Archaisation and ageing of language on the basis of two Polish

Uniwersytet Warszawski
Wydział Lingwistyki Stosowanej i Filologii Wschodniosłowiańskich
Michał Kluz
Nr albumu: 1170
Archaizacja i starzenie się języka na podstawie dwóch
polskich tłumaczeń Podróży Guliwera
Praca magisterska
Na kierunku: Filologia
W zakresie: Lingwistyka Stosowana
Praca wykonana pod kierunkiem
dr hab. Krzysztofa Hejwowskiego
Instytut Lingwistyki Stosowanej
Warszawa, maj 2006
Warsaw University
The Faculty of Applied Linguistics and East-Slavonic Languages
Michał Kluz
Album number: 1170
Archaisation and ageing of language on the basis of two Polish
translations of Gulliver’s Travels
MA Thesis
Field of study: Philology
Scope of study: Applied Linguistics
MA Thesis Supervisor
Krzysztof Hejwowski, PhD
Institute of Applied Linguistics
Warsaw, May 2006
Oświadczenie kierującego pracą
Oświadczam, że niniejsza praca została przygotowana pod moim kierunkiem
i stwierdzam, że spełnia ona warunki do przedstawienia jej w postępowaniu o nadanie
tytułu zawodowego.
Data
Podpis kierującego pracą
Oświadczenie autora pracy
Świadom odpowiedzialności prawnej oświadczam, że niniejsza praca dyplomowa
została napisana przez mnie samodzielnie i nie zawiera treści uzyskanych w sposób
niezgodny z obowiązującymi przepisami.
Oświadczam ponadto, że niniejsza wersja pracy jest identyczna z załączoną wersją
elektroniczną.
Data
Podpis autora pracy
Streszczenie
Celem niniejszej pracy jest analiza naturalnego starzenia się tekstów oraz ich
celowa archaizacja. Analizowane w niej są dwa przekłady Podróży Guliwera Jonathana
Swifta na język polski. Pierwsze wyszło spod pióra anonimowego tłumacza w roku
1784, drugie natomiast jest dziełem Macieja Słomczyńskiego z 1976 roku. Część
teoretyczna mówi o typach i aspektach tłumaczeń, w szczególności literackich.
Omówione są również sposoby archaizacji tekstów oraz naturalne starzenie się języka,
a także ich konsekwencje dla współczesnego czytelnika. Część praktyczna skupia się na
analizie
wybranych
przykładów
archaicznego
języka w obu
tłumaczeniach.
W załącznikach znajduje się pełna lista przykładów oraz wyniki i omówienie ankiety
przeprowadzonej wśród trzydziestu osób.
Słowa kluczowe
archaizacja, archaizować, modernizacja, modernizować, ankieta, tłumaczenie, przekład,
język
Dziedzina pracy (kody wg programu Socrates-Erasmus)
0.94 Translatoryka
Table of contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6
1. Translation: definitions and types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8
1.1 What is translation: theories and definitions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8
1.2 Types of translation by Theodore Savory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10
1.3 Direct and indirect translation/retranslation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12
2. Language as system of communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
16
2.1 Sources of language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
16
2.2 Types of languages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
18
2.3 Changes in language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
18
3. Archaisation and ageing of language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21
3.1 Deliberate archaisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21
3.2 Natural ageing of language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
26
4. Gulliver’s Travels in Polish as archaic translations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
29
4.1 Archaised translation by Słomczyński . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
30
4.2 Archaic translation by an anonymous author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
32
5. Consequences of archaisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
34
6. Practical analysis of selected examples. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
38
Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
71
Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
73
Streszczenie. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
75
Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
77
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
5
Introduction
The
theme
of
this
thesis
is
natural
and
deliberate
archaisation
of translations and their reception by contemporary readers. As an example I have used
two different renditions of Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels. They are not the only
translations of this work into Polish, however, they represent the oldest and youngest
renditions of the novel. The first translation of Gulliver’s Travels, which has been used
for the purpose of this thesis, was conceived in 1784 in Supraśl by an anonymous
author. As most translations in the Polish Enlightenment also this translation was based
not on the original, but on a French translation. The other translation chosen for this
work, by Maciej Słomczyński, with its final corrections comes from 1976. Maciej
Słomczyński based his translation on the first London edition from 1726 and partially
on the Leipzig edition from 1842. Obviously, between these two translations there were
others. They were, however, editions that did not render the real Gulliver’s Travels. The
time span between the anonymous translation and the one by Maciej Słomczyński is
sufficient to look closer at the notion of archaisation of translations and its
consequences for the reader.
Swift’s novel, together with Defoe’s Robinson Cruzoe, was the most famous
book of English Enlightenment. They were both adventure books and drew from the
rich tradition of descriptions of travels – real, imaginary and philosophical. Although in
its abridged form Gulliver's Travels is known as a classic children's adventure story, it is
actually a biting work of political and social satire. In these fantastic tales, Swift
satirised the political events in England and Ireland in his day, as well as English values
and institutions. He ridiculed academics, scientists, and Enlightenment thinkers who
valued rationalism above all else, and finally, he targeted the human condition itself.
Such range of areas of life covered by Swift abounds is terms from everyday life, naval
terms, terms related to politics or science. This makes this book prone to archaisation as
during the time span of over 200 years life has changed and so has the language.
The Theoretical Part of this paper focuses on the aspects of translation, language,
its components and the notions of archaisation and ageing of the language as a system
of communication. Chapter 1 presents types of translation and concentrates on literary
translation and its unique features in comparison to other types. Language is the main
point of interest in Chapter 2. Here, language as a system of communication is
6
discussed. The features of language, which make it prone to archaisation are enumerated
and described. Chapter 4 focuses on the techniques and aspects of archaisation.
Subchapter 3.1 describes deliberate archaisation, techniques and reasons why translators
give their translations archaic shapes. Subchapter 3.2 concentrates on natural ageing of
language and its consequences for contemporary readers. In Chapter 4 I have analysed
and categorised those aspects of the translations of Gulliver’s Travels into Polish that
make them archaic in the eyes of contemporary recipients. In Chapter 5 the analysis of
consequences of archaisation and ageing of language in renditions is presented.
The Practical Part is an analysis of selected examples found in the anonymous
author’s and Maciej Słomczyński’s renditions of Gulliver’s Travels into Polish. The
items are discussed and their reception by contemporary readers is analysed. To
facilitate their analysis they have been divided into several categories. In the case of the
1784 translation examples of modernised fragments are provided. The analysis of
archaisms in Słomczyński’s translation focuses on their reception by contemporary
readers. In Appendix there are many more examples of obsolete linguistic forms and
vocabulary found in the two renditions. The final part of this paper enumerates
conclusions drawn on the basis of the analysed examples.
Summing up, this paper is an attempt to show how the changes within language,
especially within lexis, affect the reception of both naturally and deliberately archaised
renditions.
7
Chapter 1:
Translation: definitions and types
In this chapter I will deal with some basic definitions, which have to be
explained before I proceed to the main notion of this thesis, i.e. archaisation. First, I will
outline briefly the origins of the notion of translation. Later on in this chapter I will cope
with language, its origins and definitions. Translation will exist as long as there are
differences between languages. Language as a changing system of communication will
also undergo archaisation. I have deliberately omitted the discussion of the latter in this
chapter as I will deal with it in detail in the following chapters.
1.1 What is translation: theories and definitions.
Translation as an art and bridge joining different languages has a very long
history. Wojtasiewicz (1996:7) claims that it emerged around 5000 BC and developed a
thousand years later in the Ancient East. Despite the long history there is still no one
definition of translation. Several linguists have attempted to define translation, but none
of the definitions is perfect. The reason is that language is not as strict as the sciences
and any conclusion, if not undermined by others, is only a compromise. Every author of
a translation has his own idea about what the theory of translation is or should be,
depending on his educational background and his own experience. This situation often
creates the impression that every specialist in a given field of knowledge has something
to add to the theory of translation. That is why, theoretical works on translation are
written by linguists of different theoretical orientations, teachers of foreign languages,
translators, specialists in cultural studies and comparative literature and many other
specialists. Not surprisingly, if there are so many contradicting ideas about what
translation theory is and what it should do, there is an equal number of statements about
translation and translating. Every translator trying to define his activity tackles this task
differently. Any definition of translation is like all translations themselves: there are no
two exact translations, nor two exact definitions of translation. There are, however,
some established definitions of this notion. Below are some examples of how experts in
the matter define translation:
8
‘Translation is a craft consisting in the attempt to replace a written message and/or statement in
one language by the same message and/or statement in another language. Each exercise involves
some kind of meaning due to a number of factors. It provokes a continuous tension, a dialectic,
an argument based on the claims of each language. The basic loss is continuum between
overtranslation (increased detail) and undertranslation increased generalisation)’.
Peter Newmark (1982:7)
‘Translation can do everything except mark the linguistic difference inscribed in the language,
this difference of language systems inscribed in a single tongue. At best it can get everything
across except this: the fact that there are, in one linguistic system, perhaps several languages or
tongues’.
J. Derrida (1985:100)
‘Translation is an activity, both spiritual and practical, related to the activity of communicating.
Consequently, it shares in all the characteristic features of the category of activity in its broadest
sense. Translation is not a productive but a reproductive activity, not a primary but a secondary
activity’.
M. Brandes [in:] Zlateva (1993:77)
‘A (good) translation is the one, in which the merit of the original work is so completely
transfused into another language, as to be as distinctly apprehended, and as strongly felt, by
a native of the country to which that language belongs, as it is by those who speak the language
of the original work’.
Alexander Fraser Tytler [in:] Wojtasiewicz (1996:12)
As stated in the definitions cited above, the primary function of translation
is communication of meaning from one language to another. The success or failure of
translation depends on several factors. The most important include: the structure of the
target language, skills of the translator and type of the translated material. Due to the
fact that there are several types of translated materials, there must be as many types of
translation. Although many difficulties which translators face are common in all types
of translation, there are several differences between them. Before deciding if all these
types of translation face the problem of archaisation they will be described briefly.
9
1.2 Types of translation by Savory
To a translator the type of translated text is crucial and can aid him in selecting
the appropriate strategy of translating. Savory (1953:20) divides translation into four
types: purely informative statements, adequate translations made for the general reader,
translations of scientific and/or of technical matter and the translation of literature.
Informative statements
These include statements of purely informative character, such as are
encountered by travellers or used in advertisements. They contain advice of identical
meaning despite the fact that they are not identically phrased. This type of translation is
important for two reasons. One is that they are among the most numerous translations,
and the second reason, even more important than the former, is that many of them could
be described as perfect translations. Savory (1953:21) claims that ‘the perfection of the
translation is a result of the nature of the original message. It is direct and unemotional
and it is made in plain words to which no very intense associations are attached.’ In
other words, such plain and purely informative texts need not be stylistically rich. It
must be functional and this makes the work of a translator less complicated.
Adequate translations
To this category fall all the translations, including translation of prose, done for
a ‘general’ or an ‘undemanding’ reader. These translations are adequate but deprived of
fine style and the qualities for which the conoisseurs read them. An average translator
may have changed or omitted whole sentences, distorted the meaning, selected improper
vocabulary and impoverished the content of the book, but the reader will still be
satisified, as for him the matter may be more important than the manner. Translations of
this type are not to be considered genuine and faithful. They only have informational
value.
Translation of scientific and technical manner
This type of translation may seem to be similar to the adequate translations as
here the matter is the most important. Yet, any distortion of meaning is absolutely
10
impossible. Fine style can be neglected, but the content must converge with the original
and evoke the same impression. This means that the translators of technical and
scientific texts must possess at least basic
Incomprehension
and
brief
knowledge
acquaintance
with
of
the
the
matter
matter
may
translated.
lead
to
misunderstandings.
Translation of literature
Literary translation is considered by many linguists as the only type of
translation deserving this name. Dzierżanowska (1977:6) claims that “translation
of non-literary texts is not a work of art”. Many theoreticians support this view. This is
due to the fact that when translation is described as an art it does include other than
literary texts. Many, who do not know much about the matter, associate translation
solely with the first-quality translations of the literature of Greece and Rome and other
translations by the most eminent men of letters.
One of the most conspicuous differences between literary and non-literary
translation is the significance of the translator and his attitude to the author of the
original. Non-literary translations are impresonal. Translations of literature contain the
spirit of its author and according to Pieńkos (1993:77), ‘a literary translation is not
a mere communication of a neutral semantic substance: it is at the same time
a transposition of the total artistic value of the original text’.
Dzierżanowska (1998) claims that translation of a literary work is invariably
a kind of reconstruction and involves changes in many aspects of the original. It is often
unavoidable that translation of a literary work involves several changes of the
components of the original. These may sometimes be so deep that it is no longer
a translation but an adaptation, a paraphrase of the original or an utterly new work.
Generally, translation involves transposing a given meaning expressed in one language
as to be understood by a speaker of the target language. Literary translation does not
merely concern its communicative function because in this case words are as much
important. Words carry an aesthetic function and a substantial load of associations. That
is why, a translator must reconstruct the whole process of writing, otherwise no literary
work will function in another language. This depends mainly on the translator’s skills.
The translator gives a new life to an existing work, but in a different linguistic, social
and historical environment. The genuine art of translation as a cultural phenomenon
11
clashes with its essence because the aim of translation is to transpose a given work
existing in one language to another language, maintaining all the features of the
original. If the translation is not accepted, it will certainly not be considered as a work
of art. On the other hand, if the work does not retain the property of the people speaking
the language in which it was written, it will not be considered as translation
(Dzierżanowska 1998). It would be a great mistake to examine the possibilities and
impossibilities of a literary translation using solely linguistic methods. To build or not to
build a separate theory for literary translation is not as important. The most important
thing is not to forget about the specificity of this kind of translation and the fact that the
rights ruling the literary translation belong to the sphere of art.
1.3 Direct and indirect translation/retranslation
The act of translation, as it was mentioned above, is roughly to replace a written
text in one language by the same text in another language. The definition of
retranslation, to quote Jianzhong (2003: 193) is: “to translate for a second or more times
from the original or from the translated versions of the original”. Following this
definition it might be said that there are two kinds of retranslations: direct and indirect.
The former refers to the translation for the second or more times from the original and
the latter refers to the translation not from the original but from another translation of
the original in another language. The two translations of Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan
Swift are representatives of a translation and a retranslation. The rendition by an
anonymous author is the first known Polish translation of the book based on the French
version by Desfontaines. Słomczyński’s translation, even though he based it mainly on
the original, can be called to some extent an indirect translation because he made use of
some 19th century renditions of Swift’s novel into Polish. To look closer into the matter
the two types of retranslation are discussed below.
Direct retranslation
Direct retranslation concerns both literary and science works but as the latter is
not the subject of this paper, it will be omitted. The retranslation of literary classics
(such as Gulliver’s Travels) is supported by most translators. As Jianzhong (2003: 193)
defines it, a literary retranslation is an artistic recreation and can outshine the former
12
one or more translations. This is because, as most translators agree, there is no perfect
translation. There are a few reasons for that. The first is that when a translator
undertakes to render a given text that had already been rendered, he or she does not
want to create a mere copy of it. The constant pursuit of better versions of literary
works brings better understanding and interpretation of the original. Successive
translations convey more accurately the style and spirit of the original works, thus make
them better and better. The second reason for retranslation is that with the deeper study
of famous classics, no matter from which epoch, readers find that the former translation
of a given work has some misunderstandings and incorrect expressions. Another cause
of a successive rendition is that people nowadays have much wider knowledge of the
world and grasp new cognition of the concepts raised in the book. In other words, with
time some concepts that were inexpressible/ untranslatable in the past may become
expressible/ translatable. The last reason for retranslation is the changes of the language
itself. Therefore, a former translation needs to be revived in order to appeal to
a contemporary reader and help him with understanding it better.
Indirect retranslation
Indirect retranslation is a type of translation derived from another existing
translation of the original text. In the past, especially when French was the lingua
franca, it was common to retranslate various literary texts via this commonly spoken
language (the anonymous translation of Gulliver’s Travels from 1784 analysed in this
paper is one example). The situation nowadays is slightly different. English replaced
French as an international language and most retranslated texts are based on it. In the
early years of the 20th century, a lot of Greek, Italian, Spanish and Russian works were
indirectly translated into Chinese from English. There are languages spoken as
frequently as English like, for instance, Chinese or Hindi, but due to their level of
difficulty or the lack of interest in them, literature written in such languages is not so
well known internationally. Obviously, retranslation acts as a bridge joining them with
international readers. Yet, if retranslation continues there is a danger that the original
text may be contorted. Franz Kuhn (1884-1961), a famous German translator, in his
long career translated several Old Chinese literary classics. Fifty of them have been
retranslated into eighteen other languages. A retranslator must be very cautious not to
change a retranslation into an adaptation.
13
Differences between translation and retranslation
The process of translation consists of two stages: understanding of the source
language and expressing in the target language. However, the situation is quite different
in the case of retranslation. Jianzhong (2003: 193) enumerates four stages:
understanding of the target language, transforming into (intermediary) target language,
understanding of the (intermediary) target language and transforming it into final target
language. It is believed that in the course of such an action there is some loss of
information. As indirect translation has an intermediary, some information of the source
language is vulnerable to a certain loss a second time. When comparing direct and
indirect translations, it is possible to see that the accuracy of the latter is poorer than the
former. The indirect (re)translation often diverges to some extent from the original text.
The main idea may be the same, yet the style and spirit are lost partially or completely
in extreme cases. This could mean that indirect (re)translation ought to be abandoned.
However, in the era of a global village and increasing international contacts indirect
(re)translation acts as an intermediary in cultural exchange. It is better for international
readers to familiarise themselves with indirectly translated literature than not to know it
at all. In addition, when a direct translation appears, the indirect one will be out of date
but it will have fulfilled its mission. Jianzhong (2003: 193) concludes that in the future
the cultural exchange may increase to such an extent that indirect (re)translations will
appear less frequently, but they may not disappear. In some cases it is a necessity and
a complement to a direct translation. It may also be an interesting source of comparison.
The readers can obtain a general view that various translators (speaking different
languages or living in different epochs) understand and interpret the source texts
differently.
The significance of retranslation lies in outshining its predecessor(s). This act is
not a mere repetition but artistic recreation. That is why, it is a difficult task as a former
version (or several versions) is present and readers are acquainted with it. A translator
must possess the skills and artistry to attempt to create a new one. It must be said that if
the retranslation is not better than the former, it is a waste of time and it will not be
praised but criticised. And if it is plagiaristic it should be banned (Jianzhong 2003: 194).
All the above types of translation may differ in the approach of a translator. As
far as archaised texts are concerned both the style and language used are vital. That is
why, in the following chapter, I will look at the language as a system of communication
14
and those features of language that make it susceptible to archaisation. Then, in chapter
4, reasons why texts become archaic, and ways of stylising them as such employed by
translators in the case of deliberate archaisation, will be presented.
15
Chapter 2:
Language as system of communication
2.1 Sources of language
The origins of language are not known. Otto Jespersen’s proposal from 1921
reads as follows: “The genesis of language is not to be sought in the prosaic, but in the
poetic side of life: the source of speech is not gloomy seriousness, but merry play and
youthful hilarity. In primitive speech the laughing cries of exultation were used to
attract the attention of the other sex. Language was born in the courting days of
mankind”. Jespersen’s attempt to unveil the mystery of the origins of language is
endearing, however, it still remains a speculation. Going back a million years to the
cradle of humanity we will not find any traces of evidence relating to the speech of our
distant ancestors. Because of this there are only theories concerning the origins of the
language. Yule (1996: 1) describes the following:
The divine source
In most religions there appears to be a divine source who provides humans with
language. For instance, in Christian tradition it was God who provided humans with the
ability to speak. The Bible describes this with the words: “[God created Adam] and
whatsoever Adam called every living creature that was the name thereof”. In the past
the explanation was to such an extent believable that a few experiments were carried out
in order to prove the theory. However, the experiments failed through as it turned out,
and has been confirmed by modern science, that when a child grows up in isolation, it
loses the ability to learn a language. The reason is that at the age of 3 or 4 the part of the
brain responsible for this ability becomes inoperative if not stimulated.
The natural sound source
A more academic theory of language coming into existence is based on the
concept of ‘natural sounds’. It assumes that the first primitive words were the imitations
of natural sounds surrounding early humans. For instance, if a bird flew making a caw
caw or cuckoo sounds, the natural sound was used as a name for the animal. The theory
16
becomes more valid when we realise that each modern language possesses numerous
examples of words resembling naturally occurring sounds. In Polish we can find
kukułka, szum, kukuryku or plusk. In English there are words such as: cuckoo, splash,
buzz, hiss, screech or bow-wow. Thus, the theory is often referred to as the ‘bow-wow
theory’. It may explain how the words describing natural sounds came into existence,
however, it does not explain how words describing soundless or abstract objects
emerged. Two similar theories seem to complement the ‘bow-wow theory’. The first
says that the primitive sounds of language evolved from natural cries of emotion such as
pain, pleasure or exasperation. Such words include exclamations like hey, aw, ouch, etc.
But such words constitute merely a fraction of sounds produced by humans. The second
theory referred to as ‘yo-heave-ho theory’ assumes that joint physical effort could be the
reason for the production of sounds. A group of workers might produce simple sounds
used to facilitate and coordinate their work. The theory of the development of human
language set in social context becomes more valid. Still, it does not explain the origins
of the sounds produced. Primates have different grunts and sounds to organise life in
a group but they have not developed speech.
