1. CULTIVAŢI-VĂ LEGUMELE VOASTRE
2. INTRODUCTION
3. GENERAL AND CONTEXTUAL CONSIDERATIONS
4. THE STAGE DIRECTIONS AS THE TOOL FOR CONSTRUCTING RESISTANCE
4.1. Camera focus in the scene directions as constructing resistance
4.2. The characters’ conflicting movements in the scene directions used to construct resistance. 14
5. CHARACTERS’ DIALOG AS THE TOOL FOR CONSTRUCTING RESISTANCE
5.1. The estrangement elements in the dialog between the characters
5.2. The indicative elements of integration motivation in the characters’ dialog
6. CONCLUSION
15. EXTERIOR, LOTURILE JOHN MELLOR. MAIN AVENUE. ZI
Pick up pe Charlie şi Kenny uitându-se de pe loturile lor ca fermierii. Kenny se apleacă peste ancora sa.
Charlie: Iată-i, uite!
Pick up pe Big John de asemenea uitându-se împreună cu Little John.
Big John: Deci, a început invazia...
20. EXTERIOR, LOTURILE JOHN MELLOR. APROAPE DE INTRARE. ZI
[...]
Big John: Nu avem nevoie ca ăsta să fie scris în procesul verbal. Dar trebuie să vorbim despre năvălirea asta.
Eddie: Ce asta?
Kenny: Kosoviştii.
Alice: Ce adică?
Nick: Kosovarii.
Big John: Nu zic nimic împotriva lor ca atare, dar în aceste circumstanţe trebuie să prezentăm un front unit.
Nick: Nu sunt toti kosovari, nu-i aşa? Unii dintre ei sunt chinezi.
Big John: Nu contează de unde vin. Ce-i important e că sunt aici şi „gardurile bune fac vecini buni”. Înţelegi ce vreau să zic?
Nick: (Cu emfază). Nu prea.
Kenny: Mai ai din ciocolata aia, scumpo?
Alice: Nu. John a terminat-o toată.
Big John: Acesta...
El ridică un caiet vechi legat cu sfoară, bandă scoci, banda adezivă de camuflare, etc.
Big John: [...] e constituţia originală a loturilor John Mellor Lane – 1921. Toate ordonanţele şi toate celelalte sunt aici.
Big John: (Continuă). Ceea ce zic e că dacă noi - noi toţi – urmăm întru totul litera legii, aşa cum este prezentată prin aceasta în felul acesta– atunci kosoviştii nu se vor mai întoarce, dacă protestăm încălcărilor lor, aşa-i?. Înţelegeţi ce vreau să zic?
Alice: Ce te face să crezi că vor să încalce.
Big John: Păi, fără să vrea - ştii: au fost daţi afară din ţările lor, nu-i aşa? Aşa că trebuie să fie un motiv pentru asta.
Nick: Păi da, dar e un motiv politic, nu-i aşa? Noi ar trebui să-i primim pe oamenii aceştia.
Big John: Asta-i ce vreau să zic. Vrem să-i primim, potrivit condiţiilor noastre. Aşa că noi ne ştim locul nostru şi ei pe-al lor...
59. EXTERIOR. PARCELA LUI JOHN. ZI
[...]
Pick up asupra parcelei Miriamei, unde Fabit s-a alăturat Miriamei. Amândoi se uită împreună neliniştiţi la vizitatori.
Miriam: Imigrare?
Fabit: Imigrare.
De unde se află, toţi de la loturi se îndreaptă deodată în jos spre locul întâlnirii. E o mişcare unanimă ameninţătoare.
Fabit: Unde merg toţi?
Amândoi sunt foarte deranjaţi de aceasta. Pe când privesc, Sonila, prima şi în cele din urmă Lee Kung vin să li se alăture. Fabit ia o decizie. El se îndreaptă de asemenea spre locul întâlnirii. Ceilalţi imigranţi îl urmează toţi. Fabit, Sonila, copiii lor, Miriam, George, Lee Kung, Dragon şi Phoenix toţi se duc în jos împreună înspre locul întâlnirii.
