DISCOURSE INTERFERENCE IN TRANSLATION

This article focuses on three major factors that may enhance the degree of hybridity of target texts: first, the ideological background, i.e., the prestige accorded to the source culture in relation to the target culture; second, translator's competence, i.e., the translator's ability to rationalise translation process and choose an adequate translation strategy; third, the skopos of translation, i.e., hybrid features may be deliberately imposed upon the translation to enable the text to serve a given function. Each of these factors is analysed within a framework of a concrete text. The conclusion of this analysis is that due to the functionalist approach, the concept of translation has bec…

Pragmatic aspects of the translation of slang and four‐letter words

Abstract The article discusses linguistic and societal attitudes to slang in Latvia and their relevance to its rendition in Latvian translations. For historical reasons, there is a wide gap between spoken and written colloquial layers in Latvian. Slang, and especially four‐letter words, function differently in Latvian compared to English, where they are used much more frequently and have lost their disturbing connotations. Accordingly, in Latvian translations they must be softened to achieve ‘similar effect’. Today, however, there is a clear‐cut tendency to liberalize the attitude towards slang and taboos, which can be explained by the recent radical changes in Latvian society. Direct trans…

Should a Theory be Shackled?