Czech writing on translation shifts1

4.3 Czech writing on translation shifts
Other writing on translation shifts in the 1960s and 1970s from the then
Czechoslovakia introduces a literary aspect, that of the 'expressive function'
or style of a text. JiEi Levjr's ground-breaking work on literary translation
(Urngni pr't.kladu, 1963) - translated into German as Die literarische Ubersetzung:
Theorie einer Kunstgattung (Lev? 1969) - links into the tradition of the
Prague school of structural linguistics. In this book, Lev? looks closely at
the translation of the surface structure of the ST and TT, with particular
attention to poetry translation, and sees literary translation as both a reproductive
and a creative labour with the goal of equivalent aesthetic effect (pp.
65-9). He, too, gives a categorization of features of texts where equivalence
may need to be achieved. These are (p. 19): denotative meaning, connotation,
stylistic arrangement, syntax, sound repetition (rhythm, etc.), vowel length
and articulation. Their importance in a translation depends on the type of
text. Thus, vowel length and articulation must not vary in dubbing, while, in
a technical text, denotative meaning is of prime importance and must not
vary. Levj.'s work was crucial for the development of translation theory in
Czechoslovakia before his early death, and it has subsequently influenced
scholars internationally. Another of his papers, 'Translation as a decision
process' (1967/2000), has also had an important impact, relating the 'gradual
semantic shifting' of translators1 linguistic choices to game theory. Hence,
Lev? sees real-world translation work as being 'pragmatic1:
The translator resolves for that one of the possible solutions which promises a
maximum of effect with a minimum of effort. That is to say, he intuitively resolves
for the so-called MINIMAX STRATEGY.