Crossroads 5/2014, pp. 36-49 

Anita Mackiewicz 

The University of Bialystok 

 

 

Translation strategies across time: a comparison of two Polish renderings of 

Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery 

 

 

Abstract. The aim of this article is to compare two Polish renderings of Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud 

Montgomery: the oldest one by Rozalia Bersteinowa (1911/1912), and one of the most recent ones, by Paweł 

Beręsewicz (2013). This article attempts to both identify the specific strategies and techniques employed by the 

two translators and to illustrate how approaches to translation have changed over the years. 

 

Keywords: translation, English, Polish, adaptation, foreignisation, Anne of Green Gables, Lucy Maud 

Montgomery, Rozalia Bersteinowa, Paweł Beręsewicz. 

 

 
 

Attitudes towards translation and translation strategies change with time. By looking at two 

Polish renderings of Anne of Green Gables – the oldest one (Bersteinowa 1911/1912) and one 

of the most recent ones (Beręsewicz 2013) – this article attempts to both identify the specific 

strategies and techniques employed by the two translators and to illustrate how approaches to 

translation have changed over the years. 

 

The novel, its author and translators 

Anne of Green Gables is a heart-warming story of a ginger-haired heroine known all over 

the world to both youngsters and adults. After its publication in 1908 in Canada, the book 

quickly became a worldwide bestseller, translated into 20 languages and sold in 50 million 

copies (IS1). It was frequently adapted for movies, TV series, and musicals. The number of its 

renderings speaks for the popularity of the novel: only in Poland at least 12 different 

translators have made an attempt to convey the emotions, humour and universal values of the 

book to the Polish readers.  

Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942), who created the famous character, was born in 

Prince Edward Island and decided that it was the perfect setting for her first novel. She was 

raised by her grandparents and for a short time worked as a teacher. She was married to 

Revered Ewan MacDonald and had two children. Montgomery wrote eight books about Anne: 

Anne of Green Gables (1908), Anne of Avonlea (1909), Anne of the Island (1915), Anne of 

Windy Poplars (1936), Anne’s House of Dreams (1917), Anne of Ingleside (1939), Rainbow 

Valley (1919), Rilla of Ingleside (1920), for which she was awarded many times. Thanks to 

the success of her works, Prince Edward Island gained popularity as a destination for people 

who look for Anne-related attractions (IS2). 

Among the Polish translators of the book are Rozalia Bersteinowa and Paweł Beręsewicz:  

the authors of the first and one of the last Polish translations of the novel, respectively. 

Bersteinowa’s rendering comes from 1911 or 1912, and not much else is known about her. 



Paweł Beręsewicz is a contemporary translator who graduated from Warsaw University where 

he studied English philology. In addition to being a translator, lexicographer and a part-time 

teacher, he also writes short stories and novels for children. He cooperates with such editing 

houses as Skrzat and Literatura. Among his books are: Co tam u Ciumków?, Czy wojna jest 

dla dziewczyn?, Jak zakochałem Kaśkę Kwiatek, Kiedy chodziłem z Julką Maj, Tajemnica 

człowieka z blizną, Warszawa. Spacery z Ciumkami, Wielka wyprawa Ciumków, Wszystkie 

lajki Marczuka. Beręsewicz’s books have been honoured and awarded. He has received the 

Kornel Makuszyński Literary Award (twice), the Warsaw Literary Award, the 3
rd

 prize in the 

II Astrid Lindgren Award, a Nomination in the Book of the Year Competition: Polish Section 

IBBY (four times). His translations include not only Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud 

Montgomery, but also The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, The Secret Garden by 

Frances Hodgson Burnett and The Changeover by Margaret Mahy (IS3). The sections which 

follow will focus on selected aspects of the two Polish renderings of the book, comparing the 

strategies employed by the two translators. 

 

Adaptation vs. foreignisation: proper names and cultural reality in 

translation 

The two translations of the book vary significantly, beginning with the titles of most 

chapters to individual words and phrases. They are about 100 years distant in time, which is 

enough for both the language, cultural reality and translation strategies to have changed. The 

most influential factor, however, which makes the two renderings so distant is the choice of 

two completely different translation strategies: adaptation and foreignisation.  

