ԵՐԵՎԱՆԻ ՊԵՏԱԿԱՆ ՀԱՄԱԼՍԱՐԱՆ

ԵՎՐՈՊԱԿԱՆ ԼԵԶՈՒՆԵՐԻ ԵՎ ՀԱՂՈՐԴԱԿՑՈՒԹՅԱՆ ՖԱԿՈՒԼՏԵՏ

ԹԱՐԳՄԱՆՈՒԹՅԱՆ ՏԵՍՈՒԹՅԱՆ ԵՎ ՊՐԱԿՏԻԿԱՅԻ ԱՄԲԻՈՆ
ԹԱՐԳՄԱՆՉԱԿԱՆ ԳՈՐԾ՝ ԱՆԳԼԵՐԵՆ-ՀԱՅԵՐԵՆ

ԻՍԱՎԵՐԴՅԱՆ ՄԵՐԻ ՄԵՐՈՒԺԱՆԻ

ԱՎԱՐՏԱԿԱՆ ԱՇԽԱՏԱՆՔ
ՎԻԼՅԱՄ ՍԱՐՈՅԱՆԻ «ՈՐՏԵՂ ԵՍ ԾՆՎԵԼ ԵՄ, ԱՅՆՏԵՂ
ՄԱՐԴԻԿ ԲԱՐԵԿԻՐԹ ԵՆ», «ՃԱՄՓՈՐԴՈՒԹՅՈՒՆ
ԴԵՊԻ ՀԱՆՖՈՐԴ», «ՆՌՆԵՆԻՆԵՐԻ ՊՈՒՐԱԿԸ» ԿԱՐՃ
ՊԱՏՄՎԱԾՔՆԵՐԻ ՄԻՋՆՈՐԴԱՎՈՐՎԱԾ
ԹԱՐԳՄԱՆՈՒԹՅԱՆ ԼԵԶՎԱՈՃԱԿԱՆ
ԱՌԱՆՁՆԱՀԱՏԿՈՒԹՅՈՒՆՆԵՐԸ

«Թարգմանչական գործ`անգլերեն և հայերեն» մասնագիտությամբ

լեզվաբանության բակալավրի որակավորման աստիճանի հայցման
համար
 ԵՐԵՎԱՆ 2022

YEREVAN STATE UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF EUROPEAN LANGUAGES AND
COMMUNICATIONTRANSLATION STUDIES DEPARTMENT
TRANSLATION STUDIES – ENGLISH AND ARMENIAN

ISAVERDYAN MERI

BACHELOR’S DEGREE THESIS

LINGUOSTYLISTIC PECULIARITIES OF THE MEDIATED
TRANSLATION OF THE SHORT STORIES “MY KIND OF
CRAZY, WONDERFUL PEOPLE”, “THE JOURNEY TO
HANFORD” AND “THE POMEGRANATE TREES” BY
WILLIAM SAROYAN

For Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics

 CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………………...4
CHAPTER I: WILLIAM SAROYAN AS A MASTER OF SHORT STORY
GENRE…………………………………………………..6
1.1.William Saroyan as an American Writer of Armenian Origin, his Style and
Genre……………………………………………6
1.2.William Saroyan's Prose and its Role in the 20 th century American
Literature………………………………………………………..13

1.3.William Saroyan's Armenian Identity…………………………………………………15

CHAPTER II: CONCEPT OF MEDIATED TRANSLATION AND ITS ROLE IN
LITERATURE AND CULTURE………………….....18
2.1.Brief Outline of the Concept of Translation………………………………………………18
2.2. Concept of Mediated Translation…………………………………………20
2.3.Role of Mediated Translation in Armenian Literature and
Culture……………………………….…………23
CHAPTER III: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE LINGUOSTYLISTIC PECULIARITIES
OF THE MEDIATED TRANSLATION OF THE SHORT STORIES "MY KIND OF CRAZY,
WONDERFUL PEOPLE","THE JOURNEY TO HANFORD" AND "THE POMEGRANATE
TREES" BY WILLIAM
SAROYAN……………………………………………………………………………

CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………………………..
BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………………………..

5
 CHAPTER I
William Saroyan as a Master of Short Story Genre
1.1.William Saroyan as an American Writer of Armenian Origin, his Style and Genre
The concept of short story was not widely acknowledged as a unique literary form
before the 19th century. Even though it can be considered as a genre that is only regarded as a
modern one, short prose fiction actually is almost as old as the concept of language. People
always liked all kinds of short stories, including jokes, anecdotes, brief allegorical romances,
moralizing fairy tales, condensed mythologies and historical legends. None of these fit the
definition of a short story of the 19 th century, but they do make up a sizable portion of the
context in which the modern short story first appeared. Through the middle of the 20 th
century, the idea of short story received relatively little critical attention as a literary genre,
and the most insightful analyses of the form were frequently limited by place and period of
time. The vast majority of criticism of the short story concentrated on the author’s writing
methods. Many technical works, including the best ones, give advice to young readers by
alerting them to the various strategies and procedures used by skilled writers. However,
instead of being serious critical studies, many of these publications are merely guides on
“how to write stories” for aspiring authors. The popularity of short stories grew over the first
half of the 20th century. Literally hundreds of authors, including almost every significant
playwright, poet and novelist, published thousands of excellent stories. The form of the short
story itself evolved into the one that was more accustomed to it. The fundamental ways in
which a short story is structured have changed significantly. The early 20 th century
storyteller, who became increasingly interested in subtle acts and unspectacular happenings,
abandoned the overwhelming or singular event that typically served as the basis for the story
of the 19th century. One of the most significant American writers of the early 20 th century,
Sherwood Anderson, noticed that the conventional attitude in his time was that stories had
to be constructed around a plot, a belief that from Anderson’s point of view , was to poison
all storytelling. Although achieving form was more elusive and challenging, his personal goal
was to achieve a plot. The greater authors often chose to use other forms of structure, leading
casual readers to comment that “nothing happens in these stories”, most of the popular

