From theory to practice: translation and analysis of the young adult novel 'The silence that binds us'

In this dissertation, the main purpose is to translate and analyse The Silence That Binds Us, a Young Adult novel written by Asian author Joanna Ho. The book narrates the story of Chen’s family, with a focus on the youngest member named Maybelline “May” Chen. The Silence That Binds Us is an empowering and inspiring novel which confronts important and complex themes such as racism, mental health, grief, and growth. The novel describes in a very touching way the struggles of being a teenager in a family struck by a tragedy, what it means to grow up without someone that has always been important in your life, to learn how to speak your own truth and not letting others tell your own story. The present dissertation is divided in several chapters: the first one includes an introduction to translation theory and the main features of the discipline of Translation Studies with a focus on the aspects concerning issues that arose throughout the entire translation process. The second one includes the translation of the book, with a brief introduction to the author, the book, and the principal issues she pertains to in the novel with particular attention on the cultural references in real life. The third chapter focuses on the analysis of the translation, with an explanation of the issues arose during the translation process and the choices made to solve them. This part of the dissertation consists as well of some considerations and explanations of the applied translation strategies.