Mechanisms of Overcoming Cultural Barriers in Translating Headings of Media Articles on the Topic of COVID-19 (On the Material of English-Russian Translation of Media Articles of the UK and the U.S.)

Abstract

This report reveals the essence of the main translation strategies in the transfer of English-language headings into Russian, depending on the goals of cultural-pragmatic adaptation: the strategy of explication and the strategy of implication, as well as the accompanying translation techniques. The material presented in the report makes it possible to expand the understanding of the linguistic and cultural features of the translation of headings as the most influencing sources of information for society, especially in the era of COVID-19. Translation of headlines into another language and, accordingly, into a different linguocultural environment is a complex, multifaceted process due to the nature and characteristics of the headlines themselves, as well as due to the difference in their perception in different countries due to socio-political reasons.The purpose of the report is, firstly, to identify the peculiarities of the perception of headlines of news media articles on the topic of COVID-19 in the Russian and Anglo-Saxon linguistic cultures, and, secondly, to determine the main translation strategies and techniques used in the transfer of the influencing function of headings. The materials used were media articles not translated into Russian and their respective headings. Examples of translation are an illustration of the search by the author of this report for adequate translation solutions, depending on the chosen translation strategy - explication or implication of the original content.When translating headlines, we proceed from the need to ensure the equivalence of the potential reactions of readers of the original heading and readers of the translated heading, taking into account the difference in perception of the realities of the modern world and the political agenda. In this regard, translation from English is focused on the communicative potential of the Russian-speaking addressee, his national specifics, understanding and adequate interpretation of the text.Such an orientation requires, depending on the context, resorting to two main types of cultural and pragmatic adaptation: either to explicate the original content of the text (methods of concretization, addition, explanation), or to its leveling (methods of omission, generalization, replacement, search for neutral analogs).