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Section 3. World literary
DOI:10.29013/EJLL-24-1-24-28
THE INTERPRETATION OF THE HISTORICAL SPACE IN ABDULLA KADIRI'S NOVEL "BYGONE DAYS" IN RUSSIAN AND GERMAN TRANSLATIONS
Feruza Dadabayeva1
1 Faculty of Foreign Languages, Namangan State University, Uzbekistan
Cite: Dadabayeva F. (2024). The Interpretation of the Historical Space in Abdulla Kadiri's Novel "Bygone Days" in Russian and German Translations. European Journal of Literature and Linguistics 2024, No 1. https://doi.org/10.29013/EJLL-24-1-24-28
Abstract
This article discusses the interpretation of the historical space in the Russian and German translations of Abdulla Kadiri's novel "Bygone Days", the stylistic uniqueness of the translators, the similarities and differences between the translations.
Keywords: concept of space, translation, difference, stylistic uniqueness, similarity
Introduction
In literary studies, the issues of the concept of the space that surrounds us have been interpreted in different ways. The concept of space is an anthropocentric concept, which is reflected in the language of the relationship between man and space. In any artistic work, lexical tools representing space are of particular importance. In novels, the epic image allows for a deeper understanding of the relationship between events and characters in space and time.
In Uzbek literary studies, the concept of space and time has always been the center of attention of scientists. After all, the artistic image is reflected through human mind, soul and feelings, and in the image, first of all, the image of time and being, and then the image of the character is expressed. In this
case, they appear in the form of a specific space and image. This space and time make up the composition of the plot in the work and serve to reflect the character and spiritual world of a certain character in the course of events. The Uzbek scholar Boboniyozov (1995) also mentions about space and time in his research work entitled "Visual tools and linguistic art in Abdulla Kadiri's novel "Bygone Days". According to Boboniyozov (1995), the image of each space in the work is expressed according to the mentality, character and place in society of the people who settled in this space.
Materials and Methods
Otabek, who is the protagonist won the hearts of the people of Margylon with his intelligence, good looks, wisdom, and business
acumen, was described " he is standing in a room with a red carpet and blankets, more beautiful than the others", in comparison with Hamid who is talkative, black inside, who does not back down from any evil for his own benefit, and who stands by Hamid's side and is the cause of his gossip and conspiracies, and the yard, which is a witness to several crimes and misdeeds. Hamid is described as a protagonist who is standing in old ruined house where every item is broken and cracked everywhere, the courtyard is full of various garbage, and seems that it has not been cleaned for years, dishes lying unwashed and untidy on the stove and a pile of cotton wool on an old chest" (Boboniyozov, 1995).
The writer Oybek (1936) also expressed the following opinion about the depiction of time and space in "Bygone Days": "the atmosphere surrounding people, household pictures are described in detail and in every way. The atmosphere gives a description of the house in accordance with the person's situation and with a feeling reminiscent of the historical past (Oybek, 1936).
We would like to draw attention to the image of the khanate in the work and its Russian and German counterparts: First of all, let's look at the explanation of the word Horde: in different historical periods, Horde was a fortress (up to the 5th-6th centuries), an ark (9-17 centuries) is also called. The fortress is mainly built on a height, it is entered through a long sloping corridor; it is a historical structure surrounded by a wall with constellations, including buildings of state importance, administrative buildings, the palace of the ruler, etc. How is the image of this building described in the translations?
The language in the original context: Yormozor mavze"ida shahar qo"rg"o-niga tiralib soling "an o "rda. O"rda dar-bozasining sahni botmonlab hisoblang "an mevazor bo"lib, bunda olma, o"rik, nok va tut yog "ochlari xilig "ina bor edilar. Dar-bozaning ikki biqinini o"rab olg"an loyig"a gullar, naqshlar tushirilib ishlangan sakkiz gazlar yuksaklikda o "rda qo "rg "oni, dar-bozaning ikki burjida alachami, bo "zdan-mi uzun choponlar kiyib, boshlarig"a qulo-qchin qo "ndirg "an, qayish kamar ustidan qilich tiqinib miltiqlarig "a suyang "an ikki yigit ko"rinadir...(Kadiri, 1980).
In Russian trasnlation: Дворцовая крепость была расположена в местности Яр-Мазар, у самой городской стены. По обе стороны резных ворот шли стены высотой в восем аршин. Перед воротами раскинулся большой плодовый сад, где росли яблони, урюк, груши и разных видов тутовые деревья. У крепости на карауле стояли два стражника, одетые в длинные халаты и вооруженные саблями. Их головы покрывали кулакчины (Meaning: The palace fortress was located in Yor-Mozor area, near the city wall. There were walls eight high on both sides of the carved gate. There was a big garden in front of the gate, where apple, apricot, pear and all kinds of mulberry trees grew. Two guards guard the castle, wearing long robes and armed with swords. Their heads are covered with earmuffs) (Kadiri, 1958).
