FEATURES OF THE HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL SONG TEXTS TRANSLATION INTO RUSSIAN

Abstract

The article is aimed at the analysis of the requirements for song translation. We have considered the studies of foreign and Russian linguists on song translation, identified the difficulties that a translator may face, translation solutions, and criteria for song translation. We analyzed the lyrics of the song What I’ve been looking for and its official translation performed by Mikhail Cherepnin and then we discovered whether the translator complied with the requirements or not. Background. There is a number of translation solutions and rules that allow achieving adequacy in the translation of musical texts and libretto of musicals. The analysis of M. Cherepnin’s translation is made on the material of the text of the High School Musical musical film. Purpose. The article considered the features of the translation of a musical text on the example of the translation of the song What I’ve been looking for performed by M. Cherepnin. Materials and methods. The material of the study was the High School Musical film and its official literary translation into Russian. We used the method of selection and analysis of theoretical material, the method of pre-translation, translation, post-translation analysis and comparative method when analyzing the text. Results. The results of our study showed that M. Cherepnin faced a lot of obstacles when translating the text of this musical film. His main goal was to preserve the singing component of the text, and not its figurative system, which affected the aesthetic and emotional impact. Practical implications. The results of our research can find a wide range of applications: they will be useful both for amateur translators involved in the interpretation of musical works, and for professional translators and linguists actively working in the field of song translation and studying it as a phenomenon.