Babysitting the Reader: Translating English Narrative Fiction for Girls Into Dutch (1946-1995)
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1 BABYSITTING THE READER: TRANSLATING ENGLISH NARRATIVE FICTION FOR GIRLS INTO DUTCH (1946-1995) BY MIEKE KRISTINA THERESIA DESMET Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the University of London COMPARATIVE LITERATURE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON 2002 ProQuest Number: U643683 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest. ProQuest U643683 Published by ProQuest LLC(2016). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 ABSTRACT This dissertation examines the various forms which translation of narrative fiction for girls from English into Dutch takes in the period 1946-1995. Translations are an important part of the genre as a whole, and they grow numerically and proportionally over the period. The dissertation consists of two parts. Part 1 presents and analyses a bibliographical database of 10,000 titles of translated and original Dutch fiction for girls. The focus of the analysis is on the development of the genre, the source languages, the Flemish-Dutch relationship, the proportion of fiction series and the role of publishers. Whereas the publication of original Dutch fiction for girls is predominantly a Netherlands affair, Flemish publishers produce a disproportionately large number of translations. The dominant source language is English, with translations from German and Scandinavian languages following behind. A surprisingly high number of publishers are involved in the production of translated fiction for girls. There are, however, a few clear market leaders, especially those bringing out low status series fiction which makes up a significant proportion of the imported material. Part 2 focuses on case studies. Translations of three different types of narrative fiction for girls, divided on the basis of status, are considered in successive chapters: formula series fiction, girls’ classics and award winning books. The thesis claims that different translation strategies operate at text level and can be seen to support educational goals which are different for text types with perceived differential status. The analysis is focused on foreign elements which might cause problems of understanding for the intended audience. The discussion of translations of low status formula fiction series reveals various attitudes to the source culture setting, while also indicating a more general streamlining of the formulaic narrative. The comparison of the classic Little Women with several translations shows that translations share a strongly adaptive stance toward the source text and the use of highly invasive procedures. A final chapter, on the translations of texts which have been critically acclaimed in the source culture, finds a more source text oriented approach than is the case with classics and series. The thesis concludes that different pedagogical views current in adult perspectives on children’s literature affect the various forms translation of children’s literature takes, while the low status of the field as a whole and the differential status of individual texts and sub genres all play a role as well. This study thus contributes to the understanding of an under researched area both within translation studies and within children’s literature studies by showing how status, educational-pedagogic and commercial concerns shape the translation of narrative fiction for girls from English into Dutch. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my supervisor, Prof. Theo Hermans, for his constructive criticism, thoughtful comments and patient guidance of this research project. Further thanks are due to the University College Graduate School for a grant which allowed me to purchase a number of books for the case study chapters. I also wish to thank the members of the children’s literature studies community at Roehampton, especially Kim Reynolds, Gillian Lathey and Emer O ’Sullivan, for the many discussions which helped shape my ideas and my work. I am especially grateful to my parents, Johan Desmet and Emilienne Vansteenkiste, for their unwavering support and belief in me. I also thank Caroline Bossu, Michele C. Thompson, Licia Scott Kawai, Katheryn Ronnau-Bradbeer and Dan Bauer for their friendship. This dissertation is especially dedicated to my husband, Simon Chih-Feng Shu, for his confidence in me, his continuing support and encouragement during this research project, and his unconditional love. TABLE OF CONTENTS Title page 1 Abstract 2 Acknowledgements 4 Table of contents 5 List of tables and graphs 9 Introduction 12 Chapter 1. Contexts and approaches 20 1.1. What is children’s literature? 