Musical Allusions in James Joyce's Dubliners and the Problem of Their Translation

Abstract

Abstract: The importance of music in the works of James Joyce has long been acknowledged by Joycean scholars, though few systematic attempts have been made to deal with musical allusions. A tenor singer in his youth, Joyce fills his writings with musical references and allusions used for certain purposes in his own style. No matter how music is applied, one thing is certain - musical allusions always add a further dimension to his stories, provide a deeper understanding to a piece of literature making it unique and revealing the unknown.

          Translation of allusive texts has always been of great interest to linguists, professional translators and literary critics. It requires some strategic and problem-solving competence, as well as cross-cultural awareness, as allusions are closely interconnected with the cultural SL content.