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Chapter 12. Second thoughts about second versions

Self-translation and humour
  • Rainier Grutman
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Humour in Self-Translation
This chapter is in the book Humour in Self-Translation

Abstract

This rejoinder proceeds in a dialectical fashion. For the sake of argument, the first part takes the opposite view of the thesis according to which the translator’s identity must modify the parameters of translating different forms of humour (comedy, satire, irony, wordplay). Upon reflection, it appears that self-translators also face the constraints inherent in this exercise, whether broader cultural transfers need to be re-contextualized or specific aspects raise questions of a linguistic or rhetorical nature. This observation allows for a clearer appreciation of the specificity of self-translation in a second part of the demonstration, where received notions such as agency or intention are examined anew. Agency is not unlimited, nor is access unmediated, but both are part of the cocktail of self-translation, whose main originality resides elsewhere, however: in the possibility of embarking on a translation before completing the first text, that is, self-translating “simultaneously.” The demonstration is illustrated with many examples, and due notice is taken of articles in this volume that deal with self-translated texts and their (re)writers.

Abstract

This rejoinder proceeds in a dialectical fashion. For the sake of argument, the first part takes the opposite view of the thesis according to which the translator’s identity must modify the parameters of translating different forms of humour (comedy, satire, irony, wordplay). Upon reflection, it appears that self-translators also face the constraints inherent in this exercise, whether broader cultural transfers need to be re-contextualized or specific aspects raise questions of a linguistic or rhetorical nature. This observation allows for a clearer appreciation of the specificity of self-translation in a second part of the demonstration, where received notions such as agency or intention are examined anew. Agency is not unlimited, nor is access unmediated, but both are part of the cocktail of self-translation, whose main originality resides elsewhere, however: in the possibility of embarking on a translation before completing the first text, that is, self-translating “simultaneously.” The demonstration is illustrated with many examples, and due notice is taken of articles in this volume that deal with self-translated texts and their (re)writers.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Acknowledgement vii
  4. List of contributors ix
  5. Chapter 1. Humour in self-translation 1
  6. Part 1. From poetry to the screen
  7. Chapter 2. Mockery and poetic satire 15
  8. Chapter 3. Punning herself 41
  9. Chapter 4. From traduttore, traditore to traduttore, creatore 63
  10. Chapter 5. “Humourizing” the theatre of the absurd through reworking and (self-)translation 87
  11. Chapter 6. Humour, language variation and self-translation in stand-up comedy 113
  12. Chapter 7. Humour and self-interpreting in the media 141
  13. Part 2. Reflections and experimental approaches
  14. Chapter 8. iTranslate or iWrite? 179
  15. Chapter 9. Lost and found in humour self-translation 195
  16. Chapter 10. How funny am I? 215
  17. Chapter 11. Multimodal strategies of creation and self-translation of humorous discourse in image-macro memes 233
  18. Epilogue
  19. Chapter 12. Second thoughts about second versions 257
  20. Index 275
https://doi.org/10.1075/thr.11.12gru

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Acknowledgement vii
  4. List of contributors ix
  5. Chapter 1. Humour in self-translation 1
  6. Part 1. From poetry to the screen
  7. Chapter 2. Mockery and poetic satire 15
  8. Chapter 3. Punning herself 41
  9. Chapter 4. From traduttore, traditore to traduttore, creatore 63
  10. Chapter 5. “Humourizing” the theatre of the absurd through reworking and (self-)translation 87
  11. Chapter 6. Humour, language variation and self-translation in stand-up comedy 113
  12. Chapter 7. Humour and self-interpreting in the media 141
  13. Part 2. Reflections and experimental approaches
  14. Chapter 8. iTranslate or iWrite? 179
  15. Chapter 9. Lost and found in humour self-translation 195
  16. Chapter 10. How funny am I? 215
  17. Chapter 11. Multimodal strategies of creation and self-translation of humorous discourse in image-macro memes 233
  18. Epilogue
  19. Chapter 12. Second thoughts about second versions 257
  20. Index 275
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