In German translation: Die Zitadelle von Margelan befand sich in der Ortschaft Jormasor, nahe der Stadtmauer, die etwa sechs Meter hoch war und beiden Seiten des geschnitzten Tores ausging. Dem Tor gegenüber lag ein großer Obstgarten mit Apfel-, Aprikosen-, Birn- und Maulbeerbäumen. Vor der Zitadelle standen zwei langberock-te, mit Säbeln bewaffnete Wächter. Auf dem Kopf trugen sie Pelzmützen, sogenannte Kuloktschin. (Meaning: Margilan Castle is located in the Yormazor region, near the city walls with a height of about six meters and carved gates on both sides. In front of the gate there is a big garden with apple, apricot, pear and mulberry trees. Two tall guards armed with swords stood in front of the fortress. They wore a fur hat called earmuffs on their heads), (Kadiri, 1958).
It can be seen from the translation that both translators translate Horde as Castle. First of all, let's pay attention to the different aspects of the words "horde" and "fortress". We mentioned above about the Horde. According to National encyclopedia of Uzbekistan, "A fortress is a military structure built on strategically important cities, crossings and narrow straits and roads where the enemy is expected to arrive" (2006). It is clear from these two definitions that it is not correct to translate the word "horda" as "castle". Perhaps it is difficult to find the German and Russian versions of the word Horde. At this point, it would be ap-
propriate for both translators to underline or directly explain this word.
(Just as the Russian translator interpreted the word earmuff under the line -меховая шапка с ушами, and at the same time the German translator described this word in the context as Pelzmützen, sogenannte Kuloktschin).
Here, blaming the German translator is incorrect. Since it is common knowledge that the Russian language was used as an intermediary for the German translation. We'll keep examining the translation: in the original "sakkiz gazlar yuksaklikdagi o"rda qo"rg"oni" is reduced to "six gas" both in the German translation and in the Russian translation. Gaz is an ancient unit of measurement for measuring length and distance, and it is also known as dice in some parts of Central Asia, including Uzbekistan. The value is taken as 0.71 m (48, 38). Based on this, the walls of the khan's courtyard, which are about 6 meters long, are described in the translations of the work as 4-4.5 meters long. In fact, the word "fort" is translated as "wall" and it is a translation that is somewhat suitable for this context.
The two young men wearing long gray cloaks are depicted in long robes in the Russian translation, while in the German translation they are shown as langberockte, i. e. in long skirts. Chopon (garment worn by men) is the national clothing of the peoples of Central Asia, it is long, made of cotton, intended mainly for men. There are many types of it. Zarbof chopon, Kimhob chopon, etc. Based on the context, we tried to give our explanation to the chopon as follows.
In Russian translation: носится поверх одежды, мужская длинная национальная одежда из хлопка (a long national garment made of cotton, worn over clothes).
In German translation: Über der Kleidung getragen, lange Nationalkleidung für Männer aus Baumwolle.
We might study another image of space in the work. As the researcher Boboniyozov noted above, Abdulla Kadiri describes each person in harmony with the description of the place where he lives or settles. In short, with the image of the space in the work, we can get information about the soul of the person who owns this space, his character, actions, place in society and even his thoughts.
It is enough to remember the image of the yard of Sadiq and Jannatlar, who is a negative character in the work, Hamid, who is a negative character in the work, goes to implement several evil plans and deeds, and at the same time, Hamid is a partner in these actions and supports him. However, rather of focusing on these facets of the space's picture, we would want to draw attention to its translations as rendered by German and Russian translators. Let's find out to what extent the translators polished the image of this space in the original:
The language in the original context: Havlining sharq va janub tomonlari buzulib-yorilib yotqan eski xaroba imoratlar bo "lib, havli yuzi turlik axlatlar bilan bul-g"anch, go"yo yillardan beri tozalanmag"an, supurgi ko"rmagandek edi. Havlining o"rta yerida pakaniga baliq tut o"sib, ostig"a kul va boshqa axlatlar to"plang"an edi. Buning ustiga o "choq boshidag "i tovoq-qoshiqlar, tog"ora va qozonlar tartibsiz ravishda iflos yotarlar, qozon tevaragida uymalashmak-da bo "lg "an uch-to "rtta tovuqlar munda-gi ifloslikni yana bir qat oshirmoqda edilar (Kadiri, 1980).
