Page "The Importance of Being Earnest" Paragraph 50

Four main strategies have been used by translators ; the first leaves all characters ' names unchanged and in their original spelling, thus the name is respected and readers reminded of the original cultural setting, but the liveliness of the pun is lost.

Eva Malagoli varied this source-oriented approach by using both the English Christian names and the adjective earnest, thus preserving the pun and the English character of the play, but possibly straining an Italian reader.

A third group of translators substituted Ernest with a name that also represents a virtue in the target language, favouring transparency for readers in translation over fidelity to the original.

For instance, in Italian, these versions variously call the play L ' importanza di essere Franco / Severo / Fedele, the given names being respectively the values of honesty, propriety, and loyalty.

French offers a closer pun: " Constant " is both a first name and the quality of steadfastness, thus the play is commonly known as De l ' importance d ' être Constant, though Jean Anouilh translated the play under the title: Il est important d ' être Aimé (" Aimé " is a name which also means " beloved ").

These translators differ in their attitude to the original English honorific titles, some change them all, or none, but most leave a mix partially as a compensation for the added loss of Englishness.

Lastly, one translation gave the name an Italianate touch by rendering it as Ernesto ; this work liberally mixed proper nouns from both languages.