SOCIOLINGUISTIC AND TRANSLATION ASPECTS OF RENDERING ITALIAN CODE-MIXING IN UKRAINIAN TRANSLATION: THE PROBLEM OF USING SURZHIK

Abstract

The article examines literary translation as a complex sociosemiotic process of intercultural mediation, with particular attention to the challenges of rendering Italian code-mixing in Ukrainian translation. The study focuses on the interaction between the Italian literary standard, regional varieties, and autochthonous dialects within the framework of Gaetano Berruto’s model of dilalia and the concept of literary mistilinguismo. Drawing on the prose of Andrea Camilleri and the Ukrainian translation of the short story Tocco d’artista (The Artist’s Touch), the research explores the sociolinguistic, pragmatic, and axiological implications of using Ukrainian Surzhyk as a potential means of reproducing the linguistic heterogeneity of the source text. The analysis reveals significant functional and sociocultural differences between Italian dialectal code variation and Ukrainian Surzhyk. Direct substitution of Italian dialectal elements with Surzhyk may introduce additional historical and cultural connotations that are absent from the original, alter the pragmatic profile of literary characters, and shift the cultural and pragmatic parameters of the source text. Particular attention is paid to the ways in which dialectal and regionally marked elements are rendered in the Ukrainian translation of Camilleri’s short story. On the basis of the analysis, three compensatory translation strategies are identified: stylized colloquial speech, decentralized dialectal marking, and controlled foreignization accompanied, where necessary, by contextual glossing. These strategies make it possible to preserve the linguistic heterogeneity, pragmatic functions, and sociocultural specificity of the source text while avoiding unjustified sociolinguistic associations in the target language.