Verbal representation of the “encasement” notion in value-semantic modelling of the English-language translation versions of A. Chekhov’s short stories

Abstract

The aim of the research is to substantiate the necessity to identify the lexemes that reflect the notion of “encasement” (alienation, estrangement, aloofness of the traditional Chekhov’s hero) in A. Chekhov’s short stories within the framework of formation of a value-semantic model of their English-language translations. The article presents a comprehensive comparative study of the elements that reflect the notion of “encasement” on the basis of A. Chekhov’s short story “The Man in a Case” and some other short stories by the author, as well as their translations into English. The scientific novelty of the research consists in considering the ways of verbal representation in translation of lexical-semantic units of the text thematically grouped according to various aspects of the reflection of “encasement” in the framework of value-semantic modelling of translation. As a result, it has been shown that the archiseme “case” becomes the core of the artistic idea, and the lexemes that convey the notion of “encasement” become the point attractors of the meanings, forming the main value-semantic model that appears in a number of the writer’s works. Based on the analysis of the lexical units conveying the idea of “encasement”, the article proves that in the process of their translation, some deformations associated with interlingual asymmetry may occur.