Zapovednik, by Sergei Dovlatov: translating culture and laugh

Authors

  • Yulia Mikaelyan Doutoranda do programa de Literatura e Cultura Russa do Departamento de Letras Orientais da FFLCH/USP

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2317-9511.tradterm.2014.96570

Keywords:

Sergei Dovlatov, humoristic prose translation, cultural transference, Russian culture, Russian literature

Abstract

Translating humor is always a complicated task, because the reception of the comic depends not so much on the linguistic form in which it is expressed, but
mainly on the context of the receiver (i. e., the reader) in the corresponding culture. This requires the transfer of other strategies meant to preserve the comic effect. In this paper, we analyze the strategies of translating the novel Zapovednik, by the Russian writer Sergei Dovlatov, into French, English and Brazilian Portuguese, proposing our translation variant. Dovlatov always worked with humorous prose, and one of the features of his writing is a strong connection with the Russian-Soviet culture. In translation, these peculiarities may lose a part of their expressiveness, especially their humor. Indeed, this presents the biggest challenge for the translator of Dovlatov’s works.

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Author Biography

  • Yulia Mikaelyan, Doutoranda do programa de Literatura e Cultura Russa do Departamento de Letras Orientais da FFLCH/USP

    Doutoranda do Programa de Literatura e Cultura Russa do DLO – FFLCH/USP. Possui graduação em Letras - Espanhol pela Universidade Estatal de Moscou - Lomonóssov (2007). Atua como tradutora de russo-português-russo.

    Publicações mais relevantes:

    1. Serguei Dovlátov no contexto da terceira onda de migração russa. In: RUS – Revista de Literatura e Cultura Russa, v. 02, São Paulo: USP, 2013. – p. 87-97.
    2. Púchkin: transformação do mito na cultura soviética e sua desconstrução por Serguei Dovlátov. In: Revista de Estudos Orientais, № 09, São Paulo: USP (no prelo).

Published

2015-03-17

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Mikaelyan, Y. (2015). Zapovednik, by Sergei Dovlatov: translating culture and laugh. TradTerm, 24, 263-279. https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2317-9511.tradterm.2014.96570