Osobnost překladatele Jana Schejbala a jeho vliv na recepci katalánsky psané literatury u nás

The article introduces the most important Czech Catalanist, who has been introducing Catalan literature to Czech audiences for nearly half of a century. The case of Jan Schejbal confirms that the role of the translator cannot be reduced to transferring text from one language to another: they must ac...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Michal Brabec
Format: Article
Language:ces
Published: Karolinum Press 2019-10-01
Series:Acta Universitatis Carolinae: Philologica
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.karolinum.cz/doi/10.14712/24646830.2019.5
_version_ 1823995225960349696
author Michal Brabec
author_facet Michal Brabec
author_sort Michal Brabec
collection DOAJ
description The article introduces the most important Czech Catalanist, who has been introducing Catalan literature to Czech audiences for nearly half of a century. The case of Jan Schejbal confirms that the role of the translator cannot be reduced to transferring text from one language to another: they must actively participate in the literary exchange, often being the key figure. The personal contribution of the translator seems to be even more indispensable when literary enrichment between minor and/or medium cultures is concerned. In this sense, the work Schejbal did within the publishing house Odeon during the 1970s and 1980s was absolutely essential, as he was the only one who translated from this Romance language whose literature was practically unknown in what was then Czechoslovakia. However, this privileged position in forming Czech notions about Catalan literature ended with the downfall of Odeon, which occurred shortly after the fall of the Communist regime in 1989. Despite the initial adversity he faced from the new commercial publishing houses, Jan Schejbal remained faithful to his longstanding ambition and continued to spread quality literature written in Catalan. Thanks to Prague’s lectorat de catala, founded in 1991, nowaday known as the Centre Carlemany de Llengua Catalana, a new field of action opened for him: he has been introducing students of the Faculty of Arts of Charles University in Prague to the culture and literature of the Catalan-speaking countries and, within a translation workshop, trains his successors. Also Schejbal’s life-long work on the very first Catalan-Czech and Czech-Catalan academic dictionary, about to be published, deserves special mention. This feat, among others, confirms again that the translator’s activity is more transcendental than it might seem. With the dictionary, Schejbal not only contributes significantly to the quality of future translations but also enables the reception of Catalan literature without the necessity of indirect translations via Spanish.
first_indexed 2024-12-18T16:44:55Z
format Article
id doaj.art-2845b693bb324480b811ee22507b4e3f
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 0567-8269
2464-6830
language ces
last_indexed 2024-12-18T16:44:55Z
publishDate 2019-10-01
publisher Karolinum Press
record_format Article
series Acta Universitatis Carolinae: Philologica
spelling doaj.art-2845b693bb324480b811ee22507b4e3f2022-12-21T21:01:03ZcesKarolinum PressActa Universitatis Carolinae: Philologica0567-82692464-68302019-10-0120191495610.14712/24646830.2019.58705Osobnost překladatele Jana Schejbala a jeho vliv na recepci katalánsky psané literatury u násMichal BrabecThe article introduces the most important Czech Catalanist, who has been introducing Catalan literature to Czech audiences for nearly half of a century. The case of Jan Schejbal confirms that the role of the translator cannot be reduced to transferring text from one language to another: they must actively participate in the literary exchange, often being the key figure. The personal contribution of the translator seems to be even more indispensable when literary enrichment between minor and/or medium cultures is concerned. In this sense, the work Schejbal did within the publishing house Odeon during the 1970s and 1980s was absolutely essential, as he was the only one who translated from this Romance language whose literature was practically unknown in what was then Czechoslovakia. However, this privileged position in forming Czech notions about Catalan literature ended with the downfall of Odeon, which occurred shortly after the fall of the Communist regime in 1989. Despite the initial adversity he faced from the new commercial publishing houses, Jan Schejbal remained faithful to his longstanding ambition and continued to spread quality literature written in Catalan. Thanks to Prague’s lectorat de catala, founded in 1991, nowaday known as the Centre Carlemany de Llengua Catalana, a new field of action opened for him: he has been introducing students of the Faculty of Arts of Charles University in Prague to the culture and literature of the Catalan-speaking countries and, within a translation workshop, trains his successors. Also Schejbal’s life-long work on the very first Catalan-Czech and Czech-Catalan academic dictionary, about to be published, deserves special mention. This feat, among others, confirms again that the translator’s activity is more transcendental than it might seem. With the dictionary, Schejbal not only contributes significantly to the quality of future translations but also enables the reception of Catalan literature without the necessity of indirect translations via Spanish.http://www.karolinum.cz/doi/10.14712/24646830.2019.5catalancatalan literaturetranslationromance languagesczech
spellingShingle Michal Brabec
Osobnost překladatele Jana Schejbala a jeho vliv na recepci katalánsky psané literatury u nás
Acta Universitatis Carolinae: Philologica
catalan
catalan literature
translation
romance languages
czech
title Osobnost překladatele Jana Schejbala a jeho vliv na recepci katalánsky psané literatury u nás
title_full Osobnost překladatele Jana Schejbala a jeho vliv na recepci katalánsky psané literatury u nás
title_fullStr Osobnost překladatele Jana Schejbala a jeho vliv na recepci katalánsky psané literatury u nás
title_full_unstemmed Osobnost překladatele Jana Schejbala a jeho vliv na recepci katalánsky psané literatury u nás
title_short Osobnost překladatele Jana Schejbala a jeho vliv na recepci katalánsky psané literatury u nás
title_sort osobnost prekladatele jana schejbala a jeho vliv na recepci katalansky psane literatury u nas
topic catalan
catalan literature
translation
romance languages
czech
url http://www.karolinum.cz/doi/10.14712/24646830.2019.5
work_keys_str_mv AT michalbrabec osobnostprekladatelejanaschejbalaajehovlivnarecepcikatalanskypsaneliteraturyunas