METRE AND RHYTHM SEMANTICS IN TRANSLATION STUDIES PERSPECTIVES

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Valeriy KYKOT

Abstract

Introduction. The article deals with semantic load bearing by metre and rhythm as poetry form means as a result of historical development within literature and culture tradition. Poem metrical form sign nature, its constant historically shaped semantic side that signalizes introduction of certain theme in certain interpretation as well as its preserving influence an adequate original poem form and content harmony reconstruction in translation are considered.

Purpose. The present article aims to reveal the process and means of creation of macroimage structure form components semantics, namely metre and rhythm, and to investigate transformations they cause in translation.

Methods. The multi-faceted and complex nature of poetical metre and rhythm semantics, the diversity of its linguistic realizations and the aims set above have determined it necessary to employ translatological method being a complex of methods and techniques of analysis.

Results. Major attention in the article is focused on poetry forms semantics importance for the development of translation studies that considers translation as intercultural interaction as well as on the fact that only mastering that or other formal-expressive phenomena code of original poem enables to find translation functional analogues.

The strategic essence of poetic translation is viewed here through the prisms of a poem structure transformation and poem translation process is considered to be its macroimage structure reimplementation by the target language means through the reconstruction of structure image components with preserving their semantic associative fields.

Originality. The originality of the present article is seen in the generalized research of essentials that form metre and rhythm semantics of the source poem and the problem of its reproduction in translation as well as in identifying factors that make an impact on the translation adequacy.

Conclusion. Poem metrical form performs a sign function, it has constant historically created semantic side signalizing the recipient of certain theme introduction.

Metre and rhythm semantics has both historical and organic correlations with autosemantic and subsematic (implied sense) images, as well as with of the same level synsemantic images.

Once semantic function of metre or other original poem form means is not rendered in translation, the image structure of the poem is ruined and the translation doesn’t reach the rank of being adequate. Sometime an opposite phenomena is observed in translation when original form and content harmony is not kept as a result of a form element semantic shift, that is being mechanically transferred into the target language it performs a stylistic function it did not in the source language and thus distorts the authors concept.

To avoid a poem form and content correlation translators more often render not metre but rhythm since it has tighter bounds with a poem content. But in case original metre semantics is obvious its functional analogue is to be found.

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References

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