SELF-TRANSLATION OR REWRITING A TEXT
SELF-TRANSLATION OR REWRITING A TEXT

VASSILIS ALEXAKIS’ NOVEL I MITRIKI GLOSSA (LA LANGUE MATERNELLE)

Summary/Abstract: THE AIM OF THIS PAPER IS TO ANALYSE THE (SELF-)TRANSLATION OF THE NOVEL I MITRIKI GLOSSAINTO FRENCH (LA LANGUE MATERNELLE), WRITTEN AND TRANSLATED BY VASSILIS ALEXAKIS, AFRENCH WRITER OF GREEK ORIGIN. ALEXAKIS WROTE HIS NOVEL IN GREEK, THEN HE TRANSLATEDHIMSELF INTO FRENCH. ALTHOUGH WE CAN CONSIDER THE ORIGINAL AND THE TRANSLATION ONEAND THE SAME NOVEL, THE COMPARISON LED TO THE IDENTIFICATION OF SOME DIFFERENCESBETWEEN THE TWO VARIANTS. THE AUTHOR/TRANSLATOR REWROTE SOME PARTS OF THE BOOK INORDER TO MAKE THEM MORE COMPREHENSIBLE TO THE FRENCH READER. MORE PRECISELY,ALEXAKIS TRANSLATED SOME GREEK WORDS AND PHRASES AND ADDED EXPLANATIONS TODIFFERENT TERMS (E.G. KATHAREVOUSA) IN THE TEXT. HE AVOIDED USING FOOTNOTES AND, AS HEWAS BOTH THE TRANSLATOR AND THE AUTHOR OF THE TEXT, HE COULD MAKE THE BEST CHOICES INTRANSLATING THE NOVEL. THE CONCLUSION OF THIS STUDY SHOWS THAT, WHEN POSSIBLE, SELFTRANSLATIONCOULD BE THE BEST WAY TO RENDER THE MESSAGE, FEELINGS, ATTITUDES ANDCULTURAL ELEMENTS OF A PARTICULAR LITERARY WORK.

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