To the question of translating the titles of T. Pratchett’s novels into Russian

The article focuses not on the statement of translation “ups” and “downs” with the subsequent proposal of translation strategies, as is customary in translation studies articles. In the study, a broader philological approach is chosen: by examining the functions of titles in a literary text, the authors reveal the consequences of transformations in the title meaning in Russian versions of Terry Pratchett’s books. The title plays a crucial role in understanding the author’s intention and sets the reader’s anticipation since this is the first thing they encounter while getting acquainted with the text. The material of the study is the novel titles of the book series “The Discworld” by T. Pratchett and their translations into Russian. The article classifies the titles of the book series according to the principle of the degree of their allusiveness and complexity for translation. The Discworld includes 41 books, in which more than half of the titles are quotations and/or contain a play on words. If “simple” titles, not loaded with intertextual meanings, did not cause difficulties for translators, then after translating titles that are allusive or contain puns, a number of semantic levels in Russian versions disappeared. The titles “Equal Rites”, “Snuff”, and “Monstrous Regiment” are analyzed in detail as having a multi-layered intertextual potential. Since the title of the novel carries the maximum communicative load and determines the vectors of text understanding, the issue of comprehensive translation of the title and its adaptation from one language to another becomes of primary importance. This is especially true for Terry Pratchett’s novels when the loss of the original polysemy, citation and playfulness can lead to the loss of the essence of the author’s style.