ABSTRACT NOUNS SINGULARIA TANTUM IN ENGLISHUKRAINIAN TRANSLATION: GRAMMATICAL ASPECT

Abstract

The article focuses on the peculiarities of translating English abstract nouns Singularia Tantum used in literary texts into the Ukrainian language. In particular the paper aims to find out and explicate factors that determine the number form of a Ukrainian abstract lexeme in the case if it can obtain both number forms. Having analysed the semantic structure of polysemantic abstract nouns Singularia tantum, linguists noticed that some abstract lexemes developed new meanings in the plural, and the correlation between their singular and plural is not paradigmatic. That is why linguists refer to such plural form of an abstract noun as lexicalised plural. It was observed that nouns denoting negative feelings acquired additional semantic meanings of intensity, duration in the plural. Therefore, lexicalised plural of the mentioned abstract lexemes are often used by interpreters to create certain stylistic effects in the target text. The author highlights that nouns of low degree of abstraction are able to obtain both number forms due to the presence of generalised and specific meanings in their semantic structure. While generalised meaning denotes state, quality, or action, the specific one signifies a specific manifestation of state, quality, or action. It should be noted that it is the specific meaning that can be used in both number forms. While the singular of these nouns denotes one specific manifestation of state, quality, or action, the plural signifies several manifestations. Since the mentioned nouns do not acquire new meanings in the plural, it is possible to substitute generalised meanings with specific ones, and vice versa while translating. Thus interchangeability of number forms can be traced in the Ukrainian translation. The research emphasises that the possibility of the mentioned interchangeability is limited by linguistic norms of the target language and the referential status of a source abstract lexeme in an utterance. In particular, Ukrainian quantitative structures prefer the plural of a noun that is quantified. The linguistic norms of the Ukrainian language permit some abstract nouns to use their singular and plural synonymously. It also has been mentioned that grammatical number forms of a noun acquiring a referential status cannot be changed while translating since the number of manifestations of quality, state, or action is relevant to the speaker. On the other hand, a translator can use both number forms of a Ukrainian equivalent if a source abstract lexeme acquires a non-referential status.