On the art of literary translation: lexical transformations (based on M. Mitchell’s novel ‘Gone with the Wind’ and its translation into Russian)

Abstract

Lexical transformations are a necessary and essential tool a skilled literary translator should make active use of. The article deals with lexical transformations that have been most frequently resorted to in the translation of Margaret Mitchell’s novel ‘Gone with the Wind’ into Russian. In the paper the following transformations have been highlighted and commented on: addition, omission, substitution, modulation, metaphoric transformation, specification, and generalization. Besides, some cases of conveying wordplay in the process of translation have been observed. All the examples provided testify to the complexity and versatility of the process of literary translation.