Le dialecte au théâtre: le défi de la traduction

This paper specifically focuses on the translation of dialects in theatre, suggesting that no unique solution appears to exist for the rendition of dialects in the target text. Indeed, the article underlines the importance of considering both the status of dialect in the linguistic system underlying the source text and its literary and dramaturgical function in the play which is to be translated. The linguistic horizon of the receiving public, together with its sensibility to dialects and to linguistic diversity, also plays a key role in determining the translation. Moreover, when it comes to translating a play for the scene, the director’s interpretation of the text can also have an influence on the translator’s approach to dialect. Finally, the performance itself can be seen as an additional means of transposing the cultural identity and the dramaturgical function of dialect, thus completing or replacing the linguistic translation. Three French translations of the Neapolitan play Filumena Marturano will be analyzed in order to illustrate what is at stake for translation when dialects enter the stage.