This article examines ways of translation of phonetic nonce words on the material of the novel “The Slynx” by T. Tolstaya. The aim of the article is to determine functions of phonetic nonce words in the novel and make a thorough analysis of their translation from Russian into English on the basis of lexical-semantic, contextual and comparative translation methods. As the result of the research we can conclude the following: phonetic nonce words have two functions in the novel (they transmit 1) a folk tale speech and 2) sounds of nature). New nonce words were used in the English translation or usual words were used for translation of the Russian nonce words in the novel, which significantly influenced the transmission of the author's style.