Katedra anglistiky a amerikanistiky

Masarykova univerzita Filozofická fakulta

Katedra anglistiky a amerikanistiky

Magisterská diplomová práce

2011

Mgr. Kristýna Staňková

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Masaryk University Faculty of Arts

Department of English and American Studies English-language Translation

Mgr. Kristýna Staňková

Environmental Literature in Czech Translation: Six Case Studies Master’s Diploma Thesis

Supervisor: Mgr. Renata Kamenická, Ph.D.

2011

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I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently,  using only the sources listed in the bibliography. ……………………………………………..

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I would like to thank my supervisor, Mgr. Renata Kamenická, Ph.D., for her guidance, inspiration, suggestions and encouragement. I would also like to thank Prof. Erazim Kohák and PhDr. Rudolf Kolářský for suggestions of the translation of Silent Spring, and my husband for his patience and support. 4

Table of Contents 1.Introduction...........................................................................................................................5 2.Theoretical Part.....................................................................................................................8 1.1.1.Translation Studies and Environmental Literature.......................................................8 1.1.2.Strategies and features in the translation ...................................................................9 1.1.3.Explicitation.................................................................................................................9 1.1.4.Simplification and normalization...............................................................................10 1.1.5.Compensation............................................................................................................11 1.1.6.Interference...............................................................................................................11 1.1.7.Terminological issues.................................................................................................12 2.2.5.1.Standardized terminology....................................................................................13 2.2.5.2.Literal translation..................................................................................................13 2.2.5.3.Neologisms..........................................................................................................14

1.1.8.Translating culture: Domestication and foreignization strategies..............................15 3.Practical Part........................................................................................................................17 3.1 Research project.......................................................................................................17 3.2 Corpus.......................................................................................................................17 3.3 Methodology.............................................................................................................19 4.Translation analysis .............................................................................................................19 4.1 Aldo Leopold: A Sand County Almanac.....................................................................19 4.2 Rachel Carson: Silent Spring......................................................................................37 4.3 John Seed: Thinking like a Mountain: Towards a Council of All Beings.....................47 4.4 Arne Naess: Ecology, community and lifestyle: outline of an ecosophy...................58 4.5 Gary Snyder: A place in space: ethics, aesthetics and watersheds............................76 4.6 Jared Diamond: Collapse: how societies choose to fail or succeed...........................96 5.Conclusion .........................................................................................................................112 6.Bibliography.......................................................................................................................116 7.Summary............................................................................................................................121 8.Resumé..............................................................................................................................122

1. Introduction Ever since a nature-writing classic, H. D. Thoreau’s Walden, was first translated into Czech in 1902 (by Zdeněk Franta as Walden, čili, Život

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v lesích), English-written literature dealing with nature, environment and ecology has been more or less successfully transmitted to the Czech readership. Walden is an exemplary case of publishing interest in this topic, with the total of three different translations (in 1924 by Miloš Seifert and in 1991 by Josef Schwarz) and six editions. However, the historical circumstances interrupted the development of translation of nature writing and environmental literature in Czechoslovakia during the period between 1948 and 1989, presumably for the reason that the citizens of a socialist country were not supposed to indulge in things natural rather than to develop a socialist paradise and, more importantly, were definitely not to question the self-righteousness of the industrial urban society, let alone its impact on the environment. Nevertheless, the affairs changed radically in 1990s‘ and both publishers and translators quickly discovered new opportunities, trends and movements in

literature.

As

independent

environmentally-oriented

literature

publishing became

houses an

were

alternative

established, and

with

environmental issues gaining more publicity, this type of literature attracted readers. Despite this development, it is still considered a minor genre, which relies mostly on translated works (mostlly from English) with only a little national production (exceptions exist, Václav Cílek being one of the most prolific and well-known authors dedicated to environmental writing). Differences in publishing exist as well – most of the books dealing with environment and ecology are published in small and specialized publishing houses, while large publishers only focus on bestsellers or promising titles (e.g. the case of Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild that has had already two

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editions in Czech, the second one (published by Columbus) clearly motivated by the launch of the eponymous movie rather than by, let’s say, growing interest in the phenomenon of American wilderness). In this thesis my aim is to introduce the problematics of Czech translation of English-written environmental literature and analyse six nonfiction works by various authors (Aldo Leopold, Rachel Carson, John Seed, Arne Naess, Gary Snyder and Jared Diamond) and their translations into Czech, each of which is characterized by different translation strategies. However, the analysis is also intended to show whereas universal features appear as well and whether these could be seen as direct effect of the fact that these translations are restricted to the topic of ecology. The theoretical background of my research is based on some of the central issues of translation studies, namely translation universals with particular focus on cultural explicitation, taking into account also simplification and normalization. Moreover, terminology is in many aspects the core theme of the research and domestication and foreignization strategies, as well as the problems of interference and literal translation, are discussed as well. As for the structure of the thesis, the theoretical aspects are discussed in the first, theoretical part. The practical part is divided into two chapters – chapter 3 offers a short introduction to the corpus material and the methods and chapter 4 is concerned exclusively with the translation analysis, represented by six case studies ordered chronologically according to the date of publishing of the source text, each of which deals with one work and its translation. The conclusion then sums up the main findings and proposes areas for further research and discussion.

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2. Theoretical Part 1.1.1. Translation Studies and Environmental Literature

It is evident that certain genres and fields have received much greater attention within the discipline of translation studies than others – Bible translation or translation of poetry are some of the examples of popular topics in the study of literary translation, while medical and legal translations have long occupied top position in the study of non-literary translation. On the other hand, ecology and environmental studies are more of a niche in translation studies, represented by only a few research projects that focus exclusively on terminology (e.g. Pascaline Dury’s compilation of a bilingual diachronic corpus of ecology) (Dury 5). With regard to environmental literature 1 and its relation to translation studies, one most probably arrives at the conclusion that this particular type of literature is so marginal that it can hardly gain any interest of TS scholars. Nevertheless, translation and environmental literature are closely related as the latter is becoming more widespread and therefore needs to be translated into other languages, and the problems faced by the translators go beyond the simple terminological issues. The reason is that environmental literature, particularly its non-fiction

component, is characterised

by

multidisciplinarity, which requires additional skills from the translators, but it is 1

As a working definition of the concept ‘environmental literature’ I would draw on definitions by Scott Slovic, Bill McKibben and Patrick D. Murphy: environmental literature can be understood as encompassing various genres (Slovic 888) in which celebration of nature is one of the main aspects, but “it moves beyond it, seeking answers as well as consolation, embracing controversy, sometimes sounding an alarm” (McKibben xxii) Finally, it is not limiting itself to the description of the natural world and/or history, but discusses also environmental issues, such as pollution, urbanization and other forms of human intervention and their impact on the environment and landscape (Murphy 5). 8

also related to literary translation. Finally, it is interesting to note that, although the majority of works now available are written in English, there is also need for translation of environmental literature written in different languages into English, as Murphy proposes in order to widen the horizon of (mainly) American eco-critics (217).

1.1.2. Strategies and features in the translation 1.1.3. Explicitation Explicitation, i.e. the process of “making explicit in the target text information that is implicit in the source text” (Klaudy 80), has become one of the central issues in the study of translation (Pym 2005) (for example, Birgitta Englund Dimitrova presents a summary of studies treating the explicitation phenomenon) (35). On general level, Klaudy distinguishes four types of explicitation: obligatory, optional, pragmatic and translation-inherent (82-83), which can be further categorized according to the Hallidayan language metafunctions into experiential, logical, interpersonal explicitation (Kamenická 118). Formally, explicitation takes either form of addition (when new elements are added in the TT) or specification (when the information given is more specific though its amount correspond to the ST) (Englund Dimitrova 34). As concerns the present study, the focus is on cultural explicitation (pragmatic in Klaudy’s terminology), which “occurs to supplement possible cultural gaps between the source and the target culture” (Perego 70). It is hypothesized that environmental literature is relatively grounded in the SL culture, therefore the translation will feature certain amount of more explicit information in order to explain cultural concept not so familiar or completely unknown to the target

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reader or when there is no equivalent of it in the TL. Explicitation has also been studied in relation to the translator’s style (e.g. Baker 2000, Saldanha 2005, Kamenická 2008) and this could also go for the present analysis, which, among other things, shows that each translator has a different degree of propensity to explicitate (especially with regard to cultural explicitation). Implicitation is often introduced in the discussion on explicitation as an opposite procedure, i.e. that of removing explicit information from the TT , however it is considered a much less frequent operation (Englund Dimitrova 39) and as such is reported only rarely in this paper.

1.1.4. Simplification and normalization

Both simplification and normalization are processes recognized as translation universals, which means their occurrence in a translated text is much higher than in a non-translated one. Simplification generally occurs on three levels: lexical, syntactic and stylistic (Laviosa-Braithwaite 288). Lexical simplification appears to be the most frequent type in the translations analysed, followed by the closely related simplifying phenomenon of avoiding repetition. Normalization, i.e. the translation’s tendency to be more conventional, can be regarded as the result of the translator’s attempt at making the text more accessible to the target reader through enhanced clarity and familiarity and better organization compared to the original (Vanderauwera in LaviosaBraithwaite 289-290). While this reasoning applies to majority of the examples of normalization found in the analysed material, it is also true that there are instances of normalization that can only be explained by the translator’s 10

inability to find a suitable TL equivalent that would preserve the ST curiosity. Nevertheless, it has to be added that it is often the case that there is not such an equivalent or that the possible equivalent would most probably impede understanding of the TT or not create the same effect as in the ST.

1.1.5. Compensation When loss of effect (e. g. due to simplification or normalization) occurs in the passage from the ST to the TT, compensation is a technique that is meant to make up for such a loss. It may involve identical linguistic devices as those used in the ST or linguistic devices that are different from the ST but create the same effect in the TT (Harvey 37-38). The latter could be exemplified by the use of present and past participles in the TT to compensate various archaic forms in the ST in the case of the translation of Aldo Leopold’s Sand County

Almanac.

Harvey

also

mentions

the

so-called

displaced

compensation, which involves the use of stylistic features in an attempt to naturalize the text for the target readership even though such features are not tied to any specific instance of the ST loss (39). This could again apply to the Sand County Almanac and its translation which often re-creates archaisms when there is no evident parallel in the ST.

1.1.6. Interference

It could be claimed that interference is an intrinsic factor of the translation process (Newmark 2001: 78) as it involves “the importation into the target text of lexical, syntactic, cultural or structural items typical of a different semiotic system and unusual or non-existent in the target context” (Franco Aixelá). 11

However, the process of interference has been viewed rather negatively, implying that such importation of SL features is inappropriate and undesired (Newmark 2001: 78). Such a negative approach has somewhat obscured its positive aspects, particularly when new concepts are introduced in the TL. Franco Aixelá focuses on interference in terminology and sees “the creation and preservation of a specific terminology or jargon” as one of the main motives why interference is used in technical translation. On the other hand, Newmark considers lexical interference to be dangerous as it may distort the meaning (2001: 83). Nevertheless, “false friends” rarely distort the meaning in technical translation (especially when interference involves a neologism), although they pose a problem in other types of translation, as is demonstrated in the analysis. In addition to lexical interference, Newmark distinguishes between syntactical, figurative, cultural, as well as interference involving the word order (2001: 83-85). In my analysis, I focus mainly on lexical interference, but syntactical interference and word order are mentioned too.

1.1.7. Terminological issues Despite the fact that the analysed works of environmental literature fall into the category of literary non-fiction (Murphy 6), there appear terminological issues similar to those encountered in technical texts. In fact, the amount of specialised terms used is astonishing and would merit a separate study. Furthermore, the terms are not limited only to the field of ecology (in the wider sense, therefore including zoology, botany and other life sciences) or environmental studies, but belong to such areas as economy, sociology or 12

philosophy. This multidisciplinarity might be perceived as a translation problem, given the fact that most translators specialize only in a limited number of areas. In addition to this aspect, three main issues are examined below.

2.2.5.1.

Standardized terminology

The main motives and also the principals benefit of standardization of terminology can be summarized as economy, precision and appropriateness, all of which facilitate communication between (not only) specialists (Sager 256-257). The standardization basically consists of fixing the meaning of each term (256), an operation that can be done through a number of methods. Sager lists specialised commissions that work on the standardization of terminology in scientific disciplines (e.g. zoological and botanical taxonomies), glossaries, and ISO standards (256-257). As concerns the standardized terminology of ecology in Czech, it is slowly developing, with a few published dictionaries (e.g. Anglicko-český a česko-anglický slovník ekologie a životního prostředí edited by Jarmila Hájková, Odborný slovník anglicko-český a českoanglický - Ekologie a ochrana životního prostředí by Pavel Křivka and Jiří Růžička or Environmentální a ekologický slovník vybraných pojmů by Josef Zelenka and Jiří Štejfa). Moreover, ecological organizations and university departments of environmental studies and related disciplines are also active in compiling and providing glossaries of ecological terms (e.g. the ecological and environmental terminology compiled by prof. RNDr. Josef Zelenka, CSc. from the Faculty of Informatics and Management at the University of Hradec Králové). 2.2.5.2.

Literal translation 13

When a new term is to be introduced in the TL, literal translation of the SL term appears to be an appropriate solution “if it secures referential and pragmatic equivalence to the original” (Newmark 1988: 69). Literal translation in terminology can involve both single words and word groups or phrases and the methods applied will include borrowing (i.e. direct transference of the SL word to the TL) (Munday 2001: 56), e.g. the term “rebirthing” is dirrectly transferred into Czech without any kind of adaptation except for the case endings („metoda (...) podobná rebirthingu“) in the translation of John Seed’s Thinking like a Mountain; another translation method employed is calque (a kind of borrowing during which the SL structure is literally translated to the TL) (Munday 2001: 56), such as “sustainable forestry” translated as „udržitelné lesnictví“ in Jared Diamond’s Collapse. However, literal translation should be avoided if it “gives a different meaning[,] has no meaning[,] is impossible for structural reasons[,] does not have a corresponding expression within the metalinguistic experience of the TL[,] corresponds to something at a different level of language” (Vinay and Darbelnet in Munday 2001: 57). The analysis gives examples of such unacceptable literal translations of terms, such as the zoological term “prothonotary warbler” translated literally as „pěnice pronotář“ in Aldo Leopold’s Sand County Almanac, while the correct Czech term is „lesňáček zlatý“.

2.2.5.3.

Neologisms

Finally, a typical terminological issue is brought about by the simple fact that the SL technical term is a neologism, therefore its translation into the TL can be even more problematic as no equivalent of the term exists in the TL. 14

Newmark categorizes neologisms into two main groups – existing lexical units with new meaning (1988: 150), which – I would argue – are relatively easily translated literally, and new forms. The latter group is further divided into new coinages, derived words, abbreviations, collocations, eponyms, phrasal words, transferred words (or borrowings) acronyms, pseudo-neologisms and internationalisms (1988: 150). Each of these subcategories is eligible for a different translation method – while some acronyms can be simply transferred into the TL, others are better accompanied by a descriptive or functional translation. Similarly, in translation of derived words (e.g. “ecocide”) naturalisation can be an appropriate solution („ekocida“).

1.1.8. Translating culture: Domestication and foreignization strategies If terminology links environmental non-fiction to non-literary translation, the translator’s decision to adopt domesticating or foreignizing strategy associates this kind of translation with literary translation (since there are at play linguistic effects that exceed simple communication, that is instead central to nonliterary translation, and technical translation in particular) (Venuti 244). Generally speaking, these strategies “concern both the choice of text to translate and the translation method” (Munday 2001: 146). Hence, when the choice of translating an environmentally-oriented text is made, it can be considered a foreignizing strategy given the marginality and only recent development of autochtonous environmental literature in Czech. For example, the decision to publish the Czech translation of Gary Snyder’s Place in Space was made by the publishing house DharmaGaia, which specialises in publishing books about non-European spiritual and cultural traditions as well 15

as

alternative

culture,

philosophy

and

new

science

(Nakladatelství

DharmaGaia), hence its intention of pointing out cultural differences and moving “the reader towards the writer” (Schleiermacher in Munday 2001: 147) is obvious. Regarding the concrete translation methods, instances of foreignization in the analysed texts include direct transference of the ST words (that are often transferences from other languages themselves) (e.g. “friluftsliv”) or adoption of linguistic devices of the ST (e.g. archaisms). Domestication, on the other hand, tries to attenuate, even cover, the particularities of the source text, conforming to the target-language cultural values and conventions. Venuti criticises particularly the practice of AngloAmerican translation that tends to be “an ethno-centric reduction of the foreign text to target-language cultural values” (Venuti in Munday 2001: 146). However, the situation in Czech translation of English-written environmental literature seems to be contrary – rather than imposing TL conventions, the translations are remarkably influenced by the source-language culture and the SL, as the amount of reported interference shows. Nevertheless, occurrences of domestication can be found in the texts, albeit very rare and presumably unintentional.

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3. Practical Part 3.1 Research project The main aim of this thesis was to analyse field-specific translation, i.e. Czech translation of English-written environmental literature, in order to show whether the field itself can influence the translation strategies and features. As the practical part demonstrates, certain phenomena can be considered universal, appearing in all the translations analysed, while others are specific for each translation and can therefore be traceable either to the character of the source text or to the translator’s style.

3.2 Corpus The corpus was originally intended to include a much wider range of texts dealing with ecology and environment and their translations into Czech, but eventually, it was reduced to six works of late 20 th and early 21st century environmental non-fiction, with publishing dates ranging from 1949 to 2005 and their translations (all from 1990s and early 2000s). The texts analysed are mainly by American authors (Aldo Leopold, Rachel Carson, Joanna Macy, Gary Snyder and Jared Diamonds) but texts by other English-speaking authors were included as well (John Seed, Pat Fleming) and by secondlanguage English-speaking author (Arne Naess). The corpus thus consists of selected parts of the following texts and their Czech translations (in alphabetical order):

•

Carson, Rachel. Silent Spring. London: Pinguin, 2000. („Mlčící jaro.“ Závod s časem: Texty z morální ekologie. Erazim Kohák, Rudolf 17

Kolářský, Igor Míchal eds. Praha: Torst pro MŽP, 1996. Translated by Igor Míchal.) •

Diamond, Jared M. Collapse: how societies choose to fail or succeed. New York: Viking, 2005. (Kolaps: proč společnosti zanikají a zanikají a přežívají. Praha: Academia, 2008. Translated by Zdeněk Urban.)

•

Leopold, Aldo Starker. A Sand County Almanac: with essays on conservation from round river. New York: Ballantine Books, 1990. (Obrázky z chatrče a rozmanité poznámky. Tulčík: Abies, 1999. Translated by Anna Pilátová.)

