Handbook of Translation Studies, Volume 1 (2010)
© 2010–2012 John Benjamins Publishing Company. Not to be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.
© 2010–2012 John Benjamins Publishing Company. Not to be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.
“Adaptation” is a term widely used in films, television, the theatre,
music, dance and other media. Indeed, the terminology in the whole area of
adaptation is extremely confusing. However, an examination of the nuances of
the myriad of terms is beyond the scope of this article, but a number of the
terms used in the area, many of which are self-explanatory, may be mentioned:
adaptation, appropriation, recontextualization, tradaptation, spinoff,
reduction, simplification, condensation, abridgement, special version,
reworking, offshoot, transformation, remediation, re-vision.
A working definition of “adaptation” comes from Julie Sanders: an
adaptation will usually contain omissions, rewritings, maybe additions, but
will still be recognized as the work of the original author (Sanders 2006: 26 passim). This is very similar to the definition of John Dryden of “paraphrase”,
which he made in his Preface to the Epistles of Ovid in 1680: “translation with
latitude (…) where the author is kept in view by the translator (but his words
are not so strictly followed as the sense; and that too is to be amplified, but
not altered” (Dryden 1956: 182). The
original point of enunciation remains.
Sanders contrasts “adaptation” with “appropriation”: the original point of
enunciation may have now changed, and, although certain characteristics of the
original may remain, the new text will be more that of the adapter or rewriter.
This is again similar to the definition of Dryden, this time that of
“imitation”: the translator (if now he has not lost that name) assumes the
liberty, not only to vary from the words and the sense, but to forsake them
both as he sees occasion; and taking only some general hints from the original,
to run division on the ground work, as he pleases” (Dryden 1956: 182). And
perhaps here we can tentatively place a possible boundary as to what may be
considered “translation”.
A number of works in the area of Translation Studies have specifically
examined adaptations. Among them are: Zatlin (2005), Lathey (2006), Milton and Torres (2003) and Upton (2000). These
works have in common the fact that they stress the inter-lingual element of
translating from one language to another. The translations with which they deal
may also be inter-semiotic, adapting works from one code to another, for
example, from “page to stage”, from a novel to a film or a play.
Among the types of adaptation we find in the field of translation is localization. For example, the translation of the site of a cheap flight company may
have to introduce information on visas and cabin baggage restrictions into sites
for certain countries.
Literature translated for children (see Children’s literature and
translation) will frequently involve the adaptation of
material which may be considered unsuitable. For example, in adaptations for
children Shakespeare’s plays will lose their strong sexual references and bawdy
language. Mores and morals may also change. Health and Safety are important
factors today in Western societies. This can be seen in certain adaptations of
the stories of Pippi Longstocking: “The French Pippi is not allowed to pick up
a horse, only a pony” (Birgit Stolt in Lathey 2006: 73); and in
the 1965 German translation the section in which Pippi finds some pistols in
the attic, fires them in the air, then offers them to her friends who also
enjoy firing them, is replaced by a moralistic Pippi putting them back in the
chest and stating “Das ist nicht für Kinder!” (Emer O’Sullivan in Lathey 2006: 98). This was
totally out of character, and in further editions this modification was
omitted.
Theatre texts will continually be adapted for performance (see Drama translation). Of course, no two performances will be exactly the same. Alterations may
be introduced by director and/or actors; actors may fluff their lines; costumes
and set may change; the relationship between actors and audience may change
from night to night (Zatlin 2005). Sirkku Aaltonen (in Milton & Torres 2003) writes on
the way in which the translator may provide an intermediate text, which may
then be adapted for each performance.
Advertising is another key area of adaptation, and the success of a product
on the way it is advertised. Good examples are the (apparently apocryphal)
story of the Vauxhall Corsa, originally a sales disaster when sold in Spain as
the Nova (no va = doesn’t go). Mitsubishi changed the name of the Pajero
(Brazil, UK and elsewhere) to the Montana in Argentina as no one would fancy
driving a Mitsubishi Wanker!
Texts may have to be adapted for those with physical disabilities. For the
hard-of-hearing the native language of the country in which they are living is
usually their second language, the local sign language being their first
language. Thus their reading of the national language may often be slow. Film
subtitles may be adapted for the hard-of-hearing, and these subtitles may also include closed captions which provide information on any
important sounds, which of course they will not hear (Franco & Araújo 2003).
The translation of songs may involve special linguistic elements.
Translators of operas into Portuguese avoid stresses of the “ugly” nasalized
sounds “-ão”, “-ãe”, etc. Thus alternative words will be found, or the lyrics
will be rephrased (Kaiser 1999).
Translations of classic works for mass markets may involve a number of
changes. A study made of the translation of classic works into Portuguese by a
Brazilian book club, the Clube do Livro (Milton 2001, 2002), showed the following
changes. Homogenization of size and weight was necessary in order to cut
printing and postage costs, and all books had to fit into a 160 page format.
The authorial style was frequently lost: poetic elements, puns, and dialects
were all discarded, and the result was a homogenous, “correct” language.
