Translating fictive dialogue in novels

Abstract

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The present study focuses on the construction of literary dialogue and its transposition into another language. The construction of fictive dialogue in novels has to be considered as a complex field because of the wide range of literary production. The mimesis of spoken language on the lexical and syntactical level is enhanced with the form of representation in order to recreate the different aspects of orality including non-verbal elements. Specially innovative or experimental forms as part of the conversational style of a novel cause a specific effect on the reader. If this effect cannot be transmitted through the translation, the reception in the target culture has been manipulated. In the following article we present some examples of German and Latin-American narrative works from the 20th century with the aim of showing how they are transposed into other languages, namely into Spanish, German and/or English.