The depiction of reality in Francis Ebejer' s novel Requiem for a Malta Fascist (or The Interrogation) and its translation

Abstract

This study discusses the literary and translation strategies involved in the depiction of reality in Francis Ebejer's novel Requiem for a Malta Fascist (or The Interrogation), written in English, the Ll, and its translation into Maltese, the L2, by Charles Briffa. Four main approaches are taken to discuss reality. Linguistic reality investigates language in its functional mode. The second approach tackles perceived reality and explores language from its communicative aspects. The third approach elaborates on the aspect of contextual reality and finally the dimension which the bilingual author and translator themselves brought to the reading experience is integrated. Similarities and dissimilarities are observed in the manipulation of language by the L 1 and the L2. Equivalence and divergences in resonance arising from the translation process are explored. A significant cause of non-equivalence is identified in the fact that the indigenous reality being portrayed is linked to the L2 rather than to the LI. The translation process is finally viewed from the perspective of the authentication process.