Linguistic Creativity in (Re )translation: A Corpus-Based Study of Thomas Mann’s Der Tod in Venedig and Its English Versions Marlies Gabriele Prinzl University College London Translation Studies I, Marlies Gabriele Prinzl, confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. Signature: ___________________________________ 1 Acknowledgements This thesis is dedicated to Hannah Tyson, aka “everyone’s favourite English teacher”, for a debt long due. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisors, Prof. Theo Hermans and Dr. Daniel Abondolo, for their unconditional support and countless words of advice, whether encouraging or critical, thought-inspiring or wise, over the too-many-years of this project. A special Thank You also to everyone that took me in – some for a day, some for weeks or months – during the unexpectedly homeless last half year of the thesis, including (in London) Amanda & George, Georgia & Gerald and Tom Ue; (in Reading) Dorota & Atish; (in Edinburgh) Iñigo; (in Kuala Lumpur, Vienna and Graz) my parents & sister and (in London again) Regina. And of course, my lovely Inês, Eleni and Tere for the emotional support (and more) always. 2 Abstract The concept of creativity is something that is valued highly in literary writing. It is, however, a hazy term that defies easy definition as it can be realised in different ways such as the manipulation of plot, structure, language or even the physicality of the text itself. The type of creativity that this thesis is interested in is creativity in the use of language. It forms one of three cornerstones of this research project as linguistic creativity is explored, first, in a single original text – Thomas Mann’s 1912 novella Der Tod in Venedig – and, then, in translation, or rather, multifold retranslation, through all of its eleven English versions. Retranslation is thus the second cornerstone. The third is the methodology: the project utilises a computer- assisted approach relying on a combined manual and corpus-based method in terms of the view of the language it applies via John Sinclair’s open choice principle and idiom principle, the digital texts it analyses and the corpus resources it uses. The thesis engages with the concept of linguistic creativity by investigating three rhetorical devices that can be used innovatively: neologisms, similes and metaphors. It demonstrates how these devices and their creativity operate on distinct levels and argues that while neologisms, whose inherent creativity is realised at word level, are predominantly eliminated in translation, novel similes and metaphors, at phrase and text level, are significantly more likely to be preserved. It also proposes that some types of linguistic creativity can arise that involve conventional language and explores the new and still tentative idea of countertranslation as a form of retranslational creativity. 3 Table of Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................... 2 Abstract .................................................................................................................................. 3 Table of Contents .................................................................................................................. 4 Table of Tables ...................................................................................................................... 8 Table of Figures................................................................................................................... 10 Tables of Examples ............................................................................................................. 10 List of Abbreviations .......................................................................................................... 11 Notes ..................................................................................................................................... 12 Data retrieval dates ........................................................................................................... 12 Referencing ....................................................................................................................... 12 Marking system ................................................................................................................ 12 Chapter 1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 13 1.1 The concept of linguistic creativity ......................................................................... 14 1.1.1 Introducing linguistic creativity ....................................................................... 14 1.1.2 Corpus linguistics: From methodology to view of language ........................... 16 1.1.3 Determining linguistic creativity: Intuition and Sinclair’s principles.............. 22 1.1.4 Units of analysis .............................................................................................. 28 1.2 Motivations for a corpus-based study on linguistic creativity ................................ 30 1.2.1 Interdisciplinarity: The gap between literary studies and corpus linguistics ... 30 1.2.2 Reasons behind the choice of ST ..................................................................... 32 1.3 Argument ................................................................................................................ 36 1.4 Statement of aims .................................................................................................... 36 1.5 Overview of chapters .............................................................................................. 37 Chapter 2 Der Tod in Venedig and Its Kometenschweif ............................................... 42 2.1 Thomas Mann’s Der Tod in Venedig: Origins and text status ................................ 42 2.2 Retranslation ........................................................................................................... 45 2.3 The English translations of Der Tod in Venedig ..................................................... 46 2.3.1 First translations: Kenneth Burke and Helen Tracy Lowe-Porter ................... 46 2.3.2 The retranslation surge: Challenging Lowe-Porter .......................................... 48 2.3.3 Observations on all English translations .......................................................... 51 2.4 Death in Venice retranslations in literature ............................................................. 55 4 2.5 The Der Tod in Venedig retranslation corpora (TIVC) ........................................... 60 2.5.1 Issues in corpus creation .................................................................................. 61 2.5.2 WordSmith Tools Corpus (WST-TIVC) .......................................................... 65 2.5.3 Aligned MS Word Corpus (A-TIVC) .............................................................. 65 2.5.4 Statistical data .................................................................................................. 69 2.6 Chapter summary ..................................................................................................... 80 Chapter 3 Neologisms in Der Tod in Venedig ................................................................ 81 3.1 Introduction to neologisms ...................................................................................... 81 3.1.1 Definition ......................................................................................................... 81 3.1.2 Word formation: Creating neologisms ............................................................. 82 3.1.3 Determining neologisms: Productivity, origin and level of innovation ........... 86 3.1.4 Corpora, neologisms and translation ................................................................ 89 3.2 Methodology ............................................................................................................ 91 3.2.1 Intuitive judgement (L1) .................................................................................. 91 3.2.2 First corpus-based cross-check (L2) ................................................................ 91 3.2.3 Second corpus-based cross-check (L3) .......................................................... 123 3.3 Data analysis .......................................................................................................... 124 3.3.1 ST neologisms: Classifications ...................................................................... 124 3.3.2 Creativity in the translation of neologisms .................................................... 132 3.3.3 Normalisation in translation ........................................................................... 136 3.3.4 Translator-specific tendencies ........................................................................ 143 3.4 Concluding remarks on neologisms....................................................................... 147 Chapter 4 Similes in Der Tod in Venedig ..................................................................... 150 4.1 Introduction to similes ........................................................................................... 150 4.1.1 Simile definition ............................................................................................. 151 4.1.2 Identifying similes