Vol. 6 No. 1(11) (2026)

Articles

• Articles

  From the History of Translations of Kazakh Literature into Armenian

  Alexander Safaryan, Naira Poghosyan, Arman Safaryan

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  Abstract

  The article examines the history of the translation of works by Kazakh authors (both classics and contemporaries) and examples of oral folklore into Armenian across the Soviet and post-Soviet periods. During the Soviet era, works by Makhambet Utemisov (1804-1846), Ybrai Altynsarin (1841-1889), Abai Kunanbayev (1845-1904), Jambyl Jabayev (1846–1945), Gabit Musrepov (1902–1985), Anuar Alimzhanov (1930–1993), Ilyas Yesenberlin (1915–1983) and Mukhtar Auezov (1897–1961) were translated, as well as works by other Kazakh poets and prose writers representing the then-dominant artistic movement of socialist realism. The initiators of these translations into Armenian were the celebrated classics of 20^th-century Armenian literature: Silva Kaputikyan, Gevorg Emin, and Paruyr Sevak. Following the declaration of independence by Armenia and Kazakhstan, the centuries-old Armenian-Kazakh cultural ties entered a new stage of development. It then became possible to translate and publish in Armenian works that were censored during the Soviet era, including the poetry of Kazakh zhyraus (folk bards) and the works of Shakarim, Magzhan Zhumabayev, and Akhmet Baitursynov. Significant publications include the fundamental Anthology of Kazakh Literature (2019), a new edition of Mukhtar Auezov’s epic novel The Path of Abai, the first translation of Abai’s philosophical prose, Kara Sozder (The Book of Words, 2020), and the first collection of Kazakh Folk Tales (2023) in the Armenian language. Furthermore, through comparative textual analysis and an examination of literary-critical approaches to the Soviet and post-Soviet periods, the article elucidates the methodological aspects of selecting themes (reflecting a shift away from the predominance of translations of Socialist Realist works aimed exclusively at glorifying the Soviet system toward introducing Armenian readers to the works of authors repressed during the Stalinist period) and texts for translation, as well as the nuances involved in the accurate transmission of the national values and Eastern figurative system crystallized in the Kazakh originals to Armenian readers through literary translation.

  References

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  Auezov, Mukhtar. 1952. Abai. Translated by Hrant Borozanyan. Yerevan: Haypethrat. [in Armenian].

  ———. 1988. Krakotsʻ leṛnantsqum (zhoghovatsu) [Shot in the Mountain Pass (Collection)]. Translated by Elya Masumyan. Yerevan: Sovetakan grogh. [in Armenian].

  Auezova, Leyla. 1972. Avtobiografiya: M. Auezov v vospominaniyakh sovremennikov [Autobiography. M. Auezov in the Memoirs of His Contemporaries]. Almaty: Jazushi [in Russian].

  ———. 1997. Istoriya Kazakhstana v tvorchestve M. Auezova [The History of Kazakhstan in the Works of M. Auezov]. Almaty: Sanat [in Russian].

  Babayan, Vardges (comp. and ed.). 1968. Ghazakh banasteghtsner [Kazakh Poets]. 1968. Yerevan. Hayastan. [in Armenian].

  Esembeṛlin, Ilyas. 1984. Siraharnerě [The Lovers]. Translated by Artashes Krkyasharyan. Yerevan: Sovetakan Grogh. [in Armenian].

  ———. 1989. Voske Horda [The Golden Fleece]. Translated by Arzuman Khotsanyan. Yerevan: Hayastan [in Armenian].

  Hrachyan, Khachik, comp. and ed. 1952. Margaritner: SSRM zhoghovurdneri heqiatner [Pearls: Fairy Tales of the Peoples of the USSR]. Yerevan: Haypethrat. [in Armenian].

  Jambul. 1938. Erger ev poemner [Songs and Poems]. Translated by Gevorg Abov. Yerevan: State Publishing House [in Armenian]. Accessed January 17, 2026. https://haygirk.nla.am/upload/1512-1940/1901-1940/jambul_yerger_¬1938.pdf?-__¬cf¬_chl_f_tk=mMapnPPXs.XvIxYXTGsM0c6BHPL9EiGnSyfrvwQEHRw-1783003¬670-1.0.1.1-EtvnNw5fnzzVLc1lg4lJUGfyfkOxvP._Oi9auLzs0jA

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  Kunanbayev, Abai. 1970. Hatěntir. banasteghtsutyunner [Selected Works: Poems]. Translated by Artashes Poghosyan et al. Yerevan. [in Armenian].

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  ———. 2020. Sev khosk’er [Black Words]. Translated by Alexander Safaryan, Varoujan Khastur, and Arman Safaryan. Yerevan: “Bzez” Publishing House. [in Armenian].

  Miller, Frank J. 1990. Folklore for Stalin: Russian Folklore and Pseudofolklore of the Stalin Era. Armonk, New York: M. E. Sharpe, Inc.

  Mousrepov, Gabit. 1980. Mek angam ev amboghj kyanqum [Once and for All]. Yerevan. [in Armenian].

  Safaryan, Alexander. 2004. “Ziya Gökalp on National Education.” Iran and the Caucasus 8(2): 219–229. Brill.

  ———. 2007. “On the History of Turkish Feminism.” Iran and the Caucasus 11(1): 141–151. Brill.

