RSn077 Translation Seminar – Literary Texts

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Anna Agapova, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Anna Agapova, Ph.D.
Department of Slavonic Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: doc. PhDr. Jiří Gazda, CSc.
Supplier department: Department of Slavonic Studies – Faculty of Arts
Prerequisites
The knowledge of Russian language at minimum C1 level according to CERF, the knowledge of the Czech language at native speaker level.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course is focused on translation Russian literary texts to Czech.
The main aim of the course is to teach the students to produce adequately translated texts that will be written in cultivated Czech language without stylistic and grammar mistakes and typing errors. The emphasis is, at the same time, put on maintaining, to the highest possible extent, the formal aspect of the source text.
At the introductory lecture students will be briefly introduced to translating principles of literary texts. During the whole semester the attention on practical seminars will be paid on application of students gained knowledge into particular translation problems. This way students will acquire right skills while translating and will know how to deal with various typical and untypical problem situations.
The aim of the course is to introduce students to principles of translating singular kinds and genres of literature, to learn how to recognize in the text elements of literary texts and to correctly translate these elements to target language, to identify singular style-creating elements in the text (primarily, in connection with different stratification and distinction of Russian) and to be able to functionally replace these elements in the target language, then to identify author’s idiolect and to reliably distinguish it from specifics of the source language that don’t have a style-creating character.
Learning outcomes
After finishing the course, the student will be able:
- to characterize the style of fiction, to characterize the specifics of text of fiction texts, to distinguish language reality form stylization in literary text, to distinguish the usage in Czech and Russian language, to apply these facts on translation;
- to classify the text that is translated as more specific literary kinds/genre/type of the text and to choose the appropriate translating strategy according to it;
- to consider idiolect of the translated author, to identify the key passages in the text that differentiate them from other text/authors, to choose appropriate translating strategy for the compensation of these means of expression in the target language;
- to distinguish different graphic, orthography and typographic usage in Czech and Russian, not to be influenced by the source language;
- to find inappropriately translated passages in translated texts, to define why the translation is not appropriate, to offer a more proper solution;
- to apply translatological knowledge from the introductory lecture and from translation studies literature on practical translation, to deliberately avoid interferences of the object language.
Thanks to kindly provided feedback of the lecturer during the whole semester, the student will be able to evaluate about himself at the end of the course if he has necessary capabilities and talent for translation of a kind and if it’s promising for him to further nurture these abilities or it’s better to focus on the other type of translation.
Syllabus
  • 1. Introduction to translating of literary texts.
  • 2. Translation of written Russian texts of various styles with representation of the most important kinds of literature and literary genres. Namely:
  • - Translation of selected tales or their parts.
  • - Translation of selected passages of novels.
  • - Translation of a selected author's fairy tale.
  • - Translation of a selected drama text.
  • - Translation of a selected rhymed text/poetry/song.
  • 3. Translation of written Russian texts with an accent on translation problems arising from the context of the source text. Namely:
  • - Translation of realia.
  • - Translation of allusions.
  • - Translation of phraseology.
  • - Translation of wordplay.
  • - Translation of stylistically marked words and phrases.
  • - Translation of stylised foreigner's and child's speech.
Literature
  • Etkind, E. G.: Poetičeskij perevod v istorii russkoj literatury. In.: Mastera russkogo stichotvornogo perevoda, t. I. Leningrad 1968, s. 5-72.
  • LEVÝ, Jiří. Umění překladu. Čtvrté, upravené vydání. Praha: Apostrof, 2012, 367 stran. ISBN 9788087561157. info
  • BELISOVÁ, Šárka. Kapitoly z dějin českého překladu. Edited by Milan Hrala. Vyd. 1. V Praze: Karolinum, 2002, 271 s. ISBN 8024603861. info
  • LEVÝ, Jiří. České teorie překladu : vývoj překladatelských teorií a metod v české literatuře. Edited by Jiří Honzík. Vyd. 2. (rozdělené do dvou. Praha: Ivo Železný, 1996, 323 s. ISBN 8023729527. info
  • Překládání a čeština. Edited by Zlata Kufnerová. 1. vyd. Jinočany: H&H, 1994, 260 s. ISBN 8085787148. info
  • KŠICOVÁ, Danuše. Ruská literatura 19. a začátku 20. století v českých překladech : kapitoly z dějin literárních vztahů. 1. vyd. Praha: Státní pedagogické nakladatelství, 1988, 310 s. URL info
  • KŠICOVÁ, Danuše. Ruská poezie v interpretaci Františka Táborského : z dějin česko-ruských vztahů. Vyd. 1. V Brně: Univerzita J.E. Purkyně, 1979, 190 s. URL info
  • RECKER, Jakov Iosifovič. Teorija perevoda i perevodčeskaja praktika : očerki lingvističeskoj teorii perevoda. Moskva: Meždunarodnyje otnošenija, 1974, 215 s. info
Teaching methods
The first seminar in a form of lecture.
Everyweek independent homework in a form of translation and assignment of the given text in time.
Managed discussion on seminars about the particular translating solutions and difficult passages from the text that is translated.
Teacher’s feedback (in written and oral form).
Assessment methods
Compulsory attendance (max. 2 unexused absences), active participation in seminars.
Assignment of given translations in time every week (tolerated are two translations not assigned).
Presentation on 2 seminars: 1) presentation of the analysis of the source text and of the colleagues' translation solutions; 2) the summary of a research article.
Repeated assignment of corrected version of one of the translated texts.
Language of instruction
Czech
Follow-Up Courses
Further Comments
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every week.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2025/RSn077