Disruptive strangeness or domesticated exoticism? Some challenges of cultural translation in the Polish rendition of Fury by Salman Rushdie

Abstract

The unfolding hybridisation of cultures calls for a culture-oriented approach to translation that could respond to the needs and expectations of contemporary readership. The present paper is devoted to the concept of the cultural turn in translation studies and its practical implications on actual translations of contemporary literary works. To illustrate the complexities of translating cultural elements, the Polish translation of Fury reflecting the usual Rushdian blend of voices, plots, multi-cultural hybrid and culture references is used. The paper seeks to exemplify and discuss choices made by the translator striving to acquaint the target text reader with the complex universe of the novel to the similar extent as experienced by the source text reader. The principal strategy adopted by the Polish translator might be labelled as domesticated exoticism.