•

Naess, Arne. Ecology, community and lifestyle: outline of an ecosophy. Translated and edited by David Rothenberg. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989. (Ekologie, pospolitost a životní styl : náčrt ekosofie. Tulčík: Abies, 1996. Translated by Jiří Hrubý.)

•

Seed, John, Macy, Joanna, Fleming, Pat, Naess, Arne. Thinking like a mountain: towards a council of all beings. Philadelphia: New Society Publishers. 1988. (Myslet jako hora: shromáždění všech bytostí. Prešov: Nadácia Zelená nádej, 1993. Translated by Jiří Holuša.)

•

Snyder, Gary. A place in space: ethics, aesthetics and watersheds. Washington: Counterpoint, 1995. (Místo v prostoru: etika, estetika a vodní předěly. Praha: Maťa & DharmaGaia, 2002. Translated by Matěj Turek a Luboš Snížek.) The corpus analysis has the form of six separate case studies, each of

which focuses on one text and its translation. Each case study includes further information related to the corpus material (e.g. specification of the genre, circumstances related to the publishing etc.).

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3.3 Methodology The main research method used was manual sorting of the corpus material and subsequent analysis of the ST and TT units. Although the predominant mode of research is descriptive, there are instances of prescriptive and pejorative approach as well, consisting mainly of suggestions to be applied to and/or corrections of given translation problems.

4. Translation analysis 4.1 Aldo Leopold: A Sand County Almanac Together with Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, Aldo Leopold’s Sand County Almanac is considered a founding text of environmental movement. His book was published posthumously in 1949 and consisted of three parts: Part I entitled “A Sand County Almanac”, part II, “Sketches Here and There” and finally part III called “The Upshot”. While the final part includes perhaps the most renowned Leopold’s text, “The Land Ethic”, which is a kind of philosophical conclusions summing up Leopold’s ecological views, I limit my analysis only to the first part, which consists of personal essays that describe the year at the family farm where Leopold observes and enjoys nature. This part is further divided into months and it most echoes the genre of natural writing practised by earlier writers such as H. D. Thoreau (Finch and Elder 376). Despite the place Sand County Almanac occupies in the environmental literature canon, it is rather surprising to see the publication of the Czech

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translation as late as 1999. It can be argued that pre-1989 publication would not be possible due to ideological reasons, yet one would expect that such a crucial text in the field of ecology had at least been translated earlier (as was the case of the Czech translation of Carson’s Silent Spring, dealt with later). Actually, significant part of the text “The Land Ethic” was translated by Bohumila Koželuhová and published in a reader of moral ecology Závod s časem (The Race with Time), edited by Erazim Kohák, Rudolf Kolářský and Igor Míchal in 1996. The entire work was then translated by Anna Pilátová and published by the Slovak publishing house Abies, specializing in ecological literature and literature about forestry, in 1999. While in The Race with Time the title of the book is translated literally, Zápisník z okresu Sand (35), Anna Pilátová opted for a much less literal alternative, perhaps caused by the fear of translating a literary title too literally (Newmark 2001: 81): Zápisky z chatrče a rozmanité poznámky, yet she preserves the original title (in the SL) as a subtitle of the book.

Translation Analysis

The most remarkable feature of the translation is, in my opinion, the archaising style of it, which I interpret as the translator’s attempt at bridging the temporal gap between the creation of the original and the translation. The second issue addressed in this analysis is explicitation, particularly the kind of cultural explicitation in which the translator presents Latin names of plant and animal species that have no Czech equivalents or where the equivalent does not correspond exactly to its American counterpart. Towards the end of my

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analysis, I will examine several examples of interference, as well as mistranslations and overt errors. Although fifty years, that separate the ST and the TT, are relatively short period (compared, e.g., to the dilemma Annie Brisset brings up when asking whether Dante, Shakespeare, Cervantes, or Chaucer should be translated into archaic language) (338), the translator might find it useful to make the reader realize that the ST is not contemporary, particularly when literary text is concerned. Hence, Pilátová chooses to educate her readers and uses archaisms in a number of situations. The main archaic form the translator employs is the participle (both present and past), which is considered archaic and has fallen in disuse in Czech language. What could be seen as a problem is the fact that she often uses it to translate a SL present participle. Still, the effect this form has in Czech is much different from English, where it is a neutral and frequent form. In addition to participles, archaisms in the translation can also appear as other verb forms considered archaic (e.g. „tekou“), pronouns („kterémuž“) or can be archaic words and expressions („tři neděle“). Usually, when archaism is used, even though it translates an English participle, it compensates an archaic (or somewhat peculiar) expression in the ST, such as the following:

ST Each

year,

after

the

TT midwinter Co rok přichází po vánicích hluboké

blizzards, there comes a night of thaw zimy noc, kdy taje a je slyšet when the tinkle of dripping water is pravidelný zvuk padajících kapek. Má heard in the land. It brings strange za následek zvláštní pohnutí – nejen stirrings, not only to creatures abed neklid tvorů, kteří se uložili ke 21

for the night, but to some who have spánku na noc, ale i těch, kteří se been asleep for the winter. The uložili na celou zimu. Přezimující hibernating skunk, curled up in his skunk, stočený ve hluboké noře, se deep

den,

uncurls

himself

and rozvine a odváží se na toulku mokrým

ventures forth to prowl the wet world, světem táhna břicho sněhem. (31) dragging his belly in the snow. (3) My dog does not care where heat Mého psa nezajímá odkud se teplo comes from, but he cares ardently bere, al projevuje hodně zájmu na that it come, and soon. Indeed he tom, aby tu teplo bylo, a to brzo. considers my ability to make it come V podstatě považuje mou schopnost as something magical, for when I rise zatopit

za

kousek

čarodějnictví,

in the cold black pre-dawn and kneel protože když vstanu v černé, studené shivering by the hearth making a fire, noci před svítáním a třesa se klečím he pushes himself blandly between u krbu a rozdělávám oheň, nacpe se me and the kindling splits I have laid mezi mne a připravené hobliny, které on the ashes, and I must touch a jsem položil na popel, a já se k nim se match to them by poking it between zapálenou sirkou dostanu, jen když his legs. (8)

ruku prostrčím mezi jeho nohama.

(36) The axe functions only at an angle Sekera se může uplatnit jen v úhlu, diagonal to the years, and this only který je šikmý vůči letům, a to jen co for the peripheral rings of the recent se týče okrajových kruhů nedávné past. Its special function is to lop minulosti. Její zvláštní role spočívá limbs, for which both saw and wedge v osekávání

větví,

ke

kterémuž

are useless. (19) účelu se ani pila ani klín nehodí. (44) The same logic that causes big rivers Proces, který způsobuje, že velké always flow past big cities causes řeky vždy tekou kolem měst, má také 22

cheap

farms

sometimes

to

be na svědomí, že chudé farmy jsou

marooned by spring floods. (25)

někdy odříznuty od světa jarními

povodněmi. (52) By August they [the plover chicks] V srpnu už mají [kuřata bartramie] have graduated from flying school, absolvovanou leteckou akademii a za and on cool August nights you can chladných sprnových nocí můžete hear their whistled signals as they poslouchat jejich hvízdané signály, set wing for the pampas, to prove když roztahují křídla hotovíce se again

the

age-old

Americas. (38)

unity

of

the k letu

do

pamp,

aby

prokázala

dávnou jednotu obou Amerik. (64) - the participle not only compensates the rather rare expression “set wing”, but it is also an exlicitation of the

implied information in the ST To view the painting, give the river S prohlídkou obrazu počkejte – dejte three more weeks of solitude, and řece ještě tři neděle času, a pak then visit the bar on some bright písčinu navštivte za jasného rána, morning just after the sun has melted těsně potom, co slunce rozehnalo the daybreak fog. The artist has now ranní mlhu. Umělec právě obraz laid his colors, and sprayed them vybarvil a přestříkal rosou. (81) with dew. (55) The dog, when he approaches the Pes, přicházeje ke křoví, zjišťuje briars, looks around to make sure I pohledem, jestli jsem na dostřel. am within gunshot. Reassured, he Když se ujistí, pokračuje s velkou advances with stealthy caution, his opatrností a jeho mokrý čumák hledá wet nose screening a hundred scents v záplavě pachů právě ten jeden, for that one scent, the potential jehož přítomnost by dala život a 23

presence of which gives life and význam celé této krajině. (92) meaning to the whole landscape. (67) It is strange how the world cocks its Je zvláštní, jak při tom zvuku celý ears at that sound, wondering. Soon svět natahuje uši a diví se. Brzo zkuk it is louder: the honk of geese, sílí: je to kejhání husí, neviditelných, invisible, but coming on. (70-71) ale přibližujících se. (96) The dog, being no hand with an axe, Pes, nemoha pomáhat se sekyrou, is free to hunt while the rest of us are může svobodně lovit, zatímco my making wood. (83) ostatní připravujeme dřevo. (109) It is an exercise in objectivity to hold a Je cvičením objektivity mít lístek na ticket on the banded sparrow that okroužkovaného vrabce, který padne, falleth, or on the banded chickadee nebo na sýkorku, která jednoho dne that may some day re-enter your trap, znovu vletí do vaší pasti a dokáže and thus prove that he is still alive.

tak, že je ještě naživu.

The tyro gets his thrill from banding Nováček je vzrušen kroužkováním new birds; he plays a kind of game nových ptáků. Hraje jakousi hru sám against himself, striving to break his proti sobě snaže se překonat svůj previous score for total numbers. minulý počet zachycených ptáků. (93)

(EXPL. – EXP.) (117) Yet, some other instances of archaisms in the TT do not fall into the

compensation category, and could be therefore traceable to the translator’s style or tendency:

The railroads of course use flame- Dálnice

samozřejmě

užívají

throwers and chemical sprays to clear plamenomety a chemické postřiky na the track of weeds, but the cost of vyčištění

vozovky

od

býlí,

ale

24

such necessary clearance is still to náklady na toto nutné čištění jsou high to extend it much beyond the ještě actual rails. (52)

pořád

tak

vysoké,

že

se

neprovádějí než na vlastní vozovce. (77) - change of meaning: “railroad” and the related concepts (track, rails) become “highway” in the translation. The archaism „býlí“ does not seem to compensate anything, but it is merely

used for stylistic reasons. I find a better chronometer in an elm Lepší časoměr nacházím na jednom seedling that now blocks the barn semenáčku jilmu, který nyní blokuje door. Its rings date back to the dveře do stodoly. Jeho kruhy ukazují drought of 1930. Since that year no do léta sucha v roce 1930. Od toho man has carried milk out of this barn. roku už nikdo z této stodoly krajáč (61) mléka nevynesl. (86) Musing on such questions, I become Dumaje nad těmito otázkami, všimnul aware of the dog down by the spring, jsem si, že pes je dole u řeky a už ponting patiently these many minutes. značně dlouho trpělivě vystavuje. (87) (61) Then the needles fall, and are filed in Pak jehličky opadají a zařadí se do the duff to enrich the wisdom of the lesního humusu, který tlumí kroky stand. It is this accumulated wisdom všech těch, kdož se pod borovicemi that hushes the footsteps of whoever procházejí. (116) walks under pines. (92)

- the archaic relative pronoun may be considered part of the translator’s archaic style, but can also be a 25

compensation

of

the

stylistic

simplification in which the two ST sentences have been contracted into one TT sentence. Another stylistic device used to bring the original closer to the target readers is related to the translation of numerical expressions. The following two examples show how translating numerals can impact on the style:

In 1876 came the wettest year of V record;

the

inches. (15)

rainfall

piled

up

roce

1876

byl

nejdeštivější

15 zaznamenaný rok – spadlo 1250 milimetrů srážek. (42) - the use of metric system in this example is chosen for clarity and

better understanding In the same year the U.S. Fish V témže roce Americký úřad pro Commission planted Atlantic salmon rybolov nasadil atlantického lososa do in Devil’s Lake, 10 miles south of my Ďáblova jezera, 10 mil jižně od oak. (15)

mého dubu. (42) - the cultural term “miles” is most probably used to give a sense of local colour, while the geographical term is translated

because

the

meaning

should be made clear to the target reader Despite the special effect produced by the use of archaisms, there are 26

passages which are highly standardized or simplified, mainly due to the nonexistence of a close equivalent in the TT:

Now our saw bites into the 1890’s, Nyní se naše pila zakusuje do 90. let called gay by those whose eyes turn minulé století, které ti, kdož své oči cityward rather than landward. (13)

stáčí k městu a ne mimo ně, nazývají veselými. (40) - this normalization, which is also more explicit than the ST, is partly caused by the structural restrictions of the TL and by the possible fear of interference: „(...) kdož své oči stáčí k

městu spíše než k zemi.“ (...) and 1893, the year of ‘The (...) a 1893, rok v němž blizzard Bluebird Storm,’ when a March v březnu

zmenšil

množství

blizzard reduced the migrating birds migrujících siálií horských takřka na to near-zero. (13)

nulu. (40) - the familiar ST term is split in the remark of the storm and the one concerning the birds, presumably because a literal translation would not

sound as the original Do not return for a second view of the Nevracejte se na

tuto

zelenou

green pasture, for there is none. pastvinu podruhé – už tam nebude. Either falling water has dried it out, or Buď ji klesající voda usušila, nebo rising water has scoured the bar to its stoupající voda vyleštila písčinu až na

27

original austerity of clean sand. (56)

písek. (81) -

lexical

simplification

without

essential information loss, but with certain poetic loss To the chickadee, winter wind is the Pro sýkorku je

vítr

hranicí

boundary of habitable world. If the obyvatelného světa. Kdyby sýkorky chickadee had an office, the maxim měly kancelář, životní pravidlo na over his desk would say: calm.’ (97)

‘Keep jejich stole by říkalo: „Raději dusno, než pořádné provětrání.“ (120) - the ST pun is difficult to translate into

TL,

combined

therefore with

normalization

explicitation

was

chosen As already mentioned, the TT is not exaggeratedly explicit, yet there is a tendency to provide Latin names (absent in the ST) for plants and animals that do not have a clear Czech name or when the species is only found in Northern America. Sadly, such measure is not unproblematic as there are mistakes both in the Latin version and the Czech equivalent (when provided). The following table lists most of the cases and comments the present problems.

‘How do you account for the second „Jak

vysvětlujete

ohromný

nárůst

growth of black oak timber that has dřeva sametového dubu (Quercus sprung up all over the country in the velvetina), ke kterému došlo po celé last thirty year?’ (14)

zemi v posledních třiceti letech“? (41)

28

-

not

only

unnecessary

is

the

in

Latin

this

name

passage

(although it is clearly motivated by the translator’s attempt at providing the reader clear reference), it is also mistaken as the recognized Latin name of this oak species is Quercus velutina (Sander) Heretofore unreachable by scythe or Od té doby kose či sekačce na trávu mower, this yard-square

relic of nedostupný, čtvereční stopu velký

original Wisconsin gives birth, each kousek původního Wisconsinu, dává July, to a man-high stalk of compass každý rok v červenci vyrůst Silphiu plant or cutleaf Silphium, spangled (tu i nadále se jedná o Silphium with

saucer-sized

yellow

blooms laciniatum) se stvolem do výšky

resembling sunflowers. (49)

člověka, posázenému žlutými květy velikosti

talíře,

připomínajícími

slunečnice. (74) The Eleocharis sod, greener than Drn bahničky, zelenější než kdy dřív, ever, is now spangled with blue je nyní poset modrou kejklířkou, mimulus, pink dragon-head, and the růžovou

dračí

hlavou

milk-white blooms of Sagittaria. (55- (Dracocephalum) a mléčně bílými 56)

květy šípatky. (81) - the only explanation why the Latin term is used only for „dračí hlava“ might be that it is not a recognized botanical term (which is „včelník

29

rakouský“), but only an older and possibly

popular

name

for

the

Dracocephalum (Kovář) The tamaracks change from green to Modříny mění barvu ze zelené do yellow when the first frost have modré, když se s prvními mrazy brought woodcock, fox sparrows, and objevují sluky lesní, vrabci (Passerila juncos out of the north. (58)

iliaca) a strnadi zimní přilétnuvší ze severu. (85) - this is rather unfortunate passage with a significant change of meaning (the changing colour of the trees from green to blue instead of yellow in the TT), and another mistaken Latin term (the correct spelling is Passerella iliaca) with a misleading translation (caused by lexical interference): fox sparrows – vrabci. Although

the

translator used the Latin term in order to provide an unambiguous point of reference for the reader, she failed to present the correct Czech term – strnadec liščí (Avibase). Finally, one can also note an explicitatin participle, which is not used to compensate any concrete archaism in the ST. In this pine a pileated woodpecker will V borovici si jednoho dne vysoustruží

30

ultimately chisel out a nest; in the hnízdo datel, v koruně břízy si budu birch a hairy will have to suffice. (74)

muset

vystačit

s motýli

(rodu

Theclinae). (99) - once more the translator tries to disambiguate the zoological terms, yet what the ST refers to as “a hairy” is presumably not a butterfly species, but another kind of woodpecker, different

from

the

pileated

woodpecker (Department of Energy and Environmental Protection) My pileated woodpeckers chisel Moji datlové (Dryocopus pileatus) living pines, to extract fat grubs from vykotlávají živé borovice, aby získali the diseased hardwood. (81)

tučné larvy z mrtvého jádra stromu. (106) - it is impossible to explain why in this passage the pileated woodpecker is specified through Latin translation while it was not in the previous

passage The real jewel of my disease-ridden Opravdovým

pokladem

mého

woodlot is the prothonotary warbler. nemocného lesa je pěnice pronotář (82)

(Pronotoria citrea). (107) - despite the Latin term, the translator opted for a literal translation of the ST term apparently without checking the

31

recognized

Czech

translation

–

„lesňáček zlatý“ (BioLib) There are more examples of cultural explicitation, given the regional character of the book. It may involve geographical terms or historical information:

Every March since the Pleistocene, Každý březen už od pleistocénu the geese have honked unity from kejhají [husy] o jednotě od Kurkutska Currituck to Labrador, Matamuskeet k Labradoru, to

Ungava,

Horseshoe

Lake

Panhandle

to

Mackenzie, ostrova

Sacramento to Yukon. (24-25)

Matamuskeetu

to k Ungavě, od jezera Podkovy do

Hudson’s Bay, Avery Island to Baffin Hudsonova Land,

od

zálivu,

od

k Baffinově

Kalifornie

k řece

Averského zemi,

od

Mackenzie,

od

Sacramenta k Yuconu. (51) It [the plant] may have been older Možná byla [rostlina] starší, než than the oldest tombstone, which is nejstarší náhrobní kámen, který je dated 1850. Perhaps it watched the datován z roku 1850. Možná ještě fugitive Black Hawk retreat from the viděla, jak prchající náčelník Black Madison lakes to the Wisconsin Hawk po bitvě v roce 1812 ustupuje River; it stood on the route of that od Madisonských jezer k Wisconsin famous march. (53)

River

–

stála

na

cestě

tohoto

známého pochodu. (78) - note the mistake in punctuation: „, než“ However, cultural explicitation is sometimes omitted and such omission 32

is hardly explained by the lack of necessity to explicitate, as in the following example:

I once knew an educated lady, Znal jsem jednu vzdělanou dámu, banded by Phi Beta Kappa, who členku Phi Beta Kappa, která mi told me that she had never heard or řekla, že husy, ohlašující střídání seen geese that twice a year proclaim ročních

období

nad

její

dobře

the revolving seasons to her well- izolovanou střechou, nikdy neviděla. insulated roof. (20)

(46) - an average Czech reader is unlikely to recognize immediately that Phi Beta Kappa denotes a sorority at the American universities, therefore they might miss the cultural load of this expression. Moreover, Leopold’s metaphor that the lady was banded (as a bird) is missing in the translation (possibly because a similar metaphor would obscure the meaning even further, by translating it as „členka Phi Beta Kappa“ the reader is at least capable to decode Phi Beta Kappa as a kind of organization.

