PUNCTUATION AS A MEANS OF RENDERING GRAMMATICAL COHESIVE DEVICES IN ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS OF UKRAINIAN POSTMODERN TEXTS

Abstract

Cohesion as a structural and grammatical type of text connectivity is one of the main features of text linguistics. Traditionally, four ways of rendering grammatical cohesion are distinguished: co-reference, substitution, ellipsis, and parcellation. However, the grammatical cohesion of a text is also ensured by punctuation marks, because punctuation is also a system of units that serves as a means of connecting parts of the text. Using the descriptive (recording the most comprehensive information about an object) and comparative (describing a language through its systematic comparison with another language) methods, the article analyzes the peculiarities of reproduction in punctuation as a means of rendering grammatical cohesion in the translation of Yuriy Vynnychuk’s novel “Tango of Death” by Michael Naydan and Olha Tytarenko. There are two ways of rendering cohesive devices when comparing two texts: preservation of the means and their transformation. In order to maximize the approximation of the translated text to the original not only on the formal level but also on the perceptual level, the translator can transform the means of cohesion, motivated by both the differences in the grammatical systems of two languages and their own vision of the text. The article uses a four-level classification of translation transformations: rearrangement, replacement, addition, and omission. The most commonly used method of transformation is the replacement of punctuation marks. Most often, a translator replaces punctuation marks to “simplify” the text and divide large sentences into smaller ones. Also, to create a dramatic effect and maximize the impact on the reader, often conjunctions are separated by semicolons to show longer pauses in the writing. The main function of a translator is not just to reproduce the author’s ideas, but also to reflect the way they are embodied in the text, to convey the imagery of the original, its coherence and integrity. Punctuation marks are a guide to the correct reading of the text and the transmission of the author’s worldview.