Sergei Pshenitsyn | Herzen State University of Russia (original) (raw)

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Papers by Sergei Pshenitsyn

The results of experimental research to study factors that influence reception of a translated wo... more The results of experimental research to study factors that influence reception of a translated work, which, for its recipients in a target culture (TC), is, essentially, a fragment of a different culture, give strong evidence that readers in TC interpret translated texts in accordance with codes of TC.
The experiment was based on Chekhov’s play Uncle Vanya. The data of the questionnaire and interviews show very consistently that though the themes of the play seem to be of universal nature educated Americans who are not particularly familiar with Russian culture, on the one hand, and educated Russian readers of today, on the other hand, interpret the meaning of the play, make judgments about situations and the characters in the play in a very different way. This different reading of Uncle Vanya is largely determined by values and attitudes of American society, certain cultural stereotypes, cultural codes and readers’ expectations as to the plot, contents, and characters of a work of fiction.
Our experimental data on the interpretation and evaluation of Uncle Vanya by American and Russian readers indicate that the way the original text and its translation function in two different cultures suggests fundamental differences between the two texts. The reading of the play and its evaluation in the two cultures is so different that the original and its translation could be seen functionally as two different texts (which, in fact, materially they are). This effect is particularly striking since in the case of Uncle Vanya the text of the original does not contain any specific cultural terms that would prevent a reader of a different culture from understanding it or might force translators to resort to compensations or changes in the text; so we undoubtedly have a quality ‘translation proper’ and not an adaptation: all the propositional structures of the original text are present in the text of the translation, semantic correspondences are sufficiently accurate, and, functionally, both texts do belong to the same kind of discourse.
The experiment demonstrates that when translated a text is transferred into the context of intertextual relations of the TC, losing connection with the codes and texts of the culture where it was originally produced. This allows the phenomenon of translation to be seen as appropriation by the receiving culture. Readers’ cultural context, underlying cultural models of the TC determine to a large extent what meaning the readers construe when they read a work in translation (no doubt, this depends on the type of a translated text and its role in both cultures).
Cultural factors are crucial to an adequate understanding of the nature of translation and it is these cultural factors that account for the ‘translation paradox’: a translated text in the receiving culture bears the name of the original author and is taken to be an equivalent of the original though functionally it is, in fact, a different text

Political Correctness (PC) is a difficult issue for professional translators. It requires critic... more Political Correctness (PC) is a difficult issue for professional translators. It requires critical thinking on the part of the translator because there are no simple solutions. This is the reason why the problems and possibilities of PC translation can be a fascinatingly rich topic for discussion and practice with student translators. Deconstructing PC translation issues highlights the role of the translator as a cross-cultural mediator. This paper will discuss possible translation strategies in dealing with PC in translation from English into Russian and from Russian into English. One of the main conclusions in this paper is that the problems of PC translation demonstrate the complexity of relationships between language and culture and highlight the importance of integrating cultural aspects of translation into interpreter and translator training. Developing student translators as critical thinkers is a major approach to help them become professionals.

The results of experimental research to study factors that influence reception of a translated wo... more The results of experimental research to study factors that influence reception of a translated work, which, for its recipients in a target culture (TC), is, essentially, a fragment of a different culture, give strong evidence that readers in TC interpret translated texts in accordance with codes of TC.
The experiment was based on Chekhov’s play Uncle Vanya. The data of the questionnaire and interviews show very consistently that though the themes of the play seem to be of universal nature educated Americans who are not particularly familiar with Russian culture, on the one hand, and educated Russian readers of today, on the other hand, interpret the meaning of the play, make judgments about situations and the characters in the play in a very different way. This different reading of Uncle Vanya is largely determined by values and attitudes of American society, certain cultural stereotypes, cultural codes and readers’ expectations as to the plot, contents, and characters of a work of fiction.
Our experimental data on the interpretation and evaluation of Uncle Vanya by American and Russian readers indicate that the way the original text and its translation function in two different cultures suggests fundamental differences between the two texts. The reading of the play and its evaluation in the two cultures is so different that the original and its translation could be seen functionally as two different texts (which, in fact, materially they are). This effect is particularly striking since in the case of Uncle Vanya the text of the original does not contain any specific cultural terms that would prevent a reader of a different culture from understanding it or might force translators to resort to compensations or changes in the text; so we undoubtedly have a quality ‘translation proper’ and not an adaptation: all the propositional structures of the original text are present in the text of the translation, semantic correspondences are sufficiently accurate, and, functionally, both texts do belong to the same kind of discourse.
The experiment demonstrates that when translated a text is transferred into the context of intertextual relations of the TC, losing connection with the codes and texts of the culture where it was originally produced. This allows the phenomenon of translation to be seen as appropriation by the receiving culture. Readers’ cultural context, underlying cultural models of the TC determine to a large extent what meaning the readers construe when they read a work in translation (no doubt, this depends on the type of a translated text and its role in both cultures).
Cultural factors are crucial to an adequate understanding of the nature of translation and it is these cultural factors that account for the ‘translation paradox’: a translated text in the receiving culture bears the name of the original author and is taken to be an equivalent of the original though functionally it is, in fact, a different text

Political Correctness (PC) is a difficult issue for professional translators. It requires critic... more Political Correctness (PC) is a difficult issue for professional translators. It requires critical thinking on the part of the translator because there are no simple solutions. This is the reason why the problems and possibilities of PC translation can be a fascinatingly rich topic for discussion and practice with student translators. Deconstructing PC translation issues highlights the role of the translator as a cross-cultural mediator. This paper will discuss possible translation strategies in dealing with PC in translation from English into Russian and from Russian into English. One of the main conclusions in this paper is that the problems of PC translation demonstrate the complexity of relationships between language and culture and highlight the importance of integrating cultural aspects of translation into interpreter and translator training. Developing student translators as critical thinkers is a major approach to help them become professionals.