Interference, particularly lexical interference has already been mentioned 33

in connection to the translation of zoological terminology, but it also involves other areas, not only technical terms:

Total visual diet

Totální vizuální příjem

(...) It is apparent that the backward (...) Je zřejmé, že oko venkovského farmer’s eye is nearly twice as well farmáře je skoro dvakrát lépe živeno, fed as the eye of the university než oko universitního studenta nebo student or businessman. (51)

obchodníka. (76) - summarizing Leopold’s record of plant species and their first bloom, the appropriate

expression

would

be

„celkový vizuální příjem“ of plants seen in first bloom. Also note the mistake in punctuation: „, než“ He [the chickadee] doesn’t say what [Sýkorka] [n]eříká, co už jedla, možná he ate, perhaps it was cool turgid ant- to byla studená naběhlá mravenčí eggs, or some other avian equivalent vajíčka of cold roast grouse. (62)

nebo

nějaký

jiný

ptačí

ekvivalent studeného krocana na roštu. (87) -

the

lexical

furthermore

interference

accompanied

by

is a

change of meaning – grouse is „tetřev“ in Czech If your grandfather liked hickory Jestliže váš dědeček měl rád ořechy nuts, you will like the hickory tree z hikory, pak budete mít ten strom

34

because your father told you to. (77)

rádi, protože otec vám řekl, že tak to má být. (102) - in this case, the close transference of the ST term is not helpful for the reader and a description in the TL would probably be more efficient, e.g. „ořechy z amerického druhu ořešáku“ or cultural equivalent could work as well: „vlašské ořechy“.

There is also an example of syntactic interference which makes the translation of the given passage slightly distorted:

The same logic that causes big rivers Proces, který způsobuje, že velké always flow past big cities causes řeky vždy tekou kolem měst, má také cheap

farms

sometimes

to

be na svědomí, že chudé farmy jsou

marooned by spring floods. Ours is a někdy odříznuty od světa jarními cheap farm, and sometimes when povodněmi. Naše farma je chudá, a we visit in April we get marooned. někdy nás když tam přijedeme (25)

v dubnu, navštíví záplavy. (52) -

this

mistranslation

could

be

traceable to syntactic interference, including

the

wrong

use

of

punctuation. The following shift – “we get marooned” translated as „nás navštíví záplavy“ is a clear avoidance 35

of repetition in the TL I find it very unfortunate that a translation with a great number of successful solutions (particularly the use of archaisms for stylistic purposes) is flawed by minor or major errors of different nature. These include shifts of meaning, mistranslations and even serious breaches of the TL system. The changes of meaning can be exemplified by the following passages, which also contain other problems:

Our saw cuts the 1860’s, when Nyní se naše pila zakusuje do let thousands died to settle the question: šedesátých, kdy tisíce lidí zemřely, Is the man-man community lightly to aby odpověděli na otázku: Je možné be dismembered? They settled it, but zrušit

zásadní

podobnost

mezi

they did not seen, nor do we yet see, člověkem a člověkem? Vyřešili to, ale that the same question applies to the neviděli, nebo ještě nepřišli na to, že man-land community. (16-17)

to samé platí o vztahu mezi člověkem a přírodou. (43) - besides the shift, there is a breach of TL system in the way the concord is only between the subject and the first verb of the sentence: „(...)

tisíce

lidí

zemřely,

aby

odpověděli (...)“ In the rest of the passage, it is assumed that the subject is „oni“, therefore it justifies the use of forms 36

„vyřešili“, „neviděli“, „nepřišli“. June beetles undermined the prairie Červnové včely podkopávaly drny sod in their grub stage, but defoliated v prérii the oaks in their adult stage. (31)

v larvím

stádiu,

ale

jako

dospělci se živily listím dubů. (57) - June beetle is a species of beetles, not bees (Encyclopædia Britannica)

Finally, the breaches of the TL system vary greatly, ranging from punctuation errors (as noted above) to grammatical errors (see the problem of concord above or the wrong genitive form bellow):

Na mé farmě je obyčejně jedno nebo více hejen křepelek (...) (83) - the correct form of genitive in plural is „hejn“ (Filipec 92)

4.2 Rachel Carson: Silent Spring Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, first published in 1962, has been included in this research for two main reasons. First, it is generally regarded as one of the most important books forming ecological awareness in the 20th century as it denounced the threats posed by mass produced pesticides, especially DDT and similar, to the environment and to human health. A great number of critics have acknowledged not only Carson’s scientific contribution, but praised her work for literary qualities as well. The controversy of the text and the uncomfortable truth it had revealed led to the establishment of American environmental movement. The second reason is connected to the Czech translation of the book. Published originally in the United States in 1962, Silent Spring soon became 37

known abroad. The Czech translation was ready in the second half of the 1960s, yet the publication in Czechoslovakia was not allowed for the lack of approval from the governing communist party (Kohák, Kolářský, Míchal 51). However, a surprising fact remains that the book has not been published since 1989 despite the growing interest in environmental issues. Thus the only contact with the text is constituted by an excerpt in an anthology of moral ecology Závod s časem (The Race with Time), compiled by Erazim Kohák, Rudolf Kolářský and Igor Míchal, who also translated Carson’s text. I have asked both Prof. Kohák and Rudolf Kolářský about the details surrounding the 60s’ translation, but none of them could give me an affirmative reply whether Igor Míchal did the translation (unfortunately, Míchal died of a sudden serious disease in August 2002) (Buček). Quite a remarkable question when considering the Czech translation is the title. Without an authoritative translation, it is not surprising that there is a relatively great variety of versions. While the book is most often referenced as „Tiché jaro“ (e.g. in Janů, Jeleček 53) – which would be the literal and also unmarked translation – Míchal opted for a more marked translation “Mlčící jaro“ (51). However, there is also a third alternative, suggested by Erazim Kohák in his collection of lectures and bibliography Zelená svatozář (The Green Halo), „Ztichlé jaro“ (27). While the title „Tiché jaro” is more widely used, and the literal translation is not at all unfortunate, „Ztichlé jaro“ makes the process of becoming silent more explicit. The less appropriate translation, in my point of view, is „Mlčící jaro“, which implies an active attitude – the spring is silent, it does not speak because of its own decision, not because it has been silenced. Although it is a difficult task in the case of a title that has

38

never been published, a greater consistency in the translation of the title would be appropriate, mainly for the reason of clear referencing. In the anthology, the editors have chosen the opening paragraphs of two chapters. The first excerpt, taken from the second chapter entitled “The Obligation to Endure” was translated as „Povinnost přetrvat“ and the second title “The Other Road” as „Jiná cesta“. What is more problematic is the issue of the omissions. For reasons of space the chapters could not be presented in their entirety, yet the excerpts end abruptly. For instance, the first excerpt is translated almost in its entirety except for one sentence: “They should not be called ‘insecticides’, but ‘biocides’.” I would suggest that this omission might be triggered by the seeming untranslatability of the pun that those chemicals not only kill insects, but all living organisms (the prefix bio- meaning life). An explanation to this could be that the same prefix was not so widely in use in Czech at the time of the translation and the form „biocidy“ would be probably less transparent than the one in English.

Translation Analysis

The analysis of the excerpts revealed the occurrence of the following phenomena: overt errors (categories of slight and significant change of meaning) and explicitation (in this case study cultural or pragmatic explicitation was rather rare as there were not many cultural elements necessary to explicitate, and the dominant kind of explicitation was interpersonal explicitation that added expressivity or attitude: one example of

39

cultural explicitation can be the ST “chemical control” translated as „chemické hubení

hmyzu“).

Moreover,

cases

of

compensation,

implicitation,

simplification, normalization and interference are also reported although they represent only a minor group. The selected excerpts did not include particular examples of ecological terminology except one with which I will deal later. Mismatch in meaning of ST and TT of various degrees (from slight to significant change) is shown in Table 1. The shifts in the first example do not change the meaning completely, yet it is slightly modified. “Little-recognized” is not necessarily “hardly noticed” and the use of “partners” implies the two elements (chemicals and radiation) are in some way on the same level, yet the former is not a side effect of the latter (as the target text suggests). The second example also shows how the target text can shift the meaning to imply something that is totally absent in the source text: while in the source text we read that opposite effect has been relatively slight (without the indication of how long or if ever it was different), the target text suggests that the opposite effect used to be somewhat dominant since now it is moving backward or retrograding. To conclude, not only are these overt errors caused by insufficient decoding of the source text, but also possibly by the lack of more specific knowledge in the field of ecology and sciences.

ST TT chemicals are the sinister and little- chemikálie jsou přitom zkázonosným recognized partners of radiation a hrůzným, ale zřídka povšimnutým (23) doprovodem záření (52) (...) the opposite effect, in which life (...) opačný účinek, kdy život vskutku

40

actually modifies its surroundings, mění své prostředí, ustupuje do has been relatively slight. (23)

pozadí. (52)

The occurrences of explicitation present in the target text are virtually on the verge between pragmatic and interpersonal explicitation. However, the target text expressions do not appear exaggeratedly explicit as they are often collocations or phrases that are common in Czech (e.g. vzestupná spirála, trpká ironie etc.). In other cases, explicitation has the sole function of emphasis or stress as in the following examples:

Certain rocks gave out dangerous Určité

horniny

jsou

zdrojem

radiation; even within the light of the nebezpečného záření; dokonce v sun, from which all life draws its slunečním záření, z něhož pochází energy,

there

were

short-wave energie

veškerého

života,

je

radiations with power to injure. Given krátkovlná složka schopná ublížit. V time – time not in years but in daném

čase,

vyjádřeném

v

millennia – life adjusts, and a balance tisíciletích, se však život přizpůsobil a has been reached. For time is the byla essential

ingredient;

but

in

dosažena

the obrovské

modern world there is no time. (24)

rovnováha. Neboť

rozpětí

času

je

zde

podstatným faktorem, ale v moderním světě tento faktor osudově chybí. (52) -

the

explicitation

somewhat

compensates the simplification in the previous sentence 41

It is our alarming misfortune that so Naším děsivým neštěstím je, že věda primitive a science has armed itself tak primitivní se vyzbrojila zbraněmi with the most modern and terrible tak moderními a strašlivými a že když weapons, and that in turning them tyto zbraně obrátila proti hmyzu, against the insects it has also turned obrátila je bezděky proti zemi samé them against the earth. (257)

(55)

In other situations, the target text adds information or attitude that is either implied or completely absent in the source text.

[Strontium 90] in time takes up its [Stroncium

90]

nakonec

setrvá

abode in the bones of a human being v kostech postiženého člověka (52) (23)

-

besides

explicitating

that

the

element resides in the bones of the affected person, there is also a risk of misinterpretation due to polysemy of the

word

„postižený“

(meaning

“disabled”) The chemicals to which life is asked Chemikálie, jejichž působení se má to make its adjustments are no longer život přizpůsobit, nejsou jen vápník, merely the calcium and silica and křemík, měď a ostatní prvky uvolněné copper and all the rest of the minerals větráním

z

hornin

a

spláchnuté

washed out of the rocks and carried řekami do moří; jsou to syntetické in rivers to the sea; they are the výtvory

lidské

představivosti,

synthetic creations of man’s inventive vytvořené v laboratoři a postrádající mind, brewed in his laboratories, and protějšky v původní přírodě (53)

42

having no counterparts in nature (24) It took hundreds of millions of years to Trvalo stovky milionů let, než vznikl produce the life that now inhabits the život v podobě, v jaké je dnes na earth – aeons of time in which that zemi – celé věky, během nichž developing

and

evolving

and vyvýjející

se,

diversifying life reached a state of rozrůzňující adjustment

and

surroundings.

balance The

with

se

environment, prostředím.

Prostředí,

life it supported, contained elements podporovalo, were

hostile

as

well

život

se

a

dosáhl

its uspořádání a rovnováhy se svým

rigorously shaping and directing the tvarovalo,

that

rozvíjející

které

život

usměrňovalo vždy

a

zahrnovalo

as podpůrné i nepřátelské složky. Určité

supporting. Certain rocks gave out horniny jsou zdrojem nebezpečného dangerous radiation; even within the záření; dokonce v slunečním záření, light of the sun, from which all life z něhož pochází energie veškerého draws its energy, there were short- života, je krátkovlná složka schopná wave radiations with power to injure. ublížit. (52) (24) The whole process of spraying seems Celý proces postřikování se zdá caught up in an endless spiral. (25)

vtažen

do

nekončící

vzestupné

spirály. (53) It is ironic to think that man might Je trpkou ironií, že člověk může determine

his

own

future

by nevědomky

something so seemingly trivial as the budoucnost choice of an insect spray. (25)

předurčit nečím

vlastní

zdánlivě

tak

triviálním, jako je volba insekticidního přípravku. (54)

43

These extraordinary capacities of life Na tuto výjimečnou schopnost života have

been

ignored

by

the naprosto

neberou

na

zřetel

ti

practitioners of chemical control odborníci, kteří provádějí chemické who have brought to their task no hubení hmyzu a kteří postrádají ‘high-minded orientation’, no humility velkorysost stejně jako pokoru před before the vast forces with which they mocnými tamper (257)

silami,

s nimiž

si

tak

neodborně zahrávají (55)

However, readers might indeed call for cultural explicitation in the case of referencing Robert Frost’s poem:

We stand now where two roads Stojíme nyní na rozcestí, odkud se diverge. But unlike the roads in můžeme vydat dvěma směry. Ale na Robert Frost’s familiar poem, rozdíl od cest v známé básni Roberta they are not equally fair. (241)

Frosta

nejsou

rovnocené

a

stejně

půvabné. (54) Although a lot can be deduced from this sentence, Czech readers will reasonably argue that Robert Frost’s poem is not generally known (indeed, the poem Road not Taken, originally published in Robert Frost’s collection Mountain Interval in 1920, was translated into Czech by Tomáš Jacko and published as Cesta, jíž jsem nešel in 2010 in a bilingual edition published by Aleš Prstek) (63). The following table sums up examples of implicitation (logical and interpersonal),

simplification

(lexical),

normalization

(combined

with

explicitation), compensation (stylistic) and interference (syntactic and

44

grammatical).

This

has

happened

because Hmyz totiž triumfálně stvrzuje Darwinův

insects, in a triumphant vindication princip

přežití

nejsilnějšího:

vyvinul

of Darwin’s principle of the survival schopnost dosahovat imunity k mnoha of the fittest, have evolved super z použitých insekticidů (...) (53) races immune to the particular insecticides used (...). (25) (...) nature exists for

IMPL – LOG

the (...) příroda existuje jen pro naše

convenience of man (257)

uspokojení (55)

IMPL – INTP Or they pass mysteriously by Nebo vstupují do podzemních vod (52) underground streams (23) described

in

the

SIMPL – LEX (omission) modern označovan[é] laicky jako „škůdci“ (53)

vernacular as ‘pests’ (25) SIMPL – LEX (approximation) The most alarming of all man’s Nejděsivější hrozb[a] pro prostředí (...) assaults upon the environment (23) důsledkem lidské činnosti (52) NORM (+EXPL) destructive insects often undergo a škodlivý hmyz často prodělá opětnou ‘flareback’ (25)

expanzi (53)

Only within the moment of time represented

by

the

Pouze

NORM v kratičkém

present představovaném

v oceánu

období, času

century has one species – man – naším stoletím, získal jeden druh – acquired significant power to alter člověk – moc nad přírodou svého světa the nature of his world (23)

a podstatně ji přeměnil. (52) COMP

45

- such a poetic expression (oceán času) might compensate a flattening of an ST poetic expression (abode) that comes in the following paragraph: Strontium 90 (...) in time takes up Stroncium 90 (...) nakonec setrvá its abode in the bones of a human v kostech postiženého člověka (52) being (23) Strontium 90 (...) comes to earth in Stroncium 90 (...) se vrací k zemi jako rain (23)

déšť (52)

INTERF - SYNT These sprays, dusts and aerosols Tyto postřiky, prášky a aerosoly se are now applied almost universally nyné

používají

to farms, gardens, forests, and farmách,

téměř

zahradách,

na v

všech

lesích

a

homes – non-selective chemicals domovních interiérech – neselektivní that have the power to kill every chemikálie schopné usmrtit jakýkoliv insect (...), to still the song of birds hmyz (...), umlčet zpěv ptactva (...) a (...), and to linger on in soil – all this setrvávat v půdách – to vše, ačkoliv though the intended target may be cílem mělo být jen několik plevelů a only a few weeds or insects. (25)

hmyzů. (53) INTERF – SYNT -

the

interference

got

somewhat

transmitted also to the earlier term, „půdy“, which should also be in singular in this context. Moreover, optional explicitation is also present in the passage: „v domovních interiérech“.

46

Finally, I would like to discuss a terminological issue arising in the excerpt. The term in question is “background radiation” (24), translated as ‘„pozaďová“ radiace ’ (52). Background radiation refers to “cosmic radiation and radiation arising from natural activity; radiation which comes from natural sources like rocks or the earth or the atmosphere” (Hájková 42). Although the term „pozaďová radiace“ is used in certain sources (predominantly in those by the State Office for Nuclear Safety), other equivalents are more frequently used, particularly „radiace přirozeného pozadí“ or „přirozená radiace“, which convey the meaning and the nature of the background radiation more effectively.