6
authors of that time, such as O. Henry in the United States, Paul Morand in France may have
continued to structure their stories according to plot. One of the prominent writers of short
stories of the 20th century was American-Armenian writer William Saroyan. He wrote many
short stories which play a crucial role in his literary legacy.
William Saroyan was a well-known American-Armenian playwright, author and
philanthropist. His greatest literary accomplishments and popularity date from the 1939s. He
wrote hundreds of tales, plays, novels, essays and fascinated, amused, uplifted millions of
people with his writings. These works still enchant and affect us today.
W. Saroyan was born in Fresno, California. He was the son of an Armenian
immigrant, who relocated to New Jersey in 1905. He was a small-scale vineyard owner with
Presbyterian ministerial training. Saroyan stopped attending school when he turned fifteen.
He made the decision to pursue writing after his mother showed him some of his
grandfather’s writings. As Saroyan worked at various occupations, he completed his
education by reading and writing on his own. W. Saroyan eventually become known as a
writer and started living on the honorarium of his writings from 1920. A Boston based
Armenian-English journal called “Hairenik” first made Saroyan’s writing abilities to the
world. With the release of his debut book “The Daring Young Man on The Flying Trapeze”
in 1934, at the age of 26, William Saroyan shot to literary fame. In 1939, Saroyan had his first
hit on Broadway with “My Heart is in the Highlands”, and that same year, he received both
the Drama Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize. He was the first American playwright
to receive these both awards. Because “Business should not patronize art,” he said, and “it is
no more wonderful or good than anything else I have written 1,” he declined to accept “The
Pulitzer Prize.”
William Saroyan, as a writer, surely had talent, but also achieved everything due to
his hard work in that area. He spent his conscious years of life haunting the public libraries
of Fresno, San Francisco searching the stuff, he could call his own, to contrast the stereotypes
of American life that was depicted in books or the everyday events that happened in his
life. Although his ancestors originated from an old civilization of Asia Minor, he was able to

1
Saroyan,W. Armenian-American novelist, 1908-1981
7
view the world from a poet’s point of view, like Emerson 2, Hawthorne3 ,Melville4 and
Whitman5 , who originated from Anglo-Saxon culture. It should also be mentioned that
Saroyan had to educate himself what earlier Americans already knew, as he was originally
son of an Armenian. Firstly he had to integrate into that society and then try to depict his
surrounding environment in his writings. As a child, who was cut off from his roots and
raised in an America that had realized its detachment from an old dream, he might have also
felt the loss of his identity, being separated from his old generation.
Despite the popular belief that Saroyan’s original writing inspiration comes from his
ethnicity, it was certainly not true. In his early years, he was more American than Armenian
in his mind and judging from his lifestyle, only because of the circumstances that demanded
it. Saroyan was shielded from the nationalistic ideology that the generation of the
immigrants brought to their literature in the early years of his writing career. The only
reason of it was that he was not educated in the Armenian language and was in intellectual
and communicational contact with Armenians. He was enchanted and moved by the noise
and commotion his Armenian relatives made speaking Armenian around him and he was
somewhat delighted with the unusual combination of eccentric individualism and sense of
togetherness that existed inside them. Although, they might seem strange, he considered
them to be unique members of the “human race,” a term he coined from Emerson and
Whitman. The reason why his Armenian characters occasionally appeared glorified is
because the narrator himself is like Adam in the New World with his innocence and newly
found faith. The headline-grabbing caricature of the impoverished and mistreated
Armenians, which would have been easy for a young writer to use as a source of his future
stories, however, is not depicted in his earlier works.
Saroyan’s fundamental optimistic spirit did not conflict with reality as a whole,
despite the fact that it looked implausible and improper. Nevertheless, some hopefulness
could be seen in the persistence with which Armenians had resisted governmental and
religious repressions, as well as in their ability to keep the balance between Christianity and
sensible, comfortable way of living.

2
Emerson, R. W. American essayist, 1803-1882.
3
Hawthorne, N.American novelist, 1804-1864.
4
Melville, H. American poet, 1819-1891.
5
Whitman, W. American poet and journalist, 1819-1892.
8
 In light of his personal background, Saroyan’s persevering good humor seemed also
unlikely. For a young child whose father had passed away when he was only three years old
and whose formative years were spent without being aware of his/her identity, there wasn’t
much that could arouse feelings of happiness. However, it would be incorrect to assume that
Saroyan’s instilled optimism was an instinct that just required social acceptance to become
fully developed. His autobiographical memoirs contain revealing traces of his inner conflict,
piercing hurt, and agonizing accusations that emerged intermittently not only in his later
life, but also during the early years. Before he became known as a writer, he appeared to
have little hope for the future, being a self-educated school dropout with an odd appearance
who lived in a tiny, inland area of California and aspired to become famous. There was also
the persistent demand in the traditions of Armenian families, to become prominent
individuals no matter in what area. Speaking of this, Saroyan concluded that in order to
become a prominent individual, to accomplish that traditional task, he needed to succeed in
writing, to become an American-Armenian writer, who could be the voice of Armenians in
the world.
Comparing Saroyan to other writers, he was an exceptional one. Particularly in “My
Name is Aram”, he considered Armenian culture, their traditions and history as the main
source for his stories (1940). His mother received a special dedication in 1943’s “The Human
Comedy”, which was also adapted into a film and for which he was honored with an
Academy Award for “Best Writing Original Screen Story.” 6 Numerous of his works were
inspired by his upbringing, his interactions with people from different nations, occupations
not only from the Armenian culture but also from American. His stories described his
difficulties as a young author in San Francisco. Saroyan published more than sixty books
throughout his life. He put in a lot of effort to develop the well-known “Saroyanesque” prose
style, which was quick and appeared a bit sharp, while describing his vivacious character.
His books were quite popular among people and sold a great number of copies, not counting
the fact that they have been also translated into more than dozen languages. Saroyan also
described his adventures during his trip to Europe and the Soviet Union. He had encountered
many prominent individuals while travelling, including the playwright George Bernard

