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Vulgarisms
There are few vulgarisms in the novel and exclusively used by only
one character. On the other hand, these vulgarisms are used repeatedly and since
translating vulgarisms is one of the most challenging branches of translator's work, I
would like to pay further attention to them.
prdlačky - bollocks - The most common vulgarism in the novel; the level of
vulgarity is equal in both languages.
hovno - balls - The second most common vulgarism. Once again, the level of
vulgarity is well transferred.
sakra - Good God; Christ - Both translations of the word sakra are appropriate
considering their religious origin (sakra – derived from sacre in Latin), though in the
Czech context Good God and Christ are less rude.
Když jste se posral, tak si to vyperte sám! - '
Ye've shat yersel', haven't ye, so ye
can just go and wash it yersel'! In my opinion in this case the level of informality is
too high in the translation. The original sentence is quite formal apart from the one
vulgarism, which makes a contrast. The translation has more features of informality
and is more expressive than the original.
blbec - idiot; dunderhead -The word blbec was used two times; each time it was
translated by different word, but in this case the actual meaning is the same, so I find
it appropriate.
šmejd - junk - In my opinion, the English word junk does not transfer exactly the
level of vulgarity of the Czech šmejd. I would suggest using different translation, e.
g. trash.
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Words of German origin
The original text contains quite a high number of words of German
origin called "germanisms", which is a consequence of a long time of coexistence
and mutual influence of Czech and German culture. These words are used frequently
in spoken language. However, most of "germanisms" used in the original text are
used in context with their Czech equivalent, e.g. "tak tohleto je kolbenšuh neboli
botka". As a result, in these cases the translator simply uses the original German
word (not its form influenced by Czech) and its English equivalent, e.g. "and so this
is the Kolbenschuh or butt-end shoe."
Nevertheless, there are several cases in which
this is not possible. These cases are widely discussed below.
bylo naše městečko auf! - was in a right tizz! - The expression bylo auf means that
the the town was all excited; therefore, I find the used expression a right tizz suitable
because it also conveys the colloquial tone.
z mašinkvéro - with their popguns - The word mašinkvér originates in German
Maschingewehr (kulomet in Czech and machine gun in English), but in the context
of the original, here even with features of dialect (ending with o instead of u), it
serves as a mark for a training gun; therefore, the word popgun with the meaning of a
toy gun is appropriate.
balkáncuk - Balkan express Balkáncuk was created by joining words Balkan and
Zug (train), so the translation is semantically appropriate. However, it does not
transfer the colloquial mode of the word.
kdo byl inhaber vašeho pluku - who were you under – Here, the translator
absolutely omit the German word (inhaber) and completely replaced the sentence by
another one. It, of course, precisely carries the meaning of the original, though it
misses the cultural context. However, the chosen way of translation is appropriate
49
from the point of view of the readership; the point of the translation is fulfilled.
parisr šnit - Pariser Schnitt - This is the case of using the proper German form of
the word; it conveys the meaning, cultural context as well as colloquialism. The
same applies to the rest of the words in this section and therefore I just listed them to
show how the translator worked with these words.
gelenk -
Gelenk
absac -
the Absatz
šulbildung -
Schulbildung
kolbenšuh -
Kolbenschuh
beobachtungštele -
Beobachtungsstelle
myndunk -
Mündung
Professional slang
The novel also contains number of terms from professional slang. The
most of them comes from the slang of shoemakers because one of the characters
used to work as one. Moreover, we can find there some words connected with beer
industry since the novel takes place in a brewery and also with warfare. As it will be
proved by following paragraphs, most of these expressions have their equivalents in
the target language and can be simply translated. Nevertheless, some of them require
closer consideration.
ševcovská smůla - cobbler's glue - This translation is appropriate, because the word
smůla in this context means glue. Also, the cobbler is the equivalent of the Czech
švec.
obuvnický pop - shoemaker's gum - In correspondence with the original, the
translator replace the word cobbler with the word shoemaker which is equivalent to
the Czech obuvník. As for the word pop, it is a synonym of the previous expression