4.3 John Seed: Thinking like a Mountain: Towards a Council of All Beings The deep ecology guide Thinking like a Mountain: Towards a Council of All Beings (1988) was written by John Seed, Joanna Macy, Pat Fleming and Arne Naess and was conceived as a guidebook to lead environmental workshops. Although it includes practical advice to prepare workshops, there are also poems, meditations, essayistic pieces and supportive readings designed specifically for the workshops. The Czech translation is one of the earliest translations of environmental literature done in the 1990s, translated by Jiří Holuša in 1992, and the book was published by the Slovak foundation Nadácia Zelená Nádej (Green Perspective Foundation) and its publishing house Abies (before the latter became a separate entity) in 1993 (Nadácia Zelená Nádej). What is remarkable about the relation between the source text and target text is that

47

despite the relatively short time between the original publication and the translation, the Czech edition is in many respects revised and accompanied by additional material. The revision is acknowledged by the translator in his note, where he states he included a newer version of the part “Evolutionary Remembering” („Evoluční rozpomínání“) and also that the list of endangered species in the “Bestiary” („Bestiář“) was adapted from the 1990 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals, thus there is no (or little) correspondence between the source text and the target text in these two cases (Seed 1993: 144). The additions include texts that are cited in the source text as connected to the preparation of workshops, namely Joanna Macy’s Despair and Personal Power in the Nuclear Age. As this book has not been translated to Czech, yet the access to it is crucial for the reader of Myslet jako hora, Holuša included the relevant parts at the end of the book, together with a translation of John Seed’s later contribution “Eco-Milling” adapted from the magazine The Web, which does not appear in the source text as it is of later date (121-134). With regard to the poems by Robinson Jeffers, which are excluded from my analysis, these were adapted from the collection Maják v bouři (Praha, Československý spisovatel, 1983, translated by Kamil Bednář) (Seed 1993: 4). Given its early year of publication, no other previous translations are referenced as they did not exist at that moment – for example, a quotation from Gary Snyder’s Old Ways (Seed 18) or the untranslated title of Aldo Leopold’s Sand County Almanac (6, 43). The only exceptions can be found in a footnote – Fritjof Capra’s The Tao of Physics and its translation into Slovak as Tao fyziky (43) and an interview with Arne Naess entitled “Simple in Means, Rich in Ends” which was published in Czech as „Skromné prostředky,

48

bohaté cíle“ (44).

Translation Analysis

One of the most remarkable characteristics of the Czech translation of the texts collected in John Seed’s Thinking like a Mountain is that – as one of the earliest translations of environmental literature written in English – it in a certain sense set the standards in this field. These standards, then, involve mainly the use of terms that are more or less connected to the field of ecology. This is the case of the term “deep ecology”, translated as „hlubinná ekologie“ and becoming a standardized term in the translations that followed. As will be discussed in connection to the work by Arne Naess, the universal acceptance of this term is actually problematic (Kohák 110). Moreover, the norm setting might have certain influence on stylistic aspects as well, concretely the strategy to translate passive voice structures, which are extremely frequent in English, either by active voice structures or by maintaining the passive. Finally, the translation, through stylistic and lexical devices, can also promote certain viewpoints and assumptions to be associated with the environmental movement. The way terminology is dealt with varies greatly throughout the book. Four

strategies

can

be

identified:

equivalence,

literal

translation,

circumlocution (often involving explicitation) and borrowings. The following table shows examples for each of these categories.

aeons (3, 65)

Equivalence eóny (9, 70) 49

Literal translation vzájemn[é] propojení (13)

interconnectedness (7) interconnectedness (11)

vzájemn[á] provázanos[t] (17)

interconnectedness (12) vzájemn[á] propojenost (18) This process amounts to a workshop Tyto procesy tvoří dohromady (97)

To

„dílnu“ (103)

guide

a

Council

or

a

workshop (...) (99) deep ecology (9) biotic community (9) “ecological Self” (10) Nonhuman memories (13)

Council Vedení dílen Shromáždění všech bytostí (...) (105) hlubinná ekologie (15) biotick[é] společenství (16) „ekologick[é] Já“ (16) Mimolidské vzpomínky (19)

identifications with nonhuman Nature ztotožnění s mimolidskou (13)

přírodou (19)

humans and nonhumans (21)

lidsk[é] i mimolidsk[é] bytost[i]

human and nonhuman roles (82) richness and diversity of life (29)

lidsk[é] a mimolidsk[é] rol[e] (88) bohatos[t] a rozmanitos[t] života

Conservationists (92) Air – the gaseous

(34) Circumlocution Ochránci přírody (98) realm, the Vzduch – říše plynů, vzdušný

atmosphere (41) despairwork (8)

obal Země (46) práce s pocity zoufalství (14) Borrowing a pathway of personal growth similar to metoda osobního růstu podobná "Rebirthing" (...) In a rebirthing group „rebirthingu“ (...) (...) (108)

V rebirthingových skupinách (...) (114)

With regard to terminology, changes in meaning are highly improbable, 50

given the literalness of the strategies and the tendency to standardization. Nevertheless, rare cases of overt errors can be found in the source text:

The themes of deep ecology echo the Hlubinná ekologie odráží ancient earth wisdom of native peoples starodávnou moudrost přírodních (...) (10)

lidí (...) (16)

our bio-ecological history (80)

naš[e] biologick[á] minulost (86)

As is often the case, both the source language terms and the target language terms are neologisms, created through some word-forming process. With regard to ecology, the prefix eco- is an extremely productive one in the formation of new words. Therefore, the target text incorporates literal translations of terms containing the prefix eco- such as:

“Eco-Breath” (13)

„Ekodech“ (19)

Telling Our Eco-Stories (102)

Vyprávění ekopříběhů (108)

The Eco-Milling (104)

Ekomlýnek (110)

Not always, however, is this productivity so easily translated into the target language. An equivalent of “ecosophers” would probably be judged not sufficiently familiar for the Czech readership, thus the translator opted for a circumlocution:

He [Fromm] concerned himself with love Zabývá se sice výhradně láskou of humans, but as “ecosophers” we mezi lidmi, avšak v ekosofii jsou find the notions of “care, respect, jeho

pojmy

„péče“,

„úcta“,

51

responsibility, knowledge” applicable to „odpovědnost“, living beings in the wide sense. (23)

„porozumění“

upotřebitelné pro všechny bytosti v širokém smyslu (28)

The lack of familiarity of a term might also explain the explicitation through addition in the case of the term “pony”:

the body heat of the pony (68)

teplo těla koníka ponyho (74)

And what is it to say goodbye to the swift Co pony and the hunt? (72)

to

znamená

s rychlým

rozloučit

se

ponym

a

koněm

s lovem? (78) or explicitation through specification (and addition) in the following example:

Breathing out carbon dioxide to the trees Vydechujeme and breathing in their fresh exudations. stromům (41-42)

a

oxid vdechujeme

uhličitý jejich

oživující dar – kyslík. (46)

Interference of source language structures into target language could be observed on the lexical level with respect to terminology, but it is also evident on the syntactic level. I am referring to the translation of passive voice into Czech. Although the use of passive voice is less frequent in Czech than in English, it is often reserved for scientific or technical writings in both the languages – as Mona Baker states, “to give the impression of objectivity and to the distance the writer from the statements made in the text” (Baker 103). However, this usage has become almost a “norm” in both the languages, creating a convention that a scientific text must abound in passive voice 52

structures. The main reason to use passive voice is, however, that it “allow[s] the constuction of ‘agentless’ clauses” (Baker 103). If we consider the occurrences of passive voice structures in the source text, the construction of ‘agentless’ clauses appears to be a predominant motivation, yet the agent is usually expressed as well. The truly ‘agentless’ clauses can be thus explained by the authors‘ intention to emphasize the patients that are being affected, rather than the agents, and such an intention can appear as ideologically motivated, as the following examples show: (...) they [the machines] hate being (...) ony [stroje] nenávidí, že jsou used to destroy the Earth. (17)

používány k ničení Země. (23)

One by one we [the conservationists] Jeden po druhém byli [ochránci] were arrested. (92)

zatýkáni. (98)

Conservationists (...) were removed Ochránci přírody (...) byli jeden one by one (92)

po druhém odstraňováni (98)

The above-mentioned examples demonstrate how a shift from the agent to the patient through the use of passive voice can facilitate the reader’s empathy towards the patient while creating negative feelings toward the hidden agent who uses, arrests and removes. The translator’s choice for the structure that sounds rather unnatural in the target language is thus justified, because it helps to create a similar effect. However, some occurrences of the passive voice seem to be motivated by pure conventions, which poses a risk to the translator – if a passive structure is unnatural or lacks the necessary justification, it is not advisable to translate it automatically; the translator should rather consider a more acceptable alternative (Baker 106). Both types of use of passive voice are 53

reported in the following table. While the first two examples are caused by either automatic translation or interference, in the next three clauses the source text passive structure has been transformed into more natural and stylistically unmarked active structures:

Both of us had been inspired by the Oba writings of Arne Naess (7)

jsme

byli

inspirováni

pracemi Arna Naesse (13)

And it was written by people in far-flung Bylo

sepsáno

lidmi

places (...) (8) z nejrůznějších částí světa. (14) Since that early March day in 1985 this Od tohoto dne na počátku března form of group work or ritual has been roku 1985 se Joanna, Pat, já a shared by Joanna, Pat, myself, and ostatní dělíme o tento způsob others (7) To

skupinové práce či rituálu (13)

guide

a

workshop,

a

Council

or

delicate

a

balance

required of the leaders. (99) (...)

spontaneous

Council Vedení dílen Shromáždění všech

prayers

commitments are uttered. (113)

is bytostí vyžaduje od vedoucích vnitřní vyrovnanost. (105) and Spontánně

vyslovíme

své

prosby a dáme najevo svou oddanost. (120)

Finally, I would like to focus on several stylistic and lexical aspects of the target text, that might promote certain ways of thinking. Indeed, the target text presents slight changes of meaning that cannot be regarded as overt errors but rather as voluntary shifts in style and meaning. A motivation for such a shift may be an emphasis on some aspect of the text which is not present in the source text. It is as if the translator felt a great urge to draw the reader’s

54

attention while the source text remains more or less neutral. This applies to the translation of the chapter "Gaia Meditations” as „Kdo jsme?“. The first person plural question creates a sense of immediacy, personal address and closeness much more evident than in the source text title "Gaia Meditations”, despite the fact that the direct address is present in the opening of the chapter:

What are you? What am I? Intersecting Kdo

jsi?

cycles of water, earth, air and fire, that’s proplétající what I am, that’s what you are. (41)

Kdo

jsem?

Jsme

se

koloběh

vody,

země, ohně a vzduchu. To je to, co jsem já, to je to, co jsi ty. (45)

Similarly, a more direct address is preferred over the source text formulation in the following example from the "Introduction”:

We can begin to feel the inner-body Můžeš sense of amphibian (...) (13)

se

začít

cítit

obojživelníkem (...) (19)

Not only is this addressed directly to the reader, but also the "the innerbody sense of amphibian” becomes "an amphibian”.

Other example of

creating a bond between the text and the reader is the translation of proper names, giving the impression of covert translation:

And from the circle rises again a murmur A z kruhu se opět zvedá šumění of names . . . "Peter, Adele, Susan, Bob jmen:

„Petr,

Adéla,

Zuzana,

55

Hawke, Mikhail Gorbachev . . .” (83)

George

Hawke,

Michail

Gorbačov...“ (89) - there is no evident reason for changing the randomly chosen English name Bob Hawke to George possible

Hawke,

except

impression

of

the the

translator that George sounds "more English”. The sense of urgency is furthermore conveyed in the opening "Invocation”. This part is made of 24 sentences, none of which ends with an exclamation mark in the source text. The urgency of the invocation is however emphasized in the target text, where half of the sentences (12) end with an exclamation mark, while the remaining dozen maintain the source text punctuation (mainly due to greater length of the sentence which would make the use of the exclamation mark clumsy):

May we turn inwards and stumble upon Kéž bychom se obrátili do našich our true roots in the intertwining biology niter of this exquisite planet. (2)

a

objevili

naši

pravou

podstatu, ukrytou v pletivu života této nádherné planety. (8)

May we all awaken to our true and only Kéž se všichni probudíme k naší nature – none other than the nature of skutečné a jediné přirozenosti Gaia, this living planet Earth. (3)

Gaie, k přirozenosti žijící planety Země! (9) 56

O stars, lend us your burning passion. (3)

Ó hvězdy, propůjčte nám své horoucí zanícení! (9)

Despite this tendency towards greater emphasis on those elements that raise the reader’s awareness and perceptibility, the translation also presents cases where the source text expressions or imagery are somewhat flattened or standardized. This often occurs in concepts which establish a referential link with nature in the source text, or, as the last example demonstrates, connote religion:

One root of the Council of All Beings is Jedním zdrojem Shromáždění (...) (8)

všech bytostí je (...) (14)

a pyramid with our species at the apex pyramid[a], na jejímž vrcholu stojí (10)

člověk (16)

And the same fire as the lightning that A tímtéž ohněm byly blesky, které flashed

into

the

primordial

soup ozařovaly

catalyzing the birth of organic life. (42)

prapůvodní

oceány

Země a napomáhaly tak vzniku organického života. (46)

(...)

spontaneous

prayers

commitments are uttered. (113)

and Spontánně vyslovíme své prosby a dáme najevo svou oddanost. (120)

Yet the translation also carries a sign of compensation when such ‘normalization’ takes place:

(...) roots suck molecules into biology (...)

kořeny

rostlin

nasávají

57

(41)

molekuly

půdy

k bilogickému

tanci (45) To conclude, the Czech translation of Thinking like a Mountain represents a certain landmark – it takes an environmental text in the narrow sense of the meaning and mediates it to the Czech (and Slovak) reader through adoption of comprehensible terminology and through strategies aiming at immediate, personal bond between the text and the reader and awareness-raising.

4.4 Arne Naess: Ecology, community and lifestyle: outline of an ecosophy The book entitled Ecology, community, and lifestyle by Arne Naess is based on its 1976 Norwegian edition. It has been translated and largely revised both by the author and his translator, David Rothenberg, as explained in the “Translator’s Preface” (xii). This book is considered a fundamental introductory text to the field of deep ecology and to the basic positions of its “father,” Naess himself (Orton). As such, its translation into Czech was highly desirable and justified, which shows, for example, earlier inclusion of other Naess’s text in the anthology Závod s časem, (The Race with Time) (81-95). The English version was published in 1989, therefore the Czech translation by Jiří Hrubý, Ekologie, pospolitost a životní styl, was not extremely delayed, with the publication in 1996 under the auspices of the Slovak publishing house Abies, which specializes in deep ecology and literature focusing on forests (Lesoochranárske zoskupenie VLK). 58

Translation Analysis

Jiří Hrubý’s translation is remarkable particularly in one aspect: in Ekologie, pospolitost a životní styl he significantly moves away from literal translation, as is apparent from almost total lack of interference, and adopts a rather ‘free’ approach, verging on paraphrase. To achieve a ‘sense-for-sense’ translation, creating the same effect in the TT reader as in the ST reader (Newmark in Munday 2008: 44), the translator either simplifies the ST, or explicitates it (examples provided below). Yet these are not the only phenomena that in a way distance the translation from the original. There are several formal and content-related issues, which are partly motivated by the intention to provide a ‘free’ translation, although such motivation is apparently absent in others. Here I am mainly referring to various omissions or formal changes. An exception to this general tendency is nevertheless presented by the translation of terminology and in cases where the third culture (Norwegian) appears. The principle of literal translation of terms is mostly observed in the translation. Still, several issues arise in this field as well, particularly in the case of the term ‘deep ecology’ and its translation „hlubinná ekologie“ which I will discuss later. Concerning explicitations, most of the occurrences fall into the category of optional explicitation, with a few examples of cultural explicitation:

Arne

Naess

gives

Optional explicitation a lecture Arne Naess přednáší kdesi v Oslu.

somewhere in Oslo. After an hour he Po hodině se najednou odmlčí, rychle 59

suddenly

stops,

glances

quickly se rozhlédne po pódiu a jde nalevo k

around the stage, and suddenly rostlině v květináči. Utrhne jí jeden list leaves the podium and approaches a a

pospíchá

zpátky

k

mikrofonu.

potted plant to his left. He quickly Usmívá se do publika, drží list ve pulls of f a leaf, scurries back to the světle, aby ho všichni viděli a řekne: microphone, and gazes sincerely at „O tomhle můžete přemýšlet celý the audience as he holds the leaf in život. Nic víc nepotřebujete. Děkuju the light so all can see. ‘You can za pozornost.“ (Rothenberg 13) spend a lifetime contemplating this [a -

change

of

meaning:

“gazes

leaf]’, he comments. ‘It is enough. sincerely” becomes „usmívá se“ Thank you.’ (Rothenberg 1) The tiny beautiful forms which

Ti malí nádherní živočichové, na

‘nobody’ cared for, or were even

nichž „nikomu“ nezáleželo, nebo

unable to see, were part of a

dokonce nebyli ani pouhým okem

seemingly infinite world, but

vidět, byli součástí zjevně

nevertheless my world. Feeling apart

nekonečného světa, nicméně mého

in many human relations, I

světa. V mnoha věcech jsem se cítil

identified with ‘nature’. (Rothenberg

cizincem v lidské společnosti, ale s

2)

„přírodou“ jsem se ztotožnil.

