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Target
Vol. 15:1 (2003) ► pp.37–58

What happened to God and the angels

An exercise in translational stylistics

| Centre for Research in Translation, Middlesex University

The paper which follows uses a set of translations by Henry William Dulcken of stories written by Hans Christian Andersen and published in Danish between 1835 and 1866 as the object of an exercise in translational stylistic analysis. Section 1 presents the author, Section 2 discusses translational stylistics, Section 3 sets the scene for the stylistic study by outlining the impact of fairytale translations on the literary polysystem in Britain in the 19th Century and the reception in Victorian Britain of Andersen’s stories, and by introducing the translator and comparing his translations briefly with other early translations. Section 4 is devoted to the stylistic study, while Section 5 suggests that translational stylistics can be an important component in comparative cultural studies.

Keywords: style, stylistics, translational stylistics, critical linguistics, Hans Christian Andersen, fairytales, Victorian Britain, Mary Howitt, Henry William Dulcken
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Stylistics and translational stylistics
  • 3.Andersen’s stories in Victorian Britain
  • 4.An exercise in translational stylistics
    • 4.1Linguistic good taste and manners
    • 4.2Mentioning, thanking and praying to God
    • 4.3In search of an explanation
    • 4.4Everything in its right place...
  • 5.Explanation once removed?
  • References
Published online: 20 November 2003
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/target.15.1.03mal
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