SUM II Literary Translation 2017/2018

Homework (till the end of May): (i) choose a piece of poetry (ideally, a whole poem) that has been
translated either in an English-Polish (preferably) or Polish-English fashion, and (ii) comment on the
translation strategy (ideally, phonemic tr., metrical tr., and rhyming tr.) used by the translator, and (iii)
produce a power-point presentation of your findings.

Lefevere, A. (1975) Translating Poetry: Seven Strategies and a Blueprint, Assen and Amsterdam: Van
Gorcum.

1. Phonemic translation

-reproduction of the Source Language Sound in the Target Language sound ~ onomatopoeia
- orchestration; “the composer transfers the work from one musical idiom (…) to another (…),
recreating it for a different musical context” (Bennett: 2002, 218)
- the translator’s role in similar to the transposition of the piano melody for percussion: the context is
similar, whereas the music notation is different
- creating a similar sound effect should, at the same time, entail a production of an acceptable
paraphrase of the sense
- Whipple does not replace the original sounds with similar imitations in TL, but he adapts the original
sounds to the English spelling : Uff- Huff move śmiało ~mów
- achieving similar phonemic (acoustic) effects by choosing similarly pronounced words

2. Literal translation

- based on word-for -word, then group-for-group and finally clause-for-clause equivalence

- Levrence (1975: 96): “[l]iteral translation is a myth” (because it “pays an enormous price for its
illusory pursuit of elusive ‘accuracy’: preserving meaning in the literal translation is only “illusory”
- Bassnett (2005: 87): “emphasis on word-for-word translation distorts the sense and the syntax of
the original”; the literal translation not only deceives the sense of the original poem, but also renders
the source language grammar unintelligible

3. Metrical translation

- the dominant criterion is the reproduction of the SL metre (~ metre is a specific rhythmic structure
connected with the type of a foot and number of feet in a line ~ iambic/dactylic tetrameters)
- “popular” opinion: metre and rhythm are the most significant factors of all poetic elements
- problem: the translator must very often decide whether to present the meaning of poem
(substance) or retain its metre (structure)
- Wechsler (1998: 120): central importance of presenting the original metre, melody and rhythm of a
verse; “rhythm and other aspects of sound, such as alliteration, assonance [sounds that agree and
sounds that do not agree], and the rhyme, are central to poetry. Often a translator has to give up
exact meaning to preserve a sound component”

alliteration = the repetition of the `same ` sound in sub`sequent `stressed `syllables; ideally, two
stressed syllables before and after the caesura/division; ‘sredniówka’

- example: Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by R. Frost in the translation made by L.

Marjanska: Przystając w lesie w śnieżny wieczór (2004: 58):

Whose `woods/these `are/I `think /I `know, `Myślę, że `wiem, `czyje to `lasy. 9

His `house /is `in /the `vill/age, `though; On ` ze wsi ` mnie nie `dojrzy; `czasem. 9
He `will /not `see /me `stop/ing `here Przys`taję `tutaj, `aby w `oku. 9
To `watch /his `woods /fill `up/with `snow. Utr`walić `leśne `śnieżne `zaspy. 9
 - the number of the syllables: 8 ~ 9

- the rhyming pattern: ABAA (masculine=one syllable rhymes ~ ABAA (feminine=two syllable
rhymes)

- the metrical line: iambic tetrameter ~ iambic tetrameter – the final (added) syllable – Line 1

Frost’s poem can be classified as the iambic tetrameter, which refers to a verse which consists of four
iambic feet.

She Creates 9-syllable lines with a caesura at different locations in different lines. Nonetheless, the
original meaning is retained and translated poem is rhythmical.