Adaptation is understood as a translation method whose goal is to replace certain elements 

characteristic of one society and its culture with elements known by another society and its 

culture (Delisle, Lee-Jahnke, Cormier 2006: 22). This strategy facilitates understanding a 

target language text thanks to the elimination of foreignness, i.e. elements which do not occur 

in the readers’ native culture. Rozalia Bersteinowa’s version of Anne of Green Gables is the 

perfect example of this method. The translator makes the reality presented in the novel more 

similar to that of Poland, adjusting it to the realities familiar to her and her readers.  

Foreignisation, in contrast, focuses on preserving the individuality of a given culture 

(Skibińska 2000: 162), familiarizing readers with countries they are not acquainted with 

(Lewicki 2000: 193). It brings in strangeness, saving as many elements of a foreign language 

and culture as possible. Anne of Green Gables in Beręsewicz’s translation is an example of 

the application of this specific technique – the translator made his rendering characteristic by 

its faithfulness to the original.  

A comparison of the two renderings of the novel demonstrates how the application of each 

of the strategies affects the translated text. First of all, let us take a look at the translator’s 

attitude towards proper names. Both translators decided to transfer the names of the main 

characters of the novel, but they did it for different reasons. Bersteinowa, who lived in a 

century when education was not so advanced, was cognizant of the fact that a great number of 

her readers did not know the English language and Canadian culture. This may have been one 

of the reasons why she tried to adjust the book to Polish culture; a young girl named Ania is 

easier to identify with than a girl with the foreign name Anne (especially when you are not 

really sure how to pronounce it). Beręsewicz, on the other hand, is known for his disapproval 

of translating names. He is of the opinion that in the era of television and the Internet people 

are sufficiently acquainted with the foreign culture to make it possible for a translator not to 

do so. However, despite this conviction, he did translate the names of the main characters of 

the novel. His decision was most probably motivated by the fact that Anne of Green Gables is 



a very popular novel, and has already anchored in the minds and hearts of Polish society. 

Leaving the names of the main characters as they are in the original version was likely to 

make many readers skeptical towards this idea. Therefore, he met his readers half way and in 

certain fragments saved both versions of the names, i.e. English Anne and Polish Ania. The 

renderings of the following fragment illustrate the strategies employed by the two translators: 

Lucy Maud Montgomery:   

-Yes, this is Anne Shirley, said Marilla. 

-Spelled with an E, gasped Anne (…) (p.108) 

Bersteinowa uses 2 diminutive forms of the character’s name – Ania and Andzia –  suggesting 

that Anne hated the latter:  

 -Tak, to Ania Shirley - potwierdziła Maryla  

-Ania, nie Andzia - szepnęła dziewczynka (...) (p.95) 

Beręsewicz uses both the Polish and the English version of her name, Anne’s comment 

referring to the spelling of the English version: 

-Tak, to jest Ania. Anne Shirley - przytaknęła Maryla. 

-Przez "e" na końcu - wykrztusiła Ania (...) (p. 106) 

 

As for the remaining names, Marilla and Matthew are translated as Maryla and Mateusz 

respectively. Beręsewicz explained later that he found the name Matthew very difficult to 

inflect and fit into Polish syntax, and decided that its Polish equivalent would be more 

convenient to use. To be consistent with the treatment of the names of the main characters, he 

translated them all. As far as the names of the other characters are concerned, Bersteinowa 

uses their Polish equivalents while Beręsewicz leaves them in the original. Thus, in 

Bersteinowa’s version Rachel Lynde becomes Małgorzata Linde, Charlie is Karolek, Jane 

becomes Janka, Josie is Józia and Josephine – Józefina. 

Anne of Green Gables is fraught with real and fictional names of places. The eponymous 

Green Gables is called Zielone Wzgórze in both renderings. The rest of the names, however, 

differ in the two translations. Beręsewicz is consistent in his strategy and leaves most of the 

place names in the original form. If he decides to translate certain names, usually the longer 

ones, his translation is as faithful to the original as possible. Bersteinowa, on the contrary, 

tries to eliminate the foreignness to a complete minimum and translates every place name in 

the novel, very often adding something from herself and making the translation distant from 

its original form and meaning (especially in the case of the names invented by Anne herself). 

