Latinisms in the polish translation of Alexander the Great history

Alicja Stępniewska

Abstract

Alexander the Great History was translated into Polish from a Latin incunabulum from Strasbourg of 1486 by Leonard of Bończa, about 1600. The analysis of the translation revealed 94 Latin words used by the translator in the text. They may be classified into three groups according to the way of adaptation, namely: the borrowings, the quotations and the words occurring as borrowings and quotations, as well. Each group is analyzed in the present paper. The fact that Leonard of Bończa has saved some Latinisms follows from two reasons: the lack of proper nomenclature in Polish (in the Middle Age vocabulary, the synonymy was scanty) or his difficulties in understanding of some Latin words. His hesitations and doubts reflect in many corrections and glosses. However, most of the Latinisms discussed in the present paper are a part of lexical resources of modem Polish and their strangeness is not realized; they are treated as native words.