La possibilité de traduire la poésie antique Latine: quelques versions Françaises, Anglaises et Bulgares de la poésie Ovidienne et d’une épitaphe Latine
The possibility of translating ancient Latin poetry: some French, English and Bulgarian versions of Ovidian poetry and of a Latin epitaph

Summary/Abstract: The present text tries to compare different translations and interpretations of Latin poetic works. An everlasting discussion about the possibility to preserve the initial meaning and to transfer original codes into a new language medium, is illustrated within translations in three modern languages, from different linguistic groups – French, Bulgarian and English. Though the examples given in Latin are of different authorships, they all belong to the poetic genre and aim to illustrate how modern languages could translate and interpret classic verses and to what extent contemporary languages are able to stay loyal to the original. Classical Latin poems of Ovid and epigraphic epitaphs are chosen as being well known and challenging for many translators devoted to ancient texts. The poems of the roman poet Ovid have been studied by a lot of interpreters of classical antiquity and those chosen herein like Shilling, Sharankov, Bonniec and Frazer are some of the most representative. In Bulgarian medium a significant scientist in translation of old texts is Nicolay Sharankov whose interest in roman epigraphic inscriptions led him to some outstanding achievements, which are analyzed in this research. The study also compares different traditions and outlooks of how Latin poetry should be transmitted into the so-called source language or langue cible. Many diachronic studies show strong and feeble parts of different approaches. An overview of translations made in long periods of time makes possible to outline different paradigms for transmitting meaning and content. One less known material referred to is the work of Desjardins and his studies of Latin inscriptions found in Bulgaria.

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