2015-08-21
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The text for this case study is the hugely successful children's book Ham1 Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J. K. Rowling1 and its translations into Italian (Harry Potter e la pietra filosofale2) and Spanish (Harry Potter y la piedra filosofaP). Following Toury's three-phase methodology, we shall:
1 place the TTs in their TT cultural systems;
2 'map' TT segments onto the ST equivalents;
3 attempt to draw some generalizations regarding the translation strategies employed and the norms at work.
Comparing two translations of the same ST, albeit in different languages, allows findings to be checked and helps to avoid jumping to conclusions based on a single isolated study.
1 Both the Italian and Spanish TTs are presented and accepted as translations, the translators' names and the original titles being published on the copyright pages. The Italian also has the translator's name on the title page. Both TTs are direct translations from English. Even though both target cultures have strong native children's literature traditions themselves, the decision to select this book for translation is not surprising given its huge success in the UK and the USA where at one time it was the best-selling book in the country among both adults and children. The fact that the books are translations is not stressed, however. The
122 SYSTEMS THEORIES
CASE STUDY
blurb on the back cover of the Spanish TT, for example, quotes comments from reviews in the UK and Italy and emphasizes the book's relevance to 'all children of all ages'. The Italian TT also incorporates illustrations by an Italian illustrator, Serna Riglietti, cited along with the translator on the title page, where the book is described as a romanzo 'novel'. The use of this word indicates the way in which the book is marketed as adult literature in Italy. There is a strong suggestion, therefore, that the Spanish and Italian publishers are prepared to make modifications, even perhaps including a modification of the genre, in order to ensure its full acceptability, including to more sophisticated adult
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readers. 2 The TTs are full translations of the ST with no major additions, omissions or footnotes. The choice of ST-TT pairs to examine is ad hoc in Toury's model. In the case of Harry Potter, one of the most striking features of the book (and indeed of much children's literature) concerns the names of characters and elements related to the school of magic and sorcery of which Harry Potter is a pupil. The school itself has the sonorous and Anglo-Saxon sounding name of Hogivarts. Along the old British grammar school model, it is divided into houses with suggestive names such as Slytherin, Qryffindor and Ravenclaw. The names of the characters are similarly sonorous and suggestive: Hagrid, Hedwig, Snape, Draco Malfoy, Argus Filch and the headmaster Albus Dumbledore.
The two TTs deal with these names in very different ways. The Spanish TT, almost without exception, retains these names in the translation, although the first time Draco Malfoy appears, the translator adds an explanation of his name in brackets: 'Draco (dragon) Malfoy'. On the other hand, the Italian TT, although transferring some of the names such as Hogwarts, Hagrid and Hedu>ig directly into the TT, makes an attempt at translating the sense of others: Sfytherin is Serpeverde, Ravenclaw is Pec- oranera, Snape is Piton, Argus Filch is Argus Qazzd and so on. Where the sound of the name is more important and where the original would be difficult for the TT readers to pronounce (as happens with Qryffindor) the Italian translator adapts (in this case to Qrifondoro). She goes further with the headmaster's name: he becomes Albus Silente, and one of his titles, Supreme Mugwamp, is rendered by the colloquial and humorous supremo Pezzo Qrosso. Even though this is not a neologism, it is markedly different from the neutral and formal Spanish jefe supremo.
Names of crucial features of life in the school - such as the ball-game Quidditch and the term Muggles for non-magicians - are retained in Spanish, although italicized to emphasize their foreignness. In Italian, Quid-ditch is retained, but Muggles is replaced by the neologism Babbani. Some of the most playful names are those of the authors in the list of textbooks which the children receive before the start of term. Typical is 'Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling'. The Spanish does not change the author's name, while the Italian attempts to suggest the play on words
with Adalbert Incant. Even more imaginatively, the Italian TT changes the author's name in 'The Dark Forces by Quentin Trimble' to Dante Trem-ante, using the rhyme of the Italian, the sense of tremante ('trembling') and, of course, the allusion to Dante and his inferno. 3 From these findings certain generalizations can be proposed concerning the translation norms that have been in operation: the Spanish adopts an ST-oriented translation strategy, retaining the lexical items of the English original, even when this means that the TT reader will encounter pronunciation problems and/or not understand the allusion; the Italian adopts a TT-oriented translation strategy, modifying many of the names to create new humorous sound patterns, plays on words and illusions. One amusing play on words is the name of the Italian translator, given on the title page as Marina Astrologo.
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This descriptive comparison of two translations suggests that different norms are at work in the two target cultures (or at least in the translations). It also provides research questions that can be addressed in future studies: Do translations of modern children's literature into Spanish generally tend to reinforce ST lexical patterns? Does translation strategy depend on the translator, the publisher, the SL? Do translations of this literature into Italian usually demonstrate a TL orientation? If so, does this suggest that Italian culture gives central position to its own culture, forcing imports to adapt to it? How has this varied over time? Do other genres show the same trend?
