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The Case of the Missing ‘C-U-T’ and the Enduring ‘P’ Problem: Untranslatable Humour in a Micro Scene in Twelfth Night |
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| รหัสดีโอไอ | |
| Creator | Visam Mansur |
| Title | The Case of the Missing ‘C-U-T’ and the Enduring ‘P’ Problem: Untranslatable Humour in a Micro Scene in Twelfth Night |
| Publisher | IATIS and Chalermprakiat Center of Translation and Interpretation at Chulalongkorn University |
| Publication Year | 2569 |
| Journal Title | New Voices in Translation Studies |
| Journal Vol. | 31 |
| Journal No. | 1 |
| Page no. | 46-65 |
| Keyword | theatre translation, humour and taboo in translation, Shakespeare in translation, dramaturgical equivalence, translator authorship |
| URL Website | https://newvoices.arts.chula.ac.th/ |
| Website title | New Voices in Translation Studies |
| ISSN | 1819-5644 |
| Abstract | This paper is mainly based on translations of a micro-scene in Twelfth Night, focusing on Malvolio’s reading of Olivia’s forged letter in Act 2, Scene 5, lines 87-90. The significance of this scene relies on the absence of the obscene connotations implied in the letter sequence ‘C-U-T’ and the phrase “her great P’s”. Through examining the scene in Arabic, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish translations, the paper shows that although these letters are often kept in most translations, their connotations have generally been rendered ineffective. This pattern reflects a dependence on orthographic fidelity at the expense of theatrical function. Drawing on contemporary humour-centred models, theatre-translation theory, and the politics of non-translation, the paper argues that the loss of humour in such texts is not a matter of untranslatability, but rather a consequence of institutional constraints that discourage dramaturgical authorship in canonical drama. |
