translation it is quite difficult to keep all the figures of language in the text being translated, quite often the colors are lost when describing the characters, the features of their language and behavior disappear. Most translators confess that many folklore, slang, and dialectal figures of the language remain untranslatable. Artistic translation cannot be done literally - it will inevitably lead to the loss of emotional tones, bright colors in the language, etc. Artistic translation from any language should be done so that the atmosphere of the plot and the style of the author are preserved in full measure [1].

The purpose of the research - detailed study of the features of the fantasy genre, his origin and milestones, as well as analysis of the difficulties that arise in translation of a fantasy novel.

Discussion

The science fiction genre occupies a prominent place in literature. Since the middle of the XX century, the process of transferring the works of this genre in different languages has become very important for modern theory of translation. While creating fantastic texts, individualization and originality plays an important role, because the writer is facing the task of creating and describing in detail a fictional world. Using certain vocabulary and stylistic devices forms their own author style, reflects the individuality of the writer, his originality thought, makes his works famous and recognizable [2].

The fantasy genre is a special literary genre with a specifically built plot. The main feature of works of the fantasy genre is the author's creation of his own world, in which apply special laws, live unusual creatures, and magic is commonplace, and this feature of the fantasy genre requires special strategies in translation. With literary translation it is not so important how accurately and correctly all the details are conveyed, but what the effect makes the translated text on the reader, which image it forms in his mind [3].

One of the main peculiarities of this genre is the presence of a large number of occasionalisms, realities and proper names. In the process of translating of such texts special attention should be paid to the realities of science fiction, the so-called quasirealities - words (phrases) related to science fiction works, describing the elements of the fictional world.

To date, the features and difficulties of translating fiction are insufficiently described; accordingly, based on a comparative analysis, a typology of possible translation errors and translation strategies has not yet been developed. When translating a science fiction text, the translator must find the right solution, decide each time how to deal with a particular unit of language in each case, focusing on the task of translation and their own capabilities [2]. The problem of translating a fantastic text is also related to such a concept as "dialogue of cultures", because while comparing different linguistic pictures of the world, you can find significant differences between them, which cause difficulties in translating any genre of literature, including science fiction.

The genre of fantasy in the form in which we are all accustomed to perceive it, is relatively young and not even two hundred years old. It is sometimes difficult enough to distinguish it from an alternative story, from a historical novel, or from horror novel. Western researchers perceive fantasy as a special genre, separating it from dream literature, horror literature, literary tales, mystics. Therefore, before describing the genre itself, it will be appropriate to talk about its historical origins and forerunners. The most common opinion is that the precedents of fantasy are science fiction or science fiction. However, the roots of fantasy go back a long way. Legends and myths are the ancestors of the fantasy genre, like many other genres [3]. In myths and legends we find elements common to the genre of fantasy, and namely: mighty Gods and heroes endowed with magical powers, fantastic creatures, extraordinary abilities of which do not have (unlike science fiction) rational explanation, demons, wizards, mythological and legendary creatures, ghosts, vampires, the presence of the task (quest). Fantasy characters and events are often not tied to a specific place and time, they are timeless and over spatial [3].

However, not only myths and legends contributed to the formation of fantasy as a genre. K. Smith in his research argues that the origins of the fantasy genre dated to the eighteenth century. In turn, T. Savitskaya agrees with this opinion and claims that Gothic is the ancestor of fiction, fantasy and literature horrors. The epic genre also played a significant role in the formation of fantasy literature medieval narrative literature, namely the knightly novel [2].

In fiction, translators often use the technique of functional substitution, because in the language of translation it is quite difficult to find an exact match for a particular unit of the original language. It is known that descriptive translation helps to overload the text, and transcription and transliteration is not always a good idea. Functional substitutions are most often used when translating non-equivalent vocabulary, when the context does not correspond to any of the available vocabulary meanings. Sometimes such substitutions penetrate the language quite well, but not always. [2]. Thus, the uniqueness of science fiction as a literary genre is that science fiction writers depict worlds that are different from the real, they are full of realities and conflicts that differ from our everyday life. The translator is faced with the task of identifying conceptual similarities and differences between linguistic pictures, to understand the specifics of national consciousness, which is embodied in science fiction, to convey the peculiarities of the author's thinking. Achieving adequacy in translation is closely related to the translator's ability to successfully identify the translation problem and make the necessary translation transformations and techniques.

