RUSSIAN TRANSLATION OF CHAPTER TITLES IN JOURNEY TO THE WEST FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF SKOPOS THEORY: A CASE STUDY OF A.P. ROGACHEV’S VERSION

Abstract

The article presents a systematic study of A.P. Rogachev’s translation strategies in rendering the chapter titles of the novel Journey to the West. Skopos theory serves as the theoretical framework; the analysis is conducted within two complementary perspectives – cultural communication and reader reception. The chapter titles of the classical Chinese novel combine three functions: plot summarization, encoding of cultural meanings, and creation of aesthetic effect. A comparative analysis of the source and target texts has established that domestication occupies the dominant position in Rogachev’s translation practice, while foreignization is employed as a supplementary tool. Overall, the translation faithfully reproduces the plot lines and figurative structure of the source text, although the chosen strategic approach is in places accompanied by a partial loss of cultural subtext. The analysis reveals a high degree of the translator’s subjective agency and strategic flexibility, which is of practical value as a reference for cultural mediation in the field of Chinese-Russian literary translation.