An Englishman in Alentejo
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Alexandra Lopes
Abstract
When faced with a translated text, the reader must ask him/herself what it is s/he expects of a translation: is it a taste of the foreign or a confirmation of the self? The answer will, to some extent, determine how s/he evaluates the text s/he is reading.Writing in English about Portuguese matters and places, RobertWilson poses an interesting conundrumto Portuguese readers and translators alike: how does one read and, more to the point, how does one translate a text which is perhaps too translatable? How can a translator render the ways in which his/her culture is presented as seen through the eyes of a foreigner? This paper aims to shed some light on the phenomenon of “overtranslatability,” as presented in A Small Death in Lisbon, and its consequences for translational practices.
Abstract
When faced with a translated text, the reader must ask him/herself what it is s/he expects of a translation: is it a taste of the foreign or a confirmation of the self? The answer will, to some extent, determine how s/he evaluates the text s/he is reading.Writing in English about Portuguese matters and places, RobertWilson poses an interesting conundrumto Portuguese readers and translators alike: how does one read and, more to the point, how does one translate a text which is perhaps too translatable? How can a translator render the ways in which his/her culture is presented as seen through the eyes of a foreigner? This paper aims to shed some light on the phenomenon of “overtranslatability,” as presented in A Small Death in Lisbon, and its consequences for translational practices.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
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New perspectives on the disciplinary space of translation
- Questions in the sociology of translation 9
- Pour une socio-traduction 29
- Conciliation of disciplines and paradigms 43
- Conducting research on a “Wish-to-Understand” basis 55
- Translation as dialogue 67
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Theoretical models at work
- Literary heteroglossia in translation 85
- Defining target text reader 99
- Critical Language Study and Translation 111
- The ideological turn in translation studies 129
-
Texts and contexts in translation
- Institutionalising Buddhism 147
- Subtitling reading practices 161
- An Englishman in Alentejo 169
- Lembranças e Deslembranças 185
- Notes on contributors and editors 197
- Index 203
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
-
New perspectives on the disciplinary space of translation
- Questions in the sociology of translation 9
- Pour une socio-traduction 29
- Conciliation of disciplines and paradigms 43
- Conducting research on a “Wish-to-Understand” basis 55
- Translation as dialogue 67
-
Theoretical models at work
- Literary heteroglossia in translation 85
- Defining target text reader 99
- Critical Language Study and Translation 111
- The ideological turn in translation studies 129
-
Texts and contexts in translation
- Institutionalising Buddhism 147
- Subtitling reading practices 161
- An Englishman in Alentejo 169
- Lembranças e Deslembranças 185
- Notes on contributors and editors 197
- Index 203