  ———. 2020. “Iz istorii armyano-kazakhskikh kul'turnykh svyazey” [From the History of Armenian–Kazakh Cultural Ties]. Prostor 2: 162–173. [in Russian].

  Safaryan, Alexander, and Lusine Sahakyan. 2016. “Armyano-kypchakskie rukopisi —istochniki izucheniya istorii tyurkskikh yazykov” [Armenian-Kipchak Manuscripts as Sources for the Study of the History of Turkic Languages]. In Rossiya — Tyurksko-musul'manskiy mir: Istoriko-kul'turnye svyazi, 168–176. Kazan–Yelabuga. [in Russian].

  Simonyan, Aram, Alexander Safaryan, and Lusine Sahakyan. 2022. “‘Grammatika kypchakskogo yazyka,’ vklyuchennaya v armyanskiy manuskript (Matenadaran, ruk. No. 3522), sozdannyy vo L'vove v XVII veke” [‘Grammar of the Kipchak Language,’ Included in an Armenian Manuscript (Matenadaran, Manuscript No. 3522) Produced in Lviv in the Seventeenth Century]. Hayagitutyan Hartser [Issues of Armenian Studies] 2(26): 213–235. [in Russian].

  Syzdykova, Zhuldiz. 2006. “Osobennosti tsivilizatsionnogo faktora i rol' istoricheskogo naslediya v Tsentral'no-Aziatskom regione” [Features of the Civilisational Factor and the Role of Historical Heritage in the Central Asian Region]. Meyeriana 2: 187–233. [in Russian].

  Tyan, Valentin. 2011. “Evolyutsiya vlasti i liberalizatsiya obshchestvennoy i kul'turnoy zhizni v SSSR v period khrushchevskoy ‘ottepeli’” [The Evolution of Power and the Liberalisation of Social and Cultural Life in the USSR during the Khrushchev ‘Thaw’]. Vlast’ [Power], 139–142. [in Russian].

  Ustinkin, Sergey, Vladimir Belous, and Boris Ginzburg. 2012. “Vlast' i obshchestvo v period khrushchevskoy ‘ottepeli’ (1953–1964 gg.)” [Power and Society during the Khrushchev ‘Thaw’ (1953–1964)]. Otechestvennyy opyt [National Experience], 129–133. [in Russian].

  Vardapetyan, Arpik (comp. and ed.). 1968. Ghazakhakan patmvatsqner [Kazakh Short Stories]. Yerevan: Hayastan. [in Armenian].

  Witt, Susanna. 2013. “The Shorthand of Empire: Podstrochnik Practices and the Making of Soviet Literature.” Ab Imperio 3: 155–190.

  Zemskova, Elena. 2017. “Soviet Folklore as Translation Project: The Case of Tvorchestvo narodov SSSR, 1937.” In Translation in Russian Contexts: Culture, Politics, Identity, edited by Brian James Baer and Susanna Witt, 175–189. London: Routledge.

• Articles

  Armenian-Arabic Translation Interactions in Syria in the Context of Cultural Identity, Historical Memory and Dialogue

  Ani Fishenkjian (Fchnkjian), Knarik Petrosyan, Edik Minasyan

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  Abstract

  As a multiethnic and multicultural country, Syria has historically served as an important environment for the coexistence of the Armenian and Arab peoples. Diaspora communities formed in the post-genocide years, particularly in Syria, had not only to survive but also to preserve their cultural identity and their desire for dialogue. Therefore, translation became a key tool, creating a space for communication and self-expression across languages. The dialogue between Armenian and Arab writers, reflected in numerous translations, contributed to mutual understanding, the reassessment of historical memory, and the deepening of cultural contacts. The aim of this study is to systematize, propose a periodization of, and present the prerequisites for the prosperity and rise of translated literature from Armenian into Arabic and from Arabic into Armenian in Syria, particularly during the 1970s–1990s, focusing on its historical, cultural, and political dimensions. In addressing this topic, we seek to understand how Armenian–Arabic translation interactions have influenced the development of Armenian–Arabic social life and political thought. The study also seeks to highlight the role of Armenian–Arabic translation literature in Armenian–Syrian relations, arguing that it has played an important role in establishing dialogue between the two peoples and has further expanded Armenian–Arabic relations.

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  ———. (creator). 1970. “Spyurqahay kyanq. Mshakutayin ev hasarakakan kyanqy Spyurqum (1969 t. hulis-dektember)” [The Life of Diaspora Armenians: Cultural and Social Life in the Diaspora (1969. July-December)]. Patmabanasirakan Handes [Historical and Philological Journal] 1 (48): 245-249. Yerevan. [in Armenian]. Accessed January 11, 2026. https://arar.sci.am/dlibra/publication/188870/edition/171500/content

  ———. (creator). 1971. “Spyurqahay kyanq. Mshakutayin ev hasarakakan kyanqy Spyurqum (1970 t. hulis-dektember)” [The Life of Diaspora Armenians: Cultural and Social Life in the Diaspora (1970. July-December)]. Patmabanasirakan Handes [Historical and Philological Journal] 1 (52): 255-259. Yerevan. [in Armenian]. Accessed January 17, 2026. https://arar.sci.am/dlibra/publication/188993/edition/¬171614/content

