Struggling Capitalists, Lonely Farmers, and Vast Land – Anthologies of Translated English-Canadian Short Stories in German(y), 1967-2010

• Author / Creator

  Pausch, Barbara R.E.

• This study examines anthologies of translated English-Canadian short stories in German, specifically anthologies published in the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), the German Democratic Republic (GDR), and Switzerland (CH) between 1967 and 2010. The corpus taken from these anthologies, namely nineteen German translations of nine English-Canadian short stories as well as the nine paratexts (introductions, forewords, and afterwords) that accompany them, is analyzed with regard to the anthologies’ goals, motifs, and functions. Furthermore, this study examines whether and to what extent these motifs and functions as well as the cultural, political, and social surroundings are reflected in the actual translations. These micro-level analyses are complemented with macro-level analyses, which trace the development of the short story in Germany and Canada as well as the history of Canadian literature in German translation.
  Regarding its methods, this study uses an interdisciplinary approach, which incorporates three disciplines, namely linguistics, literary studies (specifically intertextual studies), and translation studies. The field of linguistics contributes (critical) stylistics (Sandig 2006; Jeffries 2010) and (critical) discourse analysis (Fairclough 1989 and 2001; Gee 2011b), the field of literary studies provides Gérard Genette’s paratext concept (1987), and the field of translation studies contributes Katharina Reiss and Hans Vermeer’s skopos theory (1984) as well as Itamar Even-Zohar’s polysystem theory (1990).
  All in all, this study shows that translation in its broadest sense is an act of power, which is able to transmit, emphasize, or reflect potentially ideological or stereotypical concepts. At the same time, translated literature is itself influenced by its powerful surroundings, which it reflects. Similarly, however, these surroundings are also able to steer the import of translated literature since literary imports usually fulfill certain functions in the receiving literary polysystems.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Paratexts
  • Stereotypes
  • Canadian literature in German translation
  • English-Canadian short stories
  • Critical stylistics
  • Translation anthologies
  • Polysystem theory
  • Paratextual analysis
  • Critical discourse analysis
  • Ideologies
  • Skopos theory

• Graduation date

  Spring 2015

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Doctor of Philosophy

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3CT0J

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.