The Ways of Presenting translations on the title Pages of Books (1750–1799)

The article discusses the functions and frequency of the use of various forms of subtitles in editions of Polish translations of the Enlightenment period. The results of research reveal the following regularities: firstly, regardless of the type of the text, there are recurrent patterns of presentation of translation, in a variety of ways referring to the (real or not) publishing history of the translated works. Secondly, the identity of the original author is concealed while the status of the text as translation is erased most often in the case of short literary forms (e.g. lyrics, concise epic texts) and works which were perceived as “low” in the light of classicistic poetics (e.g. novels). Thirdly, apart from the information provided on the title pages, 18th century publishers employed other elements of the book in order to point out the authorship of the original texts or to mark the status of the work as translation in a more prominent way (e.g. introductions, footnotes, bilingual editions, inclusion of several translation of the same original text, “revealing” the individual traits of the translators)

Art · Biology · Enlightenment · Epistemology · Linguistics · Literature · Computer Science · Historical and Literary Studies · History · Philosophy · Genetics