The names of the characters in the works of art are the most expressive and an informative tool. Therefore, an adequate transmission of proper names in translation is necessary for a fuller disclosure of the idea laid down in the author's text. The translator has to work on special vocabulary, such as space terminology, numerous neologisms, including names invented by the author. An important factor in the translation of occasional words and phrases in the text of the science fiction genre is the erudition of the translator, his ability to analyze both narrow and broad context, which often reveal to readers a complex idea of the writer.

J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" attracts the attention of linguists and literary critics for their unusualness in many aspects, being interesting area for research. The most famous series of novels about the adventures of a young wizard Harry Potter has become one of the most famous books in the world. J.K. Rowling, who wrote this book, loved to read fantasy as a child, for example "The Chronicles of Narnia" by K.S. Lewis made a considerable influence on her. Interestingly, in both works there is a portal through which the characters get into a fantastic world. For Harry Potter, it's a nine- and three-quarter platform as well for Lucy, the heroine of K.S. Lewis, is a wardrobe in her uncle's house. During the university years the writer gets acquainted with the fantasy trilogy of J.R.R. Tolkien "The Lord of the Rings ". In this work, the main characters are united around one goal - victory of evil in the face of the Dark Lord [4].

With each new novel in the series, the world created by the writer received new details and storylines. The action takes place in a world externally similar to ours, in England. Among ordinary people (muggles) secretly live magicians. There is a magician statute that forbids demonstrating magic openly. Wizards have their own governments (in the UK - the Ministry of Magic), newspapers and magazines, schools, money, banks. The wizarding world has its own railway, which connects London with the village of Hogsmeade in the north of England, where the Hogwarts Express train arrives, which takes students to Hogwarts School. There are even their own games - quidditch sports game, spit stones, magic chess and others. Magicians use their own shops, restaurants, they have their own interests, their own fashion, which is clearly different from the usual one, the so-called "muggle's". Also, the inhabitants of the magical world have their delicacies that you will not find in the ordinary world, it's hard cupcakes, which are so hard that you can't bite them without breaking your teeth, Bertie-Bot candy, which can have the taste of chocolate, oranges, black pepper, dirt, dog food and even vomit or earwax. So, the world depicted by Joan Rawlings is thought out to the smallest detail and has everything so that the reader does not doubt its existence. The plot is based on the struggle between good and evil. In addition, the heroes of the fantasy genre are characterized by the presence of a certain mission, and only they decide whether to follow it or not.

Let's consider the methods of translating of proper names based on the Ukrainian and Russian versions of J.K. Rowling's novels about Harry Potter and identify the main techniques used by translators to convey them. In some cases, transcription, transliteration, replacement, and domestication of proper names were used. On the example of the character names, magical objects and geographical names of the Harry Potter series we will consider ways of their adequate translation and accurate transference of the artistic image conceived by the author [5]. All the names of the heroes of the series about Harry Potter can be divided into three main categories: natural, borrowed from ancient culture and mythology and fictional or colloquial names.

The natural names used in this work are transmitted preferably by transcription. For example: Harry, James, Lily Potter; Ron, George, Fred, Percy, Molly Weasley; Malfoy, Granger, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Flitwick, Neville, Cedric Diggory, Dobby, Trelawney, Filch, Lestrange, Victor Krum, Peter Pettigrew, Fudge, Vernon, Dudley Dursley are translated as Гаррі, Джеймс, Ліллі Поттер, Рон, Джордж, Фред, Персі, Моллі Уїзлі; Малфой, Грейнджер, Дамблдор, Макгонагалл,Флітвік, Невіл, Седрік Діггорі, Доббі, Трелоні, Філч, Лестрейндж, Віктор Крам, Пітер Петігрю, Фадж; Вернон, Дадлі Дурслі.

