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Abstract

This dissertation will address the following research question ‘To what extent should a translator prioritise emphasis on the target language when translating a thriller to maintain the development of suspense?’ The use of Newmark’s framework for a continuum between the free and literal methods of translation have been applied to a case study in the form of the translation of a section from the psychological thriller ‘Schreib oder Stirb’ by Sebastian Fitzek and Micky Beisenherz, in order to examine how great of an emphasis is required on the target language to combat the complexities that this genre generates for a translator.
The first chapter will introduce the text and themes within it. It will then provide an analysis of the secondary material, identified in an earlier literature review, to explore appropriate translation strategies to resolve those aspects specific to the genre that are expected to cause issues for the translator. A clear structured strategy will be determined and applied in the translation of approximately 6,000 words of the text. The commentary chapters of this dissertation will address the translation of both the expected and unexpected issues for the translator and highlight examples of where the earlier identified strategies were suitably utilised in translation to generate successful, considered and accurate solutions in the TL. These examples will also explore the extent to which the translator had to select strategies that place a great emphasis on the TL, or whether strategies that prioritised the SL generated more appropriate translations. The conclusion of this dissertation will start by addressing the research question and provide an argument either for or against. It will then determine the areas that of the genre that a translator should expect to find challenging and identify the areas that secondary material invites the translator to consider. It will also explore whether strategies that favour either the TL or SL are better suited to a text of this genre, and comment on the overall success of the strategy implemented in the translation of this text. Finally, justification for why it is imperative that a translator considers the TL for a text of this genre will be argued and it will conclude a more appropriate strategy that selects only those strategies that allow for a greater emphasis to be placed on the TL and ST manipulation.

Course: Translation Studies - MA/PGD - C0680

Date Deposited: 2024-02-06

URI/permalink: https://library.port.ac.uk/dissert/dis14363.html