Abstract
The typical linguocultural background of Bulgakov’s novel The Master and Margarita, together with its culture-specific vocabulary (lacunas) leaning back to the Soviet times of the 1920s and 1930s, challenges both the readers and even the best translators. In this paper, we examine the verbal consciousness on both the individual and the national level, comparing the Russian original text of the First Chapter with its four English and one Hungarian translation. Leaning on the association method applied both in the Western academic discourse and by the Moscow School of Ethnopsycholinguistics, we demonstrate how the author’s (and the translators’) individual verbal consciousness presumably influenced the creation (and the translation) of the text.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Notwithstanding the fact that Russian Psycholinguistics is a fertile and widely acknowledged linguistic field in the Russian academic context with more than 50 years of tradition, furthermore, leading scholars of its research field Ethnopsycholinguistics are active since the early 1970s, the approach is hardly known in the Anglo-American scholarship. For this reason, this article can be considered as an attempt to disseminate the results of the school, as well as to test the adequacy and applicability of its methods.
Another definition of the technical term lacuna is as follows: “The Russian ethnopsycholinguists use this term as a description for all those incidences that, on one hand, provoke astonishment, perplexity, startling, irritation and annoyance and, on the other hand, may lead to curiosity and often even fascination when two cultures meet.” (Ertelt-Vieth 2003: 2).
Besides the Russian Association Dictionary (RAD) applied and referred to in our research, the Russian psycholinguists, led by the Russian Academy of Sciences, compiled further association dictionaries including the Slavic Association Dictionary (a combined dictionary of Russian, Belorussian, Ukrainian, and Polish associations), as well as the Russian-Spanish, the Russian-French and Russian-German Association Dictionaries.
Besides the references mentioned at the end of this article, we relied on general biographical information gained from Wikipedia in the case of some of the translators, namely: Glenny, Pevear and Volokhonsky and Szőllősy.
References
Connectyourmind (Agykapocs) Database. (2008–2014). Data obtained through personal consultation with the editor, Zsolt Lengyel in Febr. 2017.
Edinburgh Associative Thesaurus. (1968–1971). http://rali.iro.umontreal.ca/rali/sites/default/files/resources/eat/sr_concise. Accessed Feb 2017.
Ertelt-Vieth. (2003). How to analyze and Handle Cultural Gaps in German Everyday Life (from the perspective of Exchange Students). Interculture-Online, No. 4/2003.
Huszár, Á. (2011). A nő terei. L’Harmattan Kiadó – Könyvpont Kiadó, Budapest (pp. 179–181).
Karaulov, N. (2000). Пoкaзaтeли нaциoнaльнoгo мeнтaлитeтa в accoциaтивнo-вepбaльнoй ceти. In: Язикoвoe coзнaниe и oбpaз миpa (pp. 191–206).
Lengyel, Z. (2008). Magyar asszociációs normák enciklopédiája I. (Encyclopedia of Hungarian Norms of Associations). Budapest: Tinta Konyvkiado.
Leontiev, A. A. (1974). Пcиxoлoгия oбщeния. Tartu. (Reprint: Moscow, 1997).
Markovina, I., & Lénárt, I. (2016). Кpocc-кyльтypныe иccлeдoвaния пpeдcтaвлeний o бизнece: нoвый шaг в paзвитии тeopии лaкyн/Cross-cultural investigation of the concept of business: A new step in the development of the Lacuna Theory. In: Boпpocы пcиxoлингвиcтики (Journal of Psycholinguistics).
Markovina, I., & Sorokin, Y. (2006). The lacuna phenomenon and the problem of foreign culture comprehension: An experimental study of lacuna elimination strategies. In Panasiuk, I./Schröder. Lakunen-Theorie: Ethnopsycholinguistische Aspekte der Sprach- und Kulturforschung. Berlin: LITVerlag (pp. 154–160).
Mukhametzyanova, L., & Shayakhmetova, L. (2014). Application of associative experiment in forming the foreign communicative competence. In: English language teaching (Vol. 7, No. 12, pp. 60–64).
Russian Association Dictionary. (1986–1996). (Pyccкий accoциaтивный cлoвapь). http://www.tesaurus.ru/dict/dict.php. Accessed Feb 2017.
Tarasov, E. (1996). Mezkulturnoye obshcheniye – novaya ontologiya analiza yazikovogo soznaniya [Intercultural communication: new ontology of verbal consciousness analysis]. Etnokulturnaya spetsifika yazikovogo soznaniya (pp. 7–22). Moskva: Russian Academy of Science Institute of Linguistics.
Tarasov, E. (2000). Jazikovoje soznanije – perspektivi issledovanija [Language consciousness – research perspectives]. Jazykovoe soznanie: Soderzhanie i funkionirovanie [Language consciousness: Content and functioning] (pp. 3–4). Moscow: Institut Jazikoznania RAN.
Ufimtseva, N. (2012). Culture as a system of consciousness. In G. Mininni & A. Manuti (Eds.), Applied psycholinguistics. Positive effects and ethical perspectives (pp. 74–82). Milano: FrancoAngeli.
Ufimtseva, N. (2014a). The associative dictionary as a model of the linguistic picture of the world. Procedia: Social and Behavioral Sciences, 154(2014), 36–43.
Ufimtseva, N. (2014b). Russian psycholinguistics: Contribution to the theory of intercultural communication. Intercultural Communication Studies XXIII, 1(2014), 1–13.
Vygotsky, L. (1931). The history of the development of higher mental functions. In R. W. Rieber (Ed.), The collected works of L. S. Vygotsky. Plenum: New York.
Zalevskaja, A. (1981). O кoмплeкcнoм пoдxoдe к иccлeдoвaнию зaкoнoмepнocтeй фyнкциoниpoвaния языкoвoгo мexaнизмa чeлoвeкa [On a holistic approach to the study of the regularities of functioning of the human language system]. Пcиxoлингвиcтичecкиe иccлeдoвaния в oблacти лeкcики и фoнeтикa: мeжвyзoвcкий тeмaтичecкий cбopник [Psycholinguistic research in the domain of lexicology and phonetics] (pp. 28–44). KGU, Kalinin.
Zhinkin, I. (1982). Peчь кaк пpoвoдник инфopмaции. (Speech as a conduit for information). Moscow.
Source texts
Bulgakov, M. (1984). Macтep и Mapгapитa. Mocквa: Collins and Harvill Press.
Bulgakov, M. (1967). The Master and Margarita. Translated by Michael Glenny. London: Collins and Harvill Press.
Bulgakov, M. (2012). The Master and Margarita. Translated by Hugh Aplin, Alma Classics. London.
Bulgakov, M. (1997a). The Master and Margarita. Translated by Diana Burgin and Katherine Tiernan O’Connor. Picador. London. Reprinted in 2010.
Bulgakov, M. (1997b). The Master and Margarita. Translated by Pevear Richard and Larissa Volokhonsky.1997. Reprinted in 2007. Penguin Books, London.
Bulgakov, M. (1998). A Mesterés Margarita. Translated by Klára Szőllősy. http://mek.oszk.hu/02800/02825/02825.pdf. Európa Kiadó. Budapest.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lénárt, I. Associations and verbal consciousness: an analysis based on four English and one Hungarian translation of Bulgakov’s novel: The Master and Margarita . Neohelicon 44, 487–504 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11059-017-0386-9
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11059-017-0386-9