Oral-gesture source
The oral-gesture theory is based on the assumption that there is a connection
between physical and oral gesture. A set of physical gestures was developed for
communication purposes. Later a system of oral gestures emerged which consisted in
the moves of tongue and lips imitating the physical gestures. For instance, vertical
movement of the tongue might imitate waving of the hand when greeting of saying
goodbye. However, there is a large number of messages which are impossible to
transmit. As an example let us take a simple sentence: My uncle thinks he’s invisible
(Yule 1996:4). That is why, this theory does not seem very believable.
Physiological adaptation
One further theory of the emergence of human speech is based on the fact that
humans possess some unique physical features. They would not lead to speech
production but favour species possessing these features when the development of
speech is concerned. These features include the positioning of teeth (enables the
17
production of sounds such as f, v and th), the positioning of larynx (can act as
a resonator) or the build of muscles in human lips (production of sounds like p, b and
w). In addition, the human brain is lateralised, i.e. it has specialised functions in each of
the two hemispheres. Analytical functions like the use of tools and language are mainly
confined to the left hemisphere. There may be an evolutionary connection between the
use of tool and the use of language and both may be related to the development of
human brain.
2.2 Types of languages
Wojtasiewicz (1996:13) defines language as a system of signals used by people
to communicate in space and time. Signal is to be understood broadly as a material form
of expression. It can take the form of a spoken or written text, sound or optical signal,
map, etc. To enable communication signals are ascribed to psychological states of both
the speaker and the recipient. Wojtasiewicz (1996:14) divides languages into two types:
natural and artificial. Artificial languages emerged when certain rules were prescribed
prior to their construction and use. Such languages are usually narrow and specialised
(e.g.: symbols used in mathematics or chemistry, language of traffic signs, etc.).
Artificial languages cannot be used in everyday communication situations. There are
special types of artificial languages imitating natural ones (e.g.: Esperanto). They do not
evolve, but are created in a short time. The second type of languages is natural
languages. As opposed to the above mentioned, such languages emerged in the course
of time. They are used to communicate among certain ethnic groups, such as nations or
nationalities. Languages of this type, at least at the beginning of their existence, are
closely connected with speech. Their form is shaped by gradual accepting of certain
linguistic habits of their users and not by a one-time operation.
3.3 Changes in language
Natural languages, unlike artificial languages undergo constant change. When
we compare contemporary and, say 15th century Polish, it becomes clear that it has
changed (see examples in Chapter 5). Obviously, there are no spoken, but only written
records of the language, which present various aspects of the change within the
language. After a certain time span old language becomes incomprehensible for its
18
younger counterpart user. Also, it may not even bear any resemblance in writing.
Language change is a long gradual process. Some changes are caused by important
social transformations provoked by wars, upheavals and other circumstances. Still, the
dominant force seems to be the constant process of generation change. As Yule (1996:
177) explains: “Each new generation has to find a way of using the language of the
previous generation”. It means that some parts of language are used by a new generation
more willingly than others. Such change can be easily seen in the vocabulary. Some
words replace the existing ones, new words are coined or adapted from other languages
to name items that appear and existing words change their meaning throughout the
history of language (Wen-li 2001). The process of the change of meaning and other
changes, such as sound and syntactic changes, causes that language as system is not
stable. However, it is inevitable. Palmer (1981: 9) suggests four reasons why elements
of vocabulary undergo changes of meaning. The first is that some words replace others
by accident; the second reason is that changes arise because there is a need to name new
items; the third consists in the fact that scientific vocabulary gained specialised
meanings and has no close relationship to its everyday use; the last reason is taboo
words meaning something unpleasant are replaced by others. Bloomfield (1933:426)
classifies changes of meaning into the following categories:
1) Narrowing (e.g.: meat Æ“food”),
2) Widening (e.g.: bird Æ “nestling”),
3) Metaphor (e.g.: bitter Æ “biting”),
4) Metonymy – nearness of space or time (e.g.: jaw Æ “cheek”),
5) Synecdoche – whole/part relation (e.g.: town Æ “fence”),
6) Hyperbole – stronger to weaker meaning – (e.g.: astound Æ “strike with
thunder”),
7) Litotes – weaker to stronger meaning – (e.g.: kill Æ “torment”),
8) Degeneration (e.g.: knave Æ “boy”),
9) Elevation (e.g.: knight Æ “boy”).
The last classification of changes of meaning presented here is the one by Baugh and
Cable (1978: 308). They enumerate: extension of meaning (generalisation), narrowing,
degeneration and regeneration. Generalisation happens when a word, formerly having
a narrow sense, gains new wider meaning and goes beyond its former meaning.
19
Narrowing is the opposite of the former, i.e. a given word with time acquires a narrower
sense and is often used in one special connection. A classic example frequently quoted
by translators is the word doctor. In the past it meant a learned man, so there were
doctors in several fields other than medicine. Degeneration of meaning consists in
changing the meaning of a given word into something less sophisticated, important, etc.
For example the word knave used to mean male servant, but now it means rogue. The
last category of change of meaning is regeneration and is the exact opposite of
degeneration. Such changes can be found in all languages and at all times.
20
Chapter 3:
Archaisation and ageing of language
A definition of the verb to archaise found in The American Heritage Dictionary
(1989: 36) says that it is ‘to use language that was once common to imitate or suggest
an earlier style of a written work’. Another definition, this time taken from Słownik
wyrazów obcych (1989: 44) defines the verb as ‘to insert into a written work elements of
a language from past periods’. Imperfect as they are, the definitions give us some hint of
what archaisation is. As we know language is a system that changes all the works that
have been produced by writers, poets and other word users. The above definitions
described only one type of archaisation, i.e.: deliberate archaisation. Archaisation,
however, has two sources. It can also be natural. Deliberate archaisation can itself be an
art used by writers. Several works have been given an archaic appearance to reach
a specific purpose. Language as well as the works ages and when a specific period of
time passes the language is received as archaic. Below the two types of archaisation are
described.
3.1 Deliberate archaisation
Deliberate archaisation as I stated above can itself be an art and a great challenge
for a writer or a poet. This is so because it is a complex process. Unfortunately, usually
only the features of aesthetic nature are dealt with by experts in this field. This leads to
the production of highly subjective claims that are difficult to discuss objectively.
Wilczek (1993) draws an analogy between archaisation of texts produced in the past and
playing old music on original instruments and compares the aesthetic impressions. All
such deliberations focus on the means, not on the essence. To touch the essence and the
true nature of archaisation one must step beyond sheer aesthetic deliberations. It is the
relationship between language and the context in which it is used that is important.
Time and place of the production of any work are encoded in the language used and
exolinguistic features. Language, as well as the reality described by it, undergoes
constant changes but the reality will endure in the language. Deliberate archaisation has
two sources. The effect of archaisation can be achieved either by strictly linguistic
procedures or by the use of the culture and concepts of the past ages. However, the latter
21
method is used far rarer. Berezowski (2000: 130) speculates that this is because of the
philologists’ preferences who translate more poetry than prose and poetry less often
refers to cultural items. A translator choosing the language as the tool makes the
reception of a given work more difficult for a potential reader but it does not change
the structure of the original. However, such archaisation only gives the translation
a certain shape. The effect needs not be achieved by the use of the target language from
the period when the original was produced. The translator enters only the language of
the original. Taking as a tool the cultural and the exolonguistic items the translator
enters the structure of the original in several exolinguistic fields. This, however, violates
the established framework of contemporary renditions. That is why, archaisation with
the use of cultural items is described so rarely. Archaisation is not limited to poetry
because it does not depend on the literary genre but on the way of encoding the time and
place in a given work. If the encoding is based mainly on linguistic items, then, the
work is more prone to deliberate archaisation. If exolinguistic elements prevail,
archaisation will happen naturally. The language of the translation may be
contemporary but leaving certain elements of the original unchanged will indicate that
the original has roots in the past as efficiently as deliberate endeavours of the translator.
Berezowski (2000: 132) gives an example of the renditions of the Old Testament. When
the reader finds in the text that ‘the workers in the vineyard earned a dinar a day’
(Matthew 20:1-16) or ‘the servants who received a talent from their master’ (Luke
19:11-28) he or she will be informed about the past origins of the work. The terms dinar
and talent may be well known in our cultural circle but even in the Christian community
there may be people who will find them confusing. But this is only the side effect of
archaisation. Another feature of deliberate archaisation is that a reader of a rendition
will find it archaic only if he consciously or subconsciously perceives that the linguistic
forms of the rendition are no longer used. Linguists often provide the example of a Pole
living abroad who maintained his Polish through reading the Revd Wujek’s Bible. If
a rendition he reads has a similar language to the language of the Revd Wujek’s Bible, it
will seem perfectly contemporary with him. Thus, the perception of a rendition as
archaic depends on the same mechanism as understanding the words close and
yesterday. To understand their meaning one needs to know the time and place when
they were used. Otherwise, the place in time and space intended by the speaker will be
virtually impossible (Berezowski 2000: 134). In this case of archaisation such reference
to time and space applies to linguistic forms used in translation. This is a good example
22
of the connection between a language and the context in which it is used. As far as the
mechanism is concerned, archaisation equals other deictic elements like grammatical
tense, time adverbials or personal pronouns. The current trend allows mainly
archaisation based on deictic time. For a literature expert such archaisation may indicate
very specific periods in the history of language or literature but an average reader will
understand that the translation uses language forms from the general past (Berezowski
2000: 133). That is why, translators who decide to archaise a given text hardly ever use
linguistic forms of the target language from the time when the original was created.
They reach for archaisms that will be understandable for the general reader. If the
translators used the genuine language, there would be a danger that it would hamper the
understanding of the translation. Lipiński (2000: 105) claims that in the case of an
archaic text (that is not stylised but the one which became archaic in a natural way)
a translator must decide whether to modernise or archaise it. Authors writing in the past
used a language that was contemporary with them and completely understandable for
the recipient. The fact that their work became obsolete and is less or even hardly
understandable is an obstacle for the reader. On the other hand, however, archaism of
the text is an evidence that it belongs to a past era and presents its atmosphere.
Another dilemma a translator must face because he or she decides to archaise or
not a translation is the existence of two readers. The first reader is the original reader,
i.e.: the one to whom the original text was directed and who received the text as
contemporary. The second reader lives in the times of the translator and perceives the
text as archaic. Although the reader and the translator receive the original in a similar
way, it is the original reader who had the ability to truly understand the original text.
The translator, before he or she starts the translation, must take into account the original
reader and his understanding of the original text.
Hejwowski (2004: 123) presents a dilemma a translator must face while
translating a given text. Namely, which recipient should be included in the
reconstruction of the author’s cognitive base. If the author is to be perceived as an
Elizabethan playwright, then the recipients will be the readers living at that time. Yet, if
we perceive Shakespeare or, say Swift in case of this paper, as a timeless author then the
readers are contemporary users of English. Both types of recipients have a lot in
common with some differences (such as knowledge of the world, moral standards,
views or beliefs). A translator must answer one question that arises. Namely, should he
use the language contemporary with the author even if it may make the understanding of
23
the text more difficult for the translator’s contemporaries. In that case, Hejwowski
continues, Polish from what time should be used as contemporary with Shakespeare’s.
There should be a comparison made between the source and target languages and some
forms of both languages would have to be chosen that make a similar ‘impression of
oldness’.
The translator has to decide whether to translate a given text in such a way that
his reader will receive the translation in the same way as the original reader received the
original text or whether to target his translation towards the reader contemporary with
him. In the first case, the translator will use contemporary language and in the second
case, he will archaise the text. This explains why translators archaise more works
written in modern languages than ancient ones. Works of e.g.: Shakespeare in the
original have their contemporary readers while the works of Homer do not, except for
a few students of Greek. Yet, Homer’s epics even if translated into one of contemporary
languages will still seem old due to the reality presented in them or the author’s
presuppositions (Berezowski 2000: 135-136). The problem may arise, however, when
a given text is both old and exotic (when, for instance it was produced in the distant past
by a writer representing a country or culture that no longer exists). Hejwowski (2004:
126) writes that in this case such translations usually need be published with lots of
footnotes, commentaries and other forms of explanation.
The aim of archaisation is to allow the reader of the translation to experience it
in the same way as the contemporary reader experiences the original. If a translator does
not decide to archaise a text, he reconstructs the original reception of the work. In this
case he does not have to seek appropriate linguistic forms to give the translation an old
appearance but he struggles to decode the true meaning of the linguistic forms found in
the original. In both ways a translator becomes a reconstructor. This, however, is not
a feature of archaisation or its lack but translation in general because every translation is
a reconstruction and deals with a foreign language and archaisation only gives
a translation a certain shape. The decisions of a translator should depend on the type of
text and its recipient (Lipiński 2000: 106). Historical sources and similar texts in which
the content is more important than the archaic form can be modernised slightly in order
to emphasise their meaning. In the process of modernising such texts cannot contain
anachronistic terms, i.e. those which did not exist when the texts were written. Yet,
literary texts in which the language may be of importance can have some anachronisms.
24
Then a translator archaises the text as a stylistic operation using archaic vocabulary of
the target language.
The kind of a compromise a translator chooses is, as Berezowski (2000: 134135) writes, whether to archaise a given text slightly, with paying little attention to
linguistic consistency or modernise, for example Shakespeare’s plays in modern version
of Polish (Hejwowski 2004: 125). Hejwowski continues that the dilemma a translator
faces, between archaizing and modernising or, as he calls them “extreme archaising”
and “extreme modernising” results in “numerous translations, which follow the
translators’ original concepts of ‘faithfulness’ but also changing literary styles and
fashions”. In some extreme cases of archaic stylisation the translation may even become
incomprehensible for the target reader.
Newmark (1988) provides a classification of several translation procedures, one
of which is compensation. This procedure is employed when loss of meaning, or an
archaic word in the case of archaisation, is compensated in another part of the
translation. Lipiński (2000: 106) writes that archaisms need not be in the same places in
the source and target languages. He gives as an example a fragment of Villon’s The
Great Testament translated and archaised by Boy. The text reads as follows:
W trzydziestym życia mego lecie,
Hańbą do syta napoiony,
Ni źrały mąż, ni puste dziecię,
Mimo iż ciężko doświadczony
Kaźnią, ścirpają z ręki krwawej
Tybota, pana Ossyńskiego...
– Biskup iest – pełen czci y sławy –
– Mnie ta nie będzie za świętego.
The above text, Lipiński continues, is a hybrid. It seems obsolete. However, a text
genuinely created at the time would be completely different. This is the difference
between archaic and archaised work. Similarly the heroes and heroines from
Sienkiewicz’s Trilogy or once popular TV series Czarne Chmury do not speak genuine
17th century Polish. This is so because it is not a living language and, even if there are
written records of it, a faithful translation in former Polish is not really possible
(Wojtasiewicz 1957/1992: 95).
25
A translator rendering a deliberately archaised text is bound to employ
compensation in the same way as in the case of an archaic work. The elements
suggesting the archaic quality need not, as it was mentioned above, appear in the same
places as in the source text. If a translator is unable to find an archaic counterpart of
a word, he may use a different word and put it somewhere else in the text. Still, the
message that the text is archaic will be delivered. Lipiński (2000: 107) says, however,
that using in the process of archaisation contemporary terms or those from distant past is
unacceptable. He gives an example of a Polish translation entitled Wesołe przygody
Robin Hooda, in which one of the characters uses the word metr to determine the
distance. This is a clear example of an anachronism. Hejwowski (2004: 220) writes that
insufficient knowledge of the subject matter is a problem concerning mainly translators
specialised in a given field. This problem, however, applies to translators of literature
as such works often contain specialist vocabulary, historical terms, etc. It is possible to
specialise in one or two fields. Yet, a literary translator would have to be a specialist in
virtually every field of knowledge. Hejwowski gives an example of a rendition of
Weiser Dawidek in which the translator translated pepesza as Russian PPS-42, nagan as
Stechkin and pistolet was omitted. The names may not be of such great importance to
a general reader but a person interested in the matter will spot the mistakes immediately.
The terms should be translated as PPSh-41, Nagant revolver and Tokarev pistol
respectively (Kaczorowska 2000: 69-72). Maciej Słomczyński, whose translation of
Gulliver’s Travels I am using in this paper as an example of an archaised text, does not
present the reader with such anachronisms. For example, names of weapons such as
rapier, pika or kolubryna are factual. They were used around the time the novel was
written by Jonathan Swift. But one may realise what would be the outcome if
a translator used instead of the above mentioned terms words such as: pistolet or
karabin. Such use of improper vocabulary would not only discredit the translator, but
also create an unintentional comical effect. The decision whether to archaise or not
belongs to the translator and this decision is not the most important because the final
effect of his work depends on his skills, not on this decision.
3.2 Natural ageing of language
Lipiński (2000: 105) claims that texts archaise in a natural way. He writes that: “An
utterance written a few hundred years ago bears the sign of time when it was created”.
26
For a contemporary language user such remnant of the past is immediately perceived as
archaic. Vocabulary, syntax and spelling differ from contemporary norms, even though
the text as a whole may be understood. It often happens that old words and expressions
have acquired a new meaning. Ageing of language stems from the incessantly changing
language. Language as a system of communication is not constant and texts archaise
naturally with time. The more time passes, the less understandable the text becomes.
Ultimately, the text becomes incomprehensible for the native speaker of the language
(although we speak Polish, we would have great difficulty with understanding medieval
Polish or it would be impossible). But not only linguistic forms add to the natural
archaisation. Also cultural features tend to archaise a given text. This is the case when
word-for-word translation creates an archaic text. The above mentioned rendition of the
Old Testament containing such words as dinar, mina or talent is a good example.
A translation can be written in contemporary language and obsolete linguistic forms
need not be used to produce the effect of archaisation. In this case, single words taken
from the original signal that the story is set in the past. As far as language is concerned,
all its components age. Rossi (2003: 150) writes that when two translations are divided
by a long time span the translator may find it necessary to adapt a text to the present
time and make the new version more accessible to the contemporary reader. She gives
an example of two Finnish translations of a Scandinavian fairy tale by Topelius, the
famous 19th century Finnish storyteller. The original abounds in the author’s ideals of
upbringing, educational elements and numerous biblical elements. The authors of later
renditions changed the text so that they would be more appealing to today’s children.
For instance, fragments mentioning God in the original several times were omitted in
more recent translations. There are several reasons for that: the readers’ (i.e. children’s)
knowledge of various aspects of life has become much wider since the fairy tale was
written. Also, religion does not play as dominant a role as before. Lastly, both the social
standards and ideas of morality and education have changed.
The dilemmas whether to archaise or modernise a given text, what techniques to
choose, whether to use obsolete linguistic forms or focus only on archaic vocabulary
and if it is still a translation or an adaptation (Pieńkos 1993: 77), are problems every
translator must face before her or she undertakes the difficult task of translation. The
two reasons of archaisation of texts presented in this chapter differ in origin. Still,
a contemporary ‘general’ reader, i.e. the one who is not trained in linguistics or
translation, will perceive them both as archaic. Such a reader is unaware of the fact that
27
language, syntax, spelling become obsolete; that some words disappear (for example
terms perceived nowadays as historic) or are replaced with newer ones and the way in
which they collocate changes. The contemporary recipient does not know that in the
course of time, the language undergoes other changes such as the changes in case
inflection of nouns or verbs, the inflection of verbs for person, tense and voice or
the way plurals are produced. The examples of such changes are provided in the
following chapters.
28
Chapter 4:
Gulliver’s Travels in Polish as archaic translations
Gulliver’s Travels was written in 1726 by Jonathan Swift. This novel, together with
Defoe’s Robinson Cruzoe, was the most famous book of English Enlightenment. They
were both adventure books and drew from the rich tradition of descriptions of travels –
real, imaginary and philosophical. Although in its abridged form Gulliver's Travels is
known as a classic children's adventure story, it is actually a biting work of political and
social satire. The author parodied popular travelogues of his day in creating this story of
a sea-loving physician's travels to imaginary foreign lands. In these fantastic tales, Swift
satirised the political events in England and Ireland in his day, as well as English values
and institutions. He ridiculed academics, scientists, and Enlightenment thinkers who
valued rationalism above all else, and finally, he targeted the human condition itself.
Such a range of areas of life covered by Swift abounds is terms from everyday life,
naval terms, terms related to politics or science. This makes the book prone to
archaisation as during the time span of over 200 years life has changed and so has the
language.
The controversiality of Swift’s book made it famous in the English speaking world
and it soon became the interest of translators. The first Polish translation (via French
translation by Desfontaines) dates back to 1784 (Kott 1952:22) and is one of the two
points of interest in this paper. It was rendered by an anonymous author and was known
at the time as Podróże kapitana Guliwera w różne kraje (title of the original: Captain
Gulliver’s Travels to Various Remote Lands). This rendition is the monument of 18th
century Polish prose and is considered a very beautiful and precise translation. Jan Kott
edited it and it was published in Warsaw in 1952. Kott’s version in terms of 18th century
Polish has remained unchanged with a few exceptions. It was his intention not to
intervene in the language and the anonymous translator’s artistry. As he said: “Having
lost faith that a contemporary translator could render the spicy as pepper and biting 18th
century prose, I decided to go back to the translation from 1784. I compared it with the
original, removed Desfontaines’ interjections and complemented missing fragments
with those from the Leipzig edition. (…) I attempted to salvage the whole affluence of
Polish and its dazing bouquet from before one and a half century” (Kott 1952:21).
