Inevitable ageing of translations: Challenges of retranslation of literary works in Albania

Abstract

Retranslation is not a new phenomenon, but rather widespread in various translation traditions.As languages evolve, translations become dated, which explains why literary masterpieces are «retranslated». Translations need to be contemporaneous in order to keep pace with the language level of therecipients of any generation. Albanian language has changed. It has become more open to wordsdescribing new phenomena that were missing while trying to transmit feelings, situations or eventscoming across in the works of greatest authors. But, should we translate the translated? This is thequestion. There are many pros and cons to retranslation.Great classical writers or poets, even though translated into Albanian do not have the spirit andexpressions of nowadays level of Albanian literature language, because the translation product is certainlyaffected by the language development of the respective translation period. Works of Shakespeare, Poe,Cervantes, Dreiser and Markez have been translated with the potential linguistic tools of Albanianlanguage of ’20 – ’30- ies in the XX-th century.This work is an effort to provide another opinion in this respect. The analysis is focused on the ageing ofpreviously translated texts, ideological considerations in connection with changing cultural norms andnever ending search for the perfect translation. It will also list the reasons why retranslation is a necessaryprocess.