Translation during the Renaissance Period
The Renaissance period which started in the 14th century in Italy was marked by great discoveries and inventions. The most significant one – invention of the moving printing press by the German Gutenberg. It caused the quick growth of the amount of printed books and at the same time – readers. And the demand for books in its turn called forth an increase in translation activity, fiction translations. Alongside of this, the birth and strengthening of national European states raised the status of national languages and reduced the role of Latin. Translations began to be performed not only from classic languages but also from and into European languages. These real changes resulted in a wider use of faithful as well as free translations which started almost in one and the same time in France, Germany and England. Germany - Albrecht von Eyb (translator of Plautu’s works), Heinrich Steinhowel (translator of Aesop’s and Boccaccio’s works) France – Joachim du Bellay (translator of Ovid’s poems)-new free/unrestricted freedom of translation, Etienne Dolet – sense-to-sense translation, Claude Fontaine Translation during the Period of Classicism and Enlightenment Despite the official condemnation and even execution of some adherents of the idea of sense-to-sense translation, the controversy between the supporters of these 3 approaches to translating continued all through the period of Classicism and Enlightment. These approaches were already mentions as follows: 1.The ancient “strict and truthful” word-for-word transl of acclesiastic(the Septuagint) and philosophic works. The basic principles – in the transl-s of the Bible by Luther and Tyndale.
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