STRATEGIES FOR TRANSLATING METAPHORS IN A LITERARY TEXT (BASED ON IRIS MURDOCH’S NOVEL “THE BLACK PRINCE”)

Abstract

The paper analyses the existing classifications of the strategies of translation, proposes a new classification of the strategies of translation for metaphors and using it, conducts quantitative and qualitative analyses of the strategies for translating metaphors selected by Yelena Daskal in the process of translating “The Black Prince” by Iris Murdoch, accenting the degree of effectiveness. The quantity of metaphors selected from the original demonstrated the high degree of imagery characteristic of Iris Murdoch’s prose, and the defining of the emotional and expressive functions of these metaphors showed their important role in revealing the characters’ emotional states, world outlook and relations with the environment. The quantitative analysis of the strategies used by Yelena Daskal showed that of 210 metaphors selected from the original, of which according to P. Newmark’s classification 136 were original metaphors and 74 were standard metaphors, 146 metaphors (45 standard metaphors and 101 original metaphors) were translated by the strategy of preserving the metaphorical image the author used which allowed to preserve fully the author’s intention and the emotional and expressive functions of these metaphors testifying to the effectiveness of this strategy. The strategy of paraphrasing without losing the originality of the metaphor (changing the image used by the author for another original, more familiar to the target language readers image) was used 23 times; the strategy of paraphrasing a metaphor losing originality (changing an original metaphor for a standard one) was used only twice; the explication of the metaphor was used 9 times (6 for standard metaphors and 3 for original metaphors); the strategy of replacing one standard metaphor with another standard metaphor occurred 16 times; the strategy of replacing a standard metaphor with an original metaphor occurred 3 times and only one metaphor was omitted. It should be pointed out that Yelena Daskal’s careful selection of the most suitable strategy for each metaphor provided not only the preservation of the author’s style but also the full revealing of the heroes’ characters. The analysis of the strategies used by Yelena Daskal and of the achieved results showed the preservation of the ethnocultural peculiarities of the characters and the translator’s interest in foreignization to draw the reader into the world of the characters and the author’s worldview.