Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories translated into Portuguese: contexts and text

De Brito, Ana Cassilda Saldanha (1999) Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories translated into Portuguese: contexts and text. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is twofold: to present a translation into Portuguese of
Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling informed by a consideration of textual,
contextual and extratextual parameters; and to treat some key issues In
Translation Theory and practice which have arisen out of the process of
translating the text.
The thesis is divided into two parts: Part One, the Introduction; and Part
Two, the Translation.
In Chapter One of Part One, the evolution of the reception of Kipling's
oeuvre is summarised. His work became controversial, with a discrepancy
between critical reservation and public acclaim. Against this background, the
writings intended primarily for children form an exception. Critical response to
this category, although restricted, has generally supported the favourable view
of the public. Among the works most highly praised has been Just So Stories.
This favourable, although scarce, attention suggests that a detailed critical
examination of the text is essential to a full understanding of Kipling's work.
Consequently, Just So Stories is considered in terms of its origins, critical
reception, style, literary affiliations and possible sources. General points are
illustrated by case studies drawn from the text.
In Chapter Two, the complex factors which determine what works are
translated are summarised. In contemporary Portugal, children's literature
publishing is flourishing, and Kipling is represented almost exclusively as a
children's author. So, a balanced view of his work is inaccessible to the
Portuguese reader. Even within the field of children'S literature, Kipling is not
faithfully represented. The only published translation of Just So Stories into
Portuguese is an unacknowledged adaptation of a French translation, itself an
incomplete version of the original English text. This Portuguese version raises
wide issues about the function and role of the translator, which are discussed in
detail, with reference to the work of leading theorists of translation theory.
In Chapter Three, in order to deal with the factors relevant to the
translation of Just So Stories, a distinction is drawn between problems resulting
from culture-specific differences and problems resulting from differences in the
structures of the two languages. The problems are identified and analysed, and
specific case studies drawn from the translation are adduced in illustration of the
solutions adopted. As a result of the task of translating Just So Stories and of
the study of Translation Theory texts, a view of translation as an approximation
and of the translator as a visible interpreter has been reached.
Part Two of this thesis consists of the translation of the twelve stories
published in 1902, and of the two extra stories published later, 'The Tabu Tale'
and 'Ham and the Porcupine'. Notes are kept to a minimum and are only
intended to supplement the discussion of translation problems carried out in
Chapter Three.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Subjects: P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General); P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN0080 Criticism; P Language and Literature > PQ Romance literatures
• Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Modern Languages and Cultures > Hispanic Studies
• Supervisor's Name: Mackenzie, Dr. Donald and Zecevi, Dr. Patricia
• Date of Award: 1999
• Depositing User: Ms Mary Anne Meyering
• Unique ID: glathesis:1999-4874
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 23 Jan 2014 13:38
• Last Modified: 24 Jan 2014 16:49
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/4874