Genre-Specific Irrealia in Translation: Can Irrealia Help Define Speculative Fiction Sub-Genres?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33919/esnbu.22.1.5Keywords:
speculative fiction, science fiction, irrealia, genre-specific, translation, Fahrenheit 451Abstract
Speculative fiction texts and their translation, particularly from English, have been gradually rising in prominence. However, not only do speculative fiction and its sub-genres remain only vaguely defined in general despite numerous attempts by both writers and theoreticians, but their specific features are often even less explored from the perspective of translation studies. This article aims to enrich translation studies understanding of irrealia as signature features of speculative fiction texts. It builds on existing conceptions of both irrealia and realia in order to propose the concept of genre-specific irrealia. Hence, it discusses how irrealia relate to individual sub-genres of speculative fiction and how such distinctions can help the recipient or translator realise the specificity of these elements. The paper has a particular focus on science fiction, although it also discusses fantasy and supernatural horror specific irrealia. The article then illustrates the concept of genre-specific irrealia and discusses its implications for translation on examples drawn from the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and its Slovak translation by the translator Jozef Klinga.
References
Adams, D. (2010). The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Del Rey.
Bradbury, R. (2013). Fahrenheit 451. Simon & Schuster.
Bradbury, R. (2015). 451 stupňov Fahrenheita. (J. Klinga, Trans.). Citadella.
Clute, J. & Grant, J. (Eds.). (1999). The Encyclopedia of Fantasy. Orbit Fantasy.
Dick, P. K. (1995). My Definition of Science Fiction. In L. Sutin (Ed.), The shifting realities of Philip K. Dick: selected literary and philosophical writings (pp. 99-101). Vintage Books.
Ferenčík, J. (1982). Kontexty prekladu. Slovenský spisovateľ.
Herec, O. (2008). Z teórie modernej fantastiky. Literárne informačné centrum.
Kažimír, M. & Martinkovič, M. (2021). On Translating Irrealia in Speculative Fiction. Bridge: Trends and Traditions in Translation and Interpreting Studies 2 (Special issue), 37-50. https://www.bridge.ff.ukf.sk/index.php/bridge/article/view/53
Loponen, M. (2009). Translating Irrealia – Creating a Semiotic Framework for the Translation of Fictional Cultures. Chinese Semiotics Studies 2(1), 165-175. https://doi.org/10.1515/css-2009-0117.
Loponen, M. (2019). The Semiospheres of Prejudice in the Fantastic Arts: The Inherited Racism of Irrealia and Their Translation [Doctoral dissertation, University of Helsinki]. University of Helsinki Research Repository. http://hdl.handle.net/10138/299080
Popovič, A. (1983). Originál – Preklad Interpretačná terminológia. Tatran.
Reid, R. A. (2000). Ray Bradbury: A Critical Companion. Critical Companions to Popular Contemporary Writers. Greenwood Press.
Suvin, D. (1979). Metamorphoses of Science Fiction: On the Poetics and History of a Literary Genre. Yale University Press.
Vilikovský, J. (1984). Preklad ako tvorba. Slovenský spisovateľ.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2022 Matej Martinkovič
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Access Policy and Content Licensing
All published articles on the ESNBU site are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. It allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, even for commercial purposes. The terms on which the article is published allow the posting of the published article (Version of Record) in any repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
Note that prior to, and including, Volume 10, Issue 2, 2024, articles were licensed under the Non-commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. The transition to CC BY 4.0 is effective as of Volume 11, Issue 1, 2025.
In other words, under the CC BY 4.0 license users are free to
Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format for any purpose, even commercially.
Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
Under the following terms:
Attribution (by) - You must give appropriate credit (Title, Author, Source, License), provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
Notice: No warranties are given. The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how you use the material.
If the law requires that the article be published in the public domain, authors will notify ESNBU at the time of submission, and in such cases the article shall be released under the Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver CC0 1.0 Universal.
Copyright
Copyright for articles published in ESNBU are retained by the authors, with first publication rights granted to the journal. Authors retain full publishing rights and are encouraged to upload their work to institutional repositories, social academic networking sites, etc. ESNBU is not responsible for subsequent uses of the work. It is the author's responsibility to bring an infringement action if so desired by the author.
Exceptions to copyright policy
Occasionally ESNBU may co-publish articles jointly with other publishers, and different licensing conditions may then apply.
