Translating literary style in Charles Guilhamon's. Sur les traces des chrétiens oubliés or In Search of the World’s Forgotten Christians

Abstract

A large target audience exists for a translation of Guilhamon’s Sur les traces des Chrétiens oubliés (2012), given the success of the source text (ST) and the significant market for Christian books in English. However, as a work of literary journalism, a genre of which literary style is a defining feature, the success of the translation relies on the translator’s ability to convey the author’s distinctive style. This study discusses how authorial style can be carried over in translation. Literary style is the writer’s creative choice of language which reveals personality and cognitive state, and produces foregrounding effects in the reader. The practice of translating literary style is underpinned by translation theory. Linguistic approaches aim at ‘dynamic’ or ‘communicative’ equivalence, whereby the effects of the author’s style are conveyed to the target text (TT) reader. Cognitive approaches recognize the mind of the author as revealed in stylistic choices. Informed assumptions are made about the author’s mental state which led to these choices, and their intended effects on the reader. Style is reconstructed in the TT with consideration of the author’s mind and the effects of translation choices on the reader’s mind. Translating style involves creativity under a series of constraints, including the translator’s dual responsibility to the author and the reader. This requires balancing conflicting dichotomies - form versus function, authorial intention versus the translation skopos, and a ST versus TT orientation. Attention to style is an attempt to honour both author and reader by bringing a clearer sense of the author to the TT reader. Analysis of examples of Guilhamon’s style in Chrétiens oubliés reveals that attention to subtle communicative clues, connotations, degrees of explicitation and implicatures in elements such as syntax, tense, irony, word play, ambiguity, and metaphor enhances the TT by conveying nuances of tone, emotion and attitude. This can prevent translation shifts and maximize the effect of authorial style on the reader. Cultural references may be translated through both domesticating and foreignising strategies in different parts of the text. The guiding principle is always how well translation choices convey the author’s style to the TT reader.