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Anna Ginter (Łódź)
Slang as the Third Language in the Process of Translation: A Clockwork Orange in Polish and Russian
Циљ овог рада је да представи значај нелингвистичких аспеката у процесу превођења сленга („трећег језика“) – вештачког језика који аутор измишља као средство комуникације међу ликовима. Као што ће се испоставити, преводилац је принуђен да узме у обзир друштвено- политичке везе, као и тенденције у језику Ñ Кључне речи: типичне за друштво језика циља. Стратегије translation, target language, и средства којима се преводилац служи source language, slang, non- налазимо у пољској и руској верзији linguistic aspects. Барџисове Паклене оморанџе.
Introduction always been appreciated for the language presented there as a source of communica- ‘I do not know of any other writer who has tion among the protagonists. done as much with language as Mr. Burgess has done here – the fact that this is also a very funny book may pass unnoticed’ – said Some modernistic features of William S. Burroughs when asked to ex- A Clockwork Orange press his opinion about A Clockwork Orange. (Book ingie: A Clockwork Orange). And A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess indeed, the novel is regarded as a literary was published in and technically falls work which provokes numerous discussions aer the period deemed as Modernism, yet over some controversial moral aspects and it embodies all of the features that were problems, such as moral freedom, predesti- characteristic of that literary era. (compare: nation, free will, violence, sin etc., even over Large-Fesi ) As it has already been its own value as a ‘good book’, but it has mentioned, the novel is usually described
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as a frightening fable about good and evil, subjected him to. is writer (F. Alexander) and the meaning of human freedom. A vi- believes that this method robs the recipient cious fieen-year-old droog is the central of freedom of choice and moral decision character of this classic. In Anthony Burgess – therefore depriving him of being human nightmare vision of the future, where the at all (a clockwork orange). Alex eventu- criminals take over aer dark, the story is ally attempts suicide and the State is forced told by Alex, who talks in a brutal invented to admit that the therapy was a mistake slang that brilliantly renders his and his and ‘cures’ him again. e last chapter of friends’ social pathology. the novel (which was omitted from the Burgess’s novel is also perceived as a fu- ‘American version’ and Stanley Kubrick’s turistic look at a Totalitarian government. It film) shows Alex’s realization that he is would be worth quoting here the descrip- growing up and out of his ultra-violent tion given by Alicia Large-Fesi () in ways on his own. He realizes that he wants her study about modernistic features of a wife and son of his own.’ the novel. is fragment will acquaint us with the plot as well as with the main message expressed by Burgess through the e structure of the novel book: ‘e main character (…) is an ‘ultra- violent’ thief who has no qualms about A Clockwork Orange had never been pub- using force to get the ‘in-out-in-out’. e lished entire in America by . e book beginning of the story takes us through wrote by Burgess is divided into three a night in the life of Alex and his Droogs, sections of seven chapters each. ‘ is the and details the adventures that occupy their symbol of human maturity, or used to be, time. At fieen years old Alex is set up by since at you got the vote and assumed his Droogs (Pete, Dim, and Georgie) and adult responsibility’ – says Burgess (). was sent to jail and convicted of murder. At ‘Whatever its symbology, the number the Staja (the State Penitentiary) he became was the number I started out with. Nov- and spent two years (in a sentence elists of my stamp are interested in what of fourteen) there. Alex is chosen by the is called arithmology, meaning that [a] government to undergo an experimental number has to mean something in human new ‘Ludovico’s Technique’, administered terms when they handle it. e number of by Dr Brodsky, that was to ‘cure’ him of all chapters is never entirely