Mihai Ana Maria Third year Romanian-English Sixth Group

The Rotters Club (Clubul putregaiurilor)

Jonathan Coe

I. THE SOURCE TEXT: (Source Language: English) The Chick and the Hairy Guy Winter I
Imagine! November the 15th, 1973. A Thursday evening, drizzle whispering against the window-panes, and the family gathered in the living room. All except Colin, who is out on business, and has told his wife and children not to wait up. Weak light from a pair of wroughtiron standard lamps. The coal-effect fire hisses. Sheila Trotter is reading the Daily Mail: To have and to hold, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health- these are the promises which do in fact sustain most married couples through the bad patches. Lois is reading Sounds: Guy, 18, cat lover, seeks London chick, into Sabbath. Only Freaks please. Paul, precociously, is reading Watership Down: Simple African villagers, who have never left their remote homes, may not be particularly surprised by their first sight of an aeroplane: it is outside their comprehension. As for Benjamin I suppose he is doing his homework at the dinning table. The frown of concentration, the slightly protruding tongue (a family trait, of course: Ive seen my mother look the same way, crouched over the laptop). History, probably. Or maybe psysics. Something which doesnt come easily, at any rate. He looks across at the clock on the mantelpiece. The organized type, he has set himself a deadline. He has ten minutes to go. Ten more minutes in which to write up the experiment.

Mihai Ana Maria Third year Romanian-English Sixth Group

Im doing my best, Patrick. Really I am. But its not an easy one to tell, the story of my family. Uncle Benjamins story, if you like. Im not even sure that is the right place to start. But perhaps one place is as good as any other. And this is the one Ive chosen. Mid-November, the dark promise of an English winter, almost thirty years ago. November the 15th, 1973.

Long periods of silence were common. They were a family who had never learned the art of talking to one another. All of them inscrutable, even to themselves: all except Lois, of course. Her needs were simple, defined, and in the end she was punished for it. Thats how I see things, anyway. I dont think she wanted much, at this stage of her life. I think she only wanted companionship, and the occasional babble of voices around her. She would have had a craving for chatter, coming from that family; but she was not the sort to lose herself in a giggling circus of friends. She knew what she was looking for, Im sure of that; already knew, even then, even at the age of sixteen. And she knew were to look for it, too. Ever since her brother had started buying Sounds every Thursday, on the way home from school, it had become her furtive weekly ritual to feign interest in the back-page adverts for posters and clothes (Cotton drill shirts in black, navy, flame-red, cranberry great to team with loons) when her real focus of attention was the personal column. She was looking for a man.

She had nearly all of the personals by now. She was beginning to despair. Freaky Guy (20) wants crazy chick (16+) for love. Into Quo and Zep. Once again,not exactly ideal. Did she want her guy to be freaky? Could she honestly describe herself as crazy? Who were Quo and Zep, anyway? Great guy wishes groovy chick to write, into Tull, Pink Floyd, 17-28. Two freaky guys seek heavy chicks. 16+, love and affection.

Mihai Ana Maria Third year Romanian-English Sixth Group

Guy (20), back in Kidderminster area, seeks attractive chick(s). Kidderminster was only a few miles away, so this last one might have been promising, if it werent for the giveaway plural in parantheses. Hed definitely blown his cover, there. Out for a good time, and little else. Though perhaps that was preferable, in a way, to the whiff of desperation that came off some of the other messages. Disenchanted, lonely guy (21), long dark hair, would like communication with aware, thoughtful girl, appreciate anything creative like: progressive, folk, fine art. Lonely Hairy, Who and Floyd freak, needs a chick for friendship, love and peace. Stockport area. Her mother put the newspaper aside and said: Cup of tea, anyone? Lemonade? When she had gone to the kitchen, Paul laid down the rabbit saga and picked up the Daily Mail. He began reading it with a tired, skeptical smile on his face. Any chick want to go to India. Split end of Dec, no Straights. Any chick who wants to see the world, please write.

II. THE TARGET TEXT: ( Target Language: Romanian) Puicua i iubreul Iarna I
nchipuiete-i! 15 noiembrie 1973. O sear de joi, cu burnia btnd discret n geamuri i familia strns n camera de zi. Toi, mai puin Colin, care a plecat cu treab i le-a spus soiei i copiilor s nu-l atepte. O lumin slab de la dou lmpi obinuite, din fier forjat. Focul din emineul aparent uier.

