Published : 2026-09-11

Translating Culinary Heritage and Gastronomic Culture in Informational Picture Books for Young Readers: An Analysis of the French and English Translations of Daj gryza. Smakowite historie o jedzeniu

Abstract

This article presents a comparative analysis of the French and English translations of the children’s non-fiction picture-book Daj gryza. Smakowite historie o jedzeniu. This study focuses on the translation strategies applied to culturally embedded food-related content, with particular attention paid to specialised culinary terminology, ethnographic references, and the interaction between text and image. The analysis examines the chapter devoted to Poland, where fermented foods and traditional eating practices play a key role. A contrastive approach reveals different translational orientations: the French version tends to preserve cultural specificity through explicitation strategies and the retention of original terms, whereas the English version more often favours simplification and cultural adaptation to ensure accessibility for young readers. This article demonstrates that translating informational picture-books about food involves more than just linguistic transfer, requiring careful cultural mediation that balances fidelity to the source culture with pedagogical clarity and readability.

Keywords:

non-fiction book about food, translation, cultural mediation, children’s literature, specialised vocabulary, terminology



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Roczniki Humanistyczne · ISSN 0035-7707 | eISSN 2544-5200 | DOI: 10.18290/rh
© The Learned Society of the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin & The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Faculty of Humanities

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