The transfer of Yiddish endonyms in literary translation

Abstract

In this study, 387 toponyms have been extracted from 64 English, French, Spanish or Catalan translations of Yiddish literary texts and compared to the original Yiddish forms in the source texts to identify the translation techniques used. The study shows that interference from third languages is frequent in the rendering of Yiddish endonyms without equivalents in the target language. Taking the specificities of Yiddish toponyms and several different theoretical approaches to the translation of toponyms into consideration, it is argued that the practice in question is problematic because it conceals the roots of the Yiddish-speaking communities of Central and Eastern Europe and is inconsistent with the way in which anthroponyms and cultural references are dealt with in the same translations. On that basis, an alternative strategy for the translation of Yiddish endonyms without equivalents in the target language is proposed.