Lisa Peterson
Dr. Seuss in Translation - Translating the nonsense verse of Theodor Seuss Geisel: An analysis of le chat au chapeau and le chat chapeauté
(viii + 135 pp + CD-Rom.)
2006

Thesis Supervisor / Directeur du mémoire : Marie-Christine Aubin

Text analysis of Theodor Seuss Geisel's Dr. Seuss books (specifically The Cat in the Hat) has revealed that aside from content, the layering of multiple stylistic devices common to nonsense literature upon a very solid foundation of meter and rhyme makes them poetically distinct from other literature for children. These elements must be considered in the process of translation. Analysis of two translated versions of The Cat in the Hat (Le chat an chapeau (1967) by Jean Vallier and Le chat chapeaute (2004) by Anne-Laure Fournier le Ray) has revealed that in order to create a culturally relevant text that will provide the target audience with a response equivalent to that experienced by the source language audience, surface form rather than content must be the prime focus of the translator.