Global Comics Heroes: Diachronic and Intersemiotic Aspects of Interlingual Translation

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A keynote lecture by Professor Federico Zanettin (University of Perugia) which is open to all, as part of the Fluid Images Conference.

Please note that whilst this keynote lecture is open to all, it is part of the Fluid Images Conference and registration to attend the actual conference has now closed.

Abstract

Using Jakobson’s tripartite distinction between interlingual, intralingual and intersemiotic translation as a point of departure, I will argue that the case of comics in translation makes it difficult, in fact, to hold on to classifications based on that model. In order to illustrate this claim, I will provide examples from the translation into multiple languages of two humorous comics, namely Astérix and Paperinik. The adventures of these characters have been variously reprinted in the course of over 50 years, and they have thus become global heroes of popular graphic fiction, though showing different facets depending on the translation strategies used and the cultural contexts of reception. In my presentation I will contend that comics translation cuts across both diachronic and semiotic boundaries. 

Biography

Federico Zanettin is Associate Professor of English Language and Translation at the University of Perugia, Italy. His research interests range from comics in translation, to corpus-based translation studies and news translation. He has published widely in international peer-reviewed journals, volumes, and encyclopedias. He is co-editor of the journal inTRAlinea and collaborates with leading journals and publishers in the field of translation studies. His publications include the collected volume Comics in Translation (2008), which he edited and partly wrote, and the bookTranslation-Driven Corpora (2012).

Simultaneous Translation

The event will be delivered in the medium of English. You are welcome to ask questions in the medium of Welsh during the Q&A session. If you intend to do this, please contact mlang-events@cardiff.ac.uk by Thursday 19 January to request simultaneous translation. Please note that 10% or more of those planning to attend will need to request this provision in order for it to be sourced and will be subject to resource availability.

We apologise that the entire registration page is not available in the medium of Welsh; unfortunately, the platform we use does not offer this service.