LINGUOPOETICS AND CULTURAL CODES: FEATURES OF TRANSLATING ABAI QUNANBAIULY‟S WORKS INTO TURKIC LANGUAGES
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Anahtar Kelimeler:
literary translation, linguopoetics, cultural codes, Abai Kunanbayev, Turkic languages, translation strategies.Özet
This study examines the complex interplay between linguopoetics and cultural codes in the translation of Abai Kunanbayev‘s foundational works across Turkic languages. As a seminal figure in Kazakh literature, Abai‘s texts present unique challenges for translators due to their rich poetic devices, philosophical depth, and cultural specificity. The research investigates how different Turkic-language translations preserve – or distort – the original‘s linguopoetic features (rhythm, metaphor, syntactic parallelism) and embedded cultural semantics (nomadic concepts, Islamic references, and Kazakh oral traditions).
Using a comparative analysis of translations into Uzbek, Turkish, and Tatar, the paper identifies three key translation strategies: domestication (adapting content to target cultures), foreignization (preserving source-culture elements), and hybrid approaches. Special attention is given to culturally marked lexemes – such as zhyr (heroic epic) and tamyr (ancestral roots) – whose semantic fields shift across Turkic variants. The methodology combines corpus linguistics (frequency analysis of poetic formulae) with hermeneutic interpretation of translator choices.
Findings reveal that: Syntactic structures proving most resistant to translation are those mirroring Kazakh oral recitation patterns; Translations into closely related Turkic languages (e.g., Tatar) retain more morphological parallelism than distant ones (e.g., Turkish); 19th-century Islamic terminology undergoes either neutralization or explanatory compensation in modern versions. The study contributes to debates about cultural untranslatability while proposing a ―Turkic literary translation framework‖ that prioritizes: metrical correspondence over strict rhyme, ethno-cultural glossing, and paratextual commentary.
These insights problematize the assumption of Turkic linguistic kinship, ensuring translation fidelity, demonstrating how even cognate languages require active cultural mediation. The research draws on archival materials from the Abai Studies Center (Almaty) and digital corpora of Turkic translations (1980–2020), offering new methodological approaches for analyzing literary transfer within language families.
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