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Opera in Translation: Unity and diversity
Edited by Adriana Şerban and Kelly Kar Yue Chan
[Benjamins Translation Library 153] 2020
► pp. 337–357

Multilingual libretti across linguistic borders and translation modes

| Instituto Cervantes at Harvard University, US / University of Oviedo, Spain
Following up my research on multilingualism in opera production, reception and translation, this paper goes further into the relationship between translation and linguistically heterogeneous libretti, now focusing on the texts themselves. Plurilingual operas encourage reflection on how important it is to understand the semantic content of the various languages in order to grasp the comunicative value and / or enjoy these works; the advisability of neutralising the verbal diversity – integral to their meaning – in the translation process must be questioned too. The paper also analyses the translation strategies used in subtitling and CD inserts for some multilingual libretti, which show varying functions and degrees of heteroglossia, in order to observe whether those textual features determine translation choices as much as the translation mode.
Keywords: multilingualism, opera, language-music relationship, meaning, translation strategies, translation modes, subtitling, CD-inserts
Article outline
  • 1.Multilingual operas and translation
  • 2.Theoretical issues raised by multilingual operas in translation
    • 2.1The issue of meaning
    • 2.2The issue of translation
  • 3.Textual strategies for multilingual libretti
    • 3.1Features of multilingual operas
    • 3.2Multilingualism in target opera texts
      • 3.2.1‘Type a’ multilingual operas in translation
      • 3.2.2‘Type b’ multilingual operas in translation
  • 4.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 29 October 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.153.16mat
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