Polish-English Translation Research Articles

Translation methods applied to translate Polish types and names of administrative law authority bodies into English – a case study.

The paper aims to discuss Polish terms that name authority bodies under the administrative law and their English equivalents. The Polish terms under analysis appear in the first Division of the Polish Code of Administrative Procedure of 14 June 1960 and the English equivalents of each Polish term researched have been suggested in the Polish Code of Administrative Procedure translation into English. The research problem is to determine the translation methods applied and to verify whether translation methods used in the Polish-English translation of the above terms which have been determined as culture-specific items appear among translation methods applied when translating culture-specific elements suggested by Hejwowski (2007). Furthermore, to verify whether the mentioned translation methods appear among the translation methods discussed by Weston (1993) which are recommended to be applied while translating legal terms. The theoretical part of the paper includes a presentation of the definitions of a legal term, culture-specific item and the classification of translation methods by Hejwowski and Weston. The research stages include the comparison of definitions of source elements and definitions of their equivalents, as long as they appear in monolingual English law dictionaries.

Incongruity of civil law terms under German, British and Ukrainian legal systems – case study

In the paper there are analysed fi ve British and German incongruent civil law terms. German terms appear in the German act of law called Bürgerlicher Gesetzbuch. British terms name the terms characteristic of each of the three separate legal systems: of England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. All terms constitute legal terms according to the defi nition by Morawski. The research problem is to verify whether the published typology of translation methods used in the Polish-English translation of succession and family law terms (which are civil law terms) encompasses translation methods applied when translating civil terms from German into English. The term translation method is defi ned according to Hejwowski. In order to determine the translation methods applied while producing equivalents, the definitions of the source terms and the equivalents in question are analysed. Furthermore, the appearance of the suggested equivalents in the sources of the British law as well as the corpora of the English language is verified. Finally, having examined the translation methods employed, it is concluded that the equivalents suggested have been formed with the application of as many as 4 different methods listed in the abovementioned classification. Moreover, the Ukrainian terms denoting the legal institutions discussed have been analysed compared to the Polish terms. With regard to the translation of the terms under analysis from Ukrainian into English two different methods have been employed.

Cross-cultural dialogue in the Polish-English translation of neologisms

AbstractThe article discusses selected neologisms that Stanisław Lem, a Polish science-fiction writer, created for two of his numerous short stories featuring Ijon Tichy, a space traveler. It is not only their surprising and appealing structure that makes these creations and their English counterparts an interesting subject for analysis, but also, and more importantly, the fact that they carry specific allusions, which renders them humorous in their contextual appearance. All these characteristics contribute to a translation challenge present in the neologisms analyzed. The article focuses on how – and with what result – this challenge has been approached by the translators who handled it in an endeavor to expand the dialogic space between the author and his audience.

Translation methods for dealing with the incongruity of labour law terms in the Polish and British legal systems – a case study

The paper aims to discuss incongruent Polish and British terms referring to labour law. The terms characteristic of each of the three separate legal systems: of England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland are called British terms in this paper. The Polish terms under analysis appear in the Polish Labour Code Act of 26 June 1994 and name types of benefits granted under the Polish Labour Code. The English equivalents of each Polish term researched have been used in two Polish Labour Code translations into English and have been accommodated in the most up-to-date bilingual Polish-English legal dictionary. The research problem is to verify whether the published typology of translation methods used in the Polish-English translation of civil and criminal law terms encompasses translation methods applied when translating Polish labour law terms into English. The translation methods are defined according to Hejwowski. The theoretical part of the paper includes a presentation of the definitions of a term and incongruity of terms. On the basis of the research, however, it may provisionally be presumed that the published typology of translation methods used in the translation of incongruent Polish and English civil and criminal law terms encom passes the translation methods employed when translating labour law terms into English, as the equivalents under analysis have been formed as a result of the application of as many as four out of the ten methods of the typology.