Thus, Lynde’s Hollow is called dolina Linde’ów in Bersteinowa’s version and Lyndowa 

Dolinka in Beręsewicz’s. Barry’s house – Orchard Slope in the earliest translation is Sosnowe 

Wzgórze and Sadowy Stok (which is a calque of Orchard Slope) in the latest one. White Sands 

has been translated literally by Bersteinowa as Białe Piaski, while Beręsewicz retains its 

original form.  

In the novel there are also names coined by Anne. There is a scene where she is delighted 

by the geranium and decides to name it Bonny. Beręsewicz transfers the original name into 

the Polish version but Bersteinowa translates it as Jutrzenka (‘dawn’ or ‘a morning star’). 

Then, there is a place used by girls as a playhouse, which they call Idlewild. Bersteinowa calls 

it Zacisze Słowika (‘nightingale’s refuge’), while Beręsewicz uses a name which is closer to 

the original – Leśna Samotnia (‘a refuge in the forest’). Another example of Beręsewicz’s 

accuracy in translation is Willowmere: he translates it as Wierzbowe Oczko (lit. ‘a willow’s 

eye’), while Bersteinowa uses an entirely different name – Jasnooka (‘bright-eyed’). Both 



translators render Snow Queen as Królowa Śniegu and Lake of Shining Waters as Jezioro 

Lśniących Wód, thus using direct Polish equivalents of the two names. 

Moreover, the novel contains names of various associations. Here the differences in 

translation are caused not so much by the choice of specific strategies, but rather by the 

temporal distance that separates the two renderings. In effect, the Sewing Circle is called 

Szwalnia dla Dziewcząt by Bersteinowa. The noun szwalnia, common in her times, is now 

mostly associated with sewing industry rather than an activity of individuals. That is why 

Beręsewicz decides to name it kółko krawieckie, which is both a literal translation of the 

English name and a current Polish equivalent of the expression. Another example is Church 

Aid Society. In Bersteinowa’s version it appears under the name Parafialny Związek Pomocy, 

while Beręsewicz translates it as Kościelne Towarzystwo Dobroczynne. In this case, 

Bersteinowa is closer to the original; Beręsewicz uses a word (dobroczynność) which is a 

Polish counterpart of charity, which sounds more modern.  

The application of two different strategies is particularly visible in fragments concerning 

cultural reality, such religion, education and food. As for religion, it is worth mentioning that 

Protestantism forbids taking the Lord’s name in vain and people from Avonlea obey this law 

and never use it directly. They, for example, say Thanks be to goodness for that. Beręsewicz 

respects that and in his rendering it goes like I niech będzie chwała. Bersteinowa’s translates 

it as Dzięki Ci, Boże (‘Thank God’), which is a very common phrase in Polish, but it ignores 

the importance of this unwritten law in Avonlean community. Further we observe the same 

pattern - Merciful goodness! is translated as Łaska i zmiłowanie by Beręsewicz and Na litość 

Boską! (‘For God’s sake’) by Bersteinowa.  

Another important cultural area, i.e. education, also shows how an adoption of a specific 

method can affect translation. Starting with the name of the teachers’ school and ending with 

a graduation outfit, the two renderings are completely different. Lucy Maud Montgomery 

refers to the school for teachers as Queen’s. So does Beręsewicz in his rendering. 

Bersteinowa, on the other hand, uses the noun akademia (‘academy’). What’s more, the 

traditional English graduating outfit is described by the author as a gown and mortar board. 

Beręsewicz translates gown as toga and mortal board as kwadratowa czapka – he knows that 

Polish readers are already familiar with this custom, not only thanks to television, but also 

because many Polish universities have adopted it. Bersteinowa omits the fragment entirely 

and does not mention it at all.  

Every country and almost every region has its characteristic food. Lucy Maud 

Montgomery also weaves many delicacies into the plot. Table 1 below presents how the two 

translators dealt with their names.  