In Russian translation: С востока и с юга по краям двора виднелись полуразвалившиеся строения, а сам двор был до такой степени завален мусором и всякими отбросами, как будто много лет не видал ни метлы, ни веника. Посреди двора росло невысокое тутовое дерево, а под ним-куча золы и мусора. У очага в беспорядке валялись немытие чашки, миски, ложки. Возле казана бродили куры. (On the eastern and southern edges of the yard is an ancient structure, and the yard itself is overflowing with trash, as though it hasn't been swept in a long time. There are piles of trash and ashes beneath the little mulberry tree in the centre of the yard. On the stove are spoons, bowls, and glasses that haven't been cleaned. Chickens roam around the cauldron) (Kadiri, 1958).
In German translation: An der Ost-und Westseite des Hofes erhoben sich halbzerfallene Bauten. Haufen von Unrat lagen herum, als sei der Hof jahrelang nicht gefegt worden. Mitten im Hofstand ein Maulbeerbaum, unter dem sich ebenfalls Asche und Abfall türmten. Am Herd lagen in
wüstem durcheinander schmutzige Tassen, Näpfe und Löffel. Hühner liefen am Waschkessel umher (On the east and west sides of the courtyard, half-ruined buildings stood. There are piles of trash lying around, as if the yard hasn't been swept in years. There is a mulberry tree in the middle of the yard, and ashes and garbage were piled under it. There were dirty glasses, bowls and spoons on the stove. The chickens were running around the pot).
The expression in the original language "havlining sharq va janub tomonlari" is translated as east and west side (die Ost-und Westseite) in the German translation. There is no translation of the word "yorilib yotgan xaroba", the writer used exaggeration to describe the pitiful and disgusting condition of the courtyard, he could not describe the courtyard as an old building.
But these aspects were carefully omitted by the translators. The word "Buzilib yotgan" in Russian is полуразвалившиеся (half-broken), and in German it is translated as halbzerfallene (half-ruined). The expression "o"choq boshidag "i tartibsiz ravishda iflos yotgan tovoq-qoshiqlar, tog^ora va qozonlar" was translated both by the Russian translator (чашки, миски, ложки) and by the German translator who took a model from the Russian translation, was translated as cups, bowls, spoons (Tassen, Näpfe und Löffel). That is, the original words "plate" and "pot" are lost in the translation, and the word "chashka" (Russian) and "Tasse" (German) are added to the translation.
We are discussing the 18th-century Uzbek home. At that time, it was unusual to have a so-called "stakan" in Uzbek life. The translation of the word kazan is not a problem for the translators, because they used this
word in the translation of the next sentence (in Russian Возле казана бродили куры, in German Hühner liefen am Waschkessel umher). In addition, unlike the author of the original, the translators follow simplicity in the description of this yard. They don't even pay attention to the fact that dirty dishes lying unwashed on the stove in the yard "increase the dirtiness here one more level", they just describe it. We tried to give our version of the translation by adding this sentence:
In Russian translation: Кроме того выглядело это ещё грязнее с немытие миски, ложки, казаны, которые у очага в беспорядке валялись и с возле казана бродящими куры.
In German translation: Ausserdem sieht er so noch schmutziger aus, mit am Herd gelegenen ungewaschenen Näpfe, Löffel und Kessel, mit Hühner, die am Topf herumlaufen.
Conclusion
It was stated that the main idea of the work "Bygone Days" was to describe the "dirtiest and darkest days of our history". However, it was recognized by experts that the idea of independence and liberating the homeland existed in the 20s of the last XX century, even if it was expressed secretly. As noted by the critic and writer Umarali Normatov, "Before the novel "Bygone Days", at the time of the writing of the work and after it, no one in the past century could dare to write about the historical events of life-death importance for the fate of the nation, the country deprived of its independence, but Kadiri was able to create a novel which analyzed the factors deeply, impartially and impressively led to the surrender to the colonialists!".
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nashriyoti, 1980.- B. 6. Qodiriy, A. (2018). O 'tkan kunlar. Sharq" nashriyoti. - Toshkent.
Кадыри, А. (2009). Минувшие дни. Государственное издательство художественной
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Oybek, (1936). The creative path of Abdulla Kadiri. Tashkent: Publishing House of the Committee of Sciences of the UzSSR. National encyclopedia of Uzbekistan, (2006).- Tashkent.
Tursunov, M. Problems of Translation of Lexemes of Time Units in the Novel "Days Gone By" By Abdulla Kadiri.
Dadabaeva, F. (2023). Problems of Recreating Realities in the Translation of Historical Color. Central Asian Journal of Literature, Philosophy and Culture, - 4(11). - P. 195-198.
submitted 01.02.2024; accepted for publication 12.02.2024; published 30.04.2024 © Dadabayeva F.
Contact: feruzaxondadaboeva@gmail.com