  ———. (creator). 1971. “Spyurqahay kyanq. Mshakutayin ev hasarakakan kyanqy Spyurqum (1971 t. hunvar-hunis)” [The Life of Diaspora Armenians: Cultural and Social Life in the Diaspora (1971. January-June)]. Patmabanasirakan Handes [Historical and Philological Journal] 3 (54): 263-266. Yerevan. [in Armenian]. Accessed January 17, 2026. https://arar.sci.am/dlibra/publication/189066/edition/¬171683/content

  ———. (creator). 1973. “Spyurqahay kyanq. Mshakutayin ev hasarakakan kyanqy Spyurqum (1972 t. hulis- dektember)” [The Life of Diaspora Armenians: Cultural and Social Life in the Diaspora (1972 July-December)]. Patmabanasirakan Handes [Historical and Philological Journal] 1 (60): 275-278. Yerevan. [in Armenian]. Accessed January 17, 2026. https://arar.sci.am/dlibra/publication/¬189270/¬edition/¬171873/content

  ———. (creator). 1975. “ Spyurqahay kyanq. Mshakutayin ev hasarakakan kyanqy Spyurqum (1974 t. hunvar-dektember)” [The Life of Diaspora Armenians: Cultural and Social Life in the Diaspora (1974. January-December]. Patmabanasirakan Handes [Historical and Philological Journal] 1 (68): 217-220. Yerevan. [in Armenian]. Accessed March 11, 2026. https://arar.sci.am/dlibra/publication/¬189548/¬¬edition/¬172133/content

  ———. (creator). 1977. “Spyurqahay kyanq. Mshakutayin ev hasarakakan kyanqy Spyurqum (1976 t. hunvar-dektember)” [The Life of Diaspora Armenians: Cultural and Social Life in the Diaspora (1976. January-December]. Patmabanasirakan Handes [Historical and Philological Journal] 1 (77): 255-259. Yerevan. [in Armenian]. Accessed March 11, 2026. https://arar.sci.am/dlibra/publication/¬189829/¬edition/¬172392/content

  ———. (creator). 1978. “Spyurqahay kyanq. Mshakutayin ev hasarakakan kyanqy Spyurqum (1977 t. hunvar-dektember)” [The Life of Diaspora Armenians: Cultural and Social Life in the Diaspora (1977. January-December]. Patmabanasirakan Handes [Historical and Philological Journal] 1 (80): 259-264. Yerevan. [in Armenian]. Accessed March 11, 2026. https://arar.sci.am/dlibra/publication/¬189968/¬edition/172522/content

  Vardanyan, (Deroyan), Nvard. (creator). 1988. “Spyurqahay kyanq. Mshakutayin ev hasarakakan kyanqy Spyurqum (1987 t.)” [The Life of Diaspora Armenians: Cultural and Social Life in the Diaspora (1987) Patmabanasirakan Handes [Historical and Philological Journal] 1 (120): 210-218. Yerevan. [in Armenian]. Accessed March 20, 2026. https://arar.sci.am/dlibra/publication/-191306/¬edition/¬173762/content

  Zorian, Yervand. 1977. “Daniel Varujhan” [Daniel Varoujan]. Barperatert, Bulletin of the Armenian Catholic Prelacy, 35-37. January-December, Aleppo. [in Armenian]. Accessed May 25, 2026. https://tert.nla.am/archive/NLA%20AMSAGIR/¬katoxparbH/1977(1-12)_ocr.pdf

  ———. 1977. “Grakan batsarik erekoy my nuiruats ardzakagir Liusi Sulaheani” [An Exceptional Literary Evening Dedicated to Prose Writer Lucy Soulahian]. Barperatert, Bulletin of the Armenian Catholic Prelacy, 23-28. January-December. Aleppo. [in Armenian]. Accessed May 25, 2026. https://tert.nla.am/archive/¬NLA%20AMSAGIR/¬katoxparbH/1977(1-12)_ocr.pdf

• Articles

  Reflections on the Interpreter’s Status in Michael Frayn’s The Russian Interpreter

  Antony Hoyte-West

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  Abstract

  Offering an external and fictional perspective on interpreting in the Soviet Union, this article involves a close reading of Michael Frayn’s prize-winning 1966 novel, The Russian Interpreter. The study focuses on the changing status of Paul Manning, a British postgraduate student in Moscow who is originally called on to provide commercial interpreting services for a visiting British businessman, Gordon Proctor-Gould. However, Manning’s role and remit evolve as his position as an interpreter expands to blend Proctor-Gould’s professional activities with his complicated personal life. After contextualising the necessary background on fictional translators and on Frayn and his novel, this article first foregrounds the method in which Manning was recruited, before examining how the interpreter deals with the blurring of professional and personal spheres. Finally, it profiles an example of a disastrous interpreting performance, noting the implications for Manning’s status as a practitioner.

  References

  Akgün, Yaşar, and Nihal Yetkin Karakoç. 2024. “The Different Aspects of Diplomatic Mediation: The Extralinguistic Motives of Having an Interpreter in the Diplomatic Settings.” İletişim ve Diplomasi [Communication and Diplomacy] 12: 75-89. https://doi.org/10.54722/iletisimvediplomasi.1488687

  Andres, Dörte. 2008. Dolmetscher als literarische Figuren: Von Identitätsverlust, Dilettantismus und Verrat. Peter Lang.

