Abstract
This article examined Coetzee’s translation of Wilma Stockenström’s novel Die kremetartekspedisie as The expedition to the baobab tree. Firstly, I defined literary translation and then I have analysed and compared the two texts to show examples of equivalence. Subsequently I also established how Coetzee managed to circumvent the poetic style of the original source text (ST). The novel is written in a dense poetic style and the translator has to be cognisant of it.
Highlights
I will comment on literary translation in general and I will analyse Coetzee’s The expedition to the babobab tree (Stockenström 1983) to determine to what extent he remained true to the original text and to identify instances where he circumvented aspects of the original by creating variants or rewriting the original
Since there is no direct equivalent for the three words in the source text, the translator has to use another construction in the target text and still convey the meaning of the original
How would one describe Coetzee’s translation of the novel? Does he manage the shift between two languages and two cultures? Having analysed his translation, I wish to conclude with the following remarks: Coetzee’s translation is directly equivalent in the target language and very seldom deviates from the source text
Summary
This article examined J.M. Coetzee’s translation of Wilma Stockenström’s novel Die kremetartekspedisie (1981) (source text [ST]) into English. J.M. Coetzee’s translation of the Afrikaans novel Die kremetartekspedisie by Wilma Stockenström was published in 1983 as The expedition to the baobab tree. 18th century prose and his translation of Die kremetartekspedisie (Stockenström 1981) has given Coetzee ample opportunity to study the intricacies of syntax, especially since the author uses a dense, poetic discourse in her text.
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