Os desafios de tradução na literatura infanto-juvenil

: are you there, God? : It's me, Margaret de Judy Blume

Abstract

In modern societies, where youth have advanced technology at their disposal for educational purposes and also to occupy their leisure time (mobile phones, laptops, the Internet, PlayStation, X-box and Wii), we wish to motivate them to read. Reading not only contributes to their linguistic and cognitive development but it also contributes to their personal and social growth. Although there are Portuguese children’s book authors, there is also much translated literature, which in turn also plays a decisive role in educating this age group, as well as contributing to the promotion of interculturalism because through reading young people can get to know different cultures other than their own. For these reasons, this project focuses on the translation of children’s literature, mainly with the aim of unveiling which factors influence the translator’s choices and can be at the heart of the selection of a text to be translated. I reflected about the characteristics that make this type of literature different from the rest, specifically the characteristics of the target audience, the asymmetrical communication, the intermediaries in the process and finally the functions of children’s books. Another aim was to investigate which position translation and children’s literature occupy in the cultural and literary systems and how they can determine the translation practices adopted by the translator. Since a translation of a book emerges in a different sociocultural context than that of the source culture, I endeavoured to understand the demands of the target culture that can influence the translation process. Finally, I tried to find out who the reader of the translation is and reflect briefly about the voices heard in the translated narrative text. I presented an excerpt of the translation of Judy Blume´s Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret and argued that this book could be of value in the Portuguese market of children’s literature, mainly as a recommendation for extensive reading in the scope of sex education in schools. I also presented an analysis and justification of the translation choices and global strategies.

Date of Award	4 Feb 2014
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Maria Alexandra Ambrósio Lopes (Supervisor)