Aspects and strategies of tourist texts translations:

the case of Slovenia.info

Janja Zorko

Koper, 2014
Abstract
Aspects and strategies of tourist texts translations: The case of Slovenia.info

This thesis explores the most important aspects of translation with a special focus on
tourist texts. The aim is to identify the challenges in translating such texts, as well as the
strategies for overcoming them and lastly, to highlight the most common mistakes
translators make in those instances. The research was limited to the texts on the internet
site Slovenia.info and their respective translations into English. Slovenia.info is the
official travel guide of Slovenia’s Tourist Board.
In the first part of the thesis some theory is proposed and explored in order to determine
the main factors that should be taken into consideration when translating in general and
what kind of focus should be given particularly when translating tourist texts. It is
deducted from the theory that there is no general rule for producing a good translation,
especially for translations of tourist texts where the transfer of meaning must be done
between two possibly contrasting cultures.
In the second part some Slovene texts and their English translations taken from the
above mentioned web page are scrutinized with the aim of determining whether they
comply with the presented theories and proposed strategies. The results are presented
and in some cases alternative solutions are proposed.

Key words: translation strategies, non-equivalence, tourist text, cultural specificities

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................1
1 TRANSLATION ........................................................................................................2
2 ASPECTS OF TRANSLATION...............................................................................4
2.1 Equivalence .........................................................................................................4
2.1.1 Non-equivalence ..................................................................................... 4
2.1.2 Literal translation ....................................................................................8
2.1.3 False friends ............................................................................................ 8
2.2 Cultural specificity .............................................................................................. 9
2.2.1 Idiomaticity ........................................................................................... 11
2.2.2 Localisation ........................................................................................... 11
2.3 Translating geographical names from Slovene to English ................................ 12
3 TRANSLATING TOURIST TEXTS .....................................................................15
3.1 Strategies of Translating Tourist Texts .............................................................. 17
4 ANALYSIS ...............................................................................................................18
4.1 Text 1: Koroška .................................................................................................18
4.1.1 Translation analysis ...............................................................................19
4.1.2 Function analysis ..................................................................................22
4.2 Text 2: Protected foodstuff ................................................................................22
4.2.1 Translation analysis ...............................................................................24
4.2.2 Function analysis ..................................................................................26
4.3 Text 3: The diligent nation ................................................................................27
4.3.1 Translation analysis ...............................................................................27
4.3.2 Functional analysis: ..............................................................................29
5 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................31
6 IZVLEČEK ..............................................................................................................33
7 REFERENCES.........................................................................................................36
INTRODUCTION

Globalisation has blurred borders and thus moved cultures and languages closer than
ever. However, language still remains a barrier in most intercultural encounters, calling
upon translators to overcome those barriers. Not surprisingly, the translation business
has grown immensely in the past two decades. Nevertheless, it is not a new
phenomenon. Since ancient times scholars have debated over the approaches needed to
produce a good translation. Thus, the question arises as to what is a “good” translation;
is it the translation that remains faithful to the source text no matter what? Or is it the
one that adjusts the content for the readership, altering the core of it in the process?

Doubtless, translating does not simply mean transferring words from one language to
another. Our cultural background determines how we see, interpret and understand even
the most common human concepts. Puns, idioms and collocations can have contrasting
meanings even in very similar cultures. Translating tourist texts can be particularly
demanding as the very essence of them is to carry one culture to the other. Tourist texts
brim with unique cultural markers, unusual food and religious traditions. Furthermore,
they should be written in an attractive style and yet they should still keep their
informative function.

The web page Slovenia.info consists of a large number of various texts and their
corresponding translations into the major world languages including English. The focus
of this paper is on the latter ones with the purpose of detecting where most mistakes
were made and how translators adhered with the common translating strategies.

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1 TRANSLATION

Translating means transferring meaning from the source language to the target
language. But is it really that simple? Is it just a matter of an adequate transfer?
Zlateva believes that:

Translation is not just the transfer of meaning from one language to another, but rather an
arena in which cultures meet in the person of the translator whose decisions influence the
way in which a culture responds to impulses and challenges from outside. Therefore
translation is seen as social action (Zlateva 1993, i).

Baker shares a similar view:

If language were simply a nomenclature for a set of universal concepts, it would be easy
to translate from one language to another. One would simply replace the French name for
a concept with the English name. If language were like this, the task of learning a new
language would also be much easier than it is. But anyone who has attempted either of
these tasks has acquired, alas, a vast amount of direct proof that languages are not
nomenclatures that the concepts of one language may differ radically from those of
another. Each language articulates or organises the world differently. Languages do not
simply name existing categories; they articulate their own (Baker 1992, 10).

Peter Newmark (1988) believes that a translator should only translate into her or his
mother tongue and that the emergence of translations (of tourist texts, for example) by
native speakers of the source language is a matter of “national pride”.
He hypothesizes that:

The translator will be 'caught' every time, not by his grammar, which is probably
suspiciously 'better' than an educated native's, not by his vocabulary, which may well be
wider, but by his unacceptable or improbable collocations… For the above reasons,
translators rightly translate into their own language, and a fortiori, foreign teachers and
translators are normally unsuitable in a translation course (Newmark 1981, 173).

I can share Newmark’s view on the unnatural translations a source text speaker can
produce. It is thus of extreme importance for a translator to be aware and well-

2
acquainted with the cultural background of the language she or he is translating into.
However, I do not agree with Newmark that translations of tourist texts are done by
source text natives because of national pride. In my view, it is only the most logical way
of doing it. It sounds rather unfeasible for a tourist text published in Slovenia to be
translated by an English or American translator.

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2 ASPECTS OF TRANSLATION

2.1 Equivalence

It is impossible to say with absolute certainty if a given translation is legitimate or not

unless we, the author of the source text, confirm it. Even in such a case a translation is
subjected to cultural differences, proverbs, puns and other peculiarities that only make
sense in the source language, resulting thus as non-translatable or meaningless in the
target language. Sometimes a translator is forced to give a meaning to their work
changing the original text in the process.

Pym explains that we can talk about equivalence when the translated target language
has the same value as the source language (Pym 2007, 273). In addition, Lefevere
(1993, 39) states that the approach of seeking equivalence in translation through the
level of words, sentence or text is not sufficient: “To translate, one has to know
languages, to translate well one has to go beyond languages” (Ibid.).

There is a wide range of circumstances that will determine the choice of an equivalent
in a translation and creating a list of general rules is next to impossible, says Baker
(1992). The choice is in the hand of the writer of the source text and the translator that
produces the target text and how they both handle the linguistic systems in individual
cases (Ibid.).

Nida (quoted in Sanning 2010, 130) believes that no translation is ever completely
equivalent. A number of different translations can in fact represent varying degrees of
equivalence.

