Merza Phd 2020
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Bangor University DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY The adaption of Herge's The Adventures of tintin in the Arab world Merza, Ammar Award date: 2020 Awarding institution: Bangor University Link to publication General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 09. Oct. 2021 THE ADAPTATION OF HERGÉ’S THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN IN THE ARAB WORLD A THESIS SUBMITTED IN FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY BY AMMAR HASHIM SALEH MERZA SCHOOL OF LANGUAGES, LITERATURES, AND LINGUISTICS COLLEGE OF ARTS, HUMANITIES AND BUSINESS BANGOR UNIVERSITY JUNE 2020 Declaration Yr wyf drwy hyn yn datgan mai canlyniad fy ymchwil fy hun yw’r thesis hwn, ac eithrio lle nodir yn wahanol. Caiff ffynonellau eraill eu cydnabod gan droednodiadau yn rhoi cyfeiriadau eglur. Nid yw sylwedd y gwaith hwn wedi cael ei dderbyn o’r blaen ar gyfer unrhyw radd, ac nid yw’n cael ei gyflwyno ar yr un pryd mewn ymgeisiaeth am unrhyw radd oni bai ei fod, fel y cytunwyd gan y Brifysgol, am gymwysterau deuol cymeradwy. I hereby declare that this thesis is the results of my own investigations, except where otherwise stated. All other sources are acknowledged by bibliographic references. This work has not previously been accepted in substance for any degree and is not being concurrently submitted in candidature for any degree unless, as agreed by the University, for approved dual awards. ii Acknowledgements Undertaking this PhD challenge has been actually a life-changing experience for me, and it would never have been possible to do without the help and support of Great Almighty Allah. I would like to say a very big thank and sincere gratitude to my supervisor Professor Steven Price for his constant guidance, enlightening suggestions, recommendations, and his encouragement and patience during the course of this study. Without his invaluable guidance and constant feedback, this PhD would never have been possible. I greatly appreciate the support and help received form the staff at the School of Linguistics, Literature, and Languages, especially Prof Helen Wilcox, Dr Andy Webb, Dr Armelle Blin-Rolland, Dr Dyfrig Jones, and Nicola Williams. The warmest and most heartfelt gratitude goes to my mother, my brother Firas, my lovely wife Hiba and children Sedra, Obaida and Hamza for their constant patience and support throughout. Finally, I gratefully acknowledge the funding received towards my PhD from The Higher Committee for Education Development in Iraq (HCED). I would also like to thank my sponsor and his staff for their help and support. iii Abstract This thesis aims to show how Hergé’s The Adventures of Tintin have been exposed to Islamic and Arabic-speaking audiences. It compares Hergé’s The Adventures of Tintin and their Arabic counterparts in terms of structural, socio-cultural, religious, and ethnical differences. It focuses on investigating the way such elements were adapted in the process of being transferred into the Arab world. The thesis argues that many modifications to the texts of origin were essential to make them readable in the Arab world, and the thesis discusses the different methods that Arabic publishing houses or Arab editors have resorted to in order to align the albums with Arabic cultural traditions and Islamic norms. Amendments on the textual and visual levels were utilised to avoid cross-cultural differences, implicit or explicit tabooed language, sensitive subjects, negative images, and the stereotypical depiction of Arabs. The study consists of five chapters. The opening chapter provides an introduction to the thesis, background and rationale of the study, theoretical framework (including consideration of Tintin’s albums in the Arab world through aspects of adaptation theory, and Edward Said’s ‘Orientalism’), and a review of the literature that identifies the primary sources and the major secondary sources that have been influential in the current study. The aim here is to establish the significance and originality of the thesis and to determine the gap(s) that are addressed in the study. In addition, the literature review demonstrates the scheme of the study and the data that have been used and analysed. Chapter two reviews Arabic children’s literature and literary illustration. It also focuses on the condition of Arabic comic magazines in the Arab world. The chapter discusses the historical background of Hergé’s albums and his style (Ligne Claire) in penning the stories. In addition, the chapter discusses Arab publication houses’ attitudes towards the Tintin albums with particular reference to their style, editors, translators, and themes as well as how the albums were received in the Arab world. The chapter ends with a section discussing Arab editors’ attitudes towards the structural adaptation of the Tintin stories. iv The first part of chapter three deals with the cultural adaptations of the characters’ personal names in the Arab World. The second part focuses on first, the cross-cultural differences between the proverbs in Tintin’s albums and their Arabic counterparts; second, a definition of proverbs, their taxonomies, and their relationship to metaphor; and third, a discussion of ‘fixed proverbs’ and ‘proverbial phrases’ as described by Wolfgang Mieder, with selected examples from Tintin’s stories. Chapter four analyses the alterations of the visual and/or verbal tabooed references such as alcohol, language (swear words or profanities, slang, jargon, and insults), and cultural and religious references. In addition, the chapter aims to throw light on the cultural dimensions of such topics with reference to Tintin’s stories in Arabic. It analyses the euphemisms and other strategies employed by editors of the Arabic texts to mitigate and neutralise such taboos. Based on Said’s concept of ‘Orientalism’, chapter five aims to explain why some of Tintin’s stories were not available to Arab readers. In doing so, the chapter pays particular attention to Said’s concept of ‘Orientalism’, its definition, and how it assists in understanding the (mis)representation of Arabs in Tintin’s albums. In the conclusion, I summarise how different Arabic magazines took different approaches to the texts of origin, from minor changes on social, cultural, and religious levels to a complete re-drawing of several textual and visual aspects of Hergé’s Adventures of Tintin. v Table of Contents Declaration ................................................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. iii Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ...................................................................................................................... vi Abbreviations ........................................................................................................................... xii List of Illustrations ................................................................................................................. xiii 1. Chapter One: The Adventures of Tintin: A Worldwide Phenomenon ................................ 1 1.1. Background and Rationale of the Study ...................................................................... 9 1.1.1. Arab(s), Muslim(s), and Arabic/Islamic Culture ............................................... 10 1.1.1.1. Arab(s) vs Muslim(s) .................................................................................. 10 1.1.1.2. Arabic/Islamic Culture ............................................................................... 11 1.2. Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................. 14 1.2.1. Adaptation of Tintin’s oeuvre ............................................................................ 14 1.2.1.1. Why adaptation? ......................................................................................... 19 1.2.2. Aspects of Adapting Tintin’s adventures in the Arab World ............................ 20 1.2.2.1. Cultural Adaptations ................................................................................... 22 1.2.2.1.1. Changing the characters’ names and identity ...................................... 22 1.2.2.1.2. Changing proverbs ............................................................................... 23 1.2.2.1.3. Taboos .................................................................................................. 23 1.2.2.2. Structural Adaptations ................................................................................ 24 1.2.2.2.1. Changing colours and