A Comparative Study of English and Russian Translations of Poetic Figures in Kutadgu Bilig from the Perspective of Readers' Acceptance

This study critically evaluates the translations of poetic figures in Kutadgu Bilig (Wisdom of Royal Glory), a foundational work of Turkic-Islamic literature, with a particular emphasis on the manner in which these figures are captured in the English and Russian translations. The study looks at the cultural and linguistic elements that affect how readers understand the text, using reception theory as a guide (Jauss, 1982; Iser, 1978). It looks at how the translation methods used by Robert Dankoff (English, 1983) and Sergei Ivanov (Russian, 1971) are different and how these methods affect how readers perceive and enjoy metaphors, parallelism, symbolism, allegory, and personification. The results indicate that Russian translations are more faithful to the original since they are closer to the culture, while English translations focus on being clear and easy to understand rather than being rich in style. The article suggests using hybrid translation methods that strike a compromise between being true to the original text and being for readers to understand.

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Publication Details

Journal
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Published
2025-05-29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15540891
Primary Topic
Translation Studies and Practices
Type
article
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article

A Comparative Study of English and Russian Translations of Poetic Figures in Kutadgu Bilig from the Perspective of Readers' Acceptance

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Translation Studies and Practices
article

A Comparative Study of English and Russian Translations of Poetic Figures in Kutadgu Bilig from the Perspective of Readers' Acceptance

article en

Abstract

This study critically evaluates the translations of poetic figures in Kutadgu Bilig (Wisdom of Royal Glory), a foundational work of Turkic-Islamic literature, with a particular emphasis on the manner in which these figures are captured in the English and Russian translations. The study looks at the cultural and linguistic elements that affect how readers understand the text, using reception theory as a guide (Jauss, 1982; Iser, 1978). It looks at how the translation methods used by Robert Dankoff (English, 1983) and Sergei Ivanov (Russian, 1971) are different and how these methods affect how readers perceive and enjoy metaphors, parallelism, symbolism, allegory, and personification. The results indicate that Russian translations are more faithful to the original since they are closer to the culture, while English translations focus on being clear and easy to understand rather than being rich in style. The article suggests using hybrid translation methods that strike a compromise between being true to the original text and being for readers to understand.

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Qilu University of Technology (CN)
Quality Education
Openalex Percentile: Top 51%
Translation Studies and Practices
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