Thinking-for-translating in comics: a case-study of Asterix

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study contributes to the analysis of thinking-for-translating in comics. It explores the translation of motion events in five albums of the French comic Asterix and its corresponding translations into Galician and into English. It aims at analysing any differences in the number and the type of motion verbs used across the three languages and the strategies used to translate Manner and Path of motion verbs. With this purpose in mind, the study includes type-token analyses of all motion verbs; it covers the intratypological language pair French > Galician that has not been analysed in the phenomenon of motion events in this genre, as well as the intertypological pair French > English. Finally, while most studies focus on the translation strategies for manner verbs, this study includes the strategies not only of manner but also of path verbs. Findings in the compiled corpus indicated intertypological differences in the translation of path and manner verbs into English. With regard to the strategies used for the translation of both manner and path verbs, it was observed that Manner and Path tend to be retained and intertypological differences were found in the use of omission, replacement and visual compensation strategies in the translation of path verbs.