Realia (translation)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
In translation, Realia (plural noun) are words and expressions for culture-specific material elements. The word realia comes from medieval Latin, in which it originally meant “the real things”, i.e. material things, as opposed to abstract ones. The Bulgarian translators Vlahov and Florin, who were the first to carry out an in-depth study of realia, coined the modern sense of the word. They indicate that since realia carry a very local overtone, they often pose a challenge for translation.<ref>Vlahov, S. and Florin, S. “Neperovodimoe v perevode. Realii”, in Bruno Osimo. “Manuale del Traduttore, Seconda Edizione”. Hoepli, 2004, p. 63</ref> Realia must not be confused with terminology: the latter is primarily used in the scientific literature to designate things that pertain to the scientific sphere, and usually only appears in other kinds of texts to serve a very specific stylistic purpose. Realia, on the other hand, are born in popular culture, and are increasingly found in very diverse kinds of texts. Fiction, in particular, is fond of realia for the exotic touch they bring.
See also
