Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.15291/csi.4910
French Fairy Tales by Marko Vovchok and Mykola Tereshchenko’s Translation Strategy: Intercultural Mediation
Liudmyla Diachuk
orcid.org/0000-0002-0076-5236
; University of Mons, Mons, Belgium
*
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
The French-language heritage of Marko Vovchok remains understudied, particularly with regard to its translation analysis,
which underlines the relevance and topicality of this article. This
study analyses Mykola Tereshchenko’s Ukrainian translations of
Vovchok’s French fairy tales, aiming to identify the characteristics of his translation strategy. For this purpose, the interpretive theory of translation (Seleskovitch & Lederer 1984), Berman’s
concept of “deforming tendencies” (1984), and Venuti’s strategies (1995) were applied. The qualitative analysis is based on a comparative study of source and target texts. The results of this
research demonstrate that a translator succeeded in achieving a
balance in rendering original Vovchok’s idiostyle. The study has
proved that the dominant translation strategy was domestication
which, as a form of adaptation, inevitably involves the application of lexical and stylistic transformations. This is particularly noticeable when reproducing culturally marked elements, such
as character names, realia, phraseological units, and folklore motifs. To implement the chosen strategy and to convey the emotive, expressive, and stylistic colouring of the fairy tales, also
called children’s literature, the translator mostly employed the
following techniques: modulation, concretisation, generalisation, cultural correspondence, explication, metaphorical preservation, remetaphorisation, functional adaptation. The investigation also revealed the occurrence of several of Berman’s “deforming
tendencies”, such as rationalisation, clarification, expansion,
and qualitative impoverishment. These findings indicate that
Tereshchenko’s translation strategies contribute to intercultural
mediation, bridging the French originals and the Ukrainian readership. Future research could involve a comparative analysis of other translations of Vovchok’s French prose.
Keywords
French fairy tales; intercultural mediation; Marko Vovchok; Mykola Tereshchenko; translation strategies
Hrčak ID:
342367
URI
Publication date:
26.12.2025.
Visits: 410 *