 

Table 1. Names of foods in the original and the two translations 

Lucy Maud Montgomery Rozalia Bersteinowa Paweł Beręsewicz 

fruit cake placek z owocami keks 

pound cake ciastka z kremem biszkopt 

doughnuts orzechy w cukrze pączki 

preserves konfitury konfitury 

pie pieróg zapiekanka 

chocolate sweeties pastylki czekoladowe czekoladowe cukierki 

peppermints pastylki miętowe miętówki 

 

Beręsewicz’s translation is not only up-to-date, but also more precise and accurate. Pound 

cake is a traditional cake made from a pound of four different ingredients. It has no cream in 

it, so his biszkopt is a closer equivalent than Bersteinowa’s ciastka z kremem (‘cream cakes’). 



As for doughnuts, Bersteinowa seems to have been misled by the nut part, which is why she 

translated the word as orzechy w cukrze (‘nuts in sugar’). 

In Avonlean society, many orphans were working and helping at farms. They were usually 

treated as inferior to other people, as illustrated in the following fragment:  

 

‘Well, you’d better go and give that cake to the pigs,’ said Marilla. ‘It isn’t fit for any 

human to eat, not even Jerry Boute.’ (p. 22) 

 

 Beręsewicz translates the fragment faithfully: 

 

- No dobrze, idź teraz i zanieś to ciasto świniom – powiedziała Maryla. – Dla ludzi się 
nie nadaje. Nawet dla Jerry’ego Buote’a. (p. 212) 

 

In Bersteinowa’s rendering, however, the entire fragment is omitted. It is possible that she 

considered it too direct, too radical to be included in a book for children.  

Another interesting aspect of the two translations is the treatment of units of measure. 

When Anne says that she is an inch taller than Diana, Bersteinowa translates it as troszeczkę 

wyższa, which means a bit taller. Beręsewicz, in contrast, uses the Polish equivalent of inch - 

cal.  

 

 

Style and vocabulary 

As already mentioned, the two translations are about 100 years distant in time, which is 

why the style and vocabulary used by the two translators are often remarkably different. The 

easiest way to notice the difference between the two renderings is to take a quick look at 

translation of the chapters’ titles. Only 6 out of 38 titles are translated in the same way; the 

remaining ones are different. Table 2 below summarises the differences. 

 

