Między Oryginałem a Przekładem (Between Original and Translation) is an international scientific journal of Faculty of Philology at the Jagiellonian University (Kraków). It publishes research articles from all areas of Translation Studies in English, French and Polish. Following Thomson Reuters' categories, our articles are classified as: Cultural Studies, Film, Radio, Television, Humanities, Multidisciplinary, Language & Linguistics, Literary Theory & Criticism. The journal is published quarterly online. At the end of the year, all issues are published in printed versions. Since 2016 (No 31) full journal content has been available online in open access. The journal does not have article processing charges, editorial charges, or printing fees.
Recepcja tłumaczeń literatury francuskiej w Polsce po II wojnie światowej (1945-1970)
RECEPTION OF TRANSLATIONS OF FRENCH LITERATURE IN POST-SECOND WORLD WAR POLAND (1945-1970): PRELIMINARY CONCLUSIONS, RESEARCH QUESTIONS, AND HYPOTHESES The article is an attempt to analyze the reception of Polish translations of French literature in the years 1945-1970. It focuses on press critiques of the translations in order to formulate preliminary conclusions regarding the projected reader of these books, to sketch the possible motivations of the translators and their publishers, the role of the translations in the social and political context of the time, their impact on the readers and the use the readers made of them.
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THE EPISTEMOLOGY OF TRANSLATION: A POLEMIC WITH EDWARD BALCERZAN This article is a response to E. Balcerzan’s [2022] proposal for an internal epistemology of literary translation. While valuable due to its original theoretical perspective, the author simultaneously considers it detached from current trends in translation studies. Balcerzan draws exclusively on the concepts and tools of structuralism, which is currently an insufficient approach. The author disputes the scholar’s identitarian definition of translation as a “re-edition of the original,” which prevents it from being understood as an epistemic transformation. She also proposes expanding his typology of textual structures using the concepts of polysystems [Even-Zohar 1978; 1990] and intertextual tools [Genette 1982].
AMATEUR ONLINE TRANSLATION: FANFICTION TRANSLATION (BASED ON A SAMPLE OF POLISH TRANSLATIONS FROM ENGLISH PUBLISHED ON THE AO3 PLATFORM) Translating fanfiction is a notably understudied phenomenon that plays a significant role in fan communities, enabling fans who lack proficiency in English to access fanworks created by an international and multicultural community. This study explores the unprofessional, non-commercial translation of fanfiction posted online, focusing on a sample of nine Polish translations of fanworks originally written in English. The analysis has two main dimensions: first, an examination of paratexts, translators’ notes, and reader interactions; second, a philological analysis of the translations, with particular attention to recurring errors and favored translation strategies.
Protokół głośnego myślenia w tłumaczeniu literatury na polski język migowy (PJM) na przykładzie analizy wiersza Mirona Białoszewskiego Wywiad
THINK ALOUD PROTOCOL IN TRANSLATING LITERATURE INTO POLISH SIGN LANGUAGE (PJM) This text attempts to demonstrate how the search for translation solutions can unfold in the process of translating a literary text from Polish into Polish Sign Language (PJM), on the example of the poem “Wywiad” (“Interview”) by Miron Białoszewski. For the purposes of the analysis of the poem, the think-aloud protocol (TAP) method was employed, which allowed for the tracking of the cognitive processes and difficulties encountered by the PJM translator. Using this method served to facilitate a deeper understanding of the original poem, including its associative, intertextual layers, and linguistic nuances. The conducted analysis allows to recognize the think-aloud protocol not only as an effective method for understanding the translator’s cognitive processes but also confirms that this type of work with the text should be an integral part of the translator’s preparation process for performing signed language translation.
Seria przekładowa w piosence na przykładzie tłumaczeń utworu Crack of Doom The Tiger Lillies
TRANSLATION SERIES IN SONG – A CASE STUDY OF THE TRANSLATIONS OF CRACK OF DOOM BY THE TIGER LILLIES The Tiger Lillies, an alternative British band, enjoys considerable interest among Polish translators. This leads to the appearance of translations series including several variants of one song lyrics. This paper aims at discussing four translations of the song Crack of Doom. Starting with the concept of the translation series by Edward Balcerzan and critically assessing full applicability of Antoine Berman’s retranslation hypothesis in the field of song translation, I consider the diversification of the translations as a result of ‘appropriation’ in the sense proposed by Johan Franzon. The variations are thus seen as a result of the fact that the translators pursue different objectives, and the translations themselves – as an area of translational artistic expression rather than a dialogue with previous versions.
