Translating Deontic Modality: Semantic and Formal Convergences and Discrepancies

Modality is a challenging phenomenon for translators since languages have modality systems that differ in terms of the degree of grammaticalization. The article aims to analyze and summarize strategies used in translating deontic modal operators from Russian into English. Based on the theory of modality developed within Functional Linguistics, the article is intended to analyze the deontic modal forms in the presidential addresses delivered in 2015-2022 in an attempt to explore formal and semantic convergences and discrepancies between the Russian and English parallel texts. To achieve this purpose, the research seeks to identify modal operators used to express deontic meanings in Russian and English, to reveal semantic and formal similarities and discrepancies between the deontic modal forms in the parallel texts, and to summarize translation strategies employed to render the Russian deontic modal forms into English. The novelty of the research is due to scrutinizing discrepancies between deontic modal forms in the Russian and English texts and analyzing translation choices. The article contributes to the research on deontic modal operators that need to be thoroughly investigated in Russian and English due to semantic and syntactic differences among the Germanic and Slavic languages. Three types of translation strategies were identified: semantic and grammatical equivalence, grammatical transformation, semantic and grammatical transformation. The results can be used in training translators and preparing manuals for translation courses.