LINGUAL FEATURES OF THE TRANSLATION OF THE NOVEL “JACOB DECIDES TO LOVE” BY C. D. FLORESCU

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the investigation of lexical, stylistic, and textual features of the novel “Jaсob Decides to Love” by Catalin Dorian Florescu and its translation by Yuriy Prohasko. The main research method employed is a comparative one, allowing for the examination of the correlation of individual elements between the original text and the translation. This correlation is influenced by both the relationships between the languages involved in the translation and extralinguistic factors affecting the translation process. Descriptive, contextual, and approximative-statistical research methods are also used in the article. It is determined that the author of the novel tends towards deep psychological insight and meticulously depicts objects of the material world. This occurs at the intersection of cultures and national identities, influencing the style of the work. The translation, on the other hand, stands out for the selection of non-standard variants, considering the norms of literary Ukrainian language. The article deals with non-equivalent vocabulary and explores how the translator coped with the difficulties of its reproduction. Examples of outdated vocabulary are provided, conveying the feeling of the depicted era. The fundamental principles to be followed when reproducing Ukrainian temporospatial vocabulary are identified, emphasizing the meaning of words over different time periods. Examples of the translation of epithets using witty equivalents in Ukrainian, close to the native speaker, are presented. Metaphors are conveyed through precise translation, substitution, compensation, and paraphrase. The last part delves into the themes, individual style, and atmosphere of the original and translated texts. The author particularly describes rural realities, and the translator’s task is to preserve the writer’s narrative style to the extent that it does not distort the reader’s proper perception. Therefore, the translator adapts the text enough not to conceal this style and not to distort the foreign culture. As a result, the language of the translation is very rich and filled with interesting, apt, and rarely used words, becoming one of the translator’s specific characteristics.