This paper is relating a practical experience of teaching Romance philology students the translation from ancient French into Polish. The main scope is a restitution of an ancient text respecting not only the equivalence at the Iexical and syntactical level, but also the discourse structures, such as the linear sequence of events and events related from different points of view: some examples of solving particular problems are discussed. The whole procedure resembles that of translating from Latin, rather than a translation from one modern language to another.
The main problem discussed is how a contemporary Polish reader is supposed to receive a translation of a medieval text. The traditional choice between a philological translation and a stylistically enhanced text is not relevant according to the E. Nida’s theory of the dynamic equivalence. In his translation theory, special emphasis is given to the achievement of good readability. Some solutions resulting from author's practical experiences are proposed.
The question discussed in this article is whether Romance philology as didactic matter is still present in Polish university curricula and does it really represent main Romance languages. Some departments of Romance philology have separate curricula for French, Italian or Spanish, the others teach only French. The current trend seems to prefer practical subjects like professional translation or teaching foreign languages rather than historical linguistics or serious literary studies. Nevertheless, a solution could be found to preserve philological profile at master degree courses, by creating an optional curriculum containing, for example, historical lexicology and lexicography as well as translation of ancient literature, especially medieval and renaissance works.
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