2.1.1 Non-equivalence

Baker makes a list of instances when non-equivalence may occur:

a) Culture-specific concepts

There are concepts that only exist in one culture and have no equivalent in the target

4
language. “The concepts in question may be abstract or concrete; they may relate to a
religious belief, a social custom, or even a type of food. Such concepts are often referred
to as ‘culture-specific’ ”(Baker 1992, 21).

b) The source-language concept is not lexicalized in the target language

This is the case when a concept in the source language is known in the target language,
but it does not have a specific word for it. Example: In the words of a Lonrho affidavit
dated 2 November 1988, the allegations . . .

Target text (Arabic): According to the text of a written communication supported by

an oath presented by the Lonrho organization and dated 2 November 1988, the
allegations . . . (Baker 1992).

c) The source-language word is semantically complex

It can occur that a single-morpheme word is semantically extremely complex and

expresses a meaning or a set of meanings that are too complex to be described in a
single sentence. “An example of such a semantically complex word is arruação, a
Brazilian word which means ‘clearing the ground under coffee trees of rubbish and
piling it in the middle of the row in order to aid in the recovery of beans dropped during
harvesting’ ”(Baker 1992, 22).

d) The target language lacks a superordinate

It can occur that the target language has specific terms (hyponyms) for example car, but
does not have a general term (superordinate) example vehicle.

e) The target language lacks a specific term (hyponym)

It can, moreover, occur that the target language will have the general term
(superordinate), but will lack the specific one (hyponym). Baker gives an example of
English having a variety of different words for jump: leap, vault, spring, bounce, dive,
clear, plunge, and plummet (Baker 1992, 23).

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 f) The use of loan words in the source text

Using loan words in the source text can sometimes be problematic since these words are
often used for their status rather than the propositional meaning itself. This status,
however, can get lost in translation because of the absence of such a distinguished loan
word in the target language. So in certain instances the meaning can be rendered, but
without the missing loan equivalent, the translation can lose its finesse (Baker 1992).

In dealing with any kind of non-equivalence, it is important, first of all to assess its
significance and implications in a given context. Not every instance of non-equivalence
you encounter is going to be significant. It is neither possible nor desirable to reproduce
every aspect of meaning for every word in a source text. We have to try, as much as
possible, to convey the meaning of key words which are focal to the understanding and
development of a text, but we cannot and should not distract the reader by looking at
every word in isolation and attempting to present them with a full linguistic account of its
meaning (Baker 1992, 26).

When a word in the source language does not have a direct equivalent in the target
language we talk about non-equivalence. In order to produce a good translation
nonetheless, Baker proposes some strategies to use when non-equivalence occurs.
However, there is no general rule as to which strategy is the most suitable for a specific
case of non-equivalence (Baker 1992).

a) Translation by a more general word (superordinate)

Replacing a specific term with a more general one is one of the most common strategies
when dealing with non-equivalence. For example; shampooing means washing your
hair, but such a term does not exist in all languages, therefore washing can be a suitable,
more general term (Baker 1992).

b) Translation by cultural substitution

Cultural substitution is used when a culturally specific term does not have an equivalent
in the target language. A culturally specific term of the target language will be used

6
instead. It will not have the same meaning, but it might have a similar impact on the
reader. Example:

“Source text (Italian – Gadda, ‘La cenere delle battaglie’)

Poi, siccome la serva di due piani sotto la sfringuellava al telefonocoll’innamorato,
assenti i padroni, si imbizzì: prese a pestare i piedi sacripantando «porca, porca, porca,
porca . . .»: finché la non smise, che non fu molto presto.
Target text (English: ‘The ash of battles past’):
Then, because the servant-girl two floors down was chattering at the telephone with her
young man, her employers being away, he lost his temper: and began to stamp his feet,
bellowing ‘Bitch, bitch, bitch . . .’ until she gave up, which was not very soon”.

‘Porca’ in Italian means swine, whereas ‘bitch’ in English means female dog, but both
work well as an insult. ‘Bitch’ represents a straightforward cultural substitute (Baker
Ibid.).

c) Translation using a loan word or loan word plus explanation

Certain culturally specific words or modern words can be used as loan words. When
used for the first time they should be followed by an explanation.

d) Translation by omission

When translating a concept that is not important for the content, but would need much
explaining and would thus distract the readers, it is possible to omit such a term without
any harm to the text (Baker Ibid.).

e) Translation by illustration

When translating something that refers to a physical entity, but does not have an
equivalent translatable term, it can be useful to use an illustration. Example: Arabs are
not acquainted with the term “tagged teabags” and explaining it with words would
prove too lengthy. An illustration is simpler to understand (Baker Ibid.).

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2.1.2 Literal translation

To literally translate means to change one text to the other word-for-word. The term
implies that the translation may or may not be accurate and it is seen as an unwanted
method since it may not render translations of idioms or other culturally defined
concepts.

According to Newmark, linguistics has given too much importance to the analysis of
discourse which leads to the idea that the only true translating unit is the text, and that
every discrepancy from a literal translation can be justified with that idea. But many
translations have proven to be close to perfect despite the fact that 90% of the sentences
were translated literally He states: “My thesis, however, is that literal translation is
correct and must not be avoided, if it secures referential and pragmatic equivalence to
the original” (Newmark 1988, 113).

Nabokov also believes that a translator is successful in their effort when the “spirit” of
the original is conveyed. He claims: “The clumsiest literal translation is a thousand
times more useful than the prettiest paraphrase” (2000, 71).

It is my conclusion that the literal translation is much more appreciated and more useful
than it is believed and should be one of the essential translating methods where possible.

2.1.3 False friends

We use the term ‘false friends’ to describe a pair of words that look and sound the same
or similar in two different languages, but their meaning is actually different. Example:
‘parents’ in English and parenti in Italian where parenti actually means relatives. Baker
explains that the development of these unfriendly pairs lies in the historical relation of
languages such as English, French, and German, but they can occur also in unrelated
languages (Baker 1992, 25).

As Nida (2000, 130) points out, even though translating between two historically or
culturally similar languages diminishes the possibility of an error, translating between
two overly related languages can result precisely in using false friends because of their

8
ostensible similarity.

Even the most proficient translators can, once in their career, fall into the trap of false
friends and as a result, they can be extra cautious in those instances. However,
Newmark stresses that one should not fear the literal translation, especially the friends,
because, in most cases, they turn out to be faithful rather than false. In general, there are
more of the former and less of the latter, furthermore, the faithful ones are usually the
most suitable translation (Newmark 1988, 118–119).

2.2 Cultural specificity

In order to understand the culture a translator translates to and from, they should be
interculturally competent.

Čeh (2011) explains Byram’s definition of intercultural competence to be:

knowledge of others, knowledge of ourselves, the ability to interpret and to build

relationships, the ability to research and react, to appreciate values, behaviour and
opinions of others, and the ability to relativise oneself.

Culture is an extremely wide concept with numerous definitions. Sanning (2010, 125)
proposes the following:

It is known that culture is the integrated pattern of human knowledge, beliefs, and
behaviour that is both a result of an integral to the human capacity for learning and
transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations. Culture thus consists of language,
ideas, beliefs, customs, taboos, codes, institutions, tools, techniques, works of art, rituals,
ceremonies, symbols.