Table 2. Titles of chapters in the two translations 

Lucy Maud Montgomery Rozalia Bersteinowa Paweł Beręsewicz 

Mrs Rachel Linde is 

Surprised 

Zdumienie pani Małgorzaty 

Linde 

Pani Rachel Linde jest 

zdziwiona 

Matthew Cuthbert is 

Surprised 
Zdumienie Mateusza 

Mateusz Cuthbert jest 

zdziwiony 

Marilla Cuthbert is 

Surprised 
Zdumienie Maryli Cuthbert 

Maryla Cuthbert jest 

zdziwiona 

Morning at Green Gables 
Poranek na Zielonym 

Wzgórzu 

Poranek w Zielonym 

Wzgórzu 

Anne’s History Historia Ani Historia Ani 

Marilla Makes Up Her 

Mind 
Co postanowiła Maryla Maryla podejmuje decyzję 

Anne Says Her Prayers Modlitwa Ani Ania odmawia pacierz 

Anne’s Bringing-Up Is 

Begun 

Zaczyna się wychowanie 

Ani 

Wychowanie Ani 

rozpoczęte 

Mrs Rachel Lynde is 

Properly Horrified 
Oburzenie pani Linde 

Pani Rachel Lynde jest 

wprost przerażona 

Anne’s Apology Wyznanie winy Przeprosiny Ani 



Anne’s Impressions of 

Sunday-School 

Wrażenia Ani w szkole 

niedzielnej 

Ania idzie do szkółki 

niedzielnej 

A Solemn Vow and 

Promise 

Uroczysta przysięga i 

obietnica 

Uroczysta przysięga i 

obietnica 

The Delights of 

Anticipation 
Rozkosze oczekiwania Rozkosze czekania 

Anne’s Confession Przyznanie się do winy Wyznanie Ani 

A Tempest in the School 

Teapot 

Burza w szkolnej szklance 

wody 

Burza w szkolnej szklance 

wody 

Diana is Invited to Tea 

with Tragic Result 

Tragiczne skutki 

podwieczorku 

Podwieczorek ze skutkiem 

tragicznym 

A New Interest in Life Nowy cel w życiu Życie odzyskuje blask 

Anne to the Rescue Ania w roli zbawcy Ania przybywa na ratunek 

A Concert a Catastrophe 

and a Confession 

Koncert, katastrofa i 

wyznanie 

Koncert, katastrofa i 

wyznanie 

A Good Imagination Gone 

Wrong 
Bezdroża wyobraźni Zgubne skutki wyobraźni 

A New Departure in 

Flavorings 

Nowe zastosowanie kropli 

walerianowych 

Przełom w dziedzinie 

dodatków smakowych 

Anne Is Invited Out to Tea 
Odwiedziny Ani u 

pastorstwa 
Ania idzie z wizytą 

Anne Comes to Grief in an 

Affair of Honor 

Ofiara Ani dla sprawy 

honorowej 
Sprawa honoru 

Miss Stacy and Her Pupils 

Get Up a Concert 

Wychowankowie panny 

Stacy urządzają koncert 

Panna Stacy i jej uczniowie 

organizują koncert 

Matthew Insists on Puffed 

Sleeves 

Mateusz rzecznikiem 

bufiastych rękawów 

Mateusz a sprawa 

bufiastych rękawów 

The Story Club Is Formed Klub powieściowy Klub literacki 

Vanity and Vexation of 

Spirit 
Próżność ukarana Próżność i cierpienia duszy 

An Unfortunate Lily Maid Niefortunne przedstawienie 
Nieszczęsna Pani 

Nenufarów 

An Epoch in Anne’s Life Epoka w życiu Ani Epoka w życiu Ani 

The Queens Class Is 

Organized 

Utworzenie kompletu 

seminarzystów 

Zajęcia dla kandydatów do 

Queen’s 

Where the Brook and River 

Meet 
Zwierzenia Na progu dorosłego życia 

The Pass List Is Out Ogłoszenie listy przyjętych Lista przyjętych 

The Hotel Concert Koncert w hotelu Koncert w hotelu 

A Queen’s Girl Seminarzystka Uczennica Queen’s 

The Winter at Queen’s Zima w seminarium Zima w Akademii 

The Glory and the Dream Sława i marzenie Sen i chwała 

The Reaper Whose Name 

Is Death 

Żniwiarz, którego imię jest 

śmierć 
Żniwiarz imieniem  Śmierć 

The Bend in the Road Zakręt na drodze Na zakręcie 

 

In Beręsewicz’s version the titles are very close to the original. He makes almost no 

changes in the structure of the titles, while Bersteinowa changes most of those which have the 

structure of sentences into noun phrases. For example, Anne Is Invited Out to Tea becomes 



Odwiedziny Ani u pastorstwa (‘Anne’s visit at the pastor and his wife’s’). She keeps the sense 

of the original, shortens the title if possible and often adds something from herself, revealing 

more about the content of a given chapter than the original. For example, in the case of Anne 

Is Invited Out to Tea, the reader already learns from the title that Anne is going to visit the 

pastor and his wife. Another difference is the translation of the titular Green Gables. In 

particular, Morning at Green Gables is translated by Bersteinowa as Poranek na Zielonym 

Wzgórzu. The preposition at used in the original suggests a place. Bersteinowa’s use of na 

suggest that house is on the top of the hill. Beręsewicz translates the title as Poranek w 

Zielonym Wzgórzu, which implies being inside the house. 

There are many words and expressions in Bersteinowa’s version which have become 

outmoded. Table 3 below presents some of them. 

