ASPECTS OF TRANSLATING THE LITERATURE IN THE FIELD OF MUSIC FROM ENGLISH TO SERBIAN

Abstract

English is, so to speak, the lingua franca of musicology today. While knowing German, French, Spanish, or other languages is certainly appreciated, especially for scholars from non-English-speaking backgrounds, it has become nearly impossible to pursue a scientific career in this field without a strong command of English. But what about those who are not professionals or experts, yet still wish to explore the history of music, its compositions, and their creators in their own language? They often rely on translations of books, whose content is not always faithful to the original. For instance, an analysis of the book Classical Style – Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven by Charles Rosen (Belgrade, Nolit, 1979), which has been a key text on 18th-century music in Serbia for decades, reveals numerous translation errors. These include formulations with inaccurate or awkward expressions, which sometimes verge on the absurd. Why is it important to translate books from foreign languages into the "local" language? How crucial is it for translators to be familiar with the specialized field the book addresses? Which publishing houses in Serbia are committed to translating publications on music? These are some of the questions this paper aims to address.