29
During centuries there were other attempts to present the Polish reader with Swift’s
novel. They were, however, based mainly on the Leipzig edition from 1842. The most
recent translation of the book is by Maciej Słomczyński and in its final version was
released in 1976. The time span of 200 hundred years separating the earliest and latest
renditions of Gulliver’s Travels is sufficient for the books to be a valuable source for
comparison. A contemporary reader given the anonymous translation will instantly
notice that the language used is not contemporary, and even though it is easily
understandable it possesses visible signs of archaisation.
4.1 Archaised translation by Słomczyński
Słomczyński’s translation, published for the first time in 1976, remains the latest
translation of the book into Polish. Despite the young age of the translation it possesses
visible signs of archaisation. It is, however, archaic because the translator wanted to
render the atmosphere of early 18th century England and inform the reader of the setting
of the book. As has been mentioned earlier in the previous chapter there are several
techniques through which a translator may attain the effect of archaisation of a given
work. Słomczyński wanted to present the Polish reader with as faithful translation of
Gulliver’s Travels as possible. That is why, he used as the source text not French
translations from the late 18th century but the first London edition from 1726 and the
English edition with the author’s corrections made before the second edition in 1727. To
keep the reader of his rendition aware of the setting of the original Słomczyński not
only left the traditional weights and measures of the Anglo-Saxon world such as yard,
foot, mile or pound. To inform the reader about the time when the novel was written, he
archaised the text in terms of vocabulary. The original he used as the text source has
also become obsolete to contemporary English speaker. The translator rendered it
through the insertion of archaic and bookish vocabulary as well as historic terms.
A translation can be written in contemporary language and obsolete linguistic forms
need not be used to produce the effect of archaisation. They may merely mislead the
reader and hinder the reception (see Chapter 3). In order to give a text an archaic
character single words taken from the original or the period in which the book was
written can be inserted in the translation. They will signal to the reader that the story is
set in the past. This is the technique Słomczyński used. In his rendition the linguistic
30
forms are contemporary but he enriched the text with vocabulary that could be
categorised as follows:
-
obsolete vocabulary (obsolete words having their present-day counterparts);
-
historical names and terms;
-
vocabulary of literary style.
The first category includes obsolete words that are no longer in use in everyday
language. They are either easily or hardly understandable to a contemporary Polish user.
They have their counterparts in present-day Polish but added to the text make it seem
archaic. A reader perceives them as such instantly he encounters them. They include, for
instance: jadło, napitek, wiktuały, (kieszonkowa) perspektywa, umyślny (goniec),
majętność or odzienie. Some of these have been replaced with contemporary words
(e.g.: napitek replaced with napój or trunek, perspektywa replaced with luneta, etc.) and
others have remained in the language but with a different meaning than a reader expects
(e.g.: umyślny meaning messenger not intentional, kwaterka meaning a vessel
containing ¼ of a litre not a small billet or lodgings, etc.). A reader can understand
them or at least not be misled by them in an unambiguous context. The second category
comprises historical names of professions, clothes, weapons, etc. which are no longer in
use because they have lost their raison d’être. Professions such as szafarz, umyślny,
herold, pokojowiec or cyrulik vanished with their last representatives. Pieces of clothing
such as opończa or kolczuga are no longer worn or produced with the exception of a few
made for artistic reasons. No contemporary army uses weapons like muszkiet, rapier or
pika. Former legal currencies such as gwinea, moidor or pistol are now only to be found
in museums or private collections.
All these names became archaisms and are
predominantly understood by historians or experts in a given field. Some of them
are understandable to a contemporary reader as they ceased to be used not so long ago
and still exist in human consciousness. Such vocabulary usually accompanied by
annotations explaining their meaning is often used to give a text an obsolete character.
The third category includes vocabulary that, even though is not used in everyday
conversation, appears in literature and in formal contexts. Such vocabulary gives a text
a turgid or slightly obsolete character. A reader can understand it with little difficulty
but perceives it as something not completely contemporary. The examples of such lexis
used by Słomczyński include, for instance: rzec instead of powiedzieć, wprzódy instead
of poprzednio, sowity instead of znaczny or ongi instead of dawniej.
31
4.2 Archaic translation by an anonymous author
The earliest Polish rendition of Gulliver’s Travels by an anonymous author
abounds in archaic language. The difference between this translation and Słomczyński’s
is that it has archaised in a natural way without the translator’s intension as the time
passed. Maciej Słomczyński used a technique of archaisation that demands addition of
obsolete vocabulary with no alterations of linguistic forms. In this case, the forms used
by the anonymous translator were contemporary with him. Yet, they, as well as
vocabulary, became obsolete with time. Now a contemporary reader perceives them
as obsolete and they may hamper the understanding of the text. Archaic vocabulary in
this translation includes the same types as in the case of Słomczyński’s translation.
Obsolete vocabulary that has been replaced with newer nouns, verbs, adjectives and
adverbs includes, for instance: kontent, popitek, perspektywa, inkaust, kondycje, likwor,
matula or dysputa. Historical names and terms found in the text include among others:
units of measurement and quantity (sążeń, półpięta, półszósta, pręt, kwarta, łokieć, etc.),
names of weapons, military garments or military units and other military terms (szyszak,
pałasz, kołczan, halabarda, hajduk, rota etc.), former professions or names for social
classes (podskarbi, chudopachołek, metr, kramarz, ochmistrz, szambelan, konsyliarz,
etc.), former legal tenders (talar, luidor, pistol, etc.) and other vocabulary falling into
different categories. The anonymous translation also abounds in pieces of language
nowadays found only in literature, not in everyday conversation. These include, for
instance: niewiasta, ważki, krucice, wakować, naówczas, pierwej, podówczas,
poruczony, etc.). As far as linguistic forms are concerned, there are examples of
obsolete comparative and superlative forms, such as: najdoświadczeńszy, najuczeńszy,
najsamowładniejszy, pomiarkowańszy, etc. In the text one may also find collocations
that are today unacceptable. They are improper due to three major reasons. The first is
that one word in a given collocation is obsolete, i.e. no longer exists in the Polish
language (e.g.: podziwienie ludu, człowiek nieukształcony – podziwienie and
nieukształcony no longer exist in the Polish language and their present-day counterparts
are podziw and niewykształcony respectively); the second is that both words still exist in
contemporary Polish but the meaning of either has changed (e.g.: rozrządzać pisma –
rozrządzać is nowadays a term used in the railways and means to regroup cars in order
to join them to an engine). The last reason why collocations found in the anonymous
translation are unacceptable is that both elements still exist in contemporary language,
32
however, they no longer collocate in this form (e.g.: przepędzić życie, uważać niebo,
przyjść do fortuny – the collocations used nowadays are: spędzić życie, obserwować
niebo and dojść do fortuny respectively). Other obsolete linguistic forms include plural
forms created by the addition of –a suffix. Even though some plurals ending with –a can
still be found (e.g.: koszta), plurals such as interesa, projekta, systema are no longer
acceptable. The suffix –a has been replaced with –y (interesy, projekty, systemy). There
are also several examples of nouns ending with –nie which are archaic. These include,
e.g.: zasięgnienie, upłynienie, spadnienie, płynienie, rośnienie. Acceptable forms of
these nouns in contemporary Polish end with –cie. (zasięgnięcie, upłynięcie, spadnięcie,
etc.). Archaic linguistic forms observed in the translation also include obsolete case
inflection of masculine plural nouns in the genitive. These include: sekretarzów,
żeglarzów and Indianów. Forms acceptable nowadays are: sekretarzy, żeglarzy and
Indian. The last example of archaic language in the translation from 1784 is numerous
compounds with the prefix arcy- such as arcydobry, arcydelikatny, arcypożyteczny,
arcymądry, etc. Such abundance of these compounds is very rare nowadays. There are
other instances of obsolete language in the anonymous rendition but they will be dealt
with in detail in the next chapter.
Despite the differences in the manner in which the above translations became
archaic they are so perceived by the reader. They contain examples of obsolete nouns,
verbs, adjectives, adverbs and collocations and, in the case of the 18th century
translation, also linguistic forms. The examples of archaised and obsolete vocabulary
are numerous and prove the archaic form of these two translations. That is why, they
became the point of interest in this paper.
33
Chapter 5:
Consequences of archaisation
Language as a system of communication is not constant and texts archaise
spontaneously with time. The more time passes, the less understandable the text
becomes. Ultimately, the text becomes incomprehensible for the native speaker of the
language. Let us look at two examples of the most popular Christian prayer The Lord’s
Prayer. The first is written in Old English from around the year 1000 and the second is
the medieval Polish version from the early 15th century. When compared with their
modern counterparts, it becomes obvious that they have undergone the process of
archaisation. The Old English prayer is hardly understandable for the contemporary
reader even if he knows what the text represents. The text in Polish will not be as
difficult to understand for the contemporary Polish language speaker as it is almost 500
years younger than its English counterpart and more importantly it did not undergo such
drastic changes as English in the 11th century. Still, these two examples portray the
notion of ageing of language.
Fæder ure þu þu eart on heofonum,
si þin nama gehalgod.
Tobecume þin rice.
Gewurþe þin willa on eorðan swa swa on heofonum.
Urne gedæghwamlican hlaf syle us to dæg.
And forgyf us ure gyltas,
swa swa we forgyftað urum gyltendum.
And ne gelæd þu us on costnunge,
ac alys us of yfele.
(Old English circa AD 1000)
Oćcze nasz, jenże jeś na niebiesiech,
Oświęci się jimię twe, przydzi twe krolewstwo,
Bądź twa wola jako na niebie tako i na ziemi.
Chleb nasz wszedni daj nam dzisia i odpuści nam nasze winy,
Jako i my odpuszczamy naszym winowaćcom
I nie wodzi nas w pokuszenie, ale nas zbaw ode złego.
(early 15th century)
34
The above two examples presented the cases of the natural process of ageing of
language. The meaning of words, graphic representation and inflection have changed
spontaneously. Here is an example of deliberate archaisation:
Go litel book, go litel myn tragedie,
Ther God thy maker yet, er that he dye,
So sende might to make in some comedie!
But litel book, no making thou envye
But subgit be to ale poesye;
And kis the steppes,wher-as thou seest pace
Virgile, Ovyde, Homer, Lucan and Stace.
(Geoffrey Chaucer, Troilus and Criseyde)
Leć, mała księgo, mała tragedyjo,
Może Bóg dobry przed zgonem mi ziści
Moc, bym napisał przecie komedyją,
Leć mała księgo, a nie siej zawiści
I bądź mi jeno samą poezyją,
A gdy Wirgila czy Homera tropy,
Albo Owida ujrzysz, całuj stopy.
(translation by Maciej Słomczyński)
These two examples show that even though the above texts became archaic in a totally
different way, the general reader (excluding linguists, translators of old poetry and other
experts in this field) will perceive them as dating back somewhere in the past. In the
case of Lord’s Prayer the situation is somewhat different. In this example it is not only
linguistic forms and vocabulary that are archaic. The text also contains letters of the Old
English alphabet (such as ð or æ). Nevertheless, archaisation (natural or deliberate) may
have several consequences to the reception of the text. To illustrate the first
consequence let us look again at the Old English Lord’s Prayer. It is possible that
a typical (even if religious) Englishman will hardly understand the text. In case of 15th
century Polish Oćcze nasz the text is fairly comprehensible. The reason for that is the
fact that the religious texts in Poland settle into the tradition and usually oppose to some
extent changes in the language. Even present day Ojcze nasz is written in language that
is partially bookish if not obsolete (e.g.: …któryś jest w niebie…, …jako w niebie, tak
35
i na ziemi… or …nie wódź nas na pokuszenie...). Also, it must be stated one more time
that the English prayer is circa five hundred years younger. In addition, the English text
represents Old English language before it underwent a drastic change under the
influence of Norman French. However, the present day reader may not be aware or may
be completely ignorant of these facts. To him or her the only visible sign of the past is
the archaic language that may hinder its reception. The longer time passes or the more
“extreme archaisation” (Hejwowski 2004: 125) is used by the translator, the more the
text becomes incomprehensible to the contemporary reader. Another consequence of
archaisation is the change in the way a given text is perceived. A fragment of the
translation of Gulliver’s Travels (1784) can serve as an example: “…statek ten
spuszczono do rynny, a ja wlazłem do niego z niemałym trudem”. The citation is
completely understandable, however, the presence of the word wlazłem instead of
wszedłem may be a surprise for the reader. The reason is that the register of the former
has changed from neutral to marked stylistically since the word was used by the
anonymous translator in the 18th century. Another example, this time taken from
Słomczyński’s translation, reads as follows: “…półmisek mięsa stanowił pokaźny kęs,
a antałek wina spory łyk”. Here, the use of the word antałek adds to the feeling of
oldness of the text, but it does not surprise the reader. He may not be aware that it stands
for a small barrel for storing wine or beer, yet the context enables him to guess that it is
some kind of a container used in the past. This information does not hamper the
reception as it is not crucial. The difficulties begin when a seemingly understandable
word or expression stands for something else than the reader expects, i.e. it has changed
its meaning. This is another consequence of archaisation. The fragment from the
anonymous translation „Lubo ją więcej szanowałem i uwielbiałem niż ktokolwiek z jej
płci...” pictures this well. A contemporary general reader has some connotations with
the word lubo. He may understand this word as delightfully or associate it with the
words luby or luba meaning a beloved person, which are sometimes used nowadays
instead of ukochany or ukochana in humorous contexts. What he does not necessarily
know is the second meaning of the word. In the quoted fragment lubo is an adversative
conjunction though. Without this knowledge the reader may understand the fragment
incorrectly or perceive it as illogical or ungrammatical. Another example is the
fragment: ”...ja przy nich stojąc na gotowalni...”. An average reader will understand
the noun gotowalnia as an obsolete word meaning kuchnia or a place where food is
cooked. The word, however, represents something totally different. Gotowalnia is an
36
obsolete name for a room for washing and dressing. Thus, the message falls through.
Apart from misleading the reader, an archaic text may raise humorous associations. In
the first part of the anonymous translation, Gulliver says: “Jako, że wino mają
wyśmienite, począłem odczuwać pragnienie by wypuścić urynę”. In the second part of
the same translation the main character says at the dinner table: „Podziękowałem jej z
największą pokorą i dobywszy noża i grabków...”. And in the same part of the book the
servants “gotują mu pokoje”. All the above examples may not only surprise the readers
but also amuse them. The first citation is nowadays to be understood as some kind of
pseudo-medical expression. The second contains the noun grabki, which no longer
means widelec (fork as a piece of cutlery) in Polish, but only rake. In English, however,
the word fork still represents both a piece of cutlery and a tool. Although the reader will
understand the fragment, he or she will find it humorous. The last example cited above
presents a collocation no longer present in this form in today’s Polish. Gotować means
to cook, so the collocation gotować pokoje seems comical. When a guest arrives, Poles
do not gotują pokoje (cook rooms) but przygotowują pokoje (prepare rooms).
All the above examples present various consequences of archaisation.
Depending on the level of archaisation, the text may be understood differently than the
writer had expected. Partial understanding, humorous associations or understanding
the text incorrectly (due to the change of meaning of some vocabulary) are the
consequences. In extreme cases the text may not be understood at all. If the inability to
understand concerns a text that has archaised naturally, one may raise a question
whether to modernise it or not. In the case of deliberate archaisation, the translator must
answer the question whether such extreme archaising was justified. Deliberate
archaisation may be the success of a translator, but a torment to the reader.
37
Chapter 6:
Practical analysis of selected examples
In this chapter I would like to present and analyse a selection of examples of
archaic language from two renditions of Gulliver’s Travels into Polish. The full list
of archaisms and archaic language can be found in Appendix. The first translation by
an anonymous author comes from the late 18th century and contains language that has
archaised naturally. In this case both linguistic forms and vocabulary became obsolete.
The second by Maciej Słomczyński is an example of deliberate archaisation. The text,
as far as linguistic forms are concerned, is contemporary to us. To give the feeling of
oldness the author inserted numerous archaisms in the text. These archaisms, however,
in most cases are understandable for the general contemporary reader and do not
hamper the understanding of the text. I have based my analysis of the texts on several
dictionaries of Polish, which are listed in Bibliography. I must add that a few items may
appear more than once as they fall into two or more categories (e.g.: kwarta is
an example of an archaic unit of measurement and a contemporary word used in sport
terminology). I will present those elements of language, which are nowadays perceived
as obsolete. The most frequent examples are those of obsolete vocabulary and that is
why, they constitute the majority of items analysed in this chapter. To make the analysis
clearer I have divided the items into the following categories:
A. Analysis of examples taken from the anonymous translation of Gulliver’s
Travels (natural archaisation)
I. Archaic vocabulary
a. Archaic vocabulary replaced by different lexical items in modern Polish
b. Vocabulary that can be misleading because its meaning has changed in
modern Polish
c. Historical vocabulary
d. Bookish vocabulary
II. Obsolete collocations
III. Changes in grammar and morphology
a. Plural forms
b. Formation of nouns by adding suffixes
38
c. Case inflection of nouns
d. The use of Polish Past Perfect tense
e. Frequent compounds with arcy- prefix
B. Analysis of examples taken from Słomczyński’s translation of Gulliver’s Travels
(deliberate archaisation)
I. Archaic vocabulary replaced by different lexical items in modern Polish
II. Historical vocabulary
III. Bookish vocabulary
A. Analysis of examples taken from the anonymous translation
of Gulliver’s Travels (natural archaisation)
I. Archaic vocabulary
In this part I will present a selection of archaic vocabulary found in the
anonymous translation of Gulliver’s Travels from 1784. They are no longer present in
contemporary Polish. They are noted in Polish dictionaries as archaic and/or marked
stylistically. They fall into the following categories: archaic vocabulary replaced by
different lexical items in modern Polish, vocabulary that can be misleading because its
meaning has changed in modern Polish, historical vocabulary and bookish vocabulary.
To illustrate the archaic examples in the translation and to demonstrate how these
fragments should read in contemporary Polish, I will provide modernised examples of
the fragments. They are not by any means the only possible modern versions. Their
purpose is merely to demonstrate possible forms allowed by contemporary Polish.
a. Archaic vocabulary replaced by different lexical items
in modern Polish
This category presents words which according to contemporary Polish
dictionaries are archaic. In some cases their forms enable the contemporary reader to
guess their meaning or at least have some vague understanding of what they represent.
The meaning of other items may not be understood at all. By comparing them with
contemporary words, the reader may only be able to guess whether a given word is
a noun, verb, adjective or adverb. They have been replaced with modern vocabulary and
39
are no longer used in everyday Polish. Several of them originated from Latin words and
are similar in form to items of lexis of other European languages. Thus, a contemporary
reader may confuse them with Anglicisms.
drobnowidz
Citation: „...będąc w miarę naszego wzroku i wzrostu, lecz drobnowidz, który je
powiększa...”
Contemporary synonym: mikroskop
Here, the obsolete noun drobnowidz for “an optical instrument that produces
a magnified image of a small, close object” has been replaced with mikroskop. The
former is an example of a Polish compound noun combining an adverb drobno (formed
out of the adjective drobny – small) and widz (a noun derived from the verb widzieć –
see). It is an example of a fully Polish word coined to name a new piece of equipment.
Yet, with time, it has been replaced with a more international synonym mikroskop,
which resembles its counterparts found in other European languages (e.g.: English
microscope, German Mikroskop, Spanish microscopio, etc.). Nowadays, it is
a noticeable tendency in the case of scientific language, for instance Polish opornik
being replaced with rezystor. That is why, a contemporary reader expects to read:
„...będąc w miarę naszego wzroku i wzrostu, lecz mikroskop, który je powiększa...”
dykcjonarz
Citation: „...ze słów, których się nauczyłem ułożyłem piękny dykcjonarz...”
Contemporary synonyms: słownik, leksykon, encyklopedia
The main character of the book, having spent some time in a new country, was
able to learn so many words as to organise them in the form of dykcjonarz. The
definition in Kopaliński’s foreign vocabulary dictionary gives three meanings of the
word: słownik (dictionary), leksykon (lexicon) and encyklopedia (encyclopaedia). The
context is clear enough to assume that the most appropriate contemporary synonym is
słownik. That is why, a modernised version should be:
„...ze słów, których się nauczyłem ułożyłem piękny słownik...”
dysputacja/dysputa
Citation: „Król prowadzi dysputę z wielkimi uczonymi Jego Majestatu”.
40
Contemporary synonyms: dyskusja, polemika
Dysputa (the art or practice of dispute) is noted in all contemporary Polish
dictionaries as obsolete. It is fairly comprehensible and sometimes appears in
contemporary texts. Nevertheless, it has yielded to modern nouns such as dyskusja or
polemika. The anonymous translation contains a similar noun dysputacja (Lat.
disputatio), which was at the time the archaic word for dysputa. The latter noun
replaced the former at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. Eventually, it also
archaised and gave in to dyskusja and polemika. The consequence of the continual
process of language ageing forces the change of the text into the following form:
„Król prowadzi dyskusję z wielkimi uczonymi Jego Majestatu”
or „Król dyskutuje/polemizuje z wielkimi uczonymi Jego Majestatu”
ekskuzować (and rachowanie)
Citation: „...przyniósł suknie bardzo źle zrobione. Ekskuzował się, że pomylił się
w rachowaniu”.