(Rothenberg 15) This is called by Naess naturens Tuto vlastnost egenverdi:

the

intrinsic

nature. (Rothenberg 11)

value

Naess

nazývá

of naturens egenverdi: vnitřní hodnotou přírody. (Rothenberg 28)

This is why a philosophical ecology is Z tohoto důvodu dostala filozofická a deep ecology. (12) ekologie přívlastek hlubinná. (28) Our biological heritage allows us Máme schopnost těšit se z té to delight in this intricate, living složité rozmanitosti života geneticky 60

diversity. (23) zakódovanou. (41) The generalist in us (44) Všichni rádi generalizujeme (70) Mutual help towards ecosophical Při přechodu k ekosofickému lifestyle: ‘The Future in Our Hands’ životnímu (88)

stylu

pomáháme:

si

vzájemně

„Budoucnost

v našich

rukou“ (133) It is tempting to place heavily polluting Je proto velmi lákavé, aby země industries along the border of one’s znečišťující

průmyslová

state so that all the bad air will umísťovala

do

leave the state. (138)

znečištěný

odvětví

pohraničí

vzduch

k sousedům. (201) Cultural explicitation Yet it must be stressed that self- Je však třeba

pak

–

putuje

zdůraznit,

že

determination does not mean ego- sebeurčení by nemělo být sobecky trip. Being together with others is zaměřené

jen

essential to the realisation of the Self. K realizaci (142)

na

sebe

sebe je

sama.

nezbytná

pospolitost. (207) -

the

expression

‘ego-trip’

is

explicitated in the source text due to a cultural gap (...) (e.g. the North-South conflict) (...) (...) rozpory (např. mezi bohatým (168)

Severem a chudým Jihem) (243) However, more differences between the ST and TT are brought about by

various kinds of simplification: lexical, stylistic (especially avoidance of repetitions), but also simplification concerning the formal and structural aspect. For example, the “Translator’s Preface” is completely left out with no compensation offered with regard to the information loss – the Czech reader is therefore unable to know the origin of the source text and can even, due to 61

other simplifications, judge the translation to be done directly from Norwegian:

The translation of these terms from Překlad z norštiny je poněkud Norwegian to English is somewhat problematický. (Rothenberg 21) problematic. (Rothenberg 7) (a) Milieu/ environment These

two

terms

interchangeably

for

a) Životní prostředí

are

used Norština používá slovo miljø, které

the

single tak jako ve francouzštině má širší

Norwegian word miljø. Why both? význam (a běžně známé konotace) Because,

as

in

French,

the než

naše

neobratné

„životní

Norwegian term has wider and more prostředí“. (22) familiar

connotations

somewhat

than

the - although the use of the pronoun

cumbersome „naše“ clearly refers to Czech while

‘environment’. (7)

not mentioning

English, it is not a

problem given that „životní prostředí“ is perhaps even more cumbersome than environment

The table below presents other examples of simplification, particularly those that shift the target text from the source text in a remarkable way:

Lexical simplification The word nature has very many V angličtině

i

associations

in

slovo

Scandinavian

languages

English and

and jazycích

má

skandinávských příroda

řadu

we významů, čeština je v tomto chudší.

should not forgo any of these (Rothenberg 22) 62

associations in a term whose very richness

of

meanings

demonstrates its significance. (7) Are these examples of the expanded Máme

k dispozici

příklady

jakési

perspective? What would it look, feel, rozšířeného zkušenosti? Jak bychom taste,

smell,

or

sound

like? ji asi všemi pěti smysly vnímali?

(Rothenberg 20)

(Rothenberg 40) Stylistic simplification (3) If a being is conscious of itself 3) Vyšší hodnotu má druh, který si and of its possibilities to choose, it uvědomuje sám sebe a možnost is of greater value than one which volby. lacks such consciousness.

4) Vyšší hodnotu má druh stojící výše

(4) If a being is a higher animal in na evolučním žebříčku. (241) an evolutionary sense, it is of greater value than those which are farther down on the evolutionary scale. (167) Avoidance of repetition For example, one can study and Je například možné odhadnout, jak predict how a caribou population is populace sobů karibu souvisí a je related to and dependent upon the závislá na množství predátorů a number of predators and certain other dalších factors

without

studying

faktorech,

aniž

bychom

the studovali vztah jednotlivých zvířat ke

individual caribou’s relationship to konkrétním predátorům. (...) Podobně particular predators. (...) Similarly, platí, že lze zkoumat život a smrt one can study the life and death of a určitého

živočicha

a

přitom

se

particular animal without studying nezabývat jen jednotlivými buňkami. its individual cells. A cell can be Buňku lze zkoumat mnoha způsoby a 63

studied

in

many

ways

without přitom ignorovat chemické složení

studying the chemical structure of každé jednotlivé molekuly. (118) every single molecule in the cell. (78) Different from sketching utopias, Načrtávat vize je jedna věc, ale but not entirely independent of ekologické myšlení by se hlavně mělo them, we find environmental thinking zaměřit na to, jak jich dosáhnout. focusing on how to move in the (233) direction of the utopias. (162)

- appart from avoiding repetition, the translator also simplified the opening

clauses There is no completely isolatable I, Žádné já nelze zcela vyčlenit, což no isolatable social unit. (164)

platí i o společenské jednotce. (236)

It has to be admitted, however, that especially the last type of simplification (avoidance of repetition) is of great benefit to the TT as the result is more readable, smooth and natural than a more literal translation would be. In other situations, simplification is intertwined with normalization, which might be either motivated by the intention to make the text more accessible to the reader, or it is most probably a precaution against interference, which would clearly be contrary to the translator’s approach:

urbanised, techno-industrial mega- městská průmyslová civilizace (42) society (24) (...) it decreases the area within which (...) se zmenšuje prostor pro kvalitní one can say ‘self-made is well- rukodělnou výrobu (...) (138)

64

made’ (...) (92) But time is running out! (46)

Času ale už mnoho nezbývá. (74)

Similarly, footnotes with bibliographical citations are also absent in the translation, although the bibliography at the end of the book is faithful to the original. Such a simplification might be motivated by the intention to make the book more accessible to a non-academic reader, or it is probably an editorial decision, yet it also presents a significant information loss. One example of a more serious omission of a note follows:

Peter Wessel Zapffe’s ‘biosophy’* „Biosofie“

norského

ekofilosofa

does the same: valuation of life, Petera Wessela Zapffeho dělá totéž: especially the problematic ‘human přisuzuje hodnotu životu, zejména condition’.

The

more

grounded problematické

approach of pro aut contra dialogue, Argumenty

„lidské podložený

situaci“. dialog

a

together with the scientific ethic of vědecká zásada úcty k nestrannosti respect for the norms of impartiality (norsky (in

Norwegian,

saklighet)

nám

pomáhají

saklighet, zkoumat naši existenci. (61)

‘appropriateness to the situation at - an attempt to compensate some hand’), serve to help us explore our information existence.

left

out

(norského

ekofilosofa)

*Peter Wessel Zapffe is Norway’s ecophilosopher, connection

introducing

between

a

philosophy

and the biological place of man early in this century. His central

65

point is that Man is the ultimate tragic

being,

because

he

has

learned enough about the Earth to realise the Earth would be better off

without

the

presence

of

humankind. His major work, Om det tragiske (On the Tragic) has not been translated into English. The only

published

translations

of

Zapffe into English are in Reed and Rothenberg (1987). (37) More demanding readers can furthermore find it misleading when the translator does not provide the original titles of the books and works cited and includes only his translation of the title into Czech, contrary to the standard practice in Czech translations – it is even more problematic considering the fact that most of them had not been translated to Czech: „kniha Juliana Simona Bohatá planeta“ (45), „Global 2000 – Zpráva pro prezidenta Spojených států od Geralda Barneyho“ (51), „Langdon Winner první kapitolu nazvanou „Samostatnost a podřízenost“ své knihy Samostatná technika (1977) zahajuje citátem (...)“ (143) „Historii prvních deseti let pěkně shrnuje Donella Meadowsová v knize Tápání ve tmě (1984)“ (220). A particularly curious case is when the title is translated in different ways at different places: „nezkrácená verze zprávy IUCN Světová ochranářská strategie“ cited on page 51 of the target text becomes „Světová strategie ochrany přírody“ on page 219, while remaining World Conservation Strategy in the respective parts of 66

the source text (30, 151). There are further formal differences between the ST and TT, which may indicate the translator’s choice or an error. These involve a variation in paragraphs and occur either in the body of text (as shown below) or at the border between quotations and the body of text – in this way, parts of quotations loose their status and appear as the author’s words or vice-versa: the author’s words are incorporated in the quotation. Both these situations occur in the introductory part written by David Rothenberg and involve quotations by Naess and can be considered errors. An example of one of these is reported in the table below:

But it was in his teens that Naess’s Ale teprve v dospívání Naessovo awareness expanded to include a vědomí přibralo i vztahy s lidmi, kteří bond with people who lived their lives žili blízko přírodě: Když mi bylo patnáct, tak vytrvale jsem

near to nature: When fifteen years old I managed

škemral, až mi dovolili, abych se úplně

through sheer persistency of appeals

sám vypravil do nejvyššího norského

to travel alone in early June to the

pohoří Jotunheimen. (...)

highest mountain region of Norway – Jotunheimen. (...)

Tyto

These reflections instilled within me

přemýšlení o skromnosti – zejména

the idea of modesty – modesty in

skromnosti

man’s relationship with mountains in

vzpomínky

ve

mě

vztahu

přivedly

člověka

k

k

horám a vlastně k celé přírodě. Podle

particular and the natural world in general. As I see it, modesty is of little

mého

názoru

nemá

value if it is not a natural consequence

valného

of

důsledkem daleko hlubších pocitů,

much

deeper

feelings,

a

smyslu,

skromnost

pokud

není

67

consequence

of

a

way

of

důsledkem toho, že se nazíráme jako

understanding ourselves as part of

součást přírody v širokém slova

nature in a wide sense of the term.

smyslu. Čím si při takovém nazírání

This way is such that the smaller we come to feel ourselves compared to

připadáme

ve

srovnání

s

horou

the mountain, the nearer we come to

menší, tím spíše jsme součástí její

participating in its greatness. I do not

velikosti. Nevím, proč to tak je.

know why this is so.

Rothenberg 15-16)

(Rothenberg 2-3) Furthermore, the examples below show the discrepancies existing on the level of paragraphs (single paragraph in the ST splits in two in the TT) that appear throughout the text:

It is clear, however, that many nature Na druhou stranu je zřejmé, že magazines and associations should většina

ekologických

be kept largely free of political and ochranářských

časopisů

sdružení

by

a se

moral propaganda. They foster and politické a morální propagandě spíše encourage

nature-lovers,

but měla vyhnout.

membership tends to fall unduly if a

Mají totiž vliv na milovníky přírody,

stern political line is enforced with ovšem

členství

v nich

většinou

pages of distressing news, and long, poklesne, jakmile se mezi varovné tedious meetings are required. (91)

články

dostanou

i

politické

proklamace a také v okamžiku, kdy by lidé měli vysedávat na dlouhých, nudných schůzích. (137) When rampant urbanisation began to Národní parky a velké chráněné cripple human life in the rich industrial přírodní oblasti začaly vznikat v době 68

states, the establishment of national přebujelé

urbanizace,

parks and other large free areas was degradovala

život

lidí

která v bohatých

advocated. Nonetheless, the need for průmyslových zemích. elbow room and activity under the

Ukázalo se však, že prostor a

open sky has been shown to be much aktivita pod širým nebem nejsou more than a luxury need of the elite. jenom luxusní potřebou vyhraženou Among many people it has developed elitě. Pro daleko více lidí se to stalo into a vital need. (180)

životní potřebou. (258) - it is not clear what has developed into a vital need.

Although the translator’s preferred strategy is to translate “freely”, terminology and third-culture terms are the realms where literal translation is a better solution. The following examples are rather unproblematic renderings of ST terms:

ecophilosophy (Rothenberg 3) ecosophy (4) areas of wilderness

or

wilderness (30) shallow movement (33) ‘Green’ parties (33)

ekofilosofi[e] (Rothenberg 16) ekosofi[e] (18) near- oblast[i] s nedotčenou nebo téměř nedotčenou přírodou (51) mělk[á] ekologie (55) „Zelené“ strany (56)

Green technology, green economics, Zelené green

population

policy,

technologie,

zelená

green ekonomika, zelená populační politika,

community life and green peace zelené komunity a hnutí jako Green movements are all pillars of support Peace – to vše jsou pilíře, z nichž

69

for the richness and diversity of life. vychází úsilí o bohatství a diverzitu (34)

života. (56) - given the fact that the literal term „zelený mír“ is not used in Czech, the translator opted for a concretization by means of naming a generally known green peace movement

green lifestyles (34) Conservation biology (45)

„zelen[ý]“ přístu[p] k životu (56) Ochranářská biologie (72) - the term „konzervační biologie“ is

soft technology (96)

more appropriate, in my point of view šetrné technologie (144)

Technology is essentially soft. (144)

Používají se hlavně měkké (šetrné)

build down agribusiness (99) Shadow-pricing nature (123)

technologie. (209) ustoupit od agrobusinessu (148) Přikládání stínových cen přírodě (180)

The value of certain goods and Hodnota zboží a služeb, které se na services which are not exchanged on trhu nesměňují, se pak odhaduje jinak markets is estimated in other ways – – je jim přiřazena „stínová cena“. they get their ‘shadow prices’. (123)

(180) - this term is standardly used in the

field of economy (Kršková) ecopolitics (132) ekologick[á] politik[a] (192) (...) one tries to change current (...) snaha proměnit politiku politics

by

establishing

columns’ (154) The term ‘diversity’ established in biology (201)

is

‘fifth prostřednictvím

„pátých

kolon“

(222) well Pojem „rozmanitost“ hojně používá biologie (288) 70

‘biorights’ (15) ecocriminals (176) anti-consumerism (210)

„biopráva“ (34) ekozločinc[i] (253) antikonzumenství (300)

Nevertheless, there are also terms which present difficulties if translated literally, therefore circumlocution or rephrasing (resulting in “freer” translation) provide a solution, although not always the most successful:

cooperation

between

nature spolupráce

managers and researchers (45)

mezi

výzkumem

a

praktickým manažmentem v přírodě (72) -

while

the

Czech

spelling

of

„manažer“ is completely acceptable, in the case of management the complete borrowing is the only correct alternative:

„management“

(Petráčková, Kraus 477) It may not be sensible to buy it, and Pak tedy nemá smysl ho kupovat a the ecosopher will then not feel any ekosoficky smýšlející člověk vůbec regret at not possessing it. (88) Volvo’s experiments with

nelituje, když ho nevlastní. (133) (...) Dobře známé jsou experimenty Volva

improved external milieux (...) are s (...) ekologizací provozů (...) . (147) well known. (98)

-

rather

than

facilitating

comprehension, this neologism is much more abstract than the ST Proceeding

from

non-human

human ecology (...) (203)

expression to Přejděme

nyní

od

„přírodní“

ekologie k ekologii člověka. (291)

71

- the translator is aware of the absurdity

of

the

dichotomy

„přírodní/lidský“, that is why he uses the inverted commas. Still, a better equivalent of “non-human” should be sought, instead. By far the most problematic term in the book (not to mention the most frequent) is the term “deep ecology”. Naess offers his earlier summary of what deep ecology means: it is a movement that rejects the man-in-environment image in favour of the relational, total-field image and proposes biospherical egalitarianism based on the principle that all life on Earth, both human and non-human, has intrinsic value. Despite the literal translation at hand – „hluboká ekologie“ – the translator uses exclusively the less appropriate term „hlubinná ekologie“. It appears in various forms and phrases, the following table offers only a few most frequent examples:

deep

ecological

philosophy hlubinně

ekologick[á]

filosofi[e]

(Rothenberg 4)

(Rothenberg 17)

deep ecology movement (4)

hlubinně ekologick[é] hnutí (17)

deep ecology (4)

hlubinn[á] ekologie (17)

Why is it less appropriate? Prof. Erazim Kohák has dedicated a lengthy explanation in his ecological reader Zelená svatozář (The Green Halo) why the use of „hlubinná ekologie“ in the context of Naess’s work should be considered a mistake:

72

Arne Naess does not use the term „hlubinná ekologie“. According to my Norwegian friends, there is no difference between the adjectives „hluboký“ and „hlubinný“ in Norwegian, as there is no such difference in German, yet the difference exists in English, and Naess speaks and writes in English without difficulties. (...) [T]he term „hlubinný“ is definitely a technical term, especially in the phrase „hlubinná psychologie“ (depth psychology) – that which deals with the presumed unconscious or suppressed thoughts according to S. Freud and C. G. Jung. The term „hlubinný“ in this specific context is expressed by the English noun “depth”, used as an adjective in this phrase, therefore we talk about “depth psychology” (hlubinná

psychologie).

(...)

Naess

has

authorized

the

expression “deep ecology” in the English versions of his works, or „hluboká ekologie“. He has never used the technical term “depth ecology” (...), „hlubinná ekologie“. The fact he uses the term “deep ecology” – never “depth ecology” – continuously, clearly and exclusively, seems to me an evidence that as far as his own thought system is concerned, the only justifiable translation

is

hluboká

ekologie

(deep

ecology)

(not

„hlubinná“ [depth]). To label Naess’s thought as „hlubinná ekologie“ – which I did myself – is in my opinion not justified and extremely misleading. Quite a different story is the work of some Naess’s disciples and followers, who focus on descending to the collective

73

unconscious of all beings according to Jung’s ideas, such as John Seed and the co-authors in the guide Thinking like a Mountain. Although they also use Naess’s expression “deep ecology”, I consider this to be the case (unlike in Naess) where the translation „hlubinná ekologie“ is justified and even very appropriate in order to distinguish Naess’s generally accepted views and the rather peculiar views of his disciples. (...) In my opinion, it is highly desirable to take the advantage of what the Czech language offers, and to distinguish between „hluboká ekologie“ and „hlubinná ekologie“. (Kohák 109110, my translation, the emphasis is his)

Following Prof. Kohák’s line of thought, the term „hluboká ekologie“ should be used consistently and rigorously in connection to the work of Arne Naess and a potential result could be a new edition of the Czech translation of Ecology, community and lifestyle. Finally, the TT closely corresponds to the ST in those moments where a third culture and language come to the surface. By the third culture I mean Norwegian, which is also Naess’s mother tongue. When Norwegian is used in the ST, it conveys concepts that are difficult or impossible to translate into English without a certain loss. A good example of this is the expression “friluftsliv”:

In

Nordic

countries

energy V severských zemích se citlivý přístup

consciousness was developed even k energii

v lidech

posiluje

už

od

74

from childhood through life in cabins dětství pobytem v přírodě v lesních as part of classical friluftsliv (see srubech (o friluftsliv v kapitole 7). chaptert 7, p.177). (93)

(139)

Literally, ‘friluftsliv’ means ‘free air Norské

slovo „friluftsliv“ znamená

life’, but it has been translated as „život pod širým nebem“ či „přírodní ‘open air life’ and ‘nature life’ (...) život“. (255) (178)

- the TT is further simplified implying a definition of “friluftsliv” which is actually (in the ST) only a common translation of the term; the reader is left to supply their meaning Elsewhere, Norwegian expressions are used to add expressivity, but

perhaps also as an attempt at foreignization, both in the ST and the TT – as a sign that the author is Norwegian and that the idea of deep ecology is closely related to this culture. The following example demonstrates this by using a Norwegian expression that could be translated into the other languages, but is left in the original language for the above reasons, and accompanied by a translator’s note:

High life quality – yes; high standard Vysokou kvalitu života ano, vysokou of living – tja.*

životní úroveň tja.*

*A Norwegian expression translating * Norské slovo, které se dá přeložit roughly as ‘maybe yes, maybe no’. jako „možná ano, možná ne“. (43) [It (25)

is far from clear to me ]

75

One last example of a seemingly unproblematic passage where the ST and TT should meet but do not, is represented by a Latin quote:

Top

levels

of

artists,

scientists, Špičkoví

umělci,

vědci,

technici,

technicians, stars in sport and trade obchodníci a sportovní hvězdy z from all over the world set levels celého

světa

nasazují

laťku

na

which are completely unattainable úroveň, která je dosažitelná jedině except

through

professionalism. profesionálům. Panem et circenses!

