TRANSLATION OF BIBLICAL REFERENCES IN LITERARY AND NON-LITERARY TEXTS

Ewa Kujawska-Lis

Instytut Neofilologii Uniwersytet Warmińsko-Mazurski w Olsztynie



Abstract

The division of texts for the purpose of translation into literary and non-literary ones, based mostly on the dominant language function in a given text type, often leads to a stereotypical understanding of the stance of the translator’s competence. Non-literary text translators who focus entirely on that branch of knowledge that a given text refers to and on related terminology may overlook the cultural and intertextual elements. This not only ignores the intention of introducing them into the text, but also may change the meaning of passages in which they are included.
The analysis of a book concerning psychology and psychotherapy: Systems of Psychotherapy. A Transtheoretical Analysis, as representing non-literary texts, and G.K. Chesterton’s detective stories, being examples of literary texts, provides some examples of introducing more or less implicit references to the Bible into psychological discourse and literature respectively. Despite the label of scientific texts, American psychological literature is characterized by numerous hidden quotations from other sources which serve various functions: using the already lexicalised phrase- ology or entering into a polemics with the religious doctrine. Consequently, in translating such texts, translators cannot limit themselves to a thorough knowledge of psychology, psychotherapy and terminology connected with those areas, but must also be observant enough to notice interte- xtual traces and then be able to localize them and interpret them correctly. Otherwise the transla- tion may alter the original meaning or introduce an ambiguity which is not welcome in such texts. Thus ‘intertextual competence’ is by no means reserved for literary text translators for whom this type of expertise is obviously of primary importance.


Keywords:

intertextuality, translation, literary text, non-literary text, competence


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Published
2008-12-01

Cited by

Kujawska-Lis, E. (2008). TRANSLATION OF BIBLICAL REFERENCES IN LITERARY AND NON-LITERARY TEXTS. Acta Neophilologica, (X), 37–50. Retrieved from https://czasopisma.uwm.edu.pl/index.php/an/article/view/1292

Ewa Kujawska-Lis 
Instytut Neofilologii Uniwersytet Warmińsko-Mazurski w Olsztynie





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