Slovene Translations Research Articles

A Stylistic Analysis of Four Translations of J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye

The paper looks at stylistic differences between four translations of J. D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye – two Slovene translations, a Serbo-Croatian, and an Italian translation. Firstly, stylistic components relevant to the novel in question are identified. In this respect, the translation of teenage speech and idiom appears to be not only the most conspicuous stylistic feature of the original but also the hardest to translate. Secondly, the ways in which the different translations have rendered certain formal and lexical features of style are compared by determining and describing their function. A large number of examples have been submitted to critical scrutiny, of which only a few representative ones are listed and explained in the paper. Finally, this paper points to some particular difficulties of the four translators in their attempts to reproduce the stylistic components of the original.

Harold Pinter in Slovene Translation

This article examines the translation of Harold Pinter’s most notable stylistic peculiarities into Slovene, illustrating its main points with examples taken from his play The Homecoming. The findings demonstrate above all a marked degree of non-observance of the special verbal pattern (special cohesion) of the originals, a failure to convey Pinter’s special configuration of meaning (special coherence), and a disregard for internal unifying coincidences. It argues that the Slovene translations of Pinter rely mostly on traditional theories of meaning and of language norms, thus preventing the reproduction of those emotional and psychological actions of Pinter’s characters which are usually not expressed by means of the rhetorical, informative elements of his dialogue, but by its form and sonority, i. e. the length, strength, and level of articulation of verbal expression. This blurs Pinter’s famous logic of emotion, narrows the proverbial openness and conceptual uncertainty of his plays, and limits their potential vitality in translation. Taking into account current drama and theatre translation practices in Slovenia, i.e. the rarity of published drama translation and the dependence on a translated performance text for subsequent theatrical productions, the article argues that in such cases the drama translation should be retrospective, i.e. aiming at a maximum reconstruction of all relevant linguistic, stylistic, and textual properties of the original, leaving expressly subjective interventions in the text to the theatre practitioners.

John Steinbeck's In Dubious Battle as a Lesson of Commitment

John Steinbeck's In Dubious Battle as a Lesson of Commitment Danica Cerce (bio) John Steinbeck first received the attention of the Slovene reading public in the early 1940s with Rudolf Kresal's translation of The Grapes of Wrath (Sadovi jeze Ljubljana: Zalozba Plug, 1943). Since then, ten of Steinbeck's works have been translated, including the most recent, Tortilla Flat (Polentarska polica Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga, translated by Ciril Kosmac), in 1995. Although to date there are nineteen Slovene publications of Steinbeck's work in book form and numerous translations of his stories in various magazines and newspapers, the writer has been very poorly represented in Slovene literary history and criticism. His art has been assessed primarily in periodical and newspaper articles whose authors, in great part book reviewers and journalists, examined the author's commitment to social criticism. It is significant to note that until 1992 Slovenia was a part of the former Yugoslavia, where the communist party played a crucial role in the sociopolitical, economic, and cultural spheres. While noting ideological structures embedded in his work, Slovene critics missed the irony in Steinbeck's wording as well as his mythical and literary allusions. Tortilla Flat is hardly a "hymn to chivalric ideals such as friendship, loyalty and simplicity," as Dusan Mevlja writes in a 23 November 1953 review for Vecer (17). Nor should East of Eden be seen primarily in light of communist ideals: "in times of international crises Steinbeck, who is a writer of high repute, always attentively listened to the Yugoslav President Tito's opinion," an opinion voiced by Joze Turk in "Steinbeck in njegov raj" ("Steinbeck and His Eden") [End Page 89] in the 1980 Mladinska knjiga edition of Steinbeck's East of Eden (Vzhodno od raja) (540). Click for larger view View full resolution Figure 1. Clearly, Steinbeck did not entirely meet the demands of dogmatic communist critics. In the 2 May 1944 newspaper Jutro's "Sadovi jeze," for example, the anonymous author lamented the "naturalistic and far too dark" presentation of life in The Grapes of Wrath. "There are no bright tones," he claimed, "except for the symbolism of the last scene" (8). Despite the lack of a distinctive political synthesis in his works, however, the warmth and empathy in his depiction of the deplorable labor situation, his socially enlightened views, and his refined sense of human and civil rights accounted for the fact that he was considered "an effective advocate for the workers' cause" and successfully manipulated by communist propaganda (Borko 135). This tendency to view Steinbeck mainly as a writer of protest novels, striving for equitable social conditions, may explain why his postwar work, showing a conspicuous change in fictional method and his venturing into new forms and subject matter, has brought negative responses. The opinion that Steinbeck betrayed the working class by "ignoring the analysis of social conditions" and surrendered instead to "skeptical individualism" was expressed by the influential Russian critic A. Starcev in the 1947 Novi svet article on social realism in the United States (133). Two years later, the Slovenski porocevalec anonymous informational overview of the contemporary American literature, "Knjizevnost v ZDA," depicted Steinbeck as "an ardent supporter of the system he had previously attacked" [End Page 90] (31 March 1949: 10). Marija Cvetko, among others, underrated Travels with Charley. "Many would be ashamed of this book," she claimed in Tedenska tribuna of 24 March 1964, and then went on to attack Steinbeck's "lukewarm personal involvement and the lack of intensity of his critical insight" (7). Steinbeck's initial support of the Vietnam War was the source of many opposing voices in the late 1960s: he "betrayed his principles and everything he had ever fought for," wrote Bulgarian writer Blaga Dimitrova in 1967 (92). This keen sense of disappointment resulted in a lack of serious critical interest in Steinbeck's work. Apart from some brief notices following the writer's death and the first Slovene translation of Sweet Thursday (1979), it was not until 1993 that the Delo newspaper assessed Steinbeck's career in a balanced reappraisal (22 March 1993: 7). Despite a more receptive literary climate since Slovenia became a sovereign, democratic republic, many books that...

