Abstract

The aim of this study is to reveal the interrelation between the national character of the comic, its cognitive mechanisms and the choice of the strategy while representing the comic in Ukrainian translations of J. K. Jerome’s and O. Henry’s flash fiction. First, using the methodological principles of Linguoculturology, we determine how sociocultural context influenced the British and American authors’ consciousness which determined the cultural aspect of their individual worldview and the specifics of their sense of humour. Then we identified the comically marked contexts in J. K. Jerome’s and O. Henry’s flash fiction using the methodology of linguopoetic research, and revealed the features of incongruity as the cognitive mechanisms of the comic in their works applying the methods of cognitive linguistics. At the final stage, we performed the translation analysis of the distinguished comically marked contexts evaluating the strategies used for representing the comic in Ukrainian translation.
 The analysis of the research material elucidates the following conclusions. The cultural background of the British or American writer determines the specifics of incongruity (logical, notional, valorative and ontological) as the cognitive mechanisms of the comic embodied in their flash fiction which, in its turn, strongly influences the choice of the translation strategy. The comic in J. K. Jerome’s fiction is represented in Ukrainian translations mostly by using the strategies of preservation and localization, while O. Henry’s humour is rendered by using localization and addition. Hence, the strategies of representing the comic in Ukrainian translation highly depend on the comic pictures of the world of the author and the target reader.

Highlights

  • IntroductionThe comic is an integral part of many spheres of human existence

  • Theoretical BackgroundThe comic is an integral part of many spheres of human existence

  • The aim of this study is to reveal how the specifics of incongruity creating the comic influence the choice of the strategy while representing it in Ukrainian translations of J

Read more

Summary

Introduction

The comic is an integral part of many spheres of human existence. Despite the centuries-old history, the phenomenon of the comic continues to be actively researched in culture studies (Nolan, 2001), literature studies (Mints, 1988), and linguistic studies (Krikmann, 2005). The high degree of interest to the problem causes the spectral heterogeneity of aspects, approaches and views on the essence of the comic in the light of the latest scientific paradigms, including the cognitive one. Taking into account the complex nature of the comic, it is fair to assume that it is impossible to achieve an adequate description of this category by using only linguistic methods. It is supposed that the cognitive approach is very efficient in the study of the comic implementation in fiction since it helps to understand the distinctive features of humour

Objectives
Methods
Conclusion

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.