The Interlingual Translation of Trauma Theory: The Effects of Stylistic Translation Choices in the Dutch Translation of &quot;Extremely Loud &amp; Incredibly Close&quot;

Trauma resists integration into the memory and is therefore difficult to communicate. In trauma literature, authors represent this difficulty to communicate trauma with the help of several stylistic devices, such as run-on sentences, unclear references, and deviant punctuation. These stylistic devices allow the readers to experience the trauma as if it was happening to them. Since the communication of trauma is already problematic in itself, the interlingual translation of trauma literature is even more challenging. Translation universals suggest that deviant stylistic choices in the source text (ST), i.e. the stylistic devices used to portray trauma in trauma literature, are often normalized in the target text (TT). In this thesis, I examined how interlingual translation affects trauma narratives and whether the stylistic choices associated with trauma are retained in translation. I answered these questions with the help of a case study on "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close." In...Show moreTrauma resists integration into the memory and is therefore difficult to communicate. In trauma literature, authors represent this difficulty to communicate trauma with the help of several stylistic devices, such as run-on sentences, unclear references, and deviant punctuation. These stylistic devices allow the readers to experience the trauma as if it was happening to them. Since the communication of trauma is already problematic in itself, the interlingual translation of trauma literature is even more challenging. Translation universals suggest that deviant stylistic choices in the source text (ST), i.e. the stylistic devices used to portray trauma in trauma literature, are often normalized in the target text (TT). In this thesis, I examined how interlingual translation affects trauma narratives and whether the stylistic choices associated with trauma are retained in translation. I answered these questions with the help of a case study on "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close." In order to examine the different stylistic devices used to portray trauma, and in order to find out what happens to them in translation, I conducted a comparative reading of the chapter “WHY I'M NOT WHERE YOU ARE 9/11/03” and its translation “WAAROM IK NIET BEN WAAR JIJ BENT 11-9-03.” I categorized my findings with the help of translation universals, during which I found evidence of a missing universal. Furthermore, I found that the translation choice with the biggest consequences is the splitting up of run-on sentences. By taking a closer look at some of the longest run-on sentences in the chapter and perhaps even the book, namely the run-on sentences consisting of more than a hundred words, I discovered that more than half of these sentences were split up. As a result, the intended effect of the run-on sentences on the reader is also not transferred, and therefore elements of trauma are lost in translation.Show less

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The Interlingual Translation of Trauma Theory: The Effects of Stylistic Translation Choices in the Dutch Translation of "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"