Offensive material was usually cut; this could be of a scatological, religious,
political or sexual nature, depending on the period.
What is adapted will usually depend on certain constraints, namely: the
target audience, its age, social class, and possible physical disability, as seen
above in the case of adaptations for children and the hard-of-hearing.
Commercial factors will often be very important. André Lefevere (1982/1999) writes
about the need to cut out a number of the songs in Brecht’s Mother Courage
when it was first staged in New York; if the full number of songs had been
kept, union rules required that a full orchestra be employed.
Political adaptations may also be made. Annie Brisset (1990/2000) describes the politicized translation of Michel Garneau’s Macbeth
in Quebec, in which the use of Quebec French, repetition of “Mon pauvr’pays”
and other key expressions made the Quebec audience of the 1970s think of
political situation of Québec, sandwiched between English-speaking Canada and
the US, and dominated culturally by Paris.
Maria Tymoczko (1999) describes the changes which were made to the figure of the ancient Irish
hero Cu Chuliann in a number of adaptations made at the end of the 19th and the
beginning of the 20th century, a period during which Ireland was looking
forward to possible independence. The mythical Cu Chuliann was often lazy, a
great womanizer, and full of fleas. If he were to become the patron of the
independent Ireland, he would have to be cleaned up, and out go his filth,
randiness and sloth. Indeed, the popular stories of Lady Gregory make him into
a Tennysonian knight-like figure.
Historical factors are very important. Certain periods tend to adapt more
than others. The classic example is that of the belles infidèles,
translations made into French in the 17th and 18th centuries, when material
coming into French had to adapt to the French norms of beauté, clarté
and bon goût. Roger Zuber (1968) describes
the translations of Pierrot d’Ablancourt. And translations of Shakespeare are a
case in point. Shakespeare’s works were vulgar, rough and rude, they ignored
the classic unities. Voltaire referred to them as a “rough diamond”. They would
have to be polished and improved. Voltaire did this in his La Mort de César
(1733), as had Dryden in All for Love (Antony and Cleopatra)
(1677) (Monaco 1974). But
probably the most renowned adaptor of them all was Jean-François Ducis, whose
adaptations of the tragedies, especially Othello, were popular
throughout the world. Indeed, they were being played in Brazil until the second
half of the 19th century (Rhinow 2007).
Brisset, Annie. [1990] 2000.
“The Search for a Native Language: Translation and Cultural Identity.” In The
Translation Studies Reader, Lawrence Venuti (ed.), 343–375. London:
Routledge.
Dryden, John. 1680/1956.
“Preface to The Epistles of Ovid”, in The Complete Works of John Dryden in 4
Volumes, James Kinsley (ed.), Vol. 1, 182. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Franco, Eliana & Santiago
Araújo, Vera Lucia. 2003. “Reading Television: Checking Deaf People’s Reactions
to Closed Subtitling in Fortaleza, Brazil.” In Screen translation, Yves
Gambier (ed.). Special issue of The Translator 9 (2): 249–267. Manchester: St. Jerome. TSB
Kaiser, Andrea. 1999. “Óperas no Brasil: versões em Português”. M.A.
dissertation. Faculdade de Música, Universidade de São Paulo.
Lathey, Gillian (ed.). 2006. The
Translation of Children’s Literature: a Reader. Clevedon: Multilingual
Matters. BoP TSB
Lefevere, André. 1982. “Mother
Courage’s Cucumbers: Text, System and Refraction in a Theory of Literature.” Modern
Language Studies 12 (4): 3–20; reprinted in: Lawrence Venuti (ed.). 2000. The
Translation Studies Reader. London & New York: Routledge. 233–49.
Milton, John. 2001.
“Translating Classic Fiction for Mass Markets. The Case of a Brazilian Book
Club, the Clube do Livro.” The Translator 7 (1): 43–69. TSB
Milton, John. 2002. O Clube do Livro e a Tradução. Bauru: Editora da
Universidade do Sagrado Coração (EDUSC). TSB
Milton, John & Torres, Marie-Hélène (eds). 2003. Tradução,
Retradução e Adaptação. Special issue of Cadernos de Tradução 11
(1). Florianópolis: Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. TSB
Rhinow, Daniela Ferreira Elyseu. 2007. Visões de Otelo na Cena e na
Literatura Dramática Nacional do Século XIX. Ph.D., Departmento de Línguas
Clássicas e Vernáculas, Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas,
Universidade de São Paulo. TSB
Upton, Carole-Anne (ed.).
2000. Moving Target: Theatre Translation and Cultural Relocation.
Manchester: St. Jerome. TSB
Zatlin, Phylis. 2005. Theatrical
Translation and Film Adaptation: a Practitioner’s Viewpoint. Clevedon:
Multilingual Matters.
Milton, John. 2009.
‘Translation Studies and adaptation studies’. In Translation research
projects 2, Anthony Pym & Alexander Perekrestenko (eds), 51–58.
Tarragona: Universitat Rovira i Virgili. TSB
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário