How I approached Buryat-Mongolian rhyme. Practical translation

Abstract

The article by the poet and translator A. Ulzytuev discusses the unique features of Buryat-Mongolian rhyme, specifically, the tolgoy kholbokh, which occurs when the beginning rather than the ending of a line of verse rhyme. Tolgoy kholbokh (mn), or tolgoy kholbolgo (bua), literally ‘joining of heads,’ describes rhyming initial syllables, as opposed to final syllables. In his work of introducing this type of rhyme into contemporary Russian poetry, Ulzytuev discovers that, coupled with the traditional Russian ‘end-of-line’ rhyme, the use of tolgoy kholbokh makes it possible to produce authentic translations of Buryat-Mongolian poetry, at the same time enriching the poetic potential of the Russian language. He notes, however, that anaphora-based verse needs freedom of meter. The rhyme that for centuries joined ‘heads’ of poetic lines as the nomads’ tolgoy kholbokh transforms into anaphora in Russian rendering, but remains more vivid and expressive outside of the conventions of Russian or European meter when it roams free in its native ‘landscape’ of intonational rhythm. Ulzytuev includes a detailed study of rhyming and rhythmic choices in his rendering of a hitherto untranslated poem by the Mongolian poet B. Yavuukhulan.