Fantasy in translation: a study of the Italian versions of Sanderson’s The Stormlight Archive

The main objective of this thesis is to examine the main problems that fantasy fiction poses for translators. Fantasy is considered one of the most difficult genres to translate, as it presents many challenges for the translator, such as neologisms and invented compound nouns. This thesis consists of three parts – the introduction to translation, the explanation of the fantasy genre and its problematics, and the final analysis of Sanderson’s piece The Stormlight Archive. This thesis will explore the way in which translations may change the meaning and the outcome of the original text and how the translator’s choices may affect the reader’s perception and attitude towards the translated piece. More specifically, the focus will be on how names and words may change depending on the target group and the translation strategy choices and techniques a translator uses when translating specific nouns. The complicated process of translating fantasy literature not only concerns the technicality and the stylistic choices, but the main issue lies in how to reproduce the source text’s fantasy themes and features into the target text while making the translated version understandable, entertaining, and adequate for the target audience.