Translation Studies Journal

In assessing the untranslatability of dialects, Valeria Petrocchi focuses in this paper on Gadda's Quer pasticciaccio brutto de via Merulana and William Weaver's translation of the novel.

The Roman dialect word 'pasticciaccio' in Gadda's title hints at a very intrigued situation. It has an ontological connotation and is a synonym for the inextricable and unfathomable personal inner essence. The meaning therefore entails an existential and philosophical implication that gives a peculiar physiognomy to the whole novel and justifies the lack of a final resolution. Therefore, the novel is unfinished but not incomplete. The Americantranslator William Weaver was well aware of this and as a result he faced the text by realizing a “translation in progress.” The difficulty in translating Quer pasticciaccio brutto de via Merulana resides in the novel's multi-dialectal patchwork (Italian standard and Roman, but also Molise, Neapolitan and Veneto dialects), which reflects Gadda’s angst and reveals unsolvable and unsolved conflicts that Weaver took into account in his translation. The mixture of Italian with dialects is intentionally designed by Gadda to create a grotesque tension between reality vs. appearance, truth vs. lie. Dialects represent popular spontaneity and are, thus, the only useful means to act against hypocrisy.

Petrocchi concludes that Weaver's sensitivity allows him to establish a direct relationship with Gadda, and he can, therefore, propose a translation that is prospectively bound to meet the intentio lectoris in a language different from the original, yet intact in its deep perception.