Classics into comics: Transformation of children’s literature classics into comics and translating them into other languages

Abstract

The study investigates how Oliver Twist, written by Charles Dickens in 1839, has been adapted into comic form and translated into other languages. It concerns the communicative problems and techniques of meaning-making in text and image. Translating nonsequential multimodal narratives is complex, requiring consideration of cultural context and image semantics to maintain coherence across text and visuals in the target language. The paper also explores how translators overcome these challenges to maintain the essence of the narrative while presenting it in different forms that will appeal to its various readers. Studying the Oliver Twist comic adaptation and translation aids translation theory by highlighting the interplay of textual analysis, visual semiotics, and linguistic translation in preserving source material integrity across cultures. These findings resonate with current research on modes, recognising that visual and textual modes must work harmoniously and be laden with culturally appropriate meanings.

Keywords: Comics, children’s literature, translation