Čebron points out:

Different cultures and languages build words into structures of meanings that derive from
specific social, historical and cultural circumstances. In translation, we therefore have to
deal with the comparability of these structures of meaning in different languages (2002,
75).

9
Newmark defines culture as a community’s way of life and its forms, which are
expressed with a unique language as a means of communication. He adds that this
language can be “cultural”, “universal” “and personal”. Concepts like “death” and “life”
are rather “universal” and do not pose a translating challenge. Terms like “lasagna”,
“sushi”, “monsoon” are “cultural” and translating them can be demanding when the
source language and target language cultures are contrasted. “Personal” refers to
idiolects, i.e. language that is typical of one single individual. Translating “personal”
language can also be problematic (Newmark 1988, 151).

Newmark divides (an adaptation after Nida) cultural terms into the following
subcategories:
1. Ecology (vegetation, animals, geographical phenomena etc.)
2. Material culture (food, clothing, houses and towns, transport),
3. Social culture – work and leisure
4. Organizations, customs, activities, procedures, concepts (political,
administrative, religious, artistic)
5. Gestures and habits

Translating culturally specific terms is presented as a challenge, but there are techniques
that facilitate the task. However, when translating cultural terms one should follow
some basic principles; first and foremost, one should always acknowledge and respect
the cultural achievements of the source language text and, secondly, one should always
respect all foreign lands and their cultures.

In terms of translation techniques, Newmark (1988) proposes the following:

transference; which is the act of transferring a word from the source language to the
target language without translating it. In literature transference offers the translation to
have some of the original picturesqueness; in specialised texts it allows the readers to
quickly understand a given term. However, transference stresses culture too much and
lacks to inform, it does not communicate. The second strategy is componential
analysis, which is thought to be one of the most precise translating techniques,
accentuating the importance of the message and excluding culture. Componential
analysis is based on the common elements of the source and target language. Example:

10
the Russian dacha becomes ‘house’ with the extra contextual distinguishing component
– summer house.

Additional strategies are proposed by Newmark (Ibid.) to fill cultural gaps:

– Naturalization: the original word from the source language preserves its form in
the translation,
– Neutralization: the word in the source text is generalized or paraphrased omitting
culturally specific words,
– Explanation as a footnote: used in cases where additional explanation is
required.

2.2.1 Idiomaticity

In semantics idiomaticity refers to a term that has a meaning, which cannot be deduced
from the meanings of its elements (Gabrovšek 2011, 85).

According to Newmark (1988, 28): “in translating idiomatic into idiomatic language, it
is particularly difficult to match equivalence of meaning with equivalence of
frequency". In his view the challenges a translator faces are not due to grammatical
differences but lexical ones, namely, collocations, fixed phrases and idioms. Similarly,
Baker (1992, 65) explains:

The main problems that idiomatic and fixed expressions pose in translation relate to two
main areas: the ability to recognize and interpret an idiom correctly and the difficulties
in rendering various aspects of meaning that an idiom or a fixed expression conveys
into the target language.

2.2.2 Localisation

“Making content available in other languages and markets is more than just translation
of words. Translations must convey cultural relevance and understanding”
(Globalisation and Localisation Association n.d.).

Localisation is about adapting a product or a service to a target market and its residents

11
and it is considered as a special form of translating. But the process of localisation does
not involve only the linguistic transfer of words, but also the adaptation to the local
culture and customs. The objective of localisation is to approach the target market and
people with language and cultural barriers eliminated or at least minimized (Pristine
Communications b.d.).
Translation is the fundamental aspect of localisation and, besides converting words in
the other languages, should take into account also other aspects: regional cultural
specificities, regulations, religious customs, symbols and colours.

Many texts, especially on the Internet, remain unchanged in their structure and visually
despite having numerous versions – translations into different languages. But these
versions cannot simply be translations. The translated texts must follow certain
localisation pointers and should meet the cultural requirements of the target text.
Problems occur for the languages that have many varieties belonging to different
cultures. English stands as a good example. Should a text be translated to British
English and adapted to the British environment or should American or perhaps
Australian English be set as the standard? Unfortunately, this question has not been
answered yet. In my view, a text translated into English that may be read by all these
various peoples should be neutral, on one hand, (for example: if a translator decides that
the best translation for a type of pastry is ‘scone’, it may result in the exclusion of the
American readership, therefore, it would be better to use a neutral word) or, on the other
hand, explanatory when there are different names for the same concept (example:
football – soccer).

2.3 Translating geographical names from Slovene to English

According to Newmark (1988) one of the culturally specific categories in a translation

is ecology, under which he lists vegetation, animals, geographical phenomena etc. In
light of this, I would like to highlight a subcategory – geographical names.
Definition:

Geographical names refer to not only names of land areas, namely territory, but also all
the diverse names, either handed down of specific phenomena including particular ground
formations, or of historical facts. They are generally expressed as geographical name,

12
 Toponymy, or place name (National Geographic Information Institute n.d.).

Geographical names are not only an essential component of a nation’s heritage, they
also play a significant part in an intercultural interaction. Geographical names can
sometimes be politically sensitive and are often subjected to various discussions and
changes. Standardisation of geographical names is thus crucial: “A national
standardisation programme produces savings in time and money by increasing
operational efficiency at all levels of government, industry, commerce and education”
(United nations 2006).

Klinar (1994, 7) clarifies that the basic questions when translating Slovene geographical
names into English are: which names to Anglicise, why and when to do it and most of
all how to do it.

First of all, let us define the term to Anglicise:

1. To make English in quality or characteristics
2. To adapt (a foreign word, name, or phrase) to English usage: as
a) To alter to a characteristic English form, sound, or spelling
b) To convert (a name) to its English equivalent <anglicise Juan as John>.
(Merriam-Webster b.d.).

According to Klinar the three levels of Anglicising geographical names are:

1. Translation or total Anglicisation as the highest level; example: Primorje – the
Littoral
2. Adaptation, which preserves the Slovene base; example: Slovenija – Slovenia
3. Keeping the original Slovene writing which basically means there is no
Anglicisation and the term is actually a citation. Keeping the original is the most
common way of wiring Slovene geographical names in English texts (Klinar
1994, 7–8).

Särkkä makes a similar definition:

Proper names or proper nouns can be translated in four different ways:
1. They can be transported wholesale from the target text
2. They can be partly transported from the source language and partly translated.

13
 3. They can be replaced with more or less different names in the target language.
4. They can be dispensed with altogether (Särkkä n.d.).

When translating geographical names one must take into consideration the genre they
are translating and adapt the language used. Certain geographical names have more than
one translation depending on the register so the appropriate version of the translation
must be used. Example: the Slovene north-western region Gorenjska has many
variations: Upper Carniola, Alpine Slovenia, the Slovene Highlands, the Slovene
Uplands.

