Document Type : Research Paper
Author
Assistant Professor of French Language Department at Tarbiat Modares University (TMU)
Abstract
This study investigates the translation of humorous comics for child and adolescent audiences, focusing on cultural adaptation strategies and intersemiotic translation in selected volumes of The Adventures of Tintin and Gil Jourdan rendered into Persian. The central concern is how a translator can preserve formal-textual cohesion in visual elements that carry culturally embedded meanings_ especially when such elements may be unfamiliar, inappropriate, or even taboo in the target culture.
To address this, the research corpus examines intersemiotic translation strategies and the treatment of paratextual and graphic elements in Persian renditions of Red Rackham’s Treasure and The Castafiore Emerald, as well as The Diamonds and The Lost Submarine. The analysis draws on Kaindl’s concept of multimodality in intersemiotic translation, Kress and van Leeuwen’s cultural semiotics, and Skacelová’s notions of visual syntax and graphic material cohesion.
Findings align with Cohn’s visual language theory, including his frameworks of visual lexicon, cognitive morphemes, and narrative grammar, confirming that comic translation for young readers involves complex cultural mediation far beyond linguistic transfer. The core challenge lies not only in conveying verbal-visual elements but in reengineering the intersemiotic cohesion of the source text across cultural, semiotic, and graphic-structural dimensions. Cultural adaptation for this sensitive audience requires careful monitoring of content reinterpretation of embedded visual codes, and graphic adjustments aligned with translation norms.
Ultimately, successful translation demands a dual commitment to cultural domestication and respectful foreignization. The translator’s role as cultural mediator must be both faithful and creatively engineered, with later stages of the translation process oriented toward the experiential and socio-cognitive reception of young readers. Future research may explore genre-specific adaptation across cultures, including superhero comics and Japanese manga, or comparative studies of Persian, Arabic, and Turkish translations to map broader cultural expectations and ideological frameworks.
Keywords
- intersemiotic translation
- humorous comics
- adaptation
- multimodality
- structural & peritextual elements
Main Subjects
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