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TO THE ISSUE OF CULTURAL COMPETENCE OF A TRANSLATOR
Verbina O.V.1, Glamazda S.N.2 ©
1Assistant, the department of theory and history of culture,
2
senior lecturer, the department of foreign languages, Belgorod state institute of arts and culture
Summary
This work shows the role of translators within the framework of cultural approaches. In the article there is analysis of approaches of translation, which examine the cross-cultural characteristics of the original and interpreting texts. These examples show the communicative function between the language and culture. This work concludes that only competent translators from the cultural point of view, can get equal translation, so to transfer the whole content of original text, keeping its cultural and national sense. And the role of translator in this sense is great.
Keywords: culturological competence, original interpretation, lingvokulturnaja community, intercultural communication, cross-cultural characteristics.
Ключевые слова: культурологическая компетенция, интерпретация оригинала, лингвокультурная общность, межкультурная коммуникация, кросс-культурные характеристики.
Translation plays a huge role in the cultural development of mankind. Thanks to translation people of one country get acquainted with the life, history, literature and scientific achievements of other countries. Many translated works of art become part of the national literature. By means the translation the culture attaches to the national epic and literary works of another culture.
The translator plays an important role in the process of translation Problematic of intercultural competence acquired relevance in Russia in the late 90-ies of the last century, due to the fact that the new conditions demanded are not just specialists with knowledge of foreign languages, but use language as a real means of communication with representatives of different cultures and nations. In this regard, many universities have changed the approach to the study of a foreign language in the sense that languages should be studied in indissoluble unity with the culture of the people.
In the works of Russian and foreign scholars emphasizes the role played by translation in the development of culture, science, literature and the language of communication. In recent years, translation has itself become an object of cultural studies, and new concept of culture leaves its mark on these studies. In translation, encounter different cultures, different warehouse of thinking, different literature, different eras, traditions. Despite the existence of a perception that the main role in the transfer played by the languages and the leading place belongs to the linguistic theories of translation, many of the linguistic provisions are translated in the category of cultural and due to cultural differences of the ethnic group. After all, translation is not just a new interpretation of the original, it gives the text a new dimension, insert it into the other cultural system, where it is implemented as an independent unit with its life, not always similar to the life of the original.
At the moment more clearly began to realize that the main difficulties of translation and the nature of the process is due not only to differences in the structures and rules of functioning of languages, but also different cultures, traditions, customs, mentality of people, different pictures of the world.
At present, there are a variety of definitions of translation. Speaking of translation, it is advisable to expand a little on some definitions belonging to a famous scientist. A.V. Fedorov
© Verbina O.V., Glamazda S.N., 2016 г.
considers translation primarily as a «speech product in its relationship with the original, and in connection with the peculiarities of the two languages and membership material to the different genre categories».
R.O. Jakobson in his work on linguistics is also based on a linguistic basis of translation. By R.O. Jakobson thought that the science of language cannot interpret any linguistic phenomenon without translating its signs into other signs of the same system or into signs of another system. In his textbooks on translation theory in foreign linguistics, he explains that «the equivalence with the existence of differences - a cardinal problem of language and the Central problem of linguistics. Like any receiver of verbal messages, a linguist is its interpreter. Any comparison of two languages implies an examination of their mutual privodimosti. The widespread practice of interlingual communication, particularly translating activities, must constantly be under the close supervision of linguistic science» [13].
In the book A. Titler «Principles of translation» the basic requirements for the translation was worded as follows: «a translation should completely convey the ideas of the original; the style and manner of presentation of the translation must be the same as in the original; a translation should read like an original work» [15].
R.K. Minyar-Beloruchev, in turn, puts forward the following wording translation: «the Object of the science of translation is not just communication with the use of two languages, comprising correlating between an activity of the source, translator and recipient. Central to this communication is the activity of a translator or a translation in the proper sense of the word, which represents one of the most difficult types of speech activities» [8].
V.S. Vinogradov defines translation as «a special, unique and independent form of literary art. This art is «secondary», art of the original material in another language». Vinogradov in his work on the translation emphasizes that the creative freedom of the translator is limited to the original.
In the opinion of L.K. Latysheva, translation is a kind of linguistic mediation, public the purpose of which is to bring bilingual communication to ordinary monolingual communication. In this case, eliminates the creative nature of translation.
From the point of view of G. Gachechiladze, literary translation is a kind of art, where the original performs the function similar to that performed for the original art work is a living reality.
A. Lilova, Bulgarian scholar, refers to translation as «a specific oral or written activity aimed at the regeneration of the existing in one language oral or written text in another language, while preserving the invariance of the content and quality of the original and author's authenticity» [7].
«Translation is a transformation of a message in the source language into the message in the target language». This definition gives T. Kazakova [4]. T. Kazakova also divides it into a shortened, custom, functional, complete, literal, semantic, communicative.
