A Comparative Study of Colour Terms in Ttranslations of the New Testament into Macedonian and Albanian

Abstract

The article considers the colour terms present in the New Testament in the Macedonian and Albanian languages. The characteristic features of the translation are determined by both the cultural unity and the lexical systems of the Balkan languages under consideration. Among the few contexts using colour terms, most are translated equally. This can be explained by both objective reasons (natural colour of objects) and general connotations attributed to the main colours of the spectrum. The attention of this study is focused primarily on the places in the text where different translation decisions have been made. However, it is impossible not to mention the most characteristic general features of colour term use in the New Testament in the Macedonian and Albanian languages. The study indicates the thoroughness of the work done by translators, who, considering the peculiarities of the colour term vocabulary of their language, sought to maximize the use of the lexical system in order to extremely accurately and easily convey the meaning of the original text. The connotations of the colour terms found in the text are mostly the same in the cultures and target languages under discussion. However, there are cases of using different lexemes in the same context in different places in the book. The similarities and differences in translations into Macedonian and Albanian help to understand how similar Balkan cultures see the New Testament and what they highlight as the most significant.