Anna Sakse is one of the most famous Latvian writers. Her outstanding volume of „Pasakas par ziediem” is translated also in the English Language with a title „Flowers: Fairy-tales”. Tales are translated by Tamāra Zālīte and published 1978.
Looking at the first paragraph of the source text “Mežroze un Rīta vējš” in Latvian and the target text “Wild Rose and Morning Wind” in English, it becomes clear that the translator has not translated the text word by word, but has adjust to her own interpretation.
The first sentence “Dārza malā pie žoga uzziedēja Mežroze” is translated as “At the far end of the garden by the very fence Wild Rose, also called Brier Rose, burst into blossom.” Here the translator has mentioned the second name of the flower in English. This is done on purpose – so that the reader, who is aware of only one name of the flower, understands exactly what plant the author is talking about.
The sentence “Čuču, iček, ičīičiček! – sēdēdams apses zarā, iebubulējās Dārzaķauķis, un tas nozīmēja, ka roze viņam ļoti patīk.” is interpreted as “Tweet – tweet! Bull-finch said admiringly.”Here we can see that the translator is quite distant from the source text. She has not tried to imitate the chirrup of the bird, but has used a word “tweet” instead of it.…