Responses to Toni Morrison's oeuvre in Slovenia

Toni Morrison, the first African American female winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, is certainly one of the modern artists whose novels have entered the world's modern literary canon. She is one of the most read novelists in the United States, where all of her novels have been bestsellers. However, only Song of Solomon and Beloved have so far been translated into Slovene. There have been several articles or essays written on Toni Morrison but most of them are simply translations of English articles; the only exception is a study by Jerneja Petrič. This paper presents the Slovene translation of Song ofSolomon by Jože Stabej and the articles written on Toni Morrison by Slovene critics. Jože Stabej is so far the only Slovene translator who has translated Toni Morrison. The author of this article uses some Slovene translations from the novel in comparison to the original to show the main differences appearing because of different grammatical structures of both languages and differences in the two cultures. The articles by Slovene critics are primarily resumes or translations of English originals and have been mainly published in magazines specializing in literature.

Domestication and Foreignization in Translating American Prose for Slovenian Children

The purpose of this article is to describe and explore the examples of domestication and foreignization in translations of American prose read by Slovenian children. A few of the earlier American books that have entered the children’s literature canon have been read by dual audience and among these Uncle Tom’s Cabin has the longest tradition. The translations of the novel are presented in the light of domestication and foreignization endeavours. In order to complete and expand the picture of translating for children, a few additional works published in different eras of Slovenian translation history are briefly discussed.

Sexual function in men with cauda equina lesions: a clinical and electromyographic study

Objective: To investigate the effects of cauda equina lesions on sexual function in men. Methods: Sexual function was investigated in 46 men with long standing cauda equina/conus medullaris lesions. All...

Hermann Diels: Začetki filologije pri starih Grkih

Ko se pripravljamo, da bomo danes v čisto posebnem vzdušju proslavili petdeseto snidenje združenja nemških filologov, se ob tej priložnosti kar sama od sebe ponuja retrospektivna misel. Če se ozremo nazaj, smo namreč v pozdravnih govorih zelo pogosto razmišljali o preteklosti. Zatorej mi, cenjeni kolegi, oprostite, da vas bom popeljal še dlje v preteklost in vam razkril majhne ter odločilne korenine, iz katerih se je pred 2500 leti iz helenskih tal, rodne grude vseh znanosti, dvignilo kvišku zdaj tako ponosno razvito in močno razvejano drevo filologije. Ta tema se mi zdi danes toliko primernejša, ker so, začuda, inkunabule naše znanosti doslej pritegnile tako malo pozornosti filologov. Zato upam, da vam bom kljub kratkosti, ki mi jo narekuje obzirnost do govorcev za menoj, lahko tu in tam ponudil kaj novega.

Juvenal, satira 7: Al' pri njih srce ledeno se ogreje, sam ne ve

Težave z razumevanjem literature, glede katerih se pevec v gornjem verzu pritožuje že nad lastnimi sodobniki, začnejo sorazmerno s časovno oddaljenostjo avtorja in bralca naraščati malodane eksponentno. Ravno zato literarna zgodovina znova in znova poudarja, kako je eden najbolj temeljnih pogojev za celostno razumevanje besedila prav poglobitev v kontekst, v katerem je nastalo. Nujnost tega početja se od izdelka do izdelka kajpak razlikuje: večino lahko bralec v zadostni meri razume že s pomočjo osnovnega pregleda nad svetovno zgodovino in literaturo, pri nekaterih pa je sporočilo jasno celo brez vsakršnega aparata. Juvenalov tekst ne spada v nobeno izmed tovrstnih enostavnih kategorij.

