Browsing by Author "Naude, Eduan"

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    n Afrikaanse vertaling van The lord of the rings : n ondersoek na die veelsydigheid en heterogeniteit van Afrikaans
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-04) Naude, Eduan; Feinauer, A. E.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Afrikaans and Dutch.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: JRR Tolkien’s epic romance The lord of the rings (1954-5) has left a lasting impact on the literary landscape. With his magnum opus, the South African-born author elicited much criticism from various quarters – literary as well as in other fields – but after 60 years and almost as many translations in different languages, the book’s popularity still shows no sign of decline. On the one hand this bears testimony to the void that Tolkien filled – offering people in modern society an escape to a world where things are simpler and the line between good and evil is easier discernible. But the popularity of The lord of the rings extends further than the obvious narrative and is deeply rooted in Tolkien’s love of words and language, the true motivation behind the creation of his masterpiece. This love, manifest in his distinctive writing style, contributes greatly to the success of the book. This study shows that The lord of the rings can indeed be translated into Afrikaans without detracting from the source text. Through practical translation of selected excerpts from the book, the thesis examines various aspects of Tolkien’s writing style, among which archaism, poetry and the portrayal of different characters. An annotation of the different translated excerpts emphasizes translation challenges, and offer possible solutions. Translation challenges are categorized using Christiane Nord’s categorization of translation problems. A functionalist approach is followed, with replication of Tolkien’s use of language as the main function to observe, and special emphasis placed on the investigative work required of the translator to source Tolkien’s careful choice of words. Tolkien’s writing style offers many challenges to the translator but if those challenges can be overcome, it offers a vast opportunity for the further development of Afrikaans – not only for translating classical works but also for creating new works in Afrikaans with the same versatility which Tolkien utilized in English.