The Translation of the Poem «Gori, Zvezda Moya, ne Padaj…» by S. Esenin Made by A.S. Vagapov (English) and P. Celan (German): Comparative Study

When we see a translation of an imaginative writing, we rarely question how the translator managed to convey the author’s intentions, and most importantly, reveal his emotions. Language acts as a mirror of culture. It reveals not only the world of the author himself, but also the self-awareness of the nation with its customs and traditions. Therefore, the translator has to complete a very important task — to put into words not only the soul of the author, but also his picture of the world. In this context, by comparing the original text with translations and analyzing the means of artistic expression, we identified and substantiated the differences in translation through the prism of national identity and the capabilities of the language itself. The target of research is to determine the features of the transmission of characteristic linguo-stylistic and cultural differences presented in language of the original text and translations. In order to solve the problems, we used the method of comparative analysis, thanks to which the lingual stylistic means used in the translations of Sergei Yesenin’s poem «Gori, zvezda moya, ne padaj…» in German and English were correlated, their common and distinctive features were identified, and the need of transformations in translation was justified. The scientific novelty of the work is determined by the fact that the comparative analysis of the translations made by a native speaker and a representative of another national group was conducted for the first time, which made it possible to identify the main constituents in the differences in the worldviews of representatives of different nations and the ways of their representation in translation. The result of the comparative analysis is confirmation of the fact that in P.Celan’s translation and in A.S. Vagapov’s translation we can observe cultural differences, which are associated with the differences in national consciousness and the absence of culture-specific elements. In addition, we note that due to the common cultural code and belonging to the same culture, the translation made by A.S. Vagapov preserved more cultural realities, and conveyed S. Yesenin’s psychological state and references to his personal life.