2024 Vol. 15 №1

Transposition — retelling — translation: the destiny of Areopagitica in Slavia Orthodoxa

DOI

10.5922/2225-5346-2024-1-7

Pages

126-139

Abstract

The article undertakes a conceptual analysis of the challenges associated with translating works from the Corpus Areopagiticum, a collection of theological treatises attributed to Dio­nysius the Areopagite from the 1st century. However, these works are unequivocally associat­ed with early medieval Eastern Christian mystical-theological thought, presumably from the turn of the 5th—6th centuries. These texts first appeared in the Slavic Orthodox area in 1370, and subsequent translations emerged at the end of the 17th century, in the 18th and 19th centuries, and, most recently, in contemporary times. The authors introduce a set of criteria that facilitate the differentiation of the analyzed texts into distinct types of text transmission, namely transposition, retelling, and translation. These criteria are founded on factors such as the dominant translation strategy, the approach to the source language, and the textual tradi­tion. The primary research methodology involves a diachronic analysis of linguistic material, employing comparative, stylistic, and textual analysis within the theolinguistic paradigm. The hypothesis posited in the article is substantiated based on empirical evidence. Moreover, the article draws conclusions regarding the impact of general linguistic changes on the nature of translations. This includes shifts in the role and status of the Church Slavonic language, the conditions contributing to the formation of a new literary language, and the inevitable influence of broader cultural and civilizational factors. The paper also explores the tradition of translating otherness, a practice that persists in contemporary times.

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