ABSTRACT

Some Russian scholars of translation have revalorized the term “variant” in their work. They suggest that translators substitute one “unit” (however defined) in one language for one “equivalent” (however defined) unit in another language in the least numerous, and often least interesting, cases. Most of the translators’ time and effort is invested, on the contrary, in the creation of “variants.” These variants represent the translators’ personal choices - made, to be sure, on the basis of patterns that have been codified, taught, internalized, but the translators’ own nevertheless.