TRANSLATING PLAYFUL LANGUAGE IN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE: THEORIES AND APPLICATIONS

The main aim of this work is to analyse the playful use of language in children’s books and the challenges that their translation entail, taking as a case study the Italian translation of Roald Dahl’s novel The BFG. The decision to focus on this specific work stems from the fact that the main character, the Big Friendly Giant (BGF), speaks a language which is extremely rich in puns and literary neologisms, which are deeply related to the fundamental structures and cultural context of the English language and seemingly make this type of language impossible to translate. Dahl’s work provides fertile ground for the investigation of innovative techniques and ways in which entertaining and distinctive language can be translated into other languages while maintaining their own unique style. Analysis of translations into different languages can also provide a unique opportunity to reflect on the cultural and linguistic nuances that emerge in the process of making a literary creation steeped in wordplay accessible to an international audience.