arbitrary. Just as that was bad (Reclamation erapy). Alex is a musical composer starts off with a vague given injections and made to watch films of image of bulk and duration, so a novelist rape and violence and the mixture of these begins with an image of length, and this images and the drug cause him to associate image is expressed in the number of sec- feelings of panic and nausea with violence. tions and the number of characters into He is released aer a fortnight (two weeks) which the work will be disposed. ose of treatment and aer a few encounters twenty one chapters were important to me. with past victims finds himself at the But they were not important to my New HOME of a radical writer (who ironically York publisher. e book he brought out had also been a victim of Alex’s, but does had only chapters. He insisted on cut- not recognize him) who is strongly opposed ting out the twenty-first. […] Now when to the new treatment the government has Stanley Kubrick made his film – though
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he made it in England – he followed the work orange’, that being the queerest thing American version and, so it seemed to his imaginable (something that on the surface audiences outside America, ended the was normal, but inside was artificial and story somewhat prematurely. […] Read- unnatural). He had saved up the expression ers of the twenty-first chapter must decide for years, hoping some day to use it as a for themselves whether it enhances the title. When he began to write the book, he book they presumably know or is really recognised the opportunity to do it: he saw a discardable limb. I meant the book to that this title would be appropriate for a end in this way, but my aesthetic judge- story about the application of Pavlovian, or ment may have been faulty. Writers are mechanical laws to an organism which, like rarely their own best critics, nor are critics.’ a fruit, was capable of colour and sweetness. (Burgess ) (compare: Lund ) e omission of the twenty-first chap- Secondly, Burgess noticed the similarity ter resulted, according to Burgess, in the in sound and spelling between the English reduction of the novel from fiction to fable, word ‘orange’ and the Malay word ‘orang’, something untrue to life. Human beings which is also interesting because of its change, and Burgess wanted his protagonist meaning: ‘But I had also served in Malaya, to mature rather than stay in adolescent where the word for a human being is orang.’ aggression. e twenty-first chapter shows (Lund ) Hence, this particular clockwork this change, and the chapter is important orange, introduced into the novel as a title, because it includes Alex’s mature assess- is human on the surface, but inside is arti- ment of his own adolescence and shows the ficial and unnatural. importance of maturity to moral freedom However, not only the title was care- which is Burgess’s main point. (compare: fully worked out by Burgess. e name of Clark : ) the antihero is Alex, short for Alexander, which means ‘defender of men’. Alex has other connotations – a lex: a law (unto e title himself); a lex(is): a vocabulary (of his own); a (in Greek) lex: without a law. As ‘A clockwork orange’ has been understood many other novelists, Burgess tended to and explained in many different ways. is give close attention to the names he at- unconventional and ‘uncollocative’ expres- tached to his characters. ‘Alex is a rich and sion encourages to search for its most prob- noble name, and I intended its possessor able meaning and purpose of its use as a to be sympathetic, pitiable, and insidiously title (for the wide interpretation of the title, identifiable with us, as opposed to them. But, related to the plot of the book, see: Clark in a manner, I digress.’ (Lund ) ). However many the suggestions and attempts there are, undoubtedly, the most Nadsat convincing seems to be the interpretation given by the author himself. He admits that Burgess spoke eight languages, not includ- the book was called A Clockwork Orange ing English. And not surprisingly, he tried for various reasons. Firstly, he had always to use his wide knowledge and skills while loved the Cockney phrase ‘queer as a clock- creating the world of his book.
