Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Introduction to literary translation for young and very young


But what are the difficulties associated with translating texts aimed at children and young people?

The field of literary translation is very broad and also divides into specific subcategories: sentimental literature, essays and children's literature, etc. The latter category is a genre in itself because it meets content requirements. But it is also and above all a requirement in linguistic and stylistic terms. Indeed, the literature for young people includes distinct genres according to the age groups, allowing for better targeting of supply. An author writing books for teenagers will not necessarily be able to create stories tailored to preschoolers. Similarly, a literary translator may specialize in translating teen news or books for young children.
The characteristics of these texts are obvious and it is easy to understand why this literature has so many "specialisations": a novel adapted to the 12-14 age group must be read easily and offer a vocabulary reflecting the talk of a book for young children should offer simple or didacticlanguage, often in the form of poetry or nursery rhyme. No element of children's literature is left to chance: the names of the characters, for example, are often chosen by the author according to his characteristics. Frogs often have names containing the GR - or CR syllable, which recalls the sound they produce. In novels aimed at the greatest, the characters "bad" or nonconformist are often called Alex, who comes from a-lex,"without faith or law".

What are the translator's concerns?

careful translator must take all these peculiarities into account in order to translate them into the target language. Ditto for toponyms. Let's talk about a well-known example: Mouseton. This term is translated into Italian by Topolinia,a purely imaginary term that represents both the "city" and its inhabitants (topolini: mouse). It is not always possible to find such a direct transposition. In some cases, other strategies are required.
For example, the title The Croaky Trio would not have been evocative enough in Italian in its literal translation: "The Croaky Trio". The translator therefore introduced an onomatopoeia and opted for "The Cra cra cra cra cra trio", which allows to preserve the original assonance while differing in its form. The translation of onomatopoeias alone deserves an entire chapter. Not everyone knows that even animal calls vary according to languages. In Italian, cats do MIAO, in England they do MIEW and so on. The translator must therefore know these various"animal languages",at least these linguistic conventions. Indeed, it must not destabilize the young reader by using onomatopoeias that he does not recognize.

What is the boundary between the translator and the author?

The work required for these transpositions is so extensive that authors frequently choose to translate their own creations. Otherwise, publishing houses use other authors rather than translatorsto meet the requirements for lexical re-elaboration. This is the case, for example, ofUmberto Eco, a world-renowned writer and translator. Author of the valuable manual "Saying almost the same thing", he analyzes the types of intervention of the translator.
It can therefore be said, without falling into an excessive apology of our profession, that literary translators are partly authors. Moreover, if they specialize in children's literature, they must necessarily know the world of "under 16s". They must be both pedagogues and childish, and behave as teachers and playmates... too complicated? For some, yes, but not for everyone! Professionals who opt for this activity do so above all BY PASSION, and the results are there! contact with us for professional translation services