Stopy Metryczne

Liczba Nazwa stopy Komentarz Przykład

sylab
trochej Rym bardzo częsty, łatwo
powstający w języku polskim,
charakterystyczny dla 8-
zgłoskowców, ale rzadko
prowadzony dłużej niż w jednym
utworze
jamb Rytm dobitny, ekspresywny,
często związany z rymami
męskimi. W wieku XVII o XVII
prawie nie występował
Jeszcze jeden mazur dzisiaj.
choć poranek świta.
Czy pozwoli panna Krysia?
młody ułan pyta.
„Ostatni mazur”, anonim
Słowniczku mój! A leć a nie piej!
Na pożegnanie piej!
Wylanym łzom, spełnionym snom!
Skończone piosnce twej.
Adam Mickiewicz „Do B..Z.”

spondej Możliwy do zrealizowania tylko Bierz, gub, trwoń, trać

za pomocą wyrazów W lot, w śmiech, w gniew, w szał
jednosylabowych. Rytm skrajnie Żyć! śnić, drżeć, łkać!
nietypowy dla wiersza, rytm Mknij, leć, pędź, w cwał!
zbliżony do O – życie moje!!

- example: Lokomotywa by Julian Tuwim in the translation made by Walter Whipple: The Locomotive
Buch- jak gorąco! ‘ _ _’_
Uch – jak gorąco!
Puff – jak gorąco!
Uff - jak gorąco!

Poof how she’s burning

‘‘_‘_
Oof, how she’s burning
Puff, how she’s burning
Huff, how she’s burning

- example: Oto widzisz… by K.I. Gałczyński in the translation made by monique89 (an internet
reference) as Here you see…:
 Oto widzisz, znowu idzie jesień – Here you see, the autumn is coming again -
`_ `_ `_ `_ `_ `_ _` _` _ _` _ _`
człowiek tylko leżałby i spał… - the man would only lie and sleep…
`_ `_ `___` _`_`_`_`
Załóżę twój szmaragdowy pierścień: Put on your finger your emerald ring:
blask zielony będzie miło grał. The green brightness will be playing nicely.

- number of the syllables: 10/9/10/9 ~ 12/8/10/10

- metrical line: Lines 1+3 – 5 x trochee; Lines 2+4 – 3 x trochee + 1x iamb
~ Line 2 5 x iamb (iambic pentameter)
- rhymes/rhyming pattern: alternate rhymes (ABAB), Lines 1+3 – feminine
rhymes, Lines 2+4 – masculine rhymes ~ literal translation
- so, why do we call it a literal tr.? 1. The original punctuation marks are reflected; 2. the original
sense is reflected > the translation corresponds to the original mainly semantically

RHYMES:

E masculine rhymes > when the rhyming effect involves just 1 syllable stone~cone
P feminine rhymes > when the rhyming effect involves 2 syllables brother~mother

METRICAL LINE/pattern = a foot + numer of repetitions

trochean pentameter 5x / tetrameter 4x / hexameter 6x (

METRICAL FEET

IAMB /ˈaɪ.æm/

IAMB: A Metrical Foot consisting of one unstressed syllable followed by one STRESSED syllable. An
Iamb does not he to be a word, But it must be exactly two syllables, so it can be one word, or two.

re WARD de LAY in VENT o VERT in CASE for LORN

ANAPEST

A Metrical Foot consisting of two unstressed syllables followed by one STRESSED syllable. Like an
Iamb, an Anapest does not have to be a complete word. And since it is three syllables, it can be as
many three words.
Preposition + Article + Noun in …the LIGHT of the MOON ov er HILL ov er DALE

TROCHEE

A Metrical Foot consisting of one STRESSED syllable followed by one unstressed syllable. A Trochee in
an Iamb backwards. You will see in 105A that Trochaic and Iambic Meters can be very similar.

STOR ires BA by CHICK en SNOD grass

Dactyl

A Metrical Foot consisting of one STRESSED syllable followed by two unstressed syllables. A Dactyl is a
Anapest backwards. You will see in 105A that Dactylic and Anapestic Meters can be very similar.

SUD den ly DIF fi cult DEV a state MIS er y