Strategies in Translation: A Comparison of the Helen Lowe-Porter and David Luke Translations of Thomas Mann’s Tonio Kröger, Tristan and Der Tod in Venedig within the Context of Contemporary Translation Theory Dissertation zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades eines Doktors der Philosophie (Dr. phil.) der Philosophischen Fakultät der Universität Erfurt vorgelegt von John Richard Morton Gledhill aus Huddersfield Erfurt, 2001 urn:nbn:de:gbv:547-200300472 [http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn=nbn%3Ade%3Agbv%3A547-200300472] ii Erstes Gutachten: Prof. Dr. Fritz-Wilhelm Neumann (Universität Erfurt) Zweites Gutachten: Prof. Dr. Karlfried Knapp (Universität Erfurt) Prof. (em.) Dr. Thomas Gardner (Universität Göttingen) Datum der Promotion: 19. 6. 2003 iii To Madeleine iv Zusammenfassung Thomas Manns drei Geschichten Tonio Kröger, Tristan und Der Tod in Venedig werden mit deren Übersetzungen von Helen Lowe-Porter und David Luke verglichen. Aus dem Vergleich lässt sich feststellen, dass Lowe-Porters Übersetzungen gravierende Fehler aufzeigen, während die von Luke im Grunde genommen zuverlässig sind. Auch die Lukeschen Übersetzungen scheitern aber, wenn sie mit den poetischen, philosophischen und humoristischen Aspekten Thomas Manns Prosa konfrontiert sind. Anhand vieler Beispiele werden alternative literarische Übersetzungsstrategien diskutiert, die zu einer neuen Übersetzungstheorie führen: dem strategischen Ansatz. Auf Wittgensteins Sprachspieltheorie basierend wird der Begriff Treue (wortgetreu) neu definiert. Bei diesem Ansatz spielt die Übersetzung dasselbe Sprachspiel wie bei dem Ausgangstext. Summary Thomas Mann’s three stories Tonio Kröger, Tristan and Der Tod in Venedig are compared with the translations by Helen Lowe-Porter and David Luke respectively. From the comparison, it emerges that Lowe-Porter’s translations are deeply flawed whereas those of Luke are generally reliable. However, even Luke’s translation fails to capture the literary, philosophical and humorous aspects of Thomas Mann’s prose. Alternative literary strategies are discussed, leading to the development of a new theory of translation: the strategic approach. This redefines the traditional concept of fidelity and is based on Wittgenstein’s language game theory. In this approach, the translation plays the same language game as the source text. Schlagwörter: Literarische Übersetzungswissenschaft -Thomas Mann - Toniö Kröger – Tristan - Der Tod in Venedig - Helen Lowe-Porter - David Luke – Übersetzungsstrategien – Übersetzung von: - Dichtung – Philosophie – Humor – Dialekt – Wittgensteins Sprachspieltheorie – der strategische Ansatz Keywords: Literary translation theory -Thomas Mann - Toniö Kröger – Tristan - Der Tod in Venedig - Helen Lowe-Porter - David Luke – translation strategies – translation of poetry - philosophy – humour– dialect – Wittgenstein’s language game theory – the strategic approach v Acknowledgements I am very much indebted to the University of Erfurt for giving me the opportunity to write and present this dissertation. Even though the official process began in 1999, thanks are due initially to Professor Dr. Ulrich Boas (Erfurt) who was the first to suggest that I should write a doctoral thesis in 1994 when he was Head of the Institute of American and British Studies at the Pedagogical University of Erfurt/Mühlhausen. Professor Dr. Fritz-Wilhelm Neumann (Erfurt) kindly offered his services as supervisor despite his heavy workload. His support has not only been very encouraging but was also tinged with a very English sense of humour. In addition, he provided his doctoral students with a very stimulating colloquium supervised by Professor Dr. K. Tetzeli von Rosador (Münster). Professor Dr. Karlfried Knapp (Erfurt) unhesitatingly undertook the onerous task of marking the thesis as second examiner as well as participating in the oral examination. Professor Dr. Eberhard Klein (Erfurt) was also an oral examiner who gave his unstinting help and support throughout the preparatory period. Professor Dr. Karl Heinemeyer (Erfurt) was always very open and helpful in his capacity as Chairman of the Examinations Committee. I have benefited from the support and help from dedicated lecturers and research workers in Erfurt’s English Department. Dr. Dagmar Haumann (Erfurt) and Professor Sabine Schülting (Berlin) provided invaluable support not only with their painstaking proofreading but also with their useful criticisms and help with initial computer problems. Even though I am used to speaking German in many demanding situations, the prospect of a public doctoral defence in German did seem to be daunting. In this context, my Erfurt colleagues Ursula Renziehausen-Espelage M.A. (Latin Lector), Dr. Andreas Marshollek and PD Dr. Helmut Schwarztrauber