On the translation of Manner-of-motion in comics
What is it about?
This paper analyses a corpus that includes a selection from the Belgian comic series Les aventures de Tintin and its translation into two satellite-framed languages (English and German) and two verb-framed languages (Spanish and Catalan). The study draws on Slobin’s Thinking-for-translating hypothesis. Special attention is devoted to the role of visual language within this framework, with the ultimate aim of identifying translation techniques adapted to the issue of translating Manner-of-motion in comics, in both inter- and intratypological translation scenarios.
Why is it important?
Despite the wealth of research on the translation of motion in narrative texts, both in inter- and intratypological scenarios, the Thinking-for-translating hypothesis remains virtually unexplored for illustrated narratives. The results highlight the key role of visual language in the translation of Manner-of-motion in comics, since this can compensate for alterations in the verbal code of target texts, by comparison with originals, and thus minimize the consequences of Thinking-for-translating. Moreover, the (limited) space in the balloons and the respective stylistic conventions of comic books in each language are shown to constrain translation to some extent