Between V and T address: The translation of English address terms into Polish in serial storytelling (the case of Doc)

Abstract

This study is concerned with the translation of address terms in serial storytelling. It adopts the interpersonal pragmatics perspective on address terms and treats them as elements of fictional charactersʼ relational work, i.e. the work they do to negotiate their relationships in interaction. More specifically, this paper focuses on the renditions of the form Doc as used by detective Jane Rizzoli to address doctor Maura Isles in the Polish translation of Tess Gerritsenʼs Rizzoli and Isles crime fiction series. Since English and Polish have different address systems (N-V-T and T-V, respectively) and there are no informal terms equivalent to Doc to address a female doctor in Polish, its renditions depend entirely on the translatorʼs ability to understand and recreate the charactersʼ relational interaction. The Polish translators of the Rizzoli and Isles series showed different degrees of attention to the interactional coherence of the translation, which is why some of its parts contain inappropriate and impolite address forms. Overall, the relational work done by the characters has largely been domesticated in the translation and adapted to Polish speech patterns and rules of politeness. Consequently, shifts in the charactersʼ address mode take place at different moments in the translation than they do in the original version, and the form Doc is rendered in a variety of ways (both formal and informal) depending on the stage of the charactersʼ relational interaction.