The Differences Between Turkish and English Translation of Names in Le Petit Nicolas

and the Reasons Behind Them

Özlem Nuray Salman

Abstract
Le Petit Nicolas is a series written by Goscinny and illustrated by Sempe. The stories take
place in 1950s in a regular French city. The events happening in the series aren’t
extraordinary, they can happen to any child, there is sorrow, happiness, and mischief. The
series was translated into English by Anthea Bell in 1978 and Turkish by Vivet Kanetti in
1988. The series are very popular in children’s literature in both languages. The names form a
big part of the book’s legacy, as it comes to mind primarily while reminiscing the stories. But
the names aren’t the same in these three sources. Goscinny used French names, and both
translations changed the names of the characters in different styles while translating. Kanetti
preferred nicknames while Bell adopted English names.
Translation of names in children’s literature is a highly controversial issue. This paper
focuses on the translations of Kanetti and Bell and the reasons behind their choices using
those ideas. I presented excerpts from a chapter of the book, Les Carnets, and analyze the
differences between the translation styles, expanded or subtracted parts, and specifically
names. In the end, both translators tried to adapt some elements in a way they thought to be
more understandable in that language. We cannot be objectively sure if their choices affected
their readers positively or negatively, but we can learn their points of views.

Methodology
The chapter I chose to work on is Les Carnets or Report Cards. The names of the
characters and their personality are especially emphasized and described in this chapter while
they are receiving the report cards. It also shows their classroom dynamics and their signature
childish world view. That’s why it is a good part to analyze and understand the translators’
decisions. I tried to base the arguments on the idea that translation is a representation and the
extent of this translation is determined by the translator’s expectations.
After reading the chapter in two languages and detecting the common patterns, I
researched why there could be technical differences between translations. There are
categorized opinions on the children’s books’ translation and I tried to express those opinions
briefly while giving examples. As for the names, I looked for their origins, meanings,
commonness, and history. I benefited from social media posts to understand their views on
translation and looked at other writers’ ideas. I search for the childhood’s characteristics to
grasp the reasons of translation differences. One should know the child psychology to make
sense of the language used for children.

