Not that lost in translation

Translating Reality discusses contemporary translation techniques and the literary strategies involved in depicting reality in a novel with reference to Francis Ebejer’s novel Requiem for a Malta Fascist, and its translation into Maltese by Charles Briffa.

Four main approaches are taken to discuss reality. First, linguistic reality investigates language in its functional mode. The second approach tackles perceived reality and explores language from its communicative aspects. The third approach elaborates on the aspect of contextual reality and finally the dimension which the bilingual author and translator brought to the reading experience is integrated.

Throughout the study, similarities and differences are observed in the manipulation of language through the medium of English and Maltese. Equivalence and divergences in resonance arising from the translation process are explored, especially in view of the fact that the indigenous reality being portrayed is linked to the language of translation rather than to the original language it was written in. The translation process is finally viewed from the perspective of the authentication process.