The reception of Canadian literature in Slovenian translations till 1980

At the beginning of this research, there were first of all some main questions hat had to be taken under consideration. The primary questions were: how many Canadian authors writing in English were translated into Slovenian, how far back do these translations go, who were the translators and what was the influence on the Slovenian reader. The main focus was given to the literary works that specifically spoke about Canada, her characteristics and people. On the other hand, literary works viewing the Canadian lifestyle, were not given thorough attention. This way the answer to how Canadian literature was accepted in Slovenia could be summarised. The geographical point of view has been a very important aspect. The vast Canadian land and the different locations mentioned in the translated works are of importance, especially when reflecting the great distances.

The reception of Canadian literature in Slovenian translations till 1980

At the beginning of this research, there were first of all some main questions hat had to be taken under consideration. The primary questions were: how many Canadian authors writing in English were translated into Slovenian, how far back do these translations go, who were the translators and what was the influence on the Slovenian reader. The main focus was given to the literary works that specifically spoke about Canada, her characteristics and people. On the other hand, literary works viewing the Canadian lifestyle, were not given thorough attention. This way the answer to how Canadian literature was accepted in Slovenia could be summarised. The geographical point of view has been a very important aspect. The vast Canadian land and the different locations mentioned in the translated works are of importance, especially when reflecting the great distances.

The Question of Literary Transmission and Mediation: Aesthetic, Linguistic and Social Aspects of Slovene Translations from American Verse Until 1945.

The Question of Literary Transmission and Mediation: Aesthetic, Linguistic and Social Aspects of Slovene Translations from American Verse Until 1945.

From Albion's shore: Lord Byron' poetry in Slovene translations until 1945

The publication in 1830 of the early poems of the doyen of Slovene poetry - Dr France Prešeren in Kranjska čbelica (The Carniola Bee) - marks the beginning of Slovene Romanticism, which ends in 1848, -with the last of his poems published in the fifth volume of the same literary magazine. The period from 1830 to the »revolutionary« year of 1848 is thus committed to Romanticism as the leading movement of Slovene literature, artfully embodied in Prešeren's fine lyrical poetry that aimed at and considerably contributed to national unification and identification, as well as in the Europe-oriented literary criticism of Matija čop. Comparing the trends of the English and Slovene Romantic Revival, we can readily establish that the emergence of Romantic tenets expressed in poetry was somewhat late on Slovene ground. In England, of course, the crucial years are1789, when Lyrical Ballads were published by Wordsworth and Coleridge, and the year 1832, which marks the death of Sir Walter Scott.

From Albion's shore: Lord Byron' poetry in Slovene translations until 1945

The publication in 1830 of the early poems of the doyen of Slovene poetry - Dr France Prešeren in Kranjska čbelica (The Carniola Bee) - marks the beginning of Slovene Romanticism, which ends in 1848, -with the last of his poems published in the fifth volume of the same literary magazine. The period from 1830 to the »revolutionary« year of 1848 is thus committed to Romanticism as the leading movement of Slovene literature, artfully embodied in Prešeren's fine lyrical poetry that aimed at and considerably contributed to national unification and identification, as well as in the Europe-oriented literary criticism of Matija čop. Comparing the trends of the English and Slovene Romantic Revival, we can readily establish that the emergence of Romantic tenets expressed in poetry was somewhat late on Slovene ground. In England, of course, the crucial years are1789, when Lyrical Ballads were published by Wordsworth and Coleridge, and the year 1832, which marks the death of Sir Walter Scott.

The possibilities of verse translation: the reception of American poetry in Slovenia between the two wars

Contemporary American poetry was more or less terra incognita in Slovenia throughout the first half of the 20th century. The thesis question, then, is why are there so few translations of American poetry into Slovene in the discussed period between the two world wars? Although this subject has not been treated in detail, the best critica1 reference is to be found in the study »American Poetry in Slovene Translations« by Mirko Jurak, Janez Stanonik's research of American-Slovene relations, and Velemir Gjurin's work on Griša Koritnik, one of the foremost verse translators of the period, and his translation of E. A. Poe's poem »The Raven«.

The possibilities of verse translation: the reception of American poetry in Slovenia between the two wars

Contemporary American poetry was more or less terra incognita in Slovenia throughout the first half of the 20th century. The thesis question, then, is why are there so few translations of American poetry into Slovene in the discussed period between the two world wars? Although this subject has not been treated in detail, the best critica1 reference is to be found in the study »American Poetry in Slovene Translations« by Mirko Jurak, Janez Stanonik's research of American-Slovene relations, and Velemir Gjurin's work on Griša Koritnik, one of the foremost verse translators of the period, and his translation of E. A. Poe's poem »The Raven«.

Zborovske kompozicije Slavka Osterca

Zborovske kompozicije Slavka Osterca