Aug 14

I am loving “Poradnik tłumacza” by A. Belczyk

I have known about this book for a while, but purchased it recently only to ask myself why so late? In his book, Arkadiusz Belczyk presents a practical approach to translation where he gives tips on how to improve translation techniques, style and grammar. I especially appreciate exercises which come with a key as they are valuable even for the more seasoned translators.

For example, today I learnt a great “trick” on how to tackle the English form of address “you” which is problematic in Polish, as we normally use a more formal tone or even Mr., Mrs. Instead of using an inappropriate “ty”, we can go with a very smart and brief “Każdy, kto” or simply “Kto”. We can also “create” our subject based on context. If “you” is used in a sentence related to shopping, it can be rendered as “klient”. It is simple and meaningful, plus a translator does not have to bend over backwards to create an impersonal structure with “należy”, “powinno się” or “trzeba” which often are not best choice.

I shall be referring to “Poradnik tłumacza” more often!