Perceptions of Panem : how the translation of culture-specific items in The Hunger Games affects the Norwegian reader's interpretation of the fictional universe

Abstract

This master’s thesis analyses and compares universe-building culture-specific items from the young adult novel The Hunger Games and its Norwegian translation Dødslekene in order to investigate how this translation affects the reader’s perception of the fictional universe. The thesis makes use of a two-part method, as it analyses textual material and audience response. The main difference between the original and the translation is that certain culture-specific items are less universe-specific in the translation than what they are in the original novel. This indicates that the reader of Dødslekene has a different understanding of the fictional universe than the reader of the original, as the translation has diffused the overlying network of references found in The Hunger Games.