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As it has been mentioned above, the of the roots are Slav. Propaganda. Sublimi- unique feature of A Clockwork Orange nal penetration’. (Burgess : ) is its language, or a slang which is a tool or device of communication among the In his essay entitled e Clockwork Co- characters. e novel abandons normal nundrum (http://westsood.fortunecity.com/ language (which is another modernistic chloe//conundrum.htm), Laurence Mala- feature, since, as the Modernists believed, fry draws attention to yet another aspect of the ‘normal language’ could not always the political function of the special language convey meaning anyway) and is written used by the protagonists: ‘e propaganda in ‘Nadsat’, a teenage argot made up by the was accomplished through the ingenious author. It is usually described as English use of nadsat, the teenage dialect used by with a polyglot of slang terms and jargon Alex in the book, to downplay the actual thrown in. e main source of these addi- crimes Alex was committing. e argot tional terms is Russian, even though there itself, according to Burgess, was widely are also contributions from Gypsy, French, based on Slavic words. Russia being the Cockney/English slang and other miscel- center of much anxiety at that time, would laneous sources such as Malay and Dutch be a prime example of suspicion for propa- (possibly via the Dutch influence on Malay) ganda techniques, much like the Germany and the author’s own imagination. Burgess of the ’s. e fact that the book was used approximately two hundred and fiy taken from a juvenile point of view, which ‘nadsat’ words to convey his story (their whether we like it or not is associated with meaning has been clarified in the Glossary naiveté and innocence, also downplayed the of Nadsat Language, added to the book). violent acts which were occurring. In the e large number of Russian words in movie it is not as easy to identify with Alex, Nadsat has been explained in the book as due to the fact that he is portrayed as an being due to ‘propaganda and subliminal adult. I then took notice of the parallel to penetration techniques’. is is probably this „power of propaganda” theme, which because of the cold war which in Bur- was illustrated through out section two. gess’s world ‘has apparently shied onto Alex is given the Reclamation Treatment, overdrive’. (compare Anthony Burgess, http: the use of propaganda films and drugs for //www.levity.com/corduroy/burgess/htm) reflex conditioning, which addresses fears e fragment quoted below provides us of brain washing evident in that era. For with justification for such interpretation. me this is a much stronger theme than the It comes in a conversation of the doctors freedom of choice one, which I addressed examining Alex: earlier in the essay. I am not certain exactly what Burgess was trying to show with this ‘ese grahzny sodding veshches that book, all I know is that it revealed to me come out of my gulliver and my plott,’ I what propaganda can accomplish if it is said, ‘that’s what it is.’ done correctly.’ ‘Quaint’, said Dr Brodsky, like smiling, Apart from the purely political role of ‘the dialect of the tribe. Do you know any- Nadsat, Malafry has named yet another thing of its provenance, Branom?’ one: the futuristic language has been in- ‘Odd bits of old rhyming slang’, said Dr troduced into the text in order to conceal or Branom… ‘A bit of gipsy talk, too. But most to downplay the violence and criminal acts
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committed by the characters. e reader Hence, Nadsat can be described as a pays attention to the language and separate device which makes an opportunity for the words, trying to understand their meaning. author to involve the reader in the events e presented events, however cruel and and activities presented in the novel. As a horrifying, recede into the background. result, they become a part of a game prepared Another function of the ‘newspeak’ is to by Burgess, which seems to be the essential provide the reader with the impression that function of the created language. they became a part of the world presented in the novel. Consequently, this gives them a sense of intimacy with Alex and his ‘droogs’ A Clockwork Orange in Polish due to the fact that the adults in the novel can not understand what the teenagers are Translation is usually understood as render- saying. As it has been pointed out by Alicia ing some contents expressed in L₁ (source Large-Fesi (), ‘there is also a disruption language) in L₂ (target language). As an of the linear flow of narrative aside from example we can quote here the definition this private language; Alex tells the story proposed by Wojtasiewicz: ‘the mechanism in a remembering type sequence, but oen of translating a text a formulated in the interjects with thoughts or questions posed language A into the language B means directly at the reader.’ formulating the text b in the language B is particular bond between Alex so that the reader would have the same or and the reader was also underlined in the similar associations as the reader of the text article published in e New York Times in a’ (Wojtasiewicz : ). (March ): ‘e “hip” language that However, there are cases when also a Alex and his “droogs” (gangmates) speak third language is involved. As Adam Sumera is a further development in the lingo of claims in his study of the translation strate- the outsiders. It lights up page aer page gies, ‘the translator’s work seems relatively in pin-ball machine fashion, and midway simple when the original contains parts through the book you can understand it written in L₃; most oen it is the case of as well as Alex. Fighting a rebellious droog, some characters speaking a foreign lan- Alex says, “I had just ticklewickled his fin- guage. If a translation into the reader’s gers with my brava (knife), and there he native language is supplied in the original → was looking at the malenky (little) dribble (i.e., L₃ L₁), the obvious thing to do is to → of krovvy (blood) that was reddening out follow suit in the translation (L₃ L₂). If
in the lamplight.” is device could easily the original sticks to L₃ only, the translator have become a bore, but Mr. Burgess han- must consider whether to preserve this dles it with intelligence and for a purpose. pattern or perhaps additionally supply a e neologisms are provocative, their translation into L₂ (maybe as a footnote). logic oen ironically apparent (cigarettes is addition may result from a different are called “cancers”), and by the end of the relation between the pairs of languages in book one is le with a satisfactory sense question (L₃ — L₁ v. L₃ — L₂); for example, of having learned a language and become a French text may be easier to understand part of an in-group, which is exactly Mr. for the average English reader than for a Burgess’s purpose.’ Polish one as French is the most commonly
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known foreign language in Britain whereas version of A Clockwork Orange could be in Poland it is English and German that are understood as a pessimistic presage of the best known ones.’ (Sumera : ) forthcoming changes in Polish language.
L₃ may be embedded in the very struc- Aer the collapse of the political system ture of a literary work, as in Burgess’s A based on socialism, Russian language lost Clockwork Orange. e propaganda purpose its status as an ‘international language’ (in of using in created slang mostly words with the Eastern Europe) and as an obliga- Russian roots may suggest the necessity of tory subject to be taught. In turn, it was a political reading of the book. As a result, English that became the language of the the translator could feel forced to stick to future. Stiller used this fact while prepar- Russian elements even if in the target lan- ing his second translation for publishing. guage they play quite a different role than Even this version, however, is not void of in the original. However, the author himself non-linguistic associations. It is still tightly does not seem to treat this aim as crucial for connected with socio-political events and understanding his own work. According to turning points in the history of Poland. Robert Stiller, who translated A Clockwork In the original text as well as in both Orange into Polish, in a letter to the trans- Polish versions of the novel, there are plenty lator Burgess suggested the use of English of neologisms, barbarisms to such a degree elements in the Polish version (cf. Stiller’s that on each page we can find even several aerword, Burgess : ). tens of them. As an example, we can look Stiller is the author of two Polish versions at a passage from the novel and compare of A Clockwork Orange. His original trans- it with its equivalents from the versions R lation, entitled Mechaniczna pomarañcza (based on Russian) and A (based on English (), uses Russian influences, while the – angielski in Polish): alternative Polish text of the novel, Nakręca- na pomarañcza (published in , although there was no law yet against