Commented translation of excerpts from the novel "Cher Hugo, chère Catherine".

Abstract

This thesis is divided into two parts, the first consisting of a French to English translation of excerpts from the novel Cher Hugo, chere Catherine. The second part comprises a commentary of the difficulties encountered in the translation. Although the novel is a record of correspondence between four characters over a 43-year period, this work deals only with the letters exchanged between father and daughter, Hugo and Catherine. Literary translation is often a very difficult endeavour and we discuss the challenging task of translating a rich literary text by studying the concrete textual features in which are rooted the themes of the source text. The textual features also contribute to the text's impact on the reader. The problems involved in rendering these textual features are in turn discussed. Throughout this work, the issue of acquiring additional information from the author of the novel is addressed in relation to its effect on the translation; in order to emphasize the need for a carefully balanced translation, this thesis closes by examining the repercussions of abusing this "privileged" information. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)