  Arrojo, Rosemary. 2017. Fictional Translators: Rethinking Translation through Literature. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315738727

  Baer, Brian James. 2005. “Translating the Transition: The Translator-Detective in Post-Soviet Fiction.” Linguistica Antverpiensia, New Series 4: 243-254. https://doi.org/10.52034/lanstts.v4i.139

  ———. 2014. “Interpreting Daniel Stein: Or What Happens When Fictional Translators Get Translated.” In Transfiction, edited by Klaus Kaindl and Karlheinz Spitzl. John Benjamins: 157-176. https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.110.11bae

  ———. 2022. “Transfiction in Late Soviet Society: The Imaginary East in Semyon Lipkin's Dekada.” In Transfiction and Bordering Approaches to Theorizing Translation, edited by D.M. Spitzer and Paulo Oliveira. Routledge: 94-110. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003267010-8

  Bergantino, Andrea. 2026. Charting Transfiction: Patterns, Open Questions, and Future Directions. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009685481

  Chekin, Leonid S. 2023. “First Secretary Gierek, President Carter, and the President’s Polish Interpreter: An Analysis of An Awkward Diplomatic Encounter Based on New Archival Evidence.” Babel, 69(6): 725-748. https://doi.org/10.1075/babel.00344.che

  Chernov, Gelij V. 1992. “Conference Interpreting in the USSR: History, Theory, New Frontiers.” Meta 37(1): 149-162. https://doi.org/10.7202/002227ar

  Coveney, James. 1982. “The Training of Translators and Interpreters in the United Kingdom.” Multilingua 1(1): 42-45. https://doi.org/10.1515/mult.1982.1.1.42

  Encyclopedia Britannica. 2025. “Michael Frayn.” https://www.britannica.com/biography/Michael-Frayn

  Fólica, Laura, and Ramón Lladó. 2017. “El giro ficcional de la traducción: Introducción.” Doletiana 7: 1-6.

  Footitt, Hilary. 2011. “‘Russian of the Mind’: Languages in the Cold War.” In The Lost Decade? The 1950s in European History, Politics, Society and Culture, edited by Heiko Feldner, Claire Gorrara, and Kevin Passmore. Cambridge Scholars Publishing: 101-117.

  Frayn, Michael. 2005. “Russian Hide and Seek.” The Guardian (2 July). https://www.theguardian.com/books/2005/jul/02/featuresreviews.guardianreview30

  ———. 2015. The Russian Interpreter. Faber & Faber.

  ———. 2023. Among Others: Friendship and Encounters. Faber & Faber.

  Hammond, Andrew. 2005. “From Rhetoric to Rollback: Introductory Thoughts on Cold War Writing.” In Cold War Literature: Writing the Global Conflict, edited by Andrew Hammond. Routledge: 1-14.

  Hansen, Julie. 2019. “Transcending the Vernacular in Fictional Portraits of Translators.” Interventions 22(3): 400–415. https://doi.org/10.1080/-1369801X.2019.1659168

  Hawthornden Foundation. 2026. “Hawthornden Prize.” https://www.hawthornden.org/hawthornden-prize

  Hesse, Beatrix. 2015. “Crossing Borders: The Example of Michael Frayn’s Afterlife.” In Anglo-German Theatrical Exchange: “A Sea-Change Into Something Rich And Strange?” edited by Rudolf Weiss, Ludwig Schnauder, and Dieter Fuchs. Brill: 149-170. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004292307_008

  Hoyte-West, Antony. 2021. “At the Top of the Tree? Surveying Conference Interpreters as An Elite.” Studies About Languages 38: 29-42. https://doi.org/10.5755/j01.sal.1.38.28068

  Ivashkiv, Roman. 2018. “Transmesis in Viktor Pelevin’s Generation “P” and Andrew Bromfield’s English Translation.” Translation Studies 11(2): 201-216. https://doi.org/10.1080/14781700.2017.1377632

  Kaindl, Klaus, and Karlheinz Spitzl, eds. 2014. Transfiction: Research into the Realities of Translation Fiction. John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.110

  Martínez-Gómez, Aída. 2015. “Invisible, Visible or Everywhere in Between? Perceptions and Actual Behaviors of Non-Professional Interpreters and Interpreting Users.” The Interpreter’s Newsletter 20: 187-194

  Miletich, Marko (ed.). 2023. Transfiction: Characters in Search of Translation Studies. Vernon Press.

  Naimushin, Boris. 2023. “It Takes Three to Tango: How a Cuban Ballerina Interpreted for Castro and Khrushchev.” English Studies at NBU 9(2): 147-168. https://doi.org/10.33919/esnbu.23.2.1

  Olshanskaya, Natalia. 2014. “From a Faltering Bystander to a Spiritual Leader: Re-Thinking The Role of Translators in Russia.” In Transfiction, edited by Klaus Kaindl and Karlheinz Spitzl. John Benjamins: 141-156. https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.110.10ols

  Ozolins, Uldis. 2014. “Descriptions of Interpreting and Their Ethical Consequences.” FITISPos International Journal 1: 23-41. https://doi.org/10.37536/FITISPos-IJ.2014.1.0.9

  Pienaar, Marné, and Eleanor Cornelius. 2015. “Contemporary Perceptions of Interpreting in South Africa.” Nordic Journal of African Studies 24(2): 186-206.

