THE TRANSLATION OF PROPER NAMES IN CONTEMPORARY FANTASY (BASED ON THE NOVEL «THE CONFERENCE OF THE BIRDS» BY RANSOM RIGGS)

Abstract

Summary. The article deals with peculiarities of translation of proper names in the contemporary fantasy genre and it is based on the novel «The Conference of the Birds» by Ransom Riggs. Fantasy is considered a separate literature genre which differs from science fiction in unique combination of features of fairy tale, myths and fantasy. In works referring to this genre one doesn’t observe a leap of scientific breakthroughs as it happens in science fiction, but on the contrary, the main precondition is thought to be extra-natural elements which are likely to function in the past, but not in the future. Proper names take a very important place in the world of fantasy works. Vynohradov V. gives an accurate explanation of what proper names are: these are words that denote a unique real or imaginary object, person or place. A proper name is an inseparable part of rendering imaginary fantasy space. In a novel an onomastic system has a function of esthetic and pictorial coloring, and every element of it is not only aimed at indicating unique phenomena that are totally made up by the author, but moreover it complements a fantastic picture of the world of magic. There are quite many classification variants of proper names. Translation scientists distinguish the following categories of proper names: anthroponyms, phytonyms, toponyms, zoonyms, etc. The most widely-used means of translation of proper names in the novel are transcription, transliteration, calquing and transposition. So, the onomastic space has a significant role in the world and expressive picture of the fantasy genre. As a result of the analysis of proper names in the novel we have made a conclusion that while translating proper names calquing and transcription. The former prevails in conveying toponyms, ergonyms, zoonyms, chrononyms, and chrematonyms. The latter is mostly used in translating anthroponyms. Our analysis of the translation of proper names in contemporary fantasy novel «The Conference of the Birds» allows to make a conclusion that the level of adequacy of translation of proper names into Ukrainian is highly professional and can serve as a role model for translators-beginners who deal with proper names.