Extended Translation Project: FUNtasy Literature
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Table of Contents
Intro
This was the coup de grâce, the pièce de résistance, the [other inappropriately used French phrase] of my master’s degree.
It was the pinnacle representation of all that I had learned and at the same time, it explored an idea that had been growing at the back of my mind since module 1; it encapsulated all that had irritated me about translation theory and it was a solid attempt (someone else can judge whether a success, although it was very well received by my examiners) at pulling theory into the realm of practice and beating it with a stick into submission.
Some academic peers might say what I did was create an abomination or, linguistically, commit a sin.
*gasp* What did I do, you ask?
I applied Nord’s Functionalism in Translation Theory to a work of literature! The realm this new-fangled, supposedly culturally-violent theory was never meant to touch!
In softer terms, I took the principle of functionalist translation (that translation is being done for a reason and that that affects the final product) and then I combined it with some media reception theory I just so happened to have bumped into during one of the other modules.
The idea was that translation isn’t necessarily a linear event. Think of how many times the Bible or Shakespeare has been reimagined, adapted and translated based on the different needs of the time or place. How a work is received plays a massive part in its life, its acceptance or rejection, especially with cultural media that people develop an emotional attachment to.
The main premise then of my dissertation-turned-ETP was to focus on the reception of the work and ask the question of how that affected it post-publication and then, further still, how that might affect translation.
For example, if the original fanbase of a work was to interact with the new fanbase of the translated work, what kind of conversations would they have? Would their impressions be different because of the language the work was written in? Would the world and characters feel the same? How could I, as the translator…translate those impressions? Should I even make the attempt?
Detour: Ace Attorney
Capcom’s Ace Attorney games are an incredible example of the difference between original and translated versions of a franchise, with translation decisions that were made decades ago and with different (now outdated) mindsets affecting ones today because of how the English language version of those original entries was received in the west.
Isolation
To put it simply: a work of literature does not exist in isolation, pristine and untouchable for all of time. How it is responded to is, in some ways, just as important as why it was written and published in the first place.
As a translator (rather than a writer) it is part of my job—or so I argued—to try and take that into account, especially in our ever more multicultural and interconnected world.
For example, if I were to allow for a vastly different perception to be created in one language version, it could then be detrimental to the original language version, especially when the different groups of readers mix. So within my power to do so, I should try and take that into account.
In literary translation as well, there is plenty of discussion—specifically surrounding feminism, gender studies and racial stereotyping throughout the ages—that illustrate just how much translation can impact perception of the original work, writer or culture to both the benefit and detriment of the original.
Translation, like the original work, does not exist in isolation.
Assassins and Talking Trees
Although I could have written a 15,000 word essay on this topic. Instead, I wanted to focus on practical translation and so I applied my ideas on reception-in-translation to a work of German FUNtasy (fun + fantasy, ie. comedy-fantasy) literature:
Ann-Kathrin Karschnick’s (2022) Assassin’s Wood: Bürokratie kann tödlich sein
This baller of a tale is set on a floating island where everything is made out of wood. The main characters are a bureaucrat sequestered in the bowls of an assassin’s guild, his talking bonsai tree and an angry, young woman who peddles in conspiracy theories.
It is also absolutely chock-full of wood and plant puns (which offer some thorny translation challenges…). It was a lot of fun though to work on and I am still toying with the idea of finishing the other chapters (for this project, I focussed on the two chapters that introduced the main characters).
One of the more important aspects of the work—for the sake of the ideas I was forming—was that it was crowd-funded. In fact, the book only exists because of fan-demand: Karschnick introduced a concept draft during a Twitch stream (her channel: Kuddelzwerg), and her viewers liked the characters so much—Wurzel the talking bonsai-tree in particular—that they peer-pressured her to write it.
Ah, the power of the internet.
A Nod to Theory
For my purposes, a work that had a solid online fan community from day one was ideal as it offered a higher chance of online communities mixing, thus demanding a more multicultural approach (which makes the target audience broader, which makes my job harder—I do so like making things easy for myself).
That being said, Lawrence Venuti would not be happy with me (a big name in translation studies, if you’re not familiar) as I advocate for mixing “foreignising” and “domesticating” techniques and otherwise just throwing two-dimensional, binary scales out the window.
Leaving that particular rant aside, I would also like to use this space to introduce the works which got me started down this rabbit hole—although I should say they more plucked at the threads I was already unspooling.
In order of discovery:
Angela D’Egidio’s (2015) ‘How Readers Perceive Translated Literary Works: An Analysis of Reader Perception’, Lingue Linguaggi, 14, pp. 69–82. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1285/i22390359v14p69.
Stuart Hall’s (1973) ‘Encoding and decoding in the television discourse’, in Training in the Critical Reading of Televisual Discourse. Council of Europe Colloquy, University of Leicester: Council & The Centre of Masscomunnication Research. Available at: epapers.bham.ac.uk. + several later edited versions.
Robert C. Holub’s (1984) Reception Theory: A Critical Introduction. London, UK/New York, US: Methuen (New Accents)
Conclusion
I don’t really have any more pithy comments on this one. I am beyond proud of what I wrote, partially because it is what got me my distinction.
If you want to check out the translations or just be confused by a total stranger’s go at proper academics, then both the essay and translated chapters can be found here.
There is also plenty of discussion inside about how translators tackle literary translation in general as well as comedy, profanity and fantasy from the position of different cultural perspectives, so it isn’t all convoluted theory…
Final Comments (no, really)
This concludes the section of my Portfolio dedicated to my postgraduate Translation Studies degree. If any aspiring translators find themselves here—I’ll probably write somewhere else on this as well—I can only but recommend doing an MA in Translation Studies; it was beyond valuable for my ability and attitude towards translation.
However, I will also leave you with this warning: a Masters in Translation Studies is not really what employers want. They want a topical degree (law, medicine, engineering, etc) and a couple years translation experience. My post-grad degree has made me a far, far, far better translator—not, sadly, a richer one.
Image credit: mee
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