  Rizzi, Andrea, and Birgit Lang. 2025. “Translators’ Performance of Trustworthiness.” Translation Studies 18(2): 206–221. https://doi.org/10.1080/14781700.2025.2496376

  Rosen, Seymour. 1970. “The USSR and International Education: A Brief Overview.” The Phi Delta Kappan 51(5): 247–250.

  Salevsky, Bernd, and Heidemarie Salevsky. 2005. “Dolmetschen - ein gefahrlicher Job: Michael Frayns The Russian Interpreter.” In Wortklauber, Sinnverdreher, Brückenbauer?: Dolmetscherlnnen und ÜbersetzerInnen als literarische Geschöpfe, edited by Ingrid Kurz and Klaus Kaindl. LIT Verlag: 103-110.

  Simescu, Anca. 2019. “Dörte Andres, Dolmetscher als literarische Figuren. Von Identitätsverlust, Dilettantismus und Verrat [Interpreters as Literary Figures. On Identity Loss, Amateurishness and Treason].” American, British and Canadian Studies 32(1): 139-145. https://doi.org/10.2478/abcsj-2019-0011

  Spitzer, David M., and Paulo Oliveira (eds.). 2022. Transfiction and Bordering Approaches To Theorizing Translation. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/-9781003267010

  The Booker Prizes. 2026. “Michael Frayn.” Accessed Jul 2, 2026. https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/authors/michael-frayn

  Torresi, Ira. 2024. “The Hygienics of Translation and Interpreting: Metaphors of Purity and Contamination, and the Construction of Translator and Interpreter Identity.” Studia UBB Philologia 69(3): 159-174. https://doi.org/10.24193/-subbphilo.¬2024.3.09

  Valdeón, Roberto A. 2025. “Latest Research Trends on Translators and Translation.” Perspectives 33 (6): 1115–1128. https://doi.org/10.1080/0907676X.2025.2564585

  Wroe, Nicholas. 1999. “A Serious Kind of Joker.” The Guardian (14 August). Accessed July 2, 2026. https://www.theguardian.com/books/1999/aug/14/¬costa-booka¬ward.bookerprize1999

• Articles

  Mekhitarist Translation Tradition and Soviet Linguistic Theory: A Retrospective Comparative Analysis

  Ashot Mkryan

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  Abstract

  This article analyzes the methodological interrelations between the translation tradition of the Mekhitarist Congregation and Soviet linguistic translation studies. The aim of the research is to reinterpret pre-Soviet Armenian philological thought on translation through the prism of the linguistic paradigm formed in the mid-twentieth century. The author argues that the intuitive solutions employed by the Mekhitarists, when examined through the conceptual apparatus of Soviet theory, can be described as a coherent and theoretically grounded system. The study traces parallels between key concepts of translation theory and the empirical observations of the Mekhitarists, bringing to light internal regularities of the translation process. Particular emphasis is placed on the fact that linguistic translation studies do not stand in opposition to the classical philological tradition; rather, they provide it with instruments for scientific verification and systematic conceptualization. This synthesis makes it possible to view translation as a dynamic transformation in which linguistic precision serves the full reproduction of the aesthetic and pragmatic information of the source text.

  References

  Barkhudarov, Leonid S. 1975. Yazyk i perevod (Voprosy obshchei i chastnoi teorii perevoda) [Language and Translation (Issues of General and Special Theory of Translation)]. Moscow: Mezhdunarodnye otnosheniya. [in Russian].

  Fedorov, Andrei V. 1953. Vvedenie v teoriyu perevoda [Introduction to the Theory of Translation]. Moscow: Izdatelstvo literatury na inostrannykh yazykakh. [in Russian].

  Garbovskiy, Nikolai K. 2022. “Takoy nauki byt’ ne mozhet. K epistemologii nauki o perevode” [Such a Science Cannot Exist. On the Epistemology of Translation Studies]. Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Seriya 22. Teoriya perevoda [Moscow University Translation Studies Bulletin. Series 22: Translation Theory] 15(4): 7–24. Moscow. [in Russian]. https://doi.org/10.55959/MSU2074-6636-22-2022-4-7-24

  ———. 2023. “Est’ takaya nauka. A. V. Fedorov: teoriya perevoda — spetsial’naya distsiplina” [There Is Such a Science: A. V. Fedorov and Translation Theory as a Specialized Discipline]. Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Seriya 22. Teoriya perevoda [Moscow University Translation Studies Bulletin. Series 22: Translation Theory] 16(4): 7–43. Moscow. [in Russian]. https://doi.org/10.55959/MSU2074-6636-22-2023-16-4-7-43

  Jrbashyan, Ashkhen, and Ashot Mkryan. 2025. “Banasirakan hartsadrumnerě Tassoyi ‘Azatagrvats Erusaghem’ poemi targmanutyunneri hamateqstum” [Philological Issues in the Context of the Translations of Tasso’s Poem Jerusalem Delivered]. Banber Yerevani Hamalsarani. Banasirut'yun [Bulletin of Yerevan University. Philology] 16(2/47): 6–17. Yerevan. [in Armenian]. https://doi.org/10.46991/BYSU.B/2025.16.2.006

  Kashkin, Ivan A. 1977. “Voprosy perevoda. I. O metode i shkole sovetskogo khudozhestvennogo perevoda (1952)” [Issues of Translation. I. On the Method and School of Soviet Literary Translation (1952)]. In Dlya chitatelya-sovremennika (Stat'i i issledovaniya) [For the Contemporary Reader (Articles and Studies)], 22–41. Moscow: Sovetskii pisatel’. [in Russian].