6
URL: https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/first/b/balakian-saroyan.html, 26.10.2022.
9
Shaw7 and the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius 8. Saroyan enlisted in the US army during its
one of the hardest times, World War the Second. As a member of a film unit, he was sent to
London in 1942. He almost escaped a court martial when in his book “The Adventures of
Wesley Jackson” were found some banned notions, which he shouldn’t have mentioned.
Saroyan’s work is compelling not only because it is easy or suitable to read, but also
because it emphasizes the kindness that exist in every man’s heart. “I know how full of
goodness this life is. And that is a good thing to know,” says Joe who, in “The Time of Your
Life,” sits at a table in Nick’s bar drinking champagne, “but always completely under control,
only sharper.”9 The desire to live life to the fullest potential and the search for kindness
wherever we look are not an attempt to escape the real disasters of humanity. Death, loss of
the dear ones, misery and the gloom of existence are, in fact, constant in Saroyan’s world.
They are just not discussed profoundly. Harry, an odd and entertaining character in the play,
is described as follows by Saroyan: “His philosophy is simple and beautiful. The world is
sorrowful. The world needs Harry. Harry is funny. The world needs laughter. Harry will
make the world laugh.” 10 All of Saroyan’s works are infused with the idea of “pretty and
hopeful” picture. In the short tale collection “My Name is Aram”, even though uncle
Khosrove is being away from his home (seven thousand miles), he is not aware of his
homesickness. Even though the Garoghlanians and other families in the stories are living in
miserable states, they all enjoy singing, playing music and having fun together. Trying to
paraphrase Harry’s words we can conclude one statement that Saroyan wants to emphasize:
“to help to make the world happy again.” In “The Human Comedy”, “Be happy! Be happy! I
am unhappy, but you must be happy,”11 the depressed vendor of Ara’s market shouts in
frustration, when his son neglects every material and non material things he gives him to
make him feel happy.
“The Human Comedy” preaches the importance of love in the middle of a war.
Despite being in a great grief from knowing that her son Marcus had died in the war, Mrs.
Macaulay “smiles at the soldier”, who was her son’s friend in the army, and invites him to
come in, in order to show him the house. Homer, son of Mrs. Macaulay, who works as
7
. Shaw, G. B. Irish novelist, 1856-1950.
8
Sibelius, J. Finnish composer, 1865-1957.
9
Saroyan, W.The Time of Your Life, 1939, Hancourt, Brace & World, Inc., p. 291.
10
Saroyan, W., The Time of Your Life , 1939, Hancourt, Brace & World, Inc., p. 238.
11
Saroyan, W, The Human Comedy, 1943, Hancourt, Brace and Company, New York, p. 110.
10
deliverer of news, says to the elderly telegraph operator, “If my brother is killed in this
idiotic War, I shall spit at the world. I shall hate it forever” (Saroyan, 1943). However, as the
story comes to its end, the readers recall Mrs. Macaulay’s advice to her son: “It’s natural for
fathers and mothers to be afraid of the world for their children but there’s nothing for them
to be afraid of.. Try to love everyone you meet.” 12 The call for love is timeless. In order to
emphasize its importance, the author named Mark Arax, a writer from Fresno , won an
award and after that the Valley Public Radio created the podcast “The Time of Our
Life”(2020)13, which is made up of seven episodes that feature Saroyan’s short writings which
are studied by local authors.
If anything about Saroyan’s works may be described as “simple”, it is because many of
Saroyan’s works are based on the lightness and simplicity from a child’s point of view, which
is free from darkness, prejudices and materialistic way of thinking which is typical to the
adult world. The four-year-old Ulysses Macaulay’s smile is described by Saroyan in “The
Human Comedy”, as “gentle, wise, secret smile of the Macaulay people, which said “Hello to
all things”. As Homer Macaulay, Ulysses’ older brother, submits an application for a job at
the telegraph station at the age of fourteen, the former telegraph operator tells him, “I shall
expect of you a depth of understanding one may not expect from men past the age of twelve.
Perhaps, if grown-ups retained some of the innocence of the child, something of his “naïve”
wisdom, the world would be a better place to live in.”14
William Saroyan intentionally made his writings have the effect of thoughtlessness
and lightness, describing his characters as effortless people, yet in fact he was actually so
skilled creating and using particular stylistic devices in his writings, so that his characters
appear in this or that way. His works’ overall effect is far more philosophical and deep than
the initial frivolous impression it might at first have. Writing about destitute ethnic
minorities, representing them as outsiders of this world, Saroyan also shows his deep concern
towards these people and their yearning for love and connection in the face of the real
deprivation. This portrayal of characters in his prose reminds of Sherwood Anderson. 15 The
greatest works by Saroyan were all inspired by his own experience ,despite the fact that the

