Onomastics and translation: A comparative case-study on "Metay" by Kristijonas Donelaitis

Abstract

The translation of proper names (PN) in literary works presents significant theoretical and practical challenges for researchers. This article presents a case study focusing on the comparative analysis of 13 different translations of the Lithuanian national poem Metai (‘The Seasons’) by Kristijonas Donelaitis, a seminal text in 18th-century Lithuanian literature that profoundly influenced the development of the literary language. The poem is notable for its extensive use of proper names. In this paper, a typology of PNs is proposed for translation analysis, categorized based on parameters such as authorship, intentionality, transparency of the PN in the source language, and the potential presence of equivalents in the target language. The findings indicate that translators’ choices, while diverse, are influenced by the type of PN being translated. The efficacy of this analytical model could be further tested by applying it to translations of other literary works in the future.