  Komissarov, Vilen N. 1990. Teoriya perevoda (lingvisticheskie aspekty) [Theory of Translation (Linguistic Aspects)]. Moscow: Vysshaya shkola. [in Russian].

  Matyushin, Igor M. 2024. “Aktual'nost' lingvisticheskoi teorii perevoda i perevodcheskaya praktika” [The Relevance of Linguistic Translation Theory and Translation Practice]. Vestnik Moskovskogo gosudarstvennogo lingvisticheskogo universiteta. Gumanitarnye nauki [Bulletin of the Moscow State Linguistic University. Humanities] 5(886): 70–77. Moscow. [in Russian].

  Mounin, Georges. 1963. Les problèmes théoriques de la traduction. Paris: Gallimard.

  Nazariantz, Hrand. 1912. Dasso ev ir hay targmanichnerě: H. Arsen Ghazikeani namakě arr Hrand Nazareants [Tasso and His Armenian Translators: Fr. Arsen Ghazikian’s Letter to Hrand Nazariantz]. Constantinople: O. Arzuman. [in Armenian]. Accessed July 5, 2026. http://greenstone.flib.sci.am/gsdl/collect/-hajgirqn/¬book/¬dasso_1912.pdf

  Nida, Eugene A. 1964. Toward a Science of Translating: With Special Reference to Principles and Procedures Involved in Bible Translating. Leiden: E. J. Brill.

  Nord, Christiane. 1988. Textanalyse und Übersetzen: Theoretische Grundlagen, Methode und didaktische Anwendung einer übersetzungsrelevanten Textanalyse. Heidelberg: Julius Groos.

  Reformatskiy, Aleksandr A. 1952. “Lingvisticheskie voprosy perevoda” [Linguistic Issues of Translation]. Inostrannye yazyki v shkole [Foreign Languages at School] 6: 12–22. Moscow. [in Russian].

  Reiss, Katharina, and Hans J. Vermeer. 1984. Grundlegung einer allgemeinen Translationstheorie. Tübingen: Niemeyer.

  Retsker, Yakov I. 1974. Teoriya perevoda i perevodcheskaya praktika [Theory of Translation and Translation Practice]. Moscow: Mezhdunarodnye otnosheniya. [in Russian].

  ———. 2007. Teoriya perevoda i perevodcheskaya praktika: Ocherki lingvisticheskoy teorii perevoda [Theory of Translation and Translation Practice: Essays on the Linguistic Theory of Translation]. 3rd ed. Moscow: R. Valent.

  Shveitser, Aleksandr D. 1988. Teoriya perevoda: Status, problemy, aspekty [Theory of Translation: Status, Problems, Aspects]. Moscow: Nauka.

  Steiner, George. 1975. After Babel: Aspects of Language and Translation. London: Oxford University Press.

  Tasso, Torquato. 1911. Erusaghēm azateal [Jerusalem Delivered]. Translated by Arsen Ghazikian. Venice: San Lazzaro. [in Armenian].

  ———. 1912. Azatumn Erusaghemi [Jerusalem Delivered]. Translated by Athanas Tiroyan. Venice: San Lazzaro. [in Armenian].

  Vergilius Maro, Publius. 1847. Publiosi Virgileay Marovni Mshakakank’ [Publius Vergilius Maro’s Georgics]. Translated and with commentary by Fr. Arsen Komitas Bagratuni. Venice: San Lazzaro. [in Armenian]. Accessed July 5. 2026. http://greenstone.flib.sci.am/gsdl/collect/armbook/books/mshakakanq.pdf

  Vinogradov, Venedikt S. 1978. Leksicheskie voprosy perevoda khudozhestvennoy prozy [Lexical Issues of the Translation of Literary Prose]. Moscow: Izdatel’stvo Moskovskogo universiteta. [in Russian].

  ———. 2001. Vvedenie v perevodovedenie (obshchie i leksicheskie voprosy) [Introduction to Translation Studies (General and Lexical Issues)]. Moscow: Izdatel’stvo instituta obshchego srednego obrazovaniya RAO. [in Russian].

• Articles

  Diplomatic Interpreting in Socialist Bulgaria: Soviet Influences, Political Loyalty and Interpreter-Diplomats during the Cold War

  Boris Naimushin

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  Abstract

  This article examines the development of diplomatic interpreting in socialist Bulgaria and its relationship to Soviet practices during the Cold War. Drawing on archival documents from Bulgaria’s Central State Archive (CSA), memoirs, and visual sources, it analyses the institutionalization of diplomatic interpreting after 1944, the tension between political loyalty and linguistic competence in interpreter selection, and the emergence of interpreters as trusted political mediators. The study argues that diplomatic interpreters occupied hybrid positions at the intersection of linguistic expertise, political reliability, and state service. It also demonstrates how photographs and memoirs can help reconstruct the roles of interpreters who remain largely absent from official diplomatic narratives. By combining Bulgarian and comparative Soviet evidence, the article contributes to the historiography of diplomatic interpreting in Eastern Europe and to broader discussions of interpreter agency and visibility.

