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.
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 This paper concerns as an yet unpublished primary source, The Life of Saint Margaret from the collection Santoral en Mexicano.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.
Copyright (c) 2025 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
How a Misguided Objective Can Ruin an Excellent Book
The review of Pym’s and Hao’s book, How to Augment Language Skills: Generative AI and Machine Translation in Language Learning and Translator Training highlights its significance while also expressing disappointment. The authors aim to connect language learning and translation training; however, the book primarily focuses on encouraging L2 teachers to utilise translation technology, which raises methodological concerns. The book’s title may confuse readers expecting a wider exploration of AI’s role in both fields. However, although it discusses technological changes in translation, it fails to offer a similarly detailed analysis of language teaching and overlooks important tools specifically developed for language learning. Furthermore, Pym and Hao blur the distinctions between the competencies needed for translation and teaching, risking the alienation of L2 educators. While the book offers valuable information for translation instructors, its guidance may not translate well into broader language education contexts, particularly for those focused on communicative approach.
La traduction intersémiotique et la communication interculturelle : les couvertures des traductions de Prawiek i inne czasy d’Olga Tokarczuk
INTERSEMIOTIC TRANSLATION AND INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION: THE COVERS OF TRANSLATIONS OF OLGA TOKARCZUK’S PRAWIEK I INNE CZASY A review of the covers of thirty translations of the novel Prawiek i inne czasy by Olga Tokarczuk reveals a great variety of illustrations as well as similarities beyond the differences. If one treats the illustration chosen for the cover as the effect of an intersemiotic translation, the multiplicity observed could testify to the diversity of interpretations of the novel, depending on the languages and cultures. The existence of similarities and regularities, for its part, could be considered as an indication of the elements of the novel which “resist” the factors of cultural appropriation. The study shows that the repetitive nature of certain illustrations can be considered as a sign of the universal character of the work.
Prawiek i inne czasy and its translations
Des mots aux mondes : cartographies imaginaires en traduction
FROM WORDS TO WORLDS: FANTASY CARTOGRAPHY AS TRANSLATION It had been a widely shared habit in works of the fantasy genre to use visual maps as a gateway into imaginary geographies. The map synthesizes and aggregates; it illustrates, shapes and replicates epic itineraries. Moreover, it helps the reader distinguish between known territories and unexplored places; it makes the desired destination visual or warns of mortal perils on the way. In other words, it enables readers to familiarize themselves with the landmarks of a fictional world while prompting them to compare, anticipate and even imagine alternative or additional narratives. This study aims to examine intersemiotic translation on two levels. Firstly, the intralinguistic processes at work when a map stems from a text (or vice versa), and secondly, how interlinguistic translational processes contribute to the visual mapping, representation, expansion, dissemination, sharing, and/or transmission of such text-worlds.
Relations texte-image-son dans la traduction vers le polonais des albums pour enfants d’Hervé Tullet
TEXT-IMAGE-SOUND RELATIONSHIPS IN POLISH TRANSLATIONS OF HERVE TULLET’S PICTUREBOOKS Picturebooks are a multimodal space in which text, images and sound merge to create a unique reading experience. They pose a challenge not only to translators, who must preserve the essence of these complex interactions while adapting them to a new language and culture, but also to translation publishers. This case study includes my reflections from an interview with Marek Włodarski, founder of the Babaryba publishing house, which publishes Polish translations of picturebooks by French author Hervé Tullet. This is the first in a series of in-depth interviews I plan to conduct with publishers of translated picturebooks. It aims to verify whether publishers are aware of multimodal relationships and whether (and how) they take them into account in the translation publishing process. To properly prepare for the interview, I first analyzed three of Tullet’s picturebooks in the original French version and the Polish translation, using a multimodal analysis scheme based on Anna Kochanowska’s typology of relationships between word, image, and sound (2021). This method allowed me to determine how the text co-creates the message with the image and sound, and how these relationships were treated in the translations. The interview shows how important role the publisher can play in the multimodal translation process of picturebooks. Their decisions often change the complex relationships between text, image, and sound contained in the original works, which in turn affects the reception of the books by readers of the target culture.
