Translation of culture-specific items from kazakh into english (in the case of “turkistan” by M. Jumabayev)

Abstract

The article first discusses the translation features of culture-specific items in the poem “Turkistan”of the outstanding Kazakh poet Magzhan Jumabayev into English.The poetry of the poet was first translated in 2018 and has not considered enough yet.

Kazakh and English are different languages that used in different continents and refer to quite different language families and cultures.But again, the translation becomes a bridge, bringing cultures closer to each other and erasing the blockade borders. The boundaries of culture-specific items are particularly important and “dangerous” to take any risks. They require a special approach from the translator. Obviously, in world translation studies there have been been many attempts to handle with them. However, we present analysis based on E. Davies’s (2003) translation procedures of culture-specific items (henceforthCSIs) in relation with L. Venuti’s (1995, 2001) principles of foreignization and domestication. There is also a unique case when we could talk to the translator, even if at a distance, and ask what the translation process was, what principles he adhered to when translating CSIs. Consequently, some issues have been accompanied by the comments of the translator himself. Generally, results and conclusions of the analysis will be important in the practice of literary translation,in the formation of the comparative theory of translation from Kazakh intoEnglish, since it is only developing and requires scientific justification.