The historical context of certain names should also be taken into consideration. Where
we will not translate the city Celje, we will use the German name Cilli when describing
a historical fact. For instance the Counts of Cilli called Celjski grofje (The Counts of
Celje), since at that historical time they were a German-speaking region, the English
version should not be translated from Slovene, but rather from German, therefore: The
Counts of Cilli (Klinar 1994, 8).

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3 TRANSLATING TOURIST TEXTS

In view of how a translator understands a text and how they wish to convey the
meaning, two distinctive types of translations can be proposed:

 A semantic translation, which is focused more on the source text and can come
across as literal translation and
– A communicative translation, which is more oriented towards the target text and
target readership. “Communicative translation attempts to produce on its readers
an effect as close as possible to that obtained in the readers of the original”
(Snell-Hornby 1999, 95).

In the reference to what a text communicates Sanning (2010) and Snell-Hornby (1999)
identify three functions, i.e. the expressive function, where the mind of the author and
his/her views are the predominant information; the informative function, which conveys
information and reality; and the vocative function, which is aimed towards the
addressee who is called upon to act. The expressive function is most common in
imaginative literature, essays and personal correspondence, conversely the informative
function is characteristic of textbooks, scientific and technical texts. The vocative
function, having the readership as the point of focus, is mostly found in propaganda,
advertisements and publicity.

Where can tourist texts be placed according to the above division?

The main purpose of tourist texts is to propose, portray and offer services and products
of a given area and to pass on the information to the potential visitor. They are designed
to invite the readers to come, to react so, therefore, their function is vocative, but such
texts are also filled with information, hence their function is informational as well.
Nevertheless, depending on the author’s style and the medium’s genre, expressive
functions are also present in tourist texts. The message that such a text communicates
depends on how these three functions interact. Nevertheless, the primary function of a
tourist text is the vocative one (Snell-Hornby 1999).

Nowadays, vocative texts are more often addressed to a readership than to a reader (Newmark,

15
1988: 40–45). In my opinion, the vocative function is the goal, while the informative function is
the premise. This is because tourist texts are a type of popular reading material for ordinary
people. The purpose is to attract the tourists‘ attention, arouse their interest and give them an
aesthetic impression, so that they may be persuaded to visit the tourist attraction and gain
knowledge of the nature, culture, history and customs of the tourist attraction by reading the
text. Therefore the vocative function is of utmost importance (Sanning 2010).

Translating a tourist text requires both an excellent grasp of the language, knowledge
about the target culture as well as some familiarity with the terminology in matter.
Tourist texts talk about different topics, like nature, culture, sports, travel, events, art,
cuisine and so on. When translating a tourist text a translator does not only make
choices with the goal of producing a good translation, they must also take into
consideration what kind of language is required by the editor, who may want to pursue a
certain register. Sometimes it will be required to adapt the text to an advert (in the case
of a web page) e.g. adding a rhyme. Sometimes the text must just fit a given space.

Tourist texts are published in brochures, magazines and books, but most of all on the
Internet, which is the fastest way to obtain and to provide information. Therefore, it is
important that a text includes keywords that will enable the Internet sites to be found
easily.

Snell-Horny (1999) describes what kind of language should be used in tourist text in
order to achieve the desired enticement: “clear rhythmical prose with simple syntax and
explicit involvement of the reader (just step out, You’ll feel etc.)” (Snell-Hornby 1999,
100). Furthermore, an appealing tourist text should include elements that are
characteristic of advertising language, i.e. established metaphors and clichés, superlative
adjectives, wordplay and positive connotations etc. However, when translating such
texts the translator’s aim should not be to find an equivalent for each individual stylistic
mechanism, but rather to create a text that resembles the same intensity and evokes the
same fascination. (Ibid.)

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3.1 Strategies of Translating Tourist Texts

Domesticating and Foreignising

Domestication and foreignisation are translation strategies that regard the adaptation of
the text to the target readership. Domestication entails translating the text in such a way
that it conforms to the culture of the target language and minimises the foreignness.
This, however, can result in the loss of information from the source text. Sanning (2012)
establishes that the strategy of domestication strips the source language of its cultural
background. Foreignisation refers to the preservation of the meaning of the source text
and adjusting it to the target text as little as possible. Foreignising tries to bring the
readers closer to the author's cultural background, rather than the opposite. Such an
approach, however, can be quite a demanding task both for the author and the
readership. On the other hand, this strategy is very suitable when translating tourist texts
as the cultural and historical aspects are portrayed properly. (Sanning 2012, 127–128,
Yang 2010, 78).

Neutralising

To ensure both inclusion of the cultural traits of the source language and readability for
the readers, some terms need to be neutralized. Neutralisation is achieved by means of
paraphrasing with the omission of certain cultural terms. However, in tourist texts the
aim is to present cultural traits and yet the text should be understandable (Sanning 2012,
128).

There is no general rule as to how to achieve a perfect tourist text or which strategy is
the most suitable at a given moment. The focus should always be on both the source
and the target culture. It is crucial for the translator to determine which function of the
text is of most importance and focus on delivering that. However, no tourist translation
can transmit one culture completely and, therefore, no translation can ever render all the
concepts known to the reader. Sanning concludes: “Therefore the translation of tourist
texts should be tourist-oriented, culture-specific, and concept-based” (2010, 126–127).

17
4 ANALYSIS

Random texts on the web site Slovenia.info have been chosen and analysed. The focus
of the analysis was on individual translating non-equivalence cases as well as on the
text as a whole in terms of function adequacy.

4.1 Text 1: Koroška

Source text:

Koroška velja za zibelko slovenstva. Po plebiscitu leta 1920 je večji del Koroške
pripadel Avstriji, tako da zdaj slovenska regija Koroška obsega območje treh dolin –
Mežiške, Dravske in Mislinjske ter treh pogorij – Pohorja, Karavank in Savinjskih Alp.

Središče regije sestavlja 'somestje' Slovenj Gradca, Raven na Koroškem in Dravograda.

Za podeželsko zaledje večjih krajev in mest na Koroškem je tipična razpršenost
poselitve. Na Koroškem so se naselile najvišje kmetije v Sloveniji, ki so v obliki celkov
razpršene po celotnem območju regije.

Po turističnih kmetijah je najbolj poznana vas Šentanel, pristno gostoljubnost pa je moč

doživeti tudi na številnih drugih kmetijah širom koroškega podeželja. Naravno, domače
in tradicionalno so besede, s katerimi lahko opišemo posebnosti koroške kulinarike.
Izpostaviti velja okusen črni ali rženi kruh in pa odličen mošt, tradicionalno pijačo,
pridobljeno z alkoholnim vretjem soka iz starih sort jabolk.

