O kontekstach kulturowych polskich przekładów powieści Les Misérables Wiktora Hugo (publikowanych w latach 1862‑2012)

Abstract

The Cultural Contexts of the Polish Translations of V. Hugo’s Novel Les Misérables (Published in the Years 1862‑2012)

The article discussed both extra– and intra‑textual cultural contexts of translation. Very important extra‑textual cultural context for Polish translations of V. Hugo’s Les Misérables has to do with the the way they have been published and whom for: initially in the press, then in a paper book as complete versions or truncated ones, as a paraphrase, finally, since 2000, as well as e‑books and audio‑books; for simple or rather intellectual readers. Recreating the chronology of series of published translations since the first one in 1862, we can observe the primary role of publishers and editors in relation to translators, the more they were among them well‑known writers – J.I. Kraszewski (publisher) and J. Iwaszkiewicz (editor). The first translation was collective, because of the publishing cycle serialized in press and the length of the original. But the names of translators were given, including in the first book released. In the next editions often the names of translators were omitted and sometimes the published text was a compilation of several translations. So first the translation of E. Sulicki and F. Faleński, the one by W. Limanowska coexist in 2000th years with the new one of K. Byczewska, first time published in 1956 in the PIW. Then we try to perceive the cultural intra‑textual contexts by analyzing how many culturally significant elements of the original have been translated in diachronico‑synchronic series of Polish translations. This analysis seems to confirm that the type of publishers has a major impact on cohesion (integral or abridged version), semantic and linguistic quality of those translations. The sign of intersection of extra- and intra‑textual factors is undoubtedly censorship interference in translations, at first with a predominance of the socio‑political one, until, in the Iskry edition of 1954, in which there is a noticeable censorship of the author’s convictions including religious and moral ones.