12
Saroyan, W., The Human Comedy,1943, Hancourt,Brace and Company, New York.
13
URL: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/849509821/the-time-of-our-life , 26.10.2022.
14
Saroyan,William, “The Human Comedy”, Hancourt, Brace and Company, New York .
15
Anderson, S. American writer, 1876-1943.
11
main characters may be some individuals not connected to the author. Saroyan follows the
footsteps of Thomas Wolfe 16, in this regard, as well as with his ability to elicit the particular
situation and mood in his works. Saroyan belongs to the same category of writers as Walt
Whitman and Gertrude Stein17 because of his experimentation with forms of his prose works
and his sympathetic management of awareness. It should be mentioned that considering his
works, Saroyan was inspired by Anton Chekhov 18 in the usage of uncertain situations, which
still disclose some crucial details about the lives of the individuals and profound insights into
human nature. Saroyan’s ethos differs from that of the overtly oriented writers of the 1930s,
the decade in which he published some his greatest works, even though the atmosphere of
his stories changes from funny to the painfully melancholic. His writings frequently present
the world through the eyes of children, whose natural innocence and love towards this life
unintentionally shows us the author’s own philosophy. Saroyan wrote, “The writer is a
spiritual anarchist, as in the depth of his soul every man is. He is discontented with
everything and everybody. The writer is everybody’s best friend and only true enemy- the
good and great enemy. He neither walks with the multitude nor cheers with them. The
writer who is a writer is a rebel who never stops.”19
W. Saroyan wrote numerous insightful, occasionally humorous chronicles in his latter
years, the first of which, “Not Dying” (1963), prompted Herbert Mitgang 20 to write in “The
New York Times”: “A hardboiled romantic, Saroyan shows that he can be more in the
vanguard than many of the official literary map personages in Esquire: that he will be around
long after this year’s hipsters have become next year’s squares.” 21 In his final works, Saroyan’s
mood was frequently depressing; he appeared concerned about death. Of “Not Dying” he
noted that he hadn’t laughed once in the writing of this book. William Saroyan had always
been troubled by how much machinery reality permeated human lives, a concern that he
believed literary critics idealized.

16
Wolfe, T.American writer, 1900-1938.
17
Stein, G. American novelist, poet, playwright, 1874-1946.
18
Chekhov, A. Russian writer, 1860-1904.
19
URL: https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/4095.William_Saroyan , 27.10.2022.
20
Mitgang, H. an American author, playwright, journalist, 1920-2013.
21
URL: https://www.nytimes.com/1981/05/19/obituaries/william-saroyan-is-dead-at-72-wrote-the-time-of-your-
life.html , 27.10.2022.
12
1.2 William Saroyan’s Prose and its Role in the 20th Century American Literature
In the second decade of the twentieth century the so called “literary renaissance” was
happening in American literature. In order to engage in the intense experimental work in
drama, poetry and fiction, the concepts, forms and practices of the 19 th century were
abandoned. In other words, these were the years of development, youth and the hope for
bright future. The majority of novels that were initially published in the 1920s came up
during the years when the country was self-assured, strong, and becoming an established
global superpower.
In the 1920s, many writers were prepared to be identified as members of the “Lost
Generation” in the words of Gertrude Stein. The works of this period of time provided the
young writers new inspiration, because they demonstrated a purposeful rejection of
traditional narrative storytelling. Sherwood Anderson, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest
Hemingway are the most well-known members of the “Lost Generation”. This was a time
when American literature generally started to become more cosmopolitan. One of the
standing representatives of the American prose of the 20th century was William Saroyan.
William Saroyan was unique among writers. This is one of the reasons that he gained
critics’ attention.
Not so many American authors had a rapid decline in popularity within critics as
William Saroyan. His personality was just one of several factors, though not the least
important. Saroyan’s egoistic, at times harsh personality may have overshadowed his writing
in the view of some critics, because according to his son Aram, Saroyan was to personify “the
mythical potential of his social-historical period.” 22 William Saroyan was both a public
figure and an artist for the first half of his career. As his popularity waned, it was simple to
overlook his literary accomplishments due to the misunderstanding of these two positions. In
reality, the artist’s internal conflicts are ultimately much less significant than the quality of
his work, which was praised from his first published book (“The Daring Young Man on the
Flying Trapeze” and other stories, 1934) to his last (“Obituaries”, 1979), both of which were
considered among the greatest books of their respective years.

22
URL: https://www.enotes.com/topics/william-saroyan/critical-essays/saroyan-william-79705 , 27.10.2022.
13
 Saroyan was a genuine, exceptional American talent. The conflictual relationship
Saroyan had formed with literary critics contributed to the combative atmosphere among
them. Saroyan wrote in 1940: “I acknowledge the partial truth and validity of every charge
brought against my work, against myself personally, and against my methods of making my
work public. What is lacking in their criticism is the fullness and humanity of others…
Consequently, it is difficult for them to make sense in themselves that which is complicated
and unusual for them. What should enlarge them because of its understanding, derives them
more completely behind the fort of their own limitations.” 23 It is understandable why he
would make a strong candidate for literary exclusion. Saroyan’s writing is currently being
reexamined by critics without taking into the consideration the author’s personality. The
focus here is on his art, not his ego, or his reclusiveness , and it holds up incredibly well.

