The Translation of Fictional Worlds in Literature between German and Spanish: The Case of Die andere Seite. Ein phantastischer Roman by Alfred Kubin

Abstract

This paper is centered on the research of the translation
of the narrative structures called «fictional worlds» in
the literary modality between German and Spanish.
Specifically, the mechanisms that can be implemented
to the transfer of the concrete elements that act as the
foundations of fictional worlds between sociocultural
contexts will be analyzed in it. The functional rendering of
these components guarantees that the target recipients
will be able to mentally conceive the new narrative
reality and this is why it is fundamental to undertake
this task efficiently. This paper’s research goals will
be accomplished by means of the observation of the
fictional world built in the work Die andere Seite. Ein
phantastischer Roman by Alfred Kubin, which presents
an outstanding example of this type of hypothetical
dimensions. This analysis is based on theories pertaining
to the field of Descriptive Translation Studies and on
the works by authors such as Toury (1980), Lambert
and Van Gorp (1985) or Munday (2001). It consists on
the integral search of the founding conceptual elements
of the universe of this novel, a selection of the most
relevant examples for the objectives of this paper and its
translation dissection in order to identify the processes
used to render them and to assess the functionality of
each of the equivalents proposed to evoke the reality
shown in this novel in the Spanish-speaking context.