Cleopatra in Translation A Multimedial Study into Translating Historical Time Periods MA Thesis Literair Vertalen (Letterkunde) Esther Ulfman 5525780 Willem Marislaan 2a 6717 HD Ede (Gelderland) British English June 2018 Supervisor: L. Vos MA Second reader: dr. O.R. Kosters Ulfman 2 Abstract This thesis revolves around the study of how translation strategies can influence the ideational macro-level. It focusses on the time period of Cleopatra VII, the elements that shaped it, and, most importantly, the translations of these elements. Using both existing theories, from i.a. Aixelá, Grit and Holmes, and original terms, it observers how micro-level elements, called time period specific elements and referral elements (TPSEs and REs) are translated and how this affects the historical accuracy and credibility, while taking medial considerations into account. The study shows that the main function of a text has an influence, yet does not dictate the strategies used, that the spatial and temporal restrictions of subtitles contribute heavily, and that the translation of historical elements will prove an inexhaustible source of study. Key terms: Cultural Specific Elements, Realia, Time Period Specific Elements, Referral Elements, Historical Translations, Cleopatra VII, Translation Strategies, Macro-level, Ideational Level. Ulfman 3 Table of contents Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... 2 Table of contents ........................................................................................................................ 3 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 4 Chapter 1 – The Macro-level...................................................................................................... 6 1.1 Terminology ..................................................................................................................... 6 1.2 Translation strategy guidelines ....................................................................................... 10 Chapter 2 – The different media............................................................................................... 17 2.1 Guidelines for picking a strategy .................................................................................... 17 2.2 – Medial considerations .................................................................................................. 19 Chapter 3 – Documentary......................................................................................................... 25 3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 25 3.2 Results ............................................................................................................................ 25 3.3 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 32 Chapter 4 – Film ....................................................................................................................... 34 4.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 34 4.2 Results ............................................................................................................................ 35 4.3 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 42 Chapter 5 – Work of Non-Fiction ............................................................................................ 44 5.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 44 5.2 Results ............................................................................................................................ 45 5.3 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 52 Chapter 6 – Novel .................................................................................................................... 54 6.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 54 6.2 Results ............................................................................................................................ 55 6.3 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 62 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 63 Works cited .............................................................................................................................. 66 Appendix A: transcription documentary .................................................................................. 70 Appendix B: transcription film .............................................................................................. 103 Ulfman 4 Introduction Every text, whether spoken or written, represents a world. It can be our modern world, or Middle Earth, or a galaxy far far away, or maybe our world from thousands of years ago. The worlds are there for our taking, and thanks to globalisation, texts are there in every language we might want them in. Whether we want to read them in our native tongue or the source language, we can. If we want to watch a movie in a language we do not speak, there are subtitles. Yet when watching these subtitles, or reading the texts in both languages, there is always a subtle, or not so subtle, change to be noticed. These changes can be minor, but they can also influence the macrostructure of the text. If a media is, for instance, concerning a historical subject, changes on a microstructural level, on which historical elements can be found, could lead to major differences in the macrostructure of the text, which represents the complete text world. Yet different media might employ different translation strategies and might have different priorities, regarding their target audience and main text goal, in their preservation of the historical macrostructural level of the text. The focal point for this thesis will be Cleopatra VII, Egypt’s last true queen. She is known as a femme fatale who used her charms to protect her country, yet she was also intelligent, a linguist and a strategist, and sailed into battle herself. What translation techniques do different media employ to translate historical elements representing her time period, and how do these strategies influence the macrostructure, i.e. the ideational world that is presented, which can be either explicitly fictional, allowing for digressions from what we know from historical sources, or (claim to be) historically accurate through the label of ‘non- fiction’? To give a complete overview, four different media will be studied: a documentary, a dramatised historical film, a literary work of non-fiction, and a historical novel. Each of these Ulfman 5 media has a different main goal, a different target audience and may have different degrees of textual constraint. How do these considerations influence their translation choices, which in turn influence the macrostructure of the text? In order to answer the main question, the first two chapters will provide a theoretical framework through which the different media can be studied. They will define terms like historical elements and macrostructure, review possible strategies for translating them, and look at the differences between the media. This framework can then be employed to analyse the four different media in the four chapters to follow. In the conclusion these different results will be compared, with the stipulation that results might differ for other texts or other time periods. Ulfman 6 Chapter 1 – The Macro-level 1.1 Terminology To answer the research question on how different translation strategies influence the macrostructural level (or: macro-level) of the text, it is important to first define these terms. What is the macrostructure of a text and what sort of microstructural elements affect it? Broadly speaking the macrostructure of a text refers to the entirety of it, both form and content. This thesis will only focus on the content part, which is closely related to what Leech & Short call the “ideational level”, which conveys “a message about ‘reality’, about the world of experience, from the speaker to the hearer” (109). In the case of media with a historical subject, the entire historical world that is portrayed forms the ideational macro-level of the text. In general, fiction portrays a world of imagination and non-fiction a world of truth, but this overlaps when there is a historical subject; after all, the reader and critic will assume some degree of historical accuracy and will usually have a certain pre-existing knowledge on the subject, allowing for less ‘fictionalisation’ than other subjects. As Lance Hewson explains, in translation “an accumulation of shifts on the microtextual level can lead to shifts on the macrotextual level” (7), meaning that changes on word or sentence level can result in a shift in the macro-level. For instance, if a negative character description is constantly translated