Intertextuality/Intervisuality in Translation: The Jolly Postman's Intercultural Journey from Britain to the Netherlands

摘要

Texts that are intertextually and intervisually rich and highly culture-specific are often deemed to be untranslatable as they are too specifically set in a particular locale. Yet, some intertextual texts, such as Janet and Allan Ahlberg's Jolly Postman books, are rendered quite successfully in translation, gaining a new lease on life in another language with a different audience. Translators are first of all readers of the original text, and it is their interpretation which guides and colours their translation. To deal with the intertextual and culture-specific elements in the source text, the translator of the Jolly Postman books into Dutch uses a variety of translation strategies, such as literal translation for shared intertexts, substitution for intertexts likely to be unknown to the intended target audience, and addition or compensation. In this way he has created Dutch target texts with plenty of opportunities for the readers to forge their own interpretations and play their own intertextual games.