Chinghiz Aytmatov: Autotranslation and the production mechanism of a literary text

Abstract

The article deals with the process of C. Aytmatov's transition from writing in Kyrghyz to translating his works from Kyrghyz into Russian and to writing directly in Russian. His autotranslations, attempted solo as well as in cooperation with the professional translator A. Dmitrieva, were only a logical next step. Aytmatov eventually chose a creative method that enables building of a unique artistic world by incorporating ethnic realia. The writer repeatedly referred to Russian as his second native language. He mastered a way to talk about an ethnic-specific world using a language of interethnic communication: this role was played by the Russian language in the USSR at the time. Such an approach, in a way, became a generator of Aytmatov's creations - his original universe, recognized and highly appreciated by Soviet readers and foreign audiences alike.