ABSTRACT
This chapter explores translations of Sholem Aleichem into Estonian using the theoretical perspective of descriptive translation studies. It focuses on the choices made by individual translators of Sholem Aleichem. The notion of polysystems and the position translations occupy within them has become especially relevant for 'small' cultures, including Estonian. The Estonian case, however, is clear given its approximately one million speakers and relatively late modernization. The translations from Yiddish into Estonian are very few in number and one cannot speak of any developed tradition. Rather, the translators are in effect on their own: they cannot relate either to any pre-existing conventions, except some rather general rules of fiction translation, or to historical memory. Estonian translators have actively been using metatexts as a means of providing additional information essential for understanding not only a particular text but also the cultural context of the original.
