ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to establish a dialogue between two linguistic traditions in the study of translated texts in Russia. The linguistic object in question is the metatextual operator, a discourse marker that expresses the speaker's attitude toward the information he or she reports. The verbalization of metatextual operators here reflects, first and foremost, each translator's individual interpretation of the author's ideas and style. Studying metatextual operators in translation which can vary significantly in the translated versions of the same text. The phemonenon of "unstable" metatext can be traced from early translations to modern ones. The interrelations change when metatextual operators are omitted or added in translation. Here are some examples found in Russian translations of modern English and American narratives. The rendering of metatexual operators depends on the genre of the text and the nature of the target audience. The interpretation of metatext becomes one of the key features distinguishing the various Russian translations of Anthony Burgess's novel.
