“È per un bambino o una bambina?” Stereotipi di genere nella letteratura per l'infanzia: proposta di traduzione di due albi illustrati

The aim of this dissertation is to propose a translation into Italian of two American picturebooks: Is That For a Boy or a Girl? written by S. Bear Bergman and illustrated by Rachel Dougherty, and Jacob's New Dress written by Sarah and Ian Hoffman and illustrated by Chris Case. The common thread of the two books is the critique of gender stereotypes in children’s literature and in other aspects of childhood at large, such as gender expression. The two titles were in fact selected from the bibliography created by the European project G-BOOK (Gender Identity: Child Readers and Library Collections), which was spearheaded by Centro MeTRa, an Italian research centre affiliated with the University of Bologna which aims to promote gender-positive and inclusive literature. The thesis is divided into four chapters, the first of which is devoted to a discussion of children's literature as a whole and to the analysis of the illustrated fiction subgenre, the category to which the above-mentioned volumes belong. The second chapter focuses on diversity, highlighting its key role in education and the relevant trends in publishing and translation studies. The third chapter consists of a brief presentation of the works I have chosen. Following the introduction of the plot and the biography of the authors, the chapter focuses on the analysis of the two illustrated books from a linguistic, stylistic, iconographic and commercial point of view, in preparation for translation. Finally, in the fourth chapter I present my translation proposal, complete with a commentary on the problems I encountered and the translation techniques that allowed me to overcome them.

Fuori dai binari. Tradurre le identita non binarie nel romanzo Young Adult I Wish You All the Best di Mason Deaver

The goal of this final dissertation is to propose a partial translation of the Young Adult novel I Wish You All the Best by nonbinary author Mason Deaver, which was published in the United States by PUSH in 2019 and is currently still unpublished in Italy. The book follows the story of eighteen-year-old Ben De Backer. After coming out as nonbinary to their parents, they are kicked out of their home; thanks to the help of their older sister, they will manage to get back on their feet and start a new life, although their trauma will continue to pose a great obstacle to their growth and happiness. I Wish You All the Best is one of the first novels with a nonbinary protagonist in the Young Adult category and is particularly interesting from a linguistic standpoint. The first chapter serves as introduction to the author, Mason Deaver, their life and their relationship with gender identity and writing; and also as an introduction to the book itself and how its main characters and themes are developed in relation to the plot. The second chapter looks at the Young Adult genre as a whole; it explores its origins and development through the years and seeks to find a definition for this type of literature which has often been misrepresented both in the eyes of literary critics and the general public. Additionally, the chapter will describe some of the main characteristics of YA literature and analyze them in relation to I Wish You All the Best. The third chapter aims to examine the role of language, and how it can be inclusive to people outside of the gender binary. It will also touch upon the sociocultural contexts in which the speakers of different languages operate. The fourth and final chapter will present the translation of several passages taken from the novel I Wish You All the Best and offer an analysis of the most interesting and difficult aspects of this translation process.