Article published In:
TargetVol. 15:1 (2003) ► pp.37–58
What happened to God and the angels
An exercise in translational stylistics
The paper which follows uses a set of translations by Henry William Dulcken of stories written by Hans Christian Andersen and published in Danish between 1835 and 1866 as the object of an exercise in translational stylistic analysis. Section 1 presents the author, Section 2 discusses translational stylistics, Section 3 sets the scene for the stylistic study by outlining the impact of fairytale translations on the literary polysystem in Britain in the 19th Century and the reception in Victorian Britain of Andersen’s stories, and by introducing the translator and comparing his translations briefly with other early translations. Section 4 is devoted to the stylistic study, while Section 5 suggests that translational stylistics can be an important component in comparative cultural studies.
Keywords: style, stylistics, translational stylistics, critical linguistics, Hans Christian Andersen, fairytales, Victorian Britain, Mary Howitt, Henry William Dulcken
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Stylistics and translational stylistics
- 3.Andersen’s stories in Victorian Britain
- 4.An exercise in translational stylistics
- 4.1Linguistic good taste and manners
- 4.2Mentioning, thanking and praying to God
- 4.3In search of an explanation
- 4.4Everything in its right place...
- 5.Explanation once removed?
-
References
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H. C. Andersens Eventyr: Kritisk udgivet efter de originale Eventyrhæfter med Varianter ved Erik Dal og Kommentar ved Erling Nielsen. I1: 1835–1842, 1963; II1: 1843–1855, 1964. Copenhagen: Hans Reitzels Forlag.
Novel translations
Improvisatoren 1835.
Howitt, Mary. The improvisatore, or, Life in Italy. London: Richard Bentley, 1845.
O. T. and Kun en Spillemand both 1836.
Howitt, Mary. The improvisatore, or, Life in Italy. London: Richard Bentley, 1845.
Autobiography
Mit eget Eventyr uden Digtning (en Skizze) written 1846, first published in Danish in 1942. Copenhagen: Nyt Nordisk Forlag. Arnold Busck. In English translation by Mary Howitt. The true story of my life. London: Longman, Brown, Green & Longman, 1847.
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Wonderful stories for children. By Hans Christian Anderson [sic], Author of ‘The improvisatore’ etc. Mary Howitt. London: Chapman and Hall, 1846.
Stories and tales. Henry William Dulcken, London: Routledge, 1864.
What the moon saw, and other tales. Henry William Dulcken. London: Routledge, 1865.
Hans Christian Andersen’s stories for the household. H. W. Dulcken. London: Routledge, 1866. Re-issued as The complete illustrated works of Hans Christian Andersen. London, Chancellor Press, 1983; 1994.
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