Saroyan abruptly disappeared from critical world following World War II . Along
with the criticism of the novels he wrote, his prior successes were downplayed or ignored,
turning him into a sort of literary neglected person. Even in his own region in the West, he
was not given enough credit for his talents; despite the fact that much of his greatest works
were created there, he was not included in Western American Literature’s annual
bibliographies. Saroyan’s following works “My Heart is in the Highlands”, “The Time of Your
Life”, and “Hello Out There”, were considered to be the three of his greatest works, which
even unfavorable critics had to admit that these stories had clearly Western tones and
atmosphere depicted. William Saroyan was a highly authentic writer of his period of time, of
his setting, and of his lively Armenian-American cultural fusion. Saroyan connected the gaps
between different kinds of cultures. His obvious lack of regulation detracted from his
extraordinary and potent artistic abilities, yet he nonetheless elevated the level of regional
and traditional utterance in his works.
Mary McCarthy identified the origin of both Saroyan’s best work and probably some
of his conflicts with the literary elite in “Partisan Review” in 1940. “He still retains his
innocence,” she observed,… that is, he has had to fight off ideas, movements, sex, and
commercialism. He has stayed out of the literary racket,… What is more important, the well
of inspiration, located somewhere in his early adolescence, has never run dry.” 24
23
URL: https://www.enotes.com/topics/william-saroyan/critical-essays/saroyan-william-79705 , 27.10.2022.
24
A Literary History of The American West, The Western Literature Association, Texas Christian University Press
FortWoth, 1987, p.473.
14
 She also distinguished W. Saroyan’s writing abilities from his contemporaries, giving
positive outlook on his literary works. She spoke favorably of his ability “to look at the world
with the eyes of a sensitive newsboy, and to see it eternally brand-new and touched with
wonder.” With the possibility of being “puerile and arrogant and sentimental… he is never
cheap,”25 she wrote.
1.3. William Saroyan’s Armenian Identity
Saroyan was the voice of Armenians to the world. He helped his people get
prominence on a global scale, during the period of time, when they were still humiliated and
suppressed by the Ottoman Empire. More than any other individual in the history of the
Armenians living in the USA, he contributed to the public understanding of the Armenian
culture, their character and identity. He is probably the most well-known literary author of
his nation, considering international standards.
The Armenian heritage of Saroyan was frequently regarded as his defining quality and
the reason that distinguished him from his American peers. This classification was frequently
related to his literary critics’ inclination to stereotype Asian people, which showed up in
their frequent charges of excessive emotion and irrationality. Being Armenian, in Ernest
Hemingway’s opinion, was the only characteristic that distinguished Saroyan from other
writers. The first comprehensive critical research about W. Saroyan, which was published in
1966, included Saroyan’s attitude to his upbringing among “emigrants from a country that
had many times faced extinction and had known almost endless hardships.” 26 A greater
knowledge of art and the artist has been hindered by the emphasis on Armenian
characteristics in his works. For instance, although, “The Daring Man on the Flying Trapeze”
doesn’t make any specific mention of Armenians, the author that did a compound research
on the story illustrated a moral lesson about Armenians and Armenia with its survival
through centuries of repression. For a very long time Saroyan needed to be reevaluated, not
just as a personality or a member of the Armenian minority living in the USA, who is
considered to be an ethnic writer, but as a meticulous thinker whose works have the ability
to mix the ideas of home and the actual geographical coordinates of that place within the
notion of Diaspora. He places his American and Ottoman born Armenian protagonists in the
25
McCarthy, M., Saroyan , an Innocent on Broadway, in Sights and Spectacles: 1937-1956, Farrar, Straus and
Cudahy, 1956, pp. 46-52, originally published in slightly different form in the Partisan Review , March-April 1940.
26
Ghoogasian, A., What is Armenia to Me? Diasporicity in the Works of William Saroyan, 13| 2021, pp. 183-205.
15
United States in a position where they are unable to “return” to the irrevocably changed
birthplace neither physically nor emotionally. This place mentioned in Saroyan’s stories is
most frequently Bitlis. They are also unable to fully assimilate into the host society or
properly recreate the conditions of the lost motherland in the Diaspora. As a result, Saroyan
had to constantly deal with the misunderstanding of the two words “home” and “homeland”
because the signifiers were unable to express them positioned in time or particular place.
One of the main themes of Saroyan’s Armenian- focused works is the struggle to restore in
the Diaspora everything, which was lost in Asia Minor. Despite the fact that Saroyan was
writing about the people from Bitlis, describing their past life, traditions, he himself didn’t
have any memories connected with Bitlis, nor did he have any experience of that place. He,
therefore, lacked direct knowledge on which to build his made-up, imagined homeland. The
main reason of this was that he was the only member of his family not born in the Ottoman
Empire. However, in the spring of 1964 he visited the homeland of his ancestors.
As a result of the Armenians’ total deportation from their homeland, that of from the
East of the Ottoman Empire, their homeland was irreparably changed. Facing this kind of
difficulties, Armenian exiles were forced to recreate new establishments in their host society.
This issue is depicted in Saroyan’s works, which also consider potential outcomes. Despite
the fact that many of Saroyan’s works focused on the Armenian culture, showing the
experience of Armenian exiles and descendants residing in the United States, as well as their
struggle to fit in and integrate as Armenian Americans, competent members of the US
society, others also find strength in them to return to the Ottoman Empire. These works
frequently depict the storylines of being surrounded by Armenians, struggling to adapt to life
in the host country and the state of being unable to find inner peace, being far from the
actual homeland. Because of their separation from their own land, these people frequently
become estranged from both the community and themselves. Although they tried to settle in
the new country, being in a completely different society, these characters were unable to live
happily there and instead yearned hopelessly for a different time and place. However, other
works of W. Saroyan describe either the impossibility or possibility of their return to Bitlis,
particularly as something rigorous. As the Armenian community of the Diaspora, is not able
to clarify its geographical location, they find it impossible to assert whether home is their

16
place of residence or their irrevocably lost lands. As a result, an individual belonging to this
community, is actually split between two countries, the United States and Western Armenia
and does not have a clear understanding of to which country Armenian Americans actually
belong. Admitting the fact that the children of the genocide generation are able to create
new lives and try to become parts of the American society, the Armenians, living in the
Diaspora, also aren’t able to go on living their lives to fullest, because of the inexplicable
melancholy they feel towards their homeland. This matter is confirmed by the tour to
Armenian Bitlis, described in one of Saroyan’s stories. Actually, it is impossible to find
remedy, if a person suffers from homesickness. Living in a foreign country, being a part of
the Diaspora, won’t make a homesick person to an individual, living according to the
principles of the global citizenship. In contrast, this person will get lost in his own thoughts
and won’t find “home” anywhere.
The concept of Saroyan’s work demonstrates the weaknesses and defaults that has the
diasporic life, particularly for the Armenian characters born in the USA. Even if they are
born in an American environment and they try to integrate into it, they are, however, still
people who yearn for another place , living in another world, completely different from each
other. The efforts of the characters in Saroyan’s stories to fully integrate into the host society
or, on the contrary, to leave it, makes them disoriented and geographically dislocated.

