Register shifts in translations of popular fiction from English into Slovene

Major shifts in the register occur when works of popular fiction are translated into Slovene. This paper analyzes parts of seven novels of various subgenres, and finds a general shift towards an unmarked formal register and a neutral standard variety of the language. Formal or archaic texts (e.g. The Lord of the Rings) become less formal, colloquial-style texts (e.g. Bridget Jones’s Diary) become more so. Concomitantly, distinctions as to class and status, or past and present are blurred. Neutrality of style makes the texts appear less interesting or, at worst, “badly written” to the reader.