prodding written in parallel with the Russian version), some of the new veshches which they used is based on English. to put into the old moloko, so you could Stiller realised how difficult would be peet it with vellocet or synthemesc or to create the third language embedded drencrom or one or two other veshches in Polish language, culture and political which would give you a nice quiet hor- associations. For the political significance rorshow fieen minutes admiring Bog of the original text, it seemed appropriate And All His Holy Angels and Saints in to use Russian as a basis for slang words. your le shoe with lights bursting all over However, in Polish history, Russian played your mozg () incomparably more serious ideological Na spirtne nie mieli pozwolenia, ale role than in any non-Slav country and its jeszcze nie wyszedł ukaz, e nielzia robić use resulted from the political influence of tych nowych sztuczek, co je dobawiali do Russia and the Soviet Union. Apart from regularnego mleczka, więc mogłeś sobie w that, for a long time Russian language was nim kazać na przykład welocet albo syn- taught as an obligatory subject at school. temesk, albo drenkrom, albo jeszcze jeden is situation affected Polish people’s men- czy drugi taki maraset, że miałeś od niego tality and caused prejudice and bias against rozkoszne, ujutne piętnaście minut sam their neighbour. Consequently, the Russian na sam podziwiając Pana Boga i Wsiech
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Jego Aniołów i Świętych w lewym bucie i I started to feel that soon I might start to do tego błyski wybuchu na cały mózg, no feel that I might soon start feeling just a po prostu horror shoł! (R). malenky bit better, and then I was brought Licencji na sprytozę nie mieli, ale some nice hot chai with plenty of moloko jeszcze nie wyszło prawo, że jest forbiden and sakar and, peeting that, I knew that tu seil te nowe dyngs, co je miksowali do that like horrible nightmare was in the regularnego mleka, więc mogłeś sobie w past and all over. () nim kazać for instens welocet albo syn- Więc położyli mnie do łóżka i wciąż temesk, albo drenkrom, albo jeszcze jeden czułem się chory i obolawszy ale nie czy drugi taki drag, że miałeś od niego roz- śpiący, no i wkrótce zacząłem się czuć tak kosz i spoko na piętnaście minut sam na jakbym stosunkowo rychło mógł poczuć, sam podziwiając Pana Boga i Wszystkich że już wkrótce mógłbym zacząć się czuć Jego Aniołów i Świętych w lewym bucie i może ciut lepiej, i wtedy przynieśli mi do tego błyski wybuchu na cały mózg, no fajną czaszkę gorącego czaju z nienaj- po prostu horror szoł! (A). gorszą dobawką starego mleka i cukru (to znaczy sacharu) i dopiero, pochli- It is not difficult to see that in version A pawszy to, przyszedłem do świadomości, Stiller replaces almost every word borrowed że ten użas i koszmar minęły i już ich nie from Russian with its English equivalent ma. (R ). whereas in his first version he tried to Więc położyli mnie do łóżka i ołdy work out a more original version, using tajm czułem się chory i obolały ale nie the equivalents more freely. śpiący, no i za szort ynaf tajm zacząłem Stiller makes use of Russian and English się czuć tak jakbym stosunkowo rychło words in a spelling that is quite different mógł poczuć że już wkrótce mógłbym from the original and results from writing zacząć się czuć może ciut elitł abitow down their spoken forms in a way following lepiej, i wtedy przynieśli mi fajny kap Polish spelling rules, like in the following gorącego czaju z big dodatkiem starego example: mleka i szugru (to znaczy cukru) i dopiero, pochlipawszy to, doszedłem do świadomo- You’d lay there aer you’d drunk the ści, że ta groza i koszmar minęły i już ich old moloko and then you got the messel nie ma. (A ) that everything all round you was sort of in the past. () However, at some points the Polish Głotnąłeć sobie tego mleka i leżysz, i translations seem to have gone too far from dostajesz takiej prydumki, że wszystko, co the original. is applies especially to the cię otacza, już jakby przeszło. (R) vulgarization of the language: the register Drynknąłeś se tego mleka i leżysz, i used in Polish translations is definitely dostajesz takie ajdyja, że wszystko, co cię lower than that of the novel in English. otacza, już jakby przeszło. (A). Let us compare the Burgess’s text:
or: we sat in the Korova Milkbar making up our rassoodocks what to do with the So I was put into the bed and still evening, a flip dark chill winter bastard felt bolnoy but could not sleep, but soon though dry ()
