The Dynamics of Translating an English Work on Moldavia and Wallachia in the Early 19th Century

This study analyzes a translation from French into Romanian, published by an author whose identity remains uncertain. The original work, The Present State of Turkey, or A Description of the Political, Civil, and Religious Constitution, Government and Laws of the Ottoman Empire, was written by the British scholar Thomas Thornton. In the ninth and final chapter of his study, titled The Geographical, Political, and Civil State of the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia; From Observations Made during a Residence of Fifteen Years in Constantinople and the Turkish Provinces Thornton examines these regions based on his long-term stay in the Ottoman Empire. This study takes a contrastive approach, comparing the French and Romanian translations. The French translator introduces numerous additions drawn from sources that Thornton did not consult, such as Friedrich Wilhelm von Bauer’s memoirs about Moldavia and Wallachia. In the Romanian translation, the translator actively intervenes by incorporating concepts tailored to the target audience and adding personal commentary that reflects the political and social context in which the Romanian version was published.