Kuidas kirjutanuks Ivan Julm eesti keeles? Tähelepanekuid ajalooliste tekstide tõlkimisest

When translating a text written hundreds or even thousands of years ago for a modern reader, the translator must constantly search for the ideal middle way. On the one hand, the reader wants to feel that they are not dealing with a modern text, but, on the other hand, they want to read and understand the text without major difficulties. The translator of historical texts must inevitably be prepared to go to greater or lesser lengths in order to offer the reader not only entertainment but also the opportunity to educate themselves. This article looks at some of the difficulties encountered by a translator of this kind of text. Problems of translation and possible solutions are analysed using as examples Estonian translations of some letters written by the Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible. Inevitably, it must be admitted that if Ivan the Terrible had written in Estonian the text would look very different from Old Russian and even from modern Russian versions. It should be stressed, however, that translation problems are often easier to solve if the translator is able to define the purpose of their work. For example, in the case of the type of text examined in this article, the translator must decide whether he or she wants the text to have a purely entertaining purpose, or whether he or she also wants it to educate the reader. If the aim is merely to entertain the reader, then, for example, the foreign names creatively ‘invented’ by the Russian Tsar could be left in the same unusual form in translation. In that case, the translator should keep in mind that any educational aim may be lost, since the reader may not be able to find out without effort who the particular person is behind one or other of the names. In addition to the translation itself, it is useful to write at least a preface to the translated text where many things can be explained to the reader. However, if more than one historical text is being translated, a longer accompanying text may be needed in addition to a preface to place the translated text in its historical context and to give the reader the opportunity to become acquainted with the most important persons and events relevant to that particular text. Lastly, when translating a text that dates back centuries or millennia, the translator should usually add various shorter and longer explanations and notes which add value to the texts and demonstrate their reader-friendliness in sparing the reader the necessity of constantly diving into encyclopedias or Internet resources to obtain additional information. Translating historical sources is no easy task – it is rather quite a complex and time-consuming one – but it provides an invaluable opportunity to take a look at the lives and worldviews of people from whom we are separated by centuries or even millennia.