MASARYK UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF EDUCATION Department of English Language and Literature Translation of Names and Proper Names in Terry Pratchett’s works from Discworld Stanislav Chvíla Bachelor Thesis Brno 2017 Supervisor: Mgr. Martin Němec, Ph.D. Declaration Hereby I declare that I worked on this Bachelor thesis on my own, using only the sources listed in the bibliography. I agree with the deposition of my thesis in the library of the Faculty of Education at the Masaryk University where it will be available for further academic purposes. Prohlášení Tímto prohlašuji, že svou bakalářskou práci jsem vypracoval samostatně, s použitím pouze citovaných literárních pramenů, dalších informací a zdrojů v souladu s Disciplinárním řádem pro studenty Pedagogické fakulty Masarykovy univerzity a se zákonem č. 121/2000 Sb., o právu autorském, o právech souvisejících s právem autorským a o změně některých zákonů (autorský zákon), ve znění pozdějších předpisů. Souhlasím s tím, aby moje práce byla uložena na Masarykově Univerzitě v Brně v knihovně pedagogické fakulty k dalším studijním účelům Brno, 26th March, 2017 Stanislav Chvíla Anotace V této bakalářské práci je představen alternativní překlad vlastních jmen a názvů z anglického jazyka do českého v dílech Terryho Pratchetta ze světa Zeměplochy za použití tradičních překladatelských postupů. Bakalářská práce je rozdělena na 2 hlavní části. V první, úvodní části, je představen autor Zeměplochy Terry Pratchett, Jan Kantůrek – autor jediného českého překladu, a také samotný svět Zeměplochy. Následuje obeznámení se základními teoriemi překladu. Druhá, praktická část, je tvořena návrhem alternativního překladu jména postavy, který je následován stručným popisem této postavy, vysvětlením a zdůvodněním mého překladu. Klíčová slova: Terry Pratchett, překlad, překladatelské postupy, fantasy, vlastnosti, rysy, Knittlová, Newmark. Abstract The bachelor thesis presents an alternative translation of proper names and names from English into Czech in Discworld series by Terry Pratchett’ using traditional translation procedures. The bachelor thesis is devided into two main parts. In the introductory part, Terry Pratchett, the author of Discworld, and Jan Kantůrek, the author of the only Czech translation is introduced. Furthermore, basic information about Discworld is presented, and followed by familiarisation with the traditional translation procedures. The practical part is comprised of a suggestion of an alternative translation ensued by a brief description of the character and justification of my translation. Key words: Terry Pratchett, translation, translation procedures, fantasy, features, attributes, Knittlová, Newmark. Acknowledgment I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor Mgr. Martin Němec, Ph.D, for his time, patience and advice. TABLE OF CONTENT 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 1 2 About Pratchett, Discworld and Kantůrek ......................................................... 3 2.1 Sir Terrence David John Pratchett, OBE ..................................................... 3 2.1.1 Pratchett’s Life and Career ................................................................... 3 2.1.2 Awards................................................................................................. 7 2.1.3 Movie, Stage and Radio Adaptations .................................................... 8 2.1.4 Discworld ............................................................................................ 8 2.2 Jan Kantůrek............................................................................................... 9 3 Translation procedures .................................................................................... 11 4 Translation ...................................................................................................... 12 5 Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 39 1 INTRODUCTION In this bachelor thesis, there is provided a translation of selected proper names and names from the fantasy book series “Discworld” by Terry Pratchett. The fictitious Discworld is teeming with made up animals and places, but first and foremost with characters whose names are created in a very original way – they are related to the character’s personal or physical features in most cases. Czech language is one in a very few into which the names were translated, most foreign translators gave up on translating the names because it is quite a demanding job. I have always been fond of fantasy and sci-fi so as soon as I found out about Pratchett’s books popularity the choice of a new book series was easy. I started reading Terry Pratchett’s books at the age of 16, and since then, the more books I have read the more I liked the whole Discworld, characters, and Pratchett’s clever, funny ideas. I read the books in Czech language, and as I have read more books and discovered many new characters, the issue of translating of almost all the names come on my mind, and I began to be interested in the character’s names in English so that I could find out and compare the differences with Czech translation. Soon, I started reading the books I hadn’t read or forgot what they were about in English. Already at that time, while reading, I was trying to make up my own translation of the character’s names. During my studies, I attended a translation seminar which increased my interest in translation matters, encouraged my efforts, and provided an opportunity to try translating the proper names of Discworld characters. Pratchett’s imaginativeness in creating the names leaves a lot of possibilities for working on my own translations in the thesis, even though there already are Kantůrek’s translated versions of the names. I decided to create my own translations by the means of applying standard translation procedures to prove that there is still a lot of potential left for translating in Pratchett’s characters. Each character is briefly introduced as their nature and name are closely connected, therefore it is very important to be familiar with them for easier comprehension of the translation. Moreover, I present the reader the translation procedures which I used, an explanation, and also justification of my 1 translating process. Additionally, I search for possible etymological or cultural connections with the names, and if it is possible, I also state whether the translation was based on the looks or behaviour of the person or on the aspects mentioned above. I very much admire Terry Pratchett’s work, and I think it provides a great challenge for me to create my own translation in the bachelor thesis alongside Kantůrek’s official versions. Though being a beginner in the field of translation, I hope I will be successful in such a challenge and additionally, I believe that working on my own translation will enrich my knowledge of English, and that I will use these newly acquired skills in teaching. 2 2 About Pratchett, Discworld and Kantůrek 2.1 Sir Terrence David John Pratchett, OBE (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) Terry Pratchett was born in Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire. He was an English author of fantasy novels, the most known of which is “Discworld” series that also brought him fame. His books become soon very popular all over the world not a long time after publishing first novels. Nowadays, there has been sold more than 80 million books translated into 37 languages. In 90s, Terry Pratchett used to be the most sold British author, but “Harry Potter” novels by J. K. Rowling took over his prerogative. Nevertheless, “Discworld” books are still number one on the scale of the most frequently stolen books.1 2.1.1 Pratchett’s Life and Career Terrence Pratchett was an only child with idyllic upbringing in the Beaconsfield village. He couldn’t read until the age of 10, but from that point he read everything he could get his hands on. 2 He earned his place in High Wycombe Technical High School where he got his first chance to write: “When he was 13, he went to a science-fiction convention, came back and wrote a fantasy story at school for which his teacher gave him 20/20, and published it in the school magazine. His friends loved it, so he bribed his aunt with a bunch of flowers to type it up, he sent it off to a sci-fi magazine which in turn paid him £14, which bought him a second-hand typewriter and that was it. His path was set”.3 Janet Campbell-Dick was Terry Pratchett’s teacher at High Wycombe Technical High School who had big influence on his early direction. Pratchett himself couldn’t remember her name when he saw her in a picture among colleagues, which was hanging on a corridor wall of his high school during one of his many visits there, but he commented that she was the one who picked out his homework story and started him off. She encouraged Pratchett in writing short stories, some of which were published in the school magazine The Cygnet. 1 "Terry Pratchett". En.Wikipedia.Org, n.d. 25. Mar. 2017, 2 Weale, Sally. "Life On Planet Pratchett". 8 Nov. 2002. The Guardian Web. 2017. 3 Ibid 3 Unfortunately, Janet Campbell-Dick died at the age of 76, unaware of the profound influence she had had on Pratchett. Just two years before her death, he published The Colour of Magic, the first of his Discworld series. However, her husband has identified one particular story line of Pratchett’s, The Wee Free Men, published between 2003 and 2010, which feature a magical monster