Phonetic Features of the Belarusian New Testament Translations (Orthodox and Catholic Editions)

Abstract

The paper presents a comparative analysis of phonetic features, mainly concerning proper names in the Catholic and Orthodox editions of the Gospel Books translated into Belarusian. The basis of the study is also formed by biblical text sources in Greek, Latin, Church Slavonic, Polish, and Russian. Furthermore, translation, explanatory and other dictionaries, as well as works on the historical phonetics of the Belarusian language and modern Belarusian literary phonetics are used. The article emphasizes how, under the influence of individual linguistic traditions, ancient Greek sounds and their combinations are reflected in different ways in translated texts. It is apparent that the translators of the Gospels into Belarusian exhibit a certain dependence on foreign-language influences, primarily Polish and Latin, Russian and Church Slavonic confessional traditions of pronunciation and writing; thus, the translators often fail to use the dictionary versions of names and titles not fully acknowledging the phonetic and articulatory processes characteristic of the modern Belarusian literary language.