[...]
60. EXTERIOR. LOCUL ÎNTÂLNIRII. ZI
[...]
Până acum Fabit a ajuns. Big John se întoarce înspre el.
Big John: Bună? Da.
Fabit: Aşadar. Putem intra?
John : Numai membrii cu drept de vot. Trebuie să ai un vot să vii înăuntru. Nici unul din grupul vostru n-are vreun vot.
Fabit: Tu ne-ai putea da un vot.
John: Dificil. Schimbare constituţională, înţelegi? Va trebui să-i cei unui membru cu drept de vot s-o treacă în agendă, apoi am putea-o dezbate. În regulă?
Miriam: Nu vrem vot. Vrem doar să ştim ce se întâmplă.
John: Ce se întâmplă e numai pentru membrii cu drept de vot.
Little John: Nu pot să vină înăuntru şi să asculte doar, cu statut de observator ca în Naţiunile Unite?
John: Cine te-a întrebat pe tine?
Little John: Ai zis că eram responsabil de uşă şi asta-i uşa.
John: Intră înăuntru. (Către imigranţi). Îmi pare rău de asta. Copiii, ah. Le dai un pic de putere şi ce se întâmplă. „Naţiunile Unite”. Pentru numele Domnului.
[...]
108. EXTERIOR. PARCELA LUI FABIT. ZI
Femeia şi bărbaţii vizitatori apar toti la parcela lui Fabit. Femeia îi dă o hârtie şi începe să citească o copie a aceleiaşi hârtii.
Femeia: Domnul şi Doamna Fabit Nusevic. Îmi pare rău că trebuie să vă spun că cererea dumneavostră pentru azil a fost respinsă. După cum ştiţi, în cazul acesta nu se poate face recurs şi de aceea vi se cere să vă îndreptaţi spre centru de detenţie desemnat până la timpul când se pot face aranjamente care să faciliteze întoarcerea dumneavoastră în Albania.
[...]
Până s-o termine, Fabit a suspectat ce se întâmpla. Soţia sa se ţine de el. El începe să devină tensionat.
Fabit: Nu. Aceasta e o greşeală. Am scrisoare de la MP. Lasă-mă să văd asta.
[...]
El întinde mâna după hârtia ei. Ea o înşfacă de la îndemâna lui.
Femeia: Copia dumneavoastră a fost distribuită la dumneavoastră acasă, domnule Nusevic.
Ea merge să-l ia pe cel mic. În momentul în care atinge copilul, mama înebuneşte şi încearcă să tragă înapoi copilul de la ea. Fabit încearcă să-şi calmeze soţia dar de asemenea să separe femia de la copil. Bărbaţii intervin tărându-l pe Fabit înapoi. Nick apare şi intervine.
Nick: Nu puteţi face asta. Lăsaţi copilul jos. Lăsaţi-l jos. Nu-i nevoie de asta. E evident că e o înţelegere greşită. Oamenii aceştia sunt membrii apreciaţi ai comunităţii noastre. Nu-i aşa? Nu-i aşa?
El caută sprijin de la Charlie, Eddie, Big John. Ei toţi se dau înapoi.
Nick: Haideţi. Lăsaţi-i în pace.
Femeia: Vă pot asigura domnule. Aceasta este întru totul o procedură potrivită.
Nick: Ce e potrivit în asta? E o ruşine teribilă. E o ruşine. Mă faceţi să-mi fie ruşine [...]
Totul devine foarte neplăcut. Sunt o mulţime de strigăte şi ţipete. In cele din urmă e Fabit cel care potoleşte totul. Îşi ia copilul şi-l cară către maşină. Pick up asupra lui Fabit şi a familiei sale intrând în maşina Margaretei care şi porneşte. Toţi privesc într-o tăcere înfiorătoare.
[...]
144. EXTERIOR. LOTUL 474. ZI
Rândul de dovleci lucioşi şi miezoşi. Lee Kung se uită mândru către ei. Kenny se uită la el de peste gard.
