Translating Culture-Specific Elements in Children’s Literature: Milly-Molly-Mandy
Summary
This thesis will discuss translation problems and possible solutions, and will focus on culture-specific elements in children’s literature. To help illustrate these problems, this thesis will take a closer look at The Milly-Molly-Mandy Storybook and translate Milly-Molly-Mandy Keeps Shop. First, the translation of children’s literature and the accompanying unique translation problems will be discussed using Alvstad’s categorisation. Then, Schleiermacher and Holmes’ translation strategies are examined. After examining these translation strategies, Nord’s model of a translation-oriented text analysis is used to make a profile of the source and target text. Translation problems will be described, also using Nord’s categorisation. An overall translation strategy is subsequently chosen, after which Grit is used to define and categorise culture-specific elements. Possible translation strategies specific for CSE’s will also be discussed, and preferred strategies will be chosen, based on the translation-oriented text analysis. Milly-Molly-Mandy Keeps Shop will then be translated, accompanied by annotations regarding the translation process of the CSE’s present in the text. Lastly, a conclusion will be formed, comparing the chosen translation strategies for CSE’s with the strategies actually used in the translation of the text.