Making a book: A special integral way of teaching literary translation into Russian

Abstract

The article describes a new strategy of teaching literary translation through translating popular best-sellers and includes a short review of the best practices in teaching literary translation in Russia, starting from the age of Peter the Great. It also covers the adaptation practice in Marshak’s editions in the USSR in XX century and introduces the list of adaptation strategies with illustrative examples. Further on the article analyzes the use of project methods in teaching literary translation and suggests the content of teaching. Within the described dynamic integrative approach young translators get practice in translation analysis of a special type, get to know the realia and the objective world necessary for a certain translation work, learn the rules of the literary genres on the basis of small literary forms, master the techniques of historic archaization when working on the XIX cent. texts, learn how to make a short historic and literary review, a glossary or a commentary on the objective realia, get the experience of working with an editor and a proof-reader. The described method teaches a translator to clearly understand their place in creating a book; it teaches not just translation skills, but the skills of social interaction as well. Further on the article describes the possible amplification of this methodology to teach literary translation from the ethnic languages of the Russian Federation into Russian and tackles a sensitive issue of saving the languages of the small indigenous peoples by making translations of their literary masterpieces into bigger languages, such as Russian. Then the article outlines a sequence of steps to engage the bilinguals-speakers of indigenous languages to translate their works into Russian, thus adding a social dimension to purely educational project.