DOI 10.52172/2587-6945_2021_16_2_24
Abstract
The article is concerned with the means of syntactic representation of the quality of an object relation in character portrayals in Crime and Punishment by F.M. Dostoevsky compared with translations of this novel into the English language. The aim of this study is to discover similarities and differences in the syntactic models used to represent a quality of an object (or person) in the same situations in the original text and the translation. Another objective is to determine the quality conceptualization features in utterances in both languages and also to investigate the characteristics of the quality of an object situation perception in case different syntactic models are used in the original text and the translation.
The material for this research was collected by continuous sampling of utterances describing an object (What is one like?) in Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, the utterances being subsequently compared with their English equivalents in two translations. As a result, it was discovered that the translated utterances were frequently based on a syntactic model which was different from the original version. Some of the alterations found on the structural level affect the message conveyed by the utterance and thus may lead to slight variations in its interpretation.
Regardless of the fact that the majority of concepts are communicated lexically, there is no ignoring the significance of the syntactic structure for the conceptual content represented by the utterance. The results of the study are of immense importance for the translation theory and practice, as well as teaching languages and theoretical disciplines related to cognitive studies in linguistics.
Key words
F.M. Dostoevsky, “Crime and Punishment”, character portrayals, translation, syntactic model, syntactically represented concept, quality of an object.