TRANSLATION OF EPITHETS

The epithet is a stylistic device based on the interplay of emotive and logical meaning in an attributive word, phrase or even sentence, used to characterize an object and pointing out to the reader, and frequently imposing on him, some of the properties or features of the object with the aim of giving an individual perception and evaluation of these features or properties.

The epithet, usually subjective and evaluative, on the whole show purely individual emotional attitude of the speaker towards the object spoken of, e.g.: To fulfill this condition was hope­lessly out of my power. " (B. Shaw) " The new and very serious and Hyper-educated generation. " (J. Joice)

From the point of view of their compositional structure epithets may be divided into:

1) Simple (adjectives, nouns, participles): e.g. He looked at them in animal panic.

2) Compound: e.g. apple-faced man;

3) Sentence and phrase epithets: e.g. It is his do - it – yourself attitude.

4) Inverted or reversed epithets - composed of 2 nouns linked by an of-phrase: e.g. “a shadow of a smile”.

To convey the author’s intent, the translator must be very careful in selecting words with the same denotative and connotative meanings.

Still there are some specific problems of translating some types of the English epithets, discussed below.

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