Panis et circenses! Material standard Díky dosažené hmotné životní úrovni of

living

and

professional a profesionální zábavě máme pocit,

entertainment make the active use of že vůbec není nutné, abychom svůj one’s own creative potentials seem vlastní unnecessary. (145-146)

tvůrčí

potenciál

aktivně

využívali. (211)

This minute difference between the original and the translation is given by the fact that the ST contains a mistake and the translator only does the necessary correction in the TT. Despite providing a curious example, the correction of this quote is yet another piece of evidence that the translator aims at preserving the sense of the original while trying to provide an authentic experience for the reader, without taking the risk of various types of interference, including the risk of adopting the ST mistakes.

4.5 Gary Snyder: A place in space: ethics, aesthetics and watersheds Gary Snyder’s work includes more than twenty published books of prose and poetry, dealing with aesthetics, philosophy but mainly with the place in nature 76

and wilderness, promoting a bioregional approach. His books have been made accessible to the Czech readership through the following translations: a) Poetry Tahle báseň je pro medvěda (1997) Translated by Luboš Snížek, this collection presents Snyder’s earlier poems, such as Riprap and Cold Mountain Poems, including the collection Turtle Island, awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1975. Mountains and Rivers without End (1996, Hory a řeky bez konce 2007; translated by Luboš Snížek) Danger on Peaks (2004, Nebezpečí na vrcholcích 2010; translated by Luboš Snížek)

b) Prose The Old Ways: Six Essays (1977, Staré cesty: šest esejí 1995; translated by Alexandra Hubáčková and Renata Vystrčilová) The Practice of the Wild (1990, Praxe divočiny 1999; translated by Luboš Snížek) Earth House Hold: Technical Notes and Queries to Fellow Dharma Revolutionaries (1969, Zemědům: technické poznámky a otázky pro dharmové revolucionáře 2000; translated by Matěj Turek) A Place in Space: Ethics, Aesthetics, and Watersheds (1995, Místo v prostoru: Etika, estetika a vodní předěly 2002; translated by Matěj Turek and Luboš Snížek)

Snyder’s renown within the Czech literary scene was further helped by

77

his two visits (in 1998 and 2007), particularly by the second one during which he participated in the Prague Writers‘ Festival (Jařab, Král), and also by a number of interviews and several shorter texts or poems published in translation in various magazines (Snyder in Literární noviny 4-5, in Ekolist 2223). All these factors, together with the literary quality of his work and its position within the ecocritical canon, contribute to the fact that Snyder is the most translated contemporary environmental writer into Czech. For my analysis, I have chosen the most recent prozaic translation, A Place in Space (Místo v prostoru). In this collection of essays, Snyder revisited some of his older writings as well as added some newer creations. Although some of the essays had already been published in Czech („Jogín a filozof“,

„Zájmy

etnopoetiky“,

„North

Beach“,

„Znovuosídlování“

and

„Neuvěřitelná životaschopnost kojota“ appeared in Staré cesty), the two translators offer a new and fresh look without referring to the older translations. In the analysis, I have focused only on those essays that are related to ecology, the environment, nature, conservation and sustainability, thus omitting those dedicated mainly to literature, poetry and aesthetics. The list of chapters analysed and their translations is reported in the table below – the total of twenty essays were translated partly by Luboš Snížek (six essays marked “LS”) and mostly by Matěj Turek (fourteen essays marked “MT”). ST North Beach Smokey the Bear Sutra Four Changes, with a Postscript The Yogin and the Philosopher “Energy Is Eternal Delight” Earth Day and the War Against the

TT North Beach (LS) Medvědí sútra (LS) Čtyři změny, s dodatkem (LS) Jógin a filosof (LS) „Energie je věčná radost“ (MT) Den Země a boj proti imaginaci (MT)

Imagination Nets of Beads, Webs of Cells

Sítě z korálků, pavučiny buněk (MT) 78

A Village Council of All Beings Goddess of Mountains and Rivers Amazing Grace Energy from the Moon The Politics of Ethnopoetics Unnatural Writing Reinhabitation The Porous World The Forest in the Library Exhortations for Baby Tigers Coming into the Watershed The Rediscovery of Turtle Island Kitkitdizze: A Node in the Net

Obecní rada všech bytostí (MT) Bohyně řek a hor (MT) Podivuhodný půvab (MT) Měsíční síla (MT) Politika etnopoetiky (LS) Nepřírodní literatura (MT) Znovuosídlovaní (LS) Pórovitý svět (MT) Les v knihovně (MT) Nabádání tygříků (MT) Vítejte v povodí (MT) Znovuobjevení Želvího ostrova (MT) Kitkitdizze: uzlík v síti (MT)

Translation Analysis

79

Although it might be interesting to analyse the translators‘ style given the multiple translations of some of Snyder’s essays, I would like to focus on more technical aspects. However, comparing the two translators seems inescapable. Yet my objective is to offer a descriptive approach, studying terminological issues, translation strategies, explicitation and other universals (normalization and simplification) and treating the issue of mistranslation. The most remarkable issue associated with the fact that the book has two translators is the vacillation of grammatical gender in the case of the word „esej“ and discrepancy in terminology. This variation is not traceable to one particular translator, but it is rather characteristic of both. Considering the vacillation of grammatical gender, the variant the translators prefer is masculine as in „Tento esej vychází z přednášky (...)“ in „Jógin a filosof“ (50) or „Tento esej byl původně vydán jako předmluva (...)“ in „Podivuhodný půvab“ (90). However, Luboš Snížek also opts for the feminine variant in the case of „Neuvěřitelná životaschopnost kojota“: „Tato esej vychází z příspěvku předneseného v roce 1974 (...)“ (144) and then mixes the two genders in the conclusion

of

„Znovuosídlování“:

„Tento

esej

vychází

z příspěvku

předneseného v srpnu 1976 na Konferenci o znovuosidlování (...) Byla publikována ve Starých cestách (...) (169, my emphasis). Regarding terminology, inconsistent usage is present despite the fact that both translators benefit from the standardized terminology, particularly from zoology and botany or use literal translation of the terms. However, errors are not excluded from the standardized terms – the most evident error (explainable by insufficient proof-reading) is that of putting the name of the

80

tree “manzanita” (192) as „nedvědice“ (170) while the correct Czech term is „medvědice“ (Hájková 221). Similarly, “survival of the fittest” (71) becomes literal „přežití nejuzpůsobenějšího“ (67) while the translator seems to ignore the standardized translation „přežití nejsilnějšího“.

81

Literal translation of technical terms from ecology “depth ecology” (169) „hlubinn[á]“ ekologie (150) the notion of biological corridors ponětí o biologických koridorech (197) (225) “inhabited

wildlife

corridor” „zabydlen[ý] divok[ý] korido[r]“ (225)

(261)

- more appropriate: obydlený koridor divoké zvěře ekologick[á] spravedlnos[t] (57) of krizový obor konzervační biologie (73)

ecological justice (60) the crisis discipline conservation biology (78)

- the

mistranslation

due

to

lexical

interference could be avoided, e.g. by explicitation: obor konzervační biologie zabývající se krizemi/ řešící krize biome (96) biom (89) bioregion (98) bioregion (90) “sustainable development” (167) „udržitelný rozvoj“ (149) ecologies of imagination (170) ekologie mysli (150) Bureau of Land Management Pozemkov[ý] úřad (171) (193) BLM land (194) island biogeography

půd[a] Pozemkového úřadu (172) theory biogegrafická teorie ostrovů (197)

(225)

- another case of mistranslation caused by literal translation of the term. A more acceptable and appropriate translation: teorie

ostrovní

biogeografie/

teorie

biogeografie ostrovů matrifocal roots (85) matrifokální kořen[y] (79) numinous [mountains and rivers] numinózní [hory a řeky] (80) (87) “interspecies

communication” „mezidruhová komunikace“ (88)

(95) “trans-species erotics” (206)

„naddruhov[á] erotik[a]“ (182)

nonplant food (68)

nerostlinn[á] strav[a] (64) - an interference is present instead of

cultural integrity (135)

standard Czech term živočišná strava 82 kulturní celistvos[t] (122) - the literal translation of the term could

A common problem linked to terminology is a change or distortion of meaning.

Environmental literature often involves great complexity of

terminology that is not only environmental or ecological, but covers other fields as well. Multidisciplinarity of such literature is therefore exemplified by incorporation of scientific terminology (life and nature sciences), economy, philosophy etc., which naturally requires multidisciplinary experience on the part of the translator. However, this requirement is only rarely met, and the changes of meaning can be considered the eviedence of lack of knowledge in a certain field, as evidenced in the following table:

In the iconography he is seen as an Ikonografie jej zobrazuje s výrazem aspect of Avalokiteśvara (...) (30)

Avalokitéšvary (...) (32) - Correct: Ikonografie jej zobrazuje

food economies of the world (68)

jako jednu z podob Avalokitéšvary typy hospodaření světa (64) - explicitation is probably unavoidable to clarify this phrase: způsoby, jak se

worm-free Boletus edulis (194)

hospodaří s jídlem jinde ve světě nečervavý hřib Leccinum manzanitae (172) - It is difficult to detect the motivation of this shift. The only possible interpretation might be the translator’s “correction” – while Boletus edulis is “hřib smrkový”, Leccinum manzanitae is a different type of mushroom that

83

grows mainly in the manzanita resource management (224)

forests. řízení těžby (196) - more appropriate: správa/řízení

wasps and bees (196)

zdrojů vosy a sršn[i] (174)

- correct: vosy a včely the technological society (...) can also technologická společnost (...) se get “nature-literate” (212)

může stát také „přírozeně gramotnou“ (186) - “nature-literate” refers more to being literate about nature, rather than being “naturally literate” as appears in

economics of scale (233)

the translation přiměřené hospodářství (203) - “economies of scale” is a technical term from economy, referring to “the reduction in long-run average and marginal

costs

arising

from

an

increase in size of an operating unit” (BussinesDictionary). equivalent

is:

The

úspory

Czech

z rozsahu

(Kvizda 5) However, what also proved to be problematic was terminology narrowly connected to ecology and environmental studies, especially the cases in which Czech terminology had not been sufficiently standardized yet or was altogether lacking. Such problematic terms include “watershed”, “habitat”,

84

“diversity”, the variants of “enviornmental movement” and “conservation movement” and a few more, represented in the following table. The greatest variety is presented by the term “habitat”, which is either translated by the equivalent term „habitat“ or by several circumlocutions of which „oblast výskytu“ and „místo výskytu“ are also definitions of the term, while „domovina“ and „domov“ are less specific and unsuitable for the given context. “Diversity”, on the other hand, appears as a relatively fixed term, with respective equivalents „diversita“ and „biodiverzita“, accompanied by the circumlocutory „rozmanitost“ in contexts where the specialized term would sound too technical. Finally, I would like to point at a curious case of discrepancy in terminology, represented by the term “fuel load”, defined as „the “total amount of combustible material in a defined space” (InterFire). Therefore „palivové zatížení“ seems to be acceptable (I have encountered a version „palivová zátěž“ in the translation of Jared Diamond’s Collapse) (66), although an explication could be added to the term, while the alternative „náklady na palivo“ should be ruled out as a distortion of meaning.

85

watersheds (vii)

vodní předěly (n.n.)

watershed (4)

rozvodí (10)

watershed (80)

povodí (74)

habitat (4)

domovina (10)

Natural habitat (46)

Přirozená domovina (45)

habitat (73)

oblast výskytu (68)

the destruction of species and their zánik druhů a jejich domovů (151) habitats (171) mind as wild habitat (172)

mysl jako divoký habitat (152)

right down to the habitat niches of přímo v oddělených habitatech budov buildings (202)

(178)

Perennial Habitat (206)

Trvalý domov (181)

Habitat flows across both private Místa výskytu se táhnou přes and public land. (225)

soukromá i veřejná území. (197)

wildlife habitat (256)

domovina divoké zvěře (221)

the diversity and richness of the rozmanitost a bohatství genetického gene pool (52)

potenciálu (51)

preserving biodiversity (78)

zachování biodiverzity (73)

diversity (126)

diverzita (115)

We need planetary diversity in Potřebujeme

planetární

rozmanitost

nations as much as we need národů, stejně jako potřebujeme lidskou human diversity

in society or rozmanitost

ve

společnosti

anebo

biological diversity in the forest. biologickou rozmanitost v lese. (182) (207) environmental movement (58)

hnutí za ochranu životního prostředí (55)

conservation movement (58)

hnutí ochranářů; ochranářské hnutí (55)

radical environmentalism (58)

radikální environmentalismus (55)

Environmentalists (58)

Ekologové (56)

conservation movement (164)

ekologick[é] hnutí (146)

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Finally, the treatment of terminology should also include a consideration of three terms that are not as much technical as charged with specific connotations and consequently their translation into Czech needs careful examination. These terms include “wild“ and derivatives, “natural“ in phrases “natural world/system“ and “nonhuman“. The concept of “wild“, “wildness“ and “wilderness“ is a familiar one in the works of Gary Snyder, yet it offers a wealth of expressions in Czech (see table below). Taking into consideration the

predominant

translation

of

“natural

world/system“

as

„přirozený

svět/systém“, it is clear that the translator’s strategy was to be consistent throughout the text, disregarding the contextual restrictions. The following occurences serve as examples to show that „svět přírody“ or „přírodní svět“ or „příroda“ might have conveyed the message more efficiently. Finally, turning to the translation of the term “nonhuman“, one can observe the different approaches of the two translators. While Snížek opted for the literary translation „ne-lidský/á/é“, Turek’s strategy involves various circumlocutions verging on the explicit.

“wild” side of language and mind (vii)

„nezkrocené“ stránky jazyka a myšlení (Poznámka autora)

“wild mind” (vii)

„divoké mysli“ (Poznámka autora)

Ignorance and hostility toward wild Lhostejnost nature (211)

a

nepřátelství

k volné

přírodě (185)

the preservation of key blocks of public zachování klíčových území veřejných lands as wilderness (224)

území v divokém stavu (196)

87

The personal contact with the natural Přímý

osobní

world required of hunters and gatherers světem (...) generated continual alertness. (128)

kontakt

vyžadoval

s přirozeným

po

lovcích

a

sběračích (...) neustálou bdělost. (116)

But if we look at the larger context of Ale podíváme-li se na širší kontext occidental history, educated elites, and západních

dějin,

vzdělaných

elit

a

literary culture, we see that the natural literární kultury, uvidíme, že přirozený world is profoundly present in and an svět je ve velkých uměleckých dílech inescapable part of the great works of hluboce

přítomen

a

že

je

jejich

art. The human expercience over the nedělitelnou součástí. Lidská zkušenost larger part of its history has been played byla větší části své historie v důvěrném out in intimate relationship to the natural vztahu k přirozenému světu. (146) world. (164-5) For me this means the end of taking the Pro mne to znamená přestat brát natural world for granted as a kind of přirozený svět jako jakýsi zaručený hardware store and lumberyard (209)

sklad potřeb a skládku (184) - there is a distortion of meaning: hardware store could be translated as “obchod s nářadím” and lumberyard as “sklad s dřívím”

a sincere nod in the direction of the deep upřímné

přitakání

hluboké

hodnotě

value of the natural world and the

světa přírody a svébytnosti jiných než

subjecthood of nonhuman beings (234)

lidských tvorů (204)

An urban cosmopolitanism is gained, Je dosaženo městského světoobčanství with the loss of a keen sense of the a ztráty pronikavého smyslu splývání

88

integration

of

human

and

natural lidských a přirozených systémů. (88)

systems. (95) (...) the whole society consults the (...) celá společnost [se] radí s nenonhuman (in-human, inner-human?) lidskými (nadlidskými, vnitřně lidskými) powers (50)

silami (50)

(human and nonhuman) (235)

(člověk s tím, co je mimo něj) (205)

see through nonhuman eyes (242)

vidět jinýma než lidskýma očima (211)

The choice of terminology – particularly the last example – is related to the choice of foreignization and domestication strategies. Although the general tendency of the translation is to make the book accessible to Czech readers, there are instances of foreignizing elements that are typically justified by the appearance of a third culture. This is manifested by original or transcribed words, terms or names. The third cultures that are transmitted are mainly Hindu, Japanese or Hispanic and very often the foreignization is compensated by a domesticating element or an explicitation (see especially the translation of “black people, Chicanos” as „černoši, Latinoameričané“ while at the same time “Anglos” is left in the original form).

Like Morocco, or ancient terraced Jako fertile-crescent pueblos (4)

v Maroku

terasovitých

nebo v prastarých

pueblech

na

území

Úrodného půlměsíce (10) (...) the forest fires of the kali yuga (...) lesních požárů kali-jugy (29) (26) Haiku, as a shorter form developed Haiku jako kratší, později vzniklá later, is a confession that waka, forma,

dosvědčuje,

že

Saigjóova

Saigyo’s form, is difficult to sustain. waka je jako forma příliš těžká.

89

Haiku, with fewer syllables, moves Méněslabičné

haiku

má

rychlejší

more quickly; it has even more spád. Má také více bezprostřednosti immediacy, less “mind” in the way. a tím je zároveň méně oduševnělé. Yet Saigyo’s waka are as necessary Přesto jsou Saigjóovy básně waka to haiku, and to the mind, as sutras stejně tak nezbytné pro haiku, a také are to koans, as organic evolution is pro mysl, jako jsou sútry pro koány, to the cricket of the moment. (117-18)

jako

organický

vývoj

pro

cvrčka

tohoto okamžiku. (106) “In the fires that destroy the universe „Co přežije v plamenech, jež na konci at the end of the kalpa, what kalpy zničí vesmír? (45) survives?” (45) Anglos, black people, Chicanos Anglos, černoši, Latinoameričané (244) In the

(212) winter 1992 I practically V zimě 1992 jsem téměř přesvědčil

convinced the director of the Centro ředitele Centra severoamerických de Estudios Norteamericanos at studií v Alcale v Madridu, aby změnil the Universidad de Alcalá in Madrid to název svého ústavu na „Estudios de change his department’s name to la Isla de Tortuga“. (215) “Estudios de la Isla de Tortuga.” (247) The tendency towards better comprehension and acceptability of the translation is evident also from the process of explicitation. Cultural explicitation (both by addition and by specification) is the predominant type, followed by optional explicitation, which aims at higher clarity of the text. Interpersonal explicitation occurs only rarely, which suggests that the main goal of the translators was to make the text intelligible for the reader, rather

90

than to promote certain attitudes or beliefs. Another reason for prolific use of cultural explicitation is the fact that other cultures are also transmitted in the text. The following example shows how explicitation combines with foreignizing strategies.