Contemporary synonyms: tłumaczyć, usprawiedliwiać, uniewinniać
Although the verb ekskuzować (Lat. excuso) is fairly understandable, especially
for those who know European languages, it is obsolete and not used anymore. It used to
mean to explain, excuse or acquit. In Doroszewski’s dictionary the word is illustrated
with the citation from 1763: ”Monarchowie, jeżeli (...) czynią co w państwie sobie
powierzonym niesprawiedliwego, trudno ich ekskuzować”. This word can also be found
in the novel Kariera Nikodema Dyzmy, which describes Poland of the 1920s. This leads
to the conclusion that it has archaised relatively recently. Also the noun rachowanie
(from archaic verb rachować – to count) is obsolete and stands for the contemporary
liczenie or obliczanie (counting). In this context the latter word is more suitable. Thus,
the modern version of the fragment should sound:
„...przyniósł suknie bardzo źle zrobione. Tłumaczył się, że pomylił się w obliczeniach”.
ekwator
Citation: “…o trzy stopnie na północ od Ekwatora…”
Contemporary synonym: równik
41
The obsolete noun ekwator stands for “the great circle of the earth with
a latitude of 0o”. A person acquainted with the terminology from the field of geography
will understand it easily, however, a general reader will not. The word comes directly
from late Latin and can be found in several modern languages. Here, the word equator
(that would be easily understood by some foreigners) has been replaced with a Polish
noun coined out of the adjective równy (even). This example presents a process contrary
to the one presented above in the case of drobnowidz. International ekwator was
replaced with a Polish noun. Contemporary Polish allows the fragment to take the
following form:
“…o trzy stopnie na północ od równika…”
gotowalnia
Citation: „Rozbierały się przy mnie (...) nic nie uważając na wstyd (...), a ja przy nich
stojąc na gotowalni...”
Contemporary synonym: ≈ garderoba
Gotowalnia is an obsolete noun that denotes a room for storing clothes, changing
and doing the toilet. It has no direct synonym in contemporary Polish. The word closest
in meaning is nowadays garderoba (dressing room). Gotowalnia is related to the verb
gotować, which among other meanings represents a rarely used word for to prepare or
get ready. However, the primary meaning of this verb is to cook. That is why,
gotowalnia nowadays can be confused with kitchen or any other place for cooking food.
To modernise the text it either ought to be rephrased and the archaic noun ought to be
omitted or replaced with garderoba.
„Rozbierały się przy mnie (...) nie zważając na wstyd (...), a ja przy nich
stojąc (w garderobie)...”
Holandczyk
Citation: „Złośliwość jednego Holandczyka”.
Contemporary synonym: Holender
Holandczyk is the obsolete name for a Dutchman. Nouns denoting male
inhabitants of countries with the suffix –czyk are commonly used in Polish nowadays
(e.g.: Brazylijczyk, Australijczyk, Islandczyk, etc.) but the contemporary name for a male
42
Dutch is Holender. Even though it is understood, it is perceived as incorrect, rather than
archaic.
„Złośliwość jednego Holendra”.
inkaust
Citation: „Przyszedł do mnie jeden człowiek od Króla z piórem, inkaustem
i papierem...”
Contemporary synonym: atrament
This word is an obsolete synonym of atrament. In isolation it is not widely
understood. In context, however, the general reader is able to identify the meaning of
the noun as he has some connotations of the former way of writing before pens and
other writing equipment were introduced. Atrament is associated with kałamarz – a still
contemporary word, which stands for the vessel to store the writing liquid. The
contemporary version should read:
„Przyszedł do mnie jeden człowiek od Króla z piórem, atramentem i papierem...”
lubo
Citation: „Lubo ją więcej szanowałem i uwielbiałem niż ktokolwiek z jej płci, nie
mogłem nie zauważyć jej brzydoty.”
Contemporary synonyms: 1) miło, przyjemnie, z przyjemnością; 2) choć, chociaż
The word lubo has two forms and meanings: it is both an adverb meaning nicely,
pleasantly and an adversative conjunction though. A contemporary general reader has
some connotations with the word lubo. He may guess the meaning of the verb
functioning as an adverb or associate it with the words luby or luba meaning a beloved
person, which are sometimes used nowadays instead of ukochany or ukochana in
humorous contexts. Also, the verb lubować się (to delight, to savour) even though not
used so frequently by contemporary Polish users, is still present in modern Polish. The
second meaning of lubo is more problematic. The first encounter with the fragment in
the book leads to confusion as the contemporary reader is unaware of the second
meaning of lubo. The reader may understand the fragment incorrectly or perceive it as
illogical or ungrammatical. With clear context the meaning can be guessed in most
43
cases but to avoid such misunderstandings the word ought to be replaced with its
modern counterpart choć, chociaż:
„Choć ją więcej szanowałem i uwielbiałem niż ktokolwiek z jej płci, nie mogłem nie
zauważyć jej brzydoty...”
lubownik
Citation: „...z trudnością dała się nakłonić, ja zaś, chociaż nie jestem lubownikiem
podobnych widowisk...”
Contemporary synonyms: miłośnik, wielbiciel, amator, zwolennik
This item is to such an extent obsolete that is not noted by most contemporary
Polish dictionaries. This compound, formed from luby and suffix –(w)nik (used to create
nouns), was frequently used in the 17th century texts but later it disappeared. The suffix,
however, is still frequently used to create contemporary nouns, e.g.: wojownik,
pracownik, kierownik, etc. The word lubownik became archaic long ago and it did not
survive in this form. However, the meaning can be guessed fairly easily (see “lubo”
above). Modern translation reads as follows:
„...z trudnością dała się nakłonić, ja zaś, chociaż nie jestem miłośnikiem
(or zwolennikiem) podobnych widowisk...”
(nie)kontent (and wypuszczenie)
Citation: „Opuściłem także wszystkie podania długości i szerokości geograficznej
i obawiam się, że pan Guliwer (nie)kontent1 będzie z tych wypuszczeń2...”
Contemporary synonyms: 1 zadowolony, uszczęśliwiony, rad, wesół
2
opuszczenie
Kontent (contented) and its negative form niekontent are obsolete words and
their contemporary equivalents are provided above. The text also contains a noun
formed from this word (nie)ukontentowanie. It is easily understood, especially by an
older reader, and its meaning is associated with one of its modern synonyms provided
above. The most common contemporary equivalents of the verb and the noun formed
from it are (nie)zadowolony and (nie)zadowolenie respectively. In order to modernise
the fragment the second archaism wypuszczenie also needs to be changed, which is the
obsolete form of opuszczenie (from the verb opuszczać – leave out). Thus, modern
version of the fragment should read:
44
„Opuściłem także wszystkie podania długości i szerokości geograficznej i obawiam się,
że pan Guliwer niezadowolony będzie z tych opuszczeń...”
pięćkroć (and dusza)
Citation: „Miasto może w sobie pomieścić pięćkroć1 sto tysięcy dusz2”.
Contemporary synonyms: 1pięciokrotnie, pięć razy, pięciokroć;
2
ludzie, osoby, mieszkańcy (in this context)
This word is a combination of a numeral pięć (five) and kroć which is the second
part of compounds with numerals or pronouns and determines the number of repetitions
of something. The word kroć in the form of krocie (determining a large quantity of
something, usually wealth) is obsolete, but can sometimes be heard in phrases like
przegrać krocie or zrobić na czymś krocie. Although the compound pięćkroć (and
similar compounds present in the anonymous translation – dwakroć and sześćkroć) is
fairly understood, it is only present in literature. However, its modernised version
pięciokroć is present in present-day Polish. Kroć in contemporary Polish appears rarer
than the word razy (as in dwa razy, pięć razy, sześć razy, etc.). Another possibility to
express pięćkroć in contemporary Polish is to form a compound similar to it with the
use of -krotny. Pięciokrotny, present in modern language, is perceived as more bookish
and is used rarer than pięć razy in everyday conversation. The fragment will not seem
contemporary by simple substitution of pięćkroć with pięć razy. The whole citation
seems obsolete because Poles do not talk in this way. The sentence: „Miasto może w
sobie pomieścić pięć razy sto tysięcy dusz” does not sound contemporary, even though
the obsolete pięćkroć has been removed. Also, the word dusza is nowadays rarely used
with reference to people. In this context the word needs to be replaced with ludzie,
osoby or mieszkańcy. That is why, the sentence should be rephrased and should take, for
instance, the following form:
„Miasto może w sobie pomieścić pięćset tysięcy mieszkańców (or ludzi or osób)”
posesja
Citation: „...sposób, jakim się wchodzi w posesję nowowynalezionego kraju...”
Contemporary synonyms: posiadłość, nieruchomość
In this fragment posesja forms a collocation with wejść and the whole phrase
stands for to come into possession of something. The former word has changed its
45
meaning and now means property or land. The latter is a contemporary Polish word.
The modern equivalent for posesja is posiadanie (possession). Thus, the whole
fragment in modern Polish ought to read:
„...sposób, jakim się wchodzi w posiadanie nowoodkrytego lądu.”
półszósta
Citation: „Co za radość była odwiedzić kochaną ojczyznę po półszósta roku mojej w niej
nieprzytomności!”
Contemporary synonyms: sześć i pół, sześć i jedna druga
Półszósta stands for six and a half and, unlike pięćkroć analysed above, misleads
the contemporary reader. He understands that it represents a certain unit of
measurement or a numeral, but is unable to determine the exact meaning. It is often
confused with a fraction or the number three (półszósta can be understood as half six).
In this translation the information is not vital, thus, it does not hamper the understanding
of the text. However, if it was vital, it would lead to confusion. The translator in order to
avoid it, should replace the numeral with sześć i pół. The fragment contains another
obsolete word nieprzytomność, but as it exemplifies a different category of archaisms
that will be discussed later in this chapter, I will change it with no further analysis. The
contemporary reader expects to read:
„Co za radość była odwiedzić kochaną ojczyznę po sześciu i pół latach mojej w niej
nieobecności!”
wikt
Citation: „...by co dzień dostarczały sześć wołów, czterdzieści baranów i innej na mój
wikt1 żywności, wraz z odpowiednią ilością chleba, wina i inszych2 popitków”.
Contemporary synonyms: 1(całodzienne) wyżywienie, utrzymanie;
2
inny
The word wikt is noted by contemporary Polish dictionaries as obsolete or
humorous, if used. It is known in the phrase wikt i opierunek. Wikt stands for full board
and has been replaced with the contemporary wyżywienie or utrzymanie. However, in
this context to avoid clumsy repetition (wyżywienie and żywność) the latter seems more
appropriate. In order to modernise the fragment, the text needs to be altered so it
matches the contemporary equivalent. Also, the obsolete inszy needs to be replaced with
46
its contemporary synonym inny (other). If the fragment is not supposed to be marked
stylistically (by the meaning of wikt), it should read:
„...by co dzień dostarczały sześć wołów, czterdzieści baranów i innej na moje
utrzymanie żywności, wraz z odpowiednią ilością chleba, wina i innych popitków”.
b. Vocabulary that can be misleading because its meaning has
changed in modern Polish
This category presents vocabulary, which exists in modern Polish, but with
changed meaning. This, in certain cases may lead to misunderstanding the text. An
example of such a process could be the contemporary word komórka. It has several
meanings two of which are: small room used to store food or tools or a colloquial name
for cell phone. It is possible that the former meaning of komórka will disappear in the
future as it has other more precise equivalents (spiżarnia, szopa, etc.) and the word will
only be associated with the technical device. The examples presented below illustrate
the process of the change of meaning. I have provided the reader with former meanings
of the analysed items.
kwarta
Citation: „Zmęczenie, upał i pół kwarty wódki (...) pobudziły mnie do snu”.
Former meaning: unit of measurement equal to 1 litre
Kwarta formerly denoted a unit of measurement equal to 1 litre or a vessel of
this capacity. Nowadays, this word exists in contemporary Polish, but stands for
something else and is used in musical or sport terminology. The general reader, given
the word in isolation, is unable to associate it with a unit of measurement. In the
context, however, he is able to identify it as some kind of unit. Still, the exact meaning
is unknown. In the cases of other obsolete units of measurement, this information is not
vital to understand the text. Nevertheless, the reader perceives kwarta as archaic and
this piece of information in the archaic text is lost. In order to understand the fragment
completely, the contemporary reader ought to be given additional information in the
form of a footnote or the text should be modernised by replacing the obsolete word with
a modern equivalent. This, however, may require the use of anachronistic vocabulary
47
(see Chapter 3). Modern version of the fragment with inserted anachronism could read
as follows:
„Zmęczenie, upał i pół litra wódki (...) pobudziły mnie do snu”.
nazwisko
Citation: „...porównując go z tym drzewem, które i w [ich] języku odpowiednie ma
nazwisko...”
Former meanings: nazwa, miano
This item is an example of a word whose meaning has changed in the course of
time. When presented in isolation, the contemporary reader associates it solely with
what the word represents nowadays. In the context, however, the former meaning can be
understood. Still, the fragment is perceived as archaic or containing an error. To fit the
contemporary language standards the fragment needs to be changed:
„Porównując go z tym drzewem, które i w ich języku odpowiednią ma nazwę.”
nieprzytomność
Citation: „Co za radość była odwiedzić kochaną ojczyznę po półszósta roku mojej w niej
nieprzytomności!”
Former meaning: nieobecność
Nieprzytomność in contemporary Polish is a noun related to the adjective
nieprzytomny (unconscious). Formerly it described the state of not being in a given
place. Thus, a phrase, for instance: nieprzytomność matki used to mean that matka
(mother) was absent. Nowadays, the phrase is interpreted differently, i.e. mother’s
unconscioussness. The context enables the reader to identify the former meaning of the
noun. Nevertheless, the reader finds the fragment comical. The substitution of
nieprzytomność with nieobecność (and półszósta with sześć i pół – see I a.) modernises
the text:
„Co za radość była odwiedzić kochaną ojczyznę po sześciu i pół latach mojej w niej
nieobecności!”
płeć (and członki)
Citation: „...członki ma delikatne, płeć bielszą i piękniejszą niżeli najlepszego urodzenia
dziewczynka”.
48
and „zarzucano mi, żem spotwarzył urzędników stanu (...) i płeć niewieścią
osławił...”
Former meanings: cera, płeć
The word płeć appears twice in the 1784 translation. In each case the meaning is
different. In the first quotation it stands for cera (complexion) and in the second the
meaning is the same as nowadays (sex, gender). The first citation is a description of the
beauty of a woman (e.g.: …płeć bielszą niżeli…– …complexion fairer than…). In
contemporary Polish such use of the noun is unacceptable and the archaic translation
poses a problem for the contemporary reader. Also, the plural noun członki (limbs), even
though not noted by contemporary dictionaries as archaic, is no longer used in everyday
speech and sounds bookish for a general reader. He expects to read:
„...kończyny (or ręce i nogi) ma delikatne, cerę bielszą i piękniejszą niżeli najlepszego
urodzenia dziewczynka”.
posesja (and wynaleźć)
Citation: „Mówiąc prawdę, sposób, jakim się wchodzi w posesję1 nowowynalezionego2
kraju...”
Former meaning(s): 1posiadanie, dzierżawa
2
nowoodkryty
Posesja in contemporary Polish denotes property, especially an enclosed piece
of land. In the fragment it forms a collocation wejść w posesję, which in modern
language reads wejść w posiadanie. Posesja no longer stands for the state of owning
something. Its modern equivalent is posiadanie (from posiadać – have, own). Also, the
compound nowowynaleziony (newly invented) is obsolete. Wynaleźć (invent) is used in
contemporary Polish with reference to inventions. In the fragment its meaning equals
the contemporary odkryć (discover). The phrase nowowynaleziony kraj is incorrect
according to modern standards. Modern Polish allows the phrase nowoodkryty kraj. For
the fragment to sound contemporary one more alteration needs to be made. Kraj
nowadays stands for country. In the translation the word means any new region or land.
Thus, the modernised fragment should take the following form:
„Mówiąc prawdę, sposób, jakim się wchodzi w posiadanie nowoodkrytego
lądu...”
49
suknia
Citation: „...aby trzystu krawców robiło dla mnie suknie podług mody krajowej...”
Former meanings: ubiór, ubranie
This item is an example of narrowing (see Chapter 2), i.e. a given word with
time acquires a narrower sense and is often used in one special connection. Here, the
former meaning of suknia was ubiór, ubranie (clothes) so it was used to name any
clothes for both sexes. It has survived until present with its former meaning only in
the proverb “Nie suknia zdobi człowieka, ale człowiek suknię”. Nowadays, however,
the meaning of the word has narrowed to the name of one particular piece of women’s
garment suknia (dress). The meaning of the word in the context is obvious, but it may
evoke humorous associations. The modern version of the text ought to replace suknia
with ubiór or ubranie:
„...aby trzystu krawców robiło dla mnie ubrania według mody krajowej...”
trabant
Citation: „Naukowcy odkryli dwa trabanty Marsa.”
Former meanings: name for medieval Polish infantry, later satellite
The word trabant is an interesting example of how the meaning of words
changes throughout history. In the Middle Ages it denoted a member of a ruler’s
personal guard. Later it was the synonym of present satelita and it appears in this
meaning in the anonymous translation. Presently, it is associated with the make of cars
produced in the former East Germany. The contemporary reader is unaware of the
former meaning of trabant. Thus, the fragment should be rewritten and in modern
Polish could read:
„Naukowcy odkryli dwa satelity Marsa.”
wena
Citation: „Krew z arterii i wen w takiej masie wytrysnęła...”
Former meaning: żyła
The archaic wena comes from Latin vena and it used to mean “any of the tubular
vessels that convey oxygen-depleted blood to the heart”. Several European languages
possess similar nouns, all of which are related to the Latin word (English vein, German
50
Vene, Spanish vena, etc). In the case of Polish, wena has been replaced with żyła.
Presently, the general reader associates wena solely with its present meaning, i.e.:
inspiration and luck in game. The context enables the reader to guess the former
meaning of the noun, especially because wena appears together with arteria (artery),
which is still present in contemporary Polish. Nevertheless, the modern version should
read:
„Krew z arterii i żył w takiej masie wytrysnęła...”
c. Historical vocabulary
This category comprises words and expressions that are historical. These include
names for units of measurement and quantity, names of weapons, military garments or
military units and other military terms, former professions or names for social classes,
former legal tenders and other vocabulary falling into different categories. Some of the
above are fairly understandable for the general reader as they appear in literature and
films (e.g.: talar, golibroda, tancmistrz, etc.). Others are understood only by experts in
given fields (e.g.: pludry, suplika, ochmistrz, etc.).
ekwipaż (and liberia)
Citation: „...mają tak jak i my ekwipaże1, liberie2, dostojeństwa i urzędy...”
Definitions: 1lekki pojazd konny, zwykle luksusowy (type of cart); 2ubranie służby na
dworach wielkopańskich, zwykle w barwach herbowych (livery)
These two obsolete words present different levels of incomprehension. In the
case of ekwipaż the contemporary general reader does not associate it with a type of
horse-drawn vehicle. He may wrongly assume that this is an obsolete word for
ekwipunek as it is graphically similar. To make it understandable it can be substituted
with other words such as kareta, or kabriolet, which also stand for a type of light
vehicle, usually luxurious, drawn by horses, and are commonly understood by
contemporary readers. Liberia, on the other hand, in isolation is associated mostly with
the name of the African country or with wolność (liberty). The context also does not
allow to guess the meaning of the word. It can be understood by a small group of Poles
on the basis of comparison as liberia nowadays is the name for a uniform worn by hotel
or restaurant workers. The common feature of the former and present meaning of
the noun is that liberia is a type of uniform representing colours (or the coat of arms) of
51
the employer (or lord). Nevertheless, to retain the archaic style of the book but to make
it understandable liberia can be replaced with one of the well known bookish words
such as szaty or odzienie (the former represents a more sophisticated apparel and sounds
more appropriate in this context):
„...mają tak jak i my karety, szaty, dostojeństwa i urzędy...”
kołczan
Citation: „...moje zdziwienie, gdym ujrzał osóbkę malutką (...) z łukiem i strzałą w ręku
i kołczanem na ramieniu!”
Definition: pochwa na strzały do łuku, zwykle skórzana lub drewniana, obciągnięta
skórą albo tkaniną, noszona na pasku przez ramię, u pasa lub
przytwierdzona przy siodle; używana w Polsce do XVIII w. (quiver)
Kołczan is a representative of historical words, which are still fairly understood
nowadays. This word disappeared from everyday Polish in the 18th century when bows
(as weapons) were replaced by firearms. However, bows are still used nowadays in
sports and entertainment. That is why, words such as łuk, strzała, kołczan or related
kusza and bełt are understood by the contemporary reader. Also, the context is very
clear. Thus, kołczan may be left in the modern translation unchanged or, in the case of
the young reader, footnoted.
luidor
Citation: „Każda sztuka [złota] była wielkości ośmiuset luidorów...”
