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

• Shakespeare's works
• Murphy's laws
• Bible
• TV programmes
• Advertisements

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.

• Famous figures

Eg. in the Polish song King Bruce Lee Karate Mistrz by Franek Kimono there are references to Bruce Lee.

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.

Intertextuality in movies

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.

the Polish dubbing

Time	Polish dubbing	Description
00:03:40	Caesar: Nie od razu zbudowano Rzym	It refers to the Polish saying "Nie od razu Kraków zbudowano" or another version of it "Nie od razu Rzym zbudowano". It means it requires time and effort to create something remarkable and sturdy and it is important to be patient, take it slowly becuase the results won't appear quickly. Ceasar doesn't say the phrase in a correct way.
00:12:05	Numerobis: Panasonikmix	A reference to the japanese brand called Panasonic known worldwide.
00:16:06	Numerobis: A znacie może Panaremiksa? To taki... Taki droid.	Numernobis mentions "droid" which is a kind of a robot which is usually a humanoid. It's a reference to science-fiction genre and terminology.
00:22:20	Redbeard: Jestem królem świata!	A parody of a scene from the movie Titanic. Check out the scene here.
00:24:10	Asterix: Lekka bryza zmarszczyła morze gładkie jak stół.	Asterix recites lyrics of the song Fiddler's Green by Roman Roczeń. The song is available here.
00:24:32	Obelix: Ja osobiście zjadłbym cokolwiek. Asterix and Obelix (singing): Pieczone korale...	It is a reference to a Polish famous song Czerwone Korale by BRAThANKI. In the original, the lyrics are "Czerwone korale" (Red beads), but in the movie it was changed to "Pieczone korale" (Baked beads) because in this context they were talking about food and the fact they're hungry. The song is available here.
00:28:11	Asterix: Och, niezły ruch. Trochę jak na słowiańskim targu. Słowianie mają takie targi na stadionach. Wszystko tam można znaleźć. Dosłownie wszystko. Niesamowite. Znajomy był na placówce to opowiadał.	"Słowiańskie targi" (Slavic marketplace), that Asterix mentions and describes, refers to a marketplace in Stadion 10-lecia (10-Anniversary Stadium) in Warszawa, the capital city of Poland. The stadium was destroyed in 2008 and replaced by National Stadium.
00:34:03	Itinéris (Vodafonis): To ja w imieniu towarzyszy powiem o co chodzi. Nazywam się Idea. Numberobis: Słucham. Itinéris (Vodafonis): Masz dwie nowe wiadomości.	In Polish dubbing Vodafonis is translated to Idea. Idea is one of the first mobile networks in Poland. Vodafonis says "Masz dwie nowe wiadomości" (You have two new messages).and sounds like an Auto-Attendant of a voicemail.
00:40:41	Ceasar: Wyryj formułki grzecznościowe i podpisz... Ceasar. Assistant: Ceasar? Czy cezar? Ceasar: No może cezar. Ładnie mi to brzmiało, ale... ustawa o ochronie języka wiesz.	"Ustawa o ochronie języka" might be a reference to Polish Ustawa o języku polskim, which is a law that regulates legal issues with the Polish language. The law concerns matters such as preservance of the correct use of Polish to prevent correct rules of Polish language from being neglected and forgotten.
00:42:15	Caius Céplus: A ten mały miał takie komiksowe imię... hm... Spajderix?	In his speech, Caius Céplus made a reference to Spiderman, a fictional character from Marvel Comics.
1:09:00	Cleopatra: No jasne, jak zwykle z profilu. Nie możesz mnie namalować en face? Choćby tak?	It was a reference to Mona Lisa. Cleopatra wants the painter to paint a portrait of her en face instead of paining her profile in the traditional art of ancient Egypt.
1:16:25	A short film about lobster.	The short film was dubbed by Krystyna Czubówna, a Polish lector, who is notably famous for being a narrator of documentaries about wildlife and nature.
1:18:18	Caius Céplus: Nikt nie powstrzyma imperium rzymskiego. Zaatakowana, imperium kontratakuje.	Caius Céplus said "imperium kontratakuje" which is the Polish version of the title of Star Wars part 5 "The Empire Strikes Back". He also looks like Darth Vader in this scene and speaks in the same manner as the Star Wars character, as if his mouth was also covered with a mask.
1:23:32	Redbeard: Tratwa nieduza.	The pirate crew gets hit by a stone sphere and their ship is destroyed again. Their positioning after the impact is a reference to the painting The Raft of the Medusa by a French painter Théodore Géricault. Redbeard says words which resembles the Polish title of the paining "Tratwa Meduzy" however it is combined with the words "Tratwa nieduża" (a raft is small) consequently creating the humorous phrase "Tratwa nieduza".
1:23:45	Asterix: To co? Golnę sobie i szybka bramka.
1:30:40	Numerobis: Poczuj w sobie siłę lwa.	It is a reference to an advertisement of Peugeot car brand and it was popular in Poland then.
1:38:54	Otis wprowadził w pałacu kilka udogodnień.	Otis, the scribe, invented an elevator. The name of this character refers to an American company founded in 1852 called Otis Elevator Company that produces elevators, escalators and moving walkways.
1:43:34	Doorman: Nie. Jest Ceratysys, CWKS-is, Céplus ... Céplus: Céplus? Ja jestem Céplus.	The name of one of the guests from the list is "CWKS-is" which is a reference to the full name of a professional football club based in Warsaw, Poland.