Bianca Pitzorno's "Riding the Broom": A Translation and Critical Introduction

Date

2022-05-17

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Abstract

Anglophone publishing industries in the United States and the United Kingdom lead in the global export of English literature in translation. However, their import of translated international works does not equally reflect this level of production. Thus, when translating children’s literature in unreceptive markets, translators must confront the foreignness of non-English names and other cultural references. How do these translators imagine their young audience? How does their conception of childhood affect the methods they apply in their translation? These questions underscore a complex discussion in the translation of children’s literature: should we domesticate foreign literature for the comfort of local readers? My project includes a complete English translation of the renowned Italian author Bianca Pitzorno’s children’s novel "A cavallo della scopa" (1999). The introductory chapter that precedes my translation consists of several sections which address the author and the contents of the novel, as well as an analysis of the novel’s themes. Additionally, I reflect on how I navigated the translation process (translating rhyme, real and fictional proper names, and other cultural aspects of Pitzorno’s Italian fantasy world).

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Keywords

Italian, Translation, Children's Literature

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