The text under analysis is a short story "How My Friends Keep Me
Going" by an Australian writer of the 20th century,
Alan Marshall. It is an example of Belle-Lettres style, and the
substyle of emotive prose. The story is written in the 1st
person narrative containing 2 short dialogues rendered in direct
speech. The “I”-narrator is the protagonist of the story.
The story is written in a humorous tone, and the general mood is
facetious ([]
шутливый; комический; забавный, весёлый)
and slightly sympathetic. The story is tinged with irony,
namely the irony of situation (in which the events turn out to be the
reverse of what is expected and appropriate). The author's irony is
directed at the sort of “friends” whose advice often appears to
be not quite helpful.
The
title is related to the events of the story, and also conveys ironic
suggestions (in this case apart from the irony of situation, verbal
irony is employed). It can be translated as: «Как друзья
укрепляют мое здоровье». The
word combination “to keep going” which is reiterated throughout
the text is used in a figurative, contextual meaning. It stands to
reason, that this fact should be taken into consideration by the
translator.
The
author enhances the desired effect with the help of gradation as the
compositional stylistic device. The narration is crowned by the
inference which is stated in the last sentence: “Keeping going
is too dangerous”.
One
can identify the following key words which are important for the
understanding of the theme and idea of the literary work: to keep
going - укреплять
здоровье; my friends
– мои друзья;
to recommend – советовать,
рекомендовать;
digestive powder - порошок,
способствующий
пищеварению; liver
oil – рыбий жир,
etc.
The
vocabulary is mostly neutral with the sprinkling of colloquial words
(eg.: a chap; to keep going). The contracted forms are used in
the dialogues. The syntax of the dialogues is quite simple, the short
sentences prevail. These features give the dialogues a lively spoken
character. In the target-language text we should employ the
compensation technique and use some colloquial forms. For
instance in the
following sentences:
Тебе нужно есть побольше
сырой печенки; Не многовато
ли?
Besides, in order to achieve the same humorous effect
as in the original, the translator might use emphatization: I
don’t like the taste of raw liver. - Ненавижу
сырую печенку;
Well! I must
have slept.
- Черт возьми! Ну и спал же я!
Moreover,
sentence fragmentation is frequently employed in the translation so
that the TL text is adapted to the norms of the Russian language.
The
cultural element of humour should not be overlooked. In
this story the treatment methods and remedies (tonic, raw liver,
digestive powders) are not quite typical for the receiving culture.
In the given passage we come across a cultural reference concerning
hat etiquette of a gentleman which the narrator’s friends used to
neglect. Perhaps these details seem more vivid and symbolic in the
perception of source text readers. Therefore, the ways of translation
may involve compensation and emphatization.
Even
though it is important to be aware of cultural differences with
regard to humour, in the end, most people laugh about the same
things.
To
sum up, the highly efficient use of the stylistic devices and the
above mentioned peculiarities of the given text enable the author to
produce a humorous effect on the reader. Thus, the translator’s
strategy should take into account the ways of conveying irony as the
dominant of translation.