  References

  Baer, Brian James. 2014. “Through the Cold War lens: Russian and US interpreters as cultural and political mediators.” In Framing the Interpreter: Towards a Visual Perspective, edited by Anxo Fernández-Ocampo and Michaela Wolf, 190–99. London: Routledge.

  Berezhkov, Valentin M. 1994. At Stalin’s Side: His Interpreter’s Memoirs from the October Revolution to the Fall of the Dictator’s Empire. New York: Carol Publishing Group.

  Bochev, Stefan. 1999. Belene. Skazanie za kontslagerna Balgaria [Belene. The Story of Concentration Camp Bulgaria]. Sofia: Fondatsiia “Balgarska nauka i kultura [Sofia: Bulgarian Science and Culture Foundation]. [in Bulgarian].

  ———. 2009. Avtoportretat mi kato zhurnalist i diplomat [My self-portrait as a journalist and diplomat]. Sofia: Foundation Comunitas. [in Bulgarian]

  Boev, Ivan. 2011. Na krachka zad darzhavniya glava. Zapiski na prevodacha (1979 – 1990) [One Step Behind the Head of State: Notes from the Interpreter (1979 – 1990)]. Sofia: Siluet EOOD – Vanyo Nedkov. [in Bulgarian].

  Dankov, Todor. 1977. “Kurs za mladi sinhronni prevodachi” [A Course for Young Simultaneous Interpreters]. Information Bulletin of the Translators’ Union of Bulgaria, 2. [in Bulgarian].

  Fernández Sánchez, María Manuela. 2019. “Understanding interpreting and diplomacy: Reflections on the early Cold War (1945–1963).” In The Palgrave Handbook of Languages and Conflict, 395-418. Cham: Springer International Publishing.

  Lilkov, Vili, and Hristov, Hristo. 2019. Pogubenata Balgaria. Za sadbata na balgarskiya elit sled 9 septemvri 1944 [Lost Bulgaria: On the Fate of the Bulgarian Elite After September 9, 1944]. Sofia: Ciela. [in Bulgarian].

  Nikolova, Vyara. 2007. “Namereni v prevoda” [Found in Translation]. MAX, May, 77-87. [in Bulgarian].

  Pavlov, Vladimir. 2000. “Avtobiograficheskiye zametki V.N. Pavlova – perevodchika Y.V.Stalina” [Autobiographical Notes of V.N. Pavlov – Josef Stalin’s Interpreter]. With a preface by V.V. Sokolov. Novaya i noveyshaya istoriya [Modern and Contemporary History], no 3. [in Russian]. Accessed January 10, 2026.

  https://portalus.ru/modules/historical_memoirs/rus_readme.php?subaction=showfull&id=1579273724&archive=&start_from=&ucat=&

  Rogatchevski, Andrei. 2019. “Interpreting for Soviet Leaders: The Memoirs of Semi-Visible Men.” Translation and Interpreting Studies, 14(3): 442-463.

  Roland, Ruth A. 1999. Interpreters as Diplomats: A Diplomatic History of the Role of Interpreters in World Politics. University of Ottawa Press.

  Santoyo Mediavilla, Julio-César. 2006. “Blank Spaces in the History of Translation”. In Charting the Future of Translation History, edited by Georges L. Bastin et Paul F. Bandia. Ottawa: Les Presses de l’Université d’Ottawa. Accessed December 18, 2025. https://books.openedition.org/uop/311

  Serafimov, Serafim. 2003. Predi i po vreme na “Studenata voyna” [Before and During the “Cold War”]. Varna. [in Bulgarian].

  Shishmanov, Dimitar. 1995. Pisma do men samiya. Sastavitel, predgovor, belezhki, bibliografiya Dora Dimitrova [Letters to Myself. Compilation, Introduction, Notes, Bibliography by Dora Dimitrova]. Sofia: Saint Kliment Ochridski University Press. [in Bulgarian].

  Statelova, Elena, and Tankova, Vasilka. 2002. Prokudenite [Banished]. Plovdiv: Zhanet 45. [in Bulgarian].

  Sukhodrev, Viktor. 2008. Yazyk moy – drug moy. Ot Khrushcheva do Gorbatcheva [My Tongue Is My Friend: From Khrushchev to Gorbachev]. Moskva: TONCHU. [in Russian].

  Troyanovsky, Oleg. 1997. Cherez gody i rasstoyaniya (istoriya odnoy semyi) [Across the Years and Distances (The Story of a Family)]. Moskva: Vagrius. [in Russian].

  Tsonev, Kyriak. 2005. Litsa ot golemite portreti. Spomeni na arabista-diplomat [Faces from the Large Portraits: Memoirs of an Arabist-Diplomat]. Sofia: Trud. [in Bulgarian].