Polish-English Basic Dictionary of Archaeological Terminology of Modern Tobacco Pipe Findings with Elements of Pipe Production and Tobacco Smoking in the Modern Period

The aim of this work is to present the translation of professional terminology concerning tobacco pipes acquired by excavation methods, supplementing the already existing term base of concepts with a Polish-English translation, important in the context of the current research on this subject. This dictionary is a translation of the basic terms used in English-language works (also used in works of researchers from Central and Eastern Europe) concerning descriptions of tobacco pipe remains (based on finds of stub-stemmed pipes, one-piece clay pipes and porcelain pipes) in archaeological research, the production of such paraphernalia and elements of history of tobacco smoking, which were additionally supplemented with terms currently used in Polish archaeological literature. This dictionary should be treated as a contribution to further work on standardisation of European archaeological terminology, which should provide an aid for both specialists and enthusiasts reaching for professional literature on antique pipes.

Translation methods applied to approach the incongruity of terms in Polish and British criminal law

The research analyses incongruent Polish and British criminal law terms. British terms are the names of legal institutions characteristic of three independent legal systems: of England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. The Polish terms that have been discussed come from the Polish Criminal Code Act of 6 June 1997 (Journal of Laws 1997 No. 88 item 553). Moreover, they are legal terms pursuant to their interpretation by Morawski (1980, p. 187). The English equivalents under analysis have appeared in four Polish Criminal Code translations into English. The research aims at a verification of whether or not the classification of translation methods applied in the Polish-English translation of incongruent succession and family law terms (called civil law terms) (Kizinska, 2015, p. 175–178) encompasses translation methods used in the process of translation of incongruent law terms characteristic of criminal law into English. In the paper the translation method is interpreted according to the definition by Hejwowski (2004, p. 76). In the theoretical part of the paper the following linguistic phenomena have been presented: a term (by Zmarzer & Lukszyn, 2001, p. 9) and incongruity of terms (by Sarcevic, 1989, p. 278). In the initial stage of the analysis the definitions of a given Polish term and its suggested equivalents have been compared. Next, the appearance of a given equivalent in the sources of British law texts as well as the English language has been checked to determine the translation methods used while forming a given equivalent. Finally, the list of translation methods applied has been drafted, to conclude, among other things, that the translation methods presented in the above-mentioned typology of translation methods applied in the translation of incongruent civil law terms from Polish into English are to be determined as exclusively primary or secondary. https://doi.org/10.2478/sm-2021-0010

Translation Methods Applied to Approach the Incongruity of Terms in Polish and British Criminal Law

Summary The research analyses incongruent Polish and British criminal law terms. British terms are the names of legal institutions characteristic of three independent legal systems: of England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. The Polish terms that have been discussed come from the Polish Criminal Code Act of 6 June 1997 (Journal of Laws 1997 No. 88 item 553). Moreover, they are legal terms pursuant to their interpretation by Morawski (1980, p. 187). The English equivalents under analysis have appeared in four Polish Criminal Code translations into English. The research aims at a verification of whether or not the classification of translation methods applied in the Polish-English translation of incongruent succession and family law terms (called civil law terms) (Kizińska, 2015, p. 175–178) encompasses translation methods used in the process of translation of incongruent law terms characteristic of criminal law into English. In the paper the translation method is interpreted according to the definition by Hejwowski (2004, p. 76). In the theoretical part of the paper the following linguistic phenomena have been presented: a term (by Zmarzer & Lukszyn, 2001, p. 9) and incongruity of terms (by Šarčević, 1989, p. 278). In the initial stage of the analysis the definitions of a given Polish term and its suggested equivalents have been compared. Next, the appearance of a given equivalent in the sources of British law texts as well as the English language has been checked to determine the translation methods used while forming a given equivalent. Finally, the list of translation methods applied has been drafted, to conclude, among other things, that the translation methods presented in the above-mentioned typology of translation methods applied in the translation of incongruent civil law terms from Polish into English are to be determined as exclusively primary or secondary.

