The Cat out of the Hat: Form-Content Dilemmas in Spanish Dr. Seuss Stories

Newcastle

Congreso; International Conference of Translation and Interpreting Studies; 2015

Newcastle University

The form-content dilemma was extensively discussed by authors throughout the better part of the 20th century. Hayes (1975) relied on the translator´s common sense when approaching the art of literary translation. Taking a more prescriptive approach, Ben Ari (1992) and Shavit (1992) discussed specific features of literature in translation from German into Hebrew revising historical variables and understanding the canonical power of certain children´s books within the catalogue of the system under study.In English, as in Spanish, children´s literature lacks an important canonical pull. Nonetheless, there are certain specific examples such as the work of the great English authors of the 19th century, Lewis Carroll, Stevenson, Wilde, Kipling or CS Lewis, which not only have become greatly influential in the English language but also in other languages, as is the case of Spanish. As the epitome of peripheral literary writing, translation (in this case the translation of children´s books) becomes a peripheral practice of a peripheral literature. In consonance with polysystems theory (Even-Zohar and Toury, 1981) we believe that translations occupy a peripheral position as children´s literature, but they may sometimes acquire a more influential role and thus perform a primary function in the system by making new forms and models enter it. If we consider that in the polysystem, literary systems tend to flux from central to peripheric positions by interacting with other literary systems, we may conclude that it is important may open up spaces for alternative cultures.However, form and context are worth revisiting when tackling children´s literature, particularly because translation may be partly to blame for diminishing the value of certain works. This paper aims at shedding light upon the strategies used by three different translators who tackled books belonging to the Dr. Seuss series. Our findings may give focus to Hayes´ ideas by centering on children´s literature.