helped both with the stylistic aspects for the final presentation in German and with the practical problems faced by a technophobe giving a power presentation. Indeed, the team spirit and animated discussions I enjoyed during the final preparation stage was one of the most positive aspects of the whole undertaking. As I wrote my dissertation whilst working full-time as a lector and part-time as a translator, a special debt of gratitude is due to my wife Madeleine to whom the dissertation is dedicated and who never complained when holiday time had to be sacrificed, but, on the contrary, who always willingly helped with the proofreading, typing and the presentation of the ideas contained in the thesis. Thanks are also due to my son Andrew Gledhill (B.A. German First Class Honours) who not only contributed to the discussion of ideas but also provided his own original poetry for purposes of illustration. He has found the approach in this thesis to be of practical value in his work as a translator. I very much hope he continues the family tradition of translation and will one day give his own contribution to the debate. Finally, I would like to express my appreciation to my teaching colleagues at Erfurt, Dr. Angelika Bonczyk and Christina Seyfarth, who in their capacity as co- ordinators took my academic work into consideration when planning the time-table. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTERS I. Introduction ………………………………………………………………….1 II. The Background to the Lowe-Porter Translations …………………...….11 (a) Introduction; (b) A Brief Outline of the Life of Helen Lowe-Porter; (c) Lowe-Porter’s Own Comments on Translation; (d) Lowe-Porter’s Literary Relationship with Thomas Mann; (e) Thomas Mann’s Own Comments on Translation; (f) The Reception of Lowe-Porter’s Translations in the Literary and Academic Worlds; (f) Conclusion. III. Gross Errors or “Recastings” ……………………………………...………27 (a) General Discussion; (b) The Quantity and Gravity of the Errors in the Context of Appendix I; (c) Detailed Analysis of the Errors Identified by Luke; (d) Detailed Analysis of the Omissions Identified by Luke; (e) A Brief Selection of Some Other Mistranslations in Der Tod in Venedig; (f) Conclusion. IV. The Problem of Translating a Literary Style with Reference to General Stylistic Features in Der Tod in Venedig (64) ……………………...……...53 (a) The Problem of Transposing a Literary Style; (b) Koch-Emmery’s (1953) Stylistic Analysis of Lowe-Porter’s Translations of Thomas Mann; (c) Mandel’s (1982) Stylistic Analysis of Lowe-Porter’s Translations of Thomas Mann; (d) Seidlin’s Detailed Stylistic Analysis of One Sentence in Thomas Mann’s Der Tod in Venedig; (e) Lowe-Porter’s and Luke’s Versions of the Sentence Analysed by Seidlin; (f) Alternative Translation Strategies; (g) Conclusion. V. Approaches to the Translation of Poetry and Poetic Prose …...…………86 (a) Introduction: the (Un)translatability of Poetry; (b) Practical Approaches to the Translation Poetry; (c) Equivalence Theoreticians; (d) A Formal Refutation of Holmes’ Mathematical Approach; (e) A Semiotic Approach; (f) Deconstruction and Implications on Post-Derridean Translation Theory; (g) A Case Study: Hölderlin’s Translation of Sophocles’ Antigone; (g) Conclusion. vii VI. The Translation of Poetry and Poetic Prose in Der Tod in Venedig ……129 (a) Introduction; (b) Poetic Elements in Thomas Mann’s Prose; (c) Detailed Analysis of the Opening Lines in Chapter IV of Der Tod in Venedig ; (d) Lowe-Porter’s and Luke’s Translations of the Opening Lines in Chapter IV of Der Tod in Venedig; (e) Three Italian Versions of the Opening Lines in Chapter IV of Der Tod in Venedig; (f) A French Translation of the Opening Lines in Chapter IV of Der Tod in Venedig; (g) Conclusion. VII. The Translation of Philosophical, Literary Prose and the Problem of Translating Dialect ………………………...……………………………...144 (a) General Discussion of the Problem of Translating Philosophy; (b) Discussion of the Problem of Translating Philosophical Literary Texts with regard to Thomas Mann's Oeuvre; (c) Detailed Analysis of a Philosophical Literary Passage in Chapter II of Der Tod in Venedig; (d) Lowe-Porter’s and Luke’s Translations of a Philosophical Literary Passage in Chapter II of Der Tod in Venedig; (e) A Source-Text-Based Version; (f) A Domesticating Version; (g) The Problem of Dialect Translation; (h) The Problem of Dialect Translation in Tonio Kröger (i) Conclusion. VIII. The Translation of Humour, Irony and Wordplay with Special Reference to Tristan …………………………………………………………………...170 (a) Theoretical Considerations with regard to the Translation of Humour and Paranomasia; (b) German Translations of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland; (c) An Analysis of the Humour with regard to Names in Tristan; (d) A Case Study: Gotter’s