South African Landscapes: Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country in Translation and on the Screen

Abstract

The present survey is part of a project on southern African literary landscapes and translation. In this context, Alan Paton’s novel Cry, the Beloved Country (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1948) is emblematic of a new eco-critical consciousness, juxtaposed with the devastation of space by the dynamics of colonialism and the enforcement of the apartheid regime from 1948 to the early 1990s. Topophilia, common among other South African authors, is more than a simple literary theme for Paton; rather, it lies at the core of his spirituality and his resistance against apartheid. Likewise, the biblical symbolism and linguistic features inspiring descriptions in Paton’s work enhance textual cohesion and relevance, while also representing a challenge for translation in the context of different African languages. Following a diachronic perspective, this article examines intralingual, interlingual, and intersemiotic translations, focusing on landscape, language, and identity. One intralingual abridgement, multiple interlingual translations into European languages (Italian, French, Spanish), and two intersemiotic translations (in the form of screen adaptations of the novel) are comparatively analysed. The approach relies on studies of literary description, intersemiotic translation, and multimodality.