translating english texts(literature)

[gambler]

hello, could you give some advice on how to translate english texts.I am a student majoring english philology and I find it hard to handle my homework especially when I am given classic to translate.thank you

[Tdol]

What sort of text and what language are you translating into?

[gambler]

well, does it matter?I am trying to translate english literature(dorian grey for instance)and the language I am translating into is bulgarian.

[Tdol]

It matters enormously. Firstly, a non-European language is likely to have far greater cultural differences as well as linguistic ones. Secondly, the type of text will also have a considerable impact on the way it is translated. If a text is meant to be comic, then there might well be a case for taking liberties with the text in order to give the readers a similar experience when reading. If you're translating poetry, do you, as the Penguin Classics did with the Iliad, translate it into prose, etc.
Translation is an art, not a science, IMO, so recreating the author's purpose in a literary text would come first. Taking your example, what length of text are you expected to translate and what are the marking guidelines?