Lynx hunting with the fork – German versions of realia in Pan Tadeusz

Abstract

The text presents a analysis of the realia translation (i. e. armament, administration, botany, cuisine) in the selected most representative German translations of the national epos Pan Tadeusz by Adam Mickiewicz, the most important work of the Polish romanticism, which especially in the 1830s aroused interest in the whole Europe. It is also an attempt to examine to what extent inaccuracies in this field can influence the text’s reception by its readers from other cultures. The comparison of four translations shows a different strategy chosen by every translator as far as the realia translation is concerned. Many aspects of the realia were generalized or even wrongly translated, which results in a deformation of the message conveyed by the author. Therefore not only should the translator have the knowledge of translation techniques but also be a comprehensively educated person who apart from their own and encyclopedic knowledge gathers information from all the available sources and modern media. It is necessary to use the help of specialists from various fields.