Book Review: Intralingual translation of british novels: A multimodal stylistic perspective

Abstract

From the beginning of her book, Intralingual Translation of British Novels. A Multimodal Stylistic Perspective, Linda Pillière catches the attention of her readers. The opening scene is set in a bookshop where you stand with different editions of the same book in your hands and, as you ponder, the revelation occurs: Is this a copy, an adaptation, a new edition? A translation, perhaps? What happened in the editorial process when adapting this book for a geographically different audience? From the differences at the paratextual level (cover, illustrations, typeface, footnotes) to the stylistic choices (lexis, tense, syntax and punctuation), Pillière reminds us that the changes in a text are not irrelevant. Ultimately, there seems to be a reason behind everything in the editorial market, for “[i]f they did not influence the potential buyer, major publishing houses would not spend time and money on reformatting texts. The world of publishing is, let us not forget, first and foremost a commercial enterprise” (24), writes Pillière.