COISSON JOSEFINA
Congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
?Dislocation in Drama: Osage County 5,000 Miles South, and Still Hot?
Lugar:
Philadelphia
Reunión:
Congreso; 33° Congreso Anual de la ALTA; 2010
Institución organizadora:
ALTA (American Literary Translators Association)
Resumen:
Dislocation in Drama: Osage County 5,000 Miles South, and Still Hot
It is widely known that literary translation presents varied difficulties on different levels. However, the literary translation of dramatic texts presents additional problems that are hard to solve with the typical tools available to the literary translator.
Drama is a paradox: succinct and expansive; ephemeral and ever-lasting; written but spoken. Translating plays, therefore, represents one of the most difficult forms of translation, as it has to respect all the paradoxes mentioned while preserving the beauty of the original, the musicality of the language, its dramatic features and its oral structure.
However, in drama, translation is not always translation, as it can be adaptation. Geographical distances and cultural differences sometimes call for additional measures at the time of planning the staging of a play. The 2007 play August: Osage County is a dark comedy which centers on the reunion of the dysfunctional Weston family, who live in the state of Oklahoma. Written by Tracy Letts, the play explores family relationships in a carping light. From its Chicago debut, it has been presented in theaters from London to Melbourne and from Tel Aviv to Buenos Aires.
The Argentine version, adapted by actor Mercedes Morán, raises questions of interest to translators. Where does copyright lie? Is it with the translator or with the person who adapted the play? What is the position of the translator in this context? Is adapting a play a form of recreating it? Then what is translation? Can Osage County maintain its qualities over 5,000 miles south of Oklahoma? Is August still August when the seasons change in the Southern hemisphere?
This case study will explore the choices taken by the adapter and how there can still exist an Osage County in Buenos Aires, far from Tulsa and native reservations.
It is widely known that literary translation presents varied difficulties on different levels. However, the literary translation of dramatic texts presents additional problems that are hard to solve with the typical tools available to the literary translator.
Drama is a paradox: succinct and expansive; ephemeral and ever-lasting; written but spoken. Translating plays, therefore, represents one of the most difficult forms of translation, as it has to respect all the paradoxes mentioned while preserving the beauty of the original, the musicality of the language, its dramatic features and its oral structure.
However, in drama, translation is not always translation, as it can be adaptation. Geographical distances and cultural differences sometimes call for additional measures at the time of planning the staging of a play. The 2007 play August: Osage County is a dark comedy which centers on the reunion of the dysfunctional Weston family, who live in the state of Oklahoma. Written by Tracy Letts, the play explores family relationships in a carping light. From its Chicago debut, it has been presented in theaters from London to Melbourne and from Tel Aviv to Buenos Aires.
The Argentine version, adapted by actor Mercedes Morán, raises questions of interest to translators. Where does copyright lie? Is it with the translator or with the person who adapted the play? What is the position of the translator in this context? Is adapting a play a form of recreating it? Then what is translation? Can Osage County maintain its qualities over 5,000 miles south of Oklahoma? Is August still August when the seasons change in the Southern hemisphere?
This case study will explore the choices taken by the adapter and how there can still exist an Osage County in Buenos Aires, far from Tulsa and native reservations.
