A MULTIDIMENSIONAL IMAGE OF THE RUSSIAN CONSTITUTION – LINGUISTIC, CULTURAL AND COGNITIVE REFLECTIONS Cover Image

WIELOWYMIAROWY OBRAZ ROSYJSKIEJ KONSTYTUCJI – REFLEKSJE JĘZYKOWE, KULTUROWE I POZNAWCZE
A MULTIDIMENSIONAL IMAGE OF THE RUSSIAN CONSTITUTION – LINGUISTIC, CULTURAL AND COGNITIVE REFLECTIONS

Author(s): Joanna Kowalczyk
Subject(s): Constitutional Law, Translation Studies
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: legal text; constitution of Russia; translation; context; collective memory;

Summary/Abstract: This article deals with the transposition of concepts in the process of translating legal texts. The material basis was the original text of the constitution of the Russian Federation and the constitution of Russia, which was translated into Polish. The primary assumption of the analyzes made is the thesis that the constitution is the foundation of the system, norms and principles. The Constitution also sets out the main directions of community development. As the superior document of a social and political nature, it confirms the most important national values and social beliefs. The awareness of the highest rank of this normative act should also be considered as an important factor in the process of translating the constitution into other languages. Depending on the context and depending on the structural and conceptual flexibility of the original text, the transposition of a generalized vision of the community world can be a complex task or a process that does not require a lot of work. The subject of the article is the relation between the Constitution of the Russian Federation and its Polish language version. The analysis includes the linguistic and non-linguistic reality in which the constitution of Russia is present. The research covered: the current constitution of Russia of December 12, 1993 in the Russian and Polish language versions. The legal act in Polish was made available on the official website of the Biblioteka Sejmowa (biblioteka.sejm.gov.pl). The aim of the review was to identify the possibility of reconceptualizing the Russian legal reality and determining the efficiency of transposing the concepts to the target text. The author wanted to answer the question whether the translation text can be treated as a source of knowledge and understanding of cultural and civilizational norms and values, building the state and Russian society. The first part of the study was devoted to general concepts that created the state system. Attention is paid to their functionality in the source and target area. The essence of the image of the world was taken into account. Using the concepts of Родина and Отечествo, has been explained the lexical context of translated lexemes. The second part of the review concerned the reconstruction of the collective memory of the Russian nation. This level focuses on the text of the preamble as a component containing generalized ideas of the political system. The third part was a substantive summary of all findings. This part of the article was based on a comparative study, covering the relation between the text of the constitution and the content and context.

  • Issue Year: 2020
  • Issue No: 40
  • Page Range: 287-304
  • Page Count: 18
  • Language: Polish