Disruptive strangeness or domesticated exoticism? Some challenges of cultural translation in the Polish rendition of Fury by Salman Rushdie

Agnieszka Stawecka-Kotuła

Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, Poland

Agnieszka Stawecka-Kotuła works as an assistant lecturer at Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin, Poland. She holds an MA degree in Applied Linguistics in English and French from Maria Curie Skłodowska University in Lublin, and an MA degree in French Studies from The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, where she is currently working towards a PhD. She also completed a master’s degree program (Master 1) in Specialised Translation and Language Engineering (French and English) at Paris Diderot University. Her research interests centre on translation, intercultural communication, and contrastive linguistics.


https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3140-8861



Abstract

The unfolding hybridisation of cultures calls for a culture-oriented approach to translation that could respond to the needs and expectations of contemporary readership. The present paper is devoted to the concept of the cultural turn in translation studies and its practical implications on actual translations of contemporary literary works. To illustrate the complexities of translating cultural elements, the Polish translation of Fury reflecting the usual Rushdian blend of voices, plots, multi-cultural hybrid and culture references is used. The paper seeks to exemplify and discuss choices made by the translator striving to acquaint the target text reader with the complex universe of the novel to the similar extent as experienced by the source text reader. The principal strategy adopted by the Polish translator might be labelled as domesticated exoticism.


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Published
2021-11-30


Stawecka-Kotuła, A. (2021) “Disruptive strangeness or domesticated exoticism? Some challenges of cultural translation in the Polish rendition of Fury by Salman Rushdie”, Crossroads. A Journal of English Studies, (34), pp. 46–58. Available at: https://czasopisma.filologia.uwb.edu.pl/index.php/c/article/view/1700 (Accessed: 26 April 2024).

Agnieszka Stawecka-Kotuła 
Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, Poland

Agnieszka Stawecka-Kotuła works as an assistant lecturer at Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin, Poland. She holds an MA degree in Applied Linguistics in English and French from Maria Curie Skłodowska University in Lublin, and an MA degree in French Studies from The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, where she is currently working towards a PhD. She also completed a master’s degree program (Master 1) in Specialised Translation and Language Engineering (French and English) at Paris Diderot University. Her research interests centre on translation, intercultural communication, and contrastive linguistics.

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3140-8861