Translating figurative language: the case of Pinocchio in English

The article discusses a variety of figurative language uses in Le Avventure di Pinocchio. Storia di un Burattino (Collodi 1981/1883) and the ways these are conveyed in a selection of ten of its major English translations. Pinocchio is one of the most translated classics of children’s literature and beyond. Its potential for symbolic connotations and never-ending appeal to both the young reader and the adult are indisputable, as demonstrated by the profusion of its translations, adaptations, transpositions and reworkings all over the world ever since its publication. The translation of figurative language, in particular, may vary to a substantial extent depending, inter alia, on its level of lexicalization and/or cultural specificity and associated degree of cross-linguistic and cross-cultural divergence. Crucially, different renderings of figurative language are here especially regarded as a key to access different reading levels of the famous Italian tale. A first part of the article is devoted to the presentation of the corpus of target texts at the basis of the work and of the main translation procedures identified in the analysis. A second part focuses on a restricted but significant number of examples of various figures of speech from different versions. The original is indeed rich in a complex texture of multiple figures deeply rooted in the Italian (and Tuscan) culture of the time (e.g. hyperboles superimposing on metaphors, similes and irony, metonymy intertwining with irony, paronomasia working hand in hand with antithesis, etc.). Their rendering tends to vary depending on the translation/adaptation in question, i.e. the respective implied primary target readers (e.g. adult and children or young children only) and correlated different emphasis on distinct dominant functions (cf. expressive/emotive or informative and expressive/ironic ones).