Belgian hero translated into Monegasque language.
For the past 4 months, Dominique Salvo-Cellario who teaches Monegasque, and Eliane Mollo, professor at the Univeristy of Nice Sophia Antipolis, have been translating a Tintin comic book into Monegasque. The Castafiore Emerald [1] (see table below for original French and new Monegasque translations) is the twenty-first adventure in Herge's series, and unusual in being only one of two in which the clever Belgian journalist doesn't travel to another part of the world.
The typescript of the translation has already been delivered to the publisher Casterman [2], and includes a glossary to help readers understand the Monegasque expressions and wordplay. There are lots of references to Monaco's history and to every day life in the Principality. Indeed, nearly everything has been changed, including the series' title and the pronunciation of the hero's name, which in Monegasque sounds like Teenteen.
Apparently the biggest difficulty was in translating the conjugation of the past tense. Where French has the past perfect and imperfect tenses, Monegasque only expresses past certainty or doubt. No doubt when the book is published in November, it'll be an enjoyable way to learn a little local culture.
French | Monegasque | English |
Les aventures de Tintin | Tintín per munti e valade | The adventures of Tintin |
Les Bijoux de la Castafiore | I Ori d'A Castafiore | The Castafiore Emerald |
Tintin | Tintín | Tintin |
Capitaine Haddock | le capitaine Stocafí | Captain Haddock |
Dupont - Dupond | Dupont - Davuta | Thomson - Thompson |
Milou | Milu | Snowy |
Wooah! Wooah! | Bau! Bau! | Wooah! Wooah! |
Tintin in Monaco [4]
Tintin a Munegu [5]
Links:
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Castafiore_Emerald
[2] http://bd.casterman.com/
[3] http://www.monaco.maprincipaute.com/actu/actudet_--Tintin-au-pays-des-princes-_loc-1340894_actu.Htm
[4] http://www.visitmonaco.com/fr/L'actu/News/Tintin-à-Monaco
[5] http://www.monaco.mc/actuArticle.do?idArticle=123891