Lee Kung: Uite. Sunt gata. Îndată facem supă.
Kenny încuvinţează, simţindu-se puţin abătut.
Lee Kung: Şi m-am gândit pe cine să deportez. (Pauză lungă). Pe Manchester United. Bineînţeles.
Kenny încearcă să zâmbească dar nu prea reuşeşte.
147. EXTERIOR. LOTUL 474. ZI
O masă a fost întinsă. Lee Kung taie dovlecii în felii şi face o movilă din seminţe înainte de a-i tăia in felii mai mici. Kenny şi-a adus primusul şi oala lui de supă. Inainte de a ne da seama ce se întâmplă, se încinge o petrecere a dovlecilor. Oamenii se adună. Se cântă la acordeon. Se face supa de dovleci. Toţi apar pe lot s-o guste [...]
2. INTRODUCTION
Immigration is a frequently revisited matter in this country in regard to its effects on economy, education and many other public domains. I will translate the selected excerpts from the movie script Grow Your Own for the Romanians interested to immigrate to the UK and who would like to get an image of how the immigrants are perceived by the local community. The translated excerpts of this bittersweet comedy would enhance the understanding of Grow Your Own, Cultivaţi-vă legumele voastre by this group of people but also by the Romanian TV production directors who might consider broadcasting and subtitling this comedy.
My translation of these excerpts would challenge the reader with a script that requires some basic knowledge of English culture and English basic colloquial forms of addressing various members of the community e.g.: Big John and Little John. Therefore my purpose is to keep the English character of the text and so produce a text that is representative for the British community culture, preserving it from Romanian cultural community features while adapting the structure of the script to a recognised Romanian script style. Nevertheless in a manner of agreement, I would consider Bassnett’s view that translation is always culturally dependant and that the translated text is as much linked to the culture of the target audience as the original text is linked to the culture of the original audience. Therefore I will attempt to produce a translation relevant to the Romanian culture and which can be understood by the Romanian readers while they will still be challenged by the English cultural element.
In order to establish that the stage directions and characters’ interaction are the dominant tools in constructing the approach of the British community toward minorities’ integration in Grow Your Own I will first take into account the general and contextual considerations of Grow Your Own. After that I will analyze how the stage directions and characters’ interaction are used as tools for constructing the resistance. In the section The Differences between the Film and Script I will point out some essential lexis and play differences between the two formats. Lastly, I will explain my translation choices giving particular examples of translation devices used in order to achieve the extracts’ translation into Romanian.
3. GENERAL AND CONTEXTUAL CONSIDERATIONS
Grow Your Own is a bittersweet comedy co-written by Carl Hunt and Frank Cottrell Boyce. It has started as an initial project to help fundraising for the Family Refugee Support Project in Liverpool at the request of Margrit Ruegg a psychotherapist and the director of the project.
The story is built around a family of refugees (Lee Kung and his children Phoenix and Dragon) who is given an allotment in order to help the traumatised father even though there can be identified other parallel stories of similar families of refugees as Fabit and Sonila and their children and Miriam and her son George. They are met by the mixed community with suspicion but eventually they receive the support of some of the members of the community brought together by their love toward growing and nourishing their own vegetables.
The entire script keeps the same style numbering the scenes 1, 2, 3, etc, which makes possible for the reader to easily follow the development of action throughout the script. The scenes’ titles give also concentrated information about the context, namely, location and time of the day that the scene takes place, e.g. EXT. JOHN MELLOR ALLOTMENTS, DAY and the main characters that participate in the dialog who are very present throughout the entire script and so the reader becomes familiar with their roles and identities.
The selected excerpts that I will translate are representative for the manner in which the stage directions and characters’ interaction construct the mindset of the British community toward minorities’ integration. They offer the substance for visualising how the resistance of particular characters is being built through the way they communicate with each other and furthermore through the specific directions for the camera and actors which enforce and focus on the resistant attitude towards the immigrants.
