Department of English and American Studies

Faculty of Classical and Modern Philology

St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia

Theory and Practice of Translation

Term paper on:

Translating Realia
Strategies for Translating Personal Proper Names in
Children’s Literature

Mihayla Milenkova, FN: 25301

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Mihayla Milenkova, FN: 25301

Translating Realia
Strategies for Translating Personal Proper Names in Children’s Literature

The paper starts with a brief examination of what the realia are, what makes the realia
problematic in translation and then the paper’s focus will fall on what kinds of strategies are
used to conquer these problems. The discussion is based on Florin and Vlahov’s ideas on the
translation of realia and in particular, the use of Florin’s classification of strategies for
translating realia when rendering personal proper names in children’s literature.

The researchers Vlahov and Florin are among the first to use the term realia in
translation studies and they defined it as follows:

“…реалии ще наречем онези думи от народния език, които означават

предмети, понятия, явления, имена типични за географските условия,
културата, материалния бит или обществено-историческите особености на
даден народ (племе, народностна група) или страна, поради което те са
носители на подчертан местен, национален или исторически колорит и нямат
точни съответствия в други езици.” (Vlahov, Florin, 1969, p.8 of the electronic
PDF version of the article)

It becomes clear form the definition of realia that these are culture-specific items that
have no equivalent in other cultures. Since realia are untranslatable as a rule, therefore we
ought to employ different approach, other than translation proper when we render it in the
target language. Culturally-bound expressions like realia are among the prominent translation
problems, especially when translation occurs between two distinct languages like English and
Bulgarian which are considerably separated both linguistically and culturally.
Yet, we ought to ask ourselves if there are any set strategies that a translator can
employ to tackle realia despite the obvious specificity of the issue?
As with other questions of relative character there is no universal approach meant to
solve all problems with realia either. For that reason I will discuss only some of the general
strategies that can be of use to translators when faced with realia based on Vlahov and
Florin’s research.
In their work Непревoдимото в превода (1969), Vlahov and Florin provide a
comprehensive list of the different types of realia, but in this paper I intend to focus on one
particular type only, namely the proper names and especially the personal proper names as
they appear in children’s literature. According to this classification, personal proper names
are considered to be Political and social realia1 (В: Обществени и исторически реалии) and
are to be found in subsection 2. Proper names, titles, forms of address (лица, титли,
обръщения etc.) (Vlahov, Florin, 1969, p.6 of the electronic PDF version of the article).
The translation of proper names differs in adult and children’s literature because
children are perceived as a special audience that requires familiar cultural items. The present
article limits itself to the analysis of translating proper names given to the literary characters
in children’s books, which are usually semantically, historically, geographically or culturally
loaded, which can bear certain connotations and meaningful phonological features, various
allusions indicating sex, age, playfulness of language, all of which contribute to the
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Since I had the original text available only in Bulgarian, I provided my own translation of
В: Обществени и исторически реалии as classified by Vlahov and Florin.

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characterization and which need to be preserved in the translation. On the whole children’s
literature is habitually translated freely, adapted and manipulated in many ways which makes
it a perfect battleground for different approaches.
I chose to follow Florin’s classification (Zlateva, 1993, p.125-6) in which the general
strategies employed when translating realia are two: transcription or substitution, where
substitution is further subdivided into: introducing neologisms, approximate translation,
functional equivalent/analogues, descriptions/explanations and contextual translation. I will
not focus on the last two since they are not particularly common in rendering proper names
realia.
Thus, the present article will now focus on each of the types and subtypes separately
and will provide examples of these translation strategies as applied to the translation of
personal proper names in children’s books translated into Bulgarian.
I will start my discussion with TRANSCRIPTION as one of the major strategies used
in rendering realia. It is important to mention that transcription as a method of rendering is an
attempt to preserve the alien element through the target language means. This means that it is
a strategy of foreignization, while the other major method (substitution) usually domesticates
the alien element so that it fits more naturally in the target text universe. If we follow Florin in
his arguments, transcription amounts to a “mechanical transfer” when realia is concerned, and
it appears to be the “easiest and therefore not always most satisfactory method” (Zlateva,
1993, p.125).
In my view, transcription as a method of rendering realia is appropriate when we are
faced with personal proper names which do not bear any additional meanings, allusions or
connotations that might be lost and also when we have chosen to preserve the foreign
element. Here are some examples of transcribed proper names:

1. The English original (Flopsy, Mopsy) rendered in Bulgarian as (Флопси, Мопси) (Book:
Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter, пр. А. Шурбанов, 1988)

2. The English original (Peter Pan) rendered in Bulgarian as (Питър Пан) (Book: Peter Pan
by J. M. Barrie)

In both examples the transcription is adequately applied as a strategy since the names
do not display any additional meaning that needs to be preserved.
The other major strategy in rendering personal proper names realia is through
DIFFERENT KINDS OF SUBSTITUTION all of which, as I have mentioned earlier, aim
at domestication of greater or lesser extent.
The first subtype of substitution according to Florin is the introduction of neologisms.
Here we include calques, semantic neologisms, newly-minted compounds and the creation of
new words on etymological basis. Here are some examples of such renderings:

1. The English original (Cotton-tail) rendered in Bulgarian as (Памук-Опашанчо) (Book:

Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter; пр. анонимен, сп. Детска радост, 1924-25 г, с. 13-15)

2. The English original (Humbug) rendered in Bulgarian as (Мрънбър) (Book: The

Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, not translated in Bulgarian, translation provided by
myself)

In the first example we have a calque, which in its current form, in my view is not very
appropriate for a book intended for really small children. In the translation of A. Shurbanov
from 1988 for example, Cotton-tail is rendered as “Пухчо”, which lacks the formal
characteristics of the original and yet serves the purpose of the book better. This is also an
example of the fact that we should always have the intended reader in mind when translating
and that quite often the original form has to be sacrificed for the intended effect.

