Thesis Comparison of selected Czech translations of Cervantes's Don Quixote Vojtěch Kolomý Abstract The aim of this thesis is to compare the last two translations of Cervantes's Don Quixote: the translation realised by Václav Černý in 1931 and the translation of Zdeněk Šmíd from 1952. Although the thesis focuses on the original versions of both translations, the later changed editions are taken into account too. The structure of the thesis is as follows: First, the thesis analyses Cervantes's original text with respect to the translation and after a short chapter about the first Czech translators of Don Quixote and their translations, it describes the translations of Černý and Šmíd and the circumstances of the genesis of both translations. Then, the core of this thesis is a detailed parallel comparison of certain passages from Don Quixote. In the final chapter, the findings are applied. Keywords: Don Quixote, Cervantes, translation criticism, Václav Černý, Zdeněk Šmíd

This book is being edited at the suggestion of colleagues who feel a great need for a Spanish reader with the the following qualifications: A good connected story from Spanish Literature Subject matter suitable for adolescents Sufficiently simple for use in Beginning Spanish This is an edited version of Part One, and consequently is simplified and cut. Many authorities prefer to wait until students get to college so that they may be introduced to the great masterpiece in its original. In as much as the average high school student does not take more than two years of Spanish, this system removes the greatest Spanish classic from the education of the masses of American people. Furthermore the study of Don Quixote offers excellent character training and basic education for the adolescent. To the student: This book is arranged to help English-speaking students of thirteen years of age or over to learn to read their second language. You must remember that unless you can make use of your English vocabulary and ability, you will learn to read Spanish at somewhat the same rate of speed with which you learned English. In other words, at the end of one year, you will know about as much as you did in English at the end of the First Grade, and at the end of ten years, you may expect to have somewhat the same ability that is usual for a Junior in High School, furthermore, you must remember that it is impossible to Iearn all the common or useful words in a foreign language, and it is not always possible to consult a dictionary at every turn when traveling around Mexico or South America.