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Article published In: Target
Vol. 29:1 (2017) ► pp.39–63

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Of breathing holes and contact zones

Inuit-Canadian writer Markoosie in and through translation

 | MacEwan University |
Published online: 1 June 2017
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https://doi.org/10.1075/target.29.1.02hen
Harpoon of the Hunter, originally written in Inuktitut syllabics and published serially in 1969/70, is frequently characterized as the “first Inuit novel” (McGrath, Robin. 1984. Canadian Inuit Literature: The Development of a Tradition. Canadian Ethnology Service Paper 94. National Museums of Canada. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, 81; Chartier, Daniel. 2011. “Introduction. ‘Le premier roman inuit écrit, un geste littéraire et social considérable.’” In Markoosie 20111, 1–34.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar). It was deemed the “breakthrough” (. 1975. “Markoosie.” In Profiles, Revised edition, ed. by Irma McDonough, 116–118. Ottawa: Canadian Library Association.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, 117) eagerly awaited by those whose stated goal was to save Canada’s traditional northern culture and its stories, songs, poems and legends from being swept aside by the onslaught of southern modernity. Markoosie’s text helpfully allows discussion of (post)colonial contact zones constructed in and through translational acts such as self-translation, retranslation, and relay/indirect translation as these intersect with Indigenous literature. This article explores the complex trajectory, involving various stakeholders, of the translation, circulation and reception of this important contribution to not only Inuit literature, but Canadian literature as a whole. It examines some relevant features of the author’s own translation of his text into English (1970) and traces them through the two existing French translations by Claire Martin (Markoosie, tr. Martin 1971) and Catherine Ego (Markoosie, tr. Ego 2011).
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The author and his (con)texts
    • 2.1Markoosie
    • 2.2Inuit names
    • 2.3The journey of Harpoon of the Hunter
  • 3.Self-translation
    • 3.1The practice of self-translation
    • 3.2Political implications
    • 3.3Markoosie as a self-translator
    • 3.4The status of self-translations
  • 4.Retranslation
    • 4.1The practice of retranslation
    • 4.2The first French translation
    • 4.3The second French translation
    • 4.4Inclusion of the original (but not source) text
  • 5.Relay translation
    • 5.1Relay translation and Inuit literature
    • 5.2Particular challenges for translation from Inuktutit
  • 6.Breathing holes (by way of conclusion)
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
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