METHODS OF TRANSLATING PHRASEOLOGICAL UNITS IN I. S. NECHUI-LEVYTSKYI’S NOVELLA «THE KAIDASH FAMILY» INTO PERSIAN

Olha Yo. Maksymiv,

Email: olha.maksymiv@lnu.edu.ua

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-8937-4801

Ph.D. in Philology, Associate Professor

Ivan Franko National University of Lviv

Oleksii O. Kashmarchuk,

Email: oleksiikashmarchuk@gmail.com

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-5100-8442

Ph.D. Student

Ivan Franko National University of Lviv

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17721/StudLing2026.28.55-67

PDF  (UKRAINIAN)

ABSTRACT

This article is devoted to a comprehensive study of the methods used to translate phraseological units in I. S. Nechui-Levytskyi’s novella «The Kaidash Family» into Persian («خانواده کایداش» «Xānevāde-ye Kāydāš»). The methods of rendering Ukrainian phraseology in Kateryna Krykoniuk’s translation have been identified and systematized. The study employs a descriptive method to analyze the functions and characteristics of phraseological units; a continuous-sampling method, which enabled the creation of a corpus of 63 units; and a contextual-interpretative method to justify translation decisions based on the literary context.

The research results showed that non-phraseological methods (64 %) prevail over phraseological ones (30 %) in the translation. Calquing (25 %) was identified as the dominant technique, as it preserves the unique image of the Ukrainian phraseme. Other active methods include descriptive translation (17 %), the use of relative equivalents (16 %) and lexical translation (13 %). The share of full equivalents is only 5 %, reflecting significant national and cultural differences between Ukrainian and Persian.

The conclusions emphasize that the adequacy of the translation of phraseological units depends on preserving their semantic and stylistic content within the context. It was found that overuse of calquing sometimes leads to undesirable literalism (6 %), distorting the semantics of the original image. The prospects for further research lie in the continued study of the reproduction of the Ukrainian cultural code within the Persian linguistic environment, with the potential to use these results in teaching translation theory and practice, Persian lexicology and stylistics, as well as in refining methods for rendering non-equivalent phraseology in literary texts.

Keywords: phraseological unit, Persian language, Ukrainian language, translation, “The Kaiydash Family”, equivalence, comparative analysis.

References:

