Andrew Read
Translating Fictional Speech between Languages and between Media: The Case of Philip Pullman's 'The Golden Compass'
Effective dialogue, and within it, clear variation between the speech of characters, play an important role in English-language fiction. Furthermore, the translation of fictional speech and especially of non-standard voices has been the subject of much scholarly interest. There has, however, been only limited research into cases where fictional speech is subject to both interlingual translation and intralingual adaptation (e.g. from the novel to the stage). This study therefore examines the translation and adaptation of dialogue within Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass (1995; also published as Northern Lights). This novel, successful with both children and adults, has been converted into many different formats, including several foreign-language editions and multiple adaptations into other media. These include a radio dramatisation, a stage play and a Hollywood film. The Golden Compass therefore provides an unusual opportunity to analyse how fictional speech is treated not only by foreign language translators, but also by dramatists adapting a work in its original language.
The thesis first details the features and functions of speech in English-language fiction, particularly where dialect and other non-standard varieties are involved. This overview demonstrates that markers of spokenness and spoken-style variation can play a wide range of roles in a fictional text. Also included is a review of work by translation and adaptation scholars on the handling of fictional speech and variation. The subsequent case study section begins by describing the main features and functions of the dialogues and non-standard speech varieties present within the Pullman source text (ST). It then isolates a number of passages that exemplify the main features identified. These representative passages illustrate the ways in which spoken-style features and variation (both character-dependent and situation-dependent) create the impression of vivid and authentic dialogue, and also support characterisation, plot, and even the ideological themes of the novel. Each of the representative passages in the ST is then compared firstly with the equivalent passages in the published German and French translations. An important aim here is to identify the translators' strategies and any notable similarities or shifts between the ST and target texts (TTs). A similar comparative process is then applied to the same voices (but not necessarily exactly the same passages, for technical reasons) as they appear firstly in the National Theatre stage adaptation and secondly in the BBC radio version.
Initial findings suggest that the foreign language translators tend to handle spoken style and variation within Pullman's dialogues somewhat inconsistently. In particular, evidence of non-standard speech often disappears from the TTs in contexts where, in the ST, it co-existed with potentially 'incompatible' features (from the target system's perspective). Such features would include a character's hero status or the presence of an oratorical style. However, in the two English-language versions the adaptors appear much more ready to reflect the contextual functions of the ST's spoken-style and non-standard features. The study provides some evidence to suggest that - despite the paragraph-by-paragraph equivalence displayed in most interlingual translations - the relative freedom enjoyed by dramatists in adapting a fictional text can actually enable a more complete reflection of a work's ideas, themes and internal relationships.