Communiquer par gestes au bout du monde : La Pérouse à Sakhaline
COMMUNICATION WITH GESTURES AT THE END OF THE WORLD: LA PÉROUSE ON SAKHALIN The article aims to comment on the few cases of interlinguistic and intersemiotic communication that took place during La Pérouse’s circumnavigation (1785-1788), as described in his logbook Voyage de La Pérouse autour du monde (L.A. Milet-Mureau éd., Paris 1797, volume 3) and in its Polish translation. As one of the expedition’s aims was to describe the hydrography of the North Pacific Ocean and its cartography, the navigator wanted to know whether Sakhalin was an island and whether it was possible to round it from the western side. By questioning the natives, the members of the expedition received answers expressed in gestures that were sometimes difficult to interpret. In the Polish translation of the logbook (Podróż p. La Perouse na odkrycia nowych krajów w latach 1785- 1786-1787 i 1788, Kraków 1801-1803), to correctly render the fragments related to La Pérouse’s interviews with the natives, the translator would have had to carry out an intersemiotic translation in addition to the interlinguistic translation: read the French text, translate it mentally into images, and then describe these images in Polish. A study of the target text shows that he has not done it.
La traduction jeunesse sous contrainte : adapter le texte ou l’image ?
TRANSLATING CHILDREN’S LITERATURE: ADAPTING THE TEXT OR ADAPTING THE IMAGE? Children’s literature is particularly fruitful when it comes to exploring the relationship between text and images. Indeed, it is a type of literature that uses images a lot because their target audience – children – is usually not able to read yet (this is the parent’s role). However, the child can see and understand an image, making them a reader, though in a different semiotic system: the visual one. Translation is interlingual when it allows to go from one language to another. It can be intersemiotic too when the illustration becomes an ally in the case of an untranslatable element in the text. This article studies two types of untranslatability in British children’s literature (namely, puns and poetry) in order to show how the visual elements have been used to serve the translation of the text. Then, it makes an analysis of some books by Enid Blyton where the illustrations have been modified, be it to correspond to some constraints in the publishing industry, or to deal with cultural references that are hardly translatable.
Translatorski dwugłos – współczesne uwarunkowania kolektywnego przekładu literackiego na przykładzie Kanady
THE TRANSLATOR’S DUAL VOICE: CONTEMPORARY CONDITIONS OF COLLECTIVE LITERARY TRANSLATION ON THE EXAMPLE OF CANADA Numerous historical examples and academic studies demonstrate that, prior to the Renaissance, collective translation was a commonly practiced form of translation. In contemporary times, however, literary translation is stereotypically perceived as a solitary activity, with the translator’s approach mirroring the original author’s creative process. The purpose of this article is to discuss the phenomenon of collective translation in light of the growing interest in Indigenous literatures in Francophone Canada, observable since 2015. Following an exploration of the historical causes of the paradigm shift and an examination of the contemporary conditions of the Canadian literary polysystem, the article analyzes the phenomenon of co-translations of Indigenous literatures from English into French, produced between 2014 and 2024.
Copyright (c) 2025 Małgorzata Czubińska http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
TRANSLATION – OBJECT OF NOSTALGIA? REACTIONS OF ADULT READERS TO POLEMICAL TRANSLATIONS OF CHILDREN’S LITERATURE The article discusses paratexts of selected polemical translations of children’s literature classics (Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery, translated as Anne z Zielonych Szczytów by A. Bańkowska; A Pál utcai fiúk by F. Molnàr, translated as Chłopcy z ulicy Pawła by M. Waligórski; Kinder- und Hausmärchen (first edition) by W. and J. Grimm, translated as Żyli długo i szczęśliwie, póki nie pomarli. Nieznane baśnie braci Grimm by Eliza Pieciul-Karmińska) and reactions of adult readers to those translations, reflected in comments and opinions on the portal LubimyCzytać. Nostalgia, understood as longing for the past and “ancientness” considered to be a guarantee of authenticity, is an important category common to translators and writers: while translators promise a return to the original text and context of the literary work they translate, readers are interested in a return to their own childhood, aided or hampered by the new version of the book they know. The article describes several attitudes present among commenters, such as emotional attachment to classical translations serving as a foundation for readers’ identities and ideological stances, defence of the canon seen as an essential component of a cultural community, and willingness to engage in conscious and analytical criticism of translation.
Copyright (c) 2025 Barbara Kaczyńska-Dudek http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0