Equivalence and adequacy when rendering axiological terms (by the example of the lexical unit “добро” (goodness; kindness; belongings) in German and English translations of F. M. Dostoevsky’s prose)

The article discusses the problem of equivalence and adequacy of translations of F. M. Dostoevsky’s prose based on two stories, “Notes from the House of the Dead” and “Notes from the Underground”. In the work, we consider the transfer in translation of the axiologeme “добро” (goodness; kindness; belongings) in its contextual environment. Researchers of Dostoevsky’s work have repeatedly noted its three-part nature: a plot triangle created by the relationship between God, man, and society. The word “добро” in Russian can refer to both the metaphysical (God) and the social (human being and society) aspects of existence, and the set of meanings of one lexeme in Russian covers the sphere of concepts verbalized in English and German by different lexemes. The aim of the study is to determine the degree of equivalence and adequacy of transmission in translations of both the semantics and pragmatics of the original texts. The study is novel in that it identifies the dependence of the qualitative assessment of the translation of axiologemes not only on the translator’s skill, but also on the lexical and semantic features of a particular language. The results of the study showed that for the German language, it is possible to achieve both an equivalent and an adequate translation, but it is practically impossible to achieve both at the same time for English.