Translating Children’s Literature: from theory to practice

Abstract

In the first stages of learning to translate children’s literature, translation decisions can be conditioned by certain preconceived ideas such as the perceived free hand to manipulate a translation or the simplicity of the translation process. Something similar also occurs in the practice of translating children’s literature when it does not coincide with reflection on the characteristics, conditioning factors and restrictions of the translation. We argue in this paper that there is a need to reflect on the characteristics of translating children’s literature, and on the stereotypical notions that surround it, before embarking on the translation itself. The paper is based on an educational experience with Translation and Interpreting Degree students at the Universitat Jaume I of Castellón, as part of the Spanish-Catalan specialised translation course.