“Toute la vigueur de la langue de Claus restituée en français.” An investigation into some of Hugo Claus’ typically Flemish theatre texts in French translation.

Smeyers, Elies
(2016) International Conference. Small is Great. Cultural Transfer Through Translating the Literatures of Smaller European Nations. — Location: Budapest, Hongrie (10.March.2016)

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  • Smeyers, Eliesorcid-logoUCLouvain
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Abstract
(en) Hugo Claus is one of the most important 20th century Dutch-language authors. In many of his novels and plays, he opted for a non-standard Flemish language variety. Nevertheless, this ‘little’ Flemish author – who later received the epithet ‘le Géant des Flandres’ – rapidly conquered a firm position within the Francophone literary field. Many – though not all – of Claus’ works are characterised by a strong ‘Flemish’ local colour, and more importantly a Flemish-sounding language that is not just mimetic but forms an intrinsic stylistic feature. This exotic ‘Flemishness’ as well as Claus’ deviant language are repeatedly praised in the paratexts (epi- and peritexts) of the French translations. Claus’ ‘small’ language and local setting seem to have been an asset rather than a hindrance to his successful reception in French. We will look at the paratextual framework of his French reception and link this with the textual choices of the translators. How is this ‘Flemishness’ preserved or rather constructed in translation? How was Claus’ reception influenced by French hetero-images about Flemish/Dutch literature? And did the construction of ‘un Claus français’ in its turn affect these cultural stereotypes?
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Smeyers, E. (2016). “Toute la vigueur de la langue de Claus restituée en français.” An investigation into some of Hugo Claus’ typically Flemish theatre texts in French translation. International Conference. Small is Great. Cultural Transfer Through Translating the Literatures of Smaller European Nations., Budapest, Hongrie. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/186788