Translations of The White Guard by Mikhail Bulgakov into Italian: History and Comparative Characteristics

The article examines the history and provides a comparative description of four translations of the novel The White Guard into Italian by three translators (Ettore Lo Gatto, Anjuta Gančikov, Serena Prina), published between 1930 and 2011. All these translations were made from different versions of the source, but that is not the only difference between the translations themselves and, especially, between their editions. Different editions of the translations are furnished with different amounts of metatext. In Italian translation studies, metatext is understood as an important element of “adaptation of the reader to the text.” Its role in foreign-language editions of The White Guard is quite important, because, firstly, the novel is largely based on real events, which is why knowing the historical context is important for understanding many fragments of the novel; secondly, the text of the novel is full of realia, many of which, even after being translated, require additional explanation. Almost all modern Italian editions of The White Guard are supplied, to some extent, with reference apparatus (in particular, Bulgakov’s biography and a bibliography), which is an evidence of the publishers’ meticulous approach to the publication of these translations and, apparently, a realization of the fact that many Italian readers may be interested not just in the text of the novel itself, but also in some extra information about the author and his work. A brief comparative analysis of the rendering of realia (“adapting the text to the reader”, in Italian translation studies) in the four translations at hand has been carried out, on a sample of two groups of realia: 1) items of clothing and footwear; 2) units of measurement and monetary units. The basis is the classification of methods of translating realia words according to V.S. Vinogradov. The translators have resorted to most of these methods: transcription, hypo-hyperonymic translation, assimilation, periphrastic translation. In a number of cases, the same term has been translated differently not only by different translators, but also by the same translator in different fragments of the text - which in some cases appears to be justified, but in most cases, rather not. There is also convergence (different terms translated the same way). A few cases of inadequate translation of realities have been discovered, apparently caused by the translators’ unfamiliarity with the meaning of the terms.