Abstracts
Abstract
Elfriede Jelinek’s stance towards translation is full of respect: her own experiences as a translator showed her that what she primarily did was “learning by doing.” Jelinek has produced about a dozen translations from English and French into German, mostly drama texts. As an author, she became famous for the innovative and provocative language with which she denounces patriarchal structures, the enduring oppression of women, and the insidious continuation of fascist ideology in Austria and other parts of Europe. Yet her model of literature bluntly opposes her model of translation. She has repeatedly said that as a translator she supports “basically the method of relatively literal translation”—a claim which can be easily proved by looking at her translations.
In my paper I will first give an overview of Jelinek’s translations (some of which are co-productions with other translators) and present her own views on translation, which will show that she is very much aware of the pitfalls of the translation activity. I will then analyze Jelinek’s notion of translation, followed by a short analysis of her translation of Christopher Marlowe’s The Jew of Malta. This will be the basis for my discussion of whether her ideas on translation, as expressed in several interviews and speeches, have been put into practice in her translation. It is, however, my assumption that Jelinek does not follow a strict set of translation strategies; rather, she engages intuitively with every new translation project.
Keywords:
- Elfriede Jelinek,
- creative turn,
- author as translator,
- translatability,
- Nobel Prize
Résumé
L’attitude d’Elfriede Jelinek à l’égard de la traduction est empreinte de respect : en effet, ses propres expériences en tant que traductrice consistaient essentiellement en un « apprentissage par la pratique ». Jelinek a produit à peu près une douzaine de traductions de l’anglais et du français vers l’allemand, surtout des textes dramatiques. En tant qu’auteur elle est devenue célèbre pour son langage novateur et provocateur grâce auquel elle dénonce les structures patriarcales, l’oppression persistante des femmes et la présence insidieuse de l’idéologie fasciste en Autriche et dans d’autres pays en Europe. Or, son modèle de littérature s’oppose carrément à son modèle de traduction. Elle a affirmé à plusieurs reprises qu’en tant que traductrice, elle soutenait essentiellement une méthode de traduction relativement littérale – ce dont atteste un examen approfondi de ses traductions.
Dans mon article, je donnerai d’abord un aperçu de ses traductions (dont certaines sont des coproductions avec d’autres traducteurs) et je présenterai ses propres vues sur la traduction qui montrent qu’elle est consciente des pièges de l’activité traductrice. Une brève analyse de sa traduction de The Jew of Malta de Christopher Marlowe me permettra de voir si ses idées sur la traduction, telles qu’elles ont été exprimées dans plusieurs interviews et discours, ont été mises en pratique dans ses traductions. Cependant, je pose l’hypothèse qu’elle ne se conforme pas à un ensemble strict de stratégies de traductions, mais qu’au contraire, elle réagit de manière intuitive face à chaque nouveau projet de traduction.
Mots-clés :
- Elfriede Jelinek,
- virage créatif,
- auteur en tant que traducteur,
- traductibilité,
- prix Nobel
Appendices
Bibliography
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