Translation of Politeness Strategies in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility

Abstract

The present article is a comparative analysis of negative politeness strategies in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility and the Hungarian translation in Értelem és érzelem translated by Gerda Barcza. The aim of the article is to examine whether the politeness strategies applied by the characters in the source text remain the same type of politeness strategies in the target text as a result of the translation process. The article also endeavours to establish whether the politeness strategies employed by the characters in the Hungarian translation mirror the same character traits as in the original text. The article presents the parallel analysis of the negative politeness strategies in the source text and the target text used by several characters in the novel. The comparative analysis explores whether there are any changes in the characters’ linguistic behaviour as a result of the translation process. In order to show the differences between the source and the target text, we apply back translation, a translation that is as literal as possible to demonstrate the change of the politeness strategy. When no change is identified, no back translation is applied, only a detailed analysis and explanation is offered. The article presupposes that the politeness strategy in question will show only a slight change, therefore the characters will mirror the same traits as in the original text. The article ultimately aims to prove that the translation of the novel entitled Sense and Sensibility will not alter Jane Austen’s specific way of characterization.