Lingua-cultural aspect of literary translation

In a period of globalization, studies on the problems of communication and interaction between cultures and nations are becoming more intensive than before. To know about other cultures as the requirement of modern life, translating literature is one of the most necessary way. In other words, literary translation is a way of communication across cultures. Translating literary texts, however, is not an easy task, since it certainly poses many problems for the translator in terms of lingua-cultural aspect.

Literary translation is a means of creating national literature, the main repository of information about a particular people. In addition, the national mentality is seen in the reflection of the peculiarities of life, customs, history and, mainly lingua-cultural aspect. That is why lingua-cultural aspect of translation is taken into account when literary texts are translated from source language into target language. Due to this, the aim of this paper is to reveal the lingua-cultural peculiarities of literary translation from source language into target language by means of analysis. To achieve this goal, we tried to solve the following tasks:

• 1)    to revea and characterize lingua-cultural words or phrases in translation of literary texts;

• 2)    to analyze a part of the translation of lingua-cultural aspect of Tog’ay Murod’s work called “The people who walk in the moonlight” (Oydinda yurgan odamlar).

Methodology

There are some approaches related to lingua-cultural aspect of literary translation in linguistics, like: When discussing the problems of correspondence in translation, according to American scholar Nida Eugene “differences between cultures may be more complicated for the translator than do differences in language structure”[5]. From this point of view, it is clear that translator may find difficulty to translate lingua-cultural aspect although he knows this nation’s language well when he translate literary text.

Another English linguist Newmark Peter mentioned that “culture is the way of life and its manifestations that are peculiar to a community that uses a particular language as its means of expression"[6]. It means that we can know how one nation’s people live by the help of culture. In addition, culture is a way of using particular language of community.

“Since language and culture are closely connected to each other and since language is so important in communication then translation is an essential element in communication, exchanging cultures, and knowledge”[3] said Darwish Ali. In this sense, we can understand that translation is a process of culture and through translation we can exchange information. It is crucial for translators to study the linguistic and cultural peculiarities of translation. A great essentiality is caused by numerous quantity of literary translations. Nowadays, translators have all opportunities to create an excellent translation professionally. A number of online machine translators, dictionaries, textbooks help translators to overcome challenges in some aspects of translation. However, it is difficult to find appropriate equivalent to translation of cultural words or phrases. Because every nation posses their cultural words that are unknown for other nations or culture. So, translators ought to pay great attention to lingua-cultural aspect while translating.

Culture was studied not just as a science adjacent to linguistics, but as a phenomenon, without a deep analysis of which, as Russion linguist V.A. Maslova said “it is impossible to comprehend the secrets of man, the secrets of language and text” [4]. From this point of view, in linguistics at the end of the 20th century, it was not impossible to accept and understand that language is closely related to culture; it grows into it, develops in it and expresses it, on the basis of which cultural linguistics arose.

Linguoculturology in its development goes through two periods: the first period is a period of only prerequisites for the development of science; the second period is the period of formation of cultural linguistics as an independent field of research. But since this science is developing dynamically, V.L. Maslova identifies the third period – the period “on the threshold of which we are now, – the emergence of a fundamental interdisciplinary science – linguoculturology” [4]. Thus, linguoculturology as a branch of linguistics studies material and spiritual culture, which is reflected in the living national language and manifests itself in linguistic phenomena, studies the ways in which language embodies in its units, stores and translates culture.

Lingua-culture is a term meaning that a language includes not only elements such as grammar and vocabulary, but also past knowledge, local and cultural information, habits and behaviors[1]. American anthropologist Michael Agar used the term "lingua-culture" for the first time in his book “ Language Shock: Understanding the culture of conversation” . Michael Agar explains the change stating that "language" is a more commonly used word in English. It seems that "linguaculture" is getting more common again[7].

When Agar talks about languaculture, he defines it as the necessary tie between language and culture[1]. He underlines that languages and cultures are always closely related and it is not possible to distinguish languages from cultures. Therefore, you cannot really know a language if you do not know also the culture expressed by that language.

Result and discussion

The notion of culture and its understanding involve the link between two different languacultures that Agar define LC1 (source lingua-culture) and LC2 (target lingua-culture).

Rich points

The learning of target lingua-culture is driven by "rich points", which are when people realize that a culture is different from their own and when they face some behaviors which they do not understand. Rich points are those surprises, those departures from an outsider's expectations that signal a difference between source lingua-culture and target lingua-culture[2]. They are the moments of incomprehension, when people suddenly do not know what is happening. In this situation different reactions are possible. People can ignore the rich point and hope that the next part makes sense. People can perceive it as evidence that the person who produced it lacks something. Or people can wonder why they do not understand and if maybe some other lingua-culture comes into play. Therefore, rich points belong to daily life and not only to language[1]. Agar highlights that the term rich has the positive connotations of thickness, wealth and abundance. The largest rich point is the total incomprehension due to huge differences between source lingua-culture and target lingua-culture. In this case, people are facing a "culture shock" that causes a deep bewilderment. The smallest rich point can occur among different groups of the same community.

