THE POETICS OF WAR IN TRANSLATION: AN ANALYSIS OF THE RENDERING OF UKRAINIAN WAR POETRY IN THE ANTHOLOGY "DEN KRIEG ÜBERSETZEN"
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31861/gph2025.855-856.116-125Keywords:
Ukrainian war poetry, poetic translation, linguostylistic analysis, translation strategiesAbstract
The article analyses the specifics of translating contemporary Ukrainian war poetry into German based on the anthology "Den Krieg übersetzen" (2024). The study focuses on the linguistic and stylistic challenges of rendering war-related poetic discourse, characterized by documentary precision, emotional intensity, and rich metaphorical imagery. Through a comparative examination of original poems and their translations by Viktoria Amelina, Yurii Bondarchuk, Daryna Hladun, and Ella Yevtushenko, the article identifies key translation strategies such as literal translation, modulation, transposition, compression, cultural adaptation, and stylistic equivalence. Special attention is paid to the reproduction of metaphors, inversions, synecdoche, alliteration, assonance Particular attention is paid, rhythm, and intonation that shape the expressive structure of war poetry.
The findings demonstrate that translating war poetry is a multidimensional process that requires preserving not only semantic content but also emotional resonance, cultural context, and the documentary nature of the texts. The translators represented in the anthology aim to retain the authors' voices while adapting the poetic material to the German-language cultural space, ensuring artistic coherence and readability. The study highlights that the translation of war-related poetry carries not only linguistic but also ethical significance, as it conveys national memory, traumatic experiences, and collective identity.
The anthology Den Krieg übersetzen serves as an important medium of intercultural communication, facilitating the international reception of Ukrainian war poetry and reinforcing translation as an act of cultural solidarity and a means of conveying the truth about Ukraine’s wartime experience.
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References
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