Definition: złota moneta francuska z wizerunkiem króla na awersie, bita od połowy
XVII do początków XIX w (formerly used French coin)
This French coin was in circulation from the mid 17th to early 19th century. It
poses certain difficulties with understanding the text by the general reader. Yet, in the
context, he may be able to associate the word with some kind of former legal tender. To
maintain the archaic form of the translation it could be left in the modern translation (as
in the case of dinar or mina in the Bible). It could also be replaced with other names of
former coins, for example: talar, dukat. These coins were used in several European
countries at the time when Swift wrote his novel and are known better by the
contemporary Polish user. The last possibility is to rephrase the whole fragment and
omit the historic luidor (or others).
52
„Każda sztuka [złota] była wielkości ośmiuset luidorów...” (left unchanged)
or „Każda sztuka [złota] była wielkości ośmiuset dukatów...” (functional equivalent)
or „Każda sztuka [złota] warta była krocie...” (hypernym)
ochmistrz/ ochmistrzyni
Citation: „...dzieci były zawsze jednak w przytomności ochmistrzyni, aż do lat pięciu...”
Definition: w dawnej Polsce: zarządzający dworem panującego lub magnata, czasem
również opiekun dzieci na tych dworach
Ochmistrz (or female ochmistrzyni) represents a former profession of a land
agent and/or carer. Its form enables the contemporary reader to guess that it represents
a former profession of some kind, yet it is difficult to determine its exact meaning. The
fragment tells about young children being accompanied by ochmistrzyni. This enables
the reader to understand that it is a type of a child carer or teacher. Its contemporary
equivalents are opiekun(ka), nauczyciel(ka), zarządca or obsolete, but still fairly
understood guwernantka. Neither of the words is a sufficient modern equivalent, but in
this context the best contemporary synonym may be opiekunka or guwernantka:
„...dzieci były zawsze jednak w obecności1 opiekunki, aż do lat pięciu...”
or „...dzieci były zawsze jednak w obecności1 guwernantki, aż do lat pięciu...”
1
see I b. przytomność
sążeń (and łokieć)
Citation: „Słyszałem także w odległości może dwóch sążni ode mnie...”
Definition: dawna jednostka długości, używana do początków XX w.; w Polsce sążeń
równał się około 1,7 m (unit of measurement)
This obsolete unit of measurement ceased to be used in the early 20th century.
The contemporary reader is able to identify the word as a unit of measurement, but only
vaguely. Depending on the age of the reader the understanding of sążeń varies from
partial understanding to complete incomprehension. Older readers seem to identify it
more frequently. The reason may be the fact that they tend to read more than younger
people. The problem with sążeń (as well as with several obsolete units of measurement)
is that it has no direct equivalent in contemporary Polish. If it is replaced with metr it
will be anachronistic. One possibility is to use Polonised units from the Anglo-Saxon
countries cal, stopa, jard (inch, foot, yard), which appear in the original version and are
53
still present in contemporary English. These units are to some extent known by
contemporary Poles as they appear in literature and films. The reader may not be aware
of their exact meaning, yet they are better understood than sążeń. This is the technique
Słomczyński used in the case of units of measurement, but his rendition will be
discussed later in this chapter. Another unit of measurement also present in the
anonymous translation is łokieć. In this case when the reader guesses its meaning from
the context, he will also be able to determine the distance it expresses and the message
will be fully understood. To retain the archaic form of the book, but to make it more
understandable for the general reader sążeń can be replaced with łokieć. The number of
łokieć (or stopa) can be increased in order to keep the distance mentioned in the book
and the translation can take the following form:
„Słyszałem także w odległości może trzech metrów ode mnie...” (anachronism)
or „Słyszałem także w odległości może dziesięciu stóp ode mnie...” (replaced with stopa)
or „Słyszałem także w odległości może sześciu łokci ode mnie...” (replaced with łokieć)
czeladź
Citation: „Na koniec odesławszy czeladź swoją do roboty Król...”
Definition: dawna służba u magnatów i szlachty używana do posług w domu, jako straż
w zamku, grodzie itp., a także towarzysząca swoim panom w wyprawach
wojennych (type of servant)
The contemporary recipient reading the fragment is able to state that czeladź
stands for a group of people, possibly servants or workers as the king wysyła ich do
roboty (sends them to work). The closest contemporary synonym could be służba
(service). However, the scope of duties is different in these two cases. The obsolete
czeladź, as the definition says, apart from looking after the house/ castle, guarded it and
accompanied their lord in military expeditions, whereas służba does not. If we assume
that this additional information is not vital, the substitution can take place to create
a modern version of the fragment:
„Na koniec odesławszy służbę swoją do roboty Król...”
suplika
Citation: „...spuszczono wiele sznurków (...) ażeby lud do tych sznurków przywiązywał
swoje supliki...”
54
Definition: pisemna prośba, skarga zwłaszcza składana panu przez chłopa w XVI-XVIII
w. (a written request or complaint)
This obsolete word is hardly understandable for the contemporary general
reader, even if presented in the context. That is why, the translator ought to provide
a footnote or replace the noun with one of the closest contemporary equivalents pisemna
prośba or skarga. If suplika is replaced, the fragment loses its archaic overtone, but
becomes fully understandable. The addition of the adjective pisemny provides the
general reader with additional information that the requests or complaints have some
written representation and facilitates the understanding. If it is omitted, it should still be
understandable because one cannot przywiązać prośbę/ skargę do sznurka if it does not
have some material form. Modern version may read:
„...spuszczono wiele sznurków (...) ażeby lud do tych sznurków przywiązywał
swoje prośby i skargi (na piśmie)...”
d. Bookish vocabulary
To this category fall bookish words that appear in the anonymous translation.
They are usually well understood by the contemporary reader, even though they are not
used in everyday speech. In some cases, however, they may pose difficulties for the
general reader (e.g.: chędożyć).
chędożyć
Citation: „...którzy [koniom] czeszą włosy, chędożą i ocierają skórę...”
Standard Polish synonyms: czyścić, myć, sprzątać, porządkować
This word is one of examples that are problematic for the general reader. The
meaning of the word is hardly known nowadays. This verb stands for czyścić (clean),
myć (wash) or sprzątać (tidy). The context enables to grasp the general meaning of the
verb. Nevertheless, for the fragment to be understood widely by the contemporary
reader, it ought to be substituted with one of its standard Polish synonyms. In this
context the most suitable equivalent is myć or czyścić:
„...którzy [koniom] czeszą włosy, myją (/czyszczą) i ocierają skórę...”
familia
Citation: „...z małą liczbą jednostek twojego gatunku, a szczególnie z tymi z mej
55
familii...”
Standard Polish synonyms: rodzina, ród, krewni
Familia is easily understandable for the contemporary reader. Yet, it is
stylistically marked as humorous if used instead of contemporary rodzina. It can be used
in the translation to mark oldness of the book or replaced with rodzina with little change
of meaning of the fragment. Also, the possessive adjective ma (familia) is obsolete for
contemporary moja. It should also be replaced for the fragment to sound contemporary:
„...z małą liczbą jednostek twojego gatunku, a szczególnie z tymi z mojej
rodziny...”
podołek
Citation: „Wśród1 obiadu kot, pieszczoch pani, wskoczył na jej podołek2.”
Standard Polish synonyms: 1podczas, w czasie, w trakcie;
Definiton: 2wklęsłość, wgłębienie tworzące się z przodu w spódnicy, w sukni lub w
fartuchu dzięki uniesieniu ich brzegów lub przy siadaniu; ≈ kolana (lap)
Although the noun is fairly understood nowadays, it is perceived as obsolete. In
some cases the meaning is unknown, especially for younger readers. The dictionaries
I have consulted mark it as bookish, not obsolete. Nevertheless, to sound contemporary
it ought to be replaced with its standard Polish synonym kolana as in usiąść na
kolanach or wziąć (kogoś) na kolana. Another word from the citation is wśród. In the
translation it means podczas (during), yet, in contemporary language it is rarely used in
this meaning. Nowadays, the primary meaning of the word is wśród (among), między
(between), w środku (in the middle), etc. That is why, the stylistically neutral fragment
in contemporary Polish should read, for instance:
„Podczas obiadu kot, pieszczoch pani, wskoczył jej na kolana.”
wieczerza
Citation: „...kapitan kazał mi niezwłocznie dać wieczerzę...”
Standard Polish synonyms: kolacja, wieczorny posiłek
Wieczerza is widely understood by the contemporary reader and stands for
kolacja (supper). However, it is stylistically marked and does not appear in everyday
language. It rouses religious connotations as in the expression Ostatnia Wieczerza (The
56
Last Supper). If the text is to be marked as archaic the word can be used in the
translation. Otherwise, it should be substituted with kolacja:
„...kapitan kazał mi niezwłocznie (po)dać kolację...”
zwierciadło
Citation: „...gdy mnie Królowa wzięła na rękę i przed zwierciadłem trzymała...”
Standard Polish synonym: lustro
Zwierciadło is the bookish equivalent of standard Polish lustro (mirror). Its
meaning is well known by contemporary general reader as it frequently appears in
literature, especially in fairy tales. It is associated with its diminutive form in the phrase
“Zwierciadełko powiedz przecie, kto najpiękniejszy jest na świecie?” that is the
fragment of The Sleeping Beauty by Perrault. Hence, this bookish word can be left
unchanged in the translation. However, the contemporary version of the fragment
should read:
„...gdy mnie Królowa wzięła na rękę i przed lustrem trzymała...”
II. Obsolete collocations
In this part I would like to present obsolete collocations found in the anonymous
translation. There are three main reasons why the collocations are no longer acceptable
in contemporary Polish. The first is that at least one word forming a given collocation is
obsolete, and thus the whole phrase is incorrect. The second reason is that one (or more)
words forming a collocation changed its meaning and it does not mean what it used to.
The third main reason is that words, which form obsolete collocations, are still present
in contemporary Polish, however, they no longer form collocations.
czynić atencję
Citation: „...powróciliśmy do gubernatora, czyniąc winną mu atencję...”
Czynić atencję is an obsolete collocation and no longer appears in modern
Polish. Its meaning is to have an attitude of esteem towards someone. Nowadays people
oddają szacunek honourable and respected persons. Thus, the whole phrase “czyniąc
winną mu atencję” needs be changed in order to fit contemporary language standards.
The fragment ought to read as follows:
57
„...powróciliśmy do gubernatora, oddając należny mu szacunek...”
czynić zapytania
Citation: „Król różne czynił zapytania...”
The meaning of this obsolete collocation is to ask questions. Both words exist in
contemporary Polish, although czynić is a more sophisticated and solemn synonym of
robić (do). Nowadays this collocation is understood as do questions and even though it
is understood by the general reader, it is perceived as obsolete and incorrect. Zapytanie
used in the fragment is related to the verb zapytać and pytanie comes from pytać. Even
though they are synonyms and mean to ask, they are not interchangeable in the
collocation. This fragment in modern Polish reads:
„Król różne zadawał pytania...”
odzież zwierzchnia (and suknia)
Citation: „...bom się obawiał, że połami sukni zwierzchniej uczynię szkodę w dachach...”
The underlined words in the above citation stand for contemporary odzież
wierzchnia (outerwear). However, both words in this collocation have changed their
meaning. Suknia is obsolete for odzież (clothes) – see I b. suknia. Zwierzchni nowadays
is an adjective denoting a superior position in a hierarchy as in, for instance: władza
zwierzchnia (superior authority). That is why, the collocation poses a problem with
understanding for the contemporary reader. Contemporary Polish allows the following
form:
„...bo się obawiałem, że połami odzieży1 wierzchniej uczynię szkodę w dachach...”
1
see Ib. suknia
pierwsze wejrzenie
Citation: „Nie rozwodziłbym się tak nad tą okolicznością, która na pierwsze wejrzenie
może się nie wydawać tak ważka...”
This collocation exists in contemporary Polish only in the expression miłość od
pierwszego wejrzenia (love at first sight). In the translation it was used in order to
express that ta okoliczność (this circumstance) initially seems unimportant. To sound
contemporary the phrase should be altered and could be replaced with colloquial
pierwszy rzut oka or neutral w pierwszej chwili or początkowo. Also, the adjective ważki
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is bookish and not always understood by the contemporary general reader. Its modern
equivalents are ważny, doniosły or istotny.
„Nie rozwodziłbym się tak nad tą okolicznością, która na pierwszy rzut oka
może się nie wydawać tak ważna...” (colloquial)
or „Nie rozwodziłbym się tak nad tą okolicznością, która w pierwszej chwili
(/początkowo) może się nie wydawać tak ważna...” (neutral)
powypuszczać (and poodmieniać) zdarzenia
Citation: „...mojej mowy do nauczyciela (...) powypuszczaliście główne zdarzenia
alboście je tak poobcinali i poodmieniali...”
Powypuszczać zdarzenia in the above fragment stands for leave out events from
the character’s speech. The definition of powypuszczać in contemporary Polish
dictionaries is „wypuścić wielu albo wiele czegoś, jednego (jedno) po drugim” (let
sb/sth go one after another). Thus, the fragment is incorrect in contemporary Polish. In
this collocation powypuszczać has been replaced with opuszczać. Also, the verb
poodmieniać present in the fragment no longer stands for pozmieniać (to alter).
Nowadays its basic form zmieniać means to alter or to inflect. That is why, the
contemporary version of the fragment should be:
„...mojej mowy do nauczyciela (...) opuściliście główne zdarzenia alboście je tak
poobcinali i pozmieniali...”
III. Changes in grammar and morphology
In this part I would like to present those elements of Polish that have
become archaic in the course of over two hundred years, i.e. since the translation came
into being. These include: obsolete plural forms, formation of nouns by adding prefixes
and suffixes, case inflection of nouns, the use of Polish Past Perfect tense and frequent
compounds with arcy- prefix.
a. Plural forms
Examples: interesa, projekta, systema, regestra, etc.
The translation contains words whose plural forms are unacceptable according to
contemporary Polish standards. The suffix –a is still frequently used to create plural
forms and contemporary plurals such as zapytania, łóżka, światła, etc. are correct. Yet,
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all these are examples of nouns of neuter gender and this suffix is used to form plurals
of such nouns. The examples taken from the 1784 translation are all of masculine
gender and in modern Polish their plurals are formed with the suffix –y. There are
examples of masculine gender nouns, which have two forms of plural, for instance the
plural form of koszt is either koszta or koszty and the plural of grunt (present in the
translation) is grunta or grunty. However, the plural forms with -a are used far rarer
(usually in certain contexts) and are disappearing. Regestr is an obsolete noun, however,
if it was still present in contemporary Polish, it would probably undergo such a change.
The only possible contemporary plural forms of the nouns are:
interesy, projekty, systemy, (possibly regestry), etc.
b. Formation of nouns by adding suffixes
Examples:
Group 1: upłynienie, spadnienie, płynienie, rośnienie, etc.
Group 2: nawałność, pobliskość, niewiadomość, odludność, etc.
Group 3:, trafunek, podziwienie, etc.
Another example of archaic linguistic forms is obsolete formation of nouns. In
this form they do not exist in contemporary Polish, yet, their descendants are similar in
form and that is why they are fairly well understood by the contemporary reader. The
nouns from group 1 are related to contemporary verbs upłynąć, spaść, płynąć and
rosnąć respectively. However, their forms are incorrect in modern Polish. The suffix –
(e)nie used to form nouns has been replaced with –(ę)cie. The former suffix is still
present in contemporary nouns, but in the case of the above the only possible forms are
upłynięcie, spadnięcie, płynięcie and rośnięcie. The suffixes in the case of group 2 have
also changed in the course of time. The suffix –ość has been substituted with others and
nowadays the nouns which are modern equivalents of the above are nawałnica, pobliże,
niewiedza and odludzie. The last group comprises nouns which lost suffixes and in this
form exist in contemporary Polish. Their meaning has not changed. Traf and podziw are
contemporary equivalents of trafunek and podziwienie.
c. Case inflection of nouns
Another example of changes in the language is the case inflexion of nouns. The
forms presented in the fragments are obsolete and do not conform to modern Polish
60
standards. In contemporary Polish there are seven cases: nominative (Nom.), genitive
(Gen.), dative (Dat.), accusative (Acc.), instrumental (Ins.), locative (Loc.) and vocative
(Voc.). I will provide examples of obsolete case inflection and correct contemporary
forms given by the dictionaries I have consulted.
1) Citation: „...zrobiliśmy czółno sposobem Indianów...”
Nom. (plural): Indianie; Gen. and Dat.: Indian:
Modern Polish: „...zrobiliśmy czółno sposobem Indian...”
2) Citation: „Przez taki uniwersał urzędnicy sekretarzów stanu (...) zyskali sumy”.
Nom. (plural): sekretarze; Gen. and Acc.: sekretarzy:
Modern Polish: „Przez taki uniwersał urzędnicy sekretarzy stanu (...) zyskali sumy”.
3) Citation: „...powiedziałem mu kto byliśmy...”
Nom.: kto; Ins. and Loc.: kim:
Modern Polish: „...powiedziałem mu kim byliśmy...”
4) Citation: „Pięćset rzemieślników użyto do zrobienia dwóch żagli...”
Nom.: pięćset; Gen., Dat. and Loc.: pięciuset:
Modern Polish: „Pięciuset rzemieślników użyto do zrobienia dwóch żagli...”
5) Citation: „...jeśli ziemia ledwie uszła pierwszemu komecie, który ją mógł zniszczyć...”
Kometa in contemporary Polish is of feminine gender. In the translation it was
treated as a masculine gender noun. Thus, modern Polish version should read:
Modern Polish: „...jeśli ziemia ledwie uszła pierwszej komecie, która ją mogła
zniszczyć...”
d. The use of Polish Past Perfect tense
Citation: „...miałem wielką chęć anatomicznie je rozebrać, ale nieszczęściem zostawiłem
był instrumenty na okręcie”.
and „...wyślizgnąłem się jej z palców i bez ochyby spadłbym był na posadzkę...”
Past Perfect tense in Polish consists of the past form of the main verb and past
form of the auxiliary być (to be) in the third person singular (był, była, było). As its
English counterpart it indicates an activity that happened before another past activity.
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Presently, it is the most rarely used tense in Polish and it is disappearing, but it is
sometimes used, especially in conditional sentences. Most contemporary readers do not
see the difference between Past Perfect and Simple Past and it is a common practice that
the former tense is replaced with the latter (e.g.: Ojciec kupił samochód, a potem go
sprzedał instead of Ojciec kupił był samochód, a potem go sprzedał). That is why, the
contemporary reader expects to read:
„...miałem wielką chęć anatomicznie je rozebrać, ale nieszczęściem zostawiłem
instrumenty na okręcie”.
and „...wyślizgnąłem się jej z palców i niechybnie spadłbym na posadzkę...”
e. Frequent compounds with arcy- prefix
Examples:, arcypożyteczny, arcydobry, arcysprytnie, arcymądry, arcydelikatny etc.
The last feature of obsolete linguistic forms found in the 1784 translation
I would like to analyse is the very frequent use of arcy- (arch-) prefix in compounds
with adjectives and adverbs. The definition of arcy- found in Słownik Języka Polskiego
PWN (2000) is: „pierwszy człon wyrazów złożonych podkreślający, wzmacniający
znaczenie tego, co nazywa drugi człon złożenia, czasem nadający mu odcień
żartobliwy”. Even though it appears in several compounds with nouns (arcybiskup,
arcykapłan, arcyksiążę), its use is limited in contemporary Polish. Unless it is used in
humorous contexts, it is usually replaced with other words, whose purpose is to
intensify the second element of a given compound (bardzo, niezwykle, nadzwyczaj,
etc.):
arcypożyteczny Æ bardzo pożyteczny, niezwykle pożyteczny, nadzwyczaj pożyteczny;
arcydobry Æ bardzo dobry, niezwykle dobry, nadzwyczaj dobry;
arcysprytnie Æ bardzo sprytnie, niezwykle sprytnie, nadzwyczaj sprytnie, etc.
B. Analysis of examples taken from Maciej Słomczyński’s
translation of Gulliver’s Travels (deliberate archaisation)
In this part I will present a selection of archaic vocabulary found in Maciej
Słomczyński’s translation of Gulliver’s Travels from 1976. These archaic words were
used by the author to give an archaic form to the text. Unlike the anonymous translation,
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this text is written in contemporary Polish. The author’s aim was to give the translation
an archaic appearance, but not hamper its reception. That is why, the majority of
archaisms he used are fairly understandable or their meaning can be guessed in the
context. There are, however, some words which may be problematic for
the contemporary reader. The archaic items of lexis found in Słomczyński’s rendition
fall into the following categories: archaic vocabulary replaced by different lexical items
in modern Polish, historical vocabulary and bookish vocabulary.
I. Archaic vocabulary replaced by different lexical items
in modern Polish
In this part I will present a selection of archaic vocabulary used by the translator
to give the translation an archaic shape. These words are obsolete and have their
contemporary Polish equivalents. A selection of vocabulary may not be understood
easily or may not be understood at all, but its presence does not hamper the
understanding of the text.
dwójnasób
Citation: „...tymczasem odkrył, że [podatki] przekraczają dwójnasób tę pierwszą
liczbę...”