The existence of rich points comes from the fact that every statement implicitly refers to various elements that are taken for granted in a certain culture and do not match the elements of another culture (cultural implicitness).

According to Michael Agar, culture is a construction, a translation between source lingua-culture and target lingua-culture. Like a translation, it makes no sense to talk about the culture of X without saying the culture of X for Y, taking into account the standpoint from which it is observed. For this reason culture is relational. Moreover, culture is always plural. No person or group can be described, explained or generalized completely with a single cultural label[2].

In most Uzbek literature, we come across challenges relating to lingua-culture aspect based on family relationships. For instance, in Tog’ay Murod’s work called “The people who walk in the moonlight” (Oydinda yurgan odamlar), the author used a number of cultural linguistic groups. He described the spiritual feelings of real Uzbek childless people in this story. Tog’ay Murod (1948-2003), a writer who created a new way in XX century Uzbek Literature refers very specific cultural aspect of Uzbek nations concerning national mentality, including with family relations. While translating lingua- cultural aspect is very difficult to find appropriate version in English. Thus, the following translation has such kind of misunderstanding phrase based on addressing family members.

For example:

In Uzbek: — Quloq sol, momosi, quloq sol. Qayerdandir odam ovozi kelyapti. Sayrak adirda yonboshla yotmish bobomiz, momomizga shunday dedilar. Bobomiz og’izlarini angraygannamo ochdilar. O‘ng quloqlarini yellar yelmish tarafga tutdilar. Yellar, ovozlarni yorqin olib kelmadilar. Bobomiz o‘ng kaftlarini quloqlari sirtiga tutdilar. Elpana qildilar. Nafas olmadilar. Bor vujudlarini berib quloq soldilar. Bobomiz shunda-da bir nimani eshitmadilar. Chuqur tin oldilar. Bobomiz oydinga tikildilar.— Manovi yoqdan shekilli... — dedilar. — O‘zi vaqting xushmi, momosi? Eson-omon yuribsanmi? To’rt muchaling butmi?.

In English: - Listen, mommy, listen. From somewhere someone's voice is heard… Our grandfather who was lying down on the hill said these words to our grandmother. Our grandfather surprisingly opened his mouth. He began to listen to the side where breezes blew. But breezes did not bring the voices clearly. So our grandfather put his palm onto his ears. He tried to protect the audible voice from wind. He did not breathe and listened with all his heart. Even now he could not hear anything. He inhaled fresh air. Our grandfather glanced at moonlight in detail. “It seems the voice is coming from this way,” he said. – Are you OK, mommy? How is your health? Are you safe and sound?

In Uzbek language the suffix “ si ” expresses belonging smth or smb to someone like your , or his, our, their and so on . In this regard the word “ momosi ” ( granny ) in fact our grandmother. That’s she belongs us, but in this story she belongs only to grandfather. This kind of very specific addressing which shows respect has already become one of active word in every Uzbek family nowadays, like “ dadasi”, “onasi”, “momosi”, “bobosi ”. As we know there are the words “ father ” and “ mother ” in English language. Nevertheless, in the families of English-speaking countries don’t exist such kind of cultural addressing words of relations between couples. These addressing words exit only in Uzbek mentality or culture and define belonging, respect, esteem between husband and wife or other family members. In target language, we think that translator couldn’t find corresponding word of word “ momos i”. So the translator used “ mommy ” in this sense. But “ mommy ” undoubtedly didn’t give Togay Murod’s ideological conception and cultural context of the text. In this case, we think explanations could be the best way of translating the cultural context of the work.

Conclusion

Literary translation is a way of communication across cultures. Translating literary texts, however, is not an easy task, since it certainly poses many problems for the translator in terms of lingua-cultural aspect. The national mentality is seen in the reflection of the peculiarities of life, customs, history and, mainly lingua-cultural aspect. However, it is difficult to find appropriate equivalent to translation of cultural words or phrases. Because every nation posses their cultural words that are unknown for other nations or culture. So, translators ought to pay great attention to lingua-cultural aspect while translating. From the example of translation of Tog’ay Murod’s work from Uzbek into English, we sum up addressing words like “momosi, bobosi, dadasi” exit only in Uzbek mentality or culture and define belonging, respect, esteem between husband and wife or other family members. In English speaking countries don’t have this kind of addressing. In a such situation, explanation can be appropriate solution, while translating literary works.