JoLIE 4/2011

Back to issue page

 

 

 

BECKETT’S BILINGUALISM, SELF-TRANSLATION AND THE TRANSLATION OF HIS TEXTS INTO THE CROATIAN LANGUAGE

 

 

Mirna Sindičić Sabljo

University of Zadar, Croatia

 

 

 

Abstract

 

Samuel Beckett was a bilingual writer and a self-translator. He began writing in English, switched to French and then returned to English. The switch to French corresponds with a significant change in his style of writing. Given that Beckett revised his works while translating them into another language, there are numerous versions of his writings. His translations represent new and parallel texts. Beckett’s critics generally consider his self-translations as texts which extend and amplify the original, as a kind of creative critical commentary of the original text. Thirty texts written by Samuel Beckett were translated into the Croatian language from 1958 to 2010. Most of the translations were made soon after the success of Waiting for Godot Parisian premiere (1953), after the Nobel Prize attribution and after Beckett’s death. Seven texts were translated from the second (self-translated) version instead of the one first written. These translations were not followed by translators’ notes that justify the choice of a certain version, showing that the translator in question was aware of Beckett’s bilingual poetics and that both versions were consulted during the translation process. Beckett’s Old monolingual translations should be reconsidered and revised in the light of Beckett’s bilingualism. Translators should clearly state which version of the text (English or French) is being translated and they should consult the other version in order to clarify unclear parts of the text, as well as solve the problems of interpretation. Both versions could be translated separately, if they differ significantly.

 

Key words: Samuel Beckett; Bilingualism; Self-translation; Translation.

 

 

References

 

Ackerely, C. J., & Gontarski, S. E. (2004). The Grove companion to Samuel Beckett. New York: Grove Press.

 

Attar, S. (2005). Translating the exiled self: Reflections on translation and censorship. Intercultural Communication Studies, XIV(4), 131–148. Retrieved from https://web.uri.edu/iaics/files/10-Samar-Attar.pdf

 

Bassnett, S. (2002). Translation studies. London/New York: Routledge.

 

Beer, A. (1994). Beckett’s bilingualism. In J. Pilling (Ed.), The Cambridge companion to Beckett (pp. 210–221). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

 

Butler, L. (1994). Two darks: A solution to the problem of Beckett’s bilingualism. Samuel Beckett Today/Aujourd’hui: An Annual Bilingual Review/Revue Annuelle Bilingue, 3, 115–135.

 

Charles J. (1986). Rencontre avec Samuel Beckett. Paris: Éditions Fata Morgana.

 

Cockerham, H. (1975). Bilingual Playwright. In K. Worth (Ed.), Beckett the Shape Changer (pp. 139–159). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

 

Cohn, R. (1961). Samuel Beckett: Self-Translator. PMLA, 76(5), 613–621.

 

Connor, S. (1989). Traduttore, traditore: Samuel Beckett’s translation of Mercier et Camier. Journal of Beckett Studies, 11-12, 27–46. Retrieved from http://128.186.130.50/jobs/num1112/027_CONNOR.PDF

 

Connor, S. (2007). Repetition and self-translation: Mercier et Camier, First Love, The Lost Ones. In S. Connor (Ed.), Samuel Beckett: Repetition, theory and text (pp. 99–127). Aurora: The Davies Group Publishers.

 

Dobrović, M. (1969). Samuel Beckett. 15 dana, 7-8, 58.

 

Federman, R. (1987). The writer as self-translator. In A. W. Friedman, C. Rossman & D. Sherzer (Eds.), Beckett translating/translating Beckett (pp. 7–16). University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press.

 

Fitch, B. T. (1987). The relationship between compagnie and company: One work, two texts, two fictive universes. In A. W. Friedman, C. Rossman & D. Sherzer (Eds.), Beckett translating/translating Beckett (pp. 25–35). University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press.

 

Fitch, B. T. (1988). Beckett and Babel: An investigation into the status of the bilingual work. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

 

Fitch, B. T. (1989). The status of the second version of the Beckettian text: The evidence of Bing/Ping manuscript. Journal of Beckett Studies, 11-12, 19–26.

 

Fotez M. (1954, July 6). Pariška kazališta pred kraj sezone. Vjesnik. Retrieved from https://www.vecernji.hr

 

Friedman, A. W., Rossman, C., & Sherzer, D. (Eds.). (1987). Beckett translating/translating Beckett. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press.

 

Gessner, N. (1957). Die Unzuläglichkeit der Sprache: Eine Untersuchung uber Formzufall und Beziehungslosigkeit bei Samuel Beckett. Zurich. Junius Verlag.

 

Gontarski, S. E. (1995). Editing Beckett. Twentieth Century Literature, 41(2), 190–207.

 

Graver, L. (2004). Godot in French and English. In L. Graver (Ed.), Beckett: Waiting for Godot (pp. 70–78). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

 

Grün, H. (1954). Iz moderne dramaturgije (Godeau i Godot). Republika, 2-3, 259–260.

 

Grutman, R. (1998). Auto-translation. In M. Baker (Ed.), Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies (pp. 17–21). London/New York: Routledge.

 

Košutić, N. (1960). Uz prijevod Beckettova romana “Molloy”. Zadarska revija, 6, 466–470. 

 

Lyndon, M. (1997). Stretching the imagination: Samuel Beckett and the frontier of writing. The Journal of the Midwest Modern Language Association, 30(1/2), 1–15.

 

Mađarević, V. (1958). Beckettov “Svršetak igre”. Teatar, 6, 62.

 

McGuire, J. (1990). Beckett, the translator, and the metapoem. World Literature Today, 64(2), 258–263. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/40146405

 

Montini, C. (2006). Traduire le bilinguisme: L’exemple de Beckett. Littérature 1(141), 101–114. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3917/litt.141.0101

 

Montini, C. (2007). Le sujet traducteur face ŕ l’oeuvre bilingue de Samuel Beckett: Quelle stratégie? Dolentiana, 1. Retrieved May 17, 2010, from http://www.fti.uab.cat/doletiana/English/Doletiana1-e/Doletiana1e.html

 

Montini, C. (2009). Bilingualisme et autotraduction: Le decentrement dans l’śuvre de Samuel Beckett. In-Traduçôes: Rivista do Programa de Pós-Gradauçâos em Estudos de Traduçâo da Universidade Federal de Santa Caterina, 1. Retrieved May 17, 2010, from http://www.pget.ufsc.br/in-traducoes/_edicao-1.php

 

Perloff, M. (1987). Une voix pas la mienne: French/English Beckett and French/English Reader. In A. W. Friedman, C. Rossman, & D. Sherzer (Eds.), Beckett Translating/Translating Beckett (pp. 36–48). University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press.

 

Sabljak, T. (1960). O romanu Samuela Becketta. Republika, 2-3, 55.

 

Shread, C. (2009). Redefining translation through self-translation: The case of Nancy Huston. In J. Day (Ed.), Translation in French and Francophone Literature and Film (French Literature Series, Vol. XXXVI, pp. 51–69). Amsterdam: Rodopi.

 

Simić, N. (1959). Svijet Samuela Becketta. Literatura, 12-13, 1065–1072.

 

Vuletić, B. (1969). Čekajući Godota. Književna smotra, 1, 34–37.

 

 

How to cite this article: Sindičić Sabljo, M. (2011). Beckett’s bilingualism, self-translation and the translation of his texts into the Croatian language. Journal of Linguistic and Intercultural Education – JoLIE, 4, 163–180. DOI: https://doi.org/10.29302/jolie.2011.4.12

 

 

For details on subscription, go to: http://jolie.uab.ro/index.php?pagina=-&id=19&l=en