The Translatability of Negative Structures with Sociolectal and Stylistic Value
The Translatability of Negative Structures with Sociolectal and Stylistic Value
The study presented in this paper is part of a comprehensive research investigating various (often deviant) structures occurring in the literary dialogue and substantially contributing to the construction of literary heroes’ identities, which needs to be preserved in translation. However, differences in structural configurations between English and Romanian might raise serious problems in translation. The particular problem that this paper addresses is the contrastiveness and translatability from English into Romanian of negative structures which carry additional values of sociolectal or stylistic nature. The overall objectives of the research have been (i) to identify deviant negative structures in the literary dialogue, (ii) to analyze them contrastively and (iii) to try and find optimal translation solutions. The selection of the negative structures from literary works of fiction in English is grounded on their relevance for the shaping of the personal and social identities of the heroes using them in the dialogue. The analysis of some categories of English negative structures is followed by findings and conclusions referring to contrastive aspects of negatives in English and Romanian. Means of compensation are also suggested for the cases when the lack of formal equivalence between the two languages affects the preservation of the sociolectal or stylistic values in translation.
Keywords: translation, negation, literary dialogue, sociolect, stylistic value
