The translation of proper names – a functional, onomastic theoretical approach I. Features of names as factors influencing translation
The paper examines the questions surrounding the translation of proper nouns from an onomastic viewpoint blended with the results of translation studies, following a functional-communicational approach. Its goal is to create a model, which contains not only the applicable methods available to translators, but the (pragmatic and communicational) aspects and factors that could affect choosing between these. The novelty of the study is that it takes the meaning (denotation and connotation), the category (e.g. personal name) and sub-category (e.g. family name) of proper nouns into consideration, following the practices of prototype theory. Another innovative approach is the emphasise lain on the influence of composition on the translation of names. According to this, names consisting of several words should not be handled as single units, as earlier studies have consid-ered them, but following a two-step method: first holistically (e.g. the Eng. Flint Cliffs : Hung. Flint-sziklák, a place name), and then morphologically, while defining the categories of the name elements (e.g. Flint is a family name, cliffs is a common noun). This shows that translators are not completing a single operation but a combination of operations (transference in the case of the given name, and translation in the case of the common noun). Translations previously deemed ununderstandably heterogenous can thus be explained by applying this methodology.
A tulajdonnevek fordítása – funkcionális, névelméleti megközelítésben I.