Even from a fictional point of view, the British community understanding of immigration is exposed to the contemporary Romanian interest defined through the opportunity of better job possibilities in the UK. The insight of the Romanian potential job seekers to the UK in the approach of the British community to them as immigrants has been shaped through the media. The image that the British authorities in Romania have built through published warnings against immigration has offered this group a new angle on the British community perception of the immigrants.
The main benefit of the Romanian TV producers from reading these translated excerpts would be the understanding of the difference between the English bittersweet comedy and the one the Romanian TV spectators would expect to watch. Therefore, they could decide if such a comedy could be understood and appreciated by the Romanian public and whether they would dare to categorise it as a comedy in the Romanian context even more while it deals with such a disputed matter as immigration.
4. THE STAGE DIRECTIONS AS THE TOOL FOR CONSTRUCTING RESISTANCE
4.1. Camera focus in the scene directions as constructing resistance
The degree of relevance in translating the stage directions in a play is very well underlined by Anderman who considers of vital importance for the level of accessibility of the play to the target audience to translate the stage directions as well as the acting style of the source text. Therefore, the stage directions fixed on the camera focus can give us valuable information about the personality, conflicts and objectives of the characters involved. Such a representative example could be considered in the following scene direction: PICK UP ON CHARLIE and KENNY watching from their plot, like ranchers. KENNY is leaning on his anchor […] PICK UP ON BIG JOHN also watching, with LITTLE JOHN. This particular direction gives us also information about characters’ interaction with the context in the scene (watching and leaning on). The pick up on direction is targeted for the camera which should capture the intended image giving the right distance and angle (watching from their plot). Therefore the intended results come to view expressing the resistance through this distance and emphasizing the alliance of Big John and Little John (also watching) for the same interest and from the very same location (their plot).
One of the terms describing the movement and position of the characters on the scene or stage is the blocking and that is illustrated by Thomas as polarized magnets. They attract each other in affectionate and favourable climate and reject each other at other times. We can notice such a blocking in the mentioned scene direction of scene 15 realised by the distance of the camera angle (watching from their plot), which leads us to conclude that the characters are not attracting each other but rather keeping the distance and so emphasising the tension and resistance. In contrast, emphasizing the unanimous community group attraction but with the purpose of keeping the immigrants at distance and constructing the resistance against them we can look at one of the stage direction in scene 59: “from where they stand, everyone on the allotments is suddenly heading down towards the meeting venue. It’s an ominously unanimous movement.” From this focus on the unanimous motion in the stage direction we can foresee the rise of a conflict. This conflict can be perceived through understanding that the characters have opposite objectives for what they fight and put their energy into. When the fulfilment of these objectives is jeopardized by the contra objectives of other characters a clash takes place and this results in making the play more exhilarating. Without doubt this present scene direction will speed and emphasize the resistant and opponent action of the group highlighting the contra objectives of the two groups, namely, the local community and the immigrants.
Comparing the scene directions in English and Romanian scripts, one can notice the stronger emphasis on the action/force the subject (the character) applies to the objects (e.g. the anchor in scene 15). In translating this particular direction leaning on his anchor in Romanian I used peste which incorporates the meaning over, which emphasises the force involved in this action as well as a stronger contact with the anchor than in the English version. That is valid in the Romanian indigenous film scripts as one can notice in the following scene direction: Cătălina opreşte radioul răsucind butonul which could be translated into direct English as Cătălina turns off the radio set turning off the button which of course in an English indigenous film script might appear only as Cătălina turns off the radio set without any other explanations, probably implying that the reader knows that there is a button to be turned off.
