A Comparative Analysis of the Challenges Encountered in Literary and Audiovisual Translation of Science Fiction: A Case Study on Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Abstract

The genre of science fiction has relatively been very popular in literary and audiovisual fields in recent years. However, the academic literature related to the science fiction genre is rich in terms of the number of published articles but those which are related to translation, especially into Turkish, are very few. In this regard, this study primarily focuses on the literary translation of Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One by Taylan Taftaf, the fan subtitle translation of the film Ready Player One into Turkish by Hasangdr & X@nder, and professional subtitle translation by Aycan Soner. This thesis primarily attempts to shed light on the challenges that the translators encounter while translating the science fiction terms, to analyze the translation strategies to map out the overall translation orientations of the translators, to reveal any differences or possible systematic preferences that the translators exhibit, and to detect the possible justifications and motivations behind the translators’ decisions. To that end, the translations of 30 science fiction terms are analyzed in the light of Cintas and Remael’s (2007) subtitling strategies, and then the translational decisions of the translators are evaluated within the theoretical framework of the orientation norms put forward by Pedersen (2011). Ultimately, it has been found that the literary, professional subtitle and fan subtitle translators have adopted a source oriented approach when transferring the science fiction terms. However, the study has also found that the fan subtitle translators might produce more acceptable translation since they generally do not need to translate in accordance with the professional rules followed by the professional subtitle translator and literary translator. In conlusion, contrary to the general assumption despite the similar constraints, the lower rate of similarity has been found between the translation strategies of the fan subtitle translator and professional subtitle translator while the higher rate of similarity has been detected between the translational decisions of the literary translator and the professional subtitle translator.