Provoke or encourage improvements? On semantic prosody in English-to-Polish translation

ABSTRACT Originally defined as an aura of meaning associated with words used together in a particular context, semantic prosody is a complex linguistic concept, and there is no agreement among researchers as to its precise definition and level of operationalization (word, phrase, text or discourse). Although there have been some studies on semantic prosody in translation, their findings are rather inconclusive and limited to individual words and phrases. Also, there has been no research on semantic prosody conducted so far in Polish-English translation. Intending to fill in this gap, this paper, grounded in corpus linguistics, showcases the role of semantic prosody in a selected English-to-Polish translation found in the Paralela corpus. More precisely, we present and reflect upon a peculiar translation error resulting from a mismatched semantic prosody and discuss its wider implications on translation quality, translation reception and translation teaching. Thus, apart from presenting new empirical findings, the study also provides an opportunity for reflection on the application of the concept of semantic prosody in descriptive and explanatory research on translation as well as in translator training.

Cohesion in Polish-English Translation and Its Implications for Translator Training

This paper focuses on the ways of maintaining cohesive links in the translation process in the Polish-English language pair. Of primary interest is how the thematic/rhematic structure of Polish sentences can be successfully rendered in English to produce cohesive, natural-sounding and communicative target texts with a proper information flow. These aspects have implications for translation teaching. It has been observed that, in view of the differences between Polish and English word order, university students at the start of their translator training experience two general problems as they attempt to translate longer stretches of text into English: (1) they produce cohesive passages, which contain errors in word order (due to syntactic interference from Polish) or (2) they produce grammatically correct sentences, which, however, form incohesive passages (i.e. ones in which the thematic/rhematic progression is not retained) with an inappropriate information structure. For this reason, students need to become acquainted with some practical solutions that help build cohesion in Polish-English translation. These include (1) shifts from active to passive, (2) other shifts in syntactic functions, (3) fronting, and (4) inventing sentence subjects out of broader context.

Publishing ‘Paper Bullets’: Politics, Propaganda and Polish-English Translation in Wartime London

During World War II, publishing was an important element of the war effort for both the Allies and the Axis powers. Wartime propaganda and cultural diplomacy relied primarily on books, magazines and the daily press. The exiled governments in London, including the Polish government, undertook a major effort to translate, publish and promote numerous books and pamphlets that would appeal to British readers and thereby help to sway public opinion. This paper focuses on translation as an important aspect of wartime publishing that has not yet received much scholarly attention. It offers a contribution to research into the role and place of translations in wartime publishing by discussing the Polish government-in-exile's translation and publishing campaign. Drawing on various archival sources, it demonstrates that publishing translations was an important part of wartime cultural diplomacy and led to the development of extensive state-private networks that brought together exiled governments and British publishers. By analysing this material in a broad cultural context, the paper highlights the historical, ideological and political relevance of translation studies research to wartime publishing and censorship.

On denominalization in Polish-English translation

On denominalization in Polish-English translation

Complex noun phrases in Polish-English translation: evidence from three registers

Complex noun phrases in Polish-English translation: evidence from three registers

Comparison of parallel texts of petitions in Polish-Hungarian and Polish-English translation

This article explores the possibilities of using parallel texts in Polish, Hungarian and English legal translation and legal translation teaching. The authors focus on petitions, a special genre of the legal register, and show that the macrostructure of Polish, Hungarian and English are different: they are composed of the same elements, but these are ordered differently. Polish petitions may be written by lawyers as well as lay persons, thus the language used in them may be both legal and colloquial depending on the author. English petitions are usually executed by lawyers, or they are simply forms which are filled in by claimants. In Hungary a claimant also fills in a form. What may pose serious translation problems is the part called the grounds of the petition, as it may be written in a specialpurpose register or in colloquial language. Despite the differences, parallel texts of petitions in Polish, Hungarian and English provide the translator and trainee translator with more reliable equivalents than dictionaries, and not only for technical terms, but also for phraseological units and formulaic sequences.