Findings
The chapter I'm going to inspect starts with the entrance of the school principal to the class
to distribute the report cards. From now on, we can see each child's genuine reaction, and
their traits are described clearly. The use of language is very simple and straightforward in
both translations. The English translation is 
"…The principal came into our classroom with our report cards. He didn't seem pleased." 
And the Turkish one is: 
‘’…Sınıfa kolunun altında karnelerle girdiğinde, müdürün hiç de hoşnut bir hali yoktu.’’
As you can see here, Bell chose to separate the expressions into two sentences while
Kanetti translated them as a compound sentence. Goscinny wrote the original sentence as a
compound sentence like Kanetti translated. These paragraphs and the whole story use simple
past tense in both translations. Children's stories are usually told in this tense because children
find it simpler to follow the already done events. Amanda Patterson writes children younger
than 12 cannot differentiate between fiction and reality yet, and the fast pace of the present
tense makes it harder for them thus they find it more draining (2016).
In the continuation, we get to know the characters,
 "Claude burst into tears. Claude is at the bottom of the class; every month the teacher
writes awful things in his report card and Claude's parents are disgusted and send him to bed
without any dessert or television." 
The other translation in Turkish is,
‘’Dalgacı, hıçkırarak ağlamaya koyuldu. Dalgacı, sınıfın sonuncusudur. Öğretmen her ay
bir sürü şey yazar karnesine. Dalgacının annesiyle babası da hiç hoşlanmazlar bu
yazılanlardan. Akşam Dalgacıya tatlıyla televizyonu yasak ederler. ‘’
The Bell converted the name Clotaire into Claude. It is an uncommon but still normally
welcomed name. Kanetti's version of the name is 'Dalgacı'. This is not a name, but a nickname
that means kind of buffoon. We can understand from the written lines that the character is
such a lazy student in the class that it became a habit for the ones around him. The word
Dalgacı refers to it, and it indicates a correlation between the personality and the name; we are
going to see this continues for all characters. Unlike Bell, who turned Clotaire into a regular
English name, Kanetti goes beyond it and adds a remark by herself. 
 What I find interesting in this translation is the verb 'disgust'. The original book writes it
"…le papa et la maman de Clotaire ne sont pas contents…" which directly means his parents
aren't happy. Instead of using expressions like discontent, unhappy, etc. Bell chose a much
stronger translation. Here, unlike her choices in the names, Kanetti suits the original sentiment
and expresses the term as discontent. 
The story follows up with
 "...My report card said: 'unruly pupil, often inattentive. Could do better.' Bruno's said:
'disruptive, pugnacious pupil. Could do better.' Rufus's said: 'persists in playing with the
police whistle in the class; often confiscated. Could do better'. " 
‘’Benim karnemde ‘yaramaz bir öğrenci, çoğu zaman dalıyor. Daha başarılı olabilir’.
Toramanınkinde ‘yaramaz bir öğrenci. Arkadaşlarıyla dövüşüyor. Daha başarılı olabilir’,
Tıngırınkinde ‘elinden birkaç kez alınan düdüğü hala sınıfta öttürmekte direniyor. Daha
başarılı olabilir’ yazıyordu.’’
The name for Bruno in the original is Eudes, and Rufus is unchanged. Eudes is a French-
originated name, and lets on that it's French by phonology. Rufus is a name that is used
throughout Europe in different language countries. In fact, it is mostly associated with
English. We can say that it doesn't create a foreign atmosphere since it is familiar. It can be
understood that Bell is trying to be loyal to the story while making the changes to make it
more readable in a foreign language. She doesn't just convert them unless she has to. 
Kanetti, continuing her changes, translated the name Eudes as Toraman, and Rufus as Tıngır.
Toraman means hefty in Turkish. His report card says he's fighting with his friends, and
indeed he is known for his strength and intimidation for everyone. Tıngır means sharp
clinking noise, and the character is after mischiefs and disruption in the class. These are all
nicknames that describe them perfectly. None of them would be used as a real name by adults,
but children can call it to their friends.
The next name belongs to the hardworking student of the class: Agnan. His name is
mentioned as
"Percival was the only one who couldn't do better." and "Bir tek Çarpım daha başarılı
olamazdı." in different translations, respectively. 
Agnan is converted to Percival in English and Çarpım in Turkish. The name Percival is
actually derived from Old French and is known as the name of a knight from King Arthur
legend. It isn't known if Bell chose it from its roots of French, but again there is a common
pattern: an old-sounding Anglican name. It isn't very common or child-like but historical and
reminiscent of English. Çarpım could be the most representative name here since it means
multiplication, leading to being hardworking. It can even reflect a negativeness as it has the
implication of a nerd. 
We get to see the other characters’ names one page after: Geoffrey and Joachim. In
French, Goscinny wrote ‘’… et puis Geoffroy n'aurait pas dû renverser son encrier par terre
sur Joachim qui était tombé en faisant des tas de grimaces parce que Eudes lui avait donné un
coup de poing sur le nez alors que c'était Rufus qui lui avait tiré les cheveux à Eudes.’’
Bell translated it as "…and Gaston shouldn't have spilled his ink on Joshua who was
sprawled on the floor because Bruno had popped him in the nose, when it actually it was
Rufus who had pulled Bruno's hair." 
Kanetti’s translation is ‘’Gümüş mürekkep şişesini yerde yatan Sırımın üstüne
dökmemeliydi. Önce Toraman Sırımın burnuna bir yumruk indirmişti. Sırım da yüzünü
buruştura buruştura yere düşmüştü. Oysa Toramanın saçını Sırım değil Tıngır çekmişti.''
In terms of translation techniques, the original text uses relative clauses like when and
who, and it is the same in the English translation, too. Bell linked the sentences together
without spoiling the original structure. But Kanetti, against these two examples, original text
and Bell's translation, parted the expression into different sentences. She chose to translate the
relative clauses as verb predicates. In fact, this can be observed in the general of the
paragraphs. She usually establishes short sentences by turning gerundial into verbs in her
translation. 
On the other hand, Kanetti makes more direct translation in terms of word choices. In
French, it uses the words' encrier' which means inkwell, but Bell just uses ink while
translating. Similarly, the original has the words' faisant des tas de grimaces' which means
Joachim fell showing grimace. Kanetti added this to her translation, but they aren't present in
Bell's text, who just uses the word sprawled. Whereas Kanetti plays and arranges proper
nouns while staying loyal to the wording of the Goscinny, Bell changes them following the
writer's footsteps and plays with the words like adding or extracting them. 
Gaston or Gümüş in Turkish is both fancy names. Gaston is sophisticated rather than the
commonly used Geoffrey. The name of the character might need a representation here, as
Geoffrey is the rich student of the class. His parents are massively wealthy, and this is all he
talks about. He reflects these aspects in every part of the book, from his clothes to attitudes.
Therefore, he is pictured a little differently from other kids, and expecting a common name
same as with them could spoil the effect of the character. That's why it is changed from
Geoffrey to Gaston. Gaston is a name that is both English and sophisticated. It sounds a little
foreign, while Geoffrey is common for English.
 So, here Bell turns the concepts reverse; Geoffrey is a kind of unique name in French since
it's associated with English and suitable for the character. Gaston is more uncommon for
English because it is rooted from French and again suitable for the character for his
background.
Gümüş means silver in Turkish, and it is simply an association choice, the name silver for
a rich boy. It again reflects the upperity in Gümüş's position, and it oddly sounds sophisticated
in Turkish. 
Then comes another character, Alceste. Bell translated this part ‘’…on Alphonso’s report
card the teacher had written ‘if this pupil put as much energy into studying as into eating, he
would be first in the class’.’’ and Kanetti as ‘’Lüplüpün karnesinde ‘bu öğrenci yemek yemek
için harcadığı gücü çalışmak için harcasa, birinciliğe yükselirdi. Daha başarılı olabilir.’
yazıyordu.’’ The original story contains the ‘’ …car il pourrait faire mieux.’’ expression
which is translated by Kanetti as ‘he could do better’ but aren’t added by Bell. 
Alceste is a clearly French name, and Alphonso is similar to it in terms of phonology and
commonness. It isn't very popular but used enough, and it is historic. Lüplüp reminds the
sound of stuffing ourselves with food, and it suits the glutton character. If Goscinny himself
could write this kind of mocking part, Kanetti may not have seen an inconvenience in giving a
nickname that could be considered humiliating. 
In the story, we learn the name of the main character on the last pages told by his parents:
Nicolas. Bell classically added only one letter to it and used it as Nicholas. It is Anglicized
this way. Kanetti renamed him as ‘Pıtırcık’. It is used as a loving expression for children in
Turkish, and it has the tone of affection. Nicholas is a character who cannot stay still even for
a moment; thus, the name is inspired by his character and how people view him. 

