Gender-Neutral Language in Non-Professional Translation: A Case Study from American Young Adult Literature
Keywords:
Gender-neutral language, gender-inclusive language, gender and translation, YA queer literature, queer translation, nonbinary identitiesAbstract
Literary representations of nonbinary identities for young readers have become a key topic in cultural debates across Western countries. While far-right movements have sought to reinforce gender normativity, some sectors of the publishing industry now promote young adult (YA) books with non-binary protagonists. In Italy, translating such works from English has proven particularly complex, as Italian is a grammatical gender language. This study recognizes the translation of YA queer literature as a crucial means of fostering diversity in education. The paper presents the results of a workshop in which Italian undergraduate translation students translated excerpts from All Boys Aren’t Blue, George M. Johnson’s 2020 queer memoir-manifesto. After outlining the debate on gender-fair language (GFL) and key developments in queer translation studies, the paper discusses the students’ approaches to the translation of GFL, showing that linguistic challenges can be addressed through a combination of traditional and innovative translation strategies.
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