THINKING ITALIAN TRANSLATION 101

TT, we have `sample life with the drop-outs' rather than `see what life's like with the drop-outs', and `doesn't' instead of `don't'.

It is clear that the workings of register can be pretty complex even in a simple example like this one. Here, tonal and social register can to a great extent be distinguished from one another. In cases where it is impossible to disentangle them without lengthy analysis, it is acceptable for translation purposes simply to use `register' as a cover-term.

SOCIOLECT

Whereas a social register belongs to a fairly narrowly stereotyped social persona, a sociolect is defined in terms of sociological notions of class. A sociolect is a language variety typical of one of the broad groupings that together constitute the `class structure' of a society. Examples of major sociolects in the United Kingdom are those labelled as `urban working class', `white collar', `public school', etc. These labels are noticeably vague. This is partly because British society does not have a rigid class structure, and partly because a `class' label is often useless if not qualified by geographical reference. `Public school' is relatively neutral to regional variation, but the further the speaker is from `public school' on the scale, the more necessary it is to take class and regional factors together: compare `urban working class', `Leith urban working class', `Bermondsey urban working class', etc. Mixed sociolectal/regional designations like these are often more helpful in recognizing language variants than purely sociological ones.

Sociolectal features can nevertheless convey important speaker-related information. If they are salient features of the ST, the translator cannot ignore them when deciding on a strategy. The first crucial factor to consider is what their function is in the ST. Thus, in translation of an eyewitness account of a crime for Interpol, sociolect (and register) would probably be subordinated to getting the facts clear. But if sociolect is not incidental, the translator may need to find a way of showing this in the TT. This is sometimes the case with journalistic texts, and often with literary texts. Even in such cases, however, a number of questions must be weighed in forming a strategy: What is the function of the ST sociolect(s)? What is the purpose of the TT? Would it not be safest to produce a TT in a bland `educated middle-class' sociolect?

If the strategy is to incorporate some TL sociolectal features corresponding to those in the ST, the requirements are similar to those involved in choosing social register: it has to be decided what sociolects are the most appropriate, and there must be no inconsistencies in TT sociolect (assuming there are none in the ST sociolects). To return to the junkie example, `doesn't' and third-person singular `don't' belong to different sociolects; it might sound odd to mix `sample life with the drop-outs' and `turns you on, don' it' Ðunless the context showed that the ST speaker also mixes sociolects.

102 LANGUAGE VARIETY AND TRANSLATION ISSUES

DIALECT

The fourth type of speaker-related information that can be inferred from style concerns what part of the country speakers are fromÐwhere they grew up, or where they live. This inference is based on dialect, a language variety with features of accent, lexis, syntax and sentence-formation characteristic of a given region. In Italy, dialects are used much more commonly than in the United Kingdom. They are also so different from one another and from `national Italian' that a speaker of one dialect may not be able to understand a speaker of another. National Italian itself is more fluid than standard British English, especially in respect of pronunciation. Very many literary texts include dialectal features that instantly identify the regional affiliations of the characters. For the Italian reader, this enriches the text with all manner of associations. The very fact of switching between dialect and national Italian may therefore convey important meanings. All these meanings are naturally lost on a foreign reader who is not thoroughly steeped in Italian culture. As far as translation is concerned, even if the translator spots such features and their significance, there is still the question of what to do about them. Apart from being able to identify dialect features in the first place, there are three main problems.

First, it has to be decided how important the dialect features in the ST are to its overall effect. Similar considerations apply as to sociolect. In purely informative texts, dialect is unlikely to be significant. But in journalism, and especially in literary texts, the ST dialect(s) may have important functions: one character may habitually be incomprehensible to another; or dialect may carry vital sourceculture connotations; or it may give vital local colour to the ST.

Second, if dialect does have a function in the ST, an essential strategic decision is whether and why to use TL dialectal features. There are very obvious dangers in using TL dialect: How do you decide whichÐif any TL dialects correspond to the ST ones? And will not a TL dialect sound ridiculous on the lips of Lombards or Sicilians? With luck, dropping ST dialectal features will not incur really damaging translation loss. If one is not so lucky, but prudence warns against using dialect in the TT, the important ST effects produced by dialect will probably have to be rendered through compensation. The most useful technique is to make occasional additions. The form these take will depend entirely on the context. Here, for discussion, is an example from Ugo Pirro's Il luogo dei delitti, with a draft translation. (Contextual information. The Mafia boss Don Ernesto is addressing the engineer Ficuzza, using typical Sicilianisms. These have a threatening irony in the context. Ficuzza has drawn up plans for a hotel complex in the Valley of the Temples near Agrigento, and has attempted to minimize the environmental impact by designing low buildings. Don Ernesto is not impressed. Ficuzza says nervously that they can always discuss possible changes.)

THINKING ITALIAN TRANSLATION 103

`Sì¼vossia capì!' gli disse Don Ernesto e, indicando le costruzioni colorate che popolavano il plastico, aggiunse i suoi ordini, usando un tono persuasivo e insieme ultimativo.

`Come dissi a vossia fin dalla prima volta che ebbi l'onore e il piacere di incontrarla insieme alla sua gentilissima signora¼ e dietro raccomandazione del nostro caro amico e socio il dottor Pilato, gli alberghi bassi non mi piacquero mai¼Forse che a New York sono bassi gli hotel?¼ No¼E perché minghia vossia bassi li vuole ad Agrigento?

(Pirro 1991:16)

`Yes Mr Ficuzza, quite right Mr Ficuzza', replied Don Ernesto in the ingratiating tone Sicilians sometimes adopt, and, pointing to the model teeming with coloured buildings, he issued his orders in a tone at once persuasive and menacing.

`As I told you the first time I had the honour and pleasure of meeting your good self and your gracious lady¼on the recommendation of our good friend and partner Dr Pilato, low-rise hotels are not for me¼ They don't have them in New York now, do they?¼No¼So would you be good enough to tell me why the bloody hell you want to build them in Agrigento?'

If, as here, ST dialectal features are closely associated with other features of language variety, it is sometimes possible to use TL sociolect or register to compensate for the loss of connotations carried by the ST dialect(s). A final possibility is wholesale cultural transplantation. This is rare. It is generally only done with literary works, for box-office reasons. It often requires such extreme adaptation that it can barely be described as translation, however brilliant the TL text may be.

The third problem is one that applies to sociolect and register as well: once a decision is taken to use TL dialect, it must be accurate, and it must be consistent. Many literary TTs in particular are sabotaged by weaknesses in the translator's grasp of TL language variety. Among the many skills a translator has to have is that of pastiche.

CODE-SWITCHING

Many people are adept at switching between language varieties, and even between languages. This is known as code-switching. People may do this for social camouflage, to match their social persona to the particular situation they are in. Or they may do it for storytelling purposes, imitating the various characters in their story. Or it may be for persuasive purposes, sprinkling the text with expressions from different registers, sociolects or dialectsÐDon Ernesto does this in the passage we have just seen, and there are good examples in Practical 3.1. Any text containing characters with recognizably different styles of