TO THE CHARACTERISTIC OF THE PRESLAV TRANSLATION OF THE LADDER OF ST. JOHN KLIMAKOS Cover Image

К ХАРАКТЕРИСТИКЕ ПРЕСЛАВСКОГО ПЕРЕВОДА ЛЕСТВИЦЫ ИОАННА СИНАЙСКОГО
TO THE CHARACTERISTIC OF THE PRESLAV TRANSLATION OF THE LADDER OF ST. JOHN KLIMAKOS

Author(s): Tatyana Georgiyevna Popova
Subject(s): Language studies, Language and Literature Studies, Eastern Slavic Languages, Philology
Published by: Шуменски университет »Епископ Константин Преславски«
Keywords: St. John Klimakos; the Ladder; translation; Preslav Literary School

Summary/Abstract: The article is devoted to the description of the first translation of the Ladder of St. John Klimakos into the Slavonic language. The translation was carried out with the version of the Greek text, which is represented in the "Patrologia graeca" of Migne. The translation belongs to Preslav Literary School and was performed not later than in the second quarter of the 10th century. The author of the translation may be John Exarch of Bulgaria. The translation is close to the Greek text and accurately reproduces the grammatical structure of the original. Nevertheless the translator seeks to make the text more understandable for the Slavonic readers, as well as more beautiful and expressive. The text of the translation has a rich vocabulary. One Greek lexeme corresponds to many Slavonic lexemes. The translator reluctantly uses borrowed words and most of the borrowings are lexemes that did not have an equivalent in the Slavonic language. His main translation technique is the calquing of complex and derived lexemes. The text of the translation is saturated with etymological figures and homeoteleutons. The translator shows the highest level of education and poetic talent. The first Slavonic translation of the Ladder was performed by a great master. However, the text of the translation in the surviving Slavonic manuscripts is sometimes incomprehensible because of the many mistakes made by the scribes of the manuscripts. The most frequent mistakes are the omissions of parts of the text. The linguistic analysis of the Slavonic manuscripts in comparison with the Greek original revealed the mistakes of the translator. These mistakes are explained by the mistakes of the scribe of the Greek manuscript, which formed the basis of the Slavonic translation.

  • Issue Year: 2019
  • Issue No: 19
  • Page Range: 112-121
  • Page Count: 10
  • Language: Russian