Vampires, Islanders, and Sangfroid: Translating Across the Historical, Cultural, and Linguistic Nomad's Land of Roland Rossero
Katherine R. Feiner
Prof. Jordi Teillard and Dr. Sana Camara, Faculty Mentors
For a non-native speaker, translating can be a challenge that goes beyond the words translated to include the themes of the work itself. During the translation of Nomad's Land, a novella by New Caledonian author Roland Rossero, many linguistic and cultural barriers were encountered. Careful research was required in order to translate the text faithfully and vividly. The text, which follows a vampire from his South American origins in his pilgrimage across the North American continent, England, Australia, New Zealand, and finally New Caledonia, presents a double challenge because the narrator is grounded in New Caledonia, an under-explored culture and region for most Westerners. A strong semantic and pragmatic understanding of French, a contextual understanding of the economic and ecological situation in New Caledonia, and direct contact with the author, aid in my effort to bring a book that is both relevant and fascinating to American audiences.
Keywords: New Caledonia, translation, vampires, Roland Rossero, ecology
Topic(s):Interdisciplinary
French
Linguistics
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 59-1
Location: MG 2050
Time: 2:45