  1. Ardelyan, O. (2011). Frazeolohizm yak odynytsia movy [Phraseologism as a unit of language]. In Suchasni doslidzhennia z inozemnoi filolohii: zbirnyk naukovykh prats [Modern research in foreign philology: collection of scientific works] (Uzhhorod: PP Hrafika, 2011), iss. 9, 9–16. Uzhhorod: PP Hrafika. (In Ukr.).
  2. Baran, Ya. A., and I. Zymomria. (1999). Navchalnyi posibnyk dlia studentiv fakultetiv inozemnykh mov universytetiv ta pedahohichnykh instytutiv [Textbook for students of foreign language departments of universities and pedagogical institutes]. Uzhhorod. (In Ukr.).
  3. Bukriienko, A. O., andYu. Komisarov, (2016). Yaponsko-ukrainskyi pereklad: praktychnyi kurs [Japanese-Ukrainian translation: a practical course]. Vol. 1. Kyiv: Vydavnychyi dim Dmytra Buraho [Dmytro Burago Publishing House]. (In Ukr.).
  4. Venzhynovych, N. (2016). Frazemika v povisti I. Nechuia-Levytskoho «Kaidasheva simia» yak dzherelo vidtvorennia mentalnykh rys ukraintsiv [Phrasemes in the narrative by I. Nechuy-Levytsky «Kaidash’s Family» as a source of mental Ukrainian features reproduction]. In Movoznavchyi visnyk: zb. nauk. prats [Linguistic Bulletin: collection of scientific works] (Cherkasy, 2016), iss. 21, 61–66. URL: https://dspace.uzhnu.edu.ua/jspui/handle/lib/8376 (accessed April 30, 2026). (In Ukr.).
  5. Dmytrenko, V. (2023). Vzhyvannia frazeolohizmiv iz somatyzmom «sertse» v perskii ta ukrainskii movakh: spetsyfika perekladu [The usage of idioms with somatism «heart» in the Persian and Ukrainian languages: specifity of translation]. In Naukovi zapysky. Seriia: Filolohichni nauky [Scientific Notes. Series: Philological Sciences], iss. 206, 28–34. URL: https://doi.org/10.32782/2522-4077-2023-206-4 (accessed April 30, 2026). (In Ukr.).
  6. Zorivchak, R. P. (1983). Frazeolohichna odynytsia yak perekladoznavcha katehoriia (na materiali perekladiv tvoriv ukrainskoi literatury anhliiskoiu movoiu) [Phraseological unit as a translation category (based on translations of Ukrainian literature into English)]. Lviv: Vyshcha shkola. (In Ukr.).
  7. Kyiak, T., O. D. Ohui, and A. M. Naumenko. (2006). Teoriia ta praktyka perekladu (nimetska mova) [Theory and practice of translation (German language)]. Vinnytsia: Nova Knyha. (In Ukr.).
  8. Kocherhan, M. (2001). Vstup do movoznavstva [Introduction to linguistics]. Kyiv: Akademiia. (In Ukr.).
  9. Kurylo, O. (2016). Frazeolohichni odynytsi v povisti I. Nechuia-Levytskoho «Kaidasheva simia» [Phraseological units in the I. Nechuy-Levitsky’s novel «Kaydasheva simya» (Kaydash’s family)]. In Problemy humanitarnykh nauk. Seriia «Filolohiia» [Problems of humanitarian sciences. Series «Philology»]. Iss. 38, 365–374. Drohobych. URL: http://dspace.msu.edu.ua:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/1720 (accessed April 30, 2026). (In Ukr.).
  10. Mazepova, O. (2015). Vnutrishnii svit liudyny u perskomu linhvomentalnomu prostori [The inner world of a person in the Persian linguo-mental space]. Kyiv: Vydavnychyi dim Dmytra Buraho [Dmytro Burago Publishing House]. (In Ukr.).
  11. Nechui-Levytskyi, I. (1990). Kaidasheva simia [The Kaidash family]. Kyiv: Radianska shkola. (In Ukr.).
  12. Okhrimenko, M. (2011). Persko-ukrainskyi slovnyk emotyvnoi frazeolohii: zahalnonarodni frazeolohichni odynytsi, vyslovy pryslivno-prykazkovoho typu, aforyzmy na poznachennia emotsii liudyny [Persian-Ukrainian dictionary of emotive phraseology: common phraseological units, proverb-type expressions, aphorisms for denoting human emotions]. Volynski starozhytnosti. (In Ukr.).
  13. Okhrimenko, M. (2012). Idioetnichni osoblyvosti odynyts frazeosemantychnoho polia «emotsii liudyny» v perskii i ukrainskii movakh [Idioethnic features of units of the phraseosemantic field «human emotions» in Persian and Ukrainian] Doctoral diss. abstract). Kyiv National Linguistic University. (In Ukr.).
  14. Okhrimenko, M. (2022). Klasyfikatsiia frazeolohichnykh odynyts z natsionalno-kulturnym komponentom u suchasnykh perskii ta ukrainskii movakh [Classification of phraseological units with national component in modern Persian and Ukrainian]. In Lvivskyi filolohichnyi chasopys [Lviv Philological Journal], no. 11, 167–171. (In Ukr.).
  15. Selivanova, O. (2004). Narysy z ukrainskoi frazeolohii (psykhokohnityvnyi ta etnokulturnyi aspekty) [Essays on Ukrainian phraseology (psychocognitive and ethnocultural aspects)]. Kyiv; Cherkasy: Brama. (In Ukr.).
  16. Sorokin, S., and A. V. Dalida. (2021). Verbalizatsiia psykhoemotsiinykh staniv liudyny zasobamy perskykh frazeolohizmiv iz somatychnym komponentom «oko» [The verbalization of human emotional conditions by means of Persian phraseological units with the somatic component «eye»]. In Skhidnyi svit [The World of the Orient], iss. 4 (113), 103–114. URL: https://doi.org/10.15407/orientw2021.04.103 (accessed April 30, 2026). (In Ukr.).
  17. Suslenko, A. (2021). Trudnoshchi perekladu kolirnykh vyraziv v anhliiskii ta perskii movakh: kulturne porivniannia [Difficulties in translating color expressions in English and Persian: cultural comparison]. In Aktualnist ta perspektyvy [Oriental Studies. Relevance and Prospects]: Abstracts of the II International Scientific and Methodological Conference (Kharkiv, 19 March 2021), 46–48. Kharkiv: KhNPU imeni H.S. Skovorody. (In Ukr.).
  18. Uzhchenko, V., and D. V. Uzhchenko. (2005). Frazeolohiia suchasnoi ukrainskoi movy [Phraseology of the modern Ukrainian language]. Luhansk: Alma-mater. (In Ukr.).
  19. Yashchuk, O. L. (2014). Perekladatska ekvivalentnist frazeolohichnykh synonimiv [Equivalence translation of phraseological synonyms]. Advanced Education, 1, 83–89. URL: http://nbuv.gov.ua/UJRN/novocv_2014_1_13 (accessed April 30, 2026). (In Ukr.).
  20. Ahmadi, M. (2017). A Contrastive Analysis of Idioms and Idiomatic Expressions in Three English and Persian Novels for Translation Purposes. Language Art, 2, 103–116. URL: https://doi.org/10.22046/la.2017.22 (accessed April 30, 2026).
  21. Baker, M. (2018). In other words: A coursebook on translation (3rd ed.). Routledge. URL: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315619187 (accessed April 30, 2026).
  22. Farahani, A., aand Ghasemi. (2012). The naturalness in the translation of idioms and proverbs: The case of a Persian translation of Pinocchio. Journal of Language and Translation, 3(1), 17–22.
  23. Tavangar, M., Diyanati, and M. Amouzadeh. (2022). Pragmatics of proverb translation: The case of English and Persian. Lodz Papers in Pragmatics, 18, no. 1, 131–150. URL: https://doi.org/10.1515/lpp-2022-0006 (accessed April 30, 2026).
  24. Valizadeh, M., andE. Vazifehkhah. (2021). Applied strategies in translating idiomatic expressions: Cultural-bound analysis in Brida novel by Paulo Coelho. RumeliDE Dil ve Edebiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi. URL: https://doi.org/10.29000/rumelide.950001 (accessed April 30, 2026).
  25. Nechui-Levytskyi, I. (2016). Khānevāde-ye Kāydāš [The Kaidash Family] Translated by Kateryna Krykoniuk. Tehran: Aradman. (In Persian).