He said, she said
Controlling illocutionary force in the translation of literary dialogue
Julian Bourne | University of Granada
In this article it is suggested that the translation of speech-act report verbs may provide scope for achieving stylistic and pragmatic aims. Analysis of the translation of fictional dialogues from a contemporary English novel reveals considerable diversity in the choice of Spanish verbs used to render ‘said’ in the context of impositive directive speech acts. While the choice of a speech act with similar illocutionary force to “said” may fulfil only stylistic objectives, a pragmatic dimension is introduced by the selection of a speech-act verb with a different force. In the context of impositive directive speech acts such a choice may be viewed as an aspect of “pragmastylistics”, defined in Hickey et al. (1993) as “the area where pragmatic and stylistic considerations converge.”
Keywords: translated literary dialogue, impositive directive speech acts, speech-act reports, speech-act report verbs, illocutionary force, politeness
Article outline
- Introduction
- Sample
- Findings
- i.Punctuation shifts
- ii.Changes at word level
- Discussion
- i.Stylistic effects
- ii.Pragmatic effects
- Conclusion
- Notes
-
References
Published online: 19 June 2003
https://doi.org/10.1075/target.14.2.04bou
https://doi.org/10.1075/target.14.2.04bou
References
Ballesteros Martín, Francisco José
Brown, Penelope and Stephen Levinson
Cavándoli, Margarita
Hervey, Sándor, Ian Higgins and Louise Haywood
Hickey, Leo, Rosa Lorés, Hilaria Loya Gómez and Antonio Gil de Carrasco
Hickey, Leo and Ignacio Vázquez Orta
Mason, Ian and Miranda Stewart
McArthur, Tom
Searle, John
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