Contemporary synonyms: dwukrotnie, podwójnie
Dwójnasób denotes double degree or quantity. In this fragment it is used
incorrectly according to modern Polish rules. Nowadays, it exists only in the expression
w dwójnasób (twice) and it does not stand alone. Nevertheless, it is well understood by
the contemporary reader. Its modern equivalents are dwukrotnie or podwójnie. The
fragment in contemporary Polish may read:
„...tymczasem odkrył, że [podatki] przekraczają dwukrotnie tę pierwszą liczbę...”
faworyty
Citation: „...wyglądał on jak prawdziwy naukowiec: nosił bujne faworyty...”
Contemporary synonyms: bokobrody, baki
This is an example of a plural noun that may not be understood by every
contemporary reader. Faworyty stands for a man's whiskers grown down either side of
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the face in front of the ears. Its equivalents are bokobrody and baki and the latter seems
to be used more often in contemporary Polish. In this context, unless the reader is
acquainted with the noun, he may confuse faworyty (sideburns) with a piece of garment
or jewellery. Modern Polish version should read:
„...wyglądał on jak prawdziwy naukowiec: nosił bujne bokobrody...”
jadło (and napitek)
Citation: „Po pewnym czasie, gdy stwierdzili, że nie proszę już o więcej jadła...”
Contemporary synonyms: pożywienie, jedzenie, pokarm, żywność
Jadło is related to contemporary verb jeść (to eat), however, it is obsolete and in
everyday speech it has been substituted with one of the words provided above. It is
fairly understandable as it is often used in texts stylised as archaic. It frequently appears
with another obsolete word napitek, which stands for something to drink. The latter
word sometimes appears in colloquial speech, mainly in humorous contexts and
nowadays it denotes primarily alcoholic drinks.
„Po pewnym czasie, gdy stwierdzili, że nie proszę już o więcej jedzenia...”
kądziel
Citation: „Łączyło ich pokrewieństwo po kądzieli...”
Contemporary synonyms: linia żeńska, ze strony matki
The word is not to be treated separately in this fragment. The whole expression
pokrewieństwo po kądzieli stands for relation on the distaff side. This expression is
noted by contemporary Polish dictionaries as obsolete and the modern equivalent they
provide is pokrewieństwo w linii żeńskiej or ze strony matki. That is why, the
contemporary version of the fragment is:
„Łączyło ich pokrewieństwo ze strony matki...”
popasać
Citation: Królowa nigdy nie zapuszczała się dalej, towarzysząc Królowi w jego
podróżach, i oczekiwała, popasając, póki Jego Majestat nie powróci…”
64
Popasać stands for przebywać gdzieś niedługo, zatrzymać się gdzieś na krótko
and the closest contemporary synonyms are gościć, przebywać or bookish bawić. This
verb in relation to animals means to graze and that is why, it may not be understood
correctly. Even if this verb is unknown, it does not affect the understanding of the whole
fragment. To sound contemporary the text could be rephrased or popasać could be
substituted with bookish, yet better understood bawić.
skonfundowany
Citation: „Byłem tak niewymownie skonfundowany oglądaniem tak wielu Pigmejów...”
Contemporary synonyms: zakłopotany, zawstydzony, speszony
The adjective skonfundowany is related to the obsolete konfuzja (from Lat.
confusio). The dictionaries I have consulted describe it as archaic and provide its
contemporary synonyms zakłopotany, zawstydzony and speszony. Yet, the expression
wprawiać w konfuzję is sometimes used in refined speech and thus, the adjective
derived from konfuzja can be understood by most contemporary readers.
wiktuały
Citation: „...aby dostarczały każdego ranka sześć byków (...) i inne wiktuały...”
Contemporary synonyms: żywność, prowiant, artykuły spożywcze
Wiktuały (Lat. victualis) is an obsolete Polish word denoting groceries. It is no
longer used in contemporary Polish and its meaning is hardly known by contemporary
general reader. When presented in the context, however, the reader is able to identify
the general meaning of the noun. However, modern Polish version may read:
„...aby dostarczały każdego ranka sześć byków (...) i inną żywność...”
wrazić
Citation: „...przebili kryzę w dwóch miejscach i wrazili tam haki...”
Contemporary synonyms: wetknąć, wepchnąć, wbić
The definition of wrazić in contemporary Polish dictionary is: “siłą umieścić coś
w czymś; wetknąć, wepchnąć, wbić”. This verb may pose difficulty to the contemporary
reader as it is not common and no longer appears alone. Yet, the word exists in modern
65
Polish in the expression wrazić coś w pamięć (to embed in one’s memory) and in this
way the reader may be able to guess its meaning. The fragment in contemporary Polish
should read:
„...przebili kryzę w dwóch miejscach i wbili tam haki...”
zausznik
Citation: „A w obecności swych zauszników nie mogła powstrzymać się od
poprzysiężenia mi zemsty”.
Contemporary synonym: powiernik
Zausznik is a noun denoting a trusted person who secretly reports on other
people. It combines two words: za (behind) and usznik, which is not a stand-alone noun
but is related to the noun ucho (ear). That is why, the vague meaning of the word may
be guessed by the contemporary reader. Nevertheless, modern Polish allows:
„A w obecności swych powierników nie mogła powstrzymać się od
poprzysiężenia mi zemsty”.
II. Historical vocabulary
In this part I would like to present a selection of historical vocabulary used by
Słomczyński in order to give the translation the feeling of oldness. Most of the words
the author used do not pose any major difficulties with understanding as they frequently
appear in literature and films and these items dwell in readers’ consciousness.
danina
Citation: „...a w ich miejsce nadeszły zuchwałe żądania naprawienia krzywd,
uwolnienia od wielu danin...”
Definition: obowiązkowe świadczenie w naturze lub w pieniądzach na rzecz
panującego, państwa lub gminy; haracz ściągany z kraju podbitego (duty or tribute)
Danina is a type of former duty paid to an overlord or to a conqueror. As it is
a historical word it has no direct equivalent in contemporary Polish. However, it could
be substituted with podatek or haracz. This noun exists in the consciousness of the
general reader and does not pose any major difficulties with understanding.
66
Korona
Citation: „Wyświadczył on wiele doniosłych usług Koronie, miał wiele wrodzonych
zdolności...”
Korona in capital letters is the term used in the past in reference to the monarchy
and the whole country under a king’s rule. Here, it was used in reference to the
kingdom, which the main character visited during one of his voyages. This term is no
longer used, even though there are still monarchies in the world. It is fairly understood
as it appears in Polish literature, especially in historical novels, such as Sienkiewicz’s
Trylogia.
moidor (and gwinea)
Citation: „Każda z owych sztuk złota miała wielkość ośmiuset moidorów, lecz
zważywszy proporcje między przedmiotami tej krainy i Europy (...) wyniosło
to niespełna tysiąc angielskich gwinei”.
These two nouns are names of coins formerly used in Portugal (moidor) and
England (gwinea). As in the case of mina or dinar in the Bible, the reader is able to
identify these words as types of legal tenders. He is unable to state exactly what
countries they were used in, but it does not hamper the reception. The text sounds
archaic, yet it does not pose problems with understanding to the reader.
muszkiet (and kolubryna)
Citation: „A nie będąc nieukiem w rzemiośle wojennym, opisałem mu armaty,
kolubryny1, muszkiety2, karabiny...”
Definitions: 1spiżowe lub żeliwne działo oblężnicze, o długiej, ciężkiej lufie, używane
w XVI–XVIII w (musket)
2
ręczna broń palna lontowa o lufie gładkiej dużego kalibru, używana przez
piechotę w XVI–XVII w. (culverin)
These two nouns are examples of historical weapons. Kolubryna is a type of
cannon used by European armies between the 16th and 18th centuries and muszkiet is
a type of firearm used by infantry in the 16th – 17th centuries. To give the fragment
an archaic form Słomczyński used a specialised term kolubryna, present in
67
Sienkiewicz’s Potop, instead of a general word armata (cannon), which would be much
better understood by the contemporary reader. In the context, however, the reader is
able to define these two nouns as types of weapons and in the case of muszkiet the
recognition is fairly thorough.
szpinet
Citation: „W młodości uczyłem się przez pewien czas gry na szpinecie”.
Definition: instrument muzyczny, odmiana klawesynu, mający tylko jedną klawiaturę
i jeden system strun; popularny w XVI–XVIII wieku (spinet)
Szpinet is a name for a musical instrument popular in the 16th – 18th centuries.
The reader is able to categorise the noun as some kind of musical instrument (the
character says about learning to play it). What he does not necessarily know is what
type of instrument it represents. It could be replaced with the anachronism fortepian (it
appeared in the second half of the 18th century), which is a very popular instrument
nowadays. Even though the reader is unable to identify szpinet, the knowledge that it is
an instrument is sufficient to understand the whole fragment.
III. Bookish vocabulary
To this category fall numerous examples of bookish vocabulary found in
Słomczyński’s translation. The vast majority of the words are well understood, yet they
give the translation an archaic appearance, which was the author’s intention. These
words, even though they are not used in everyday communication, frequently appear in
literature and thus, do not pose any major difficulties for the general contemporary
reader.
baczyć
Citation: „Surowo zganiła ogrodnika za brak baczenia na psa”.
Standard Polish synonyms: pilnować, strzec
The verb baczyć stands for to guard and in modern Polish dictionaries appears as
bookish. Yet, as in the case of most bookish vocabulary it is fairly understood by
contemporary readers. Its neutral synonyms are pilnować or strzec.
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lica
Citation: „Jak franca odmieniła rys angielskiego oblicza (...) pokryła ziemistą barwą
lica i dała zjełczałe i obwisłe ciała”.
Standard Polish synonyms: twarz, oblicze, policzek
Lico is a bookish term denoting face or countenance. It is not used in everyday
speech, unless in humorous contexts. This word frequently appears in literature and
thus, it is understandable for contemporary readers. The word is treated as obsolete and
gives the translation an archaic form.
medykament
Citation: „Zależnie od tego, jak owe medykamenty będą działały...”
Standard Polish equivalent: lekarstwo
This word is a bookish equivalent of lekarstwo (usually in plural lekarstwa) and
represents any type of medicaments. As it is related to such contemporary words like:
medyk or medycyna it is well understood by the contemporary reader, even in isolation.
niewieści
Citation: „...niech jednak weźmie pod uwagę, że kaprysy rodu niewieściego nie są
ograniczone...”
Standard Polish synonym: kobiecy
This adjective denotes something characteristic of or belonging to a woman. It is
directly related to a bookish term niewiasta, which stands for kobieta (woman). This
noun appears frequently in literature and sometimes in everyday conversation in
humorous contexts. That is why, the contemporary reader is aware of its meaning as
well as the meaning of the adjective niewieści related to it.
piastować
Citation: „...pod ręką piastowała dużą obleczoną bydlęcą skórą książkę”.
Standard Polish synonyms: 1) nosić (dziecko) na rękach, pielęgnować; niańczyć;
2) nosić, nieść, trzymać coś pieczołowicie;
3) sprawować (władzę, urząd)
Piastować is a bookish verb and has three basic meanings: to carry a baby on
one’s hands, to carry something meticulously and to hold a position. The contemporary
69
reader is better acquainted with the first meaning of the verb as it often appears in
literature. However, in this context he is able to determine its meaning.
przyodziewek
Citation: „Brał cały mój przyodziewek w pęcinę, sztuka po sztuce i badał uważnie...”
Standard Polish synonyms: odzież, ubranie
The noun przyodziewek is related to obsolete odzienie (attire), which derived
from the verb odziewać (to attire). It is noted by contemporary Polish dictionaries as
bookish. These words are fairly understood by the contemporary reader and their
presence in the translation gives it the feeling of oldness.
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Conclusions
As I have mentioned in the introduction the main aim of this paper was to
present what influence the archaic linguistic forms and lexis wield on the reception by
contemporary readers of the two renditions of Gulliver’s Travels into Polish.
Both translations present the reader with obsolete vocabulary, and in the case of
the 1784 translation, also obsolete linguistic forms. The language of the anonymous
translation has become archaic in a natural way. As described in Chapter 2, language
changes occur both in the sphere of vocabulary, as well as in the system of language
itself. The obsolete forms found in the translation include changes in the way plural
forms are formed, the formation of nouns with the use of prefixes and suffixes, case
inflection of nouns and numerals and changes in the tenses of the Polish language. The
obsolete vocabulary can be divided into four main groups. Namely, archaic vocabulary
replaced by different lexical items in modern Polish, vocabulary that can be misleading
because its meaning has changed in modern Polish, historical vocabulary and bookish
vocabulary. The group of archaisms represented most frequently in the anonymous
translation from 1784 is the one comprising obsolete words which have their
equivalents in modern Polish. On the basis of a questionnaire (see Appendix III) whose
aim was to determine how the obsolete words are perceived by the general reader, it can
be said that historical and bookish and to some extent archaic words having their
counterparts in contemporary Polish are fairly well understood, especially when
presented in context. In the case of words whose primary meaning has changed since
the translation was conceived, it can be concluded that they are most problematic for the
present-day general reader and depending on the context the understanding of these
items varies from very good to poor. The reasons why items of historical and bookish
vocabulary are better understood is that even though they do not appear in everyday
conversation, the reader is aware of their existence. This knowledge comes from
literature, films or theatre. This is also dependent on the level of education and reading.
To examine the reception of the archaisms by the general contemporary reader, I have
questioned a wide range of respondents with various backgrounds and education.
Another conclusion drawn from the analysis of the translation is that the vast majority
of obsolete items are those within lexis. They are represented plentifully in the
rendition. The time span of two hundred years has caused that this translation is
71
perceived as obsolete, yet with the exception of several archaisms, it is still well
understood.
Słomczyński’s translation of Gulliver’s Travels differs from its two centuries
older counterpart in that it has not become archaic spontaneously. The author gave it an
archaic character by the addition of several archaisms. He did not use obsolete linguistic
forms in order not to hamper the reception of the translation and his translation is far
from extreme (see Chapter 3). Thus, the majority of vocabulary he inserted in the text is
noted as bookish or historical. Bookish words are in most cases well known even in
isolation. Historical terms, even if their meaning is not fully understood are present in
literature and films and this general knowledge is sufficient to understand the rendition.
The historical items, which seem to be most problematic for contemporary readers are
the names of units of measurement. Here, the problem has been solved in the way that
the translator used the Polonised names of Anglo-Saxon units still present in several
countries. The rendition does not contain any anarchronisms and the historical names of
units of measurement, garments, professions and many others have been used to enable
the contemporary readers to experience the story in a similar way as the original readers
of Swift’s work.
To sum up, even though the renditions became archaic in completely different
ways, they are perceived similarly by contemporary readers unaware of the changes in
the language. A skilled translator may give an archaic shape to a given text even without
using obsolete linguistic forms and this is often to the advantage of the reader as too
extreme an archaisation, as I have written in Chapter 5, may be the success of
a translator, but a torment to the recipient.
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Summary
The aim of this paper is the analysis of natural ageing of translations and their
deliberate archaisation on the basis of two Polish translations of Swift’s Gulliver’s
Travels. The anonymous translation was conceived in 1784 and is the oldest translation
of the novel into Polish. The second translation was made by Maciej Słomczyński in
1976. Both renditions seem archaic but the reasons of that are different in both cases.
The anonymous text has archaised naturally what results from the continuous
changes occurring in natural languages. Maciej Somczyński’s translation is an example
of intentional archaisation of a given text. Its author used contemporary language, yet he
inserted numerous archaic and bookish words, which created the impression of oldness
of the translation.
This paper consists of six chapters. In the Theoretical Part in Chapter 1 types of
translations according to Savoury are described. Translations of literature are dealt with
in more detail as both translations belong to this category.
Chapter 2 focuses on the language as a system of communication, theories of its
origin described by Yule and those features of language which make it prone to
archaisation. Changes in vocabulary are described in more detail because they are
represented most numerously in the analysed renditions of Gulliver’s Travels into
Polish. The types of changes in vocabulary presented by Bloomfield and Baugh are
described.
Natural ageing of language and its deliberate archaisation are the point of
interest in Chapter 3. Subchapter 3.1 deals with the strategies of archaisation applied by
the translators described by Berezowski. It also presents the translators’ dilemmas when
choosing a translation strategy and determining the target reader described by
Hejwowski. Subchapter 3.2 concentrates on natural archaisation of texts. Chapter 4
enumerates the types of archaic vocabulary and the elements of archaic grammar and
morphology that are present in the analysed renditions. The consequences of deliberate
archaisation and natural ageing of language for the contemporary reader are described in
Chapter 5.
In the Practical Part selected examples of archaic language from both
translations are analysed. In the part dedicated to the anonymous translation that has
archaised naturally, the modernised versions of the analysed fragments are provided.
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The point of interest in the part dedicated to Słomczyński’s deliberate archaisation are
the types of vocabulary used by the translator to archaise his rendition. The analysis was
also based on the survey, conducted among thirty persons, whose aim was to determine
how the archaisms present in both translations are perceived by the contemporary
readers. The elaboration of the survey and its results can be found in Appendix.
Conclusions focus on the archaic elements of language and their influence on the
understanding of the two texts. It also presents those types of archaisms which are most
problematic for the ‘general contemporary readers’.
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Streszczenie
Celem niniejszej pracy jest analiza naturalnego starzenia się tekstów oraz ich
celowa archaizacja na podstawie dwóch przekładów Podróży Guliwera Jonathana
Swifta. Anonimowe tłumaczenie pochodzi z 1784 roku i jest najstarszym przekładem tej
powieści na język polski. Drugie, autorstwa Macieja Słomczyńskiego, powstało w 1976
roku. Oba przekłady noszą znamiona archaiczności, lecz przyczyny takiego stanu są
odmienne w obu przypadkach. Tekst tłumaczenia anonimowego zestarzał się w sposób
naturalny, a wynika to z ciągłych zmian następujących w językach naturalnych.
Tłumaczenie Macieja Słomczyńskiego jest przykładem celowego nadania archaicznej
formy tekstowi. Autor użył języka współczesnego, lecz wypełnił go słownictwem
przestarzałym i książkowym, które nadało jego tłumaczeniu archaiczny kształt.
Praca składa się z sześciu rozdziałów. W części teoretycznej w Rozdziale I
opisane są typy tłumaczeń według podziału Savoury’ego. Najwięcej uwagi poświęcono
tłumaczeniom literackim, jako że oba przekłady należą do tej kategorii. Rozdział II
skupia się na języku jako systemie komunikacji, teoriach pochodzenia języka według
Yule’a i tych jego cechach, które powodują jego starzenie się. Najwięcej uwagi
poświęcono zmianom w słownictwie, ponieważ stanowią znakomitą większość
archaicznego języka w omawianych przekładach Podróży Guliwera na język polski.
Powołano się na klasyfikacje zmian opisanych przez Bloomfielda oraz Baugha
i Cable’a. Naturalne starzenie się języka oraz jego celowa archaizacja są obiektem
zainteresowania w Rozdziale III. Podrozdział 3.1 traktuje o strategiach archaizacji
stosowanych przez tłumaczy opisanych przez Berezowskiego. Prezentuje również
dylematy tłumacza przy wyborze strategii przekładu i określeniu czytelnika docelowego
opisane przez Hejwowskiego. Podrozdział 3.2 skupia się na naturalnej archaizacji
tekstów. W Rozdziale IV opisane są rodzaje archaicznego słownictwa, elementy
przestarzałej gramatyki i morfologii, które znajdują się w analizowanych przekładach.
Konsekwencje celowej archaizacji oraz naturalnego starzenia się języka dla
współczesnego czytelnika omówione są w Rozdziale V.
W części praktycznej poddano analizie wybrane przykłady archaicznego języka
obecnego w obu przekładach. W części poświęconej anonimowemu tłumaczeniu, które
z biegiem czasu uległo samoistnej archaizacji, podano przykładowe uwspółcześnione
formy analizowanych fragmentów tekstu. W części zajmującej się tłumaczeniem
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Słomczyńskiego skupiono się na rodzajach słownictwa użytego przez tłumacza w celu
zarchaizowania swojego przekładu. Analizę oparto również na wynikach ankiety
przeprowadzonej wśród trzydziestu osób, która miała na celu sprawdzenie, w jaki
sposób archaizmy obecne w obu tekstach odbierane są przez współczesnego czytelnika.
Omówienie niniejszej ankiety oraz jej wyniki znajdują się w Załącznikach.
We wnioskach omówiono jak przestarzałe elementy języka wpływają na
zrozumienie obu tekstów przez współczesnych odbiorców oraz jakie typy archaizmów
przysparzają im najwięcej problemów.
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Appendix
I. Examples of archaised language found in anonymous translation (1784)
of Gulliver’s Travels.
II. Examples of archaised vocabulary found in Maciej Słomczyński’s translation
(1976) of Gulliver’s Travels.
III. Results of a questionnaire – reception of archaic, historical and bookish
vocabulary found in both translations.
I. Examples of archaised language found in anonymous translation
1784) of Gulliver’s Travels:
Part One: A Voyage To Lilliput
“…zaczęły być ulubioną lekturą myślicieli i prostaczków, (...) dworu i plebsu”.
„...teoretyków prawa natury i wielkich faktorii kupieckich, trudniących się handlem
niewolnikami...”
„...wręczył mi następujące pisma i upoważnił do rozrządzania nimi według
upodobania”.
