Doctoral defence: Manuel Moreno Tovar "Rethinking intralingual translation and exploring its interface with censorship, manipulation, and controversy"

On 27 September at 14:15, Manuel Moreno Tovar will defend his doctoral thesis „Rethinking intralingual translation and exploring its interface with censorship, manipulation, and controversy“.

Supervisor:
Professor Luc van Doorslaer (University of Tartu)

Opponents:
Professor Bogusława Whyatt (Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań)
Associate Professor Vasso Giannakopoulou (University of Cyprus)

Summary
Translation does not necessarily involve two languages (interlingual translation): it can also occur within one single language (intralingual translation). This doctoral project focuses on the latter type of translation, while also acknowledging that the decision of what counts as a language is largely socio-political. Within the discipline of translation studies, there have been efforts to expand our understanding of translation, and some scholars have identified various types of intralingual translation. Typologies get repeatedly updated and are becoming increasingly complex, which raises the question of whether they can be fully descriptive. Another question concerns the ideological nature of intralingual translation: what manipulations occur when a source text is abridged or “rewrapped” for a different target audience? In this regard, intralingual translation seems to be shrouded in controversy almost by definition: is it necessary to make a US version of a UK novel? Should the classics be translated into modern or easy language? This project rethinks intralingual translation by describing it as a concept with blurred borders. This means that the various types of intralingual translation and the factors influencing their production often overlap. Furthermore, this project explores the role of censorship and ideological manipulation in intralingual translation through the analysis of controversial elements. Although several forms of intralingual translation are covered, my main research object are graded readers, which are books especially written for language learners following a grading scheme. My analyses, which cover texts and the elements surrounding them, allow me to describe graded readers as complex products which sometimes defy expectations of censorship. While controversial elements (for example, in relation to gender or sexuality) tend to be manipulated, the motives behind those manipulations are far from straightforward.