A stronger emphasis on the positioning of the characters in the scene in my translation into Romanian is noticeable in the scene 15: PICK UP ON BIG JOHN also watching, with LITTLE JOHN which I have translated as Pick up pe Big John de asemenea uitându-se împreună cu Little John. Împreună (together) emphasises better the alliance of Big John and Little John in the act of watching the immigrants pointing out their unity and agreement in this attitude. I would say that the Romanian translated scene direction gives more specific information for the camera man as well as additional help for the characters’ performing actions. I have decided to translate with as împreună (together) just because in Romanian watching something/somebody in the company of someone else involves a joint action that requires a word to transmit the togetherness and împreună is placing very well this emphasis on the joint action of Big John and Little John. A similar situation of focused goal and togetherness is present in the scene direction of scene 108: The WOMAN, and the MEN visitors all appear up at Fabit's plot. The all enforces camera to focus on the exterior to interior directed motion of the group and on the impact they would have once arrived on Fabit’s plot. This focus is categorized by Zaza as an implicit content which is more defined by the direction, speed and motion of the camera and the dynamic of the stage elements.
4.2. The characters’ conflicting movements in the scene directions used to construct resistance.
The conflicted movements of the characters’ play also illustrated as polarized magnets by Thomas are to be defined in the stage directions but also supported by the scene headings defining their nature as being indoor or outdoor, and qualifying their timing as being during the day or during the night. Other technicalities of the script which reflect its proper presentation include listing on the title page “the name of the play, the duration, a list of the characters, a list of the sets, and what Library shots.”
Although the scene direction in scene 59 (“they’re both very disturbed by it… all walk down towards the meeting venue together”) could be classified as an unanimous movement being targeted for the camera. The meeting venue and the community group already there, build the conflicting movement which would enforce the resistance and so we can consider it as a scene direction that helps constructing the resistance and the clash between the characters. Again we have here the togetherness force that moves the group as in the previous ominously unanimous group movement but this time specifically emphasized by all and together in the script. Even though all implies the togetherness element in my translation into Romanian I have translated all as toţi and I have again enforced the togetherness force împreună (together), to emphasize the two divergent movements of two different groups, the immigrants and the local community. Thus the essential element in my translation of this togetherness is that I have helped the reader make an easier connection between the two divergent movements. I have used împreună (together) in both cases, while in the original in the first instance we lacked together having just everyone in Romanian I have supplemented it with împreună (together) while when present in the second group movement I have maintained it in Romanian as well.
The role conflicts are created from the contrasting views of the characters which are also called “conflicts of attitude” or “rite-role conflicts”. They arise from such conditions and situations that challenge one character to start a disagreement and the other character to react and so open the conflict. We have a clear indication of resistance in the divergent movement between Fabit and Big John described in the scene directions of scene 60, “by now FABIT is there. BIG JOHN turns to him.” To emphasize the divergent motion between Fabit and Big John, in my translation I have translated “BIG JOHN turns to him”as Big John se întoarce înspre el, thus adding additional force to se întoarce (turns to) involving the self twist Big John had to perform to come in contact with Fabit. Similar clashing movements between characters we can notice in: “He reaches for her paper. She snatches it out of reach.” In order to emphasize the rejecting force between the women and Fabit in my translation I have added mâna (hand), so emphasizing the specific intention of Fabit to grab the paper out of the woman’s hand, “snatched it out of his reach” which underlines the resisting element between the characters. However, the most dynamic conflicting movement in the scene directions is exposed in the following indication: “And she goes to pick up the youngest child. The moment she lays fingers on the child, the MOTHER goes berserk and tries to drag the child back from her. FABIT tries to calm his wife down but also to force the WOMAN off the child. The MEN intervene, dragging FABIT back.” In order to illustrate better the resistant element in this scene direction I have translated the to drag as să tragă which in English could be translated as to pull and therefore enforces the contra resistance from the mother side. We can notice even stronger resistance in the description of the double act Fabit performs (“FABIT tries to calm his wife down but also to force the WOMAN off the child”). In rendering to Romanian, “to force the WOMAN off the child”, I have used the verb să separe (to separate) and so again representing the divergent forces which in the original illustrate the forcing effect but not so obvious the separation movement as in Romanian.
