TRANSLATING CULTURAL REALIA FROM LITHUANIAN TO ENGLISH

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1 TRANSLATING CULTURAL REALIA FROM LITHUANIAN TO ENGLISH A comparative descriptive analysis of cultural realia and translation strategies in English translations of K. Boruta s novels Wooden Miracles and Whitehorn s Windmill

2 The context of the research; The goals, materials and methods; The key terms: realia and translation strategies; The results of the qualitative and quantitative analysis; Concluding remarks.

3 THE RESEARCH MATERIAL MEDINIAI STEBUKLAI - WOODEN MIRACLES (1938), translated by Milton Spark (1988). The novel Wooden Miracles is an account of thelithuanian folk wood-carving and godmaking tradition, revealing the archaic nature of culture. The novel poetically mythologizes a creator, the collisions between the artist and society. BALTARAGIO MALŪNAS WHITEHORN S WINDMILL (1942), translated by Elizabeth Novickas (2010). The novel Whitehorn s Windmill gives full rein to the oral folktale tradition Lithuania is famous for. The sense of spirituality that permeates the work reflects Lithuania s pagan roots that were overlaid with an occasionally overzealous Catholicism not so very long ago. The novel is about Whitehorn the miller s efforts to find a match for his daughter, against various calamities with and among suitors, neighbours, priests and other inhabitants of the village and ultimately against the devil s spell.

4 The PRIMARY HYPOTHESIS of the investigation was that the predominant overall translation strategy, or global strategy, for translating realia of demographically small countries to the dominating culture of English is domestication rather than foreignization.

5 GLOBAL STRATEGIES AFFECT THE TEXT AS WHOLE FOREIGNIZATION DOMESTICATION FOREIGNIZATION is concerned with transferring source language (SL) and SC elements from the ST to the TT; The focus is on accuracy, it preserves the SL prevalent cultural and linguistic conventions in the TL and TC, even at the cost of comprehensibility. DOMESTICATION is concerned with rendering such elements more accessible in the TC; The focus is on accessibility, it at achieves fluency and intelligibility, but only by modifying foreign texts according to dominant TL and TC conventions and ideologies, causing translations to appear as original works and not as translations (Venuti).

6 LOCAL STRATEGIES (1) DIRECT TRANSFER (2) LITERAL TRANSLATION (3) EXPLICITATION (4) GENERALISATION (5) PARAPHRASE (6) CULTURAL ADAPTATION (7) OMISSION (8) OFFICIAL EQUIVALENT (9) CONCRETIZATION

7 DIRECT TRANSFER Vincas Dovinė gimė lietuviškoje žemėje (WM, p.4) Vincas Dovine was born in Lithuania (WM, p.11) Tada visa burna prakalbėjo < > Uršulė Purvinaitė < > (WM,p.181) And then < > Uršulė Muddy < > opened her big mouth (WW, p.5) Dūbriškių dvaro ponas ją iš užsienių išsirašė < > (WM,p.84) The master of Dubriskes manor ordered it from a foreign country < >(WM, p.118) Ant Udruvės ežero stataus skardžio < > (WW,p.179) < > atop a steep bluff of Lake Udruvė (WW, p.1)

8 Tokių didelių ponų vaikas ir ganys čia tau mužikų karves! (WM,p.39) Tai senelis Perkūnas, išvažiavęs tą pavasarį su savo ratais pasivažinėti po plačią padangę < > (WW,p.329) You couldn t expect the son of such highborn lords to herd some muzhik s cows! (WM, p.57) Old Grandfather Perkūnas, going out for a spring drive through the wide heavens on his wagon < > (WW, p.261)

9 LITERAL TRANSLATION Ar ne jis buvo užkerėjęs ir paskutinį Paudruvės malūnininką Baltrų Baltaragį < > (WW,p.179) Perhaps it was this sound that had bewitched the last miller of Paudruvė, Whitey Whitehorn < > (WW, p.1) < > nors buvo apvažiavęs su piršliu, to paties kaimo skerdžiumi Anupru Visgirda < > (WW,p.193) < > even though he and his matchmaker, the herdsman Anupras Hearall < > (WW, p.25) Nuklysdavo vaiko žingsniai ir prie upelio, tekančio iš pelkių, Ūdrupio, kuriame ūdrų vargu ar buvo < > (WM,p.33) The boy wandered as far as Otter Creek, a stream flowing out of the marshes, though there was little chance of any otters being in it < >(WM, p.49)

10 < > ir nieku daugiau nesirūpino, nebent tik stikleliu karčiosios(wm,p.166) < > and held no interest for him, save an interest in a glass of bitters (WM, p.221) < > paauksuota karieta sustojo prie rūtų darželio (WW,p.183) < > a gilded carriage stopped by the rue garden. (WW, p.7)

11 EXPLICITATION ST < >čia viena, čia kita eidavo per kaimą, tempdamos po pažastimi ryšulį su duona, o kartais ir šviežios mėsos gabalėliu, jeigu tai būdavo po skerstuvių< > (WM,p.50) TT < >one or another woman would walk across the village carrying under her arm a bundle with bread and sometimes a smidgen of fresh meat too, if it happened to be after hog butchering (WM, p.74)