„Opuściłem także wszystkie podania długości i szerokości geograficznej i obawiam się,
że pan Guliwer niekontent będzie z tych wypuszczeń...”
„Lubo ją więcej szanowałem i uwielbiałem niż ktokolwiek z jej płci...”
„...co sobie pozwolił wsunąć ten ustęp, naprzód, że nie jest moich zwyczajem
pochlebiać, a potem...”
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„...mojej mowy do nauczyciela (...) powypuszczaliście główne zdarzenia alboście je tak
poobcinali i poodmieniali...”
„...sędziowie będą oświeceni i nieprzedajni...”
„Po twoich zachęceniach rachowałem na te zmiany...”
„zarzucano mi żem spotwarzył (rzad.) urzędników stanu (...) i płeć niewieścią (książk.)
osławił...”
„...rękopis zniszczony został, a że nie mam żadnej kopii onego, przesyłam ci przeto
niektóre sprostowania...”
„...drzwi były zamknięte na klucz, tedy postanowił zaczekać, raczej niż wedrzeć się
gwałtem...”
„Czyliż i w tym kraju nie ujrzysz tysięcy tych ostatnich...”
„...z małą liczbą jednostek twojego gatunku, a szczególnie z tymi z mej familii...”
„na okręcie ‘Jaskółka’, na którym przez półczwarta roku zostając...”
„...na czytanie najlepszych, tak dawnych, jako i teraźniejszych...”
„...zbrzydziłem sobie morze i umyśliłem z żoną i z dziatkami mieszkać w domu”.
„...w nadziei, że między flisami (hist.) mieszkając znajdę stąd jakowąś korzyść...”
„Zmęczenie, upał i pół kwarty wódki (...) pobudziły mnie do snu”.
„...moje zdziwienie, gdym ujrzał osóbkę malutką (...) z łukiem i strzałą w ręku
i kołczanem (hist.) na ramieniu!”
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„...tak się do mnie zbliżyć, że mógł całą moją twarz zobaczyć, podniósłszy
z podziwienia ręce...
„Słyszałem także w odległości może dwóch sążni ode mnie...”
„Połykałem naraz po dwie i po trzy z sześciorgiem chleba wielkości kuli muszkietowej
(hist.)...”
„...lecz trząsł głową z nieukontentowaniem i dał mi do zrozumienia...”
„na prawą stronę obrócić i wypuścić urynę, w czym sprawiłem się z wielkim
podziwieniem ludu...”
„...potem jako ten naród cały oprzeć mi się nie był zdolny...”
„stamtąd przewożone do morza, które znajduje się w odległości trzystu lub czterystu
łokci”.
„Pięćset cieślów i stelmachów zaczęło pracować nad zrobieniem machiny...”
„...na dwie stopy wysokich, z bardzo wielu hakami...”
„...miał wzrostu około półpięta cala...”
„...jeden z nich, kapitan gwardii, włożył mi ostrą pikę (hist.) w lewe nozdrze...”
„...a około południa stanęliśmy o sto prętów od bram miasta...”
„Ponieważ przed kilku laty popełniono tam morderstwo, przeto podług przesądu miano
go za sprofanowany i po usunięciu wszelkich religijnych sprzętów obracano na różne
użycia”.
„...kiedy robotnicy uznali, że niemożebne jest, abym się uwolnił...”
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„...Opisanie osoby i odzienia Jego cesarskiej Mości. Ludzie uczeni przydani są dla
uczenia go języka”.
„...i wyznać muszę, żem jeszcze nigdy nie miał tak pięknego widoku”.
„Nie rozwodziłbym się tak nad tą okolicznością, która na pierwsze wejrzenie może się
nie wydawać tak ważka (książk.)...”
„[Cesarz] rozkazał swoim kucharzom i piwnicznym, którzy już stali w pogotowiu...”
„Już nie był pierwszej młodości, miał bowiem lat dwadzieścia osiem i trzy kwartały...”
„Potem często go miewałem na ręce mojej...”
„...dwór odjechał, a przy mnie zostawiono straż mocną dla przeszkodzenia
grubiaństwu, a może złości pospólstwa...”
„...ale pułkownik kazał sześciu najczelniejszym z tego hultajstwa schwytać...”
„Rozkaz ich wykonało natychmiast pary żołnierzy, zagnawszy ich halabardami (hist.)
do mnie”.
„Przez taki uniwersał urzędnicy sekretarzów stanu znaczne dla siebie zyskali sumy”.
„...by co dzień dostarczały sześć wołów, czterdzieści baranów i innej na mój wikt
żywności, wraz z odpowiednią ilością chleba, wina i inszych popitków.
„Monarcha nie ma innych dochodów, jak tylko ze swojej królewszczyzny (hist.)...”
„...aby trzystu krawców robiło dla mnie suknie podług mody krajowej...”
„on odpowiadał mi, że trzeba jeszcze przez czas niejaki (książk.) czekać...”
80
„W wielkiej kieszeni, po prawej stronie, w „pokryciu środka” (tak jak tłumaczę słowo
„ranfulo”, przez które chciano wyrazić moje pludry)...”
„Gdy inwentarz ten w przytomności Cesarza przeczytano...”
„...były to kłody żelazne, wywiercone, przez które oni rozumieli moje krucice
(książk.)...”
„...wystrzeliłem w powietrze. Zadziwienie, jakie nastąpiło...”
„...obawiając się, aby mi [teleskopu kieszonkowego] nie popsuto albo nie zatracono...”
„Gdy jaki wielki urząd bądź przez śmierć, bądź przez popadnięcie w niełaskę wakuje
(książk.)...”
„Filmnap, Wielki Podskarbi (hist.), ma zaszczyt...”
„...zasłoniłem ręką dziurę, i całe wojsko, jakem wstawił, tak i na powrót zsadziłem”.
„...spodnie moje naówczas (książk.) w tak złym były stanie, że im dały pobudkę do
głośnego śmiechu”.
„...który bez żadnej widomej przyczyny stał się moim śmiertelnym wrogiem”.
„Przyniósł mi te artykuły sam Skyresh Bolgolam w asystencji dwóch sekretarzy”.
„Nie będzie mu wolno wchodzić do naszej stolicy bez wyraźnego nakazu, o czym
mieszkańcy nasi na dwie godziny pierwej będą ostrzeżeni”.
„...Kurier Gabinetowy będzie miał bieżeć z ekspedycją ekstraordynaryjną...”
„Pomieniony Człowiek Góra w swoje godziny wolne...”
„Mury opasające wysokie są na półtrzeciej stopy...”
81
„...bom się obawiał, że połami sukni zwierzchniej uczynię szkodę w dachach...”
„Miasto może w sobie pomieścić pięćkroć sto tysięcy dusz”.
„Cesarz Imć pozwolił mi przez ten mur przeleźć...”
„...potem przydał, iż gdyby Dwór, nie miał w tym swego interesu...”
„Nadto, nasi dziejopisowie (książk.) od sześciu tysięcy księżyców...”
„...ale dziad Cesarz nam panującego, gdy jeszcze był dziecięciem (książk.) , mając jeść
jajo...”
„...[flota nieprzyjacielska], która podług uwiadomienia wysłanych od nas szpiegów...”
„Radziłem się najdoświadczeńszych żeglarzów dla zasięgnienia wiadomości...”
„...położywszy się za jednym pagórkiem, patrzałem przez moją perspektywę...”
„Tym sposobem okularami jakoby szyszakiem (hist.) uzbrojony...”
„Traktat wkrótce został zawarty pod kondycjami dla Lilliputu arcypożytecznymi”.
„Obiecałem stawić się u tronu Jego Królewskiej Mości pierwej (książk.) , niżelim miał
do kraju mego powrócić”.
„...wysyłania za granicę szlacheckiej młodzieży dla nabycia poloru (książk.)
i umiejętności...”
„...krzykiem zgromadzonego ludu pod drzwiami mego pomieszkania...
„...w pokojach Cesarzowej Jejmości...”
82
„...mamy za największe rządu podpory, mogę atoli mówić...”
„Służebne, których wiek odpowiada naszym...”
„Szkoły dla dzieci średniego stanu, kupców, kramarzy...”
„...zawsze jednak w przytomności ochmistrzyni, aż do lat pięciu...”
„...pogardzają wszelką ozdobą powierzchowną i mają tylko wzgląd na ochędóstwo
i przystojność”.
„...tę zaś ostatnią znowu zdwoiwszy, okaże się miara w stanie”.
„...z mięsnymi potrawami, drudzy z winem i likworami”.
„...ale za to wołowina jest przedoskonała”.
„...jak markiz wobec diuka (hist.)...”
„podstęp, który przeciwko mnie był knowany (książk.)...”
„...z Lalkonem Wielkim Szambelanem (hist.)...”
„...wszedłszy podówczas (ksiażk.) na dziedziniec pałacu...”
„Podczas różnych nad tym oskarżeniem deliberacji (książk.) przyznać trzeba...”
„...wiele okazał pomiarkowania, łagodności i słuszności...”
„...pospieszyłem przed upłynieniem trzech dni...”
„...dla uiszczenia się z obietnicy...”
„Pięćset rzemieślników użyto do zrobienia dwóch żagli...”
83
„Nienasycona chęć widzenia obcych krajów nie dozwalała (książk.) dłużej siedzieć na
miejscu”.
„Stryj mój zostawił mi grunta blisko Epping...”
„Mój syn Jan (...) uczęszczał do elementarnej szkoły...”
„Pożegnałem żonę, syna i córkę z wielkim łez wylaniem (książk.)...”
Part Two: A Voyage To Brobdingnag
“…o trzy stopnie na północ od Ekwatora…”
„...kazał nam się przysposobić na wielką nawałność...”
„...trzymali się ciągle brzegu szukając wody w pobliskości morza...”
„...co czynimy nieraz z małym zwierzątkiem, które chcemy wygubić (książk.)...”
„Kmieć wziąwszy małe źdźbło słomy wielkości laski...”
„Było tam sześć poczwórnych pistolów hiszpańskich...”
„Na koniec odesławszy czeladź swoją do roboty...”
„Podziękowałem jej z największą pokorą i dobywszy noża i grabków...”
„Wśród (rzad.) obiadu kot, pieszczoch pani, wskoczył na jej podołek.
„...będąc w miarę naszego wzroku i wzrostu, lecz drobnowidz, który je powiększa...”
„Wkrótce potem weszła do izby pani moja...”
„...jak mu skróciłem kurtę...”
84
„...członki ma delikatne, płeć bielszą i piękniejszą niżeli najlepszego urodzenia
dziewczynka”.
„Mówiła, że tatulo i matula przyrzekli jej...”
„Pan mój zsiadł z konia w jednej oberży...”
„Dziewczyna podała mi słomkę, którą robiłem jak piką (hist.)...”
„Ci, co mnie widzieli, tak dziwne wszędy wieści porozgłaszali...”
„...ale we własnym nawet mieszkaniu nie miałem spokojności...”
„...na podróż długą, rozporządziwszy interesa domowe...”
„...czasami wyjmowała mnie z pudełka dla zażycia wolnego powietrza...”
„...[potok] nie był większy od Tamizy, kędy jest most Londyński”.
„Mikroskopów dostać można w Kassie”.
„...pokazywano mnie (...) z wielkim podziwieniem i ukontentowaniem wszystkiego
ludu”.
„Wchodzi w dysputę z mędrcami...”
„Królowa kupuje go i prezentuje Królowi”.
„Gotują mu pokoje”.
„Każda sztuka była wielkości ośmiuset luidorów...”
„...to dobrodziejstwo sowicie (książk.) sobie wynagrodził...”
85
„...podjęli się wszyscy trzej nader (książk.) uczonymi wywodami dokazać”.
„...a usławszy łóżko nazad (gw.) je włożyć...”
„...stała też około stołu i dawała baczność na mnie”.
„...mają tak jak i my ekwipaże, liberie, dostojeństwa i urzędy...”
„...gdy mnie Królowa wzięła na rękę i przed zwierciadłem (książk.) trzymała...”
„Utonąłbym niezawodnie...”
„Karłowi na moją prośbę przebaczono i tylko go kilku plagami ukarano”...
„Ma osiem tysięcy domów i sześćkroć sto tysięcy mieszkańców”.
„...miałem wielką chęć anatomicznie je rozebrać, ale nieszczęściem zostawiłem był
instrumenty na okręcie”.
„...dwa krzesła do podłogi przyśrubowane, a że do podróży morskiej byłem
przyzwyczajony, ta agitacja żadnego szkodliwego wpływu na moje zdrowie nie
wywierała”.
„...porównując go z tym drzewem (które i w [ich] języku odpowiednie ma nazwisko...”
„...[grad] był tysiąc i osiemset razy większy...”
„...przychodziła do pokoju, chcąc się mną bawić i piastować (książk.) mnie na ręku”.
„Często zdejmowały ze mnie wszystkie odzienie...”
„Rozbierały się przy mnie (...) nic nie uważając na wstyd i przystojność a ja przy nich
stojąc na gotowalni...”
86
„Razu jednego młody panicz...”
„...z trudnością dała się nakłonić, ja zaś, chociaż nie jestem lubownikiem podobnych
widowisk...”
„Krew z arterii i wen w takiej masie wytrysnęła...”
„...bo brak miejsca robieniu wiosłami przeszkadzał...”
„Gdy paź (hist.) włożył mój okręt w koryto...”
„...podniosła mnie bardzo uczynnie dla wsadzenia na okręt, ale trafunkiem
wyślizgnąłem się jej z palców i bez ochyby spadłbym był na posadzkę...”
„...[niebezpieczeństwo] spowodowała małpa należąca do pewnego kuchmistrza
(hist.)...”
„...wyszedłszy dla jakiegoś interesu czy też dla oddania komuś wizyty...”
„...człowiek poczciwy przylazł (pot.) do mnie...”
„...moja kochana guwernantka dała mi na womity...”
„Przyszła mi natenczas uwaga nad nierozumem człowieka...”
„często widziałem w Anglii, że marny chudopachołek, bez tytułu i znaczenia...”
„...miałem zwyczaj (...) chodzić do Króla i znajdowałem się często, gdy go cyrulik
golił”.
„...rozpowiedziałem mu żeby zrobił dwa krzesła tej samej wielkości...”
„...zrobiłem raz z tych włosów sakiewkę na dwa łokcie długą...”
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„Nauczyłem się w młodości grać na klawicymbale”.
„...dwa razy na tydzień przychodził ją uczyć metr jeden”.
„...nie mogłem dosięgnąć więcej nad pięć klawiszów...”
„Ale przyznać muszę, że nigdy jeszcze nie zbiegałem się tak jak wtenczas”.
„...dawnych dziedziców i panów najpiękniejszych majętności w kraju...”
„...aby mogli być urodzonymi Króla i królestwa konsyliarzami...”
„...najzacniejsze w Europie zgromadzenie, któremu wraz z królem prawodawstwo jest
poruczone (książk.)”.
„I czyli w takowym razie nie idzie potem zawsze ślepo...”
„Czy prawowanie nie kosztuje wiele?”
„...jak Królestwo śmie czynić większe wydatki na intraty i zjadać dobra swoje...”
„...któryś większą część twego życia w podróżach przepędził...
„Niewiadomość Króla w polityce”.
„...przez zapalenie tego prochu z rury wypędzone i wyrzucone, łamią, wywracają i walą
całe pułki i roty (hist.)...”
„Imaginacja (książk.) nie może sobie nic nad to większego i bardziej uderzającego
utworzyć...”
„...by w dachu pudła mego zrobił dla przewietrzenia okienko czworograniaste
(rzad.)...”
88
„Obudziłem się nagle na gwałtowne mego pudła strząśnięcie i uczułem...”
„...wprowadził mnie do swego pokoju, dał mi zażyć kordiału...”
„...wyobrażenie kraju, który porzuciłem (...) nieustanną we mnie sprawowały
niespokojność”.
„...kapitan kazał mi niezwłocznie dać wieczerzę (książk.)...
„...zwracając mi uwagę, abym nie pozierał tak dziwnie...”
„Powiedział mi, że około południa, gdy patrzył przez perspektywę...”
„...żeby się przypatrzył moim pludrom, które były ze skórek...”
„...widząc półmiski tak małe jak srebrny trojak...”
„...wysyłał szalupy dla kupowania żywności i opatrywania się w wodę...”
„Nająłem konia i przewodnika za talar, którego pożyczyłem u kapitana...”
„...jakby oni wszyscy byli karły, a ja olbrzym”.
„...pokazałem mu te wszystkie fraszki, którem pozbierał...”
Part Three: A Voyage To Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib,
and Japan
“Złośliwość jednego Holandczyka”.
„Wmówił we mnie, że miałby za wielkie ukontentowanie, gdybym...”
„...przez które sam interesa swoje miał sprawiać...”
89
„...powiedziałem mu kto byliśmy...”
„Król różne czynił zapytania...”
„Przyszedł do mnie jeden człowiek od Króla z piórem, inkaustem i papierem...”
„...ze słów, których się nauczyłem ułożyłem piękny dykcjonarz...”
„...przyniósł suknie bardzo źle zrobione. Ekskuzował się, że pomylił się w rachowaniu”.
„...spuszczono wiele sznurków (...) ażeby lud do tych sznurków przywiązywał swoje
supliki...”
„...jeśli ziemia ledwie uszła pierwszemu komecie, który ją mógł zniszczyć...”
„Mogą wszędy, gdzie tylko chcą, bywać...”
„Lapucjanie są wielcy astronomowie”.
„Woda zbierająca się w nich waporuje przez upały słońca...”
„...przynajmniej w tym kraju takie zrobiono postrzeżenia...”
„Miejsce to ozdobione jest sekstansami, astrolabami...”
„Większą część czasu przepędzają na uważaniu nieba...”
„Odkryli dwa trabanty Marsa...”
„Król byłby najsamowładniejszym na świecie monarchą...”
„Pierwszym i pomiarkowańszym jest zatrzymanie...”
„Jeżeli trwają w swojej zaciętości i rokoszu...”
90
„...wyspa królewska przez swoje spadnienie...”
„...był bardzo ukształcony, poczciwy, kochający swój honor...”
„spuściłem się z ganku tymże samym sposobem, jakim mnie wciągniono”.
„Pan ten wniwecz był zepsuty...”
„...projekt postawienia umiejętności i rzemiosł na inakszym stopniu doskonałości”.
...i inne podobne zbawienne projekta...”
„Co do mnie – przydał – nie będąc człowiekiem zdolnym...”
„...co przyspieszyłoby [wody] płynienie...”
„...do ogrodów promieni słonecznych za pomierną cenę...”
„Poszedłem do drugiej stancji...”
„...przeszkadzać rośnieniu wełny na dwóch młodych jagniętach...”
„...człowiek najbardziej nawet nieukształcony...”
„...urynał oznacza komitet lordów...”
„...odcyfrowujący umie w tym znaleźć period znaczący...”
„...Podziękował (...) i przyobiecał chwalebną...”
„...powróciliśmy do gubernatora, czyniąc winną mu atencję...”
„Nowe systema natury...”
91
„...w drugiej zaś golibrodę, opata i dwóch kardynałów”.
„...większej części naszych książąt, margrabiów i szlachty dzisiejszej...”
„...w genealogii niektórych panów ujrzałem hajduków, paziów, kamerdynerów, lokai,
tancmistrzów...”
„...wyniesieni do najwyższych godności, jak podwiki, rajfurzy, pieczeniarze i błazny...”
„Odkryłem zuchwałość naszych dziejopisów (książk.) ...”
„...tak wiele osób przyszło do tak wysokiej fortuny...”
„Miał przy sobie młodziana (książk.) z osiemnaście lat mającego”.
„...przedając za pieniądze kreski swoje w obieraniu deputatów do parlamentu...”
„...który poddał mnie ścisłej inkwizycji...”
„spodziewał się za piętnaście dni odebrać respons”.
„Luggnagowie są narodem polerownym i mężnym...”
„...między którymi jedna trzechletnia dziewczynka...”
„...zawiść pożera ich bez przestanku...”
„...zakończenia nudnego życia i wnijścia w odpoczynek wieczny”.
„...wnosić stąd trzeba, że autorowie japońscy...”
„...a do tego nie rozumiałem tamecznego języka...”
92
„Co za radość była odwiedzić kochaną ojczyznę po półszósta roku mojej w niej
nieprzytomności!”
Part Four: A Voyage To the Country Of the Houyhnhnms
„Pozwolili mi wdziać najlepszy ubiór...”
„...żebym ja pierwszy wszedł do wielkiej, bardzo ochędożnej sali...”
„...pisałem na papierze, który miałem na regestra podróżne”.
„...którzy im czeszą włosy, chędożą (ksiażk.) i ocierają skórę...”
„...mieszkają u rolników, karowników, furmanów i innych...”
„...mnie jest rzeczą na świecie najnudniejszą i najuprzykrzeńszą...”
„...przez przeciąg dwuletni miewałem...”
„...opisałem nasze armaty, bagnety, pałasze...”
„Dekrety, nawet te, które dyktowała niewiadomość...”
„[prawa] są rozmnożone bez końca i mają niezliczone ekscepcje...”
„...cóż jest – odezwał się pan mój – azaliż ziemia nie należy...”
„Płoniłem (książk.) się od wstydu...”
„...Jahusy zdają się być najniepojętniejszymi zwierzętami...”
„Dysputacje więc, sprzeczki...”
