Translating Dialects and Languages of Minorities: Challenges and Solutions

About the Author Federico M. Federici is Director of the MA in Translation Studies at Durham University, UK. His publications reflect ongoing research projects covering the ideology of translation, reception of Italian texts and audiovisuals in translation, and training of culturally aware translators. He is author of Translation as Stylistic Evolution: Italo Calvino Creative Translator of Raymond Queneau (2009) and editor of Translating Regionalized Voices in Audiovisuals (2009); he also co-edited (with Nigel Armstrong) Translating Voices, Translating Regions (2006). Product Description This book offers a range of analyses of the multiplicity of opinions and ideologies attached to rendering, in familiar or unfamiliar voices, languages known as non-standard varieties. The contributions include theoretical reflections, case studies and comparative studies that draw from the full spectrum of translation strategies adopted in rendering non-standard varieties and reflect the endless possibilities of language variation. The strength of the volume lies in the wide range of languages discussed, from Arabic to Turkish and from Italian to Catalan, as well as in its variety of complementary and contrastive methodologies. The contributions reveal the importance of exploring further issues in translating local voices. Discussing dialects and marginal voices in translation, the contributors encourage and challenge the reader to reflect on what is standard and non-standard, acceptable and unacceptable, thereby overturning accepted principles and challenging familiar practices. Review «Federico M. Federici has assembled an exceptional assortment of experts to reflect on the challenges of translating dialect and minority languages. From Federici’s meticulous overview of both the geo- and sociolinguistic status of ‘languages without a flag’ and their translational implications, to Anissa Daoudi’s insights of the translation of what she terms ‘e-Arabic’ within contemporary Arabic literature to Susanne Ghassempur’s lively account of German solutions to the swearwords in Roddy Doyle’s ‘The Commitments’, this book sheds light on both the nature of minority languages and their translation. This volume significantly develops scholarship in translation studies.» (Professor Delia Chiaro, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Italy) «With its discussions revolving around such a rich variety of languages and an array of complementary and contrastive methodologies, this volume is a much-needed contribution to the underdeveloped area of study of dialects and languages of minorities. It will be inspiring for those who are interested in the translation of the non-standard language.» (Judy Way Ping Kong, Babel 59, 2013/1)