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 The second example is a newly-minted compound which to a great extent renders the
original and manages to convey the important characteristics of the character (a bug that
complains all the time).
The second subtype of substitutions is the approximate translation. In this case the
translator communicates the general, rather than the exact content of the realia and this, as
with all types of rendering leads to loss of local colour.
This strategy is appropriate when the realia we are faced with is not very crucial for the
text’s effect. In the case with personal proper names in children’s literature we observe the
following examples:

1. The English original (Noodler) rendered in Bulgarian as (Макарон) (Book: Peter Pan by
J. M. Barrie)

In Peter Pan there is a pirate called Noodler (a common word used as a personal
name) which lacks a specific equivalent in Bulgarian. Maybe the closest will be “Спагетко”,
but given the fact that the character is a pirate, the characterization points to the word
“Макарон” as the better alternative. Besides, the general term in Bulgarian for all sorts of
noodles is “макарони”, which makes “Макарон” an approximate translation.
The third subtype of substitutions is the analogue, or functional equivalent. This
strategy tries to “achieve the same reaction on the part of the reader, similar to the reaction of
the reader of the original” (Zlateva, 1993, p.126). Speaking of aroused reactions is very tricky,
because there is no objective confirmation of distinguishing the reactions of one reader from
those of another, so we presuppose the existence of a standard reader. The examples of this
strategy are the following:

1. The English original (Peter) rendered in Bulgarian as (Петърчо) (Book: Peter Rabbit by
Beatrix Potter, пр.А.Шурбанов, 1988)

2. The English original (Mr. McGregor) rendered in Bulgarian as (бай Григор) (Book:
Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter; пр. анонимен, сп. Детска радост, 1924-25 г., с. 13-15)

The two examples follow the same strategy of the translator to fully domesticate the
foreign names making them typical of the target language’s universe of reference. The
assumption here is that the effect of the name Peter (the same goes for the rendering of
McGregor) for the English audience, given the fact that there is a convenient Bulgarian
equivalent and that it is a rather widespread name, is the same as “Петър” to the Bulgarian
readers. In this particular case this can be considered as an analogue, but the greatest
disadvantage in this case is the complete loss of local colour, completely hiding the fact that it
is a product of foreign culture.
As you can see from the examples, in most of the cases not only there is no concrete
recipe to render the personal proper name realia, but some examples illustrate more than one
strategy employed at the same time and all the ingredients get spiced up with a bit of
imagination which itself cannot be classified.
On the whole, the translation of personal proper names, especially in children’s
literature is a great challenge for translators. It is impossible to achieve absolute equivalence
because of subtle allusions hidden in the proper names or the specific aspects of the two
languages. Yet, when faced with realia we should always keep in mind that:

“Реалията, каквато и да е тя, представлява неделимо смислово единство със

заобикалящата я словесна среда, както и с произведението като цяло. Тази
именно връзка с контекста и зависимостта от него трябва да бъдат запазени
в превода, а не реалията като такава.” (Vlahov, Florin, 1969, p.31 of the
electronic PDF version of the article).

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References:

Barrie, J.M. Peter Pan (в превод на Б. Атанасов, Т. Атанасова (1981))

Влахов,С.И, Флорин, (1969)С., Непревoдимото в превода; сб.”Изкуството на превода”,
изд.”Народна култура”, the excerpt „Реалии” – a PDF version of the article)
Juster, Norton The Phantom Tollbooth (not translated in Bulgarian, translation provided by
myself)
Potter, Beatrix Peter Rabbit (в превод на А. Шурбанов (1988 г.) и анонимен превод от
сп. Детска радост, 1924-25 г, с. 13-15)
Zlateva, P., (1993) Translation as Social Action: Russian and Bulgarian Perspectives
(Chapter 13 Realia in translation, Sider Florin); Routledge

Bibliography:

Влахов,С.И, Флорин, (1969)С., Непревoдимото в превода; сб.”Изкуството на превода”,

изд.”Народна култура”, the excerpt „Реалии” – a PDF version of the article)
Katan, David, (1999) Translating Cultures, An Introduction for Translators, Interpreters and
Mediators;, (p.7-12; 123-138); St. Jerome Publishing
Oittinen, Rita Translating for Children (ch.3) (2000), N.Y. & London, Garland Publishing.
Zlateva, P., (1993) Translation as Social Action: Russian and Bulgarian Perspectives
(Chapter 13 Realia in translation, Sider Florin); Routledge

* References and Bibliography arranged alphabetically.

* Word count: 1498 (without the footnote and two big quotations in the beginning and in the
end)