Article published in:
Translation and Interpreting Studies
Vol. 15:2 (2020) ► pp. 242–260

When the audience changes

Translating adult fiction for young readers

| University of Ljubljana
| University of Ljubljana
Much is expected to change when a work of fiction is translated from one language and culture to another, but the intended reader is not. This paper deals with the issue of the change of the intended reader from adult to child/adolescent in translations of fiction from English into Slovene. The intended reader is most likely to change in translations of comics/cartoons, fantasy, and realistic fiction with child or animal protagonists. The reasons for the change can be both textual and extra-textual: on the one hand, books are categorized as children’s books by libraries, award boards and marketers, as well as by the publisher’s choice of translator, while, on the other hand, individual translation decisions on the microlevel can help move a book from one category to another.
Keywords: literary translation, comics and fantasy translation, target reader, translation for children, translation into a peripheral language
Published online: 08 April 2020
https://doi.org/10.1075/tis.20015.zla
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