Saroyan’s works deal with this particular aspect of Armenian people’s lives.

CHAPTER II

17
 CONCEPT OF MEDIATED TRANSLATION AND ITS ROLE IN
LITERATURE AND CULTURE
2.1. Brief Outline of the Concept of Translation

The concept of translation is described as almost the same thing by different

representatives of linguistic theory. According to Barkhudarov “translation is a process of
converting a text of another language into a text of another language, preserving the content,
that is, the meaning27.” The notion of translation is a comprehensive phenomenon, the
separate aspects of which can become the subject of study in different sciences. The theory of
translation as well as the notion of translation, on the whole, are used in different fields, such
as phonetics, lexicology, semantics, as well as stylistics, methods of psycholinguistics etc.
Traditionally, translation is defined in terms of completeness and accuracy of the
transmission of the original. It is in this sense that one speaks of “good” or “bad” translations.
A. Fyodorov considers that kind of translation to be complete, which conveys the content of
the original and fully corresponds to it from a functional-stylistic point of view 28. Critics of
different translation texts, referring to the original, often forget that the original text does
not exist for its own sake, but serves as means of conveying certain ideas, emotional state to
the reader. Basically, translation is used for that particular reason. Therefore, there is the
same task between the original text and the translated version, that is, to influence the reader
through the translated version of the text. A translation can be done well or badly, but even
“the worst translation remains a translation because it is meant to represent (a fully
legitimate substitute for) the original text29”.
These days translation serves as a tool for communication as well as an efficient
method of learning and applying knowledge. Additionally, it facilitates the development of
solid corporate and political relationship. Moreover, translation contributes to the
development of the cross-cultural understanding. A professional translator should have some
familiarity with the history of the language they are translating into in order to accurately
translate a specific text into another language. This would enable them to translate more

27
Бархударов Л.,Язык и перевод., М., 1975, p.11
28
Федоров А., Основы общей теории перевода, M., 2002, p.148
29
Комиссаров В.Н., Слово о переводе, Издательство «Международные Отношения», Москва, 1973, p.20
18
accurately; after all, translation is more than merely translating a text into another language.
A translated text should always convey the intended meaning.
There are several methods of translation, such as literal, faithful, semantic, adaptation,
free translation, word for word etc. Scholars investigating this field have elaborated many
works devoted to this topic. They, in their turn, studied translation methods elaborating
different kinds of translations each one for themselves. Despite the fact that a variety of
translation techniques have been proposed, it is clear that striking to any one of them will
not result in a translation that is significantly better than the original. The translator uses a
combination of these various techniques during the translation process, depending on the
type of source language material.
There are several types of translating written texts, such as literary translation,
scientific translation, translation of administrative documents, etc. In this subchapter there
will be a short reference to translating literary texts. The written word is literature. Language
and literature are closely related. Without language, there wouldn’t be literature. Numerous
communities that were formed throughout the world during the evolution of mankind
created countless languages based on the sounds they could standardize to represent diverse
object and emotions. Many of these languages eventually evolved scripts that were
appropriate for their pronunciations, and then “literature” was created to preserve the
thoughts of wise people in a particular community. Ideas vary from one person to another
and from one society to another. Therefore, literature produced by distinct individuals in a
setting of various communities is destined to differ in form, features, ideas and values
included therein. Only translation can make such knowledge of one community accessible to
another, bringing two communities closer together. The experience of translators and
translation researches in the 19th and 20th centuries served as the foundation for the theory of
literary translation. From the perspective of the general theory of activity and speech
activity, translation stands out as a unique type of activity where the information is
exchanged and where certain strategies of the subject(translator) in relation to the object
(oral or written text) are expressed in the search for the necessary types of transformations to
achieve the most complete equivalence of the meaning of the primary(original) text in
relation to the secondary text(TL). Both literary and poetry translation can be seen as a form

19
of cross-linguistic and cross-cultural communication 30. In other words, it is possible to argue
that bilingual and bicultural31 issues of translation exist. Issues primarily related to
biculturalism are the main difficulties in translating fiction. These issues are most often
associated with ignorance of cultural background of the particular language that is being
translated. Realia terms expressing the national cultural character of the people bring specific
translation challenges in works of literature. The translator’s limited background knowledge
and cultural expertise cause the meaning distortion.

