https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/1177 2026-04-11T14:21:13Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/143467 Title: “With curses of joy on my lips” : translating poetics and idiomaticity in Henry Miller’s ‘Tropic of Cancer’ through a hermeneutic-pragmatic approach Abstract: This dissertation explores the translatability of the idiomatic and poetic language in Henry Miller’s ‘Tropic of Cancer’ (1934), through a theoretical framework combining Hermeneutics, Semiotics and Pragmatics. Aligned with contemporary translation studies that emphasise a hermeneutic approach, this research views translation as an interpretative act. It highlights the translator’s role as an interpreter who actively engages with the text, transforming it while recognising the inherent limitations of interpretation. The research also examines the dynamic between languages within the context of semiosis, presenting language as an ongoing, open-ended process of interpretation. The term “pragmatic” in the title reflects a balance between theoretical depth and practical application in translation, focusing on how both idiomatic and poetic language can be preserved or recreated in the TT. This study prioritises linguistic creativity and cultural authenticity by contextualising both the ST and TT within their respective literary, sociolinguistic, and cultural frameworks. Additionally, the dissertation explores the interplay of poetic and idiomatic language, highlighting the intralingual and interlingual dimensions of translation, and the critical dialectic between the source and target languages that arises in the translation process. Description: M.Trans.(Melit.) 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/141966 Title: “Multiplikazzjonijiet mewwieġa” : it-traduzzjoni ekoloġika marbuta max-xbihat tal-baħar fil- poeżiji kontemporanji Maltin Abstract: Din it-teżi tittratta t-Traduzzjoni Ekoloġika u l-Istudji Umanistiċi Blu fil-kuntest lokali, speċjalment fl-era tal-kriżi klimatika. Din tistħarreġ it-traduzzjoni tax-xbihat marbuta mal-baħar u mal-ambjent akkwatiku f’sens wiesa’ biex tipprova timla l-kuxjenza tal-qarrejja b’aktar sensittività ekoloġika madwar il-globu. L-Istudji Umanistiċi Blu ntrabtu mat- Traduzzjoni Ekoloġika għax akkademiċi miż-żewġ dixxiplini bħal Steve Mentz (2024, p. 3-5) u Michael Cronin (2024, p.18) isostnu li l-bidla fl-imġiba tal-bnedmin teħtieġ kollaborazzjoni b’approċċ multilingwi. L-istħarriġ fuq it-traduzzjoni tal-poeżiji kontemporanji sar fuq ix-xogħlijiet ta’ erba’ poeti: Leanne Ellul, Elizabeth Grech, Immanuel Mifsud u Adrian Grima. Intużaw it-traduzzjonijiet għall-Ingliż tal-poeżiji mill-ġabriet L-Inventarju tal-Kamra l-Kaħla ta’ Ellul li ftit mill-poeżiji tagħha ġew tradotti minn Albert Gatt, u bejn baħar u baħar ta’ Grech ġie tradott fil-ġabra Between Seas minn Irene Mangion. Dawn iż-żewġ poeti ma jittrattawx il- kriżi klimatika direttament, iżda ċerti għażliet lingwistiċi li tlaqqagħna magħhom it-traduzzjoni jew it-temi li tipproġetta joħorġu aspetti intriganti fir-relazzjoni ta’ bejn il-bnedmin u l-ilma. Aktar minn hekk, l-istudju ma kienx komparattiv biss, iżda kellu l-element prattiku wkoll minħabba li ġew tradotti sitt poeżiji mill-ġabra Riħ min-Nofsinhar sabiex l-istudju japplika t-teorija li qed jgħaddi, jiġifieri li jibdew jiġu tradotti testi li espliċitament jittrattaw il-kriżi klimatika. Dawn il-poeżiji ntgħażlu għaliex jittrattaw b’mod ċar temi relatati mal-kriżi klimatika, bħaż-żieda fil-livell tal-baħar, l-ispostament tan-nies, u l-konsegwenzi politiċi u emozzjonali tagħhom, u għalhekk joffru bażi b’saħħitha biex tiġi investigata l-possibbiltà tat-traduzzjoni bħala att ekoloġiku. Dan l-istudju jibda bi sfond fuq l-element marittimu fil-kuntest tal-komunità Maltija li jista’ jiġi applikat għal oħrajn, li ħajjithom ntgħaġnet u għadha tissawwar mill-ilma li jiċċirkonda gżirithom. Imbagħad tingħata ħarsa kritika lejn it-teorija akkademika dwar l- Istudji Umanistiċi Blu u t-Traduzzjoni Ekoloġika, li tiġi segwita minn kapitlu fuq it-traduzzjoni tal-metafora li toffri pedament għall-fehim aktar b’saħħtu tat-traduzzjoni tax-xbihat tal-poeżiji. It-tielet kapitlu se jiffoka fuq il-metodoloġija li ntużat biex intgħażlu l-poeti u fuq il-qafas li fuqu ġie bbażat l-istudju. Il-kapitli segwenti se jittrattaw l-analiżi tal-poeżiji li kienu tradotti, u dawk li ġew tradotti għall-għanjiet ta’ dan l-istħarriġ. Finalment, il-konklużjoni se tiġbor il-qofol tal-istudju u turi li t-Traduzzjoni Ekoloġika flimkien mal-Istudji Umanistiċi Blu, għandhom jippermettu lill-prodotti lokali jidwu mal-globu bil-possibbiltà li jagħmlu differenza soċjalment u kulturalment. Description: M.Trans.