M.A.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of this study is to produce an English translation of the first part of Karel Schoeman's novel Hierdie lewe, translated as This Life. The thought processes of the translator are illustrated by means of descriptive annotations. The choice of source text is motivated and the specifications of the target text are formulated. The problem is stated that relatively few of Schoeman's fictional works have been translated into English or other languages and it is suggested that this might be because Schoeman's work is difficult to translate, or even untranslatable. A possible reason for this may be Schoeman's distinctive style: rhythmic, lyrical and rich in imagery. The source culture may also be too specific and the cultural gap too wide. A hypothesis is formulated that translation is possible if the translational problems are identified. Certain strategies are devised and solutions suggested. A hermeneutic interpretation of the source text and an overall strategy of resistancy are advocated, resulting in a target text with a marked source-text inscription. However, a measure of domestication is unavoidable in the light of the final goal to create an equivalent text which is still readable and will not alienate its addressees. A discussion of relevant concepts from translation studies theory substantiates and motivates the choice of translation strategies and solutions. A thorough reading analysis of the source text supplies the context for an interpretation. Descriptive annotations focus on the translator's methodology. Conclusions are drawn about the effectiveness of the chosen strategies and suggestions are made for further study. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie studie is die produksie van 'n vertaling in Engels van die eerste deel van Karel Schoeman se roman Hierdie lewe, vertaal as This Life. Daarby word deur middel van beskrywende annotasies verslag gedoen oor die denkprosesse van die vertaler tydens die vertaalproses. Die keuse van bronteks word gemotiveer en die vereistes vir die doelteks word geformuleer. Die probleem word gestel dat relatief min van Schoeman se fiksie reeds in Engels en ander tale vertaal is, moontlik as gevolg van 'n persepsie dat Schoeman se werk moeilik vertaalbaar, of selfs onvertaalbaar is. Een rede hiervoor is 'n besondere beeldryke, liriese, ritmiese skryfwyse, kenmerkend van Schoeman. Dat die bronkultuur te spesifiek en die kulturele gaping te groot is, kan ook 'n rol speel. 'n Hipotese word gestel dat vertaling wel moontlik is mits die vertaalprobleme geïdentifiseer word en strategieë om die probleme op te los, bedink word. 'n Hermeneutiese interpretasie van die bronteks word aanbeveel en 'n oorhoofse weerstandstrategie word voorgestel, met die bronteksinskripsie duidelik in die doelteks waarneembaar. Sekere toegewings aan die brontekskultuur (domestication) is egter onvermydelik in die lig van die einddoelom 'n ekwivalente teks te skep wat tog ook leesbaar is en nie die teikenlesers sal vervreem nie. 'n Bespreking van relevante konsepte uit die vertaalteorie ondersteun en motiveer die keuse van vertaalstrategieë en -oplossings. 'n Deeglike analise van die bronteks verskaf die konteks vir 'n interpretasie. Beskrywende annotasies bevat inligting oor die werkwyse van die vertaler en afleidings word gemaak oor die doeltreffendheid van die gekose strategieë. Die moontlikheid van verdere studie word aangedui.

Thesis (MPhil (Afrikaans and Dutch))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / In this descriptive study, recent translations into English of two highly-regarded Afrikaans novels are investigated. The purpose of this is to describe these translations in a comparative manner, in order to arrive at conclusions about the differing modi operandi of diverse literary translators. The texts studied are Agaat by Marlene van Niekerk (2004) and Hierdie lewe by Karel Schoeman (1993), titled Agaat (2006) and This Life (2005) in English, and translated by Michiel Heyns and Elsa Silke, respectively. The two translators differ in that one is a creative writer in own right, though not being a formally-trained translation scholar, and translated with input from the source text author. The other is not a creative writer, translated without input from the author and has a formal translation-theoretical qualification. In this study, the target texts produced by these two translators are compared with their respective source texts, in order to determine whether there are differences or similarities in their modi operandi. A theoretical framework is compiled using relevant translation theories in order to systematise the comparison of the source texts and their translations. The novels are then compared to their translations in turn, on various levels, in order to describe the modus operandi of each translator. This results in certain conclusions being drawn about the different ways in which diverse translators work. These conclusions are linked to norms apparent in the decisions the translators make, or the lack thereof, as well as the role of the translation skopos. A number of topics for further research are also mentioned.

Thesis (MA (English))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis interrogates the relationship between body, subjectivity and space in three antipastoral novels. The texts which I will be discussing, Karel Schoeman’s This Life, Anne Landsman’s The Devil’s Chimney and J.M. Coetzee’s In the Heart of the Country, all foreground the female protagonist’s relationship to a specifically South African landscape in a colonial time-frame. The inter-relatedness between the body, subjectivity and space is explored in order to show that there is a shifting interaction between these registers in the novels. Arising from this interaction, the importance of perspective as a way of being in the world is foregrounded. The approach adopted in this study is based on the assumption that our experience depends upon how we make meaning of the world through our bodies as we encounter people, places and objects. The lived, embodied experience is always a subjective experience. The conceptual framework is derived broadly from psychoanalysis and phenomenology. My primary concern in this study is how marginal subject positions are explored in the space of the South African farm, which, traditionally, is an ideologically fraught locus of Afrikaner patriarchy and oppression. The novels are narrated by distinctive female voices, each speaking differently, but all having the effect of undermining and exposing the hegemony of the patriarchal farm space. In all three novels the question of genre is involved as forming the space of the text itself. The novels speak to the tradition of the plaasroman and the pastoral and, in doing so, open up a conversation with the past. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In hierdie tesis word die verhouding tussen die liggaam, subjektiwiteit en ruimte ondersoek in drie romans wat teen die pastorale literêre tradisie spreek. Die betrokke romans is This Life deur Karel Schoeman, The Devil’s Chimney deur Anne Landsman en In the Heart of the Country deur J.M. Coetzee. Die romans speel af in ‘n koloniale tydperk waar die vroulike protagonis se verhouding met die Suid-Afrikaanse landskap op die voorgrond gestel word. Die verwantskap tussen die liggaam, subjektiwiteit en ruimte word ondersoek om die interaksie tussen hierdie drie konsepte ten toon te stel. Wat vanuit hierdie interaksie voortspruit is die ontologiese rol wat perspektief speel as wyse om met die wêreld te verkeer. Hierdie studie benader die romans vanuit die siening dat die mens se ervaring afhang van hoe hy/sy die wêreld verstaan deur die interaksie tussen die liggaam en ander mense, ruimtes en objekte. Die beliggaamde ervaring is dus ‘n subjektiewe ervaring. Die konsepsuele raamwerk van hierdie ondersoek is afgelei van psigoanalise en fenomenologie. Die kern van hierdie studie is om te ondersoek hoe die posisie van die randfiguur in die ruimte van die Suid-Afrikaanse plaas ten toon gestel word. Die plaas is tradisioneel ‘n ideologiese bestrede ruimte van Afrikaner patriargie en onderdrukking. Die romans word verhaal deur drie kenmerkende en verskillende vroulike stemme wat dien om die hegemonie van die patriargale opset op die plase te ondermyn en ontbloot. Die vraagstuk van genre is in al drie romans betrokke aangesien genre die ruimte van die teks self uitmaak. Die romans spreek teen die tradisie van die plaasroman en die pastorale roman en tree sodoende in gesprek met die verlede.