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mentioned in the sentence.
polezu - I shall descend - The translator's version is too formal in comparison with
colloquial expression polezu. Instead of it, I would use I will climb down or I will
descend.
novou radost ze života -
new joie de vivre - The translator uses a French expression
which is probably more comphrehensible to the target language readership and it
transfers the meaning of the original, but in my opinion it makes the resulting speech
more noble than it should be, according to the source language text, so I do not
consider it appropriate. An English expression would be more suitable.
Metaphors
I managed to find one example of metaphor in the source language
text and since I find the translator's solution interesting and even better than the
original one, I decided to include it here.
tenhle zbytek starého Rakouska - this surviving link with the old Austria -
The
metaphor in the text refers to hair which are going to be cut short. I must confess that
I like the English version even more than the Czech one since a strand of hair evokes
the idea of a link which connects presence and the past.
Idioms
The idioms I found in the source language text are mostly available to
be transferred to the target language without difficulties as they are widely used and
not too tightly connected with any of the cultural backgrounds.
ta už má po smrti - she's a goner - This is a suitable transmission of the idiom
which transfer the meaning well.
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přišla řada -
turn in the queue came back - The meaning of the original is well
preserved. This is an appropriate translation in my opinion.
nemáte závrať - don't you feel giddy – Again, this is an appropriate usage; this
idiom is used commonly.
ať si nenalámete do trenýrek, anóbrž neuděláte do kalhot kytku - you don't do a
job in your pants, or give yourself brown trousers - There are two idioms in one
sentence, both with the same meaning. The translation is undoubtly appropriate, as it
conveys the message as well as the level of informality.
Change of meaning
There are few cases in which the translator slightly changed meaning
of the original. Nevertheless, these changes are not significant for the target language
readership; they are visible for me as a speaker of the source language.
Milostivá paní -
young missus - There is a noticeable change in meaning since form
of address milostivá paní has nothing to do with the age of the respective woman;
milostivá is definitely not equivalent to
young. The proper equivalent would be
milady, though this word could sound too posh in the context of the novel. However,
it would be still closer to milostivá.
kde je Francin? - what've you done with Francin? - In the Czech original the
question means Where is Francin? and I would find this translation more appropriate
and possible too. On the other hand, if I consider the context of the situation in the
novel the translator's version seemes natural and emphasizes the colloquial tone of
the speech.
Gratulujte si - Feast your eyes on this - Feast your eyes on this is not a proper
translation of Czech gratulujte si. On the other hand, this is the most comprehensible
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way how to transmit it to the target language readership, because the direct
translation Congratulate yourself would sound weird.
Similes
Similes are quite frequent items of spoken language. Since they are
often closely connected with culture and habits of a certain region, it is sometimes
uneasy to translate them. What is completely comprehensible in one culture can have
absolutely different meaning in another one. On the other hand, some of similes are
recognized universally or are very similar.
jak mladý straky - you twittering magpie; like a young magpie - The translation
directly transfers the name of the animal straka - magpie, while the adjective
describing the characteristics of the magpie is changed in the first case (twittering -
štěbetající). This perfectly makes sense in the broader context of this particular
extract "What are you twittering about, like a twittering magpie?", but still it does
not mean the same as the original. The word twittering here suggests that the
respective person talks too much, but the meaning of the Czech original is different;
it refers to stupidity of someone's statement. On the other hand, the second
translation of the same phrase - like a young magpie - manages to capture the actual
meaning; the respective person said something what only a very young creature
would say. Moreover, as this phrase occurs several times in the novel and is used by
one character only and always in the same sense, I find it inappropriate to translate it
by two different expressions.
jak malý děcko - like a silly bairn - In this case the meaning is basically transferred;
both similes refer to a child. Even though the adjectives are once again different, I
think that the Czech jak malý děcko is in its meaning perfectly equivalent to the
English like a silly bairn.
jste hlópá jako odpoledne ve zkóškách - daft as in a school test afore noon - This