(Melit.) 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/141965 Title: Translating academic language : a focus on qualitative and quantitative research terminology in translation studies Abstract: In academia, English has become firmly established as the global lingua franca of research and higher education. While this facilitates international scholarly communication, it also presents challenges for other languages, especially low-resourced languages like Maltese, which seek to assert themselves within academic discourse. In Maltese higher education, English is also the dominant language of instruction and publication, which has led to a limited use and underdevelopment of academic and research terminology in Maltese. The idea for this dissertation stems from this very gap, which reflects a broader issue concerning academic terminology development across various disciplines, not just Translation Studies. This dissertation aims to contribute to the development of Maltese academic language by translating and developing terminology related to quantitative and qualitative research in Translation Studies. One of the primary practical foci of this study involves translating an article on Quantitative Research (Rojo López 2022a), published in the Encyclopedia of Translation and Interpreting (ENTI), from English into Maltese. In addition, both the English and Maltese versions of the ENTI Qualitative Naturalistic Research article (Borg 2024a, 2024b) were used to extract key terminology. From these sources, a total of 100 key terms were identified to develop Maltese equivalents, forming terminology with definitions and contexts. This dissertation thus aims to demonstrate that translating and conducting terminological research in Maltese is vital, not only as a contribution to Translation Studies, but also as a means of promoting more inclusive academic participation with more readily available Maltese resources. This is especially important for Maltese-speaking academics, researchers, translators, writers, and students who wish to engage with scholarly work in their native language. Ultimately, this dissertation aims to contribute towards the expansion of Maltese academic resources. Maltese, like all languages, deserves a place in the global production of knowledge, not merely as a cultural symbol, but as a living academic language. Description: M.Trans.(Melit.) 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/141964 Title: Translation, gender in Disney’s live-action productions: a translation studies perspective on the representation of gender stereotypes in Pinocchio, Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast Abstract: This study investigates how gender representation is rewritten in Disney’s live-action adaptations of Beauty and the Beast (Condon 2017), Aladdin (Ritchie 2019), and Pinocchio (Zemeckis 2022), through the lens of Translation Studies. It draws on Lefevere’s theory of translation as rewriting, Butler’s theory of gender performativity, and Bassnett’s model of features, and is integrated within a qualitative, comparative, and interdisciplinary framework. The analysis attempts to address how ideological forces such as patronage and poetics, influence Disney’s adaptations, and how they reflect and reshape contemporary gender norms. The methodology of this research focuses on the taxonomies developed to map narrative and character features across the source texts, animations and live-action remakes, providing a diachronic view of the shifts in gender representation. Secondary focus is given to the subtitles, highlighting the roles of interlingual, intralingual, and intersemiotic translation strategies in shaping gender discourse. Findings reveal Disney’s clear attempt at progressiveness in gender representation – such as increased female agency or queer representation – although often resulting in superficial additions and, paradoxically, reinforcing patriarchal and heteronormative ideologies. Furthermore, linguistic analysis of subtitles and translation strategies further reveal ideological manipulation and superficiality of progress. By combining theories from Translation Studies, Adaptation Studies, Feminist and Queer Theory, and Semiotics and Narratology, this study highlights the role of translation as a vehicle of cultural and ideological transmission within children’s media. In conclusion, Disney’s adaptations are shaped as much by market and cultural expectations as by narrative fidelity, positioning translation as a central process in reinforcing gender ideologies and representation. Description: M.Trans.(Melit.) 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z