Table 3.  Selected vocabulary items in the two translations 

Lucy Maud Montgomery Rozalia Bersteinowa Paweł Beręsewicz 

supper wieczerza kolacja 

buggy kabriolet bryczka 

sorrel klacz kasztanka 

your place posiadłość farma 

ottoman ottoman kanapa 

skin płeć cera 

curtains portiery zasłonki 

tapestry makaty gobeliny 

turnip brukiew rzepa 

east gable facjatka piętro/poddasze 

picture rycina obrazek 

fever febra szkarlatyna 

grippe influencja grypa 

 

Beręsewicz’s vocabulary is more modern than Bersteinowa’s. The translation of the 

following fragment of Diana speaking to Anne is a good example: 

I’m awfully glad you’ve come to live at Green Gables. It will be jolly to have somebody to 

play with. (p. 110) 

 

Bersteinowa’s rendering is: 

Cieszę się ogromnie, że będziesz mieszkała na Zielonym Wzgórzu. Przyjemnie będzie mieć 

towarzyszkę zabaw. (p. 96) 

 

In the same fragment translated by Beręsewicz, the language is visibly modernized and 

sounds more natural from the perspective of modern readers: 

 

Strasznie się cieszę, że zamieszkałaś w Zielonym Wzgórzu. Wreszcie będę miała się z kim 

bawić. (p.108) 

 

In Bersteinowa’a version I’m sorry I was late becomes Żałuję, żem się spóźnił, which 

contains the rather archaic form żem, while Beręsewicz translates it as Przepraszam za 

spóźnienie (‘I’m sorry for being late’). Likewise, looking after twins is referred to as 

piastować bliźnięta in the oldest version and as opiekować się bliźniętami in the more recent 

one, where the archaic verb piastować is replaced with its more modern equivalent opiekować 



się. When Anne says I’m glad or I wonder, Bersteinowa translates it as Jestem temu bardzo 

rada and Ciekawam, and Beręsewicz as Bardzo się cieszę and Ciekawe, czy. 

Beręsewicz also uses colloquialisms, e.g. he renders troubles that appear with Anne’s 

upbringing as kompletny bigos while Bersteinowa uses the neutral term kłopot. 

Nothing affects the style more than the vocabulary used. Bersteinowa’s selection of words 

make her style definitely more romantic, slushy, and feminine, as illustrated by her translation 

of the fragment when Anne is imagining her room:  

 

Lucy Maud Montgomery: The floor is covered with a white velvet carpet with pink roses all 

over it and there are pink silk curtains at the windows. (p.78) 

 

Rozalia Bersteinowa: Podłoga pokryta jest dywanem z białego aksamitu, osypanym pąsowymi 

różami. U okien wiszą pąsowe jedwabne portiery. (p. 69-70)  

 

Paweł Beręsewicz: Na podłodze jest biały aksamitny dywan w różyczki, a w oknach różowe 

jedwabne zasłonki. (p.77) 

She uses the literary adjective pąsowy where Beręsewicz uses the neutral term różowy 

(pink). The noun portiery is also a more literary choice than the ordinary noun zasłonki used 

by Beręsewicz to translate curtains. 

Bersteinowa’s style is also rich in diminutive forms and maudlin expressions. For example,  

when Anne discovers a lane, Bersteinowa translates the word as maleńka ścieżyna (‘a tiny 

path’), where both the adjective and the noun are in diminutive forms. Beręsewicz translates it 

as dróżka (‘a little path’), a noun which also conveys the meaning o f smallness, but is less 

literary and archaic than ścieżyna. Marilla said once about Anne: She’s a real bright little 

thing. In Bersteinowa’s version it is more emphatic: To taki jasny promyczek, takie miłe 

stworzenie (‘She is such a bright ray, such a nice thing’). Beręsewicz uses an idiom żywe 

srebro (‘quicksilver’) to describe her personality: To żywe srebro, nie dziewczyna. (lit. ‘She is 

quicksilver, not a girl’). 

Anne of Green Gables is, among other features, a humoristic novel. Unfortunately, the 

romantic womanish style represented by Bersteinowa does not always reflect this quality. In 

the translation of the sentence: Mrs. Rachel swept out and away—if a fat woman who always 

waddled COULD be said to sweep away—and Marilla with a very solemn face betook herself 

to the east gable (p.85) she omits the humorous comment, and, instead of that, writes that 

Mrs. Rachel moved slowly and with dignity: I pani Małgorzata z wielką godnością i 

szacunkiem do swej okrągłej figury podniosła się i powoli ruszyła w drogę, Maryla zaś, 

przybrawszy bardzo surowy wyraz twarzy, udała się do pokoiku na facjatce (p.75-76). 

