Die vertaling van eiename by Deon Meyer : 'n ondersoek na konsekwentheid
Date
2018
Authors
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Publisher
LitNet
Abstract
Deon Meyer is ’n bekende en bekroonde Suid-Afrikaanse speurverhaalskrywer. Sy boeke is intrinsiek Afrikaans en beeld die Suid-Afrikaanse werklikheid uit. ’n Belangrike aspek van sy boeke is die eiename wat as kulturele merkers optree en die Suid-Afrikaanse kultuur in die Afrikaanse boeke uitbeeld. Dit is derhalwe belangrik om vas te stel of hierdie eiename die kultuur in die doelteks deur middel van vertaling konsekwent oordra of nie. Die artikel is dus gemoeid daarmee om eiename wat in Feniks (1996), Infanta (2004) en 7 Dae (2011) voorkom en die Suid-Afrikaanse kultuur uitbeeld te ondersoek en vas te stel of dié uitbeelding na die Engelse vertalings van die boeke oorgedra word. Dit word gedoen deur ’n teoretiese raamwerk daar te stel met behulp van Venuti (1995) se vertaalstrategieë vervreemding en domestikering, en Nord (1997) se funksionalistiese benadering. Die boeke is per hand deurgewerk om vas te stel hoe die eiename in die brontekste en in die ooreenstemmende doeltekste lyk. Eiename sluit byname, plekname, dorpsname, name van stede, persoonsname en streekname in. Die teorie word toegepas om vas te stel of die eiename konsekwent in die doelteks oorgedra word of nie, met behulp van Venuti se strategieë vervreemding en domestikering. Nord se funksionalistiese benadering word gebruik om op die teksfunksie eerder as op die vertaler self te fokus, omdat die uiteindelike vertaalproduk, eerder as die vertaalproses, die fokuspunt in hierdie ondersoek vorm. Met behulp van die funksie van die teks en Venuti se vertaalstrategieë word vasgestel hoe konsekwent die Suid-Afrikaanse kultuur met behulp van die eiename in die doelteks uitgebeeld word. Die gevolgtrekking is dat die eiename soms vervreemdend en soms domestikerend vertaal word, terwyl daar in ander gevalle blyke van beide strategieë is, asook van besluite wat oënskynlik lukraak geneem is. Dit kan tot gevolg hê dat die Suid-Afrikaanse kulturele inhoud, ’n sentrale element by Meyer se eiename, inkonsekwent in die doelteks se vertaalde eiename uitgebeeld word, wat nadelig op geloofwaardigheid kan inwerk.
Deon Meyer is a well-known and award-winning writer of South African detective stories. His books are written in Afrikaans and depict South African reality. An important aspect of his books is that names (proper nouns) act as cultural markers and portray the South African culture in the Afrikaans books. It is therefore important to determine whether or not these names consistently transfer the culture to the target text through translation. This article is thus concerned with investigating the names which appear in Feniks (1996), Infanta (2004) and 7 Dae (2011) and whether the South African culture they depict is effectively and realistically transferred to the English translations of the books. This is done by using a theoretical framework with the help of the translation strategy foreignisation and domestication by Venuti (1995) as well as the functionalist approach of Nord (1997). Afrikaans names in the books were compared manually with their corresponding English translations. All names are considered, including nicknames, names of places, names of cities, names of people and names of regions. Venuti’s strategy of foreignisation and domestication is used as a tool for determining whether the transfer of names into English is handled in a consistent fashion. Nord’s functionalistic approach is used to focus on the text function rather than the translator, since the focus of this research is the translation process rather than the translators or the eventual translation products. Keeping in mind the function of the text and Venuti’s translation strategies, success in the transfer of elements of South African culture by means of translated names is investigated. The conclusion is that names are translated using domestication as a translation technique in some cases and foreignisation in others, while there are also cases where both techniques are used, or where techniques seem to be used at random. This could result in an inconsistent depiction of South African cultural content, which is a central element to Meyer’s names, and could have an adverse effect on credibility.
Deon Meyer is a well-known and award-winning writer of South African detective stories. His books are written in Afrikaans and depict South African reality. An important aspect of his books is that names (proper nouns) act as cultural markers and portray the South African culture in the Afrikaans books. It is therefore important to determine whether or not these names consistently transfer the culture to the target text through translation. This article is thus concerned with investigating the names which appear in Feniks (1996), Infanta (2004) and 7 Dae (2011) and whether the South African culture they depict is effectively and realistically transferred to the English translations of the books. This is done by using a theoretical framework with the help of the translation strategy foreignisation and domestication by Venuti (1995) as well as the functionalist approach of Nord (1997). Afrikaans names in the books were compared manually with their corresponding English translations. All names are considered, including nicknames, names of places, names of cities, names of people and names of regions. Venuti’s strategy of foreignisation and domestication is used as a tool for determining whether the transfer of names into English is handled in a consistent fashion. Nord’s functionalistic approach is used to focus on the text function rather than the translator, since the focus of this research is the translation process rather than the translators or the eventual translation products. Keeping in mind the function of the text and Venuti’s translation strategies, success in the transfer of elements of South African culture by means of translated names is investigated. The conclusion is that names are translated using domestication as a translation technique in some cases and foreignisation in others, while there are also cases where both techniques are used, or where techniques seem to be used at random. This could result in an inconsistent depiction of South African cultural content, which is a central element to Meyer’s names, and could have an adverse effect on credibility.
Description
CITATION: Swart, M. & Kleyn, R. 2018. Die vertaling van eiename by Deon Meyer : 'n ondersoek na konsekwentheid. LitNet Akademies, 15(3):654-673.
The original publication is available at https://www.litnet.co.za
The original publication is available at https://www.litnet.co.za
Keywords
Meyer, Deon -- Criticism and interpretation, Meyer, Deon -- Feniks, Meyer, Deon -- Infanta, Meyer, Deon -- 7 Dae, Literature -- Translations -- History and criticism, Proper nouns as cultural markers
Citation
Swart, M. & Kleyn, R. 2018. Die vertaling van eiename by Deon Meyer : 'n ondersoek na konsekwentheid. LitNet Akademies, 15(3):654-673.