Academic advisor’s review of the qualification research paper by Evgeniya Nikolaevna Shevchenko “Language of social status and role as a translation problem (based on literary translation from Russian into English)” 

Evgeniya Shevchenko’s qualification research paper examines challenges in literary translation with a focus on markers of characters’ social status and communicative role. The study does not seek to find faults with the existing translations; rather, it is an attempt to explore a variety of translation solutions in order to identify the possible levels of translation equivalence. 
Translators report that markers of communicative distance and social status are extremely difficult to express in other languages. In many cases, such markers do not appear essential for conveying the author’s central message, therefore, they are often omitted or considerably distorted in literary translations. This pertains especially to attempts to recreate the social distance between characters and levels of imposition in translation. Therefore, an extensive discussion of these challenges within the framework of translation studies and cross-cultural communication is highly relevant.
In chapter 1 the author refines the theoretical framework of the study, defines key research concepts, such as translation equivalence, social status and communicative role. On the basis of a comprehensive literature analysis, Evgenia identifies and describes the areas where translation difficulties arise.
In chapter 2 Evgeniya examines contexts where the information about social status and communicative behaviours of characters is a translation priority. In that respect, the works by M.A. Bulgakov and M.M. Zoshchenko are abundant sources of linguistic material. Bulgakov’s and M.M. Zoshchenko’s works are focused on changing social realty; they depict and ridicule communicative practices of the time. Employing various methods of translation analysis, Evgeniya demonstrates how translators minimize losses in translation of the dynamics of communication in these works. 
 I would like to note that Evgeniya collected and analyzed exceptionally extensive empirical material. As her advisor, I am impressed with Evgeniya’s ability to pinpoint and describe nuances of language use. Also, I would like to point out the wide range of linguistic forms and devices that Evgeniya analyses, including time and place-specific sociopolitical terms, the narrators’ and characters’ vulgar and familiar language, modality and tone of the narrative. Evgenia demonstrates good command of research skills, her conclusions are well-grounded. Evgeniya certainly is an innovative and independent researcher; her research paper makes an original contribution to our understanding of translation process and techniques.
The check of originality on the Blackboard platform shows 1.38% of matching content, which includes references and some common cliches of academic writing. The sources are cited properly. Evgeniya Nikolaevna Shevchenko’s qualification research paper “Language of social status and role as a translation problem (based on literary translation from Russian into English)” complies with all requirements of St. Petersburg State University (45.04.02 “Linguistics”, educational program VM.5799 “ENGLISH DISCOURSE AND VARIABILITY) and deserves the highest grade. The researcher can be awarded a Master’s degree.


Svetlana V. Kudrya, PhD,
Senior Lecturer, Department of English Philology and Cultural Linguistics, 
St. Petersburg State University