PRESENTISM AND ANXIETIES OF INFLUENCE REVISITED: TWO ROMANIAN VERSIONS OF OSCAR WILDE'S "THE DEVOTED FRIEND"

This paper deals with two translations of Oscar Wilde’s The Devoted Friend and how the two translators render some of the phrases into the target language, Romanian. Considering KidLit a valid form of literature, I argue that translating the source text into the target language must be done as perfectly as possible, especially keeping the meaning and the didactic purpose of the story. My paper deals specifically with hypocorisms, a term that covers diminutives and affective language, and how they are translated from the source language into the target language. With Oscar Wilde’s writing style, the fairy-tale’s translator’s job becomes even more challenging. I also discuss types of narrators in the story and the anxiety of influence of the translation