“Not Thomas” by Sara Gethin: Translation, Analysis and Commentary

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to provide a possible Italian translation of eight excerpts selected from the English novel "Not Thomas" and to present an analysis of the translation. The reason why I have chosen this novel is because I wanted to try to translate a type of language which is usually employed by children since one of the most distinct features of a novel that employs a first-person child narrator is related to the language limitations imposed by the child's young age. "Not Thomas" was written by the Welsh author Sara Gethin and published by Honno Press in 2017. The whole story is narrated from Tomos’s point of view, a five-year-old child who has recently begun to live with his young mother and her drug-dealing boyfriend. Despite the young narrator, the novel contains dark themes such as neglect, abuse, and drug addiction. The thesis is composed of three parts. The first part includes the Source Text of the selected excerpts. The second part contains the Target Text, that is, the Italian translation. Lastly, the third part is further divided into four chapters which cover, respectively, the definition of translation and an overview of its history, a brief history of Wales with a focus on the development of the Welsh language, the analysis of the Source Text and the novel’s main characteristics, and, finally, the last chapter will deal with the commentary of the translation choices made during the translation process.