Translating Performability: Samuel Beckett’s A Piece of Monologue

Abstract

This thesis looks at the notion of ‘performability’ in drama, and how this can be processed in translation. The focus lies on the short play entitled A Piece of Monologue (1979) by Samuel Beckett. The text is analysed and the translation problems are categorised using Christiane Nord’s four categories (pragmatic, culture-specific, linguistic, and text-specific problems). The entire text has been translated into Dutch with regard to its performability accompanied by explanatory footnotes. A brief comparison follows between the translation by Ruud Hisgen and Paul Regeer published in the magazine Raster, and the translation executed for this thesis.