Web Translation Projects/Intertextuality in Translation

What is intertextuality?
Intertextuality is the situation when in one text there is a reference to another text. As Venuti pointed out, there are various intertextual relations between texts and the most recognizable are quotations, allusions and parody, however, there are also more subtle ones such as applying the same patterns of linguistic use of one text into another of the same genre. To notice the presence of intertextuality, a person must have not only literary and cultural knowlegde but also "the critical competence to formulate the significance of the intertextual relation, both for the text in which it appears and for the tradition in which that text assumes a place when the intertextuality is recognized." Intertextuality points to the cultural and social conditions of reception. If a reader, or a veiwer, lack of knowledge on the topic refered to by the means of intertextuality, he/she is able to replace it by other kinds of things, that the intertextual item reminds him/her of. It could be noticed in the case of Numerobis' line "Poczuj w sobie siłę lwa." (Feel the power of a lion inside you) that is assumed to refer not only to an advertisment of Peugeot car brand, but also to an ad of Lion bar manufactured by Nestlé.

Intertextual relations between works
Quotations are direct references to someone's knowledge depicted in writing or said at one point. They can appear in the common speech or in a movie. It is possible the quote would be used without providing the name of the person who stated these words.

Allusions are indirect references to something previously written or said. It requires the reader to have some additional knowledge on the culture or tradition to understand an allusion. The most popular texts of culture that people make allusions to are of Shakespeare, George Orwell, Charles Dickens, Lewis Carroll.

Parody is a reference and its aim is to enchance certain features of a work and make fun of, comment on the original work, its subject, author or another aspect. "Parody is typically negative in intent: it calls attention to a writer’s perceived weaknesses or a school’s overused conventions and seeks to ridicule them. Parody can, however, serve a constructive purpose, or it can be an expression of admiration. It may also simply be a comic exercise."

Pastiche is a imitation of individual characteristics of one work to enchance them. It is used in a humourous way. It is also refered to as homage, as it functions rather as a celebration of a piece of work. One example of such work is Michael K. Frith's 'American Gothique', 1984 based on Grant Wood's 'American Gothic', 1930. His idea was explicitly described in the article he wrote and was publised in 2017.

Retelling refers to telling a well known story again. It is usually a fairy tale or other works of fiction. The story could be modified and added some new aspects to its plot, however, it is generally based on a famous tale. It can include modern settings or a minor character's perspective, but the ending and point remain the same.

Allegory is present when a character from a story or another work, has qualities or ideas that refer to politics, religion or morals of a given culture.

Popular reference sources
Advetisements are very common nowadays. We are surrounded by them as they are present in all media that we consume intensively. The example could be the scene from the movie Demolition Man released in 1993, when Lanina Huxley (Sandra Bullock) and Alfredo Garcia (Benjamin Bratt) sing commercials together. Eg. in the Polish song King Bruce Lee Karate Mistrz by Franek Kimono there are references to Bruce Lee.
 * Shakespeare's works
 * Murphy's laws
 * Bible
 * TV programmes
 * Advertisements
 * Famous figures

Intertextuality in translation
Intertextual items are difficult to translate to another language becuase they are usually deeply conected with a certain culture. Translating a certain text is generally a process that requires the translator to conduct an additional research about the context of the text to not to miss any cultural or personal references of the original. Basically, the translator interprets what the author implied in his text and then consider possible ways to render it to the target language.

Venuti distinguishes three sets of intertextual relations in translation :


 * 1) Relations between a foreign text and other texts notwithstanding the language.
 * 2) Relations between a foreign text and translation.
 * 3) Relations between the translation and other texts notwithstanding the language.

These three sets concern the process of translation, what changes the foreign text undergoes and what are the gains and losses recieved as a consequence of the proces. To include an intertextual item in the translation, at the same place where it is in the original, the translator must replace the reference to the foreign culture with an item from the culture of the target language.

Some reference sources are easy to be rendered as they are commonly understood in both the source culture and the target culture. These are often references to Bible, Murphy's laws, Shakespeare's works.

Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre
(pl. Asterix i Obelix: Misja Kleopatra, eng. Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra)

It is a French/Italian fantasy komedy film that was written and directed by Alain Chabat and released in 2002. The plot is based on the comic book Asterix by René Goscinny. The film is originally in French, however, it was added muliple language subtitles, English dubbing and Polish dubbing, which was extremly successful in Poland making the film one of the best known of all time.