The First Romanian Translations

Early

Translations. 17th century The Enlightenment

 Present

day Romanian has been influenced by non-Romance lgs such as Hungarian, Albanian and various Slavic lgs spoken in the neighbouring countries. Romania switched from the Cyrillic to the Roman script in 1860.

 Early

Translations. In common with many other lgs, the 1st TRs into Ro were of religious nature and motivation. The basic Christian terminology is of Latin origin, ex. Dumnezeu from Dominte Deo, Lord, boteza from baptizare, baptize, cruce from crux, cross.

 Between

the 10th and 13th centuries, the lg and the organizational structure of the Slavonic church were officially adopted in Romania, signaling the incorporation of Ro territory into the Byzantine sphere of influence. This development played a major role in shaping the Ro culture in subsequent centuries.

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1st recorded Ro manuscript is a TR probably from the 1st half of the 16th century of a Slavonic Acts of the apostles from the 15th century. It was discovered at the monastery of Voronet in Bucovina.

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is no indication of when and where it was completed. There are cultural and linguistic elements which support placing it in the north of Transilvania, for ex. the fact that it contains a large number of Hungarian elements.

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that Romanian was not a written lg at the time, the official lg. being Slavonic in all contexts, the 1st RO translations cannot be explained in terms of internal needs. These TRs appear to have been driven by Lutheran and Calvinistic propaganda. The 1st Ro printed document was a Lutheran catechism published in Sibiu

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1559 Deacon Coresi published Intrebare crestineasca (The Christian Inquiry), the 1st printed Ro translation on record; in 1561 he published a Ro Gospel and in 1570 a Ro Psalter and a Ro missal.

 These

TRs enjoyed the support of the authorities. Prince Zapolya of Transilvania personally commissioned the replacement of Slavonic books by Ro ones.

 Like

the Lutherans, the Calvinists also used translations into Ro to promote their faith. In 1648 the whole of the New Testament was translated in Alba Iulia, the 14 books appended to the Old Testament were translated from Slavonic.

 17th

century Nicolae Costin (1660-1712) statesman and historaian translated Antonio de Guevaras famous book Reox de Principes (1529) from Latin. Spatharus Milescu, diplomat, great scholar, was the 1st to translate directly from a Greek original.

Milescus most important contribution was translating the Old Testament in full from a version of Septuagint published in Frankfurt in 1551. The TR appeared in 1688 under the title Biblia de la Bucuresti and all Ro versions of the Septuagint have since been based on it. The 1st poet translator in the Ro tradition was Dosoftei, the metropolitan of Moldova.

His verse version of the Psalter 1673 remains -the most highly valued TRs of the Psalms of David. This was the 1st time high quality poetry appeared in the Ro lg. Dosoftei also translated a prayer book 1681 and a missal 1679 from Greek versions. These TRs spread throughout the principalities, making it possible to start conducting church services in Ro.

1st law books and dictionaries were also translated and published during this period. Pravila de la Govora (The Law Books from Govora) translated by the monk Moxa from Slavonic and published in Wallachia in 1640 and Pravilele Imparatesti /The Imperial Body of Laws. Translated by Eustratie from Greek and Latin sources.

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1st bilingual dictionary with Ro as the SL was Dictionarum valachiolatinum. It contained 5.000 headwords was compiled by Mihai Halici from Caransebe in 1643. Lexicographic activity, combined with increased involvement in the practical problems of translation, stimulated thinking in this area.

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lack of perfect correspondence between words of 2 lgs began to be noted and discussed. While translating Carte de pravile (Book of Laws), I. B. Deleanu observed that there was no exact term for the German Verbrechen

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noted that the lack of appropriate terminology posed a serious difficulty for the anonymous author of Retorica. This close link between practice and theory remained the driving force behind translation studies in Romania/Moldova down to the present day.

 The

Enlightenment During the 18th century when the Enlightenment was beginning to gain ground in Europe, the governers appointed by the Ottoman sultan began to rule in the Romanian principalities.

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principalities Wallachia, Moldova and Transilvania went through a rapid process of secularization during this period, with translations and adaptations of popular literature gradually replacing those of the religious works.

 French

became the dominant SL in translation, with writers who expressed the spirit of the Enlightenment, such as Voltaire, Rousseau, being among the most translated.

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translators were either educated members of the Ro royal family, like Vacarescu and Iordache Golescu, or Greek scholars brought in by the new rulers to teach at the royal academies in Iasi and Bucharest.

