An Inquiry into Intersemiotic Translation of Children's Books: A Case Study of Illustration and Rendition

The present study was an attempt to find out whether there were any exclusive strategies regarding illustration in the rendition of children’s illustrated books. Further, it investigated whether the existing intersemiotic models were sufficiently responsive to the demands of Iranian translators and children. Cases of the study included three children’s illustrated story books for age groups B and C (Group B-children in the first grades of primary school/ Group C- children in the last grades of primary school) in two formats (the first one the original book, the second one the translated book). The utilized method for conducting this qualitative research was Grounded Theory. The research instruments were semi-structured interview and content analysis. The intersemiotic model of translation propounded by Aguiar and Quieroz and the hermeneutic approach of Steiner were chosen as the study framework. The interviewees were among stakeholders of children’s literature; illustrators, translators and publishers. The findings revealed that there are no exclusive strategies as regards illustration. In addition, although the existing intersemiotic models are acceptable as foundational models, these models do not provide sufficient utility to decode every interfering factor in translation of children’s illustrated books. Ultimately, the research resulted in a novel model for rendition of the children’s illustrated books.