Особенности переводческого перитекста (на основе перевода на русский язык труда по философской эстетике «Анализ красоты» Уильяма Хогарта)

Lyudmila B Boyko,Kristina S Chugueva,Alexandra K Gulina

doi:10.5922/10.5922/2225-5346-2021-1-2

Lyudmila B Boyko, Kristina S Chugueva + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.5922/10.5922/2225-5346-2021-1-2

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Abstract

Translation of philosophical texts is a special challenge because of specific philosophical idiom and conceptual complexity of the narrative. It is not surprising that such translations are often accompanied by commentaries where the translator steps out of the shadows to justify the translational decisions. This kind of supplementary text called the “translational peritext” is under study in this paper aiming to reveal the cognitive effort the translation process involves, and to explore the author-translator-reader relationship. The purpose of the article is to analyze paratextual elements in the translation of an essay on philosophical aesthetics in search of answers to three main questions: What does the translator choose to comment on, and why? What is specific about the role and function of translational peritext in philosophical artistic discourse? How do the commented translational decisions affect, if at all, the reader’s understanding of the author’s stance? The problem of revealing the translator’s agency, his/her motivations and decision-making is investigated on the basis of the essay Analysis of Beauty by the celebrated 18th century English artist William Hogarth — an influential philosophical treatise whose ideas have never lost their relevance. The paper starts with the brief account of the concept of paratext, its types and functions; it will then proceed to specificities of philosophical translation. In the main part of the article, the background information on the material under study precedes the analysis of the identified commented translational issues.

Highlights

The epigraph to this paper was chosen to inspire the discussion about the explicit means making the translator visible
A rare opportunity to show at least part of the cognitive effort the translation process involves is provided in annotated translations where comments and notes known as peritext are meant to elucidate key translational issues
We focus on the translational peritext of the 1987 annotated edition of the Russian translation of The Analysis of Beauty by the 18th century English painter William Hogarth — a treatise in which the celebrated artist emerges as philosopher and theoretician of art

Summary

Introduction

The epigraph to this paper was chosen to inspire the discussion about the explicit means making the translator visible. The translated text as the end-product of the translation process is only the tip of the iceberg, while the. A rare opportunity to show at least part of the cognitive effort the translation process involves is provided in annotated translations where comments and notes known as peritext are meant to elucidate key translational issues. The purpose of the paper is to show translational peritext as the end product of a complex cognitive activity aimed to bring the author closer to the reader and to allow profound insight into the mechanics of translation. We will discuss the translator’s agency in this specific interaction with the reader

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