Between the Orbits: Translating Sharon Dodua Otoo's Adas Raum
Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: ABSTRACT This paper examines theoretical and practical questions involved in the translation of Sharon Dodua Otoo's transnational and polyphonic novel Adas Raum. Using translation theory and the Benjaminian notion of a translation's ‘Fortleben’, I build on my concept of ‘conversive reading’, as well as on extensive real‐time collaboration with Otoo and fellow translators to ask: How does one negotiate questions of identity, positionality and voice in a work whose narrative so intricately intertwines these dimensions? How can the literary inheritance which informs a source text influence its translation into the target language? To what extent must a successful translation move away from the source text to facilitate its nuances in the target language? Expanding on the experience and practice of translating this novel, I demonstrate that my understanding of translation as an ongoing process represents a renegotiation of the source – building upon a work's literary forebears and diverging, when necessary, from the language of the source to best facilitate voice and reception in the cultural context of the target language.
Source: German Life and Letters
DOI: 10.1111/glal.12402
Author: Jon Cho‐Polizzi
Institution: University of Michigan
Language: English
Subfield: Language and Linguistics
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,940
OpenAlex ID: W4389614005