5. CHARACTERS’ DIALOG AS THE TOOL FOR CONSTRUCTING RESISTANCE
5.1. The estrangement elements in the dialog between the characters
The nature of the dialogue being part of the conflict between characters needs to be implicit to the fight. The fight which is usually the culmination of a conflict and leads to its resolution should not be overtaken by the dialogue but supported by it. This balance is well kept in the dialog between Big John, Eddie, Kenny, Alice and Nick. There is an implication of the resistance against the immigrants once Big John initiates the dialog but the clarity of the matter is unfold as the rest of the characters participate in the dialog through the short reactions asking for clarification: ‘This what?’ and ‘The what?’ which lead toward labelling of the immigrants as ‘The Kosovans’ or ‘The Kossies’. In the above mentioned situation the short dialog requiring clarification from Big John works very well in my translation. Therefore I maintain the triggering element of unfolding the attitude of John against the immigrants as in Ce asta? (This what?) and Ce adică? (The what?).
The dialogue between characters needs to be focused on their particular goals as part of the whole development of the story line. The nature of this dialogue should not be explanatory or a narrative used to support the understanding of the audience. For that reason Big John’s goal in getting support for his cause against the immigrants is not clarified but through the use of influx and invasion in his opening speech he triggers the other dialog participants to actually identify who these people are and to get them as associates for his cause, e.g. “we have to present a united front”. He goes further in making his point through the use of a widely known saying about protection against someone that could constitute a threat against the person or private property: ‘good fences make good neighbours’. As Anderman points out the transferability of “aggressive humour” in the translated play text depends of its nature. While culturally defined jokes may not be humoristic for the target culture ethnic humour related to minorities is easily transferable due to its cross-cultural popularity. The above quoted saying is well-known to the Romanian public who does associate it with preserving your own property from the possible trespassers even though it does not have the same strong association with the ethnic or minorities’ influx. Therefore, I have translated it into Romanian with the same meaning as in the original, gardurile bune fac vecini buni having in mind the awareness that I want to produce a translation that keeps the English cultural features present within the dialog at the same time keeping it still relevant to the Romanian context.
The trial of Big John to get the members of the community to join his fight against the immigrants is developed thought the rest of the dialog and is defined through the statement: “So we know where we stand and they know where they stand.” I have translated into Romanian the Big John’s resistive and separatist attitude as locul (location/place/position). Therefore the above statement of Big John would read like this in direct English translation: “So that we know our place and they know theirs”, aşa că noi ne ştim locul nostru şi ei pe-al lor.”
The estrangement emotion that Big John brings into his resistive dialog about the immigrants carries an emotional load which in the present case is decoded from the script and furthermore from the actual film . Anderman brings attention particularly on how emotions can be expressed and identified. Various emotions of the characters which are expressed through modal particles might be transferred unchanged into the target text of a play. Monosyllabic words which are also used to express various attitudes of the conversing characters need special attention from the translator. Along these lines we can observe Big John’s resistive attitude behind the polite words toward the immigrants who are trying to get inside the meeting venue. (“Hello? Yes. All right?”). Despite Anderman’s considerations toward the monosyllabic words as is the case of yes I have translated latter into Romanian as da, being the Romanian correspondent of yes, because the reader would not expect this monosyllabic word to suddenly appear into a Romanian text since it is not widely used. Therefore, I have translated the above example with its Romanian correspondent however maintaining the irony and the emotional load.
5.2. The indicative elements of integration motivation in the characters’ dialog
The superb quality of a dialogue comes from its roots to real life communication and its particularity of expression leading to a specific goal revealing the dramatic nature of the plot. This quality is very well integrated in the immigrants’ dialog all throughout the excerpts. Their dialog is imitated from the real life situation and from people’s struggles. The simplicity in the immigrants’ dialog is revealed very well in Miriam’s reply to Big John’s restriction enforced on them of not being accepted in the meeting venue e.g. “We don’t want a vote. We only want to know what is going on.” Nu vrem vot. Vrem doar să ştim ce se întâmplă, and in Fabit’s trial to get acceptance e.g. “You could give us a vot”. Tu ne-ai putea da un vot. Because of their direct and simple composition I have translated these short statements in the dialog very close to the original meaning. They are suffering just some minor syntactic shifts required by Romanian language placing the emphasis on the reflexive pronoun, Tu ne-ai da. Concerning Miriam’s statement, “We only want to know what is going on,” I have translated going on as se întâmplă (is happening), emphasizing the development of action at that particular time.