But even in these cases there are exceptions. Such names as Dumbledore, Fudge, Dudley are transmitted as Думбльдор, Фудж, Дудли in Russian translation made by M. Spivak. In other words - they are transliterated. Moreover, M. Spivak translates the surname Weasley as Уесли. Wesley. In Ukrainian translations this surname is transmitted closer to the English pronunciation as Візлі. The names Hermione and Arthur in all translations are transferred by transliteration like Герміона and Артур, not by transcription. Ironically, most of the discrepancies occur with the surname Snape, which can be easily transcribed as Снейп. But it is transcribed only in Ukrainian translation. In Russian translation of the Rosman publishing house this surname is transmitted as Снегг, and in M. Spivak's variant - as Злей. The reason for this is probably the mystery and ambiguity of the character - before the release of the last book, not only readers but even translators did not know - whether he is positive or negative character, and therefore M. Spivak translated his name and surname Severus Snape in general as Злодеус Злей, which does not correspond to the inner essence of the character. The surname Hagrid is transcribed as Хагрід in most translations, only M. Spivak conveys it as Огрід (from the word Огр - a giant from Celtic mythology) - clearly alluding to his enormous stature and origin from the giants. The surname professor Umbridge, which is mostly transcribed as професор Амбрідж, appears as профессор Кембридж in Russian translation, playing with the title of the world-famous British university and at the same time mocking the character.

The second category includes names borrowed from ancient culture and mythology. In every language they have traditions of translation. For instance, Albus, Minerva, Severus, Sybill, Argus, Sirius, Horace in Slavic cultures have the following equivalents such as Альбус, Мінерва, Северус, Сівілла, Аргус, Сіріус, Горацій. Most of these names are also eloquent and reflect certain features of characters. For example, sibyls in ancient mythology are soothsayers who, entering a trance, predict the future, usually unfortunate. In a series of novels, Sibyl is a teacher of prophecy, who constantly frightens everyone with troubles, which, fortunately, do not come true.

The third category of proper names includes names invented by the author. In this case, translators have more difficulties and at the same time more creative freedom. The name of the formidable and gloomy fighter against evil forces Moody in the Ukrainian translation was simply transcribed, preserving the foreign pronunciation. At the same time, its content remained unclear to readers and viewers who do not speak English. In the Russian translation of the Rosman publishing house, this name is transmitted as Грюм from the word “gloomy”, but due to the fact that the beginning and end of the word are rejected, it becomes completely incomprehensible. It was most successfully reproduced by M. Spivak with the help of a descriptive translation as Хмури: the inner meaning is reflected here.

The pseudonym of the main negative character - Lord Voldemort in most translations is transcribed as Лорд Волдеморт and only in translation of Rosman publishing house it is transmitted as Лорд Волан-де-Морт, in fact it is an allusion to the character of M. Bulgakov from "The Master and Margarita", although in fact the name Voldemort comes from the French language "vol de mort" - "flight of death".

Conclusion

To crown it all, fantasy is a genre variety of fiction, which uses irrational motifs of magic, knightly epic, combined with a realistic narrative and where virtual worlds with medieval realities are depicted. Such works are not a subject for logical interpretation as belonging to science fiction, therefore, no motivation is used in their analysis. The determining components of this genre are fate, the binary ethical opposition "good - evil", reward for efforts to overcome obstacles and a miracle.

The proper names of the characters in J. Rowling's Harry Potter series are transmitted by transcription, transliteration, literal or descriptive translation, depending on whether they are natural names or semantic, in some cases natural names are translated descriptively, are creatively reinterpreted and transformed into semantic ones. Each translator reproduces the internal content invested in them by the author in his own way. It is important to remember that the translation of fiction and in particular fantasy genre requires a translator of a high level of cultural, linguistic and local awareness of both cultures: the language of the original and the language of translation.

name mythology translation language

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