| Abstract [eng] |
In the context of translation research, realia and their conveyance to foreign audiences is a relevant area that has been investigated in various aspects by various researchers (Newmark, 1988; Danytė, 2006; Dickins, 2012; Pažūsis, 2014; Cammarota, 2018; Čemerin, 2019; Vlahov, Florin, 2022; Zeynalova, 2025). Studies of realia in non-fiction (historical) texts are not common among researchers, translations of realia in fiction from various languages being studied much more frequently. There is very little research on the translation of realia found in non-fiction texts from Lithuanian. The translation of realia found in historical Lithuanian texts is the essence of the novelty of the project. Here, translations by the author and by the translator are analysed, revealing the peculiarities of translating realia from the Lithuanian language and their significance for conveying the historical and cultural context in English texts. The object of this thesis project is realia in historical texts and their translation. The aim of the Master’s thesis project is to investigate and evaluate the translation strategies used to convey realia in the translation of historical texts from Lithuanian into English performed by the translator and by the author himself. Objectives: 1. To review the academic literature on the challenges arising in translating realia, the phenomenon of authorial translation and its peculiarities, and the concept, specificity, classification, modes of conveyance, and translation strategies of realia. 2. Based on theoretical literature, to identify, select, and classify the realia in the source texts and the translation strategies applied. 3. To analyse, compare, and evaluate the ways in which different translations convey realia in the selected texts. Conclusions: 1. Based on the review of the academic literature, it can be summarised that realia are unique elements of cultural identity and are characterised by (1) the absence of cultural equivalents in other languages, (2) a close link to the social and historical context, and (3) pre-coded translation difficulties. Translators can choose from a wide range of alternative translation strategies to convey the meaning of realia. These depend on: a) the type of the text, b) the purpose of the text, c) the target audience. No scholar offers universal rules; thus, the translator’s decision is determined by the context. 2. The identification, selection and classification of the realia in the analysed texts showed that in the author's translation, historical ethnographic names were the most frequent and personal names – the least frequent, while in the translator’s translation, socio-political terms were the most frequent, while historical ethnographic names – the least frequent. The author’s strategy was most often one of borrowing with graphic and morphological adaptation, while the translator’s strategy was one of selecting a functional equivalent. The least frequently used strategies in the author's translation were omission and insertion, and in the translator’s translation – borrowing with graphic adaptation, omission, and contextual translation. 3. The analysis and comparison of the author’s and the translator’s choices of translation strategies for realities and the analysis of the relationship between the categories of realia and the translation strategies have revealed certain patterns. The choice of translation strategies for realia was mainly influenced by the nature of the realia, which often requires specific translation strategies, limiting the translator’s choice. On this basis, a set of recommendations for translating realia in historical texts was formulated: 1) before choosing a translation strategy, check whether there is a well established version of the translation of a particular name of realia in the texts of the target language; 2) if there is no well-established version of the translation of realia, the choice of the translation strategy should depend on the type of realia (for personal names, geographic names, and ethnographic historical names, borrowing with various types of adaptations or their combination is the most appropriate translation strategy; 3) for socio-political terms, an approximate translation with a functional equivalent is preferable (if these cannot be found, a descriptive translation should be used); 4) names of the same realia should be translated using the same translation strategies throughout the text, and the help of an editor who is bilingual should be used. The structure of the Master’s thesis project consists of an introduction, a review of scientific literature, methodological and empirical parts, conclusions, a list of references, and appendices. |
