A literary translation in the making: investigation in-depth the process and product of a literary translation from French into Maltese

Risku et al. (2013: 169) recently called for thorough investigations on particular aspects of the translation process which ‘would illustrate specific parts of the “coming-into-being” of a translation’. In a similar vein, this research project investigates in-depth how an experienced translator goes about the task of translating a literary text from one language into another. It is particularly concerned with the choices and decisions the translator makes during the translation process, the factors influencing them and their impact on the final translation. Furthermore, the current investigation seeks to understand how a literary translation evolves by studying the different versions of a translation: from the first draft produced handwritten in pencil up to the published version that reaches the readers. Particular attention is given to self-revision and the post-drafting phase of the translation process as the translator was closely observed while he revised the draft of a whole literary text until the translation was completed and went to print.

A multi-method approach is adopted by collecting data through think-aloud, translator observation, interviews, analysis of drafts and ST-TT comparison drawing on corpus-based techniques. The data elicited will be triangulated and analysed qualitatively and quantitatively. This project puts the translator in the limelight, centring upon his work and the process leading to it while at the same time exploring a scantily researched language pair namely French to Maltese. It aims to provide further insights into the translation process and translatorial decisions with a main focus on alternative translation solutions and revisions.