Undoubtedly, the script writer was aware of the weight of using a repetition in the short dialog between Miriam and Fabit e.g.
MIRIAM:
Immigration? Imigrare?
FABIT:
Immigration. Imigrare.
The significance of this tool is pointed out by Moritz as he stresses that using a device of repeating dialogue or part of it needs to be approached very carefully taking in consideration its importance for advancing the plot by understanding the character’s feeling about the experience.
The interest of integration from the group of immigrants is interwoven with the resistant attitude of the local community group and especially with Big John to further enforce the resistance of this particular community and to help the reader make a stand in this dialog. Such an interlinked opposing tension is noticeable in the Fabit’s question in scene 60: “So. We can come in?” and in Big John’s reply: “Voting members only.” It is worth to point out here my translation of Big John’s reply: Numai membrii cu drept de vot. Here I have supplemented with the drept (rigth) emphasizing that the immigrants were not given such a right in the local community. This lack of voting right is pointing out for the Romanian reader the separatist and resisting attitude of the local community toward the immigrants’ group.
When comes to the dialog’s characteristics I agree with Anderman that there is a continuous tension in producing a relevant translation of play script between preserving the original cultural elements of the source text and adapting them to the environment of the audience in the target text. The balance might be found in observing the border between authentic preservation of the original and the acceptable stretch of the perception limits of the audience. Being aware of this balance but in the same time willing to present the Romanian reader with a specific English dialog, particular to English customs I have preserved that strange nuance of the dialog between the police officers and Fabit, even though the Romanian reader might not be familiar with the police procedures in the UK which the reader might find as ‘out of their ordinary experience’ because the Romanian police would most likely not give any explanations until they reach the police station. Another element that will bring difficulty to the Romanian reader is the intervention on behalf on someone else, having in mind the rooted fear toward state authorities that Romanians still carry with them from the communist time. Therefore such intervention from Nick’s side might appear as revolutionary to the Romanian reader. “NICK: What’s proper about it? It’s a bloody disgrace. This is a disgrace. You make me ashamed” Therefore, in my translation I still keep the revolting tonality of Nick but avoiding bloody which might not be considered as appropriate to be uttered in a conversation with a police officer in Romanian context. Hence I used the Romanian teribil which means terrible and sounds more sophisticated and so eliminating the possibility of indicating to the police officer that Nick might lack some education. “Nick: Ce e potrivit în asta? E o ruşine teribilă. E o ruşine. Mă faceţi să-mi fie ruşine.”
6. CONCLUSION
My aim in translating the selected excerpts from Grow You Own into Romanian was governed by my effort to keep the English character of the text and so produce a text that is representative for the British community culture, preserving it from Romanian cultural community features. At the same time I adapted the structure of the script to a recognised Romanian script style easy to be read by a Romanian who is acquainted with a film script format. I have constantly faced the challenge to produce a relevant translation to the Romanian culture acceptable for the Romanian readers while requesting from them to bring along their basic understanding of English culture. Therefore, through analyzing particularities of stage directions and characters’ interaction I have managed to bring these in focus as dominant tools in constructing the approach of the British community toward minorities’ integration in Grow Your Own.
END NOTES:
Susan Bassnett and Andre Lefevere, Constructing Cultures: Essays on Literary Translation. Topics in Translation, eds. Susan Bassnett and Edwin Gentzler, vol. 11 (Clevedon: Multilingual Matters Ltd, 1998), 93.
This is a foundation which uses gardening with on-site therapy giving allotment sites to the refugees. Family Refugee Support Project, [online], Available at http://www.toxtethtownhall.org.uk/organisations/family-refugee.php, Accessed on 3 March 2008.
The film was released in the UK on 15th of June 2007. Grow Your Own, [online], Available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfilms/2007releases/theallotment.shtml, Accessed on 3 March 2008.
