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Article published In:
Target
Vol. 17:1 (2005) ► pp.145–158

Discourse and register functions of detached structures

A case study of the translations of two plays

| Université Laval, Canada

This article examines how “detached” elements (such as those at the beginning and end of Moi aussi, j’aime beaucoup ça, le beurre de peanut) have been handled in the translation of two Quebec plays into English. In French, detachment plays an important role in discourse, marking topic, focus, or emphasis; moreover, it is a strong marker of an informal conversational register. In English, other means are typically used to mark information structure and they do not necessarily differ in conversational and written registers. The study shows that the information structure conveyed by detachment is faithfully rendered in the translations, but the register function is undertranslated. Explanations for this undertranslation are proposed.

Keywords: information structure, topic, register, translation of drama, French language, English language, detachment
Article outline
  • Discourse functions of detached structures in spoken French
  • Information structure in English
  • Treatment of detached elements in translation
    • Translation of left-detached elements
    • Translation of right-detached elements
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 23 March 2006
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/target.17.1.08cum
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Cited by (1)

Cited by 1 other publications

Rao, Sathya
2013. L’actualité de Michel Tremblay traducteur et adaptateur : derrière le miroir de l’idéologie. Recherches sémiotiques 29:2-3 ► pp. 115 ff. DOI logo

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