  Tyulenev, Sergey, and Zheng, Bindham. 2017. “Toward Comparative Translation and Interpreting Studies.” Translation & Interpreting Studies: The Journal of the American Translation & Interpreting Studies Association, 12(2): 197 – 212. https://doi.org/10.1075/tis.12.2.01tyu

  Van Doorslaer, Luc. 2017. “The Relative Need for Comparative Translation Studies.” Translation and Interpreting Studies, 12(2): 213-230. https://doi.org/10.1075/tis.12.2.02van

• Articles

  Slavic Folktales in Georgia: Translation and Adaptation

  Elene Gogiashvili

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  Abstract

  This article examines the translation and adaptation of Slavic folktales in Georgia from the Soviet period to the present, analysing their role as instruments of cultural transmission, ideological mediation, and literary transformation. Drawing on a multidisciplinary framework that combines translation studies, folklore studies, polysystem theory, and comparative literary analysis, the study investigates Georgian translations of Czech, Bulgarian, Polish, Slovak, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Russian, and Yugoslav folktales published between the 1950s and the present day. Particular attention is paid to the ideological framing of Soviet-era editions, the function of Russian as an intermediary language, and the translation strategies employed in rendering culture-specific elements, mythological figures, magical objects, and narrative structures. The analysis demonstrates that translated folktales functioned simultaneously as vehicles of socialist cultural policy and as dynamic agents of intercultural dialogue, fostering enduring literary connections between Georgia and the Slavic world. At the same time, translators actively negotiated between foreignization and domestication, integrating Slavic narratives into Georgian folkloric and literary traditions while preserving their cultural distinctiveness. The study further examines contemporary theatrical adaptations, demonstrating that these narratives continue to circulate beyond their original ideological context as living cultural texts that undergo continual reinterpretation. By tracing the historical evolution of translated and adapted Slavic folktales in Georgia, the article argues that translation should be understood not as secondary reproduction but as an active process of cultural creation that reshapes literary systems, collective memory, and intercultural communication.

  References

  Chkhatarashvili, Sophio. 2015. Ukrainian “Sixties” and Georgia. Thesis for the Academic Degree of Doctor of Philology. Tbilisi.

  Erben, Karel. 1953. Chekhuri zgaprebi [Czech Folktales]. Translated from Czech by Elene Eristavi. Tbilisi: Sakhelgami. [in Georgian].

  Even-Zohar, Itamar. 1979. “Polysystem Theory.” Poetics Today 1(1–2): 287–310. https://doi.org/10.2307/1772051

  Inggs, Judith. 2018. “Fairy Tales and Folk Tales.” In The Routledge Handbook of Literary Translation, edited by Kelly Washbourne, and Ben Van Wyke. London: Routledge.

  Jivanyan, Alvard. 2024. “On Mediated Translations of Fairy Tales.” Translation Studies: Theory and Practice, Special Issue 2: 37–47. https://doi.org/10.46991/TSTP/2024.SI.2.037

  Karpiuk, Valentyna, Yuliya Kazhan, and Kristina Korystova. 2024. “Translating the Realities of a German Fairy Tale as a Means of Improving Translation Competence.” Educational Dimension 10: 84–102. https://doi.org/10.55056/ed.590

  Kropei, Monika. 2008. “Slovene Midwinter Deities and Personifications of Days in the Yearly, Work, and Life Cycles.” In Space and Time in Europe: East and West, Past and Present, edited by Mirjam Mencej, 181–197. Ljubljana: Department of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology, Faculty of Arts.

  Mtchedeladze, Ivane. 2024. “Ukrainian Scientific Literarure on Ukrainian-Georgian Literary Relations: Constellation of Knowledge.” Contemporary Issues of Literary Studies – International Symposium Proceedings 17: 533-545.

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  Primary Sources: Georgian Editions of Slavic Folktales

  Belorusuli zgaprebi [Belarusian Folktales]. 1972. Introduction and notes by Ksenia Sikharulidze. Tbilisi: Nakaduli.

  Bulgaruli zgaprebi. Natvristvali [Bulgarian Folktales. The Wishing Crystal]. 1954. Translated by Ketevan Nadiradze. Tbilisi: Sakhelgami.

  Bulgaruli zgaprebi [Bulgarian Folktales]. 1975. Translated by Natela Arjevanidze, Ketevan Nadiradze, and Manana Zubadalashvili. Tbilisi: Nakaduli.

  Chekhuri zgaprebi [Czech Folktales]. 1969. Translated by Lia Eristavi. Tbilisi: Nakaduli.

  Chekhuri zgaprebi [Czech Folktales]. 2013. Translated by Lia Eristavi. Tbilisi: Tbilisis Siaxleebi.

  Iugoslaviuri zgaprebi [Yugoslavian Folktales]. 1974. Tbilisi: Nakaduli.

  Polonuri zgaprebi [Polish Folktales]. 1970. Compiled, translated from Polish, and provided with an introduction and notes by Givi Chichinadze. Tbilisi: Nakaduli.

  Rusuli zgaprebi [Russian Folktales]. 1968. Compiled, with introduction and notes by Elene Virsaladze. Tbilisi: Nakaduli.

  Rusuli zgaprebi. Antologia [Russian Folktales. Anthology]. 2014. Translated by Tamar Babuadze. Tbilisi: Bakur Sulakauri Publishing.

  Slovakuri zgaprebi [Slovak Folktales]. 1971. Translated by Lia Eristavi. Tbilisi: Nakaduli.

  Ukrainuli zgaprebi [Ukrainian Folktales]. 1957. Translated by Valentina Khazalia. Tbilisi: Sakhelgami.

  Ukrainuli zgaprebi [Ukrainian Folktales]. 1974. Compiled, with introduction and notes by Ksenia Sikharulidze. Tbilisi: Nakaduli.