czech

Two other papers on translation shifts by Czech writers were published in
the influential volume The Nuture of Translation: Essays on the Theory and
Practice of Literury Translation (Holmes 1970). FrantiSek Miko concentrates
on discussing different theoretical aspects of what he terms 'shifts of expression'
or style in translation. He maintains (Miko 1970: 66) that retaining the
expressive character or style of the ST is the main and perhaps only goal of
the translator. Miko suggests an analysis of style under categories such as operativity, iconicity, subjectivity, affectation, prominence and contrast. In
the same volume, Anton PopoviP (1970: 85) emphasizes the importance of
the shift of expression concept:
An analysis of the shifts of expression, applied to all levels of the text, will bring to
light the general system of the translation, with its dominant and subordinate
elements.
This is an important development. Shift analysis can be seen as a way of
influencing the system of norms which govern the translation process, a
concept which is discussed in more detail in chapter 7. PopoviP (p. 801, in
terms very similar to LevG1s, relates shifts to the 'literal vs. free' debate,
considering them to arise from the tension between the original text and the
translation ideal, and to be the result of the translator's conscious efforts
faithfully to reproduce the aesthetic totality of the original. A clarification of
these principles is to be seen in Popovii-'s short Dictionary for the Analysis of
Literary Translation (1976), where the entry 'adequacy of translation' is
defined as synonymous with both 'faithfulness to the original' and 'stylistic
equivalence in translation'. Stylistic equivalence is itself defined (p. 6) as
'functional equivalence of elements in both original and translation aiming
at an expressive identity with an invariant of identical meaning'. However, in
their articles neither PopoviE nor Miko applies the ideas in detail to the
analysis of translated texts.

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.