Is It Possible to "Talk Tribe" in Another Language? Transposing Ecocritical, Racial, Linguistic, and Literary Themes from Sherri L. Smith's Orleans into Italian: A Translation Proposal

In her 2013 novel “Orleans,” Sherri L. Smith endows the protagonist with a distinctive voice — notably through the creation of a fictional language that appears to stem from African American English. This “constructed” language functions as a vehicle to convey specific cultural nuances, thus creating a particular set of cultural expectations, revealing preconceptions, while also impacting the narrative’s setting, the identity of the speaker, and the interpretation of the reader. The title of this thesis derives from an expression used by the protagonist herself, who refers to her language as “tribe.” The primary objective of this thesis is to explore the translation of such a culturally specific language into Italian. To achieve this, the analysis focuses on the young adult genre, the historical context of the novel, and the linguistic features of African American English. Subsequently, contemporary translation theories are examined, culminating in a proposed translation accompanied by a critical analysis.