THE ITALIAN COMMA IN BULGARIAN TRANSLATION

Abstract

The use of commas in Italian in the number of cases we intend to discuss does not form part of the general rules, but seems rather an expression of its more subjective nature. Sometimes this use is comparable with that in other languages and therefore easily reproducible in translation. In other cases, though, the comma’s function of adding another shade of meaning to the message of the sentence might not be applicable to the target language (e. g. the commas in the Italian sentence Almeno a una cosa, questi giorni tristissimi, sono serviti. would be wrong in a Bulgarian translation, even in the closest one to the original). The translation makes particularly obvious the fact that in translation the results of the automatic transposition of this use must not be taken for granted. So, the question is: what possible solutions could we suggest, especially regarding the translation into a Slavic language with very different rules of punctuation? Every solution should take into consideration the particular characteristics of the target language rather than copy and paste the use of commas typical of the source language. Should, but does it? Not always, as our examples show, and this fact has its impact on the perception of what is forbidden and what is permitted in the punctuation of the target language in translation.