SOME FEATURES OF TRANSLATION OF THE EPIC: ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS OF THE ARMENIAN NATIONAL EPIC “DAVID OF SASSOUN”

Translation of folklore and in particular the epic, is related with some challenges such as translation of words that incorporate and convey the outline and national identity of epic narrative. So, how do we translate an epic narrative from one language to another? Beyond the translation of words, the interpreter needs to transmit the cultural and social-historical realities of a particular culture to another. Often translators resort to footnotes, however the extensive usage of footnotes can be exhaustive and make the text difficult to read. On the other hand, if all the words are translated via the literal layer of the vocabulary, the epic becomes stripped off its national identity, thus becoming a mere retelling of well-known mythological and epic motives. These problems on different scales are seen in Russian and English translations of the epic “David of Sassoun”. The Armenian national epic has several English translations – “David of Sassoun”: The Armenian Epic in Four Cycles” by Artin Shalian (1964), “Daredevils of Sassoun” by Leon Surmelian (1964) and “The Saga of Sassoun” by Mischa Kudian (1970) etc. Each translation addresses and solves the question of translation of epic in comparative ways. This article focuses primarily on Artin Shalyan’s and Leon Surmelian’s translations, while dealing with other translations in deriving argument and analysis.

1. Sasna Tsrrer (Daredevils of Sassoun), Vol. I / Abeghyan Manuk, Melik’-Ohanjanyan Karapet, ed. Yerevan, Pethrat, 1936, 1256 p. (In Armenian lang.)

2. Sasna Tsrrer, vol. II, part 1. Yerevan, Pethrat, 1944, 404 p. (In Armenian lang.)

3. Sasna Tsrrer, vol. II, part 2. Yerevan, Haypethrat, 1951, 1005 p. (In Armenian lang.)

4. Sasna Tsrrer, vol. III / comp. by Sargis Harut’yunyan, Arusyak Sahakyan, Ghanalanyan Aram, ed. Yerevan, Pethrat, 1979, 582 p. (In Armenian lang.)

5. Sasna Tsrrer, vol. IV / Nazinyan Artashes, ed. comp. by Sargis Harut’yunyan, Arusyak Sahakyan. Yerevan, Gitut’yun, 1999, 582 p. (In Armenian lang.)

6. Sasunts’i Davit’ (David of Sassoun) / comp. by Manuk Abeghyan, Gevork Abov, Aram Ghanalanyan, Hovsep Orbeli ed. Yerevan, Pethrat, 1939, 382 p. (In Armenian lang.)

7. Sasunakan / Epopée populaire arménienne / Ch’it’uni Tigran. Paris, Araks, 1942, 1168 p. (In Armenian lang.)

8. Sasunts’i Davit’ (David of Sassoun) / Grigoryan Grigor, consolidated text. Yerevan, 1993, 416 p. (In Armenian lang.)

9. T’umanian Hovhannes Sasunts’i Davit’ (David of Sassoun). Tiflis, Tparan Hermes, 1904, 40 p. (In Armenian lang.)

10. Zaryan Nairi. Sasna Davit: Hay zhoghovrdakandyuts’aznavep (David of Sassoun: Armenian National Epic). Yerevan, Hayastan. 1966, 194 p. (In Armenian lang.)

11. Isahakyan Avetik’. Sasma Mher. – Vienna: Mkitariantparan, 1922. – 54 pp. (in Armenian)

12. Ch’arents Yeghishe. Sasunts’i Davit (David of Sassoun). In: Id., Girk’ chanaparhi: Poemneryevbanasteghtsut’yunner [Book of the Road. The poems]. Yerevan, Pethrat, 1933, pp. 5-32. (In Armenian lang.)

13. Джанполадян М. Г. Давид Сасунский в русских переводах и критике [David of Sassoun in Russian translation and criticism]. Ереван, Изд-во РАУ, 2012, 178 с. (in Russ. lang.)

14. David of Sassun, National Epos of Armenia, Armenian Literature. In: The World’s Great Classics. New York-London, 1901, pp. 55-79.

15. Daredevils of Sassoun, the Armenian National Epic, Original text with introduction and notes by Leon Surmelian. Denver, Alan Swallow, 1964, 279 p.

16. The Saga of Sassoun, the Armenian Folk Epic, retold by Mischa Kudian. London, Kaye & Ward, 1970, 175 p.

17. David of Sassoun, Armenian Folk Epic, translation with critical introduction and notes by Aram Tolegian. New York, Bookman Associates New York, 1961, 140 p.

18. David of Sassoon, translation by Thomas J. Samuelian. Yerevan, Tigran Metz Publishing House, 1999, 71 p.

19. David of Sassoun: The Armenina Epic in Four Cycles. Original text with inroduction and notes by Artin Shalian. Athens, Ohaio University Press, 1964, 377 p.

20. Нерсисян Х. Некотoрые вопросы перевода слов-реалий в эпосе “Давид Сасунский” на английский язык [Some questions of translation of culture-bound terms in epic “david of Sassoun”]. In: Вестник гуманитарных наук [Bulletin of Humanities]. No. 10., 1986, pp. 43-52. (in Russ. lang.)

21. Kouymjian Dickran. The Ethos of a People. In: Artin K. Shalian, David of Sassoun. The Armenian Folk Epic in Four Cycles. Athens, Ohio, 1964; Ararat, New York, vol. VI, No. 3, 1965, pp. 55-58.

22. Hugh Jansen. Folk Narrative, David of Sassoun: The Armenian Folk Epic in Four Cycles by Artin K. Shalian. In: The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 8, No. 315. Jan.-Mar., 1967, pp. 94-96.