12 GENERALIZATION ST Duosite nuo gyvulio po gorčių kitą už ganymą, tai ir prasimaitinsiu < > (WM,p.29) TT Throw in a measure or two of grain per head for herding and I ll get by < > (WM, p.45) O nuo to laiko, kai vienas valakininko sūnus prarado Paudruvės pelkėse arklius < >(WW,p.180) And so, ever since the time one landowner s son lost his horses in Paudruvė s bogs < > (WW, p.3) <..> pyktelėjo tada Girdvainis ir įspaudė rublinę zakristijonui į delną (WW,p.253) < >Girdvainis got peeved, and pressed a banknote into the sexton s palm (WW, p.128)

13 PARAPHRASE < > kiek dabar pasako paprastais, dažnai netobulais lietuviškais rūpintojėliais, madonomis ir šventaisiais < >(WM,p.5) < > more reticent than his ordinary, often imperfect, Christ figures, madonnas and saints < > (WM, p.13)

14 ST < >savęs ir savo tikrojo kelio ieškodamas, kol pagaliau surado ir prieš savo norą pasidarė dievadirbis. (WM,p.4) TT < > until in the end he found it and unintentionally became a folk woodcarver or god-maker.(wm, p.11) Buvo užvažiavęs net Padvariečių okolicos plikbajoris Gineitis < >(WM,p.96) Even the bankrupt landowner Gineitis from the locality of Padvarieciai dropped by < > (WM, p.134) <...>neužleisdamos nė vienos pėdos derlingai žemei, kurią rėžiais buvo išsidalinę mažažemiai < >(WM,p.7) < >fertile soil, which was divided up in narrow strips among the small landowners < > (WM, p.15)

15 ST Tai pastebėjo kalėdodamas Dievogalos klebonas Kubiliūnas< > (WM,p.150) TT This came to the attention of pastor Kubiliunas, of Dievogala, who was collecting alms in the community < > (WM, p.200) Ką aš veiksiu su tokiu apsvilusiu, bedančiu padegėliu? (WW,p.323) What am I going to do with such a scalded, toothless piece of burned toast? (WW, p.250)

16 CULTURAL ADAPTATION Pamatęs karčemos kieme geležų laužą, iš karto suprato, kad tai jo esama. (WM,p.87) The moment he had laid eyes on the heap of metal in the yard of the saloon, he recognized it for what it was that very same motor (WM, p.121) Vaikai, apstoję aplink stalą, krimto baronkas ir čiulpė saldainius. (WM,p.193) The children ringed the table, munching pretzels and sucking on candies (WM, p.116)

17 ST TT ST TT < > jeigu ne šutintų bulvių su spirgiais skanus kvapas. (WM,p.59) < > if not for the savory smell of steamed potatoes and cracknels. (WM, p.85) Visiems po virtinę riestainių. (WM,p.79) A string of cracknels for each and every one. (WM, p.112)

18 < > ir kaimynai stebėjosi: negi aitvaras padeda tam Dagiliui < >(WM,p.12) < > and the neighbours marveled: was it a goblin that was helping Dagilis? (WM, p.21)

19 Jokia laumė ar ragana neis už tokio nusmurgusio velniuko< > (WW,p.202) No fairy or witch would go for such a miserable little devil < > (WW, p.40) Argi nepažįsti manęs pan Šešelgevič? (WW,p.245) Don t you recognize me, Master Shaddonshire? (WW, p.115)

20 OFFICIAL EQUIVALENT ST Liūdnos baudžiavos palikuonys dairėsi abejingai aplinkui < > (WM,p.8) TT These sad survivals of serfdom looked about apathetically < > (WM, p.15) < > lig šiol neįstengė pavogti Girdvainio obuolmušių ir su jais išvažiuoti į Prūsus. (WW,p.244) < > he hadn t, as yet, been able to steal Girdvainis dapple-grays and ride them to Prussia.(WW, p.112) Važiuojam užsakų! (WW,p.248) Let s go for the banns. (WW, p.125) - Antanai, einam į dvarą! (WM,p.14) Anthony, let s go to the manor! (WM, p.24)

21 CONCRETIZATION ST Susidėjo Vincė su linksmais, einančiais per žmones meistrais < > (WM,p.69) TT Vince fell in with some jolly travelling carpenters < >(WM, p.99)

22 QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS Figure 1. Local strategies employed for translation of proper noun realia elements

23 FIGURE 2. LOCAL STRATEGIES EMPLOYED FOR TRANSLATION OF NON-PROPER NOUN REALIA ELEMENTS

24 FIGURE 3. GLOBAL STRATEGIES EMPLOYED FOR TRANSLATION OF PROPER NOUN REALIA ELEMENTS

25 FIGURE 4. GLOBAL STRATEGIES EMPLOYED FOR TRANSLATION OF NON-PROPER NOUN REALIA ELEMENTS

26 FIGURE 5. FOREIGNISING AND DOMESTICATING TENDENCIES IN BOTH THE NOVELS FOR ALL KINDS OF REALIA ELEMENTS

27 CONCLUDING REMARKS The research produced diverse results: The qualitative analysis: realia translation requires various local strategies, no strategy is applicable in every context; The quantitative analysis: the primary hypothesis was confirmed domestication dominates. There were significant differences observed in the translation of realia elements expressed by proper and common nouns: Foreignising strategies were dominant in the translation of proper noun realia elements (66.4%); Domestication was the dominating strategy in the translation of nonproper noun realia (62.92%);. The global strategies of foreignisation and domestication merged in the translations;

28 As a result, parts of the translated novels appear to portray a mixture of Lithuanian and Anglo-American cultural realia which does not help to fully impart the cultural distinction of the original; There were cases when the choice between them seems to be unmotivated and undetermined by any norms as in the target novels the cultural elements are significant and give the texts a strong national colouring.

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