<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>The majority of translations from Polish into Welsh published so far are the works of John Elwyn Jones (1921-2008), who learned Polish in a German prisoner-of-war camp during World War II. His translations include <italic>Storiâu Byr o’r Bwyleg</italic>, a collection of short stories by two of the classic authors of the Polish Positivist period, Bolesław Prus and Henryk Sienkiewicz. This paper analyses two stories from the collection, <italic>Ianco’r Cerddor</italic> “Janko Muzykant” and <italic>Y Wasgod</italic> “Kamizelka”, within a comparative functional model of translation criticism. The texts are analysed in the light of lexical-semantic, cultural and aesthetic codes. A great number of modifications to the source texts introduced in the Welsh translation places them on the border between free translations and adaptations. While some of the alterations are tokens of a specific translation strategy, others can be regarded as translation errors. Although the Welsh version retains the primary message of the original stories, much of their culture-specific dimension, historical context and artistic value is not conveyed in the translation.</p></abstract>

The majority of translations from Polish into Welsh published so far are the works of John Elwyn Jones (1921-2008), who learned Polish in a German prisoner-of-war camp during World War II. His translations include Storiâu Byr o’r Bwyleg, a collection of short stories by two of the classic authors of the Polish Positivist period, Bolesław Prus and Henryk Sienkiewicz. This paper analyses two stories from the collection, Ianco’r Cerddor “Janko Muzykant” and Y Wasgod “Kamizelka”, within a comparative functional model of translation criticism. The texts are analysed in the light of lexical-semantic, cultural and aesthetic codes. A great number of modifications to the source texts introduced in the Welsh translation places them on the border between free translations and adaptations. While some of the alterations are tokens of a specific translation strategy, others can be regarded as translation errors. Although the Welsh version retains the primary message of the original stories, much of their culture-specific dimension, historical context and artistic value is not conveyed in the translation.

Stories from Poland by a Welsh Soldier–John Elwyn Jones’s Translations

Studia Celtica Posnaniensia

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"Stories from Poland by a Welsh Soldier\u2013John Elwyn Jones\u2019s Translations"}

The majority of translations from Polish into Welsh published so far are the works of John Elwyn Jones (1921-2008), who learned Polish in a German...

Stories from Poland by a Welsh Soldier–John Elwyn Jones’s Translations

Published Online: Nov 23, 2016

Page range: 15 - 38

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/scp-2016-0002

Keywords
Polish-Welsh translation, John Elwyn Jones, Bolesław Prus, Henryk Sienkiewicz, translation criticism

© 2016 Marta Klonowska, published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Stories from Poland by a Welsh Soldier–John Elwyn Jones’s Translations

Published Online: Nov 23, 2016

Page range: 15 - 38

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/scp-2016-0002

KeywordsPolish-Welsh translation, John Elwyn Jones, Bolesław Prus, Henryk Sienkiewicz, translation criticism

© 2016 Marta Klonowska, published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Polish-Welsh translation, John Elwyn Jones, Bolesław Prus, Henryk Sienkiewicz, translation criticism