Structuralism in translation theories in Poland: some remarks on the “Poznań school”

Since the late sixties of the twentieth century much research has been carried out in the field of translation studies by structuralist literary theorists and historians in Poland. In particular a group of scholars of the Institute of Polish Philology from the University of Poznań such as Jerzy Ziomek, Edward Balcerzan, Stanisław Barańczak, Anna Legeżyńska, Ewa Kraskowska (the “Poznań School”) produced a kind of theoretical and descriptive research work which was characterized by an analytical approach definable as “source” and “target” oriented, micro- and macrostructural at the same time. Although the results emerged were often of considerable interest (and ahead of comparable studies carried out in the West at the same time), little is known about Poznań School in the West. Although the structuralist theoretical paradigm today is considered to be in crisis in the whole of the Western world, these studies do not appear to be incompatible with a number of current problems in the theoretical discussions on translation.