The Homeric poems in Romanian attire. A diachronic analysis (I)

Abstract

The present study examines the history of the Romanian translations of the Homeric poems, from the perspective of the evolution of Romanian literary language. We start from the premise that any such translation represents a test of virtuosity not only for the particular translator, but also for the respective modern language and culture, therefore we find it interesting to study the manner in which the development of Homeric exegesis and of translation theories parallel the phases of evolution in modern languages. Therefore the analytical framework will include principles, methods and instruments operating in such domains as language history, translation studies, as well as elements borrowed from contrastive-typological grammar, from philology, in the restrictive sense of the concept, from the theory of mentalities, cultural history and others. Our undertaking highlights the fact that the historical evolution of the act of translation is, naturally, marked by the translator’s personality (theoretical and ideological options, as well as linguistic competences, poetic flair), but also by the cultural context of the respective age and space. At least in the case of Romanian culture, it is noteworthy that, on the whole, the most recent version is also the best.