Target text:

Koroška is considered the cradle of Sloveneness. Following the plebiscite of 1920, the
greater part of Koroška (or Carinthia) became Austrian, with the result that the
Slovenian Koroška region now consists of three valleys – the Meža, Drava and Mislinja
valleys – and three mountain ranges – Pohorje, Karavanke and the Savinja Alps.
The centre of the region consists of the 'conurbation' of Slovenj Gradec, Ravne na
Koroškem and Dravograd. The rural hinterland of the larger towns in Koroška is
characterised by dispersed settlement. Koroška has the highest-lying farms in Slovenia.

18
These are scattered across the entire region and generally consist of a single area of land
extending around a farmhouse.
The village of Šentanel is particularly well known for farm tourism but genuine
hospitality can also be enjoyed on many other farms throughout the region. Natural,
local and traditional are three words that describe the cuisine of the Koroška region.
Particular mention should go to the region's tasty black bread and rye bread and the
excellent mošt, a local form of cider made by fermenting the juice of traditional
varieties of apples.

4.1.1 Translation analysis

Example A

Source text:

Koroška velja za zibelko slovenstva.

Target text – English:

Koroška is considered the cradle of Sloveneness.

In the first sentence we come across the translation of ‘slovenstvo’ that in Slovene
means the state of belonging to the Slovene nation into Sloveneness. English does not
have a translation for this term, the word Sloveneness does not exist in any of the
English dictionaries. Furthermore, the English version Englishness cannot be found in
any of the English dictionaries. However, the term does appear in both the American
corpus (Corpus of contemporary American English - COCA) 50 hits and the British one
(British national corpus - BNC) with 115 hits. In addition the British version of the
search machine Google (Google.co.uk) finds 425.000 hits for the term Englishness. So,
despite the fact that the term does not appear in the dictionaries of English language, the
word seems to be used quite often. I therefore presume that the British and the
American (avoiding the term English) readership is familiar with it and can easily
understand the term Sloveneness. Such an occurrence of non-equivalence is described
by Baker (1992, 21) as the example of when the source language concept is not

19
lexicalised in the target language. The reader can, however, easily understand the
concept. Pym (2007, 273) explains how equivalence can be achieved on the level of
form, reference and function; in my view in the case of Sloveneness the equivalence is
achieved on all three levels. In addition, the Cradle of Sloveneness plays the same
expressive role. Nabokov says that a translator is successful when the spirit of the text is
rendered. In this case, despite the fact of lexical non-equivalence the translation is a
successful one.

Example B

Source text:

Na Koroškem so se naselile najvišje kmetije v Sloveniji, ki so v obliki celkov

razpršene po celotnem območju regije.

Target text:

Koroška has the highest-lying farms in Slovenia. These are scattered across the
entire region and generally consist of a single area of land extending around a
farmhouse.

In the above translation we can notice that the translator decided to omit the word
‘celek’ (pl. ‘celki’) and only offers and explanation of what ‘celki’ are. In this case non-
equivalence occurs because the term is culturally specific and has no translation into
English. As Newmark (1988, 97) points out, the notoriety of geographical names
depends on the importance of the country the term derives from as well as on the degree
of the term’s specificity, but it is highly unlikely that the term ‘celek’ would be as
notorious for the domesticated ranch. Newmark suggests (Ibid.) that such terms are
transferred and added a culturally-free description. Similarly, for the occurrence where
for a culturally specific term there is no equivalent in the target language, (Baker 1992,
38) proposes the strategy of using a loan word with an explanation. Sanning (2010) also
believes that foreignising is more appropriate for tourist texts as it allows the reader to
reach the author’s culture.

20
Accordingly, in the case of ‘celki’, it would have been suitable to transfer the term and
add the description (present in the original translation). I would suggest the following
translation: Koroška has the highest-lying farms in Slovenia. They are called ‘celki’ and
are scattered across the entire region and generally consist of a single area of land
extending around a farmhouse.

Example C

Source text:

Izpostaviti velja okusen črni ali rženi kruh in pa odličen mošt, tradicionalno
pijačo, pridobljeno z alkoholnim vretjem soka iz starih sort jabolk.

Target text:

Particular mention should go to the region's tasty black bread and rye bread and
the excellent mošt, a local form of cider made by fermenting the juice of
traditional varieties of apples.

There is always the risk of inaccuracy when translating literally. However, Newmark
states that literal translation does not have to be omitted if it keeps referential and
pragmatic equivalence (1988). Black bread proposes itself as an obvious equivalent to
the Slovene version, but going into depth of the term it is not so obvious after all. In
Slovene the term ‘črn kruh’ refers to all the non-white varieties. In fact, before the
mega-consumption era following the independence, there was only a limited selection
available to the consumers: bread made of wheat was either white (made only from the
starchy part of the wheat berries) black (made of all the parts of the wheat berry)
(Barley 2003).

The latter, however, is not called black in all countries and all languages. The Slovene
do have ‘črn kruh’ and the Italians enjoy their ‘pane nero’. The Germans already have to
varieties: ‘Schwarzbrot’ and ‘Vollkornbrot’ (whole grain bread). The British and the
Americans, however, call their whole wheat bread brown and not black. Nevertheless,
in the past years, rye bread, which is otherwise typical of Eastern European countries,

21
Germany and Scandinavia, has become popular in the UK and USA. It is mostly
referred to as rye bread, sourdough bread and black bread and most of the times it can
be found in texts of foreign cuisine. In conclusion, in another instance where ‘črn kruh’
would occur, black bread would have been the false friend. However, in the context of
rye bread, black bread is a suitable equivalent, but also something that a British or
American tourist would recognise as part of a foreign culinary item.

4.1.2 Function analysis

The analysis of the text is divided into sections:

– Function: the passage comes across as purely informative. It is highly

descriptive with no or little expressiveness. Despite the main function should be
the vocative one, the reader is never addressed or called upon to react. It lacks
the imperative form.
– Language and form: sentences are short and simple as they should be. It lacks,
however, metaphors and expressive devices. Superlative adjectives are scars
(none in the first paragraph, one in the second - the highest-lying farms in
Slovenia and seven in the third - particularly well known, genuine hospitality,
natural, local and traditional, excellent mošt, traditional varieties of apples).

As established previously a tourist text should chiefly perform the vocative function.
Nevertheless, its main goal is to convince the reader to act. Furthermore, the language
used to achieve this should be rich in superlative adjectives and positive connotations,
sentences should be kept short and simple, the reader should be called forth with
imperatives.

4.2 Text 2: Protected foodstuff

According to Newmark (1988) food can be a nation’s most prominent cultural

identification and adds that in translations food names should be transferred with the
addition of an explanation.

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Source text:

Zaščitena živila

Sline se vam pocedijo, ko vam ponudijo rezino sočnega kraškega pršuta, košček sira
Tolminca, ki ga pred pokušnjo namočite v ekstra deviško olivno olje Slovenske Istre in
prežvečite skupaj s kosom Belokranjske pogače. V ustih se vam nato raztopi še
Prekmurska gibanica.