2.2 Concept of Mediated Translation

The linguistic, structural and linguocultural features of languages used in the
translation process are all of significant importance when looking at indirect or mediated
translation as linguistic and literary phenomena. Despite the conflicting views of theorists
and practitioners of translation through the intermediary language, it is nonetheless useful
for the representation of many national literatures including Armenian literature. This kind
of translation, which is being done using “lingua franca” is called mediated translation. The
process of the mediated translation, defined as a translation of a translation, has a long
history, is widely used in many aspects of today’s society and in some ways, has a promising
future. Despite all this, translation scholars have historically given only sporadic attention
too mediated translation; it has only recently gained considerable attention in the area of
translation studies. Insights into the historiography of intercultural relationships, the
complex role of intermediary centers in the cross- cultural transfer between peripheries, and
other recent developments have all made a significant contribution to the state of the art of
translation research. These developments have also challenged the conventional binarism in
the study of translation. They have also demonstrated that there is still a ton of research to be
done. In particular, it has become clear that the research considering mediated translation is
still quite fragmented, which means that this idea is still largely undertheorized and occupies
a marginal place within translation studies. It would be useful to start the research by
establishing the primary claims, assumptions, and motivations of mediated translation before
addressing the main terminological, theoretical and methodological concerns. It is reportedly

30
Гончаренко С.Ф., Поэтический перевод и перевод поэзии, константы и вариативность// Тетради переводчика:
Научно-теоретический сборник, М., МГЛУ, 1999, p.108
31
Томахин Г.Д., Перевод как межкультурная коммуникация// Перевод и коммуникация., М., Ин-т языкознания РАН,
1997, pp. 129-130
20
a typical practice. Mediated translation tends to be negatively evaluated because it is believed
that it would increase the distance to the ultimate source text and as a result, it also tends to
be hidden or camouflaged due to this predominantly negative evaluation given an apparent
still-dominant demand for closeness to the source text. If translation is typically thought to
be bad because it is derivative, mediated translation is supposedly worse. It is claimed that it
occurs more frequently in the reception of literary works from distant (geographically,
culturally and linguistically) literary systems and that it tends to decrease as relations
between distant systems get closer. As a result of globalization, mediated translation appears
to be on the rise, given that intercultural text transfer frequently involves dominant systems
as a mediator within a worldwide network of power relations. As for its motivations, this
kind of translation frequently occurs as a result of lack of translators, lack of linguistic
proficiency, difficulties in obtaining the source material, or translating from a language that
is substantially different. Reusing previously translated texts is possible both intralingually
(within the same language) and interlingually(across languages). Intralingual situations
involve the creation of a second target text in the same target language from a first target
text. The concept of mediated translation is defined by Ringmar as “a chain of (at least) three
texts, ending with a translation made from another translation: (original) ST>intermediate
text> target text (2012:141). Interlingual mediated translation, which is considered to be the
one more coherently researched of the two types, is known to be used in translating
literature, mostly involving (semi)peripheral languages such as Polish into Portuguese,
Russian into Chinese, Norwegian into Chinese. In case of Armenian Literature and Culture,
many English literature works were translated into Armenian, represented to Armenian
society due to Russian. The reason of that was that Armenia was one of the countries of the
Soviet Union and being unable to translate famous literature works from English, Armenian
translators did their work from Russian. It is evident that these translations did not retain
much of the original, and instead of being literary translations in the traditional sense, they
were more like story transcriptions. No wonder, the attitude towards this kind of translation
is quite negative, but there are also exceptions. Ringmar emphasized the main effect of
mediated translations: “the TT differs more from the ST than the MT(mediating text) differs
from the ST”, it will inevitably produce differences that more often than not will increase

21
the distance to the ST32. Reusers of interlingual mediated translation are likely to discover
that textual qualities like attenuated alliterations, errors inserted either intentionally or
accidentally, and omissions removed from the target texts are virtually always recreated
when they only rely on previously translated texts. Although translators may consult the
original text and/or a number of translations into other languages, the degree of separation
between the second translator and the original source text is so great that there is unlikely to
be any contact with the source text at all, leading to “compilative translations”. Mediated
translation is sometimes used with meanings as a translation of a translation. For instance,
Grutt (1989) uses this label to denote a particular translation that does not focus on the
resemblance to the ST. In order to describe and comprehend the phenomenon of Mediated
Translation, several types of indirectness should be distinguished, depending on

a) The number and types of mediating texts included in the process;

b) The number of mediating languages and their choice- including the usage of one
mediating language and the usage of more than one mediating language.
c) The measure of indirectness used in translation.

The main difference between the faithful translation and mediated translation is that
they have different speech forms. If the faithful translation is traditionally based on the
characteristics of the oral speech and corresponding type of translation (for instance, from
English into Russian) and has fixed correlation of letters through oral perception during the
transliteration of Latin into Cyrillic, then mediated translation most often occurs in writing,
which is why there are erroneous identifications of the original English form with a
borrowed form, for instance, from Russian. Mediated translation can be carried out in
several ways; firstly, by transferring the original form to the phonetic-graphic conditions of
the target languages; secondly, by actually translating parts of the original form; thirdly, by
interpreting the meaning of the original form. The first method is expressed through
transliteration (transmission of the literal appearance of the original form by letters of the
target languages) and practical (translation) transcription (transmission of the sound
appearance of the word by the letters of the target languages). The second method is called
calque, the third is translating through explanatory. The term “mediated translation” has

32
Ringmar M., Roundabout Routes, Some remarks on indirect translation, 2007, p.10
22
 been revived in our time due to the increase in the scale of intercultural communication
through the languages of international communication, especially through English, which
has become an intermediary language or lingua franca(ELF 33= English as a Lingua Franca).
Mediated translation is the process of translating between two-non-native cultures using an
intermediary language. If the English language is used in communication between, for
instance, Chinese, using the Chinese variant of the English language and Russian whose
version of the language of communication is actually Russian English, then the translation
from Chinese English into Russian will be mediated translation. In other words, translating
from a local or regional variant of the language of international communication is known as
mediated translation. Scientific researches as well as practical usage of this kind of
translation are particularly popular among that kind of variants of languages that are formed
as a result of interaction with the English language, as most of the language interactions
today are carried out through the intermediary language in writing.

