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context of the speech.
o tom svatým Duchu - this one Whitsun holiday - The translation is appropriate;
both terms refer to Holy Spirit holiday which is common to Czech and English
culture. In this case, the cultural overlap prevents possible misunderstanding.
Moravská orlice - The Moravian Eagle – Although it is not likely to translate names
of newspapers and magazines, in this case it is understandable because the Moravian
Eagle is commonly used equivalent of Moravská orlice.
v Mnichově Hradišti - in Mnichovo Hradiště - Since there is no equivalent English
denotation for the name of the town (unlike Praha - Prague), the translator simply
uses the original name, which is absolutely correct in this case.
"Wein jako víno!" - "Wein as in wine!" – Here, the translator once again applies
similarity of English and German pronunciation to convey the meaning of the
original phrase and include the worldplay.
to je něco jako bory šumí po skalinách - a bit like our national anthem, pines
rustle on the rocky slopes - Another usage of explanation. Once again, it is used in a
very convenient way which is not disturbing. The translator managed to convey the
cultural context by pointing out that the simile refers to the Czech national anthem.
The question is whether pines rustle on the rocky slopes evoke the same idea in the
minds of the target language readership as it do in the minds of Czech readers.
However, I consider this version appropriate because replacing this with an
expression which would be closer to the target language cultural context, e.g. another
kind of tree or anything else what is usually connected with fresh wind, would
destroy the connection with the culture of the source language text, which is in this
case crucial.
(..)a tohleto je takzvaný myndunk anóbrž ústí..." - and this is the so-called.
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Mündung, muzzle or mouth..."
"Nad Labem," řekla jsem (...)"Ústí je město" - Of the Elbe," I said (...) "Elbow's
elbow" - I included this extract as a whole in this section because I think that it
requires closer consideration. The translator had to overcome two barriers - the first
of them is obviously the meaning of the word mouth - ústí. The point is that in Czech
it can refer either to a part of a gun or to the mouth of a river; in these cases the
Czech word and English expressions muzzle and mouth are equivalent. However, in
Czech Ústí is also a town on the river Elbe - nad Labem. Nevertheless, the translator
could not simply translate the name of the town or just use the Czech name because
this would not transmit the joke behind it and would not make sense to the reader at
all. Instead, he completely omitted any reference to the town and used commonly
known expression mouth of the Elbe - ústí Labe. Consequently, it was not possible
for him to translate Ústí je město; instead of it he uses similar pronunciation of words
Elbe and elbow. Thus the resulting Elbow's elbow could be explain as a mishearing
and perfectly makes sense for the target language readership. From my point of view,
this is a great solution which requires not only knowledge of both languages but also
a considerable amount of imagination and creativity.
Josefína Bakerová - Josephine Baker's - In this case the cultural overlap is
significant, as Josephine Baker was a popular person at the time in which the novel
takes place and her name has the same effect in both cultural areas.
Under-translations
While searching for the under-translations, I was surprised that the
target language text contains such a small number of them. In fact, I managed to find
only one considerable example of under-translation which is discussed below.
kmotřenka - local woman - The word kmotřenka has more meanings in the Czech
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language, but judging from the novel's context in this case it refers to a very old
woman. In this case, it is a diminutive of the word kmotra - godmother and from the
context we can guess that this woman was in this sort of relationship to the speaker -
Uncle Pepin and his brother Francin. Therefore, I find the translation local woman
insufficient and too general.
Over-translations
Unlike the above category, the group of over-translations is more
extensive. Nevertheless, this is not a high number, which testifies the quality of the
translation.
Říkal, tyhle vlasy jsou zbytek starých zlatých časů, takové vlasy jsem nikdy pod
svým hřebenem neměl. - He said, "That hair of yours is a hark back to he golden
days of yore, never have I had such hair under my comb before." - There are some
noticeable changes which, however, still do not change the meaning of the original
utterance. At first, the translator puts the sentence into direct speech, which is allright
if we consider how the sentence would look like in English indirect speech - it would
be more difficult to read perhaps and definitely it would not be so natural. Secondly,
the resulting translation is in verse, which makes even more poetical than the
original. Since Hrabal's language is poetical, I find it convenient. This verse helps to
emphasize this fact in the target language. Nevertheless, it also adds something what
was not included in the original text and may cause distinct emotional reaction of the
readers.
do potoka - to the nearest creek – Here, the word nearest is unnecessary.
temu dvornímu dodavateli Weinlichovi - to this court-supplier chappie Weinlich - I
find the word chappie in this context unnecessary and even innapropriate, as it is too
familiar, which does not really describe the relationship of the speaker to the person
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