Ker so postopki za pridobitev zaščite zahtevni in dolgotrajni, omenjeni seznam

slovenskih zaščitenih dobrot še ni dokončen. V postopku pridobivanja zaščite sta
denimo sir mohant in kranjska klobasa. Kranjska klobasa je najbolj poznan slovenski
prehranski izdelek v svetu, ki temelji na bogati dediščini predelave prašiča v mesne
izdelke. Najstarejša omemba klobase z nazivom »kranjska« je iz leta 1896.

Target text:

Protected foodstuff

Your mouth will water when you taste a slice of juicy Karst prosciutto, a piece of
Tolminc cheese dipped in extra virgin olive oil from Slovenian Istria and chew with a
piece of Belokranjska pogača. You should also taste the wonderful Prekmurska
gibanica.
Since the procedures for the designation of protection are demanding and long-running,
the list of Slovenian protected goods is not final yet. Still in the process of gaining these
designations, for instance, are mohant cheese and kranjska klobasa
(sausage).[connecting link to] Carniolan sausage is the best known Slovenian
foodstuff in the world, and is based on the rich heritage of turning the pig into meat
products. The first mention of the sausage as 'Carniolan' was in 1896.

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4.2.1 Translation analysis

Example A

Source text:

Zaščitena živila, sir Tolminc, Belokranjska pogača, V ustih se vam nato raztopi še
Prekmurska gibanica.

Target text:

Protected foodstuffs, Tolminc cheese, Belokranjska pogača, You should also taste
the wonderful Prekmurska gibanica.

As we could see in the first part of the thesis, literal translation is seen as somewhat
controversial. Newmark (1988), however, believes that a literal translation is perfectly
fine if it keeps pragmatic and referential equivalence. But in the particular case of
protected foodstuff I believe that even if the translation does keep its equivalence it is
not an adequate translation for a tourist text. The European Union regulations of food
names an provenance are a fairly new fact and not surprisingly the collocation does not
appear in COCA or BNC. Even the collocation protected food has few hits and even
those refer to other matters (animals protecting their food, food protected by foil etc.) It
is my conclusion that the analysed term would sound odd and unnatural to English
speaking readers. The text, however, is about traditional food that has gained one or
another form of geographical indication from the EU, but those categories are described
further in the text. Furthermore, it is clear that in the current text the word is about food
that is somehow protected. Protection of geographical indications and designations of
origin for foodstuffs is an important and sometimes even sensitive issue, but such
information is not relevant for the readership of a tourist guide, i.e. foreign tourists.
Baker (1992) suggests omitting terms that are not translatable and not of significant
importance, so I would omit the use of protected in the title of the English translation
which would read better Traditional food.
The transference strategy was used to translate the Tolminc cheese with the addition that
it is in fact a type of cheese. As Newmark (1988) stresses, transferring a term can result

24
in lack of information and the translator in this case justly added the word cheese to
make it understandable and yet preserving the original name. Furthermore, the structure
name of cheese + word cheese is very common in English, e.g. Cheddar cheese, Edam
cheese, Gouda cheese, etc.
The additional explanation is however missing in the following instances: Belokranjska
pogača and Prekmurska gibanica. In the case of Belokranjska pogača there is no
equivalent for “pogača”. When the target text lacks a specific term, Baker proposes to
use a more general term and in this case I would suggest cake or savoury cake. Again,
transference with a brief explanation serves as the best solution. Such explanations
however, should be kept to a minimum, keeping the tourist text clear and appealing.
We could say the same rules could apply for Prekmurska gibanica, however, after
scrutinising the text something else caught my attention. The last sentence of the
original reads: ‘V ustih se vam nato raztopi še Prekmurska gibanica' suggesting it is a
desert the translation You should also taste the wonderful Prekmurska gibanica does not
render the meaning adequately. So, the source text uses an idiomatic expression to
explain that the following food might be a dessert and is served at the end of the meal. It
would be ideal if the target language had the same expression to describe the same
meaning. In fact, it does. The expression ‘to melt in someone’s mouth’ means exactly
same as the Slovene version. My suggestion for the translation reads: At the end of the
meal/To conclude your meal let the Prekmurska gibanica melt in your mouth. I can only
wonder why the translator did not use the equivalent metaphor. I can perhaps speculate
that the reason was the fact that idioms seldom mean the same in different languages,
even if they have similar elements. As Gabrovšek explains idioms carry meaning that is
not deductible from the meanings of its elements. In the light of this the translator may
have been afraid to fall into the trap of “false friends”.

Example B

Source text:
kranjska klobasa, kranjska klobasa

Target text:
kranjska klobasa (sausage), Carniolan sausage

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There are two different translations of ‘kranjska klobasa’ on the webpage Slovenia.com.
The reason for this is unclear, but in fact, which version is more adequate is still
debatable. Baker (1992) and Newmark (1988) suggest transferring the term from the
source language to the target language without translating it, with the addition of a brief
explanation if needed. Sanning (2010) also believes that foreignisation is the most
suitable strategy for translating tourist texts. Contrarily, Klinar explains that when a
culturally specific term has an established and known translation abroad it should be
used in that form (Klinar 1994, 19). One of his examples is precisely the ‘kranjska
klobasa’ which, according to him, should be translated as Carniolan sausage.
Nevertheless, both Carniolan sausage and kranjska klobasa have a similar number of
hits in Google search engine. I presume that the latter expression has spread in the past
years. But a third version exists, i.e. the Kransky sausage or just the Kransky. The term
for the same sausage is mostly spread in Australia and New Zealand where it was
introduced by Slovene immigrants. It is a case of evoked meaning which arises from
dialect and register variation in this case a geographical one (Baker 1992, 58).

So there are three perfectly legitimate and adequate translations for the same term and
two of them have been used in the analysed translation. In the light of the strategies
proposed and considering the fact that readers of different varieties of English will read
the text, I would propose to use the transferred version – kranjska klobasa with the
description sausage in brackets. This option is also justified by the fact that all the other
foodstuff’ names were transferred. However, the other two terms should find their
rightful place in the footnote.

4.2.2 Function analysis

The analysis of the text is divided into sections:

– Function: the vocative function is very prominent in the first paragraph, whereas
the informative one is reduced to a minimum. Despite the fact that there is no
imperative, the reader is directly invited to try, experience local flavours. The
second paragraph is quite the opposite - it is purely informative and lacks contact
with the readership.
– Language and form: the first part uses rich lexicon to describe food which has
the effect of a “rhythmical prose” as Snell-Hornby (1999) suggests it should be.

26
 The second part is short of a couple superlative adjectives, but it works as a
whole since the text is more focused on listing rather than describing.

4.3 Text 3: The diligent nation

The following analyses focus mainly on the adequacy of literal translation and how
natural they may sound in English.