A Boy Named Sue według Młynarskiego, czyli o multimodalnej obcości w przekładzie melicznym
A BOY NAMED SUE BY MŁYNARSKI, OR MULTIMODAL FOREIGNNESS IN SINGABLE TRANSLATION Singable translation is beset with special translation challenges, which result primarily from the polysemiotic and multimodal nature of the verbo-musical text as well as from the nature and role of songs, especially those representing genres typical of popular music. Accordingly, songs are usually translated by means of adapting and domesticating strategies. Thanks to that, translated songs become acceptable elements of the target culture. However, this is not the golden rule. The aim of the article is to discuss the Polish translation of the song A Boy Named Sue, done by Wojciech Młynarski in 1970, following the strategy of foreignization. Foreign elements were introduced into all the layers of meaning of the musical text, which may prove that the concept of multimodality has been an ever-present feature of translation. The article also indicates the post-translation effect of the target text, which may have occurred thanks to the holistic approach to translation.
From Polish Translation and Interpreting Studies: Unpublished Doctoral Theses (2011-2024) This study, conceived as a continuation of the first part of the series, presents the body of research on translation as documented in unpublished doctoral dissertations submitted for defense at Polish universities and research institutions between 2011 and 2024. The contribution is both documentary and analytical: it systematises a corpus of 398 PhD theses and, simultaneously, proposes an outline of the contemporary disciplinary landscape by means of a synthetic keyword-based mapping. A diachronic comparison points to a clear intensification of output in the most recent period, which may be interpreted as a sign of consolidation and disciplinary maturity. The keyword network visualised in VOSviewer reveals the persistence of a philological core alongside a growing interdisciplinary expansion, including specialised translation, audiovisual translation and accessibility, Translator Studies, as well as technology-related and empirically oriented process research.
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THE NAME MARGARET, WHICH MEANS JADE: TRANSLATING CHRISTIANITY IN LIFE OF SAINT MARGARET’S TRANSLATION INTO NAHUATL. This paper concerns as an yet unpublished primary source, The Life of Saint Margaret from the collection Santoral en Mexicano. Assuming it to be a translation of Voragine’s Legenda Aurea into the Nahuatl language, the author strives to analyze both linguistic and narrative strategies used by the translator. The translator’s actions are further contextualized within the framework of Christianization efforts in Mexico, in a case-study of this process.
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HIDDEN TRANSLATORS, HIDDEN MEANINGS. EARLY CHRISTIANIZING TEXTS FROM COLONIAL MEXICO In the sixteenth century, the Spaniards began the colonization of lands inhabited by the Nahuas, commonly referred to as the Aztecs. This violent process involved not only administrative changes but also a vast Chri-stianization project, which the Franciscans and Dominicans immediately took on. For the purposes of Christianization, it was necessary to develop an entire conceptual apparatus in the Nahuatl language, describing ele-ments of Christian doctrine, as well as to create appropriate materials for conducting the Christianization process. This article, based on one of the earliest Christian works published in Nahuatl, analyzes how translations of religious texts from Spanish were created—who their authors were, what linguistic solutions they applied, and how these solutions influenced both the understanding of Christian doctrine by native listeners and the Nahuatl language itself, as it underwent rapid changes in contact with Spanish.
Obraz kobiet w polskich tłumaczeniach Władcy pierścieni J.R.R. Tolkiena
THE PORTRAYAL OF WOMEN IN POLISH TRANSLATIONS OF J.R.R. TOLKIEN’S THE LORD OF THE RINGS The article examines the portrayal of female characters in Polish translations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings by Maria Skibniewska, Jerzy Łoziński, and Maria and Cezary Frąc. Using Jan Van Coillie’s rhetorical methods and Sonja Foss’s ideological criticism, the study explores differences in the translation of descriptions of beauty, modality, and sentence structure that may influence the interpretation of women’s roles. The findings reveal significant discrepancies between the translations and the original text, particularly regarding the marginalization of female characters as rulers and the emphasis on their appearance at the expense of internal qualities.
