Developing a Hermeneutic Model of Translating Fantasy Literature. A Case Study of References to Polishness in Uprooted by Naomi Novik and Its Polish Translation

Jerzy Skwarzyński

doi:10.18290/rh257311.11s

Published : 2025-12-19

Vol. 73 No. 11 Zeszyt specjalny (2025)

Developing a Hermeneutic Model of Translating Fantasy Literature. A Case Study of References to Polishness in Uprooted by Naomi Novik and Its Polish Translation

Jerzy Skwarzyński

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7607-5744

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18290/rh257311.11s

Abstract

The paper aims to present a model of translating and studying translation of fantasy literature aligned with the purpose of writing or reading it. The model is formulated by aligning the parallels between J. R. R. Tolkien’s set of values of fantasy literature with the hermeneutic method of translating and reading translations based on George Steiner’s hermeneutic motion and Antoine Berman’s text-deforming tendencies. To illustrate it, the translation of the lexical references to Polishness in the novel Uprooted is analysed. According to the proposed hermeneutic model of translating fantasy literature, the translators’ general task connects the insistence to mirror the original and meet the readers’ expectations considering the challenges unique to a particular literary text. This advocates for the composition of translation series in which subsequent versions do not aim to outplace one another but create a pool of interpretations which grows with every new rendition.

Keywords:

literary translation, hermeneutic motion, text-deforming tendencies, translation of fantasy, translation series, cultural references

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