Kris Peeters

Simplification et poétique de la retraduction : Laclos, Joyce

Introduction

Simplification et poétique de la retraduction : laclos, joyce. Explorez la simplification et la poétique des retraductions. Cet article analyse Laclos et Joyce, proposant un modèle descriptif de la re-complexification des textes en traduction littéraire.

Abstract

In translation studies, the notion of “simplification” is as capricious as it is frequent. This article explores its different meanings, in subfields ranging from conversation analysis, adaptation and corpus studies to literary translation. In particular, it seeks ways to conceptualise what can be simplified and how this can be done specifically in literary translation. The descriptive model thus obtained consists of a limited set of S-variables (concerning what can be simplified) and T-variables (how translations can simplify what is simplified), as well as their counterparts by which literary translators can also not simplify complexities contained in the source text. The second part of the article explores the hypothesis that retranslations (i.e., new translations of a work that had been previously translated into the target context) bring precisely that counterpart to simplification occurring in existing translations. Our analyses from the Dutch translations of Laclos’ Les Liaisons dangereuses and the Dutch and French translations of Joyce’s Dubliners indeed show how the retranslations examined re-complexify what had been simplified in earlier translations. In that respect, the proposed descriptive model may serve as a hypothetical way out of the quandary of the retranslation hypothesis and its emphasis on the purported yet indeterminate “closeness” of retranslations to the source text.

Review

This article addresses the often-discussed yet elusive notion of "simplification" within translation studies, undertaking a comprehensive exploration of its various meanings across diverse subfields, from conversation analysis to literary translation. The authors commendably aim to provide a more rigorous conceptual framework for understanding what constitutes simplification and how it manifests, particularly in literary contexts. This foundational work to clarify a frequently invoked but inconsistently defined concept represents a valuable contribution to the theoretical underpinnings of the discipline. To achieve this, the study introduces a descriptive model featuring a limited set of S-variables, identifying what can be simplified, and T-variables, delineating how translations perform simplification. Crucially, the model also accounts for the inverse process by which literary translators maintain or even reintroduce complexities. The second part of the article ingeniously applies this framework to the retranslation hypothesis, postulating that retranslations often serve to "re-complexify" elements that had been simplified in prior versions. Empirical analyses, drawing on Dutch translations of Laclos’ *Les Liaisons dangereuses* and Dutch and French translations of Joyce’s *Dubliners*, provide compelling evidence supporting this hypothesis, illustrating how later translations indeed restore complexities attenuated in earlier renditions. The most significant contribution of this research lies in its potential to offer a more analytical and less speculative pathway out of the longstanding quandary surrounding the retranslation hypothesis. By providing concrete, descriptive tools – the S- and T-variables – to identify and analyze shifts in textual complexity, the article moves beyond the often-indeterminate concept of "closeness" to the source text. This sophisticated conceptualization not only advances our understanding of retranslation phenomena but also offers a robust methodology for dissecting the dynamic interplay of simplification and re-complexification across the broader landscape of literary translation practices.

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