Name substitution as a mechanism of semantic and temporal transformation in intersemiotic translation: from Leonid Zorin’s play “The Pokrovsky Gate” to the eponymous film by Mikhail Kozakov

The aim of this study is to determine the role of anthroponym substitution in the transformation of the semantic and temporal structure in the intersemiotic translation of a dramatic work into a film text. The material for comparison is Leonid Zorin’s play “The Pokrovsky Gate” (1974) and its screen version directed by Mikhail Kozakov (1982). The research focuses on the renaming of the protagonist’s beloved: in the play she is called Alevtina, while in the film she becomes Margarita. Applying an integrated methodology that includes etymological analysis, an associative experiment, and phonosemantic analysis (based on A. P. Zhuravlev’s scales), the article argues that the change of the anthroponym is not accidental but constitutes a deliberate semiotic act. The article examines in detail how the pre-textual associative fields and phonosemantic characteristics of the names are actualized in the characters’ images and their screen representation. Special attention is given to the key scene of the protagonist’s introduction to Rita, where cinematic codes interact with the onomastic choice, creating an effect of continuity between generations. The scientific novelty of the work lies in identifying, for the first time, the mechanism by which onomastic repetition and the differentiated use of hypocoristics (Rita and Margo) shape a fundamentally different, cyclical temporality in the film, as opposed to the linear temporality of the play. The findings demonstrate that a character’s name can serve as a marker of deep semantic transformation in a work undergoing intersemiotic translation.