Pragmatic Functions оf Culture-Specific Words in Literary Discourse

Abstract

The article elucidates the views on defining culture-specific vocabulary, its functioning in the literary discourse as well as the ways of rendering in the target language. It is stated that culture-specific words play an important role in forming the unique cultural atmosphere of a given work of fiction while also carrying essential country-specific information. The practical part of the research is based on the novel “Pushkin and the Queen of Spades” by Alice Randall. The following ways of rendering culture-specific words by means of the Russian language are suggested: transcription and transliteration, semantic borrowings, functional equivalents, transformation, substitution, and descriptive translation. The choice of the specific way of rendering such words in the target language is determined by the necessity to convey the communicative and pragmatic aspects of a given work of fiction. Key words: culture-specific vocabulary; cultureme; pragmatic functions; literary discourse; ways of rendering.