Analysis
Goscinny was trying to create a humorous atmosphere by showing the contrasting worlds
of children and adults. He is showing the outside world from children's eyes. The children
misunderstand mature contents, and adults cannot make sense of children's thoughts. The
names contribute to this, too. Instead of light-hearted names that would remind children, the
children's names are more old-fashioned names that could be found in history books.
Goscinny, by giving mature names to immature children, makes their adventures more
sarcastic and funny. 
Following this, Bell didn't go far points to use widespread English-sounding names like
James or John, but rather names enough to sound English. The English versions, too, like
Bruno and Claude, can be seen in specific historical figures. As you can see, Bell doesn't
change these names into completely unrelated names; they are actually phonologically pretty
close. 
But Kanetti chose to translate them not even as names. On the contrary, Kanetti makes
changes on a large scale, and the names are unrecognizable by foreign readers. She based her
translations on association and creativity. In Turkish translation, we can say Kanetti gave up
this humorous contrast and decided to make the names more childish.
If we are to think about its pedagogical effects, nicknames aren't welcomed in the last
decades. Whereas some of the older readers of the book who knows the original names argue
they teach children it's okay to give nicknames and stereotype people, the others defend it
adds to the book's sincerity and makes it much more fun. The New Times reports that
nicknames are double-edged swords as positive ones can encourage someone, and the
negative ones can cause bullying and low self-esteem. However, they are prevalent behind
closed doors (2015). There is no clear line in the Turkish translation about whether they are
slurs or friendly remarks. But we cannot be sure if the children perceived those as names or
nicknames by the characters in the book. They don't acknowledge it, and adults use those
names, too. If children take adults' attitudes into account, they may not see it as bad. Children
don't have that reality bond with the world yet, and some concepts don't seem absurd for
them. In real life, children can even name their toys and pets unreal/absurd names and don't
see absurdity in there.

Jobe, in his article, states that Bell is always thinking about conveying what the author
could have written if he had written originally in English (1990). Also, in her own essay, Bell
says translator is as successful as their invisibility. A reader shouldn't understand it as an
imitation and illusion but perceive it as the real thing (2004). It is argued that readers
shouldn't have to face the foreignness of the book, especially in the case of children. Children
aren't intellectually developed enough to analyze the world they don't see; so, they may get
bored of a book in a foreign setting. A direct translation wouldn't work here; it is the
translator's duty to adapt this foreign world into their language and culture. In children's
literature translations, the aim is to take the background of a specific culture and city and
show it as it can happen in any metropolis or town. Both translators, depending on this,
changed the structure to give that childish sense the best. If it is provided in Turkish with
short sentences, Kanetti did it. Bell tried to delete and simplify some words that may be
unnecessary for English.
 According to Bell, in one of her translations, the writer constantly used a specific
repetition, but there weren't as many different expressions to address it continuingly in Bell's
language. She couldn't erase it as it was important, but she felt the need to vary it not to cause
monotonousness. This could be one of the reasons why she changed or erased some
expressions in this story, to smoothen the meaning.