 Numerous

Greek handbooks on a variety of subjects such as logic, ethics, metaphysics were translated to cater for the demands of the new system.

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the last quarter of the 18th century and the 1st quarter of the 19th century, Romanians became receptive to European science and philosophy, actively assimilating Western lit-re and integrating it into the indigenous culture. Free adaptation was the order of the day, with faithful translations being the exception rather than the norm.

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1st direct TR from English was probably Byrons Manfred, translated in 1843 by the Ro revolutionary and writer C. A. Rosetti. The 1st English novel to be translated was also to become one of the most popular; this was Defoes Robinson Crusoe, translated and published by V. Draghici in Iasi in 1835.

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magazines also carried the 1st news about the New World during this period and translations of American lit-re soon began to appear.

 Washington

Irving was the 1st

author to be translated into Ro in 1836, followed by Benjamin Franklin, James Fenimore Cooper, Edgar Alan Poe Mark Twain.

 Harriet

Beecher Stowes Uncle Toms Cabin -published in Iasi in1853. The flourishing of translation activity during the 19th century had an enduring influence on Ro cultural life and helped to bring our territory closer to the rest of Europe.

 The

Schiller centenary in 1859 was followed by a boom in the translation of his work, as well as the work of other Cerman authors such as Coethe, Heine and Lenau.

 German

lit-re and philosophy helped shape the thinking of a number of influential Romanian personalities who studied in Berlin, Vienna and other German-speaking universities.

 Titu

Maiorescu, the founder of the magazine Convorbiri literare(Literary Talks), was highly influenced by the ideas of Schopenhauer.

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poet M. Eminescu (1850-89) was similarly influenced by German Romanticism. His excellent translations of the Austrian poet Lenau, Bitte (Request) and Das durre Blatt ( The Withered Leaf) were published in Convorbiri literare in 1879.

 Eminescu

created a highly expressive poetic language, and in so doing made it possible for TRs into Ro to stand in their own right as equals of their European and American originals.

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last quarter of the 19th century witnessed an emphasis on translating works which focus on social issues. These included Gogols The Inspector-General, published in 1874,

Turgenevs The Nest of Genlefolk (1880), Dostoevskys (" ") Crime and Punishment(1898), Chekhovs Motley Stories(1899). (Pstrye Rasskazy")

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contemporary period During the 1st half of the 20th century, a number of excellent TRs were published by scholars who were established poets in their own right.

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poet George Cosbuc translated from German as well as a number of other lgs, including Greek (Homers Odyssey), Latin (Virgils Aeneid and Georgics), Sanskrit (Rig-Veda), Ramayana and Mahabharata), and Italian.

His translation of Dantes The Divine Comedy was considered one of the best existing versions by C. Tagliavini, a well-known Italian scholar who had a special interest in Romanian. Another Transivanian, St.O. Iosif (18751913), was considered one of the best translators of German poetry during this time.

 He

translated Heine, Goethe, Schiller, Burger, and Lenau. He also translated work by the Hungarian poet Petofi (The Apostle), as well as Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Nights Dream, the The Iliad and Odyssey were translated in perfect hexameters by G. Murnu.

 Other

writers translated/ retranslated during this period include Jules Verne, Oscar Wilde, M. Lermontov, Ivan Goncearov, Eugene ONeil, Mark Twain, Marcel Proust and Balzak. These Trs- personal affinity and individual choice on the part of translators rather than of official planning.

 Publishers

were mainly interested in producing lucrative, popular lit-re. High quality lit-re could also be successful. One of the most popular authors during this period was W.S.Maugham: almost 30 of his titles were translated by the Romanian writer I. Giurea and published between 1930-1945.

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after World War II World War II and the years which followed it brought about a new isolation. Both original and the translated lit-re were censored.

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1950s witnessed a growing demand for foreign lit-res, with a definite need for translations since the majority of the Romanian public did not speak foreign lgs.

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masterpieces appeared in excellent TRS during this period. For ex., in 1955 2 important works by Goethe were published; Faust, translated by the great poet and philosopher Lucian Blaga,

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autobiographical novel From My Life. Poetry and Truth, translated by Tudor Vianu, an outstanding scholar of the time. TRs of this type were the result of personal choice.

 Only

the Russian classics were systematically in a series of a complete works, including Gogol (1954), Checkhov (1954-63), Turgenev (1953-62).

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only non-Russian author whose works were translated and published in a complete edition was Shakespeare ( 1955-63), 11 excellent volumes by L. Levitchi and D. Dutescu).