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with its Polish versions: A Clockwork Orange in Russian
siedzieliśmy w Barze Krowa zastana- It is not difficult to imagine a case where L wiąc się, co zrobić z tak pięknie rozpoczę- is present only in the source text but not in tym, a wieczór był chujnia mrok ziąb zima the target text. An example might be some sukin kot choć suchy. (R) foreign quotation that has been rendered in siedzieliśmy w mleczarni Cow Bar the language of translation – either because zastanawiając się, co zrobić z tak pięknie the translator decided to make the reading rozpoczętym, a iwning był na dziob i mrok easier for the target text reader or because ziąb synowe bycz zima choć suchy. (A) that foreign passage is in fact expressed in
L in the source text. (compare: Sumera e English ‘bastard’ is qualified in the : ) Collins Concise Dictionary (: ) as e latter case is represented by an- an informal and offensive. ‘Chujnia’ and other Slavonic language version of the ‘sukin kot’, although euphemised, refer to novel. When translated into Russian, this swear words. On the other hand, the second peculiar feature (slang based originally on Polish version contains a stronger expres- Russian words) is lost. e only solution sion, hidden behind the structure ‘synowe might be to use a different language as a bycz’, where the sound similarity to the basis for creating a new slang, analogously English ‘son of a bitch’ is evident. to the Polish versions. However, an author e same feature could be observed also of the Russian translation has chosen a in the following passages: different strategy. Boshn’ak decided to replace the original ese were supposed to be the names of slang words from the Burgess’s text with the different malchicks they’d spatted with Russian colloquial words and expressions. before they were fourteen. () Such a solution is unexplainable, since A to miało znaczyć, że niby z tymi another, much better strategy seems to be malczykami się przedziobały, zanim im obvious. Russia and the USA belong to the stuknęło czternaście lat. (R) opposite powers; therefore, slang based on A to miało znaczyć, że niby z tymi smy- English roots embedded in Russian text kami się przefukały, zanim im stuknęło would create a world close to the Russian czternaście lat. (A) reality. Apart from that, tendency to use English language in everyday life is much is time, however, the original fragment stronger in Russia than in any other Euro- does not include any dirty word. In version pean country. Hence, slang used as a tool R Stiller decided to use a colloquial verb of communication among teenagers would ‘przedziobaæ siê’ as an equivalent of Burgess’s sound more natural for the Russian reader, Russian ‘spat’ with somebody’ while in the if it was based on English words. second translation he went much further Unfortunately, the Russian version of using the word ‘przefukaæ siê’ – the sound slang lacks all the effects present in English counterpart of ‘to fuck’. and Polish texts. e only sign of a particu- lar kind of language spoken by the charac- ters is the use of the Latin alphabet instead
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of the Cyrillic one, which means nothing if e last example needs some further ex- we consider spoken language. planation. At first glance it would suggest that Let us compare the two versions, original Bashn’ak used some borrowings from the and the Russian ones, by looking at the fol- English language, such as ‘krasting’. However, lowing passages: when we analyse the passage more carefully and compare it with its English equivalent, • but at this time I’d got to thinking it it will become obvious that the translator was a cowardly sort of a veshch, O my assimilated the Russian words worked out brothers. () and modified by Burgess himself. • но в тот вечер мне вдруг подумалось, что это все-таки подлая shtuka, выход для трусов, бллин. () While analysing translation of the slang, it • You’d lay there aer you’d drunk the old would be interesting to compare how the moloko and then you got the messel that authors of three language versions of A everything all round you was sort of in Clockwork Orange constructed a word play the past. () based on a name, embedded in the very • Выпьешь это хитрое молочко, сва- structure of the communication device. лишься, а в bashke одно: все вокруг e name of one of the boys is Dim, bred и hrenovina, и вообще все это уже which is not a typical English name, like когда-то было. () Pete, Georgie or even Alex – the names of the other