Analysis of the Concept of cтрах and Associated actions in Russian and their Translation into Spanish

Abstract

Translation in cognitive linguistics is a point of intersection and a means of communication and interpretation between cultures.  Currently, the studies which are carried out in the sphere of cognitive linguistics acquire significance due to their interdisciplinary character. This is because of the fact that their results are applicable to diverse fields, particularly in research on translation, as they present the issue of concept transfer, which construes complex mental categories.

In this article we are going to carry out a parallel analysis of the concepts страх//fear in Russian and miedo//fear in Spanish with a view to addressing two issues: 1. The translation of the noun страх into Spanish.  2.  The translation of actions associated with this noun.  In order to address the first issue, we have studied two translations into Spanish of the work Белая Гвардия //La Guardia blanca// The White Guard by Bulgakov: that of Pablo Díaz Mora and that of José Laín Entralgo. The analysis which has been carried out has allowed us to structure the parameters which must be considered when translating the noun страх and understand the strategies followed by the previously mentioned translators when translating this concept.  In order to analyze the second issue, we have researched the actions associated with the presence of the noun страх in Russian and their translations into Spanish, making use of the national corpus of the Russian language (RUSSCORPORA). In this study we show how the noun страх can appear in statements in which it performs the function of a direct object (преодолеть страх), and of a subject  (страх мучил меня) as well as in structures of the type страх Vf+prep. (oт,из,с, в)+страх (дрожать от страха).  This study has allowed us to confirm to what extent the actions associated with the presence of страх can find equivalents in Spanish, and what the most suitable strategies and techniques are for their translation into Spanish.