Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 2004. Vol. 4. Eger Journal of English Studies. (Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 30)
ALBERT PÉTER VERMES Culture in Translation: Strategies and Operations
96 Albert Péter Vermes relating to social relations and attitudes can be substituted (English dear for Hungarian fiam, 'my son'). Also often substituted are several expressions relating to topographic objects which have their own names in the target culture (English Danube for Hungarian Duna). What is important in such cases is that the reference remains invariant, and since the reference here is determined not by the logical entry, which may be empty, but by the encyclopaedic entry, it will take less processing effort to recover the referent through an expression whose encyclopaedic content is readily accessible for the target reader. For the same reason, substitution is prevalent with the full names of persons in the translation. In Hungarian, the order of names is family name first, first name second, and since English readers are not supposed to have access to this assumption, the reversed order is substituted in each case (English Laci Bárány for Hungarian Bárány Laci), with the constituent elements of these names transferred. In a somewhat similar fashion, when a name in the original activates an encyclopaedic assumption which is not likely to be present in the target cultural context, the relevant assumption can be provided by the translator in the form of a substitution, combined with transference (English former prime minister Károlyi for Hungarian Károlyi Mihály , English the poet Petőfi for Hungarian Petőfi ), which serves to spare the target reader from some extra processing effort. Another such example is provided by the expression ávó , meaning 'state defence department', which occurs in three different renderings in the target text. The first occurrence is a substitution, combined with transference (secret police AVO ), the second is a substitution (secret police ), and the third a simple transfer (AVO). This then also suggests that although substitution is basically a means of domesticating source language expressions, it can nevertheless be used in ingenious ways to lead the readers toward the source culture by smuggling into their cognitive environments assumptions which originate in the source culture. One further interesting example is provided by the following sentences. (4a) Az, ami az amerikaiaknak a blues, az a magyaroknak a keserves — (5a) erre a felismerésére büszke volt, ezért, és nem másért, szerette jobban a kurucokat a labancoknál. (Esterházy, p. 158, italics as in original)