A strong campaign to advise on the work permit requirements in the UK for Romanians was launched in December 2006 by International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Bucharest with the title Without a Permit You Cannot Work in the U.K. This campaign was supported by the British Embassy in Bucharest and therefore a link to this information is available in their website. Without a Permit You Cannot Work in the U.K., [online], Available at http://www.oim.ro/migratie/en/index.php, Accessed on 02 April 2008.
Gunilla Anderman, Europe on Stage: Translation and Theatre (London: Oberon Books, 2005), 324.
Carl Hunt and Frank Cottrell Boyce, “Grow Your Own,” [electronic], scene 15, p.12, Version of the film script provided by the BBC on 23 January 2008.
James Thomas, Script Analysis for Actors, Directors, and Designers, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Focal Press, 2005), 86.
C. Hunt and F. C. Boyce, “Grow Your Own,” [electronic], scene 59, p. 44.
J. Thomas, Script Analysis, 153.
Cristian Mungiu, 7 Scenarii: Mariana, [electronic version], scene 11, p. 44, Editura LiterNet, 2003, [online], Available at http://editura.liternet.ro/carte/32/Cristian-Mungiu/7-scenarii.html, Accessed on 1 April 2008.
Tony Zaza, Script Planning: Positioning and Developing Scripts for TV and Film (Stoneham, MA: Focal Press, 1993), 224.
J. Thomas, Script Analysis, 86.
Janet Dunbar, Scrip-Writing for Television (London: Museum Press Limited, 1965), 115.
J. Thomas, Script Analysis, 151.
C. Hunt and F. C. Boyce, “Grow Your Own,” [electronic], scene 108, p.79.
Charlie Moritz, Scriptwriting for the Screen (London: Routledge, 2001), 83, 84.
Ibid., 84, 85.
G. Anderman, Europe on Stage, 330-331.
However that is different in the case of translating theatrical play texts. It becomes an unachievable task for the translator if “a gestic text” is perceived as being encoded into the play text. The impossibility of this task lays on the unrealistic expectations from the translator to combine skills in decoding such texts, translation, theatrical acting and directing and ability to re-encode the hidden codes into the translated play text. S. Bassnett and A. Lefevere, Constructing Cultures: Essays on Literary Translation, 92.
G. Anderman, Europe on Stage, 334-335.
J. Dunbar, Scrip-Writing, 42.
C. Moritz, Scriptwriting, 85.
G. Anderman, Europe on Stage, 319-320.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Anderman, Gunilla. Europe on Stage: Translation and Theatre. London: Oberon Books, 2005.
Bassnett, Susan and Andre Lefevere. Constructing Cultures: Essays on Literary Translation. Topics in Translation. Edited by Susan Bassnett and Edwin Gentzler. Vol.11. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters Ltd, 1998.
Dunbar, Janet. Scrip-Writing for Television. London: Museum Press Limited, 1965.
Family Refugee Support Project. [online]. Available at http://www.toxtethtownhall.org.uk/organisations/family-refugee.php. Accessed on 3 March 2008.
Grow Your Own. [online]. Available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfilms/2007releases/theallotment.shtml. Accessed on 3 March 2008.
Hunt, Carl and Frank Cottrell Boyce. “Grow Your Own.” [electronic]. Version of the film script provided by the BBC on 23 January 2008.
Moritz, Charlie. Scriptwriting for the Screen. London: Routledge, 2001.
Mungiu, Cristian. 7 Scenarii: Mariana. [electronic version]. Editura LiterNet, 2003. [online]. Available at http://editura.liternet.ro/carte/32/Cristian-Mungiu/7-scenarii.html. Accessed on 1 April 2008.
Thomas, James. Script Analysis for Actors, Directors, and Designers. 3rd ed. Oxford: Focal Press, 2005.
Without a Permit You Cannot Work in the U.K. [online]. Available at http://www.oim.ro/migratie/en/index.php. Accessed on 02 April 2008.
Zaza, Tony. Script Planning: Positioning and Developing Scripts for TV and Film. Stoneham, MA: Focal Press, 1993.