Descriptive clashes: Between standardisation and dynamisation of translated description

KAMENICKÁ, Renata. Descriptive clashes: Between standardisation and dynamisation of translated description. In Miller, Donna R.; Monti, Enrico. Tradurre Figure: Translating Figurative Language. Bologna: Bononia University Press, 2014, p. 201-213. Rizomatica. ISBN 978-88-7395-989-2.

Basic information

Original name

Descriptive clashes: Between standardisation and dynamisation of translated description

Name in Czech

Konfliktní tendence v popisech: Mezi standardizací a dynamizací popisů v překaldech

Authors

KAMENICKÁ, Renata (203 Czech Republic, guarantor, belonging to the institution)

Edition

Bologna, Tradurre Figure: Translating Figurative Language, p. 201-213, 13 pp. Rizomatica, 2014

Publisher

Bononia University Press

---

Other information

Language

English

Type of outcome

Kapitola resp. kapitoly v odborné knize

Field of Study

60206 Specific literatures

Country of publisher

Italy

Confidentiality degree

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

Publication form

printed version "print"

References:

URL

RIV identification code

RIV/00216224:14210/14:00079374

Organization unit

Faculty of Arts

ISBN

978-88-7395-989-2

Keywords (in Czech)

literary translation; description; standardization; dynamization; Toury; textemes

Keywords in English

literární překlad; popis; standardizace; dynamizace; Toury; textémy

Tags

rivok

Tags

International impact, Reviewed

---

Abstract

V originále

This paper explores the translational poetics of descriptive passages in translations of fiction from English to Czech made in the past few decades, with a focus on figurative language and its transformations. These passages are expected to be the locus of two opposing tendencies: a more general tendency called 'standardization', and 'dynamization of description', and a tendency more specific to the current Czech literary system, both frequently involving shifts between figurative and non-figurative ways of expression. 'Standardization', a process believed to characterize translation in general whereby textemes tend to be converted to repertoremes (Toury 1995) – and whereby figurative elements are often rendered in their (more) literal meanings – has been postulated in theory as well as studied empirically. Fedrová and Jedličková, two Czech literary scholars, have recently evidenced and discussed a widespread tendency in Czech literary scholarship to underestimate description as a fictional text type: largely due to the legacy of functional approaches to literary style, pure forms of (realistic) description are systematically viewed as inferior to "modern" forms of description with attributes such as "evocative", "subjective", "contextualized" and "dynamized". This dynamization often involves an increase in figurativeness. This paper presents the results of a study made on a corpus of fictional descriptive passages (namely descriptions of place taken from 20th century British, American and Canadian novels) and explores the interaction of these two opposing tendencies and relates the findings to the concepts of figurativeness, functional approach, and translator habitus.