A Comparative Translation Study of Strindberg's The Red Room (1879) : Norms, Strategies and Solutions

Sammanfattning:

The purpose of this study is to compare four translations of August Strindberg’s novel Röda rummet (The Red Room). The first English translation from 1913 was made from a German translation of the novel. The two other English translations were made in 1967 and 2009. The analysis will examine the translations of geographical names in the first chapter of the novel. These proper names are instances of cultural references that constitute translation crisis points for which there may be no obvious official equivalent in the target language. Thus the translator has to select one of a number of possible solutions. These solutions can be analysed as parts of superordinate translation strategies, which are in turn governed by translation norms. If the solutions indicate that the translator’s strategy is oriented towards the target language, e.g. by substituting a reference, or by omitting it, it can be described as a domesticating strategy, which is governed by norms in the target culture. Target culture norms may exert prescriptive influence on translation of foreign texts. If the translator retains the names in the original text, it is indicative of an orientation towards the source language, and to norms in the source culture. The results of the analysis in this study show that the translations of 1967 and 2009 are to a greater extent oriented towards the source culture, as regards the transfer of cultural references in chapter one, since the names are to a greater extent kept in their original form, occasionally with small adjustments. This is an example of foreignization, a strategy which resists domesticating norms in the target culture, rather aiming at signalling the differences between languages and cultures. In contrast, domestication aims at the assimilation of foreign elements into the target language and culture, which is somewhat more indicated by the two early translations.

Keywords

Domestication, foreignization, translation norm, strategy, solution, target culture, source culture, source text, target text, retention.