Mediterranean Toponyms in Translation
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Keywords

toponym translation
narrative approach
equivalence
derivational substitution
Mediterranean space

How to Cite

Vaupot, S. (2026). Mediterranean Toponyms in Translation. ANNALES, SERIES HISTORIA ET SOCIOLOGIA, 36(3), 459–472. https://doi.org/10.19233/ASHS.2026.28

Abstract

This article examines toponymic translation in the French, Italian, and Slovene editions of Predrag Matvejević’s Mediterranean Breviary. Drawing on Thierry Grass’s typology of translation strategies, equivalence theory, and Mona Baker’s concept of narrative framing, it analyses a corpus of 158 toponyms from the Maps section, treating the three versions as parallel texts, to examine how place names are transferred across languages and how these choices participate in the construction of distinct representations of Mediterranean space. The findings reveal variations in translation strategies, graded equivalence patterns reflecting linguistic proximity, and narrative positioning that differentiates the three versions.

https://doi.org/10.19233/ASHS.2026.28
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