Paweł Beręsewicz compares her walking style to that of a duck, thus retaining the humour: 

To powiedziawszy, pani Rachel wymaszerowała z kuchni – jeżeli kaczy chód grubej kobiety 

można nazwać marszem – a Maryla, z bardzo zasępioną miną, udała się do pokoiku na 

poddaszu. (p.84) 

The author’s sense of humour is also visible in the way she plays with words and their 

meanings. Wordplay is generally difficult to translate, but Beręsewicz manages to do it 

retaining the sense of the original and its humour. The following fragment illustrates it quite 

well:  

‘Will you swear to be my best friend forever and ever?’ demanded Anne eagerly. 

 Diana looked shocked. 

‘Why it’s dreadfully wicked to swear,’ she said rebuckingly. 

‘Oh no, not my kind of swearing. There are two kinds, you know.’ 



‘I never heard of but one kind,’ said Diana doubtfully.  

‘There really is another. Oh, it isn’t wicked at all. It just means vowing and promising      

solemnly.’ ( p.110) 

 

Here, Montgomery uses the word swear, which Bersteinowa translates as przysięga 

(‘vow’) and obietnica (‘promise’): 

- Czy przysięgniesz, że będziesz moją przyjaciółką na wieczne czasy? – spytała prędko 
Ania.  

Diana spojrzała przerażona. 

- Ależ to bardzo brzydko przysięgać – rzekła z wyrzutem.  
- Cóż znowu! Nie jest brzydko przysięgać, tak jak ja myślę. Są dwa rodzaje przysięgi. 
- Ja słyszałam tylko o jednym – rzekła Diana z powątpiewaniem. 
- A właśnie, że jest i drugi. Wcale nie brzydki! Jest to po prostu uroczysta obietnica. 

(p.96-98) 

 

It is not clear from the Polish version why one should be preferred over the other and why 

it is wrong to swear. Beręsewicz finds a word in Polish which is ambiguous and justifies 

Diana’s indignation. The word he uses, ślub, may mean a vow, solemn promise and a 

marriage: 

- A co byś powiedziała, gdybyśmy złożyły śluby wieczystej przyjaźni, co? – ochoczo 
zaproponowała Ania.  

Diana wyglądała na wstrząśniętą. 

- Po co? – powiedziała z wyrzutem. - Przecież jesteśmy za małe na śluby.  
- Nie, to nie o takie śluby chodzi – tłumaczyła Ania. – Są ich dwa rodzaje. 
- Ja słyszałam tylko o jednym.  
- Naprawdę jest jeszcze drugi. I wiek nie ma znaczenia. Po prostu chodzi o przysięgę i 

uroczystą obietnicę. (p.108) 

 

Bersteinowa’s style is more romantic, fraught with maudlin expressions. Beręsewicz has 

adjusted the novel’s language to the contemporary reader. In many ways, he is also closer in 

style to Lucy Maud Montgomery. In his rendering, the main character is described in an ironic 

and humorous way, as in the original. Bersteinowa made Anne more romantic and delicate, 

losing some of the humour and wit of the original version. 

What is also worth mentioning is the translators’ treatment of quotations from literary 

works, which are frequent in the novel. Bersteinowa tends to omit the quotations or translates 

them as if they were part of the novel. Beręsewicz is very faithful to the original in this case. 

He respects all the references made by the author, often making footnotes to clarify the 

context for the reader. His footnotes make many fragments more understandable, 

simultaneously educating the reader in an indirect way. If Bersteinowa decides to make a 

footnote, it usually concerns very simple, basic facts, like clarifying who Caesar was. For 

example, in Bersteinowa’s version references to Hamlet are completely ignored, as in the 

following fragment: I heard him to say ‘sweets to the sweet’. Bersteinowa translates it as: 

wyraźnie słyszałam jak wyrzekł: ‘Piękno dla piękna!’ (‘beauty to beauty’). Beręsewicz uses a 

quote from a Polish translation of Hamlet by Barańczak and makes a footnote explaining the 

source of the quotation: (…) i słyszałam, jak powiedział: ‘niech wonne kwiaty otoczą ten 

kwiat.’  

