The essential contribution of Alexandru Hallunga to the translation of Adam Smith in Romania

Abstract

The present article refers to the first and most relevant translation of Adam Smith's “The Wealth of Nations” into Romanian carried out by Professor Alexandru Hallunga (1902-1962) and first published between 1934 and 1938. After a brief introduction on the epoch-making book's editions and the use the Romanian scientists and students made of them until 1934, the article starts by mentioning Hallunga's biography and contributions to the fields of law and economics in Romania. As follows, several renowned cultural personalities' appreciations on the translation are mentioned. They all highlight the high value of the work resulting not only from Hallunga's endeavor but from his election of Smith's work edition as well. The last part of the study is concerned with a lexical analysis of Hallunga's translation focusing on the way the terms “stock” and “capital” are rendered into the target language.