Source text:

Večina prebivalcev Slovenije živi v mestih, vendar je precej poseljeno tudi podeželje. S
kmetijstvom in poljedelstvom se sicer ukvarja le majhen odstotek ljudi, večino
prebivalcev je zaposlenih v storitvenem in industrijskem sektorju. Slovenci kot narod
veljajo za zelo delovne in marljive ljudi in tudi zato je Slovenija najbolj razvita nova
članica EU. Slovenci se vztrajno želijo dokazovati in tako napredovati. Številni
Slovenci so s svojim trudom pa tudi drznostjo dosegli uspehe na svetovni ravni. Zelo
dober primer so slovenski športniki, ki se ukvarjajo z ekstremnimi športi: od alpinizma
in ekstremnega smučanja do ultramaratonskih kolesarskih in plavalnih podvigov.

Target text:

The majority of people live in towns and cities, but a significant number live in
the countryside. Agriculture accounts for only a small proportion of the workforce,
while the majority work in services and manufacturing. Slovenes are renowned as a
diligent, hard-working nation, part of the reason that Slovenia is the wealthiest of the
new EU members. They constantly aim to prove themselves and to progress. Their toil
and persistence has allowed many Slovenes to achieve at the global level. A very good
example is the country’s athletes, particularly those involved in extreme sports, from
mountaineering and extreme skiing to ultramarathon biking and swimming exploits.

4.3.1 Translation analysis

Example A:

27
Source text:

Večina prebivalcev Slovenije živi v mestih, vendar je precej poseljeno tudi podeželje.

Target text:

The majority of people live in towns and cities, but a significant number live in
the countryside.

In the above translation it is interesting how the Slovene word ‘mesto’ has two
translations in English, namely town and city. In fact, every country has different
regulations as to what classifies as “a village, town or city”, depending on size, position
and status. Therefore, what accounts for “a town” in one place, could very well be
considered “a city” somewhere else. The translator could not have known the origin of
the readership and as it was explained earlier in the paper there are many different
English varieties, therefore translating ‘mesto’ (a more general term) into both town and
city (more specific terms) is a correct decision in my view.

Example B:

Source text:

Slovenci kot narod veljajo za zelo delovne in marljive ljudi in tudi zato je Slovenija
najbolj razvita nova članica EU.

Target text:

Slovenes are renowned as a diligent, hard-working nation, part of the reason that
Slovenia is the wealthiest of the new EU members.

Newmark (1988) claims that a translator should not fear literal translation and that one
of the reasons for choosing a synonym or paraphrasing is in the desire of the translator
to be original. In my opinion, this is the case of the word ‘razvita’ (developed) being
translated as wealthy. It is true that their meaning is similar in this context; furthermore,

28
the level of development and the level of wealth or richness of a country are both
measured by the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita. Nevertheless, there is no
reason not to use a literal equivalent, if there is one available. In addition, the
connotation “one of the most developed countries” has many more hits on the search
engines that “one of the wealthiest countries”. It is my conclusion that one of the most
developed would be a more suitable translation.

Example C:

Zelo dober primer so slovenski športniki, ki se ukvarjajo z ekstremnimi športi: od

alpinizma in ekstremnega smučanja do ultramaratonskih kolesarskih in
plavalnih podvigov.

A very good example is the country’s athletes, particularly those involved in extreme
sports, from mountaineering and extreme skiing to ultramarathon biking and swimming
exploits.

This sentence simply sounds wrong. At first glance it can be seen that the translator
decided to keep the Slovene word order, especially the listing structure ‘od – do’,
meaning ‘from – to’. In addition, the word exploits is not used correctly. One is not
involved in swimming exploits, they can be known or rewarded for their swimming
exploits. It is possible that the translator wanted to use at all costs the word exploit and
did not feel comfortable changing the structure of the sentence fearing the meaning
would be altered too severely, however the sentence sounds odd to an English reader,
the goal of the translation has not been achieved. I propose the following sentence as an
alternative: ‘One very good example is the country's athletes, particularly those
involved in extreme sports, from mountaineering and skiing to ultra-marathon biking
and swimming’.

4.3.2 Functional analysis:

– Function: the text is again purely informative since it only lists information. It
does not invite nor address the readership. This is partly due to the nature of this
particular passage since it is a description of Slovene people. Nevertheless, I

29
 believe some persuasion could have been squeezed in, like: ‘If you like diligent
and hard -working people, come to Slovenia …’ or [A very good example is the
country’s athletes, particularly those involved in extreme sports, from
mountaineering and extreme skiing to ultramarathon biking and swimming
exploits], ‘whom sport fans may already be familiar with’.
– Language and form: We come across a moderate number of superlative
adjectives (diligent, hard-working, wealthiest, global), but overall it appears
somewhat dull, missing metaphors and wordplay. Perhaps the author of the
original would not be pleased with my comments, but in my view, it would be
very effective to add some possibly familiar information to recall a positive
connotation, i.e. a name of a famous sportsperson.

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5 CONCLUSION

The analysis of English translations of tourist texts on the webpage Slovenia.info has
revealed some mistakes and the strategies used to avoid some other erroneous
renderings. Three individual texts formed the basis of the analysis, namely: Koroška,
Protected foodstuffs and The diligent nation. The focus was mainly on those
expressions that might be problematic to translate due to missing equivalents, cultural
specificities, ‘false friends’ etc. The frequency of use was also a determining factor in
establishing adequacy. The aim of the paper was not to criticize, therefore, both correct
and possibly erroneous translations were looked at. An explanation was given for the
former and a solution was proposed for the latter.

Tourist texts are a special genre, and in light of that conclusion some attention was
given to the communicative function they perform, as well as to the language used to
achieve it.

The analysis revealed the following mistakes: literal translations which are not used by
English speakers, unnecessary omissions and inconsistency. Some examples were
proven to be correct, but could have been wrong, had it not been for the attentive
translator, e.g. ostensible false friends, correct transference and use of loan words. The
communicative function of the analysed texts, however, is somewhat inadequate.
Tourist texts should be vocative, addressing the readership and inviting them with
intriguing descriptions. In my view, this is due to the fact that the Slovene way of
presenting things is listing them, frequently adding even the numbers. It is hard to create
the vocative function when the original is purely informative. There is also some
inconsistency (different articles translate one term in different ways), but I believe this
is due to the fact that a large database such as the one of Slovenia.info requires more
than one translator.

In general, the translations on the webpage Slovenia.info are very good and adequate
despite a few little mistakes. Translating tourist text is a demanding task, especially
given that sometimes the originals are poor to begin with and often time is short. But
such sites are often the first contact a potential visitor has with a country and an

31
inadequate translation may come across as sloppy, giving the wrong impression of the
people working in tourism. Slovenia, being a small and fairly unknown country, must
struggle for attention competing with the notorious culture of Italy or the famous
beaches of Croatia. It is therefore, important for all tourist text to be translated as
accurately as possible.

