Open Access

Ioana Constantin

• The following analysis is based on a practical experience of translation and tries to offer a series of solutions to the problem posed by culture-specific elements known in German translation studies as „Realia”. The recent translation studies generally acknoledge the importance of maintaining certain culture-specific elements as such in the target text; Antoine Berman speaks about ethic versus ethnocentric translation. Several authors describe four possible solutions for dealing with culture-specific elements in translation in order to preserve to a certain degree the cultural identity of the target text. The translation of „Realia” belonging to the sphere of nationalsocialism raised a series of difficulties during the actual translation of Das Buch Hitler, a document which was put together for Stalin by soviet intelligence in the years following WW II. Three types of „Realia” were identified in the source text and treated as such in the translation, following the theoretical guidelines proposed by Markussen and Berman.