20 1.2. Adult literature versus children’s literature: different not lesser 26 1.2.1. Children’s literature and adult literature: differences and similarities 27 1.2.2. Position of children’s literature in the literary field 38 1.3. RelationshipiDutch and Flemish children’s literature 48 1.4. Development of children’s literature in the Netherlands and Flanders 58 1.4.1. Short history of Dutch children’s literature 59 1.4.2. Short history of Flemish children’s literature 63 1.5. Narrative fiction for girls and its position within the broader field of children’s literature 66 1.6. Translation issues related to children’s literature 72 1.7. Conclusions 81 Chapter 2. Patterns in the production of Dutch and translated fiction for girls 83 2.1. The bibliographical data 83 2.1.1. Sources 83 2.1.2. Data parameters 87 2.2. Analysis of patterns in the bibliographical data 89 2.2.1. Development of genre and original Dutch versus translated work 89 2.2.2. Relationship Dutch-Flemish 103 2.2.3. Trends in source languages 111 2.2.4. Relationship between fiction series and single titles 120 2.2.5. Publishers’ profiles 123 2.3. Conclusions 131 Chapter 3. Case study: formula fiction series 133 3.1. Formula fiction series 133 3.1.1. Defining formula fiction series 133 3.1.2. Fiction series: corpus selection 136 3.2. Translating popular series: hypothesis and methodology 139 7 3.3. Case study: Flemish publisher Deltas 142 3.3.1. Case study: The Baby-Sitters Club. 1. Kristy Great Idea 143 3.3.2. Translating trends in other Deltas fiction series 153 3.4. Case study: Dutch publisher Kluitman 160 3.4.1. Case study: Sweet Valley High. 3. Playing With Fire 161 3.4.2. Translating trends in other Kluitman fiction series 167 3.5. Conclusions 175 Chapter 4. Case study: classic girl fiction 177 4.1. Children’s literature classics 177 4.1.1. What are children’s literature classics? 177 4.1.2. Girls’ classics: corpus selection 181 4.2. Translating girls’ classics: hypothesis and methodology 184 4.3. Case study: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott 186 4.3.1. Case study: Onder moeders vleugels (transi. Gerda van Cleemput) (TTl) 191 4.3.2. Case study: Onder moeders vleugels (transi. Francine Schregel-Onstein) (TT2) 201 4.3.3. Case study: De vier dochters van Dr March (transi. Attie Spitzer) (TT3) 209 4.4. Conclusions 218 Chapter 5. Case study: award winning books 220 5.1. Award winning books 220 5.1.1. Whose awards? 220 5.1.2. Award winners: corpus selection 221 5.2. Translating award winners: hypothesis and methodology 224 5.3. Case studies 227 5.3.1. Case study: Jan Hudson’sSweetgrass (transi. Sybelle Bock) 227 5.3.2. Case study: Patricia MacLachlan’s Sarah, Plain and Tall (transi. Louis Thijssen) 239 5.3.3. Case study: Sandra Chick’s Push Me, Pull Me (transi. Afke Plekker) 248 5.4. Conclusions 259 Final conclusions 261 Bibliography and references 269 Appendix 298 LIST OF TABLES AND GRAPHS Table 1-1. Narrative fiction for girls: Total production. Translations vs originals 91 Table 1-2. Narrative fiction for girls: Total production. Distribution over time 92 Graph 1-1. Narrative fiction for girls: Total production. Distribution over time 95 Table 1-3. Narrative fiction for girls: Total production. Translations vs originals 96 Table 1-4. Narrative fiction for girls: Total production. First edition vs reprints 97 Table 1-5. Narrative fiction for girls: Translations. First editions vs reprints 98 Table 1-6. Narrative fiction for girls: Originals. First editions vs reprints 99 Table 1-7. Narrative fiction for girls: First editions. Translations vs originals 101 Table 1-8. Narrative fiction for girls: First editions 102 Graph 1-2. Narrative fiction for girls: First editions. Distribution over time 102 Table 2-1. Narrative fiction for girls: Total first editions. Flemish vs Dutch 104 Table 2-2. Narrative fiction for girls: Total first editions. Flemish vs Dutch 105 Table 2-3. Narrative fiction for girls: First edition translations. Flemish vs Dutch 106 Graph 2-1. Narrative fiction for girls: First editions translations. Flemish vs Dutch 106 Table 2-4. Narrative fiction for girls: First edition originals. Flemish vs Dutch 107 10 Graph 2-2. Narrative fiction for girls: First edition originals. Flemish vs Dutch 107 Table 2-5. Narrative fiction for girls: Flemish work. Translations vs originals 109 Graph 2-3. Narrative fiction for girls: Flemish work. Translations vs originals 109 Table 2-6. Narrative fiction for girls: Dutch work. Translations vs originals 110 Graph 2-4. Narrative fiction for girls: Dutch work. Translations vs originals 110 Table 3-1. Narrative fiction for girls: Source languages translated from 113 Table 3-2. Narrative fiction for girls: Source languages translated from 117 Graph 3-1.