characters. Dim, probably short • Our pockets were full of deng, so there for Dymitr, was used by Burgess for at was no real need from the point of view least two reasons: it comes from Russian of crasting any more pretty polly to tol- language and culture, and makes it possi- chock some old veck in an alley and viddy ble to create a word-play with the English him swim in his blood while we counted adjective ‘dim’ (‘unintelligent’) – a particu- the takings and divided by four, nor to lar characterization of a person. It can be do the ultra-violent on some shivering proved by the following passages: starry grey-haired ptitsa in a shop and go smecking off with the till’s guts. () my three droogs, that is Pete, Georgie, • Карманы у нас ломились от babok, а and Dim, Dim being really dim () стало быть, к тому, чтобы сделать в ‘Makes you feel real dobby, that does,’ переулке toltshok какому-нибудь ста- said Pete. You could viddy that poor old рому hanyge, obtriasti его и смотреть, Dim the dim didn’t quite pony all that, but как он плавает в луже крови, пока he said nothing for fear of being called мы подсчитываем добычу и делим ее gloopy and a domeless wonderboy. () на четверых, ничто нас, в общем-то, особенно не понуждало, как ничто In both Polish versions of the novel Stiller не понуждало и к тому, чтобы делать used here the same word ‘jołop’ as a proper krasting в лавке у какой-нибудь тря- name as well as a description of a character. сущейся старой ptitsy, а потом rvatt It is necessary to underline that Jołop does kogti с содержимым кассы. (–) not belong to the category of proper nouns
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in Polish language. According to the dic- As a basis for the structure he used the tionary (Słownik języka polskiego pod red. proper name Тём (‘Tom’) and its sound Szymczaka : I/), jołop (jełop), offen- similarity to the adjective темный (‘dull’). sive, means: ‘someone dim, dall, slow-witted, As a result, the Russian translation provides mutton-headed’. Let us compare two versions the target language reader with the play on (R and A) of both passages: words as funny and effective as it does the original text of the novel. • trzech moich kumpli, to znaczy Pete, Georgie i Jołop, a Jołop to znaczy po nastajaszczy jołop. (R) Conclusion trzech moich paluchów, to znaczy Pete, Georgie i Jołop, a Jołop to znaczy Slang is usually described as a word or niedlapucu a ryjli jołop. (A) phrase ‘that is not appropriate to the standard form of a language or to formal • — Aż się człowiek czuje charoszy, contexts and may be restricted as to social nie? — powiada Pete. A stary bidny Jołop status or distribution’ (Collins Concise widać, że niezupełnie poniał, ale nic nie Dictionary : ). In the light of what bałaknął, bo się cykał, żebyśmy go znów has been said in this article, we can add nie nazywali durak i cudowne dziecko bez to the definition that in some particular baszki. (R) circumstances or contexts slang may play — Aż się człowiek poczuwa dobry, a futuristic function and refer to a certain nie? — powiada Pete. A stary bidny Jołop political and social situation as well as to a widać, że nie całkiem anderstend, ale nic certain language tendencies. nie spiknął, bo miał frajt, abyśmy go znów e process of translation of A Clock- nie przezywali tępolec i wunder kind nie- work Orange require of a translator crea- domózgi. (A) tivity and patience while searching for the best solution available. e three transla- Contrary to the Polish versions, in which tion versions presented above show how Stiller did not manage to preserve the word different strategies may be used and how play, the solution applied by Boshn’ak different choices may be made when the seems successful: translator is expected to create the ‘third language’ in the structure of a target lan- • три моих druga, то есть Пит, guage text. Джорджик и Тём, причем Тём был и Robert Stiller claims to be working on в самом деле парень темный, в смысле the second alternative version of the transla- glupyi () tion, this time based on German language (Burgess : ). Undoubtedly, this • Ну и ну, прям что в самом деле text will associate with different historical какие-то мы dobery, – сказал Пит. events connected with the relationship be- Причем явно наш темный Тём ни в tween Poland and Germany (especially the зуб ногой не vjezzhajet, но он помалки- II World War). It would be also interesting, вал, чтобы мы не назвали его лишний however, to analyse a new version of slang раз glupym и bezmozglym. () from the linguistic point of view.
