STRATEGIES IN TRANSLATING IDIOMS IN ABAI KUNANBAEV’S “WORDS OF EDIFICATION”: DIRECT AND INDIRECT TRANSLATION APPROACHES IN TURKISH, RUSSIAN, AND ENGLISH

Abstract

This article presents a comprehensive analysis of the translation of idiomatic expressions representing culture-specific animalistic and figurative idioms in Abai Kunanbaev’s Words of Edification into Turkish, Russian, and English. The relevance of the study lies in the fact that phraseological units function as carriers of national worldview and cultural code, while their translation requires balancing semantic accuracy with stylistic expressiveness. The aim of research is to identify the semantic, pragmatic, and expressive features of the source idioms and, through comparative analysis, determine the patterns of translation problem solutions in direct (Turkish, Russian) and indirect (English) translations. The study focuses on semantic transformations, stylistic shifts, and the degree of cultural adaptation. The central argument is that the choice of translation strategy depends not only on linguistic relatedness but also on cultural proximity and direct or indirect character of translation.

The methodological framework combines comparative and pragmatic analysis with the classification of idiom translation strategies suggested by María Labarta Postigo. Source and target texts are examined at semantic, structural, and stylistic levels.

Our findings demonstrate the predominance of the “explicit meaning” strategy in the Turkish, Russian, and English translations, whereas the “partial equivalence” strategy is primarily observed in the Turkish and Russian versions. In contrast, the strategies of “total equivalence” and “omission” are not observed in any of the analyzed examples. Scientific value of the study lies in clarifying cultural-pragmatic dimensions of idiom translation, while its practical significance consists in offering methodological recommendations for preserving national coloring and expressive force in literary translation.