Examining personal names in the latest Slovakian translation of the novel entitled St. Peter’s Umbrella by Kálmán Mikszáth

Abstract

Examining personal names in the latest Slovakian translation of the novel entitled St. Peter’s Umbrella by Kálmán Mikszáth  

The paper discusses the translatability and untranslatability of personal names in connection with the latest translation of the novel entitled St. Peter’s Umbrella by Kálmán Mikszáth. Besides the analysis of the personal names themselves, the author also draws conclusions from two interviews given by the translator, Karol Wlachoský. The translation is domestic in character; the method adopted in the case of personal names was mainly substitution. Proper translation and modification were used only rarely. While the translation strategy was not identical in all cases, the principle was held consistently. Undoubtedly, the translator’s aim was to create a balance between the contextual effects and the processing efforts; to make reading the target language text easier for the target reader. The translator added a foreword as well as a few notes to his translation.