21 Ginter.indd 304 27.11.2003, 18:33 ANNA GINTER SLANG AS THE THIRD LANGUAGE IN THE PROCESS OF TRANSLATION... резюме Сленг как третий язык в процессе перевода: Заводной апельсин в переводе на Σ польский и русский языки
Настоящая статья представляет собой попытку анализа способов перевода сленга в тексте Берджесса Заводной апельсин, учитывая прежде всего нелингвистические факторы. Предметом исследований являются здесь переводы на польский и русский языки. Автор статьи показывает сложность процесса перевода сленга – языка сотворенного как средство коммуникации между членами молодежного ганга. В тексте подлинника Берджесс в большой степени использовал русский язык как источник для образования новых слов. Этот искусственный язык, впитанный в конструкцию романа, вызывает ассоциации, относящиеся к политической ситуации во время Холодной войны. Роберт Стиллер, автор двух переводов на польский язык, предложил два языковых варианта романа: в первом из них он подражает автору подлинника, применяя русский язык в качестве источника; второй, однако, следуя политическим изменениям в истории Польши, основывает на английском языке. Каждый из этих текстов вызывает у польского читателя особые ассоциации, совершенно другие чем текст оригинала у английского читателя. Роман Берджесса на русском языке представляет совсем другой подход к проблеме перевода «третьего языка». Следует подчеркнуть, что Бошняк оказался перед необыкновенно трудной задачей: достичь того эффекта, который Берджесс достиг с помощью русского языка (ощущаемого как иностранный). Кажется, что переводчик должен образовать здесь сленг основан на английском языке, который занимает противоположную позицию по сравнению с русским. Бошняк, однако, отказался от применения в тексте нового языка и использовал лиш слова и выражения разговорного стиля. Многочисленные примеры, приводимые в тексте статьи, подтверждают взаимное наложение лингвистических и нелингвистических аспектов, и свидетельствуют о том, что процесс перевода требует от переводчика изобретательности и терпения в поисках наиболее соответствующего языкового эквивалента.
Source texts:
Бёрджесс : Бёрджесс, Энтони. Заводной апельсин, пер. В. Бошняка – Москва: Изд. ЭКСМО -Пресс. Burgess : Burgess, Anthony. A Clockwork Orange – London: Penguin Books. Burgess : Burgess, Anthony. Mechaniczna pomarañcza, przeł. R. Stiller – Kraków: „Etiuda”. Burgess : Burgess, Anthony. Nakręcana pomarañcza, przeł. R. Stiller – Kraków: „Etiuda”.
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Bibliography:
Anthony Burgess: Anthony Burgess – http://www.levity.com/corduroy/burgess.htm Book ingie: A Clockwork Orange: Book ingie: A Clockwork Orange – http://www.tiac.net/users/kennube/books/clockwrk/htm Burgess : Burgess, Anthony. A Clockwork Orange Resucked – http://www.geocities.com/Athens//sn.htm Clark : Clark, C. B. ree Kinds of Clockwork Oranges – http://www.geocities.com/Athens//ce.htm Large-Fesi : Large-Fesi, A. D. ree Kinds of clockwork Oranges. Modernistic Features of: A Clockwork Orange (European Version) – Anthony Burgess – http://www.geocities.com/Athens//ce.htm Lund: Lund, C. Anthony Burgess about A Clockwork Orange – http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum//aco_ab.htm Malafry: Malafry, L. e Clockwork Conundrum – http://westsood.fortunecity.com/chloe//conundrum.htm Sumera : Sumera, Adam, Source language, target language and the third one – In: Kubiñski W., Kubiñska O., Wolañski T.Z. (red.). Przekładając nieprzekładalne – Gdańsk: Wyd. Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego – ss. –. e New York Times : Books of e Times, „e New York Times”, March – In: http://www.nytimes.com/books////home/burgess-orange.html Wojtasiewicz : Wojtasiewicz, O. Wstęp do teorii tłumaczenia, Warszawa: Tepis.
Dictionaries:
Collins Concise Dictionary : Makins, Marian (ed.). Collins Concise Dictionary – Great Britain: Harper Collins Publishers. Szymczak : Szymczak, Mieczysław (red.). Słownik języka polskiego – Warszawa: PWN .
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