O'Driscoll, Kieran

English

DCU Online Research Access Service

THE NEVER-ENDING STORIES TOLD BY VERNE TRANSLATORS, 1873-2004EXTRAORDINARY VOYAGES OF THE TRANSLATORKIERAN O’DRISCOLLSALIS, DCU.kieran.odriscoll3@mail.dcu.ieI. Introduction• To study retranslations of Le Tour du Monde en Quatre-Vingts Jours (1873);• To identify the translators/study their lives• How do the translations differ (style, content)• How do we explain the different types of translation approach (multiple influences)?• EACH INDIVIDUAL TRANSLATOR HAS UNIQUELY RE-IMAGINED VERNE’S CLASSIC STORY; THE FLESH-AND-BLOOD TRANSLATOR IS EVEN MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE ORIGINAL STORY IN DETERMINING TRANSLATION FORM.II. Research Methods•Analysis of each translation focuses on certain selected chapters (random and motivated selection)•Compare sentences in original with their translations and describe the shifts•Suggest the underlying causes, using the evidence of the translator’s life story and writings, and other social contextual factors, as well as the evidence of the translation itself•Propose an overall concept of translation for each English text.III. Selected Findings•Anonymous (1879)•Grossly inaccurate: why?•Liberal norms of accuracy in U.K. at that time; low status of translation•Low status of Verne as ‘popular’ and ‘children’s’ writer, considered to appeal to readers of lower social status and less education who were regarded as not requiring ‘canonised’ literature•Incompetent translator•This translation has been incorrectly attributed to Trinity College Dublin graduate and UK clergyman, Frederick Malleson, who was actually a highly accurate Victorian translator of other Verne novels (e.g. A Journey into the Interior of the Earth, 1877) but who did NOT translate ATWEDIV. Homosexual Innuendo•Butcher (1995) argues that a sexual and often specifically gay subtext is present in novel•This has influenced some of his translation choices•‘Bisexuality certainly occurs in Verne … a homosexual streak permeated his character’(Butcher 2006)V. Conclusions•Multiple factors influence translation decisions•The individual translator is the primary influence on her translation’s form•Verne’s increased literary stature had led to more accurate translations in recent decades• Retranslation leads to gain and diversity for original.

The never-ending stories told by Verne translators, 1873-2004: extraordinary voyages of the translator

Name not available

O\u27Driscoll, Kieran

Irish Universities

http://doras.dcu.ie/15140/2/hss-revised-june-2009.pdf

The never-ending stories told by Verne translators, 1873-2004: extraordinary voyages of the translator

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

DCU Online Research Access Service

Name not available

Irish Universities