In the present era, a significant portion of the poet’s outstanding works has been translated into major world languages and widely disseminated to the public. Our esteemed Arkadag Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov has remarked: “The esteemed place of Magtymguly Pyragy, the wise Turkmen poet who adorned human hearts with the light of goodness through his wonderful poems, is one of the highest sanctities cherished by the Turkmen people.” [2,14] His remarks about the poet’s literary creativity serve as a model for our people.

The multifaceted nature and artistic quality of Magtymguly’s work are valuable sources for us. For the first time, this work examines the stylistic features of Magtymguly’s poems in Russian, English, Spanish, and Turkish. Translating stylistic elements in the advanced era of linguistics reveals the novelty and significance of the task.

In 2014, under the title “Magtymguly: Selected Works,” the poet’s poems were translated into Turkish in Ankara, Armenian in Yerevan, Belarusian in Minsk, Kazakh in Astana, Korean in Seoul, Urdu in Delhi, Azerbaijani in Baku, Tatar in Kazan, Ukrainian in Kyiv, Japanese in Tokyo, Romanian in Bucharest, Chinese in Beijing, and French in Paris.

Notable Hungarian scholar and traveler Armin Wamberi has made significant contributions to Turkmen folklore, literature, history, and ethnography. In 1885, Wamberi’s book “Turkish Peoples in Their Ethnological and Ethnographic Relations” was published in Leipzig in German. This book consists of an introduction and five chapters, including the second chapter titled “Central Asian Turkish Tribes,” which contains a section “Turkmens: Origins, Division, Population.” This section provides valuable information on the history and ethnography of the Turkmen people. The author refers to Magtymguly’s poems and provides examples from them in comparative studies of Turkic languages.

Wamberi notes in this scholarly work that Magtymguly is considered a sacred figure among the Turkmen, holding the highest position everywhere, as he had written in his previous books.

Additionally, this section includes a special collection of Magtymguly’s poems. Four poems (“Öňi-ardy bilinmez,” “Gerekdir,” “Çilimkeş,” and “Näme sen”) are presented in German. Wamberi altered the titles of these poems when translating them, assigning new names.

Wamberi specifically mentions that he obtained these poems from the 33rd issue of the “German Oriental Society” journal.

In 1863, Wamberi brought a manuscript of Magtymguly, consisting of 260 pages, to Budapest and published a complete German translation of 31 poems and partial translations of 10 poems in his work “Turkmen Language and Magtymguly’s Divan” in 1879.

World scholars have shown interest in Magtymguly Pyragy’s works, making significant efforts to translate his poems into various languages and bring his works to global audiences. For instance, Aleksandr Khodzko-Boreyko published three of Magtymguly’s poems with brief information about him in English in London in 1842. F. Bakulin provided a brief overview of Magtymguly and translated two of his poems into Russian in 1872. Professor Armin Wamberi published 30 of Magtymguly’s poems in full and 10 partially in German in a journal in Leipzig in 1879. In 1907, N.A. Ostroumow published 50 of Magtymguly’s poems in the Turkmen language in an Arabic script-based alphabet in a newspaper in Tashkent, which was also published separately as a booklet in 1911. In 1941, Mark Tarlowski published the first collection of Magtymguly’s lyrical poems in Russian in Moscow.

This translated German text offers insights into Magtymguly’s enduring influence and reputation, affirming his role as a learned individual of his time.

The stylistic features of the text are notable. The translator’s use of simple past tense to depict events is apparent, with examples of the past tense forms “sich erhob,” “ging vor,” and “küsste” in the German text. The translator uses straightforward German language for describing events, indicating proficiency in the language. The translation is easy to read and understandable.

Ich war berauscht, und verlor mich ganz,

Wurde sprachlos und blieb in Verwunderung stehen.

Worauf sie sprachen: „Wir drei, wir sind deine Meister,

Dein Name wird in der Welt ewig genannt, …

In some parts of the text, the translator employs a freer translation method. The stanzas and rhythm of the poems are also distinctive.

It is worth noting that G. Shengel’s translation of Magtymguly’s poems into Russian demonstrates great skill. Analyzing the specific features of some translations provides clear examples of this. For instance, in translating the poet’s poem “Azadym kany?” (Where is my Azady?), G. Shengel has strived to closely match the original content. For example:

G. Shengel notes the following about the subtle aspects of translation: “If creating such samples were always successful, the fundamental issue of translation, i.e., the question of whether translation is essentially ‘creative work or not,’ would never arise. The translated text of the work must necessarily resemble the content of the original” [8,12]. This means that achieving a close representation of the original text’s content in another language is a testament to the high level of the art of translation. No matter how skilled a translator is, achieving exact similarity between the original and the translation is always a challenging task. Therefore, ensuring that the translation closely resembles the original as much as possible is a primary task for the experienced translator. G. Shengel addresses the issue of maintaining semantic equivalence in poetic images and comparisons by referring to examples from his experience translating Magtymguly’s poems. He emphasizes the importance of thorough research in expressing the nuances of words and highlights the need to be diligent in capturing the unique qualities of words. Additionally, he proves that the previously widely used literal translation method is not reliable.

G. Shengel highlights the importance of translating poetic lines within their contextual framework and shows that translations of poems written in French, Italian, Turkmen, and other languages in meters such as “beýt” and “yamb” can be effectively rendered in translation. He notes the need to preserve the harmony and consistency of the original work in the Russian translation of Magtymguly’s poems, due to the lack of equivalent poetic forms. The outer form of the poem only provides the basic structure, while the specific harmony of the poem, characterized by complex sound patterns and rhythm, must be preserved in each language. For instance, Shengel points out that when translating twelve-syllable French poems, using the six-foot iambic meter, and when translating eleven-syllable Turkish poems, using five-foot iambic meter and Georgian “shair-rini” (simultaneously “high” and “low”) meter, it is suitable to use an eight-line horic meter. He notes that translating poems written in forms such as “gazal” and “muhammes” in octava is particularly challenging. However, through diligent and persistent effort, such complex issues can be resolved. Shengel underscores the importance of adhering to secondary (explanatory) lexical units to overcome difficulties related to matching the number of lines in the original and the translation.

G. Shengel’s creative approach to considering the peculiarities of the original work in translation sets standards for the translation work and remains relevant in modern times. This philosophy of the master translator is an invaluable resource for training future generations of skilled translators. Shengel can be recognized as one of the founders of the school of translating Turkmen literature into Russian. He directly guided the effective implementation of translation work, established a school for skilled professionals, and prepared a worthy generation to continue his work, with Arseni Tarkovsky being one of the foremost.

It is important to recognize Arseni Tarkovsky’s significant place in the world of Russian poetry. Indeed, if we look at Tarkovsky’s era, we see that his work bridges the “silver age” of poetry and the period following it. Though younger than Anna Akhmatova and Marina Tsvetaeva, Tarkovsky maintained friendly relations with them and absorbed the traditions of that generation’s poets into his work.

The translations of Turkmen classical literature into various languages have been executed at a high level of mastery. A distinctive school of translation into Russian has been established. Magtymguly Pyragy’s poems continue to shine as a spiritual beacon for readers in other countries.

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2. Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow.  Ömrümiň manysy. A., TDNG.2022.
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8. Magtymguly. Saýlanan eserler. Türk dilinde. Ankara. 2014.
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10. Magtymguly. Saýlanan eserler. Rus  dilinde. Moskwa. 2014.

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