Proper Names in the Lithuanian Translation of Yann Martel’s <Life of Pi>

Abstract

Proper names which are rendered by various methods are found in many works of Canadian literature, recently translated into Lithuanian. In this paper, I analyze one of these, Yann Martel’s <Life of Pi>. Proper names are an important object of literary onomastics; they are important for translation methodology as well. A translator should be aware of the motivation of the original text and the author’s idea in order to select a rendering method which reflects best the onomastic level of a piece. In fiction, it is necessary to single out the names of existing places which have an established tradition in Lithuanian and are used in various texts (e.g., 'Kvebekas' [Quebec], 'Torontas' [Toronto]); moreover, names and family names of real historical, cultural, or political personalities (e.g., 'Šekspyras' [Shakespeare], 'Bodleras' [Baudelaire], 'Kenedis' [Kennedy]) or real anthroponyms which are not related to a particular person ('Džeinė' [Jane], 'ponas Raitas' [Mr. Right]) should be taken into consideration. A completely different case occurs with proper names created by an author. Such systems of proper names should also be reflected exactly in a translation. For translators of fiction texts, it is very important to grasp and properly apply the rules for rendering proper names in order for the original not to suffer and for a reader to easily understand the sense of proper names in a text.