Unit:
Specialty Translation: Greek, English, RussianLibrary of the School of Philosophy
Author:
Kostaragkou Maria
Supervisors info:
Τατιάνα Μπορίσοβα, Αναπληρώτρια Καθηγήτρια, Τμήμα Σλαβικών Σπουδών, Φιλοσοφική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Όλγα Αλεξανδροπούλου, Αναπληρώτρια Καθηγήτρια, Τμήμα Σλαβικών Σπουδών, Φιλοσοφική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Μαρία Σιδηροπούλου, Αφυπηρετήσασα Καθηγήτρια, Τμήμα Αγγλικής Γλώσσας και Φιλολογίας, Φιλοσοφική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Original Title:
Αναπαράσταση της κοινωνικής τάξης και της ταυτότητας του φύλου στο διήγημα του Ντοστογιέφσκι «Το Χριστουγεννιάτικο δέντρο και ο γάμος» και η σύγκρισή με ελληνικές και αγγλικές μεταφράσεις
Translated title:
Social class and gender representation in Dostoyevsky's short story ''A Christmas tree and a wedding'' and the comparison with Greek and English translations
Summary:
Social class and gender identity are considered to be the backbone of contemporary
anthropology and linguistics. The dissertation attempts to approach these phenomena
in their cross-cultural and cross-temporal dimension through analyzing Dostoyevsky's
heroes' identities within translations. To be more specific, it aims to examine
representations of social class and gender identity through Fyodor Mikhailovich
Dostoevsky's story «Елка и свадьба» (The Christmas Tree and Wedding), which was
published in 1848. Based on five Greek (Theodoros Vellianitis (1886), Georgios
Simeriotis (1989), Eleni Bakopoulou (2003), Sophia Argyropoulou (2005), Jenny
Kousounelou (2022) and two English (Constance Garnett (1917), Thomas Seltzer
(1918)) translations, we analyzed translation differences that occurred in these texts.
The identified differences seem to affect the original text and the meaning Dostoevsky
wants to convey to the reading public, particularly on issues related to social and
gender identities. The methodology announces the analysis of primary material
(excerpts of translations compared to the original text) as well as secondary material
based on results of a questionnaire completed by native speakers of Greek language
(see Appendix).
7
The analysis presents significant differences in terms of gender identity and social
class due to the different cultural background each society has, the different period in
which the translations appeared and last but not least the translator's gender and
personality. We observed substantial differences in English translations regarding
social class representation and the impact of a relatively low power distance in society.
Greek translations varied depending on the time they were written. Additionally, the
translator's gender significantly influenced how gender discrimination was depicted.
The dissertation consists of five (5) chapters, a bibliographical list and an appendix.
The first chapter provides information about the author and his work in the field of
literature, the translators, while it also analyzes the story's plot and its characters. The
second chapter gives an extensive review of the theory of the above social phenomena
by examining relevant scientific material, whereas the third chapter contains the
methodology of the research. In the fourth chapter, we provide data analysis and
comments on the findings of the questionnaire, while the last chapter summarizes the
main conclusions of the research. The results of the study improve understanding of
intercultural differences, shed light on the role of translation in intercultural dialogue
and are of interest for translation studies, comparative pragmatics and intercultural
anthropology.
Main subject category:
Language – Literature
Keywords:
F. Dostoevsky, "The Christmas Tree and the Wedding", English and Greek translations of Russian literature, social class, gender, identity
