Classification of objects of ridicule and linguistic means of their expression in the original and translation (on the material of Qian Zhongshu “Fortress Besieged”)

Aim. To develop a classification of comic objects in the Chinese satirical novel “Fortress Besieged” on the basis of scientific works of a number of Chinese and Russian literary critics and linguists, to identify the signs of objects of ridicule. To determine what people are laughing at. To consider the equivalence of the linguistic means of comic effect of the translation and the original, as well as the results of their realisation.

Methodology. The main content of the study is the identification of the features of semantic, syn­tactic and pragmatic equivalence of the original text with the translated text, as well as the analysis of translation strategies. The main research methods are linguistic ones: comparative contextual analysis, component analysis; and such general scientific methods as descriptive method and clas­sification method.

Results. Based on the analysis of 485 selected passages from the novel, the following classification of objects of ridicule was established: 1) comic depiction of characters: appearance, facial depiction, clothing and action, etc.; 2) comic depiction of a thing, event and phenomenon. Language means are divided into direct and indirect. Direct language means mean that the author of the original uses the word “laughter” and its derivatives to express a comic effect. Indirect language means in the original text are mainly various kinds of rhetorical tropes, including comparison, metaphor and personifica­tion, etc. Irony is also one of the most important means of achieving satirical effect.

Research implications. The problem of identifying linguistic means of expressing the comic and satiri­cal in fiction is the focus of attention in the presented work. The results of the study can be used in the study of comic in intercultural and interlingual communication in the linguistic and cultural aspect. 

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