Abstract

This thesis addresses the comparison of Subaltern Acadie and Ireland and the resistance in translation that they manifest to counter colonialism and Empire. Though separated temporally, Ireland and Acadie share key characteristics: a basis in orality, post-colonial history, and Subaltern status. These qualities provide a common grouond for the comparative analysis of how both societies access discourses of power - an effort manifested through translation. The corpus consists of: Acadie - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Évangéline and its French Canadian translation by Pamphile LeMay; Ireland - Tain Bo Cualgne and its English translations by Lady Augusta Gregory ( Cuchulàin of Muirthemne ) and Joseph Dunn ( The Ancient Irish Epic Tale Tàin Bo Cualgne, The Cualgne Cattle Raid ). The Acadien text manifests passive resistance by repeating historical inaccuracies, emphasizing Orientalizing practices and essentialism, and the insertion of LeMay's political ideology into the translated text. The Irish texts manifest active resistance through Irish nationalist-oriented translations that can be twinned with temporality and key political events, and widely variant translations that demonstrate Ireland's long translation history and tradition. In terms of methodology, this thesis draws upon research and theories from: Post-Colonial Studies, Translation Studies, as well as Acadien and Irish political and cultural history.