Scientific Horizons

Issue 1, 2013
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An experimental way of rendering Old English alliterative verse into Ukrainian Download this article

Brosalina O. H.

Received: 18.10.2012

Abstract. The article deals with the form of Old English alliterative verse and the problem of its translatability into Ukrainian. The author argues that the four-beat accentual metre of this verse may be adopted without any hin-drance, but a specific character of stress in Ukrainian keeps seeking a com-promise to imitate alliteration. Therefore two alternative ways are offered: to fix consonance either on the initial consonant (the group of consonants) of a word, or on the pretonic consonant (the group of consonants). Only in the second case the alliteration discharges its intrinsic metrical function, be-cause of congruence of verse accent with the alliterating sound (sounds). Therefore regular using of pretonic consonances (according to the tradi-tional patterns of Old English verse) is the most reasonable way to imitate the alliterative verse in Ukrainian. The first full Ukrainian translation of Beowulf by Olena O’Lear, based on this principle, is presented and analysed

Keywords: Old English alliterative verse, alliteration, accentual verse, Beowulf, translation from Old English into Ukrainian.

UDC: 81’25+821.111(417)=030.111’01=161.2
Sci. Horiz. 1: 1-14
doi: 10.3116/20775679/14/1/1/2013

Анотація. У статті розглядається форма давньоанглійського алітераційного вірша та проблема її перекладності українською мовою. Авторка доводить, що чотириікт-ний тонічний розмір цього вірша можна відтворити без жодних перешкод, проте спе-цифіка українського наголосу змушує шукати певний компроміс, аби імітувати гер-манську алітерацію. Тому запропоновано два альтернативні способи – закріпити спів-звуччя або за початковим приголосним (чи групою приголосних) слова, або ж за перед-наголошеним приголосним (чи групою приголосних). Саме у другому випадку германська алітерація постає у своїй питомій метричній функції завдяки збігові віршового ікту з алітерованим звуком (чи звуками). Отже, регулярне застосування переднаголошеного консонансу (згідно з традиційними моделями давньоанглійського вірша) – це найбільш прийнятний спосіб імітації алітераційного вірша українською мовою. Репрезентовано перший повний український переклад англосаксонської героїчної епопеї “Беовульф”, виконаний Оленою О’Лір із застосуванням цього способу.
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(c) Western Branch of the Higher School Academy of Sciences of Ukraine