Tuna indicates how Goscinny and Sempe were trying to create an ideal world for children
dreamed of by every adult. This world isn't fancy or complicated; on the contrary, it has the
image of being a child in this world. The children's minds work in quick and active
consciousness. This is represented with run-on sentences, dispersed stream of consciousness
technique, and vocabulary consisting of schoolboy slang (2017). Considering this, the
differences in translation techniques like parting or combining the sentences, adding or
deleting words can be adapted to reach a child's mind in English and Turkish culture. Some
words may be excessive in English as the meaning is already there in the prior expressions, so
Bell doesn't find any inconvenience in subtracting them. Children could need this kind of
simplification. It is the same with Kanetti; she could have parted the sentences not to create
long, confusing lines as Turkish can contain long sentences with many linkers. Moreover,
parting them with different predicates supplies the sense of run-on sentences in Turkish.

One can say that it doesn't contribute to children's improvement of their minds, but again,
Bell maintains the idea that children should read any kind of book to warm them to reading,
then they can choose a book they like. Jobe quotes," Anthea Bell believes that a translator "...
must not put a child off, so one cannot face English children with a street name spelled
Vaekkesekovvej, or they will be turned off. She believes that if names can't be understood,
then the translator must change them, for example Vaekkesekovvej would become a more
comprehensible Brookwood Road." He conveys that the translation of a text which depends
on puns and specifically chosen expressions should be free to the extent of an adaptation to
provide the same humorous effect.

In her essay, Bell tells the story of her introduction to the translation world as her husband
recommended her to a company with the words' she knows German and children' (2004). Bell
is a translator famous for her children's literature translations worldwide and studied this topic
as stated in her essays. Based on this, it can be thought Bell knows the child psychology well
enough to understand the best method for them to comprehend and love a book.
 Unfortunately, there is no direct source that explains from where Kanetti got the idea of the
names and how the publishing house approved it. But Kanetti is a writer aside from being a
translator and writes adult-targeted books. She even has the view of an adult towards this
children's book. Kanetti, on social media, says she doesn't like to be mentioned primarily as a
translator rather than a writer because of private ethnicity issues (2018). That's why there isn't
a firsthand explanation by her, and we can only analyze it by looking at the dynamics of the
culture, time, and principles of children's literature translations.

Kanetti, in a social media post, says none of Goscinny's books are only children's
literature, and they address everyone from the age of 7 to 77 (2018). In another post, she
explains how she discovered the Le Petit Nicolas series, loved them and suggested translating
them into Turkish. She wanted to make everyone laugh as much as her when she first
discovered the series (2019). From these, we can infer that Kanetti oversees 'Pıtırcık' not only
as a professional translator but also as a reader and a fan. Neydim says (as cited in Tellioğlu,
1998) according to Skopos theory, to function in targeted culture, the translation should stay
loyal to its objectives (2006). The translator should determine the functions and try to realize
them. Kanetti explains her aim above: to make people laugh. It is understandable to use
nicknames for this aim because, in Turkish culture, they are a means to humor in works like
TV shows, theatre, books, etc.

To convey the meaning and theme of the text best, a translator could make changes that
will make it understandable for the relevant culture (as cited in Toury, 1995). Since the
Turkish culture uses nicknames freely, especially in school settings, Kanetti can resort to the
way of finding humor in them. The translator's primary mission may not be seen as an
educator. Therefore, they don't have to act in the readers' best interest as long as it pleases
them.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I think the translators were affected by some conditions of their culture and
language. Their goals were varying as one wanted to make children laugh, and the other
aimed to convey the culture of the book for English children. They were of different ages
when they translated it, and it may have had an influence. Additionally, their ideas on children
and translating were different. However, both can be said to capture the mind of a child and
convey it to their readers. The comments usually are about how the books make readers feel
their childhood. If we remember Goscinny's philosophy while writing the book, we can say
they followed him.

Translation is based on aims and some argue the translator is also the second creator and
can do significant changes to the book. Kanetti’s way overlaps with them as she shapes the
books into the Turkish culture’s humor. Bell, staying loyal to her idea of a translator should
be invisible, conveys the book in the original sense and humor while adapting it to English
culture.

The books are very successful and memorable by the readers, that's why the publishing
house still sells the books as they are, and since there is no dispute, we can understand that the
French publishing house of the books agrees with them.

References

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