Literary Translation - 2016

Reading guide: The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger

Remember! Titles
1. Look for information about the novel. Be sure to know:
of novels are
The author written in italics!

The text

The context of production

Criticism and analysis of the novel

What important information have you gathered? The information has to be relevant for the
translation of the novel.
We always
2. Work with idiomaticity1 read to
translate
Idioms

Idioms are linguistic expressions or lexical items representing objects, concepts or

phenomena of material life particular to a given culture. They are necessary to any
language in order to keep the “local and cultural color” of that language. In a definition
given by Larson, an idiom is “a string of words whose meaning is different from the
meaning conveyed by the individual words” (Larson, 1984, p.20). [He also] states that an
idiom “carries certain emotive connotations not expressed in the other lexical items”
(Larson, 1984, p.142). In the Longman dictionary of English idioms (Longman Group Ltd:
1979), idioms are referred to as “a fixed group of words with a special different meaning
from the meaning of the separate words”. So, it is important to consider that idioms
cannot be translated literally because their meaning won’t be predicted from the usual
meaning of their constituents.

a-Consider the way the main character’s voice is projected.

Look for use of:

 Colloquialisms: an expression not used in formal speech or writing. Colloquialism or

colloquial language is considered to be characteristic of or only appropriate for casual,
ordinary, familiar, or informal conversation rather than formal speech or writing. They are used
in daily conversation.

My lousy childhood

1
Adelnia, A. (2011). “Translation of Idioms: A Hard Task for the Translator” in Theory and Practice in Language Studies, Vol. 1, No. 7
Academy Publishing: Finland. pp. 879-883. http://bit.ly/RsCLiy
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 How my parents were occupied and all before they had me (this expression acts as a general
extender, they often indicate that the previous word is part of a set; they extend the meaning of
that word without having to specify all the members of the set, “and stuff” is another example)

If you want to know the truth (this is a mere filler, it doesn’t add anything new)

My parents would have two haemorrhages a piece (hyperbolic use of language)

If I told anything pretty personal about them (this is known as a hedge, a word that tones down
the meaning of the following word or adds a note of intentional vagueness to what someone is
saying)

They're quite touchy (hedge) Be careful with

the idiomatic
They’re touchy as hell (intensifier) use of THIS
He wrote this terrific book of short stories (indefinite this)

It killed me

They advertise in about a thousand magazines (hyperbolic)

 Sayings

Strictly for the birds

 Slang words: the use of highly informal words and expressions that are not considered as the
standard use of language. Some may be considered taboo.

Crap

My whole goddam autobiography

 (Unfamiliar) Phrasal Verbs

I don’t feel like going into it

Just before I got pretty run-down

 Allusion: a figure of speech that makes reference to a place, event, literary work, myth, or
work of art, either directly or by implication.

All that David Copperfield kind of crap

Work only with the first and last 5 chapters and provide more examples for the classification above.

b-Choose 10 words or expressions and complete the vocabulary glossary

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 Término Definición y Fuente Equivalente Definición y registro Fuente
Ejemplo registro
1. To be a Insincere, http://www.thefreedictionary.c Falso/a Dicho de una persona: Que Diccionario
phony hypocritical om/phony falsea o miente. de la RAE
“She
probably
knew what a
phony
slob he was”

3. The translation of idioms is arguably the most complex and problematic task for translators.
Gottlieb suggests that “an idiom is difficult to decode correctly for someone who only knows the
normal meanings of its constituent elements” (1997, p.260). In another statement proposed by
Beekman and Callow, idioms are defined as “the combination of at least two words which cannot be
understood literally and which function as a unit semantically” (1997, p.49).

Mona Baker has studied the translation of idioms in her book In Other Words: a coursebook on
translation (1992) and proposes the following:

A. Using an Idiom of Similar Meaning and Form

By using this strategy, the translator tries to find an idiom in the target language which is
equivalent to the source language both in terms of meaning as well as lexical items. This
strategy is hardly achieved because languages differ radically in the way they identify a single
concept. However, it is regarded as the ideal strategy for translating idioms.

B. Using an Idiom of Similar Meaning but Dissimilar Form

In this case the meaning of the target idiom is the same as that of the original idiom but the
lexical items are different.

C. Translation by Paraphrase

The translator cannot find any equivalents for the source idiom. Because of the lexical or
stylistic differences between the two languages, we will not always have correspondence. The
translator should elaborate more on the source idiom to transfer its meaning to the target
language. It is noted here that the given meaning would not be an exact equivalent or semantic
equivalent of the source idiom.

D. Translation by Omission
No equivalent can be found. The translator completely omits the idiom from the target text.

What are the following examples of?

1. To be a big deal: Ser gran cosa

2. To have nerves of steel: Tener los nervios de acero

3. To get a big bang out of doing something: pasarlo bomba haciendo algo
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4. Look for parallel texts where you can find a similar voice (to Holden’s) in a first person narrative.
Say why you have included them. Provide passages from those texts you consider share some of the
characteristics of Holden’s voice: a smart teenager from a high social class.

5. Look for previous translations of the novel.

a. Check out the chart on this site and answer:

http://bit.ly/1ntiaVo

What does the chart show? Why has there been a revised edition of the translation? How long had
that translation been circulating?

Compare the versions from the beginning up to “don’t even mention them to me”. Analyse the
changes administered to the new revised version. Establish readership and context of production.

Focus on all the work. What strategies have been used for the translation of idiomaticity?

El trabajo práctico 3 incluye varias secciones y deberá ser subido a la plataforma antes de las 23.55
del domingo 15 de mayo.

Primera parte

Completar la guía de lectura de la obra (en inglés)

Segunda parte

Visitar el blog de Jorge Fondebrider (Club de traductores literarios de Buenos Aires) y leer tres
entradas en las que se comenta la traducción de la obra de J.D. Salinger.

"En la muerte de J.D. Salinger"

"Una más y no jodemos más"

"El misterio de Elena Rius"

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Realizar un comentario no mayor a una página (en letra calibri 11, interlineado 1,5) teniendo en
cuenta lo siguiente:

¿Qué versión de Catcher apoyan los dos primeros autores? ¿Por qué? Tengan en cuenta también
quién es el administrador del blog.

¿Qué argumentos se proponen para la elección de un título sobre el otro? ¿Con cuál concuerdan
ustedes? ¿Por qué?

¿Qué plantea Maria Iruzurmendi sobre la traductora "Elena Rius"?

¿Qué nos muestran estos autores sobre el rol del traductor literario en el mundo editorial?

Tercera parte. Traducción

Encargo: realizar una retraducción de la obra The Catcher in the Rye al español "rioplatense"
(cuidando de no localizar demasiado la obra) para ser publicada por la editorial argentina "La bestia
equilátera". Traducir también el título.

1. Visitar la página de la editorial "La bestia equilátera" y justificar por qué esta editorial propondría
una retraducción de esta obra.

2. Traducir el segundo párrafo del capítulo 15.

3. Detallar en un informe las dificultades que encontraron y cómo las resolvieron.

Recuerden que deben entregar su traducción a un compañero para que haga de monitor de su
trabajo.

Subir el trabajo aquí