Excusez-moi?: Translating Quebec children’s literature for the U.S. market
Quebec has a thriving French-language children’s literary scene. And while Canadian publishers have long recognized the potential in translating Quebec literature, only recently are American publishers beginning to sit up and take notice of the deep and vibrant storytelling tradition that lies nestled in the northeast corner of the continent.
However, as any national literature is wont to do, children’s books written in Quebec often reflect elements of the province’s history, culture, language, and identity. This means authors frequently weave cultural references into their stories as a means of engaging and resonating with their young audiences.
Yet, one of the key elements that determines whether or not a book is engaging to young readers is relatability. The child must be able to relate to the main characters and imagine themselves as part of the story. This is difficult to do when a translated book is rife with foreign-sounding and unrecognizable—ergo, unrelatable—elements.
When it comes to the age-old debate on foreignization versus domestication, most American children’s book publishers tend to fall into the domestication camp, preferring that translators smooth out or eliminate the “foreignness” in translated books for the sake of readability. Below are some examples of elements in children’s books that translators are commonly asked to domesticate.
Names of people, places and things
Quite often, U.S. publishers will ask the translator to change or adapt the characters’ names in children’s books to look and sound more English. For example, Noémie would become Naomi, Gaëlle would become Gloria, Mathieu would become Matthew, Henri would become Henry, etc. In very rare cases, a French name simply doesn’t work in the target culture. This is the case, for example, with the girl’s name Fanny, which is slang for a person’s backside in North American English (and something else entirely in British English!). So, Fanny would become Franny (or Francine or Frances…).
The same applies to names of businesses that have no significance or relevance to young American readers. Take Jean Coutu and Canadian Tire, for example. While the translator’s knee-jerk reaction might be to replace them with equivalents recognizable to an American audience, it’s important to consider where the story is taking place and whether that solution makes sense in the context. A tween in Quebec City who wants a new shade of nail polish is highly unlikely to walk to her corner Walgreens. And a father in Laval who needs a new lawnmower is probably not going to head over to Ace Hardware. U.S. publishers will prefer more generic solutions, such as “the pharmacy down the street” or “his local hardware store.”
Profanity
While profanity generally isn’t an issue in most children’s books, it’s surprisingly not uncommon in middle-grade and young adult novels. Quebec authors aren’t above inserting a well-placed “merde” or “maudit” when the situation calls for it. However, U.S. publishers tend to err on the more conservative side, so translators are advised to check with their editor before letting loose with a stream of “shits” and “damns.” More likely than not, they’ll have to settle for tamer, less offensive alternatives like “crap” and “darn.”
Obscure facts about Quebec
Quebec children’s book authors have a predilection for sprinkling obscure facts about the province throughout the pages of their work. A book about space might contain a short paragraph about the training regimen followed by Quebec’s astronaut célèbre David Saint-Jacques. A book about the origins of different foods might feature a factoid about how Anticosti Island, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, was purchase by a French chocolatier. A picture book about a family of squirrels might feature an insert with information about the types of trees typically found in Quebec’s forests. And the list goes on. This information is all very interesting and relevant—to children in Quebec. But the stark reality is, American children simply won’t care. In almost all cases, U.S. publishers will ask the translator to omit this irrelevant (to them) information.
Cultural references
Names of Quebec artists, songs, television shows, and other cultural products specific to La Belle Province can also prove to be sticking points for U.S. publishers, who will ask the translator to either adapt them, omit them, or add an explicitation to the text. For example, if it has no bearing on the plot, the Céline Dion French song title Des mots qui sonnent might be changed to the universally recognized My Heart Will Go On. A mention of a family watching Le tricheur during the supper hour might be replaced with “a quiz show” or simply “watching TV.” A reference to Coeur de pirate might be fleshed out to “the singer Coeur de pirate.”
The customer is (almost) always right
The fact remains: Even in book publishing, the customer is always right. And when the customer is an American publisher willing to invest in publishing a translation of a Quebec children’s book, by the same token raising the profile of both the author and the province, the translator generally does everything in their power to ensure the book is a commercial and popular success in the target market.
And while translators are often forced to make difficult decisions between preserving the “Quebec-ness” of the original work and producing a book that will resonate with young U.S. readers, most will agree that there are some translation hills worth dying on. Poutine is one of them. Poutine must never be domesticated. This was a real faceoff between the author and a U.S. editor. The author won.
Ann Marie Boulanger is a certified translator (OTTIAQ) and owner of Traduction Proteus Inc. She translates commercial texts as well as adult and children’s literature. She is a lecturer in the Graduate Diploma in Legal Translation at McGill University’s School of Continuing Studies. She is also co-founder of LION Translation Academy, which offers business, technology, and language training workshops for translators.
