Transferring Scots into Portuguese: an Annotated Translation of The Firebird, by Susanna Kearsley

Abstract

This thesis is a [desperate, paradoxical joy]ride through the theoretical thought-line behind the translation of 13 chapters from The Firebird (2010), a historical novel by Susanna Kearsley, which mingles English and Scots, two languages stemming from Old English and which are, therefore, very similar. The most complicated issue with translating this particular book was the political weight of Scots as a minority language, with the entire translation strategy – firmly based on postcolonial theory – being centred around not erasing it, leading to a solution based on Linguistics, specifically on Phonetics, aiming at transferring certain sounds from Scots to Portuguese. To properly present this solution, this thesis addresses subjects such as the history of the Scots language, the Jacobite Risings, translation theories focused on the debate domestication vs foreignization, dialects, sociolects, and political agendas.