Linguistic-Axiological Peculiarities of Fiction as a Translatological Issue (Based on Short Stories by Ghanaian Writer Ama Ata Aidoo)

The article is devoted to linguistic analysis of two short stories by Ghanaian writer Ama Ata Aidoo from the standpoint of linguistic axiology and translation studies. The research helps identify language and text markers of the author’s expressive means in 20 contexts taken from the short stories “For Whom Things Did not Change” and “Other Versions” from the short story collection “No Sweetness Here”. The axiologically filled contexts are identified based on the writer’s system of values as outlined by Russian and foreign literary critics. The research suggests that it is possible to delineate various language units functioning on all levels of the language – from phonology and graphics up to syntax. The axiologically marked units are then analysed from the perspective of translation studies in order to understand how the writer’s system of values can be expressed while translating her works into the Russian language. It is noteworthy that Ama Ata Aidoo uses a wide range of expressive means, often combining them, in order to convey her system of values. She also uses intertextual elements and titles for the same purpose. That said, the Russian translations of these short stories significantly transform the original texts, with some of these transformations being rather questionable. Nonetheless, the research makes it possible to assume that the system of transformations undertaken by translators helps them achieve the transmission of Ama Ata Aidoo’s values in Russian texts rather successfully.