Pidgin English and Sailors´ Jargon in Polish translations of Joseph Conrad´s Typhoon

The translation of dialect and jargon undoubtedly presents translators with a challenge. Approaches to translating dialect have evolved from the simplistic assertion that dialect in the source language ought to be replaced with dialect in the target language to the more nuanced strategies of neutralization, lexicalization, Pidginization or even the ad hoc creation of an artificial dialect. Peter Newmark claims that the crucial factor in translating non-standard speech is the identifi cation of its functions in the original. Once the functions have been recognized, they can be “recreated in target language texts by drawing on appropriate varieties”. However, in Translation Studies there is also a completely different view. Jeremy Munday notes that “The norm for translating dialect, slang and social variation tends to be that of the ‘homogenizing convention’. This involves replacing non-standard forms in the source language with standard forms typical of the written language in the target version”. Translators can therefore apply several different techniques to match the non-standard heterogeneity of the original in the target text. In Joseph Conrad’s short story entitled Typhoon we come across two different varieties of non-standard English. The first is Pidgin, which is a reduced language that results from extended contact between groups which have no language in common; it evolves when these groups need some means of verbal communication. The other kind of nonstandard English is sailors’ jargon.