Invariant and Variability Boundaries as Indicators of the Translation Adequacy (Exemplified by Contemporary American Prose)

Abstract

The object of the study is the novel "The Collector" by the American writer Nora Roberts. Interrelation of the contents’ meaning invariant and its variability inevitably springing up in the fiction translation process due to linguistic as well as extra-linguistic factors is analytically considered. Special heed is paid to the transcendence of the admissible or «tolerated» variability which is bound not only to infringe the translation invariant, but also to distort the original contents’ meaning as well as its distinctive stylistic features. Examples in the form of textual excerpts borrowed from the original and its published translation are compared and juxtaposed on the basis of the detailed linguistic examination of the voluntary deviations from the original made up by the translator both involuntarily, i.e. erroneously, and deliberately. They consist mostly either of the source text’s contents omission or introduction of his/her personal dysfunctional, redundant, and completely unjustified additional information to the target text. The examples are mainly classified according to the factors causing either the variability of the source text or its meaning’s distortion as well as to the effectiveness of various means aimed to protect the translation invariant. In most cases, the authors suggest their own equivalent versions of either omitted or distorted original’s excerpts as appropriate contextual correspondences. The authors conclude that such excessive variability in the translation of the novel into Russian distorted the general meaning of the original, changed its semantics and stylistics.