THE TRANSLATION OF ARCHAISMS FROM SERBIAN INTO ITALIAN: TWO ACCOUNTS OF ITALIAN TRANSLATIONS OF THE NOVEL DICTIONARY OF THE KHAZARS BY MILORAD PAVIĆ

Abstract

This paper analyses the problems of literary translation of archaisms from Serbian into Italian. Comparative translation analysis of the original novel Dictionary of the Khazars and the two Italian translations of the novel, with the addition of examples of the english translation, questions the adequacy of two translation approaches when transferring archaic expressions from one language into another, namely their transfer from the source culture in the target culture. Considering the fact that Milorad Pavić uses the archaic forms of Serbian words with the purpose of “ageing” the text and achieving a stronger bond between different timelines in his novel, the paper analyses the choices of the two translators to modernise the terms in question and to transfer them into Italian without these specific characteristics. This paper offers an alternative to this procedure, that is the approach of archaizing Pavić’s expressions. Using the approach of archaisation, the author’s intention of “ageing” the text would be maintained in the translation, thus also realising a close contact between different temporal dimensions of the novel.