Agent 007 i M w ocenach wzajemnych : polski i rosyjski przekład wybranych fragmentów filmów

Abstract

The article presents the results of the analysis of the language of M and James Bond in terms of their mutual assessment and criticism. The study has been limited to eight films – the ones in which Judi Dench plays the role of M, as a woman manager. The analysis covers the comparison of the original English source with its Polish (voice over and subtitles) and Russian (dubbing) translation, with the aim of investigating how the translators have dealt with the specificity of the language of the main characters. As for general conclusions, the wisecrackery of the utterances of 007 and M requires a lot of translation skills and creativity on the translator’s part. Even though most of the choices the translators made seem legitimate, considering the limitations inflicted by the conventions and types of translation, some may raise doubts and pose the question if a different linguistic choice would express a given original concept better. Apart from reasonable conciseness, all three types of translations show a tendency to limit the use of swearwords or to exchange them with weaker expletives. Also, many originally tentative statements have acquired a more straightforward and direct character in their Polish and Russian translations.