CULTURAL BARRIERS IN CHINESE-RUSSIAN LITERARY TRANSLATION AND STRATEGIES TO OVERCOME THEM FROM THE ECO-TRANSLATOLOGY PERSPECTIVE (A CASE STUDY OF MO YAN’S WORKS TRANSLATED INTO RUSSIAN)

Abstract

Culture encapsulates a foundational framework of values and normative behaviors, collectively upheld by societal groups united by a shared historical heritage. These constructs are deeply ingrained in the minds of individuals who possess similar educational backgrounds and life experiences. Distinct cultures reflect varied developmental origins, and it is precisely these profound background differences that pose significant challenges to effective cultural exchange. As a crucial element of intercultural communication, literary translation inevitably faces numerous cultural challenges. In the realm of ecotranslation theory, it is emphasized that the translation process requires the translator to first “adapt” to the ecotranslation context of the source text, and subsequently “select” the translated text. This constitutes a cyclical process wherein the translator alternates between adaptation and selection strategies. From an eco-translatological perspective, the translator must adhere to the principles of selective adaptation and adaptive selection to effectively address the challenges of cultural translation in Chinese-Russian literary translation endeavors. Furthermore, they must proactively adopt translation strategies that seamlessly integrate “domestication” and “foreignization.” This approach enhances the translation’s acceptability by employing techniques such as direct translation, explanatory direct translation, paraphrasing, lexical expansion and refinement, transcription, and the incorporation of the author’s neologisms. Ultimately, this approach not only enhances the quality of translations but also significantly boosts the communicative effectiveness of literary works penned by Chinese authors.