„U samców cenią najwyżej siłę, u samic nadobność”.
93
„...młoda para przepędza całe życie...”
„Są dokładnie obznajomieni z poruszaniem...”
„...grubianów, fircyków, fanfaronów, świegotów...”
„Owóż dziś nalegają na mnie, abym tę uchwałę do skutku przywiódł, i już dłużej nie
mogę zwłóczyć”.
„...zrobiliśmy czółno sposobem Indianów...”
„W tej szczęśliwej odludności spodziewałem się...”
„...wyjścia pod żagle i płynienia do Anglii...”
„Mówiąc prawdę, sposób, jakim się wchodzi w posesję nowowynalezionego kraju...”
„W przeszłym tygodniu...”
Also numerous examples of compounds with arcy- prefix: arcydobry, arcydelikatny,
arcypożyteczny, arcymądry, arcysprytny, arcyzabawny, arcybagatelny, arcygrzeczny,
arcywonny, arcyżywy, arcysmutny, arcydowcipny, arcykontent, arcynaturalny,
arcyrozsądny, arcypiękny, arcywesoły, arcyśmieszny, etc.
II. Examples of archaised vocabulary found in Maciej Słomczyński’s
translation (1976) of Gulliver’s Travels:
Part One: A Voyage To Lilliput
„Straszliwe wyczerpanie, upał, a także gorzałka, której pół kwaterki wychyliłem przed
opuszczeniem okrętu, sprawiły, że odczułem przemożną senność.
94
„Co przydarzyło się mym towarzyszom (...) nie umiem rzec (książk.).
„Lecz winienem (książk.) wspomnieć, że nim owa najważniejsza persona rozpoczęła
przemowę...”
„Łączyło ich pokrewieństwo po kądzieli...”
„...począłem raz po raz wkładać palce do ust na znak, że pragnę się posilić”. (książk.)
„Brałem ich do ust po dwa lub trzy naraz wraz z trzema bochenkami chleba, nie
większymi niż kule muszkietów (hist.)”.
„Po pewnym czasie, gdy stwierdzili, że nie proszę już o więcej jadła...”
„Owe okoliczności wraz z (...) napitkiem, sprawiły, że ogarnęła mnie senność”.
„Kieszenie jego zostają przeszukane; odbierają mu rapier (hist.) i pistolety”.
„...w oczach świata konieczne jest oczyszczenie mego charakteru z zarzutu nieczystości,
który moi potwarcy lubią stawiać...”
„Po zakończeniu owej przygody wyszedłem ponownie z mego domostwa...”
„Rozkazał swym stojącym już w pogotowiu kucharzom i szafarzom...”
„...aby dostarczały każdego ranka sześć byków (...) i inne wiktuały...”
„...Jego Majestat wydał asygnaty ze swego skarbca.”
„Rozkazano również, aby trzystu krawców uszyło mi szatę na modłę noszonych w tej
krainie”.
„...a w drugiej niewielka ilość złota w sakiewce.”
95
„[w kieszeni] znajdowały się okulary (...), kieszonkowa perspektywa i kilka innych
drobiazgów”.
„...choć nie zawsze odznaczają się one [osoby] wysokim urodzeniem i rozległym
wykształceniem.”
„...czerwoną wstęgę otrzymuje drugi, zieloną trzeci, a wszyscy noszą je, przepasani
nimi po dwakroć”.
„...gdy [rycerze] stanęli w ordynku, podzielili się na dwie partie...”
„...gdy zabawiałem dwór podobnymi rozrywkami, przybył umyślny goniec...”
„...przebili kryzę w dwóch miejscach i wrazili tam haki...”
„...przemaszerował pode mną piechota po dwudziestu czterech w szeregu (...) z biciem
w bębny i pikami (hist.) pochylonymi do natarcia”.
„...wdrapawszy się na szczyt na horyzoncie zobaczyłem jakiś statek. Była to pinka
(hist.)...”
„A w obecności swych najpierwszych zauszników nie mogła powstrzymać się od
poprzysiężenia mi zemsty”.
„...wierzą bowiem, iż ostrożność i czujność z dodatkiem zwykłego rozsądku mogą
uchronić majętność człowieka przed złodziejami”.
„...pod ręką piastowała dużą obleczoną bydlęcą skórą książkę”.
„...żona winna być miłym i rozsądnym towarzystwem, skoro nie może wiekuiście
pozostawać młoda”.
„Uboższe rodziny (...) zobowiązane są prócz opłaty, składać na wiano dziecka (...)
niewielką miesięczną część swoich dochodów.
96
„...nic nie może bardziej urągać (książk.) sprawiedliwości...”
„Wieśniacy i parobcy wychowują swe dzieci w domu...”
„Półmisek mięsa stanowił pokaźny kęs, a antałek wina spory łyk”.
„...zmuszony był do zaciągania pożyczek na niezmiernie wysoki procent, w związku z
czym obligi państwowe wymieniane są...”
„...co uczynił złośliwie, zdradziecko i diabelsko, oddając urynę, którą ugasił pożar...”
Pochwyciłem wielki okręt wojenny i uniósłszy kotwicę, rozebrałem się, złożyłem me
odzienie na okręcie...”
„Pożegnałem więc żonę, chłopca i dziewczynkę, przy ogólnym upuście łez i wszedłem
na pokład...”
Part Two: A Voyage To Brobdingnag
„...lecz pozwoliliśmy okrętowi płynąć jak wprzódy, gdyż dobrze sztormował rufą...”
„W sakiewce znajdowało się sześć poczwórnych hiszpańskich pistoli, prócz
dwudziestu, czy trzydziestu mniejszych monet”.
„Dochodziło południe i weszła dziewka służebna, niosąc posiłek”.
„...ujrzałem, że leżę samotnie w łożu szerokim na dwadzieścia jardów, pośrodku izby
rozległej na jardów dwieście lub trzysta”.
„...a drugi, widząc los swego kamrata, rzucił się do ucieczki...”
„...obmyśliła ona nocleg dla mnie, przystosowując do tego kołyskę lalki, którą włożono
do szufladki kantorka, a tę z kolei ustawiono na wiszącej półce...”
97
„...a po krótkiej naradzie z gospodarzem i koniecznych przygotowaniach, najął herolda,
aby ów powiadomił miasto...”
„[Jego córka] trzymała mnie na podołku w pudle, które przywiązała do paska”.
Król prowadzi dysputę z wielkimi uczonymi Jego Majestatu”.
„Gdy zastanawiał się i rozmyślał nad tym, przybył z dworu pokojowiec królewski z
rozkazem dla mego Pana...”
„Każda z owych sztuk złota miała wielkość ośmiuset moidorów (hist.), lecz zważywszy
proporcje między przedmiotami tej krainy i Europy (...) wyniosło to niespełna tysiąc
angielskich gwinei”.
„Powiedziałem wówczas Królowej, że skoro zostałem teraz najpokorniejszym sługą
i wasalem Jej Majestatu...”
„...dług wdzięczności spłaciłem sowicie (książk.) zyskiem, jaki osiągnął ukazawszy
mnie połowie królestwa...”
„Umiała schrupać na raz skrzydło skowronka, całe wraz z kośćmi choć było dziewięć
kroć większe niż skrzydło dorosłego indyka”.
„...pragną współzawodniczyć z innymi w strojach i ekwipażach...”
„...wzywając go do zapasów i posyłając inne docinki, zwykłe w ustach dworskich
paziów.”
Królowa (...) nigdy nie zapuszczała się dalej, towarzysząc Królowi w jego podróżach, i
oczekiwała, popasając, póki Jego Majestat nie powróci…”
„Lecz z pewnością zaledwie uwierzono by mi, gdybym opisał (...) ogrom garnków
i imbryków, ćwierci mięsiwa...”
„Obawiam się, że aby uniknąć podobnej przygany, popadłem z drugą ostateczność...”
98
„Surowo zganiła ogrodnika za brak baczenia (książk.) na psa.
„...wprowadzało mnie w największe zakłopotanie, gdyż rozdziewały się do gołej
skóry..”
„Raz lub dwa razy w tygodniu bywałem obecny, gdy Król opuszczał łoże i często
widywałem go pod ręką cyrulika...
„W młodości uczyłem się przez pewien czas gry na szpinecie”.
„Przeszedłem później do trybunałów sprawiedliwości, znajdujących się pod władaniem
sędziów, owych czcigodnych mędrców i wykładaczy praw...”
„...a Król wysłuchał wszystkiego z wielką uwagą, często czyniąc zapiski z tego, a także
memoranda, dotyczące pytań, które mi pragnął zadać”.
„...a nigdy dlatego, że (...) umieli okazywać uległość, lub byli służalczymi, przedajnymi
kapelanami jakiegoś dostojnika...”
„...co tym łatwiej mogłem uczynić, że zostałem ongi (książk.) niemal zrujnowany przez
długi proces...”
„...tymczasem odkrył, że [podatki] przekraczają dwójnasób tę pierwszą liczbę...”
„Zadawałem sobie pytanie, czemu ów władca, do którego włości nie ma dostępu z
żadnej innej krainy...”
„Byłem tak niewymownie skonfundowany oglądaniem tak wielu Pigmejów...”
„Dochodziła ósma wieczór i kapitan (...) kazał, nie czekając, podać wieczerzę (książk.).”
„Gdy przybyłem do mego domu, o który musiałem wypytywać, a jedna ze służebnych
otworzyła drzwi...”
99
Part Three: A Voyage To Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib,
and Japan
„...gdyż brak im uzdolnień, jakie mają mieszkańcy wyspy. Spośród nich damy
wybierają sobie galantów...”
„Król polecił odszukanie jej. Odnaleziono ją w łachmanach w podejrzanym szynku,
gdyż zastawiła swe suknie...”
„...niech jednak weźmie pod uwagę, że kaprysy rodu niewieściego (książk.) nie są
ograniczone...
„Miejsce to zatłoczone jest najróżniejszymi sekstansami, kwadrantami, teleskopami,
astrolabiami i innymi instrumentami astronomicznymi”.
„...wyglądał on jak prawdziwy naukowiec: nosił bujne faworyty...”
„Lecz istnieje, prócz tego, inna jeszcze ważka (książk.) przyczyna, dla której królowie
zawsze byli przeciwni...”
„...a w ich miejsce nadeszły zuchwałe żądania naprawienia krzywd, uwolnienia od
wielu danin (hist.)...”
„Jeden z najpierwszych ministrów upewnił mnie, że gdyby wyspa opadła...”
„Wyświadczył on wiele doniosłych usług Koronie, (hist.) miał wiele wrodzonych
zdolności...”
„Król wręczył mi podarunek (...), a krewny jego, mój orędownik (książk.) dwakroć
więcej...”
„Kunszta, wokół których zatrudniają się profesorowie”.
100
„Nim znów go napełnił, wrażał z mocą palec w otwór...”
„Często widywałem dwu takich mędrców uginających się pod uciskiem owych
brzemion, jak u nas wędrowni kramarze”.
„Zależnie od tego, jak owe medykamenty (książk.) będą działały...”
„Gdyż miast (książk.) długiego orszaku diademów ujrzałem w pewnym rodzie...”
„Jak franca odmieniła rys angielskiego oblicza (...) pokryła ziemistą barwą lica (książk.)
i dała zjełczałe i obwisłe ciała”.
„...[chłopi angielscy] tak sławni ongi z prostoty obyczajów, jadła i szat, z prawości
postępowania...”
Part Four: A Voyage To the Country Of the Houyhnhnms
„miałem tego potem żałować, gdyż był on kaprem (hist.)...”
„W izbie znajdowały się trzy podjezdki (hist.) i dwie klacze...”
„Brał cały mój przyodziewek (książk.) w pęcinę, sztuka po sztuce i badał uważnie...”
„...a z tymi, które należą do osób wyższego stanu, służącymi do podróżowania,
wyścigów i ciągnięcia rydwanów (hist.)...”
„...jak moglibyśmy obłaskawić je i uczynić nam powolnymi...”
„...zdobyto sto lub więcej miast i zatopiono lub spalono pięćkroć większą liczbę
okrętów.”
„A nie będąc nieukiem w rzemiośle wojennym, opisałem mu armaty, kolubryny (hist.),
muszkiety (hist.), karabiny...”
101
„Pazie, lokaje, odźwierny, naśladując swego pana...”
„Potomstwo takich rodów jest zwykle, skrofuliczne, rachityczne lub kalekie...”
„Jegomość ten sługiwał za młodu jako stangret...”
„...a jeśli przypadnie rzecz taka na osobę, której małżonka nie może już rodzić, inne
stadło (książk.) oddaje im jedno ze swych źrebiąt...”
„...gdyż tam, gdzie samica odznacza się wielką siłą, dobiera się jej najnadobniejszego
małżonka”.
„...nie było tu napominaczy, (...) mądrali, śledzienników, nudziarzy...”
„Przy lądowaniu Kapitan zmusił mnie do okrycia się jego opończą (hist.), aby zapobiec
gromadzeniu się gapiów”.
III. Results of a questionnaire – reception of archaic, historical and
bookish vocabulary found in both translations
I have conducted a survey whose aim was to discover how the archaic vocabulary
present in both translations is perceived by contemporary readers. I have questioned 30
persons who were to determine the meaning of the words in the fragments taken from
the translations. The level of understanding of each word was divided in three
categories: precise meaning known, general meaning known and meaning unknown. In
the first case the respondents provided precise (or very close) meaning of a given word.
In the second, the persons were able to categorise a word (e.g.: unit of measurement,
type of weapon, type of instrument, etc.). In the last case the respondents did not
understand a given word even on the general level or confused it with something else.
To learn how different pieces of archaic vocabulary are perceived by a ‘general
contemporary reader’ I have questioned a wide scope of respondents with various
backgrounds and education. The group included 13 people aged 19-24, 9 people aged
31-46 and 8 people aged 53-75. Among the thirty respondents 14 received higher
102
education, 12 secondary education and 4 elementary education. 14 respondents live in
a town/city and 16 live in rural areas. On the basis of the questionnaire, it can be said
that bookish and historical words are fairly well understood, especially when presented
in the context. Bookish words such as wieczerza, familia, zwierciadło, jadło, lico and
napitek were recognised most accurately and other words belonging to this category,
e.g.: piastować and wrazić were understood fairly well. The least understood item of
bookish vocabulary was chędożyć, but also in this case its meaning, at least on the
general level, was guessed by the majority of respondents. In the case of historical
vocabulary general understanding predominated. The most precisely understood items
were those which often appear in historical literature and films, mainly names of
weapons and other military terms (muszkiet, kolubryna, kołczan, etc.). Units
of measurement, apart from łokieć, which was understood quite precisely, were
understood on the general level, i.e. respondents recognised them as types of units, but
were unable to give their precise definitions. The most problematic was the word
ekwipaż (type of luxurious cart). Only 8% of the respondents were able to provide its
meaning. Others understood it as an archaic equivalent of contemporary ekwipunek
(equipment). Similarly, gotowalnia (room for changing and doing the toilet) was
understood as a former name for kuchnia (kitchen). The words whose meaning changed
with time were also quite well understood in the context, even though their former
meanings were quite surprising for the respondents, e.g.: trabant or płeć. The most
problematic words for the general contemporary reader seem to be archaic words
replaced by different lexical items in modern Polish. Their understanding often did not
exceed 50% and the respondents claimed that in several cases they were able to guess
their meaning only because the context was very clear (e.g.: suplika and
skonfundowany). The least understood words from this category include: dykcjonarz,
ekwator and wena.
Here are the results of the questionnaire. Each figure represents the number of
persons (out of 30) who knew the given words in general, precisely or did not know
them at all:
a. Reception of archaic, historical and bookish vocabulary found in the anonymous
translation (1784).
103
atencja
General meaning known: 5
Precise meaning known: 14
Meaning unknown:
11
Precise meaning known: 6
Meaning unknown:
8
Precise meaning known: 8
Meaning unknown:
22
Precise meaning known: 12
Meaning unknown:
3
Precise meaning known: 21
Meaning unknown:
3
Precise meaning known: 3
Meaning unknown:
20
Precise meaning known: 3
Meaning unknown:
21
Precise meaning known: 29
Meaning unknown:
1
Precise meaning known: 19
Meaning unknown:
11
Precise meaning known: 10
Meaning unknown:
20
Precise meaning known: 19
Meaning unknown:
8
Precise meaning known: 27
Meaning unknown:
3
Precise meaning known: 21
Meaning unknown:
7
drobnowidz
General meaning known: 16
dykcjonarz
General meaning known: 0
dysputa
General meaning known: 15
ekskuzować
General meaning known: 6
ekwator
General meaning known: 7
gotowalnia
General meaning known: 6
Holandczyk
General meaning known: 0
inkaust
General meaning known: 0
lubo
General meaning known: 0
lubownik
General meaning known: 3
(nie)kontent
General meaning known: 0
wypuszczenie
General meaning known: 2
104
pięćkroć
General meaning known: 2
Precise meaning known: 28
Meaning unknown:
0
Precise meaning known: 28
Meaning unknown:
0
Precise meaning known: 0
Meaning unknown:
0
Precise meaning known: 22
Meaning unknown:
6
Precise meaning known: 7
Meaning unknown:
0
Precise meaning known: 21
Meaning unknown:
7
Precise meaning known: 16
Meaning unknown:
11
Precise meaning known: 13
Meaning unknown:
14
Precise meaning known: 13
Meaning unknown:
11
Precise meaning known: 28
Meaning unknown:
0
Precise meaning known: 24
Meaning unknown:
6
Precise meaning known: 16
Meaning unknown:
11
Precise meaning known: 2
Meaning unknown:
28
dusza
General meaning known: 2
półszósta
General meaning known: 30
wikt
General meaning known: 2
kwarta
General meaning known: 23
nazwisko
General meaning known: 0
nieprzytomność
General meaning known: 3
płeć
General meaning known: 3
posesja
General meaning known: 6
suknia
General meaning known: 2
trabant
General meaning known: 0
wena
General meaning known: 3
ekwipaż
General meaning known: 0
105
liberia
General meaning known: 2
Precise meaning known: 15
Meaning unknown:
13
Precise meaning known: 25
Meaning unknown:
0
Precise meaning known: 7
Meaning unknown:
12
Precise meaning known: 15
Meaning unknown:
7
Precise meaning known: 4
Meaning unknown:
0
Precise meaning known: 13
Meaning unknown:
2
Precise meaning known: 25
Meaning unknown:
3
Precise meaning known: 13
Meaning unknown:
16
Precise meaning known: 12
Meaning unknown:
12
Precise meaning known: 30
Meaning unknown:
0
Precise meaning known: 25
Meaning unknown:
0
Precise meaning known: 29
Meaning unknown:
0
Precise meaning known: 30
Meaning unknown:
0
kołczan
General meaning known: 5
luidor
General meaning known: 11
ochmistrzyni
General meaning known: 8
sążeń
General meaning known: 26
łokieć
General meaning known: 15
czeladź
General meaning known: 2
suplika
General meaning known: 1
chędożyć
General meaning known: 6
familia
General meaning known: 0
podołek
General meaning known: 5
wieczerza
General meaning known: 1
zwierciadło
General meaning known: 0
106
b. Reception of archaic, historical and bookish vocabulary found in Maciej
Słomczyński’s translation (1976).
dwójnasób
General meaning known: 0
Precise meaning known: 28
Meaning unknown:
2
Precise meaning known: 13
Meaning unknown:
8
Precise meaning known: 30
Meaning unknown:
0
Precise meaning known: 25
Meaning unknown:
0
Precise meaning known: 2
Meaning unknown:
21
Precise meaning known: 2
Meaning unknown:
28
Precise meaning known: 9
Meaning unknown:
9
Precise meaning known: 20
Meaning unknown:
8
Precise meaning known: 25
Meaning unknown:
5
Precise meaning known: 9
Meaning unknown:
6
Precise meaning known: 28
Meaning unknown:
2
Precise meaning known: 20
Meaning unknown:
2
faworyty
General meaning known: 9
jadło
General meaning known: 0
napitek
General meaning known: 5
kądziel
General meaning known: 7
popasać
General meaning known: 0
skonfundowany
General meaning known: 12
wiktuały
General meaning known: 2
wrazić
General meaning known: 0
zausznik
General meaning known: 15
danina
General meaning known: 0
Korona
General meaning known: 8
107
moidor
General meaning known: 16
Precise meaning known: 2
Meaning unknown:
12
Precise meaning known: 17
Meaning unknown:
3
Precise meaning known: 25
Meaning unknown:
0
Precise meaning known: 18
Meaning unknown:
6
Precise meaning known: 15
Meaning unknown:
4
Precise meaning known: 30
Meaning unknown:
0
Precise meaning known: 28
Meaning unknown:
2
Precise meaning known: 25
Meaning unknown:
2
Precise meaning known: 28
Meaning unknown:
2
Precise meaning known: 24
Meaning unknown:
3
Precise meaning known: 30
Meaning unknown:
0
gwinea
General meaning known: 10
muszkiet
General meaning known: 5
kolubryna
General meaning known: 6
szpinet
General meaning known: 11
baczyć
General meaning known: 0
lico
General meaning known: 0
medykament
General meaning known: 3
niewieści
General meaning known: 0
piastować
General meaning known: 3
przyodziewek
General meaning known: 0
108
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