According to Michał Borodo (2015) Comic Translation is an “under-investigated topic” (p. 22), and even more so when we approach the topic of broken English in Comic Translation. For this reason,...Show moreAccording to Michał Borodo (2015) Comic Translation is an “under-investigated topic” (p. 22), and even more so when we approach the topic of broken English in Comic Translation. For this reason, this thesis examines whether different levels and functions of broken English can be identified within a comic, and which translation strategies and procedures should be applied in order to maintain in the target text the source text’s broken English level and function. In order to arrive to any significant conclusion regarding the level of broken English, a scale of levels has been designed based on the CEFR (Council of Europe, 2018a; 2018b) and ACTFL (ACTFL, 2018) scales. Moreover, two sub-questions have been formulated in order to gauge the function of broken English within the narrative. Also, the translation strategies and procedures coined by Newmark (1988), Vinay and Darbelnet (1995; 2008), and Venuti (2008b) have been compiled into a customised list containing the relevant strategies and procedures tied with the restrictions encountered in Comic Translation. These three models have been applied to the broken English of the Russian gangsters in Hawkeye (Fraction, 2013), Vladek in Maus (Spiegelman, 2003), and Yoda in Star Wars (Aaron, 2018). The gangsters’ broken English is characterised by its excessive use of the cultural expression “bro”, which becomes the object of the hero’s mockery. Gangsters are found to speak broken English as spoken by speakers of the lowest level of the scale of broken English. On the other hand, Vladek’s and Yoda’s broken English is characterised by their eccentric word order, which seems to be in tune with the role they play within their story. According to the scale of levels of broken English devised in this thesis, Yoda speaks according to the highest level on the scale, whereas Vladek’s level of broken English can be found in between the levels of Yoda and the Russian gangsters. Lastly, I have found that for each translation strategy, three different translation procedures occur most frequently and can be said to be characteristic of this strategy; the oblique translation strategy is characterised by the use of the procedures economy, semantic translation, and communicative translation, while usage of the procedures compensation, economy, and free translation characterise the foreignisation strategy.Show less
Making use of trauma theory and Erin H. McGlothlin's concept of the third-level narration, this thesis will discuss how Vladek's trauma and its transmission to Artie are visually and narratively...Show moreMaking use of trauma theory and Erin H. McGlothlin's concept of the third-level narration, this thesis will discuss how Vladek's trauma and its transmission to Artie are visually and narratively represented. An analysis of particularly the third level of narration in Art Spiegelman's "Maus" shows that Vladek and Artie do not succeed in fully working through their traumas.Show less
The present thesis analyzes two works: Les Hommes centre l'human from Gabriel Marcel (1951) and Maus II from Art Spiegelmann (1991). The first one is a philosophical essay, very representative of...Show moreThe present thesis analyzes two works: Les Hommes centre l'human from Gabriel Marcel (1951) and Maus II from Art Spiegelmann (1991). The first one is a philosophical essay, very representative of the post-war French existentialist thoughts. The second one is a graphic novel about the Holocaust. Gabriel Marcel's philosophy is used in order to elucidate and get a better understanding of Spiegelman's interpretation of the Nazi crimes against the Jewish people. This thesis can also be situated in the larger framework of linking visual arts and philosophical texts, which is a developing but still not common process.Show less