This paper discusses how nine Polish translations of William Shakespeare’s play Richard III present the protagonist’s stigmatised body and the relationship between his supposed ugliness and villainy. Firstly, I analyse the linguistic link between depravity and ‘deformity’ in the insults directed at Richard by Lady Anne and compare the imagery that the translators employ to convey her disgust. Secondly, I examine Richard’s soliloquy, in which he uses his body to justify his ruthless pursuit of power. A change over time can be observed in the translators’ depiction of Richard: while the 19th-century texts emphasise his ‘ugliness’, the later ones appear to focus on his psychology, as if more critical of the idea that ugliness determines him to be a villain.
Z okazji stulecia przyznania Władysławowi Reymontowi Nagrody Nobla (1924)
The aim of this article is to present a translation analysis of selected excerpts from Italian translations of Władysław Reymont’s novel The Peasants on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Nobel Prize to the Polish writer (1924). The first part examines the circumstances of the publication of the Italian translations, and in particular the first one, which was realised in 1928-32 at the beginning of Italian Polish studies thanks to the Italian translator Aurora Beniamino. Reymont’s work was appreciated and popularised by the famous Slavicist Ettore Lo Gatto, the author of the translations of some of Reymont’s works. The second part is devoted to a translation analysis of selected fragments from the first chapter of the book, i.e. the ‘Autumn', with attention paid to: grammatical and stylistic elements; proverbs and adages; and culturally marked elements. The focus will be on the solutions proposed by the authors of the three existing Italian versions (one of which is an indirect translation).
Techniki i strategie tłumaczeniowe jako narzędzia badania polskich szesnastowiecznych przekładów prozy fabularnej z języka niemieckiego
TRANSLATION TECHNIQUES AND STRATEGIES AS RESEARCH TOOLS FOR POLISH SIXTEENTH-CENTURY TRANSLATIONS OF NARRATIVE PROSE FROM GERMAN In this paper I review the findings of translation scholars on translation strategies and techniques, as there is no consensus among translation theorists on the scope of these terms. The aim of this study is to find appropriate research tools for the analysis of four sixteenth-century Polish translations of narrative fiction from German (Historia wdzięczna o szlachetnej a pięknej Meluzynie, Historia o Magielonie, królewnie neapolitańskiej, Historia piękna i krotochwilna o Otonie, cesarzu rzymskim and Fortunat), three of which are anonymous. In my opinion Andrew Chesterman’s classification of translation techniques is the most analytically useful, as I demonstrate in selected examples taken from the aforementioned sixteenth-century translations. The employment of Chesterman’s classification makes it possible to identify techniques characteristic for early modern translations, and can also help to establish the identity of the translator.
Krzysztofa Hejwowskiego klasyfikacja technik tłumaczenia elementów kulturowych – próba uściślenia w oparciu o inne klasyfikacje i badania własne
KRZYSZTOF HEJWOWSKI’S CLASSIFICATION OF CSI TRANSLATION TECHNIQUES – AN ATTEMPT AT A SPECIFICATION Having presented definitional and terminological problems related to the topic of culture-specific items (also culture-bound items or so-called realia) in translation, the author compares the classification of their translation techniques by Krzysztof Hejwowski [2004 and 2015] primarily with an analogous classification by Roman Lewicki [2000 and 2017], which was created in a similar period (and also in two stages). Subsequently, he suggests some specifications (fine-tuning options) of the discussed classifications regarding roughly 5 of the techniques, based on the results of his own research and – to a lesser extent – on a selected foreign (Spanish) classification created by Javier Franco Aixelá [1996].
„Między Oryginałem a Przekładem”. 30 lat, 70 numerów
This paper discusses a perceived discrepancy between a widespread acceptance of Roman Jakobson’s [1957] ideas and proposals for intersemiotic translation as part of his triadic division of three types of translation, on the one hand, and what he actually wrote, on the other, including his stated aims, approach and contributions. In this paper, I argue that Jakobson aims to make a contribution within (lexical) semantics, rather than lay the foundations for translation studies or have an impact on translation practices, like James Holmes [1988] or Peter Newmark [1980], respectively. Once the discrepancy has been established, the point is to use terms like intersemiotic translation, as coherently as possible along with other related terms, such as same-language subtitling, transmedia, multimodality, audiovisual translation, and adaptation, and leaning on empirical studies of translational phenomena. An important dilemma resides in the ambiguity of the term “translation”, for example, if it is used, like Jakobson, to refer to the mutual translatability of words and signs, or if it used to refer to sociocultural, professional and textual practices, as understood by authors like Lefevere [1992]. Another necessary distinction is one of words as abstract semantic entities or the condition that they must be “performed” in context, with all the necessary paralinguistic factors.
La traduction audiovisuelle au pays des merveilles de la traduction automatique et de l’intelligence artificielle : bénédiction déguisée ou enthousiasme prématuré ?
AUDIOVISUAL TRANSLATION IN THE WONDERLAND OF MACHINE TRANSLA­TION AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: BLESSING IN DISGUISE OR PREMATURE ENTHUSIASM? The paper explores the effects of incorporating machine translation (MT) and artificial intelligence (AI) into the audiovisual translation process. Through a critical analysis of examples drawn from two series translated and post-edited using automatic tools, the author highlights the commercial benefits but, more importantly, the many linguistic shortcomings of “non-human” translations, especially in terms of creativity, idiomaticity, and image-text coherence. Special attention is given to the Polish lektor, a form of voice-over that remains largely resistant to automation. The article concludes that despite the promises of technology, current tools remain ill-suited for the demands of creative translation, and their use should be cautious and supervised by experienced professionals.
Over the past decade, audio description (AD) practice has grown across Mainland China despite the absence of explicit legal mandates. Volunteer movements have helped expand AD services and shape the profession of audio describers. However, our understanding of this profession in this region remains limited. This paper aims to address this gap by reporting on the results of a questionnaire answered by 223 describers. The findings highlight a notable growth in the profession, characterized by a predominantly young demographic profile and a practice driven largely by volunteers. We confirm earlier research [Tor Carroggio and Casas-Tost: 2020; Liu: 2023a] on the distinct professional identity of describers in Mainland China. Many of them, trained in journalism/media studies, identify as “accessible filmmakers” rather than “audio describers.” Moreover, our study reveals differences in professional practices. Chinese describers are involved in a wide range of tasks, which contrasts with the more specialized, single-task roles typically found in the Western world.
PASOLINI’S TABLEAUX VIVANTS: THE CASE OF LA RICOTTA AND ITS LAYERS OF TRANSLATION Cette contribution interroge la notion de traduction intersémiotique, conçue dans son sens le plus large (N. Dusi), à travers le tableau vivant, genre qui comporte par sa nature un processus de traduction entre langages artistiques différents. Pour ce faire, la réflexion se focalise notamment sur le cas de La Ricotta de Pier Paolo Pasolini, en prenant en considération tant le sketch que son scénario et ses traductions françaises. Le parcours proposé vise ainsi à explorer comment l’écrivain-cinéaste traduit, réactualise et réinterprète, tant verbalement que cinématographiquement, des oeuvres choisies du Cinquecento italien, le but étant de montrer que par ce travail stratifié, Pasolini invite non seulement à réfléchir à la nature et aux limites de chaque art convoqué (peinture, littérature, cinéma) et à la traductibilité des oeuvres entre langages artistiques, mais aussi à vivre l’expérience fulgurante de leur puissance figurative.
Les Faux-Monnayeurs comme transmutation de L’Art de la Fugue
THE COUNTERFEITERS AS A TRANSMUTATION OF THE ART OF FUGUE The Counterfeiters is a unique work, conceived by André Gide as an intersemiotic transposition of the fugue form into literary language. This transmutation of The Art of Fugue into a literary mode occurs primarily at the structural level—polyphonic, architectural, and mathematical. Accordingly, the novel can be analyzed using tools typically applied to musical compositions. Gide employs numerous contrapuntal procedures and imitative techniques, constructing a counterpoint both between the voices (narrative threads) and between thematic subjects (the real world and the world of ideas; true and false moral currency). The character-instruments represent subjects and their variations across different voices and registers. Although one cannot speak of a direct equivalent in the case of an intersemiotic transposition from music to literature, the literary variant of The Art of Fugue remains deeply rooted in its musical model and may be regarded as a successful intersemiotic equivalent.