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Description
Studying foreign plays and translating them from the original language is a work of art. Understanding original language is a process and a dissection of grammatical rules, subtext, idioms, and sentence structure. The Russian language is rich with words that don't always have a literal translation into English. The translator is able to use her or his knowledge of both languages to come up with a word that best fits the original. In this thesis, I am translating Uncle Vanya from Russian into English. The play was written in 1897, in an older, classical language that might seem unnatural to a modern reader. In this translation, the focus is on creating a translation of Uncle Vanya that will be accessible to a modern audience, preferably a younger audience, college level and higher. Classical plays have a way of not reaching a modern day theatre enthusiast because of the language barrier that exists between the cultural context in which they were written and the context in which they are read or performed today. In Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, the action takes place over one hundred years ago. Not only is the language different, but culturally and socially there is a vast difference between then and now that needs to be shown on stage. By translating using a modern dialogue, that gap can be bridged. In this version of Uncle Vanya, I have edited sentences, as well as some words. The translation that is done is not a literal translation therefore: this play is an adaptation of the original into a modern voice, with additions to the dialogue and eliminations of certain words and phrases. It is important not only to understand the cultural context in which the play was originally written, but the author's personal style of writing. Even if the translation is not word for word, the themes and ideas that the playwright intended to have in the play should not be lost, but on the contrary should be made accessible to the audience.
