Rousseau’s Les rêveries du promeneur solitaire, discussed from the point of view of phonosemantics

Abstract

According to Plato’s thesis ascribing the creation of words to the conjunction of sounds, each one of which carries a significance, Marchand provided a list of the English phonesthemes, explaining which sounds attribute prolongation, vivacity etc. Linguists among other scientists conducted relevant research: Bloomfield, Jespersen, Sapir, Firth, Jakobson, Ultan, Magnus. All these scientists’ studies are instantiated in the enormous field of Phonosemantics, still open to investigation. Approached from a contrastive point of view between two or more languages results are more salient. The aim of this essay consists in providing insights about sound repetitions in Rousseau’s Rêveries du promeneur solitaire and the way phenomena are transferred into Greek. It is truism that «plays on words» (explicits or implicits) turn out to be of high importance in a literary study. We shall attend to depict how these phenomena are treated in source and target languages. We lean on an attested translation aiming at an incisive analysis of the linguistic choices made and how they render the esthetic effects of the French original. What does the translator do to inculcate the stylistic effects to the target language reader? Are there cases pointing out the impossibility to transfer the phonosemantic effects into Greek? If so, how does the translator tries to retrieve potential losses? 

Keywords

• Phonosemantics,phonostylistics,semantics and sounds’ translation,Modern Greek,French

Les rêveries du promeneur solitaire de J. J. Rousseau, traitées de point de vue phonosémantique

Öz

Selon la thèse de Platon qui attribue la création des mots à la conjonction des sons chacun des qui porte une signification, Marchand offre une liste contenant les phonesthèmes de l’anglais, expliquant quels sons attribuent prolongation, vivacité, etc. Entre autres scientifiques, des linguistes ont mené des recherches : Bloomfield, Jespersen, Sapir, Firth, Jakobson, Ultan, Magnus. Tous les travaux de ces chercheurs font partie du champ énorme de la Phonosémantique, toujours ouverte à plus de recherches. Etudiés d’un point de vue contrastif entre deux ou plusieurs langues, les résultants s’avèrent de loin plus intéressants. Le but de cet article consiste à offrir des aspects sur la répétitions des sons dans Les Rêveries du promeneur solitaire de Rousseau et la manière avec laquelle certains phénomènes sont transmis en grec. C’est un truisme de soutenir que les jeux avec les sons (explicites ou implicites) s’avèrent d’une importance majeure dans une œuvre littéraire. Nous essaierons de démontrer comment ces phénomènes sont traités en langue source et  langue cible. Nous nous appuyons sur des traductions attestées, visant à une analyse approfondie des choix linguistiques faits ainsi qu’à la manière de transmission des effets esthétiques de l’original en français. Le traducteur, que fait-il afin d’inculquer les effets stylistiques aux lecteurs grecs ? Y a-t-il des cas où il est impossible de produire les mêmes effets phonosémantiques en grec ? Si tel est le cas, que fait le traducteur, afin de compenser les éventuelles pertes ?

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Phonosémantique,phonostylistique,sémantique et traduction des sons,Grec,Français

Rousseau’nun Les rêveries du promeneur solitaire, adlı eserinin fonosemantik bakış açısıyla tartışılması

Öz

Platon'un fıkırı göre, her biri önem işleyerek seslerin bir araya getirilmesiyle sözcüklerin yaratılmasını anlatan tezi uyarınca, Marchand, İngiliz dili arasında bir fonesteme listesi yaptı, hangi seslerin uzama, canlılık vb. veririr anlatan. Bilim adamları arasında Bloomfield, Jespersen, Sapir, Firth, Jakobson, Ultan, Magnus bu konuyla ilişkili olarak araştırma yapmışlardır. Tüm bu bilim insanlarının çalışmaları büyük bir alan olan Fonosemantik alanında örneklerle desteklenmekte ve hala araştırılmaya açık bulunmaktadır. İki veya daha fazla dil arasındaki karşılaştırmalı bir bakış açısından yaklaşıldığında sonuçlar daha belirgin olmaktadır. Bu makalenin amacı, Rousseau’nun Rêveries du promeneur solitaire adlı eserindeki ses tekrarları ve fenomenleri Yunancaya nasıl aktarıldığı konusunda sezgiler sağlamaktır. Bilinen bir gerçektir ki, edebi bir çalışmada “kelimelerde oyun” (açık veya kapalı) olması büyük önem taşımaktadır. Bu fenomenlerin kaynak ve hedef dillerde nasıl davranıldığını göstermek için uğraşacağız. Var olan tercumerlere dayanıyoruz, dillerin seçimlerinde ayrıntılı bir analiz hedefleyerek. Ayrıca dillerin seçimleride Fransızca orijinalinde estetik etkilerini nasıl aktarıyor ve detaylı bir şekilde analiz etmeyi amaçlayan onaylanmış bir çeviriye dayanmaktayız. Terçümen, üslup efektlerini hedef dil okuyucusuna telkin etmek için ne yapamaktadır? Fonosemantik etkilerin Yunancaya aktarılmasının imkânsız olduğunu belirten durumlar var mıdır? Eğer öyleyse, tercüman potansiyel kayıpları nasıl telafi etmeye çalışmaktadır? 

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Fonosemantik,fonostilistik,semantik,seslerin tercümesi,Yunanca,Francızca

Kaynakça

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