In the article the phenomenon of translation is regarded as mental interpretation activity not only in linguistics, but also in literary criticism. The literary
work and its translation are most vivid guides to mental and cultural life of people,
an example of intercultural communication.
An adequate perception of non-native culture depends on communicators’
general fund of knowledge. The essential part of such fund of knowledge is native
language, and translation, being a mediator, is a means of cross-language and
cross-cultural communication. Mastering another language through literature, a
person is mastering new world and its culture.
The process of literary texts’ translation requires language creativity of the
translator, who becomes so-called “co-author” of the work. Translation activity
is a result of the interpreter’s creativity and a sort of language activity: language
units are being selected according to language units of the original text. This
kind of approach actualizes linguistic researching of real translation facts: balance between language and speech units of the translated work (i.e. translationinterpretation, author’s made-up words, or revised language peculiarities of the
characters).
The process of literary translation by itself should be considered within the
dimension of a dialogue between cultures. Such a dialogue takes place in the
frame of different national stereotypes of thinking and communicational behavior, which influences mutual understanding between the communicators with the
help of literary work being a mediator.
So, modern linguistics actualizes the research of language activities during
the process of literary work’s creating. This problem has to be studied furthermore, it can be considered as one of the central ones to be under consideration
while dealing with cultural dimension of the translation process, including the
process of solving the problems of cross-cultural communication.
Geir Helgesen, Democracy and Authority in Korea: The Cultural Dimension in Korean Politics