Culturally, dialectical speech carries a heavy weight. It is
often stigmatized and used as a justification for oppression and
dehumanization. It is perhaps one of the most controversial elements within
translation work: Do you maintain dialect, exaggerate it or remove it? What is
the significance of the action for each of the above options? I think Tin Tin
in America provides a pertinent example of the challenge of translating
dialect. For the most part, I will be focusing on pages 21 and 23 in the story.
I will provide links to both of those pages with French text here:
Many of the hallmarks of
stigmatized Native American English can be found in both the French and the
English translation. For instance, phrases like “Mighty Sachem” or “Paleface-with-eyes-of-the-Moon”
are equivalently marked in their French and English counter parts. The issue comes
into play with the translation of syntax and lexicon and the effect this has on the
pragmatics of the scene. For instance, this phrase on page 21, in English, “How,
Paleface! What brings white man to hunting grounds of Blackfeet?” and in French
“ Salut, ô visage-pâle! Que viens-tu faire sur le territoire de chasse des
Pieds-Noirs?”. This translates into
grammatically correct French as “Hello O Pale-face. What are you doing on the
hunting grounds of the Blackfoot?” While the meaning remains intact, the racial
profiling of the speech, such as the added 'white man' and marked grammar, was added in the English translation. While there is
the implication of dialect in the speech of the Native Americans, the bulk of
the actual stigmatized speech patterns were created and added by the translator
in the 1970s. This is not the only example of translation creating
non-normative speech patterns, including ones that are universally marked in
English as used by unintelligent or uneducated communities.
While I understand the duty of the translator
to include the author’s intent in their translation, I would argue that this
implicates both the 1970s translation and the original content in creating the
racialized, stigmatized image of Native Americans. This seems to be related to
the discussion about censorship we had in class. I am still not ready to form
concrete opinions on the subject. While the comics were toned down in regards
to African American discrimination and racial profiling, it seems to have had
the opposite effect on the Native Americans. It adds an interesting element to
note that the racialized elements in the speech were not censored, and were, in fact,
exaggerated during the translation into English.
I found this post incredibly thought provoking. As someone who doesn't understand French, I wasn't aware of the fact that the speech patterns of the Native Americans in "Tintin in America" were not actually present in the original body of work. I thought that the issue you raised about "translation creating non-normative speech patterns, including ones that are universally marked in English as used by unintelligent or uneducated communities" also touched upon the censorship of racist illustrations and phrases that we discussed in class. On the one hand, this translation seems less problematic than the original French counterpart, but - as you pointed out in your post this week - in other aspects the translation includes racial profiling that didn't exist in the original version. I'd be curious to find out if Herge was aware of the addition of racial profiling via dialogue in the English version of his cartoon.
ReplyDeleteYes, I would also be interested to know if Herge knew and approved of the added dialect in the speech. It would make it clearer what his original intent was. It would also help to clarify the roles of the english publisher and translator.
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