When Oda Sesso Roshi, my teacher Když se Oda Sessó róši , můj učitel at the Daitoku-ji monastery, came to v klášteře the koan in the Mumonkan, “Nansen výkladu

Daitoku-dži, Mumonkanu

dostal ke

při

koánu

Kills a Cat,” he chose not to sit in the „Nansen zabíjí kočku“, neposadil se high chair but sat on the tatami, on na vyvýšené křeslo jako obvykle, ale the same level as the unsui (monks). na rohož tatami na stejnou úroveň (68)

jako unsui (mnichové). (65) Below follows a table with cases of cultural and interpersonal

explicitation.

Cultural explicitation – specification Scavengers‘ trucks (4) popelářsk[á] aut[a] (10) solar energy, the tides (36)

sluneční či slapová energie (37)

Chinese male culture is profoundly Co se týče přírody a žen je čínská ambiguous about nature and women. mužská kultura hluboce dvojznačná. The best poets were often failed Nejlepšími

básníky

bývali

často

bureaucrats. Their submissive wives neúspěšní úředníci. Jejich poslušné a were like the cultivated fields, the oddané ženy byly jako obdělávaná singsong girls like the wilderness. pole, holky z čtvrtí rozkoše jako

91

(89)

divočina. (82)

radical – that is to say, sort of grass- radikál (abych tak řekl, pod určujícím roots union IWW (127)

vlivem

odborářského

hnutí

Průmyslových dělníků světa) (116)

There

is

some

truly

dangerous Existuje opravdu nebezpečný způsob

language (167)

vyjadřování (149)

being (...) geographic information sbírají computer consultants (245)

zeměpisné

údaje

pro

počítačové databáze (213)

chaparral (258) The

otužilá křoviska (223) Cultural explicitation – addition Transamerica Pyramid (...) Transamerická pyramida (...) šosácky

stands square on what was once trůní na místě, kde stával dům zvaný called Montgomery Block (4)

Montgomeryho blok (10)

needles suburbs (27)

nepotřebná honosná předměstí (29)

the Underground News Service (30)

Tisková

agentura

Underground

Okra is a member of the Hibiscus News (32) genus, originally from Africa! (69)

Tropická

rostlina

okra

je

např.

příslušníkem rodu Hibiscus, původem z Afriky! (65) (ibex, argali, antelope, wild yak) (80)

(kozorožce, ovce argali, antilopy, divoké jaky) (74)

My grandfather was a homesteader in Můj the Pacific Northwest. (127)

děd

Severozápadě

byl

na

pacifickém

osadníkem

podle

zákona o přidělování půdy z roku 1862. (115)

92

a recent human invention with hasty je

to

nedávný

lidský

výmysl

straight-line boundaries that were s uskvapeně rovnými hranicemi, které drawn (...) in D.C. (222)

byly

narýsovány

(...)

v hlavním

městě. (194) Asian Americans (234)

Američané asijského původu (204) Optional explicitation Master the archaic and the primitive Osvojte si archaické a primitivní (44)

kultury (44s)

Air, water, and soil are all in worse Stav vzduchu, vody a půdy je ještě shape. (46)

horší. (45)

“environmentally conscious” (75)

„uvědomělý

v otázkách

životního

prostředí“ (71) (...) about the Xingu people of the (...) o lidech kmene Xingu z povodí Amazon (133)

Amazonky (120)

Han China (165)

Čín[a] dynastie Chan (147)

orchards (197)

ovocn[é] sad[y] (174)

the Los Angeles River (229) řeka protékající Los Angeles (200) Interpersonal explicitation Plants and animals are also people Rostliny a živočichové jsou také (54)

pokládáni za lidi (52-3) Besides explicitation, simplification and normalization also help make the

target text more accessible to the reader by applying the valid norms of translation and by standardization (Laviosa-Braithwaite 289-90) and by different types of simplification. In the case of the translation of Place in Space, the tendency towards normalization is presented by the source text “B__r” (29) (in “Smokey the Bear Sutra”), meaning Bear, which in Czech becomes directly „medvěd“ (31), without transmitting the playfullness of the

93

original. As for simplification, there can be identified virtually all kinds of it in the target text, including the use of superordinate terms,

the use of

circumlocutions, omission of words or avoidance of repetition:

Use of superordinate terms Happy loose flocks cannot compete Šťastná svobodná hejna nemohou with factory egg production, which soutěžit s tovární výrobou vajec, která reduces

hens

to

machines

(but redukuje slepice na stroje (ale chrání

protects them from bobcats). (66)

je před divokými šelmami). (63)

be (...) a snake (194)

staňte se (...) plazem (172)

(...) reflecting the memory of the (...) odráží vzpomínky na nejstarší earliest fiber used for writing (202)

hmotu používanou k psaní (179)

(...) with its tules, grasses, valley oak, (...) s jeho orobincem, travami a and blue oak (219)

místními druhy dubu (192) Use of circumlocutions Learn to break the habit of acquiring Učte se, jak se zbavit zvyku vlastnit unnecessary

possessions

–

a zbytečné věci – té drogy (41)

monkey on everybody’s back (40) - both simplification and normalization come into play in this case Omission To lose our life in nature is to lose Přijít o svůj život, v přírodě znamená freshness,

diversity,

surprise,

the ztratit

svěžest,

překvapení (56) Avoidance of repetition (...) what is called “tending toward (...) tomu se

rozmanitost,

Other (59)

říká

„směřování

climax,” resulting in the condition k vrcholu“, jehož výsledkem je stav sometimes called climax. (137)

občas zvaný „klimax“. (124) 94

To conlcude this case study, I would like to point out several overt errors, namely the type of breach of the target language system. It is often the case that this type of errors is caused by some kind of interference. The following examples show an error deriving from grammatical interference (inteference of grammatical number):

Protection for all scarce predators Ochrana všech vzácných dravců a and varmints (39-40)

škodných (40) - in Czech, the term is typically used in singular, but the plural usage is not incorrect

the great lore of tale and song (138)

významná tradice příběhu a písně (125)

However, there are also spontaneous breaches of the target language system which can hardly be ascribed to a concrete phenomenon and are most probably explainable by problems in understanding the source language or in mastering the target language, or more simply, can be seen as examples of insufficient proofreading. Some of the most peculiar include the misspelling of the word „jogín“ – in Luboš Snížek’s translation it becomes „jógin“ (32). One explanation could be that it is Snížek‘s attempt at foreignization, given the fact that the source text uses the term “yogin”, instead of the standard “yogi” and the TT version „jógin“ recreates the sound effect of the ST term (by stressing the first syllable).

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4.6 Jared Diamond: Collapse: how societies choose to fail or succeed Jared Diamond‘s Collapse: how societies choose to fail or succeed is a wide-ranging inquiry to understand why certain ancient and modern societies collapsed or face collapse while others manage to overcome it despite similar conditions. In Diamond’s original thesis it was accounted that there exists a link between the collapse of a society and its abuse of physical environment, but his study shows that this link is not so straightforward. Nevertheless, environment remains to be a dominant theme in this work. As with his previous book, Guns, Germs, and Steel (1997), Collapse presents rich historical narratives interwoven with scientific objectivity (Porritt) which may situate his work among popular science and such popularizing effect can be of great advantage in raising ecological awareness. Jared Diamond, given the fact that most of his works are bestsellers, is one of few authors dealing with environmental issues translated into Czech with enthusiasm. In addition to Collapse, which is the most recent book (2005), translated as Kolaps: proč společnosti zanikají a přežívají by Zdeněk Urban and published in 2008, all Diamond‘s major non-fiction has been translated relatively shortly after its original publishing: Why is Sex Fun?: The Evolution of Human Sexuality (1998) – translated by Zdeněk Urban as Proč máme rádi sex?: evoluce lidské sexuality and published in 2003, following the Slovak translation from 1999; The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal (1992, Třetí šimpanz: vzestup a pád lidského rodu 2004; translated by Stanislav Mihulka, Zuzana Gabajová and Jaroslav Šimek); Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies (1997, Osudy

96

lidských společností: střelné zbraně, choroboplodné zárodky a popel v historii 2000; translated by Zdeněk Urban).

The fact that his most acclaimed works, Guns, Germs, and Steel and Collapse have been published by the largest scientific publisher in the Czech Republic, Academia, is an evidence of targeting these texts both to experts and general public interested in the topics (SSČ AV ČR).

Translation Analysis

Given the extent of this work, it was necessary to limit the analysis not only to relevant parts (thus omitting the core chapters that deal with ancient societies and have rather historiographic character) but also to a feasible amount of analysed material. As a result, I limit my analysis to the Prologue and the first chapter, which roughly correspond to approximately 14% of the total text and focus predominantly on environmental issues, introducing a number of terms, concepts and phenomena suitable for my analysis. While the titles of these two (as well as other) parts are almost literally translated – “A Tale of Two Farms” (1) becomes „Příběh dvou farem“ (15) and “Under Montana’s Big Sky” (27) becomes „Pod velkou montanskou oblohou“ (47), there is a significant shift in the translation of the book title. In the ST, there is a clear indicator of the societies‘ responsibility: “how societies choose to fail or succeed”. This is completely missing in the TT – extinction or survival of the societies thus becomes something external, a kind of natural development,

which

the

societies

cannot

affect

themselves.

The

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responsibility, however, is re-introduced in chapter 14 entitled “Why Do Some Societies Make Disastrous Decision?” (419) and translated into Czech as „Proč některé společnosti zničí jejich vlastní rozhodnutí?“ (557), which, though keeping the notion of responsibility, presents a logical explicitation. As concerns the analysis, the selected passage offers a great variety of translation processes, some of which are unexpected or not easily interpreted. This is the case of the translator’s use of brackets, which do not correspond to the ST. Similarly, the TT presents a relatively high occurrence of optional explicitation, while cultural explicitation – which could be easily justified by the culture-specific words and phrases of the ST – has a relatively low incidence. A particularly prolific phenomenon is the incidence of neologisms. Neologisms are moreover linked to terminology, as many technical terms are neologisms and need adequate translation into the TL. If brackets appear in translation while they are not part of the ST, it is typically due to the need of additional information, such as the literal translation of loan words or cultural words (Newmark 1988: 92). An example from the text could be the translation of a name of an institution – “Teller Wildlife Refuge” (29) – which is directly transferred into the TT and a translation is provided in the brackets: „Teller Wildlife Refuge (Tellerovo útočiště pro divokou zvěř)“ (50). However, Zdeněk Urban, as a translator, often intervenes and uses brackets without adding any information, simply bracketing information that is present in the ST:

ST (...)

boom

in

commercial

TT apple (...) výsadba jabloňových sadů pro

orchards, which were initially very obchodní

účely

(...),

která

byla

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profitable, collapsed, due in part to nejprve

velmi

zisková,

upadla

apple trees exhausting the soil’s (částečně kvůli tomu, že jabloně nitrogen (47)

spotřebovaly téměř všechen dusík

v půdě) (72) The Bitterroot’s other water supply Další vodní zdroj Bitterrootu (po besides

snowmelt-fed

irrigation zavlažovacích

systémech,

které

consists of wells for domestic water napájí tající sníh) představují studně use (52) pro domácí spotřebu (79) Missoula’s air problems, exacerbated Problémy Missouly se

vzduchem

by winter temperature inversions and ještě zhoršují zimní teplotní inverze a by its location in a valley that traps její

poloha

v údolí,

které

brání

air, stem from a combination of proudění vzduchu. (NORM) Příčinou vehicle emissions throughout the je spojení automobilových emisí (po year, wood-burning stoves in the celý rok), topení dřevem (v zimě) a winter,

and

forest

fires

in

summer. (53)

the lesních

požárů

(unacknowledged

a

těžby

dřeva

addition

of

information) (v létě). (81) Montana’s remaining major set of Zbývající problémy, které se týkají environmental

problems

are

the životního prostředí Montany, jsou

linked ones of introduction of harmful propojené: non-native species and losses of škodlivých valuable

native

species.

These ztrátu

jde

o

nepůvodních

cenných

dovezení druhů

původních

a

druhů

problems especially involve fish, (především o ryby, jeleny, losy a deer and elk, and weeds. (53)

plevel). (81) - the reason for the use of brackets in this case might be an intention to implicate, caused by the change of

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meaning – the problems are not linked themselves, but they ale linked to what is enumerated in the ST. Similarly, they do not involve the introduction of harmful non-native species etc. itself, but they involve the species listed at the end of the passage. Regarding explicitation, the expectation that cultural explicitation will predominate was not fulfilled despite the amount of cultural words and expressions. A few exceptions can be found in the text, mainly involving the translation and subsequent explicitation of institutional terms:

In either case, either the mine site Důl a oblasti po proudu od něj buď and areas downstream of it remain zůstanou

toxické,

takže

toxic, thereby endangering people, or obyvatele,

nebo

sanaci

else the U.S. federal government and federální the

Montana

state

vláda

government z federálního

ohrožují zaplatí

Spojených

států

superfondu

(fond

(hence ultimately all taxpayers) pay americké agentury pro ochranu for the cleanup through the federal životního prostředí – pozn. red.) a Superfund and a corresponding vláda Montana state fund. (36)

Monatana

(z

příslušného montanského fondu) – nakonec

Endangered Species Act (42)

státu

tedy

všichni

daňoví

poplatníci. (59) Zákon o ochraně ohrožených druhů

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water commissioner (49)

(66) komisař pro záležitosti týkající se

vody (76) (...) money flowing into Montana from (...) z peněz,

které

do

Montany

other U.S. states: federal government přitékají ze zbytku Spojených států, transfer payments (such as Social tedy z plateb prováděných federální Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and vládou. poverty programs) (74)

Příkladem

je

sociální

zabezpečení, Medicare, Medicaid [v prvním

případě

jde

o

systém

nemocenského pojištění pro staré lidi a invalidy, druhý se týká rodin a jednotlivců s nízkými příjmy – pozn. překl.], programy v chudobě (...) (107) Other such terms are translated literally without further explanation:

Forest Service (42)

Lesní Správa (66)

Clean Water Act (42)

Zákon o čisté vodě (66)

Bitter Root Water Forum (52)

Bitterrootsk[é] vodní fór[um] (80)

Quite surprisingly, cultural explicitation is used also for a SL cultural word which meaning is not extremely opaque:

The leach pad's liner is as thin as a Pažení louhovací rampy bylo tenké nickel (...) (41)

jako niklák (pěticentová mince – pozn. překl.) (...) (64)

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Finally, I would like to point out one passage where cultural explicitation might be needed, yet the translator opts for simplification that also slightly changes the meaning and obscures the cultural aspect of the ST:

Cutthroat Trout (Montana’s state pstruh fish) (54)

skvrnitý

(který

k Montaně

neodmyslitelně patří) (81)

Stylistic optional explicitation is also present, particularly in situations in which the ST noun-participle or adverb-participle structure would sound clumsy or unacceptable in the TT:

deforestation-induced collapses on kolaps[y] Pacific islands (18)

na

ostrovech,

které

odlesnění (37) environmentally triggered collapse kolaps (...), (21)

tichomořských způsobilo který

měl

environmentální příčinu (40) The following table provides examples of optional explicitation, which

facilitates comprehension and provides additional information (e.g. in the footnote) but at the same time is by no means essential with respect to the ST and can be considered the translator’s initiative.

Optional Explicitation changes in orientation of the Earth’s změny polohy rotační osy Země vůči axis with respect to its orbit (12)

její oběžné dráze kolem Slunce (28)

the advance and retreat of continental postup

a

ice sheets during the Ice Ages ledovcových

ústup štítů

kontinentálních během

dob 102

beginning over two million years ago ledových, které začaly* před více než (12)

dvěma miliony let * jedná se o nástup přibližně 100

000letého cyklu dob ledových (28) All of those considerations exposed Pokud vezmeme v úvahu všechny past societies to increased risk from tyto faktor, ohrožovala změna klimatu climate change. (12)

dřívejší společnosti mnohem více

než nás. (29) Another comparative experiment was Další srovnávací experiment jsme possible in the North Atlantic, where mohli provést v severním Atlantiku, medieval

Vikings

from

Norway kde

středověcí

norští

Vikingové

colonized six islands or land masses kolonizovali šest ostrovů nebo velké differing in suitability for agriculture, části souše, jež se lišily zemědělskou ease of trade contact with Norway, využitelností, and other input variables, and also s Norskem

a

dostupností

obchodu

dalšími

vstupními

differing in outcome ( from quick proměnnými, jakož i výsledkem (od abandonment, to everybody dead rychlého opuštění sídel přes vymření after 500 years, to still thriving after všech kolonistů po 500 letech až ke 1,200 years). (18-19)

stálému vzestupu i po 1200 letech).

(37) Differing visions (27) Různé představy o budoucnosti (47) Finally, in 1998 I happened to receive Nakonec mě roku 1998 náhodou an invitation from a private non-profit pozvala

soukromá

nadace

Teller

foundation called the Teller Wildlife Wildlife Refuge (Tellerovo útočiště Refuge in the Bitterroot Valley. (29)

pro divokou zvěř), která působila v Bitterrootském údolí. (50)

There are several instances of flattening the ST expression by

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explicitating it, thus explicitation can have normalizing effect:

out-of-staters (34) Unfortunately,

in

lid[é], kteří nepocházejí z Montany most

(56) Bitterroot Naneštěstí

došlo

ve

většině

irrigation districts the water is “over- bitterrootských zavlažovacích okrsků allocated”. (50)

k „nadměrniým přídělům“ vody. (77)

A specific case of normalization verging on explicitation is the consistent translation of the ST “First World” as „vyspělé země/společnosti“ in the TT, while the term “Third World” is translated literally as „třetí svět“ or „země třetího světa“. The reason for this might be that the translator sticks to the convention, thus avoiding the risk of unacceptable translation, which would furthermore be less transparent than the habitual translation. The contrast between the two terms is shown in the following table:

First World societies (7)

vyspělé společnosti (22)

First World inhabitants (9)

obyvatelé vyspělých zemí (25)

the First World’s dependance on oil závislos[t] vyspělých zemí na ropě, from ecologically fragile and politically která pochází z ekologicky a politicky troubled Third World countries (14)

nestabilních zemí třetího světa (312)

Third World giant racing to catch up pádící obr třetího světa, který chce with the First World (22)

dostihnout vyspělý svět (42)

Neologisms in the ST often present a translation problem, particularly when they are newly coined words or eponyms. When neologisms are formed

104

by derivation, particularly from Latin or Greek, the translation is generally less problematic given the “international” aspect of Latin and Greek prefixes and suffixes, yet as Newmark suggests, they should not always be translated automatically (1988: 143). A good example of English neologism found in the text and transferred into Czech is the following:

ecocide (6)

ekocida (20)

The word is formed through a popular Greek prefix eco- (particularly productive in ecology) and the Greek suffix -cide (more familiar in terms such as “genocide”) and the Merriam-Webster Dictionary reports its first known use in 1969 (Merriam-Webster), while the Czech variant is included in the dictionary of neologisms edited by Olga Martincová (77). The second type of neologisms present in the text belongs to the words with the root -environment- . Although the English word “environment” lost its air of neologism long time ago and so did many of its derivatives, such as environmental, environmentalism or environmentalist, the situation in Czech is different. As seen in previous case studies, the term “environmental” is preferably translated less literally, usually by employing expressions such as „ekologický“ or the circumlocution containing the term „životní prostředí“, as the examples taken from Naess’s Ecology, community and lifestyle and Snyder’s A Place in Space respectively show:

environmental thinking (Naess 162)

ekologické myšlení (233)

environmental movement (Snyder hnutí za ochranu životního prostředí

105

58)

(55)

Environmentalists (Snyder 58)

Ekologové (56)

An exception is found in the case of Snížek’s translation of Snyder’s “radical environmentalism”

(58) as „radikální environmentalismus“ (55).

