Narratives in translation and ethical dimensions of translating: an analysis of the translations of Chanson douce into Brazilian Portuguese and Italian

Abstract

This paper aims to present an analysis of translations of the novel Chanson douce (2016 [2023]), by the Franco-Moroccan writer Leïla Slimani, from French into Brazilian Portuguese (Canção de ninar, 2018) and Italian (Ninna nanna, 2018). In order to do so, this work relies on Baker’s studies (2014; 2018; 2023), particularly on her concept of narrative. According to the author, in the translation process, the translator acts not as a neutral intermediary, but as an agent who rebuilds and “reframes” narratives according to their own contexts and life experiences, thereby assuming ethical responsibility for the discourses transmitted. Furthermore, to discuss the ethical issues that pervade translation, this study draws on Berman (2007), who reflects on translation as a gesture of welcoming otherness, requiring attention to the marks of foreignness in the text. Reference is also made to Benedetti (2003), who highlights the translator’s ethical commitment to the text and the reader, demonstrating how a simple syntactic reformulation can alter the reading rhythm and the perception of the characters and the narrated world. Thus, this research intends to offer a critical reflection on how different translation choices affect the reception and representation of the narrative. In this sense, translation is understood as a space of decision-making and responsibility. Consequently, the analyzed translations are viewed as situated narratives, shaped by ethical and aesthetic choices that participate in the construction of meaning and in the circulation of the literary work in new cultural contexts.