Praktyka tłumaczenia w języku łacińskim a polskie tłumaczenie A Christmas Carol Charlesa Dickensa z 1908 roku
Ancient Methods of Translation into Latin and the 1908 Polish Translation of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol

Summary/Abstract: This article explores the antique roots of translation theory and practice which are reflected in the approach of a more recent translator of Charles Dickens’s short story A Christmas Carol into Polish in 1908. European translation theory stems from ancient Rome; Roman translators such as Livius Andronicus, Plautus, Terence and Horace employed domestication and sometimes excessive adaptation while translating Greek poets and playwrights, in sharp contrast to the translators of the Greek translation of the Bible, the Septuagint, who spared no effort to translate with utmost fidelity. Marcus Tullius Cicero, on the other hand, made sure to translate faithfully while translating more academic texts, and translated freely when handling artistic texts. Tadeusz Żuk-Skarszewski, who translated A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens into Polish in 1908, consistently utilised domesticating methods. He changed English character names into Polish ones, transferred the place from London to Kraków, amended background details and adjusted most Christmas customs so that they corresponded to the realities in Poland. The article points to the similarities of the practices between this early-twentieth-century translation and antique techniques, and ends with an indication that the prevalent approach to translation in our time should also be investigated.

• Details
• Contents