Audio recording of the epic and its translation: textological notes

The article presents a textological analysis of the epic “Meret-oolak” performed by D. K. Turushpanov. The decod- ing of “Meret-oolak” audio recording was made by different native speakers − I. Y. Arbachakov and L. N. Arbacha- kova. When working with the archival audio recording of the epic under study as the primary source, the authors followed the main principle of practical textology − the authenticity of the research material. In this study, a com- parison was made of the tirade from “Meret-oolak” (published and translated into Russian in 119 lines) with “Meret sar attyg Meret Oolaқ” (154 lines, respectively), decoded by the authors. The textological analysis revealed that in the version of I. Arbachakov, there are omissions of words, phrases, lines, some epic formulas, and the common place “The Creation of the Earth.” In addition to omissions, typos in the text and inaccuracies in translation into Russian were found. Also, the Russisms with affixes of Shor cases, the phrases adapted in Shor, as well as pure Russisms and Russian vernaculars, were identified. Siberian folklorists engaged in audio decoding of heroic epics noticed the slips of language, repetitions, variorum, and mistakes that are natural in the live performance of the epic. Using the available audio recording of the analyzed text, we were able to repeated- ly listen to it and compare it with the published text. As a result, the authors have identified some words in typical places and restored the epic formulas and one “common place”.