2.3. Role of Mediated Translation in Armenian Literature and Culture

It is a well-known fact that literary relations and connections among literature of

different cultures are highly influencing one another and take on new meanings. The
sources from which a given national culture derives its nourishment vary, depending on how
much contact that culture has with the cultures of other people. Literary translation serves as
the foundation for contacts and interactions between different literary works and cultures.
Evidently, in recent years, the field of scientific inquiry into the difficulties of literary
translation has broadened, and the study of translation theory has developed into a
recognized academic discipline with representative both in our country and internationally.
Due to the translation legacy of classical writers, which includes both translated works and
theoretical studies, examination articles, and reviews devoted to the issues and principles of
this art. Armenian literature has a wealth of study material in this area. Armenian literature
began with translations. As soon as writing was invented in the fifth century, scholars
undertook and completed the Bible translation, which eventually came to be regarded by
European Armenologists as the “queen of translation” and which outshines all other

33
The international scientific community ELF was formed holding annual conferences of its association. Under the auspices
of the association a magazine is published since 2012 by De Gryter-Mouton.
23
translations. If we take into account the obvious language challenges the ciliators had to deal
with, the utter lack of deposits, it was in fact a really difficult job. The 5 th century brought
further translations to the Armenian spiritual literature, enriching it with the motto “holy
translators”. Writing hymns, lectures, and poems with a spiritual theme, they also
established the basis for independent Armenian literature. The selection of the works to be
translated reflected not only the preferences of the writer-translator but also the social and
political atmosphere of the moment as well as the socially acceptable standards of aesthetics.
However, these conditions were vague and simple in nature. The writer-translator had a
responsibility to direct readers, shape their ingrained reading preferences, and make rigorous
selections when introducing them to the works of authors who wrote in other languages.
Many of Armenian writers were translators as well. From this point of view they did
enormous work, enriching Armenian literature with their writings and representing the
masterpieces of foreign writers to Armenian society. “Development of translated literature
within us will be the strongest assurance for the growth of our literature.” 34

The diverse contacts of Armenian literature have been formed over the centuries, and
if some layers of that problem have been subjected to philological and typological scrutiny,
the basis of these contacts, translated literature, is still waiting for the research and scientific
evaluation of its history, traditions, development patterns, which, without a doubt, will
contribute to a deeper and comprehensive study of national literature with a historical and
comparative aspect.

According to several experts, the rapid expansion of translated literature in the Soviet
Union, accomplished through interlinear translation, greatly influenced the establishment
and growth of the translation school in the former Soviet Union countries, including Soviet
Armenia. According to scholars, it was at that time that it became clear that literary
translation is a matter of national relevance, in which the kinship peoples were interested
and who had the chance to exchange literary works. Since it was vital to preserve the
national peculiarities of the people, while also taking into account the interests of the
Russian- speaking recipients, translating national literature was a monumentally tough job.
The cultural and linguistic policy of the Soviet government strictly regulated the status and

34
Տերյան Վ․,Անունը կա, անունումը չկա, հոդված,երկերի ժողովածու, Հ․, Երևան, 1961, p.217
24
function of translation. The works of foreign linguist S. Witt 35, according to whom the
process of translation in the Soviet Union was a part of a political system that had existed for
sixty years, highlight this aspect of literary translation, which is typical of all post- Soviet
republics. Russian language also served as a lingua franca in the Soviet Union, serving as a
medium language due to which all translations from native languages into other languages
and vice versa were conducted. According to the scientists, during the era of the Soviet
Union, there were 2 kinds of translations:

1)the translation of works of foreign literature into the languages of the peoples of the USSR
via Russian (for instance, the translation of works by W. Shakespeare, C. Dickens, D. Defoe,
W. Saroyan into Armenian via Russian editions of these classics;

2)the literature of the peoples of the USSR, which was almost always translated into foreign
languages via Russian publications.

Analyzing the question of the translation of Armenian literature works, it should be

mentioned that Russian had an enormous role in translation field of Armenia. It became a
kind of “window” for Armenians to the world of foreign literature. Due to Russian language,
Armenian writers and translators “spoke” foreign language. All translations of multilingual
literature from the Soviet and post- Soviet times were made thanks to the abundance of
skilled translators who could translate from Russian into other languages. When it comes to
the drawbacks of mediated translation, several scholars have noted that there are limitations
that are genre-based. The degree of accuracy in the translation of prose works using a third
language can be relatively high, but the difficulty of translating poetic works is nearly
insurmountable. Even if the work is to be translated from the original, it doesn’t guarantee
that it will be successful. Although the text in mediated translation has some loss of meaning,
at least proportionally, it did establish the framework for modern translations. Without it,
there wouldn’t be such fine translations of literature works, which we have today.
Undoubtedly, close geopolitical, economic, cultural and social ties with Russia
contributed to the formation and development of translation in Armenia. Moreover, the
spread of the Russian language in various spheres of life has led to the phenomenon of

35
Witt S., Baer B. J., Translation in Russian Contexts, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2018
25
bilingualism, which contributed to the emergence of bilingual writers and translators in the
literary field, improving the quality of Russian-Armenian, Armenian-Russian translations.
Mediated translation has played a huge role and has conveyed to the Armenian reader
world-class literary values that are priceless. They primarily focused on the 1950s and 1970s,
a period in which translations were mostly mediated. Such translators, doing mediated
translations, were kind of representatives of international literature in Armenian society.
They were motivating people to get acquainted with world-known works of literature and
were educating Armenian people in that way. One of the examples of representing
international literature to Armenian readers was mediated translations of the prose by W.
Saroyan. W. Saroyan had a great popularity within Armenian society, mostly due to his
Armenian origin. This was one of the reasons, that Armenian translators started to translate
his prose via “lingua franca”, in this case using Russian.
Mediated translation had a crucial role in education, because both school and university
books were actually translated from Russian. This allowed the Armenian reader to become
familiar with the most significant books in the fields of education, literature, science.

26