Mihai Ana Maria Third year Romanian-English Sixth Group

Sheila Trotter citete Daily Mail: S ai i s pstrezi, la bine i la ru, bogie sau srcie, boal sau sntate iat promisiunile pe care se sprijin n realitate majoritatea cuplurilor de soi cnd ntmpin momente dificile. Lois citete Sounds: Tip, 18, iubitor de pisici, caut puicu Londra, pentru zilele de duminic. Primesc doar Drogue. Biat precoce, Paul citete Watership Down: E posibil ca locuitorii Africii, oamenii care nu i-au abandonat niciodat locuinele ndeprtate, s nu fie foarte uimii la vederea unui avion: e vorba de ceva care le depete posibilitatea de nelegere. Ct despre Benjamin... m gndesc c i face temele la mas. Figura concentrat i ncruntat, limba care i iese uor din gur (o trstur de familie, evident: am vzut-o i pe mama artnd tot aa, cnd st aplecat asupra laptop-ului). La istorie, probabil. Sau poate la fizic. Oricum, ceva la care treaba abia merge. Se uit la ceasul de pe bufet. Tip organizat, i-a fixat un termen. Mai are zece minute. nc 10 minute n care s prezinte experimentul. M strduiesc ct pot de mult, Patrick. Serios. Dar nu e tocmai floare la ureche s spui povestea unei familii ca a mea. Sau, dac vrei, povestea unchiului Benjamin. Nici mcar nu tiu c de aici trebuie nceput. Sau poate nici nu conteaz momentul. i n orice caz, pe sta l-am ales eu. Jumtatea lui noiembrie, promisiunea ntunecat a unei ierni englezeti, cu aproape treizeci de ani n urm. 15 noiembrie 1973. Momentele ndelungate de tcere erau un lucru normal. Membrii familiei nc nu deprinseser arta comunicrii. Toi erau enigmatici, chiar i pentru ei nii; toi, mai puin Lois, normal. Nevoile ei erau simple, clare, iar pn la urm era pedepsit pentru c i le spunea. Sau n orice caz, aa neleg eu situaia. La vrsta pe care o avea, nici nu cred c vroia prea multe. Cred c vroia numai compania cuiva i s aud din cnd n cnd voci n jurul ei. Dat fiind familia din care provenea, ar fi trebuit s fie ahtiat dup taclale; doar c nu era n felul ei s intervin n brfele prietenelor ei. tia exact ce vrea, sunt convins, chiar i atunci, la 16 ani, tia foarte bine. De cnd ncepuse fratele ei s cumpere Sounds n fiecare joi, cnd se ntorcea de la coal, lua parte la un ritual sptmnal i ascuns, interesat de

Mihai Ana Maria Third year Romanian-English Sixth Group

reclamele i afiele vestimentare de pe paginile din stnga (tricouri lungi din bumbac, negre, bleumarin, rou aprins, viinii se asorteaz perfect cu pantalonii bufani). n realitate, cuta un brbat.

Citise cam toate anunurile personale. ncepuse s dispere. Tip drgu (20) caut puicu nebun (16+) pentru dragoste. Bazat n Quo i Zep. Nici sta nu era mai de soi. Oare ar fi vrut ca prietenul ei s fie drogu? n ceea ce o privete pe ea, putea s jure c era nebun? i cine naiba erau Quo i Zep? Tip marf mu, caut puicu prima-nti pentru coresponden, bazat n Tull, Pink Floyd, 17-28. Doi drogui cutm puicue babane, 16+, dragoste i afeciune. Tip (20) din Kidderminster, caut puicu/(puicue) atrgtoare. Kidderminsters se afla la doar civa kilometri, aa c sta ar fi putut fi o variant, dac nu l-ar fi anulat pluralul din parantez. Acolo artase ce vroia exact. Una mic i la revedere. Dei poate c ar fi fost i asta ok, ntr-un fel, pentru disperarea care rzbtea din alte mesaje. Tip realist i singur (21), brunet cu prul lung, doresc s comunic cu o fat sensibil, realist, apreciez spiritul creator: muzic progresiv, artizanat, obiecte de art. Tip singur, urel (22), caut companie feminin, nu conteaz nfiarea. Bazat n Moodies, BJH, Camel etc. Iubreul Singuratic, fan Who i Floyd, caut puicu pentru prietenie, dragoste i pace. Zona Stockport. Mama ei ls ziarul i ntreb: Vrea cineva ceai sau limonad? Dup ce ea se duse la buctrie, Paul abandon reportajul despre iepuri i puse mna pe Daily Mail. Se apuc s-l citeasc, cu un zmbet agasant i sceptic. Oricrei puicue amatoare de India. Sfritul lui dec., exclus Normale. Orice puicu care vrea s vad lumea, rog scrie-mi!

Mihai Ana Maria Third year Romanian-English Sixth Group

III.

TRANSLATION METHODS:

a) Equivalence. The principle of equivalent effect. It stipulates that the Target Text should produce the same effects on its audience as those produced by the Source Text on its original readers. 1. Imagine! Source Text nchipuiete-i! Target Text Imagine! from the source text produces the same effect as nchipuiete-i! from the target text. The reader gets the same idea that what is about to be told it is not an usual event and he has to make an effort in order to assimilate and understand what he is about to read. I chose nchipuietei! instead of imagineaz-i! because it has a more powerful impact on the readers and it sends the readers to the idea of the weirdness of the situation. 2. Any chick who wants to see the world, please write. Orice puicu care vrea s vad lumea, rog scrie-mi! I chose the singular orice puicu instead of the plural toate puicuele to produce the same effect on the reader, that the man who posted the announcement individualized every chick and send that message to each of them, to all of them, but personally.

b) Translation loss. The transfer of meaning from the Source Text to the Target Text necessarily involves a certain degree of translation loss, that is, a Target Text will always lack certain culturally relevant features that are present in the Source Text. 1.

Mihai Ana Maria Third year Romanian-English Sixth Group