Structural and pragmatic characteristics of euphemisms in Chinese and Russian translation process

Abstract

The study is devoted to a comparative analysis of the structural and pragmatic characteristics of euphemisms in Chinese-Russian translation interaction, where euphemization is considered as a tool for symbolic regulation of reality, determined by cultural attitudes, including the Confucian concept of faces in China and the mosaic layering of the Russian tradition with religious, bureaucratic and ironic registers. The aim of the work is to systematize structural models, thematic domains, pragmatic functions of euphemisms and the associated range of translation strategies, offering a conceptual model of decision making focused on preserving the communicative effect. The material is a corpus of texts from the beginning of the 21st century: fiction, journalism, political speeches and their translations; the methodology combines comparative, linguistic, pragmatic, discursive and linguistic cultural analysis.; The multi-stage procedure includes the identification and classification of euphemisms by topic (death, illness, physiology, social vices, politics, economics), the analysis of translation solutions (equivalent and functional substitution, neutralization, explication, omission) and interpretation in a socio-cultural and philosophical-anthropological perspective. Russian system tends to be more eclectic in sources and styles, including religious, colloquial, and bureaucratic codes; pragmatically, Chinese euphemization tends to metaphorize and generalize, supporting social harmony and avoiding directness, while the Russian system is more eclectic in sources and styles, including religious, colloquial, and bureaucratic codes. Pragmatically, China is dominated by the preservation of face , while Russian discourse is characterized by ideological veiling and social labeling. Direct model transposition of euphemisms interlanguagely is not viable; Functional substitution is considered the most productive, in which an equivalent pragmatic effect becomes a priority, although it is associated with the risk of stylistic shifts and loss of implicit meanings. A practical model for choosing a strategy at the intersection of a domain, a structural model, and a pragmatic goal is proposed, taking into account the norms of the target culture; implications for training translators as intercultural mediators, limitations of the corpus, and directions for further research (quantitative frequency measurements, experimental assessment of reader perception) are discussed.