Translating Kazakh Family Discourse into Russian and English in A. Tarazi’s Novel Zhaza: A Comparative Analysis

Abstract

 

The article examines the linguistic and cultural features that arise in the process of translating Kazakh family discourse into Russian and English, using Ä. Tarazi’s novel Zhaza (“Retribution”) as the primary material. The aim of the study is to identify, through comparative analysis, the specific ways in which kinship terminology, culturally marked lexemes, idiomatic expressions, and norms of speech etiquette characteristic of Kazakh family discourse are rendered in translation. The central idea of the work is to systematize translation-related transformation processes by comparing the cultural and national content of the Kazakh family-communicative model across three languages. The scientific significance of the article lies in its contribution to a deeper theoretical understanding of such issues in translation studies and linguoculturology as cultural non-equivalence, discursive adaptation, and translator strategies. By describing the mechanisms through which Kazakh cultural concepts are represented in Russian- and English-language contexts, the study clarifies the challenges and patterns of cross-cultural transfer. Methodologically, the research is based on the comparison of three language versions of the text, the observation of selected lexical frequencies, contextual examination, and qualitative interpretation. The findings demonstrate that culturally specific Kazakh lexemes in the Russian translation are primarily rendered through transliteration and semantic explanation, whereas the English translation employs explicitation, compensation, and stylistic adaptation. Furthermore, the differing frequency of the concept family / семья / отбасы across the three language versions highlights distinctive features of discursive adaptation. The results provide a practical contribution to improving the quality of literary translation and ensuring the effective transmission of ethnocultural meaning.

Keywords: family discourse, comparative analysis, Zhaza novel, translation, transformation.