Antonia Lloyd-Jones
Przekładaniec, Issue 17 – Poezja i proza przekładu, 2006, pp. 109 - 123
This paper, by the translator into English of novels by Paweł Huelle and Olga Tokarczuk,
discusses general ideas about the art of bridging cultural gaps through translation,
in particular that translation inevitably involves a compromise between the
author and the reader. It discusses some translation techniques, such as the advantages
of reading the text aloud. For illustration it focuses on Mercedes-Benz by Paweł
Huelle, explaining how the translator attempted to retain the pace and style in English.
It mentions problems involved in translating a book with almost no punctuation, ideas
for translating dialect, slang and nicknames, and how to avoid footnotes. It moves on
to the experience of translating Olga Tokarczuk’s Dom dzienny, dom nocny into
English, and offers some ideas on translating neologisms, culturally exclusive details
and contrasting writing styles.