Thus, analyzing the foregoing approaches of the major figures and researchers of translation studies, we can conclude that the translation is considered primarily within the framework of the linguistic aspect.
Close to the topic of this research is the definition of A.D. Schweitzer: «Translation may be defined as: unidirectional and two-phase process of interlingual and intercultural communication. During whichbased on the targeted subject («translation») analysis of the primary text creates a secondary text (metatext), which replaces the primary in a different language and cultural environment... the process, characterized by the transmission of the communicative effect of the primary text, partly modifiable differences between the two languages, two cultures and two communicative situations» [12]. That is, in the opinion of A.D. Schweitzer, translation is not just language interoperability, but also the interaction of cultures.
From the above notions of translation can be determined that the cultural role of translation largely depends on the role of the interpreter. Because knowledge of the language and culture of a people and the personal attitude to it is two coats in the mind of the translator that he has to share in his work. The translatorshouldbe well aware ofthe differences between cultures.Learn a language to
perfection does not give a complete picture of the culture of a people. The ensuing gaps in the end will affect the understanding between nations. At the present stage, it is crucial the fact that the translator must know a foreign language as means of intercultural communication, which implies the necessity of forming the cultural competence that is an integral part of the professionally-communicative competence.
The basis of the cultural competence of the translator, in our view, constitute the background knowledge of the representative of the linguistic and cultural community. Glossary of linguistic terms gives the following definition of background knowledge: «Background knowledge - mutual knowledge of the realities of speaking and listening that are the basis of linguistic communication» [9]. Background language knowledge - knowledge of any of the realities of speaking and listening that are implied, but not explicitly give away the dialogue, and which are the basis of linguistic communication. Verbalization of background knowledge is an individual cognitive task and in every day conversation is not happening. The practical value of this concept lies in particular in that the foreign language should be based on the assimilation of cultural ideas (A.N. Kryukov, I.Y. Markovina).
The existence of common knowledge is a basic prerequisite for adequate communication when the communicants belong to different linguistic and cultural communities. The translator has to absorb a certain amount of background knowledge.
Attempts to describe background knowledge of a typical medium of the target language and culture have repeatedly been made both in foreign and Russian studies. So, a well-known concept of V.P. Furmanova, highlighting the following sections of the background knowledge that should be taught «cultural-linguistic» personality for successful communication in the situations of intercultural communication: 1) historical and cultural background, including information about the culture of the society in the process of its historical development; 2) socio-cultural background; 3) ethno-cultural background, including information about the life, traditions, holidays; 4) semiotic background that contains information about the symbols, notations, peculiarities of foreign language environment [11].
One of the most simple and easy models designed for the analysis of the specifics of the foreign culture, was proposed by H. Hamerly. Researcher highlights: 1) information (or factual) culture (knowledge of history, geography, general information, possessed by the typical representative of the society); 2) behavioral culture (the peculiarities of relations in society, norms, values, spoken formulas, body language); 3) traditional culture with «a capital» (art values) [14].
In the case of the cultural approach of the translator to the translation process actualizarea and used one of the social functions of language is cumulative. In this function, language serves as the connecting link between the generations, storage, and transmission medium extralinguistic collective experience, since language not only reflects contemporary culture but also records its previous state. The cumulative function is common to all linguistic units, however most clearly it manifests itself in vocabulary - in words, idioms, aphorisms (E.M. Vereshchagin; V.G. Kostomarov). According to this view the semantic structure of the nominative units of the language present extra-linguistic contents, which directly and immediately reflect the accepted language of the national culture. This part of the meaning of the word, dating back to the history, geography, traditions, folklore, in other words - the culture of the country, often called the national-cultural component, and nominative unit of language that contains such a component, called the vocabulary with national-cultural component of the semantics.
Analysis of the main provisions of the cultural competence of the translator leads to the conclusion that to achieve an adequate understanding between the communicants in situations of intercultural communication is impossible without knowledge of vocabulary with national-cultural component of the semantics.
Analysis of literature on intercultural competence allows to highlight the knowledge and skills that constitute the essence of cultural competence of a translator.
Under cultural competence, language personality, we mean the ability to exercise intercultural communication, based on knowledge of the lexical units with national-cultural
component of the semantics and skills adequate for their use in situations of intercultural communication, as well as the ability to use background knowledge for mutual understanding in situations of indirect and direct intercultural communication.
Thus, the analysis of the above aspects of the problem suggests that the cultural competence of the translator is a component of the professionally-communicative competence and includes in its structure:
1) basic background knowledge of a typical educated representative of the studied linguistic and cultural community, as well as the ability to use this knowledge to achieve mutual understanding in situations of indirect and direct intercultural communication;
2) knowledge of lexical units with national-cultural component values and the ability to adequately apply them in situations of intercultural communication.
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