Rachel Weissbrod & Ayelet Kohn

The illustrator as translator - Uri Cadduri and Mr. Fibber, the storyteller as a case in point

While intra-lingual translation has been acknowledged in Translation Studies as part of the general concept of “translation” (Zethsen 2009), the idea of intra-semiotic translation still needs elaboration. In this paper, we apply it to two Hebrew comic books: Uri Cadduri (2013) and Mr. Fibber, the storyteller (2013). First created in the 1930s and 1940s, they were recently re-published with new illustrations. The current illustrators both simulated and transformed the original illustrations, thus establishing a sort of “translational equivalence.” The original rhymes remain intact but acquire new meanings in the new context which is rich with visual sub-plots and “pictorial allusions” (Kaindl 2004). At the same time, subversion and nostalgia – two typical features of comics – change places: nostalgia is given prominence, above all, by the very decision to “translate” and give new life to the obsolete works.

Keyword: comics, illustration, intra-semiotic translation, inter-temporal translation, translational equivalence

Biography

Rachel Weissbrod is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Translation and Interpreting Studies at Bar Ilan University. She holds a PhD in Translation Studies and an MA and BA in English Literature. Her areas of research include translation theory, literary translation into Hebrew, translation for the media and the interrelation between translation and other forms of transfer. She has published in Target, The Translator, Meta, Babel, Linguistica Antverpiensia, Jostrans, Translation Studies and other journals. Her book Not by Word Alone, Fundamental Issues in Translation (in Hebrew) was published by The Open University of Israel in 2007.

Ayelet Kohn is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Photographic Communications at the Hadassah Academic College in Jerusalem. She holds a PhD and MA in Mass Communication and a BA in Comparative Literature and Far Eastern Studies. Her research focuses on the diverse verbal and visual elements of media expression in different social contexts, media and education, written and electronic journalism, and popular culture. She has published in the journals Visual Communication, Multicultural Education, and Emergencies: Journal for the Study of Media and Composite Cultures, among others. Recent publications on translation include (with Weissbrod) “‘Waltz with Bashir’ as a Case of Multidimensional Translation,” in Translation, Adaptation and Transformation (2012).