He also identifies an allusion to Shakespeare’s comedy As You Like It in the following 

sentence: There was a tang in the very air that inspired the hearts of small maidens tripping, 

unlike snails, swiftly and willingly to school (…), as well as an allusion to William 

Wordsworth’s poem in the title of Chapter 36 The Glory and the Dream and to Henry W. 



Longfellow’s poem in the title of Chapter 37 The Reaper Whose Name is Death. He provides 

quotations from established Polish translations of these fragments. 

Bersteinowa ignores references to folk songs as well. Anne mentions the song My Home 

on the Hill which Beręsewicz renders literally as Mój domek na wzgórzu.  Bersteinowa, 

however, does not mention it at all.  

 

Conclusion 
The two translations discussed in the present study are significantly different mostly 

because of the temporal distance which separates them. They differ in style and the 

vocabulary used, but most importantly, they make use of different translation strategies – 

adaptation (Bersteinowa) and foreignisation (Beręsewicz).  

Rozalia Bersteinowa attempts to make the reality presented in the novel similar to the 

Polish reality of her time: she uses Polish equivalents of English proper names; she translates 

names of different types of food and even some customs. What is more, parts of the text are 

often omitted in her rendering, especially Montgomery’s quotations from literary works. Also, 

the language she uses has become a little archaic – many words and expressions have become 

outmoded. Paweł Beręsewicz represents an entirely different approach – one which is 

consistent with the current translation standards. He leaves most of the characters’ names in 

the original, and attempts to preserve the cultural reality and humour of the book. He does not 

omit any fragments of the original text. The language he uses is modern, but he stays faithful 

to the original in the meanings he expresses. 

An analysis of the two translations illustrates how the art of translation has changes over 

the years. Omissions of large fragments of the original text are no longer acceptable and 

foreignisation is now preferred over domestication.  

 

References 
 

Delisle, J., H. Lee-Jahnke, M.C. Cormier (eds.). 2006. Terminologia Tłumaczenia. Poznań, 

Wyd. Naukowe UAM. 

Lewicki, R. 2000. “Między adaptacją a egzotyzacją” In: M. Ogonowska (ed.). Przekładając 

Nieprzekładalne, Gdańsk, Wyd. Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego, 191-200. 

Montgomery, L.M. 1908. Anne of Green Gables at: 

 http://www.planetebook.com/ebooks/Anne-of-Green-Gables.pdf (April -June 2014)  

Montgomery, L.M. 1956. Ania z Zielonego Wzgórza, Warszawa, Wyd. Nasza Księgarnia. 

Montgomery, L.M. 2013. Ania z Zielonego Wzgórza, Kraków, Wyd. Skrzat. 

Skibińska, E. 2000. “Nazwy własne we francuskim przekładzie ‘Prawieku i innych czasów’ 

Olgi Tokarczuk” In: M. Ogonowska (ed.). Przekładając Nieprzekładalne, Gdańsk, Wyd. 

Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego, 157-169. 

 

Internet sources: 

IS1: http://childliterature.net/childlit/realistic/anne.html (May 2013) 

IS1: http://childrensbooks.about.com/od/authorsillustrato/a/Anne-Of-Green-Gables-Books-

Author-Prince-Edward-Island.htm (May 2013) 

IS3: http://www.pawelberesewicz.neostrada.pl (May 2013) 

 

 

 

http://www.planetebook.com/ebooks/Anne-of-Green-Gables.pdf
http://childliterature.net/childlit/realistic/anne.html
http://childrensbooks.about.com/od/authorsillustrato/a/Anne-Of-Green-Gables-Books-Author-Prince-Edward-Island.htm
http://childrensbooks.about.com/od/authorsillustrato/a/Anne-Of-Green-Gables-Books-Author-Prince-Edward-Island.htm
http://www.pawelberesewicz.neostrada.pl/