Self-translation

Chiara Montini
Paris, France and Bologna, Italy
Table of contents

Popovič’s gives a basic definition of self-translation as “the translation of an original work into another language by the author himself” ([1976]: 19). Popovič also argues that self-translation “cannot be regarded as a variant of the original text but as a true translation” ([1976]: 19). Most studies of the last decades on self-translations are not so positive in defining this practice. Koller distinguishes between what he defines “autotranslation” and “true” translation because of the difference in the issue of faithfulness, “as the author-translator will feel justified in introducing changes into the text where an “ordinary” translator might hesitate to do so”(1979/1992: 197). Of course, it is hard to apply faithfulness to translation, and today this concept is becoming obsolete and can’t be applied to self-translation either. What Koller suggests is that the difference between translation and self-translation is a matter of authority. Goldoni, the playwriter (1707–1793) who wrote both in Italian and French, practicing self-translation, confirms that: “I nevertheless had an advantage in this regard over others: a mere translator would not have dared, even in the face of difficulty, to sidestep the literal sense; but I, as the author of my own work, was able to change words, the better to conform to the taste and customs of my nation” (Goldoni, 2003: 257). Drawing on the difference in authorship between translation and self-translation, Jung emphasises an important advantage of self-translators in respect to the “original” text: “The main difference between ordinary translators and self-translators […] is the fact that self-translators can access their original intention and the original cultural context or literary intertext of their original work better than ordinary translators” (Jung 2002: 30).

Full-text access is restricted to subscribers. Log in to obtain additional credentials. For subscription information see Subscription & Price.

References

Fitch, Brian T
1988Beckett & Babel. An Investigation into the Status of the Bilingual Work. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.Google Scholar
Goldoni, Carlo
2003Mémoires. Paris: Mercure de France.Google Scholar
Grutman, Rainier
1997Des langues qui résonnnent. L’hétérolinguisme au XIXè s. québécois. Montréal: Fides.Google Scholar
Hokenson, Jan Walsh & Munson, Marcela
2007The Bilingual Text. History and Theory of Literary Self-Translation. Manchester: St. Jerome Publishing.  TSBGoogle Scholar
Jacobs, J.U
2002“Translating the Heart of Darkness: cross-cultural discourse in the contemporary Congo Book.” In Translation, diversity and power, Ileana Dimitriu (ed.). Special issue of Current Writing 14 (2): 104–117. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jung, Verena
2002English-German self-translation of academic texts and its relevance for translation theory and practice. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.  TSBGoogle Scholar
Koller, Werner
1979Einführung in die Übersetzungswissenschaft. Uni-Taschenbücher 819. Heidelberg: Quelle & Meyer.  BoPGoogle Scholar
Osimo, Bruno
1999“Nabokov’s selftranslations: interpretation problems and solutions in Lolita’s Russian version.” Sign System Studies 27: 215–233.  TSB DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Oustinoff, Michaël
2001Bilinguisme d’écriture et auto-traduction: Julien Green, Samuel Beckett, Vladimir Nabokov. Paris: L’Harmattan.  TSBGoogle Scholar
Popovič, Anton
1976A Dictionary for the Analysis of Literary Translation. University of Alberta: Edmonton.Google Scholar
Tanqueiro Helena
2000“Self-Translation as an extreme Case of the author-Translator-Dialectic.” In Investigating Translation, Allison Beeby, Doris Ensinger & Marisa Presas (eds), 55–63. Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logo  TSBGoogle Scholar