Discourse and register functions of detached structures: A case study of the translations of two plays

This article examines how “detached” elements (such as those at the beginning and end of Moi aussi, j’aime beaucoup ça, le beurre de peanut) have been handled in the translation of two Quebec plays into English. In French, detachment plays an important role in discourse, marking topic, focus, or emphasis; moreover, it is a strong marker of an informal conversational register. In English, other means are typically used to mark information structure and they do not necessarily differ in conversational and written registers. The study shows that the information structure conveyed by detachment is faithfully rendered in the translations, but the register function is undertranslated. Explanations for this undertranslation are proposed.