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6 IZVLEČEK

Namen pričujoče zaključne naloge je bil spoznati in predstaviti različne vidike

prevajanja, težave, s katerimi se lahko prevajalci soočajo, ter strategije, ki so pri
tovrstnih težavah lahko v pomoč. Turistična besedila kot poseben žanr lahko
predstavljajo še dodaten izziv, saj je v njih mnogo kulturno zaznamovanih izrazov.
Analiza turističnih besedil je bila omejena na spletno stran Slovenia.info oziroma na
njihove angleške prevode. Namen analiz je bil ugotoviti, ali prevajalci omenjene spletne
strani sledijo strategijam, ki jih navaja stroka, ter kaj so najpogostejše napake, ki jih
delajo. Analizam sledijo ocene ustreznosti ter predlogi za primernejše prevode, kjer je to
potrebno.

S prevajanjem so se ukvarjali že v Antiki, prav tako stari pa sta tudi vprašanji, kaj
prevod sploh je in kako narediti dobrega. Številni avtorji so si enotni, da je prevajanje
mnogo več kot le prenos pomena med dvema jezikoma, saj je tudi prenos med dvema
kulturama. Ravno kultura, ki jo jezik kot medij s prevodom prenaša, je tisti dejavnik, ki
lahko povzroči neenakovrednost prevedenega. Vsaka kultura ima namreč številne
značilnosti, ki so lahko razumljive le njenim pripadnikom, kot na primer šale, pregovori
in dvoumja. Med kulturno zaznamovane izraze pa avtorji uvrščajo tudi vse izraze, ki se
nanašajo na naravne in kulturne dobrine, običaje in navade ter socialne in politične
strukture. Do neenakovrednosti pa lahko pride tudi zaradi drugih razlogov: v ciljnem
jeziku preprosto ni besede za izraz, ki ga prevajamo, izraz v izvornem jeziku je
semantično prezapleten, izvorni in ciljni jezik nimata enakih podpomenk in nadpomenk.
Stroka ponuja različne pristope oziroma strategije, kako kljub neenakovrednosti narediti
dober prevod. Med strategije lahko štejemo: zamenjavo z bolj ali manj specifičnim
izrazom, zamenjavo kulturno zaznamovanega izraza izvornega jezika s kulturno
zaznamovanim izrazom ciljnega jezika, z izpustom, kadar izraz ni ključnega pomena, s
prenosom neprevedenega izraza in dodanim pojasnilom itd.
Enotnega pravila, kako ustvariti popoln prevod, ni. Dober prevod je lahko tudi
verodostojen ali dobeseden, če zagotavlja referenčno in pragmatično ustreznost
izvirnika. Uspešen prevod je lahko tudi tisti, ki bralcu prenese »vzdušje« originala.

Prevajanje turističnih besedil je zaradi navedenega še toliko zahtevnejše, saj v tovrstnih

tekstih kar mrgoli kulturno zaznamovanih izrazov, kot so imena jedi, pokrajin in navad.

33
Pri turističnih besedilih pa je poleg vsebinske ustreznosti pomembno tudi, ali opravlja
svojo funkcijo. Besedila imajo lahko ekspresivno – odraz avtorja (poezija),
informativno – navajanje dejstev (znanstvena besedila) ter vokativno – prepričevanje
(propaganda, reklame). Turistična besedila imajo predvsem vokativno funkcijo, saj
bralca oziroma morebitnega gosta prepričujejo in vabijo. Seveda pa imajo tudi
informativno funkcijo, saj podajajo veliko praktičnih informacij. Stroka pravi, da se pri
turističnih besedilih vokativna funkcija doseže preko informativne, za doseganje tega
učinka pa morajo ta besedila biti napisana v privlačnem in bogatem jeziku in hkrati
strukturirana v kratke, preproste stavke.
Pri prevajanju turističnih besedil mora prevajalec ubrati neko srednjo pot med
ohranjanjem čim več izvirnosti in tem, da je končni izdelek karseda razumljiv in
primeren za ciljno publiko. Odločiti se torej mora med podomačevanjem in
potujevanjem (domestication in foreignisation). Pri tem gre omeniti tudi naraščajoč
trend lokalizacije, katere prevajanje je ključni del. Bistvo lokalizacije je priredba izdelka
za tuje trge. Pri tem pa ne gre le za jezikovno priredbo, temveč tudi priredbo vseh
kulturno zaznamovanih elementov. Težava se pojavi, ko so nosilci enega jezika
pripadniki različnih kultur. Tak primer je angleščina, saj jo kot uradni ali prvi jezik
uporabljajo v mnogih deželah, kulture govorcev so pa različne. Pri prevodih v
angleščino je potrebno upoštevati tudi ta vidik.

V analizi so bila obravnavana različna besedila, poudarek pa je bil na izrazih, ki

utegnejo biti problematični. Za oceno problematičnosti kot tudi za oceno primernosti
uporabljenih strategij so bili uporabljeni kriteriji predstavljene teorije. Raziskana so bila
tri besedila: Koroška, Zaščitena živila in Marljiv narod. Pri tem so bili raziskani prevodi
izrazov: »slovenstvo«, »celki«, »črn kruh«, pa »Zaščitena živila«, »sir Tolminc«,
»Belokranjska pogača«, »V ustih se vam nato raztopi še »Prekmurska gibanica« ter
»mesta«, »razvita« in »podvigi«. Našteti izrazi sodijo med težavne, saj večina njih
nima verodostojnega prevoda. Za vsak posamičen primer je bila opravljena analiza ter
podano mnenje o primernosti. Pri primerih, za katere je bilo ugotovljeno, da so manj
primerni, so bile predlagane alternative. V sklopu raziskave je bila upoštevana tudi
funkcijska primernost, analizirana pa je bila tudi raba pridevniških besed, velelniške
glagolske oblike ter ostalih elementov, ki so značilni za dobro in učinkovito turistično
besedilo v angleškem jeziku.

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Študija primerov je pokazala, da so prevodi na spletni strani Slovenia.info dobri in v
veliki večini ustrezni. Manj ustrezni ali neustrezni prevodi so predvsem posledica tega,
da so prevajalci v preveliki meri želeli ohraniti obliko in strukturo slovenskih izrazov.
Zaradi tega prihaja do prevodov, ki so za angleškega bralca bodisi nenaravni ali
nerazumljivi. V nekaterih primerih se pojavlja tudi nedoslednost. Nekoliko manj
uspešni pa so bili prevajalci pri poustvarjanju funkcije besedil. Prevodi namreč
ohranjajo izrazito informativno funkcijo, kar je značilno za slovenska besedila. Jezik je
nekoliko pust in premalo atraktiven.
V zaključku je ugotovljeno, da so na splošno angleški prevodi na Slovenia.info dobri.
Prevajanje je zahtevno delo, velikokrat to otežujejo stilistično in vsebinsko pomanjkljivi
izvirniki in kratki roki. Vendar so turistična besedila na spletnih straneh velikokrat prvi
stik z državo in menim, da je za malo državo, ki si želi razvitejšega turizma, toliko
pomembneje, da so ta besedila brezhibno prevedena in predstavljena.

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