Recently, the acceptance of the adjective „environmentální“ and its derivatives has increased, and the evidence can be found also in Urban’s translation of Collapse, where the ST terms are transferred to the TT only with slight adaptations required by the TL grammar:

environmental impact (16)

environmentální dopady (34)

environmental factors (20)

environmentální faktory (40)

environmental consultant (37) environmentální poradce (60) We have previously seen in this V této kapitole jsme viděli, chapter how Montana is experiencing

že

Montanu trápí mnoho

many environmental problems (...) environmentálních

problémů

(...)

(74) (107) Chapter 15 considers the role of V 15. kapitole se zamýšlím nad modern businesses, some of which úlohou are among the most environmentally některé destructive forces today (...) (23) “environmentalist”

or

moderních

firem,

dnes

patří

z nichž k

environmentálně nejničivějším silám (...) (43) “pro- „environmentalistický“

environment” (15) „proenvironmentální“ (33) “non-environmentalist” (15) „neenvironmentalista“ (33) On the other hand, I have much Na druhé straně mám experience, interest, and ongoing in-

nebo

mnoho

zkušeností s velkými firmami a jinými

volvement with big businesses and institucemi naší společnosti, které

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other forces in our society that exploit environmental

resources

and

often viewed as anti-

využívají

přírodní

zdroje

a

jsou

are považovány za antienvironmentalistické. (34)

environmentalist. (16) Despite this fairly automatic translation of terms deriving from “environment”, there still remain more traditional solutions, especially those containing the phrase „životní prostředí“. However, these are clearly used mainly for stylistic reasons to avoid repetition of the root “environment”, as the first two examples clearly show:

My view is that, if environmentalists Podle

mého

aren't willing to engage with big problémy

názoru

týkající

se

se

světové životního

businesses, which are among the prostředí nepodaří vyřešit, pokud most powerful forces in the modern nebudou environmentalisté ochotni world, it won't be possible to solve the spolupracovat world's

environmental

problems. které

patří

s velkými

firmami,

k nejmocnějším

silám

(17) dnešního světa. (35) Chapter 15 considers the role of V 15. kapitole se zamýšlím nad modern businesses, some of which úlohou

moderních

firem,

z nichž

are among the most environmentally některé dnes patří k environmentálně destructive forces today, while others nejničivějším

silám,

zatímco

jiné

provide some of the most effective zajištují ta nejúčinnější opatření na environmental protection. (23) ochranu životního prostředí. (43) Thus, seemingly pristine Montana Na první pohled nedotčené životní actually suffers from serious environ- prostředí mental

problems

involving

Montany

tedy

ve

toxic skutečnosti trpí vážnými problémy,

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wastes, forests, soils, water, climate které zahrnují toxické odpady, lesy, change,

biodiversity

losses,

introduced pests. (56)

and půdu, vodu, změny klimatu, ztrátu biodiverzity a dovezené škůdce. (84)

In the last example, the expression „životní prostředí“ is used so that it is possible to imply it when translating “serious environmental problems” only as „vážné problémy“. It could be argued that the derivatives of the word „environmentální“ fall into the category of lexical interference and it would be a valid argument, given the existence of other equivalent expressions (as shown by earlier examples from Naess and Snyder). In other situations, the translator seems to prefer lexical interference when other solutions would probably result in normalization or exaggerated explicitation. In the following examples, interference can be considered the best solution to transmit the ST culture to the reader:

“Montana’s Banana Belt” (34)

„banánový pás Montany“ (55)

Clearcut Controversy (42)

„spor o holoseč“ (66)

Montanans themselves hold diverse Samotní Montaňané však mají na to, and often self-contradictory views jak spravovat lesy a čelit požárům, about forest management and forest různé a často protichůdné názoty. Na fires.On the one hand, the public jedné straně cítí veřejnost strach a fears and instinctively dislikes the "let instinktivní odpor k reakci „nechme je it burn" response (...) (46)

shořet“ (...) (71)

Nevertheless, interference is not always a carefully examined solution

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and the following example shows that lexical interference is still mostly unacceptable in the TT:

(...) they consider the pendulum to (...) myslí [si], že v případě těžby have swung too far in the direction dřeva se kyvadlo zhouplo příliš away from logging (42)

daleko (66)

Finally, I would like to dedicate a few comments to terminology. In spite of the multidisciplinarity of the book and a remarkable number of technical terms, the translation of these is rather unproblematic as the translator adheres to either literal or recognised translation of the terms, providing the original term when necessary:

The federal government owns over Federální vládě patří víc než čtvrtina one-quarter of the land in the state půdy ve státě a tři čtvrtiny půdy and three-quarters of the land in the v okrese,

většinou

pod

hlavičkou

county, mostly under the title of Národních lesů. (51) national forest. (32) Big Hole Basin (29)

pánev Big Hole (49)

Powder River (49)

Prašn[á] řek[a] (75) - while in the first example of geographical term only the generic term

(basin)

is

translated,

literal

translation was chosen for the second case.

Although

this

translation

occasionally appears on the Internet,

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it is hardly a recognized translation and therefore would need the SL term cyanide heap-leaching (40)

in brackets. kyanidové loužení

fuel loads (42)

(63) palivové zátěže (66)

v hromadách

- given the non-existence of this concept

in

translation sustainable forestry (43) soil erosion (47) salinization (47) saline seep (48) World Wildlife Fund (16)

Czech, should

the

literal

be

also

accompanied by further explanation udržitelné lesnictví (67) eroze půdy (73) zasolování (73) solný průsak (74) Světov[ý] fon[d] na ochranu přírody (World Wildlife Fund) (33) - recognised translation including the SL term in brackets

chronic wasting disease (CWD) nemoc (54)

chronického

chřadnutí

(CWD) (82) -

recognised

translation

and

appropriate transference of the SL acronym To conclude, I would like to point out an overt error of not translating an entire paragraph of the ST. The paragraph in question is the following:

Montana’s main form of salinization is one that has ruined several million acres of cropland in the northern Great Plains as

110

a whole, including several hundred thousand acres in northern, eastern, and central Monatana. The form is called “saline seep,” because salty water building up in the ground in an uphill area percolates through the soil to emerge as a seep in a downhill area up to half a mile or farther distant. Saline seeps frequently become bad for neighborly friendship when the agricultural practices of one farmer uphill cause a saline seep on a downhill neighbor’s property. (48)

The omission is not harmful in the TT, the previous and the following paragraphs are sufficiently linked yet it is evident that a portion of information will be missing in the TT. As improbable as it may seem (given the overall quality of the translation), this non-translation must be caused by the translator’s negligence rather than by e.g. the lack of knowledge to translate the passage or by willing suppression of the paragraph (e.g. because the translator considered it irrelevant for the target reader).

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5. Conclusion

The aim of this thesis was to shed light on translation of environmental literature from English to Czech through an analysis of six translations of environmental non-fiction. The works of Aldo Leopold (translated by Anna Pilátová), Rachel Carson (Igor Míchal), John Seed (Jiří Holuša), Arne Naess (Jiří Hrubý), Gary Snyder (Luboš Snížek and Matěj Turek) and Jared Diamond (Zdeněk Urban) were examined together with their Czech translations in order to prove whether the topic of environment and ecology can have any effect on the translation strategies and features. While certain features were present to a greater or lesser degree in all the translations, each of the translators also adopted particular translation strategies that distinguished them from the others. Regarding the universal tendencies, there was a general propensity to explicitate, particularly cultural concepts and words, therefore the translations are clear, readable and relatively easily accessible to the reader. However, lack of cultural explicitation, albeit marginal, was also detected in several cases, and it could be explained either by the translator’s negligence or by their assumption that the reader is familiar with the concept (less likely situation). Other types of explicitation were recorded as well, though the main focus lies on the cultural type, since it is believed that as environmental non-fiction is typically closely linked to its source culture (and related nature), it is a valid strategy to explain and transmit the ST cultural concepts as comprehensibly as possible. The purpose of acceptability seems to rule another set of translators‘ choices, concretely simplification and normalization. Although these two

112

characteristics of translation are often viewed negatively, as responsible for flattening or standardizing the source text, there are also situations when such procedure can prevent unwanted interference and keep the target text smooth and natural. Interference, on the other hand, was often the cause of strange constructions in the TL that might have impeded correct understanding, yet I have also appreciated interference that transmits the source-text culture or that solves a terminological issue. Terminological issues occupy an important position in my analysis, since technical terms from the field of ecology were present in all the works analysed. Literal translation was generally considered as a valid strategy in the translation of terms, but problems were identified in a number of cases and all the translations present at least some examples of inappropriate literal translation of terms. On the other hand, most translators showed their familiarity with recognised translation of certain terms as well as standardized terminology. However, difficulties were encountered when terminology from less familiar fields (e.g. economy) appeared in the STs. With regard to the particularities of each translation, I would like to mention Anna Pilátová’s compensating technique used in translation of A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold. In order to transmit the relatively archaic language Leopold used in the 1940s when he wrote the book, she promptly adopts an archaising style, which consists mainly of present and past participles and of archaic lexis and is not limited only to parallel compensation of ST items, but seems to be part of the translator’s style. Jiří Hrubý, on the other hand, attempts at producing a rather free translation of Ecology, community and lifestyle by Arne Naess, maintaining

113

the sense of the original but avoiding to fall into interference traps. The result is a fluid and readable target text, although some of his interventions (possibly also the publisher’s) bring about certain informational loss, which can be regretted by academic audience, while general public may actually appreciate the simple structure and smooth text not interrupted by citations and footnotes. Foreignizing strategies characterise, to a certain degree, the translation of A Place in Space by Garry Snyder. Both the translators, Luboš Snížek and Matěj Turek, aim at transmitting the cultures that are represented in the text (not only American, but also Asian or Hispanic) to the reader. The technique employed the most is transference of cultural words with no or only necessary adaptation to the TL system (e.g. cases). Yet the understanding is not entirely compromised through the use of cultural explicitation, often effectively intervowen with foreignization. The hypothesis that the sole topic can have a decisive effect on translation decisions is therefore only partially proven. Clearly, in the case of environmental literature, one can assume the impact the topic has on terminology and related issues, and it can be also assumed that there is a general tendency to explicitate, especially with respect to cultural concepts, yet there are great differences in other aspects. For example, while the choice of translation an environmentally-oriented book can be seen as a strategy of foreignization (the genre being still marginal in the Czech literary creation), it has to be added that foreignization strategies may or may not be adopted in the process of translation by individual translators. Although generalization can be made for a number of features, there is a greater number of those that

114

seem to depend on the translator and their style, rather than on the fact that the work in question deals with ecology. Finally, I would like to say that the present analysis had also the goal of introducing the field of environmental literature in the translation studies discource as I believe it can offer new insights on established theoretical frameworks. The relation between Czech translation and English-written literature is particularly interesting, as it is the latter that dominates the field and therefore influences not only translation, but its dominance can have further impact on autochtonous environmental literature as Czech authors adopt terms, structures and expressions from English for the simple reason that they do not yet exist in Czech. Building and analysing a comparable corpus of English originals, Czech translations and non-translated Czech originals from this field could prove this hypothesis. Finally, as my research was limited to translation of literary non-fiction, research on translation of other genres of environmental literature (e.g. environmental poetry, fiction, drama or children environmental literature) can bring more insight into the problematics.

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6. Bibliography Baker, Mona. In Other Words. A Coursebook on Translation. London: Routledge, 1992. Print. Brisset, Annie. “The Search for a Native Language: Translation and Cultural Identity.” The Translation Studies Reader. Lawrence Venuti ed. 2nd ed. New York, London: Routledge, 2004. Print. Buček, Antonín. „Zemřel Igor Míchal.“ Lesnická práce. 81 (9). 2002. Web. 17 Nov. 2011. Carson, Rachel. Silent Spring. London: Pinguin, 2000. Print. Carson, Rachel. „Mlčící jaro.“ Závod s časem: Texty z morální ekologie. Erazim Kohák, Rudolf Kolářský, Igor Míchal eds. Praha: Torst pro MŽP, 1996. Print. Diamond, Jared M. Collapse: how societies choose to fail or succeed. New York: Viking, 2005. Print. Diamond, Jared M. Kolaps: proč společnosti zanikají a přežívají. Překlad Zdeněk Urban. Praha: Academia, 2008. Print. Dury, Pascaline. “Building a bilingual diachronic corpus of ecology: The long road to completion.” ICAME Journal. Computers in English Linguistics. 28 (April 2004). Pp. 5-16. Web. 5 Dec. 2011. Englund Dimitrova, Birgitta. Expertise and Explicitation in the Translation Process. Amsterdam, Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 2005. Print. Filipec, Josef. Slovník spisovné češtiny pro školu a veřejnost. Praha: Academia, 1994. Print. Finch, Robert, Elder, John, eds. The Norton Book of Nature Writing. College ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2002. Print.

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rakúsky.“ Botany.cz. 9 Jul. 2007. Web. 2 Dec. 2011. Král, Lukáš. „Gary Snyder.“ PWF. Gary Snyder. Festival spisovatelů Praha. 2007. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. Kraus, Jiří. Petráčková, Věra. Akademický slovník cizích slov: A-Ž. Praha: Akademia, 2001. Print. Kršková, Martina. „Stanovení hodnoty trhem neoceněných aktivit.“ Ekonomika a management. VŠE. Fakulta podnikohospodářská. 2007. Web. 13 Nov. 2011. Kvizda, Martin. „Institucionální limity intermodální konkurenceschopnosti železniční dopravy.“ Masarykova univerzita v Brně. Jun. 2009. Web. 18 Nov. 2011. Laviosa-Braithwaite, Sara. “Universals of Translation.” Mona Baker, ed. Routledge Encyclopaedia of Translation Studies. London: Routledge, 2001. 288-291. Print. Leopold, Aldo Starker. A Sand County Almanac: with essays on conservation from round river. New York: Ballantine Books, 1990. Print. Leopold, Aldo. Obrázky z chatrče a rozmanité poznámky. Překlad Anna Pilátová. Tulčík: Abies, 1999. Print. Lesoochranárske zoskupenie VLK. Abies. Vydavateľstvo Lesoochranárskeho zoskupenia VLK. 2010. Web. 17 Nov. 2011. Martincová, Olga et al. Nová slova v češtině. Slovník neologizmů. Praha: Academia, 1998. Print. McKibben, Bill ed. American Earth: Environmental Writing since Thoreau. New York, NY: Lib. of America, 2008. Print. Merriam-Webster, Inc. “Ecocide – Definition and More from the Free Merriam-

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7. Summary This thesis deals with translation of environmental literature from English to Czech. More concretely, it presents a translation analysis of six works of

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environmental literature and their translation into Czech. The works in question are: Aldo Leopold’s Sand County Almanac, Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, John Seed’s Thinking like a Mountain, Arne Naess’s Ecology, community and lifestyle, Gary Snyder’s A Place in Space and Jared Diamond’s Collapse. The aim of the thesis is to examine the translations in order to find evidence whether environmental literature can itself have influence on translation strategies used and whether it involves specific features of translation. Taking into consideration main theoretical issues of translation studies, the analysis detected several phenomena that can be judged universal in this type of translation, that is cultural explicitation (and, to lesser extent, other types of explicitation), simplification, normalization, interference (especially lexical) and literal translation (particularly in the process of translating terminology). However, there were also strategies employed only in some of the translations, namely compensation, tendency to “freer” translation and more pronounced foreignizing strategies, which can be ascribed to particular translator's style or even to publisher's decision rather than to the genre. It is then concluded that translation of English-written environmental literature into Czech presents specific and topic-bound issues, particularly the treatment of technical terminology and of the cultural aspects of this type of literature.

8. Resumé Tato diplomová práce pojednává o překladu děl environmentální literatury z angličtiny do češtiny. Přesněji řečeno, přináší tato práce analýzu 122

překladu šest děl environmentální literatury a překladů těchto děl do češtiny. Konkrétně se jedná o následující díla: Obrázky z chatrče a rozmanité poznámky Alda Leopolda, Mlčící jaro Rachel Carsonové, Myslet jako hora Johna Seeda,

Ekologie, pospolitost a životní styl Arna Naesse, Místo v

prostoru Garyho Snydera a Kolaps Jareda Diamonda. Cílem této práce je získat analýzou překladů důkazy o tom, zda environmentální literatura má sama o sobě vliv na výběr překladových strategií a zda je specifická určitými jevy. S ohledem na hlavní teoretické otázky translatologie vyplynulo z analýzy několik jevů, jež lze označit za univerzální v tomto druhu překladu, a těmi jsou kulturní explicitace (a v menší míře též další druhy explicitace), simplifikace, normalizace, interference (především lexikální) a doslovný překlad (uplatněný převážně při překladu terminologie). Je však třeba zmínit, že byly analyzovány i strategie použité jen v některých překladech, konkrétně kompenzace, sklon k volnějšímu překladu a výraznější foreignizace, které lze přičíst stylu jednotlivých překladatelů či rozhodnutí nakladatele spíše než specifikům daného žánru. V závěru se tedy přikláním k tvrzení, že se český překlad anglicky psané environmentální literatury vyznačuje určitými specifiky a potenciálními problémy týkající se tématiky této literatury, které zahrnují především postup při překladu odborné terminologie a kulturních aspektů tohoto typu literatury.

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